Billboard: Veterans Struggling on Pop Radio

[DiscoHeaven23 35,007]

I like that Billboard is touching upon this, cuz sometimes I feel like it's my over-critical stan mind creating my perceptions. But yeah, Billboard wrote a great article on how veteran acts are having a really hard time succeeding like they used to on pop radio. Some are referring to it as a turnover in pop's core artists, like has happened in decades past. 

 

Take aways:

- Billboard says that there's a lack of concensus now between what moms and daughters can enjoy together on radio. It states that the "turbo pop" era of the late '00s and early '10s was a time when moms and daughters agreed on their music tastes. Now data suggests that daughters are shifting towards liking more R&B/urban sounds, while moms still like pop. This is creating somewhat of a shift on radio, with so much uncertainty. 

 

- Mentions that Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift, P!nk, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga have had trouble with pop radio lately

-On Katy and P!nk:

Were listeners unwilling to accept social commentary from Katy Perry or P!nk? Would they have been any kinder to more "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)"-type frivolity, when that's in short supply anywhere at top 40?

 

- On Justin 

 the reaction to "Filthy" shows that not everybody was ready for Timberlake to bring edgy back, either.

 

- Mention how the Chainsmokers' last three songs have failed on radio (which, they point out because The Chainsmokers aren't veterans)

 

- They make a point that these veteran artists have been releasing TOO much before their album releases. Before the 2010's, artists almost always used to only release one song before an album release. Billboard makes the argument that now artists create an image for themselves like they're scrambling to get a hit by releasing multiple songs before an album release. Points out that Taylor, Justin and Katy all did this. 

As radio grappled with "Filthy," suddenly there was "Supplies" at rhythmic radio. Then "Say Something," which gave pop programmers the further confidence to cut bait on "Filthy." Katy Perry had gone through three Pop Songs entries by the time Witness was released. Last time around, the pre-release tracks had included "Dark Horse," which later took hold as the real hit from PRISM (other than "Roar"; both topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Pop Songs). This time, it created a sense that an act was scrambling.

 

 

- Billboard says first day "on the hour" plays could be killing songs potential success. After a listener hears the song multiple times in a day, Billboard thinks that its causing the listener to decide then and there wether they like the song or not and it's not allowing people to let the song grow on them as time goes on. The evidence to support this is that after Taylor's LWYMMD past its peak on radio, radio programmers started to see that there was more interest in the song as time went on, but it was already being pulled from radio to focus on Ready For It. 

 

- Radio programmers really WANT to play these major acts discussed above, but long-term can really only do so if the song matches the current trends (i.e):

Of the acts under discussion, there's seemingly nobody that radio doesn't want to play. That's why they get first-day premieres. Top 40 resisted Lady Gaga's sonic stretches with "Perfect Illusion" and "Million Reasons." But major-market top 40 jumped eagerly at "The Cure," more clearly an attempt to give radio the type of song it favors now. And even though that didn't ultimately become a consensus hit either, some stations like WHTZ (Z100) New York held on to "The Cure" long enough for it to become a hit well after its chart peak.

 

 

 

 

Source: https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8307587/veteran-pop-acts-struggle-airplay-radio-charts-column?utm_source=twitter&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral

[LePetitGAGABLover 21,234]

What kind of overanalyzing? DWUW's success proves that you only need a catchy song to make it sell well. Neither of these "veterans" have done this in years. Katy's songs for example are not pop friendly, Justin's and Pink's songs are too noisy and hurt the human ears, and, well, ..... country doesn't seem to sell well nowadays. 

[DelusionalGaga 29,580]

Isn't that natural though? Pop radio has always played only what's new and trendy. Back in 2009/2010 Gaga had plenty of radioplay with JD/PF/BR but the veterans of that time probably struggled to get their songs played. Now Gaga is a veteran herself and the radio prefers to play other, fresh artists. This is just further proof that no one can be on top forever 

[Damon 10,904]

13 minutes ago, LePetitMonstr said:

What kind of overanalyzing? DWUW's success proves that you only need a catchy song to make it sell well. Neither of these "veterans" have done this in years. Katy's songs for example are not pop friendly, Justin's and Pink's songs are too noisy and hurt the human ears, and, well, ..... country doesn't seem to sell well nowadays. 

um, dwuw wasn't quite succesful though, it just had a great chart debut and a good run, it got platinum which is good

katy is pop friendly

 

[TeenIdle 126,596]

And yet those artists sell records unlike others whose album sales consist of 80% streaming 

[ArtGagaPop 61,940]

Nice article, also this shows it isn't just gaga struggeling to have a big radio hit like some peope act like , but almost everyone from her era. Atleast HAC/AC radio were big supporters of both MR and the cure, i think gaga should focus more on those stations then pop these days. 

[Shadow 6,632]

Times and tastes change, it happens. It isn't like the older faves will disappear, but as demographics and trends change, so will music. Just look at the last 30-40 years...

[GypsyBabe 22,836]

Seems like an obvious analysis of a phenomenon that regularly happens.