Principles of Programming Music Radio Part 4

Principles of Programming Music Radio Part 3

Principles of Programming Music Radio Part 2

Principles of Programming Music Radio Part 1

Broadcasters, Live365 has partnered with Pollack Media to provide you with some tips on playlist and station optimization.  This is the first presentation in a series of four.  Enjoy!

Featured Station: 24 Hour Cocktail Party!

Since 2005 The 24 Hour Cocktail Party on Live365 has provided listeners with swinging and sophisticated sounds in the setting of a non-stop cocktail party from the smashing days of the 1960s.

Host “Mr. Baxter” lays down the best in pop, American standards, jazz, lounge, orchestral pop, British Invasion and Bossa Nova from the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Cocktail Party plays artists from Dick Haymes, Ella, Sinatra and Bobby Darin to Nat King Cole, Andy Williams, Bobby Goldsboro, Joey Heatherton and Glen Campbell. Orchestral and Instrumental pop are well represented by the likes of Henry Mancini, Roger Williams, Percy Faith and The Hollyridge Strings covering selections from The Beatles catalog. Bossa is represented by Jobim and sixties groups such as Brasil '66.

In addition to the archives of 50 years ago, Cocktail Party plays selections of Chill and Electronica music from the 90s and 00’s. Groups like Morcheeba, StereoLab, and Goldfrapp complement the aforementioned artists and enhance the sounds and feel of the cocktail party setting and hopefully, provide "older" listeners with variety and "younger" listeners an introduction to American Pop and standards.

The playlist is updated regularly and includes seasonal selections near holidays such as Christmas and St. Patrick's Day.

Mr. Baxter, surfer, snowboarder, part-time musician, and full-time listener started the station in 2005 as a once-per-week live show, The Wednesday Night Cocktail Party! With the increase in available storage provided by Live365 over the years, the live show was replaced with the 24/7 format adding an occasional live Wednesday Night Cocktail Party or as a rare feature, The Live Live Live A-Show, playing the best of Punk, Bubblegum and Rockabilly.

Cocktail Party encourages it’s listeners to make suggestions and send requests for songs. As a result, Mr. Baxter has had the pleasure of interacting with listeners from all over the world. “It has been a wonderful experience”.
Baxter hopes that listeners of the show come away familiar with a time when style and sophistication was the rule of social interaction, and music was the perfect mixer.

Featured Station: UCTC Radio

Looking for a good political talk station? How about sports analysis or the latest country music hits? UCTC Radio is broadcasting all of this and more to listeners 24/7. UCTC features talk shows with local politicians, former NFL players, food critics, and everything in between. Broadcasting from downtown Houston, TX, they provide a great variety of people and music to have on the show.

As far as music genre is concerned, there isn’t anything they don’t play. Whether it’s country or hip-hop, UCTC enjoys keeping an up to date and eclectic selection. Additionally, listeners may tune in during the “all request show” every day from 2pm to 4pm, except Thursdays. Send song requests and interact with UCTC on their Facebook page, or call into the station and request a song.

Whether you listen to hear special interviews or during a cooking show, UCTC is a place for everyone! “We love what we do and we do it because we want to bridge the gap in communication, help people with a voice be heard, educate a listener, and have some fun while doing that.”

This Week in Digital Media: Myspace sold again? Where do we go from here?

Myspace, the social networking website that once rivaled Facebook in popularity, has been sold to Specific Media for $35 Million dollars. This deal comes merely Six years after the company was initially purchased by NewsCorp for roughly $580 million dollars.

Originally meant to be a networking site for aspiring musicians, Myspace grew to incorporate anyone and everyone who wanted to re-connect with friends, and plant themselves in the thick of the social media atmosphere. However, somewhere in between its undeniable dominance, and the current “profile wasteland”, Myspace lost its ability to grow and retain users.

All of these signs would normally point to the end of an era. But, don’t be so quick to count out the “place for friends”. The website currently ranks #85 in the Alexa Rankings, and still has a niche group in the music and entertainment industry. It also doesn’t hurt that Justin Timberlake will now be responsible for some of the company’s business development and creative projects. His presence alone could give the company some much needed validation.

Regardless of what happens with Myspace in the next few years, the company has made its impact on the music industry, and changed the way entertainers are able to market themselves. What do you think is the biggest impact of Myspace, and where do you think it will go from here?

This Week in Digital Media: College Radio Stations, Alternative Listening

On Saturday, The New York Times posted an opinion article that discussed the hardships of college radio stations and paid homage to many prominent universities whose radio stations have suffered from underfunding and under appreciation. The closure of these stations has caused quite a stir among avid music listeners across the country.

For a long time, college radio stations had been a place where new music could be discovered organically, and shared without the underlying desire to drive a profit. However, budget cuts, furloughs and other hardships have hindered these programs at thousands of colleges and universities and forced many to end their broadcasting tradition. As more stations close and more listeners are left stranded, where will consumers find their source for new music?

Many listeners have explored online radio options, but remain wary of the corporate agenda behind the broadcasting that they hear. Computer algorithms and beat synchronization can predict what you like from a number standpoint, but there is no telling who or what is profiting from your listening hours. Additionally, many music enthusiasts desire the aspect of “human touch”, and appreciate that someone like themselves put time into creating a set list and researching the artists and music they play.

The thrill of finding a new artist or hearing new music will never die among avid music lovers. There is an element of surprise obtained when a new song catches your attention; and college radio stations have long been the source of alternative and eclectic music from all genres. There is no telling where radio will go, as it is affected by so many other factors. However, we can only hope that “college” style radio will continue to exist.

To read the entire article click here.

This Week in Digital Media

In a recent study of online media listenership, eMarketing determined that 37.5% of US internet users ages 12 and older will listen to online content at a weekly basis this year.  These numbers rose to 44.7% when calculated on a monthly basis.  While much of this is attributed to the growing number of consumers with smartphones and data plans, there is evidence that music listeners are turning to online broadcasts to satisfy their listening needs.  Showing steady growth in listenership, eMarketing estimates that by 2015 as many as 68% of internet users will be tuned in to an online broadcast of some kind.  

With the rise of listenership, the amount of advertising has also increased making online radio advertising nearly a 1 billion dollar industry annually.  Though nowhere near the size of terrestrial radio advertising, online radio ad space will continue to increase in value as more listeners tune in.  

We have seen in the past few years the effect the internet has had on print media.  The ability for consumers to attain information faster, cheaper, and even automatically has diminished the need for a hard copy paper in US households.  As a result, newspapers have cut their staff significantly, reduced news coverage overall, and continuously struggle to retain annual subscriptions.  In short, the internet has caused one of the most profitable businesses to crumble right in front of our eyes.  To combat the recent struggles, publications like the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have adopted an online payment system to obtain dividends from print material online.  However, the general consumer has grown accustomed to getting their news for free, and in some cases, these pay-for-read schemes have backfired. 

This begs the question: With many bold predictions regarding digital media, combined with the recent changes to print media, what are the possible outcomes to the future of radio? 

To read the full eMarketing article, click here.