Broadcast Radio Going Away, Streaming and Podcast Subbing

[TRC]

the bean counters that steered toward Automation don't really CARE what we think. It's only minimally concerned with the music, and not concerned with the DJs - its solely concerned with the revenue stream. As long as the revenue continues, they aren't concerned with cheap sloppy radio because they are NOT PROFESSIONALS. I don't like it, but its how its been for quite a while.
Why don't you understand that?

Who says I don't understand that? I understand it more than you realize. Used to, the jocks had a voice in what was played. Now.. they don't. The suits rely on computer statistics. Used to, I could play pretty much whatever I wanted.. as long as I didn't break format. Incidentally, the sloppy automated stations I'm referring to are Cumulus, iHeart and Cox. Especially Cumulus. That's probably one reason Cumulus and iHeart are in bankruptcy. One Cumulus station I know of.. a three tower array, has had one tower on the ground now for months! Everything went south when Cumulus bought it. It was a very popular 50kw powerhouse. Oh no, I understand all to well. I say give the jocks an outline and let them program the station. They'll have more listeners and higher revenue. Some stations don't even have PDs anymore! No wonder the industry is in trouble.

 

[GChief]

Who says I don't understand that? I understand it more than you realize. Used to, the jocks had a voice in what was played. Now.. they don't. The suits rely on computer statistics. Used to, I could play pretty much whatever I wanted.. as long as I didn't break format. Incidentally, the sloppy automated stations I'm referring to are Cumulus, iHeart and Cox. Especially Cumulus. That's probably one reason Cumulus and iHeart are in bankruptcy. One Cumulus station I know of.. a three tower array, has had one tower on the ground now for months! Everything went south when Cumulus bought it. It was a very popular 50kw powerhouse. Oh no, I understand all to well. I say give the jocks an outline and let them program the station. They'll have more listeners and higher revenue. Some stations don't even have PDs anymore! No wonder the industry is in trouble.

But the title of your thread is the answer to what your bitchin and moaning about. It’s not going to change... like I tell my 80 yr old father, evolve or get left behind.

 

[Guest159]

Or maybe tune into your local LPFM. Yes, thank you Bill Clinton . Him and his TelCom Act of 1996. Before that, a station owner could own two stations. Only two. Then Clinton enacted this monopoly crap and shot the entire radio industry straight south. iHeart (Clear Channel), Cumulus, Cox, Citadel.. it's now all a monopoly. I remember when TelCom96 was enacted.. corporations came in here and bought up stations left and right. Pretty much overnight.. there was nothing to listen to. It's all the same thing.. and all garbage. Every station sounds alike. All up and down the dial.

The only low power FM station near me is the university station and their equipment is so bad the noise floor is up around 40dB. If that not bad enough, they only play classical and the most obscure segments of NPR.

 

[hjames]

I think that has always been the case with stuff on the radio. Look at all the 50’s and 60’ pop, its all the same and safe.
But I have rarely been a fan of stuff that actually makes it on the radio. Not saying it’s not any good just not seeing how it’s any different.

did you see the musical guest on SNL yesterday - Nathaniel Rateliff - I swear there were strong traces of "The Band" in their performance.
During the second song he even channeled Levon Helm, I mean, often the SNL artists have a trace of Rap or hiphop to them, big in NY and the target audience is younger than me,
- but they have been diverging lately. Last week's artist Phoebe Bridgers' first song was a kind of mumbly whiney Emo bit, but during her second song she
started screaming like Yoko and then started bashing the monitor speaker with her guitar like Pete Townshend! She didn't break it much - but it's pretty freaky watching
someone young channel Pete!
'Course lately I have been getting into a latin trio from Costa Rica named "Editus" - Kind of a latin/jazz fusion band, no vocals on the early stuff from 94-97,
but nice smokey instrumental tracks from what I've heard so far. Reminds me of the celtic new agey/fusion band Night Noise on Wyndham Hill. (search for Editus on Qobuz).
There is so much good music out there post 1980 - you know, you just have to have someone share a name to get you looking ...

 

[GChief]

did you see the musical guest on SNL yesterday - Nathaniel Rateliff - I swear there were strong traces of "The Band" in their performance.
During the second song he even channeled Levon Helm, I mean, often the SNL artists have a trace of Rap or hiphop to them, big in NY and the target audience is younger than me,
- but they have been diverging lately. Last week's artist Phoebe Bridgers first song was kind of the usual mumbly whiney Emo Artist, but during her second song she
started screaming like Yoko and then started bashing the monitor speaker with her guitar like Pete Townshend! She didn't break it much - but it's pretty freaky watching
someone young channel Pete!
'Course lately I have been getting into a latin trio from Costa Rica named "Editus" - Kind of a latin/jazz fusion band, no vocals on the early stuff from 94-97,
but nice smokey instrumental tracks from what I've heard so far. Reminds me of the celtic new agey/fusion band Night Noise on Wyndham Hill. (search for Editus on Qobuz).
There is so much good music out there post 1980 - you know, you just have to have someone share a name to get you looking ...

Thanks for the name drops Heather, I will check them out! I do not watch much SNL anymore

But you realize I will be taking a chance checking them out since there hasn’t been any good music made for decades

 

[oblomov]

But you realize I will be taking a chance checking them out since there hasn’t been any good music made for decades

Yes, GChief, why are you wasting your time? Just bust out that trusty Buddy Holly greatest hits record and enjoy. Or play Don McLean's American Pie again and sing along.

 

[GChief]

Yes, GChief, why are you wasting your time? Just bust out that trusty Buddy Holly greatest hits record and enjoy. Or play Don McLean's American Pie again and sing along.

Have you read the whole thread?
you do realize that was sarcasm right

 

[oblomov]

Um, perhaps you are not getting mine?

 

[GChief]

Um, perhaps you are not getting mine?

Ok, just checking your really didn’t want me to choke my way thru that crap

 

[hjames]

Thanks for the name drops Heather, I will check them out! I do not watch much SNL anymore
But you realize I will be taking a chance checking them out since there hasn’t been any good music made for decades

We don't watch much network TV either - but The TIVO is set for SNL, and we kind of buzz through it sunday.
Frankly, we give most musical guests a minute or two and if it doesn't appeal to us, there is the FFWD button.
I also record Austin City Limits and a few other things - Heck, there was a nice documentary on Quincy Jones on Netflix the other night.
What a career arc- from arranging for Frank Sinatra, a bunch of movie soundtracks, producing Michael Jackson's big albums,
work with Chick Corea and a ton of others - just amazing! Also saw a ZZ Top documentary the other day - the early days of the band were interesting,
but the film kind of ended at the MTV era with Eliminator - and that's a long time ago!

 

[GChief]

We don't watch much network TV either - but The TIVO is set for SNL, and we kind of buzz through it sunday.
Frankly, we give most musical guests a minute or two and if it doesn't appeal to us, there is the FFWD button.
I also record Austin City Limits and a few other things - Heck, there was a nice documentary on Quincy Jones on Netflix the other night.
What a career arc- from arranging for Frank Sinatra, a bunch of movie soundtracks, producing Michael Jackson's big albums,
work with Chick Corea and a ton of others - just amazing! Also saw a ZZ Top documentary the other day - the early days of the band were interesting,
but the film kind of ended at the MTV era with Eliminator - and that's a long time ago!

Same here 99% of our watching is some kind of steaming, I do lots-o-documentaries

 

[HeadAlign]

There is still a ton of great, broadcast radio. But it's not on the mega watt, corporate stations that are the loudest and clearest in whatever local area you live in. You have to start at the left of the dial and slowly move right in most cases. Most areas have at least one community, public, college, etc., station with at least a partial element of free form music programming. And, if you can't find it locally using your tuner/car radio, it's easy to find thousands of stations, world wide, online. Stations with real people playing real records(and cd's), who actually love music and dig deep to expose great artists of all genre's.
All you have to do is look.

I also grew up with the fascination of radio- now for the last few years I'm a volunteer DJ on 2 LP FMs in New Mexico- before Covid was doing live shows on both-now pre-recording 1 of those. I can play tracks from CDs, Vinyl, and downloaded files... I make up the playlist as I go, so no preplanning- true Freeform radio!
This is a fun way to check out many stations worldwide: http://radio.garden/search

 

[HeadAlign]

That's weird - I'm in Fairfax Virginia, Waaaay out of the over-the-air radiation pattern for Towson, MD (a suburb north of Baltimorrrrre)
- I have never seen that notice. And yes, when I drive to northern MD towards DEL or PA, I can hear them on my car radio.

Honestly, what are you trying to listen to them with?
I am not using any "online player" - Just tried with my work Laptop - in Windows 10.
I'm using the Chrome browser - https://wtmd.org/radio/listen-wtmd/
Also works fine in Safari or Chrome on my Macpro at home.

Came right up on laptop with Firefox/Linux 19.3 Thanks!

 

[TRC]

This is a fun way to check out many stations worldwide: http://radio.garden/search

I use this website.. it's very interesting.

 

[vwestlife]

Used to, the jocks had a voice in what was played. Now.. they don't.

That "used to" was a long time ago -- mostly before the Payola scandal of the late 1950s. In the 1960s there were DJs on Top 40 stations who got fired for refusing to play a song in the station's playlist that they hated.

And the Easy Listening stations that proliferated on FM back then were almost entirely automated, playing music in 15-minute blocks from reel-to-reel tapes that were sent to them from services like Schulke Radio Productions, and what the announcers said between playing those tapes was scripted. Read more about it here:

http://www.kratoville.com/jackjr/rise_and_fall.html

 

[HeadAlign]

This afternoon (Sat Feb 20) 2-4 PM MST on kupr.org is one of those shows...

 

[TRC]

One of the very few radio personalities still out there.. Broadway Bill Lee. Pretty cool.