Radio is the problem with Pop

[HausOfNicole 177]

I completely agree and this one of the few well thoughtout post I've read here in a while. I think the root of the problem though is the industry itself. Pop radio has always followed the safe trends or played whatever they were paid to play.

The problem is few pop artist are willing to take the risk in search of the "hit". Radio wouldn't be able to play the same kinds of music over and over if there was more artistic integrity and more natural variety in sound and style. 

[Cerny 4,270]

Radio is a business, therefore they have to make money, why would the put refreshing new exciting music, when they know pretty damn well that pop song #986097835509 with the same sound as the previous one works the best for them? They're not willing to risk it, and that will never stop because the masses like it that way, it's pretty tricky, really.

[FlopSlurper 34,336]

35 minutes ago, Mr Ricky said:

Well you haven't heard the radio in Holland yet.   TRA-GIC. 

This 3423424 times  

[The Surrealist 27,470]

44 minutes ago, Mr Ricky said:

Well you haven't heard the radio in Holland yet.   TRA-GIC. 

Or Germany.

[StrawberryBlond 14,819]

It's also partly because the public don't want to hear music from anyone who isn't established or isn't "relevant" or "cool," so radio reflects that. It pains me to think that Gaga could be missing out on radio play because the stations view her as too old, seeing as there are barely any 30 year olds charting high. Radio would happily have played PI if someone younger and more current had released it. It's a sad fact I'm realising that a similar sounding song can be denied for superficial reasons. It's very biased and unfair.

Thing is, radio can get it wrong. When Robbie Williams put out his single, Candy, a UK station refused to play it (despite Robbie being massively successful in this country for years) because they deemed him too old and that their listeners don't find him relevant anymore. The song ended up going to #1, making it his first UK #1 in 8 years. Radio doesn't know everything.

[i medici 1,746]

56 minutes ago, Mr Ricky said:

Well you haven't heard the radio in Holland yet.   TRA-GIC. 

i agree, but stations like 3fm do really encourage new talent and upcoming artists. 

[evgenigerm2 4,056]

Bulgarian radio plays 90s hits + few (not more than 5) dance hits that are popular right now (and that's never Gaga or someone I care about) 24/7 

[FMB 465]

1 hour ago, HausOfNicole said:

I completely agree and this one of the few well thoughtout post I've read here in a while. I think the root of the problem though is the industry itself. Pop radio has always followed the safe trends or played whatever they were paid to play.

The problem is few pop artist are willing to take the risk in search of the "hit". Radio wouldn't be able to play the same kinds of music over and over if there was more artistic integrity and more natural variety in sound and style. 

I blame the producers. When there are a select number of go-to producers that pop acts work with then it's natural that music becomes the homogenized, unimaginative garbage that litters radio.

There's also the fact that radio spin numbers are ridiculous. Who wants to hear the same crappy song played multiple times in 1 hour when some songs struggle to even get played once per day. It's even worse when you flip between stations and multiple stations are playing the same song at the same time. The disparity between the spins in the different tiers is a mess.

[DeanWinchester 41,390]

We have objective proof. Several monsters requested PI in Toronto and it barely made impact. Radios weren't willing to support the song. The problem is, without radio, only streaming can support an artist and even in streaming Gaga isn't a force.

[HausOfNicole 177]

5 hours ago, FMB said:

I blame the producers. When there are a select number of go-to producers that pop acts work with then it's natural that music becomes the homogenized, unimaginative garbage that litters radio.

There's also the fact that radio spin numbers are ridiculous. Who wants to hear the same crappy song played multiple times in 1 hour when some songs struggle to even get played once per day. It's even worse when you flip between stations and multiple stations are playing the same song at the same time. The disparity between the spins in the different tiers is a mess.

 

But again those same producers are used because the artist themselves are in search of that "Hit" sound. I still stand with the idea it's up the pop artist themselves to have some integrity and say no and gain a definitive sound. Radio does what it is told, which why streaming is so big, it gives control to the listener.

[Gardevoir 9,820]

8 hours ago, Mr Ricky said:

Well you haven't heard the radio in Holland yet.   TRA-GIC. 

I'm sure there is nothing more tragic than radio in Poland. 

[Boyboi12 2,125]

Do people really still listen to the radio 

[telephonez 20]

This is so true, I agree with everything you said. Radio have singlehandedly destroyed peoples knowledge / taste in music because all they play is **** all the time. I am over hearing "Side to Side" millions of times a day, and that friggin song "Closer" IS SUCH TRASH.

 

They never play Lana, Florence, Marina, Gaga, Grimes or anybody who actually makes decent music. They barely even play the greats like Bowie, Michael, Madonna etc.

I wish radio wasn't run by big business because they make music soulless for people and only care about big names.

[Seeka 12,372]

I think it also depends on the force and strength of the artist as well. Utada may have been away from the music industry for a while, but when she released Fantome it was one of the highest sold albums in the world when it was released. However, Utada is an artist from before the digital age of music. I mean the digital age of music started a long time ago, however, it wasn't until now the digital age of music was strong.

But Utada overcame this and her album has sold a lot more than expected, and also, this Japanese album has already outsold her English albums in America.

With American pop radio, I do think a lot of it is multiple problems that make up a larger bigger problem. Producers, radio stations, there is not just one person we can blame.

[Ronk 14,762]

jitterbug

When was the last time you heard the jitterbug, the Can-Can, or the Charleston?  Music styles go out of favor.  The possibility exists that pop music will someday die on the vine, a long time from now.