Why do radio stations seem to get stuck on playing the same songs over and over?!
Question: Pay for play
Why does radio suck? Because most stations play only the songs the record companies pay them to. And things are going to get worse.
Does radio seem bad these days? Do all the hits sound the same, all the stars seem like cookie cutouts of one another?
It's because they do, and they are.
Why? Listeners may not realize it, but radio today is largely bought by the record companies. Most rock and Top 40 stations get paid to play the songs they spin by the companies that manufacture the records.
But it's not payola -- exactly. Here's how it works.
Radio's big bully...................
"Standing between the record companies and the radio stations is a legendary team of industry players called independent record promoters, or "indies."
The indies are the shadowy middlemen record companies will pay hundreds of millions of dollars to this year to get songs played on the radio. Indies align themselves with certain radio stations by promising the stations "promotional payments" in the six figures. Then, every time the radio station adds a Shaggy or Madonna or Janet Jackson song to its playlist, the indie gets paid by the record label.
Indies are not the guys thanked on Grammys night, but everyone in the business, artists included, understands that the indies make or break careers"
Thanks
Answers: Pay for play
Why does radio suck? Because most stations play only the songs the record companies pay them to. And things are going to get worse.
Does radio seem bad these days? Do all the hits sound the same, all the stars seem like cookie cutouts of one another?
It's because they do, and they are.
Why? Listeners may not realize it, but radio today is largely bought by the record companies. Most rock and Top 40 stations get paid to play the songs they spin by the companies that manufacture the records.
But it's not payola -- exactly. Here's how it works.
Radio's big bully...................
"Standing between the record companies and the radio stations is a legendary team of industry players called independent record promoters, or "indies."
The indies are the shadowy middlemen record companies will pay hundreds of millions of dollars to this year to get songs played on the radio. Indies align themselves with certain radio stations by promising the stations "promotional payments" in the six figures. Then, every time the radio station adds a Shaggy or Madonna or Janet Jackson song to its playlist, the indie gets paid by the record label.
Indies are not the guys thanked on Grammys night, but everyone in the business, artists included, understands that the indies make or break careers"
Thanks
i think you're talking about top 40 stations. if you are, the reason why they do it is because they follow the Billboard Hot 100 chart of what's "hot" and they rarely diverge from it out of fear of being seen as old.
If the radio station is an "Oldies" station it will draw a certain type of listener... In turn that draws certain types of sponsors who pay for advertisements. Some stations cycle their songs.... and every couple of hours you'll hear the same ones over and over....... If there is promotional dollars involved you'll hear them even more often.... It sells CD's and music videos.... It's all about money.
Dunno...
But, it is true. On Q102 they seem to be starting to air Disney Channel Stars Song's.
They seem to be stuck on these to songs.
Jonas Brothers - When You Look Me in the Eyes
Miley Cyrus - See You Again
Ugh. It's painful to hear the same thing, over and over and over and over and over and over *several 'and over's later* and over again...
I'm pretty sure they're paid to play each song, so for newer songs, the more you play them, the more people hear, the bigger the band gets, the more money everyone makes.
Also they do requests so the better songs get played a lot because of that.
I find it annoying if in 1 day I hear the same song more than 5 times on the radio. If I'm listening to the radio it's because I'm bored of my cds and always the same song. It's disappointing.
first of all...'pay for play' is called 'payola' and is illegal...
the conglomerates that own most of the commercial radio stations pay consultants big bucks to do listener 'research' for their playlists...and many times it comes down to a 'recognition' factor (a very big factor in oldies and classic rock stations--that's why an oldies station in new york city will sound the same as one in dallas)...long gone are the days when the announcer picked the songs they played durin' their airshifts...
for contemporary stations...it's based on the current charts; and that's pretty much the way 'top 40' radio (no matter what genre of music the station plays) has been since the format was developed by bill drake in the 60s...
I guess because it is cheaper to form a playlist and just keep playing it over and over. I think almost every station does this. Check it out. Listen to one station at the same time everyday and you will probably find the same song played around the same time every day.
For the most part I think that radio stinks. Every time I found a good station that I liked, they always changed the format. I no longer find any stations that play the music I like, and I am in the Chicago area where you would think the choices would be many. Well the whole hard rock/heavy metal people have been left out in the cold. We get some of what we are looking for, mixed in with all the crap we are not.
They say it has to do with money, well listen up big business: we shop in stores and online, we still attend concerts, we still buy commercial merchandise. Well, you have lost out on a large sector of the advertising business. We will remember those who left us out of this sector when we make our choices.
It also comes down to the fact that big business owns too many stations. There should be a limit to how much they can own, and what they can take over.