Death to Rotation (Long Live the DJ, Part I)

Perhaps the biggest complaint voiced about broadcast music radio stations in the U.S. is the practice of playing a narrow list of songs repeatedly.  Known as 'rotation', it's a staple of adult contemporary, contemporary hit radio, and urban contemporary programming at stations across the country.  A typical rotation might feature 40-60 songs -- including 10 or so that are the most recent releases from major record labels -- that are to be played over a 6 hour span.  The playlist itself may be sub-divided into 'new', 'current', 'oldie/classic', and 'recurrent' (a hit released within the past 6-12 months) sections, with 'current' songs receiving the most airplay.  Promotional efforts; e.g., ad buys, by record labels also influence which songs receive the most plays.  The commercialized aspects of radio promotion
and rotation are seen by many artists, music industry pros, and fans as de facto 'payola'; a breach of artistic ethics and an illegal act in broadcasting.  Nevertheless, radio stations employ rotation more today than at any point in history, rationalizing the practice as a reflection of satisfying listener demand.

I started in radio at a time when individual announcers had considerable influence over the music they broadcast over the air.  Disc jockeys (!) were the heartbeat of a music radio station; artists entrusted with introducing to the public new music acts and their releases consistent with the prevailing (if not vague) artistic standards of a given genre.  Top DJs knew their milieu upside down and inside out, aided by a network of record label owners, promoters, music venue operators, musicians, and fans.  It wasn't uncommon for a DJ to moonlight in nightclubs or by spinning for private parties.  The social contacts and extracurricular activity worked to develop the DJ's ear for gauging their audiences' preferences.  DJs who could tap into the public zeitgeist for anticipating or covering in-depth music audiences would embrace rewarded their stations with big ratings numbers.

Deregulation of the broadcast radio industry has eaten away at what was once the province of the DJ, reducing the role of today's on-air talent to that of talking head.  The emergence of corporate groups operating multiple stations in multiple markets triggered a generic comformity in music programming content corporate radio executives love, but music radio fans hate with a passion.  All the songs in a given station's rotation seemingly sound the same, regardless of the artist, as playlists are determined by the centralized division of a parent company.  Those songs deemed unsuitable for popular
consumption -- or whose artists/labels can't afford to buy enough ads to justify their entry into rotation -- receive no airplay.  The result is shallow playlists offering little by way of diversity or imagination.  As a parent company often owns or operates multiple stations in a market, the strategy is implemented at all their affiliates whereby the music across stations of supposedly different formats sounds remarkably similar.  Their effect upon radio's creativity and entertainment value is chilling.  Now when we tune in to our favorite music radio station not only do we hear the same rotation over and over again, the few songs in rotation are indistinguishable from one another.

Short of the FCC resurrecting strict limits on radio station ownership -- especially for a single market --  broadcasters face little pressure to innovate.  We're not likely to see a local origination requirement placed on radio broadcasters either, given the public's cavalier attitude toward the concept of public interest.   Modern broadcast radio executives and managers see their roles as selling proprietary time and space to content producers.  They aren't artists.  They aren't curators or patrons of music.  They continue to fight against paying performance royalties as do satcasters and webcasters (perhaps a moot point as nearly every broadcaster also streams their programming over the Internet for which they do pay performance royalties).  On-air talent has been reduced to 'labor'; disposable (and therefore inexpensive) human assets.  I seriously doubt today's commercial AM and FM music
stations will empower announcers or program directors to act as A&R reps or otherwise have much input in programming.

Still, it should be noted playlists serve a legitimate function, and formats, although at times hyper-segmented, have value to broadcasters, advertisers, content producers, and audiences.  Rotation, generally speaking, has its merits within the context of commercial radio.  My concern is the adverse effect narrow playlists featuring songs in rotation 4, 5, 6 times per day have upon creativity at AM
and FM music radio stations.  I'd like to see playlists at these radio stations expanded to include more local and indie music, and a reduction in the maximum number of spins  new or current hit songs receive.  I'd also like to see individual DJs be permitted more input and discretion in the songs
selected for airplay.

But maybe AM and FM music stations are on to something by focusing their programming at a large center mass.  There's a place in the music radio market for 'latest hits' programming.  Presuming I'm correct, it may explain satrad and web radio's emergence in the market as supplements to broadcast radio, rather than competitors.  In fact, much of Radio 2.0's branding of Internet and satellite radio emphasizes the greater content diversity delivered by those channels.  Web radio and satrad outlets serve up wider and deeper archives of music content; programs are often hosted by traditional DJs who are free to experiment with music from indie acts as well as probe niche formats in depth.  The result is a radio landscape that despite its quirks offers something for both casual music fans and enthusiasts.

AMPLIFY D.C.'s Airwaves Meetup

Join music lovers, entertainment professionals, neighborhood leaders, and entrepreneurs 2 p.m. Saturday February 2, 2013 @ Austin Grille, 919 Ellsworth Drive in Silver Spring, MD.  Support radio airplay for the music of DC, MD, and VA as an on-air host, small business member, or sponsor of AMPLIFY DC.  Income and ownership opportunities are available.

Call for Radio Hosts - Open Conference Call January 23, 2013

react Radio Network announces over 50 weekly 1-hour slots for on-air hosts of music and public affairs-themed radio programs with its Silver Spring, MD AM project.  No experience necessary; students are encouraged to apply.  Proposals for 'live', pre-recorded, and/or syndicated productions from:

• performing artists (incl. DJs, spoken word artists, and comedians)
• educators and schools
• activists
• journalists
• webcasters and Internet radio stations
• recording labels
• small businesses & entrepreneurs
• event promoters

representing the communities of Greater Washington, D.C. will be given top consideration.

 

Time slots will be reserved on a first-come basis.  On-air hosts will be required to participate in the station's membership campaigns, but will be permitted the option to use their shows for fundraising on behalf of charitable causes, or for commercial purposes to earn income from 3rd-party sponsorships and/or promotional agreements. 

The conference call is scheduled for 9 p.m. Wednesday January 23, 2013.  The conference's phone number is (305) 848-8888; enter 6252883374 as the code to enter the conference room.  In-person applications may be scheduled by clicking 'like' on react Radio Network's Facebook page and the 'Call for Radio Hosts' blogpost, or by leaving your full name and e-mail address in the 'comments' section below.

10 Thoughts: WPFW

Once again tensions have boiled to the surface among listeners, announcers, staff, and management over upcoming program changes announced for Washington's WPFW 89.3 FM.  The non-commercial station and long-time voice of 'jazz and justice' in D.C. has seemingly operated for years on the brink of collapse as its parent company -- the Pacifica Foundation -- asserted more influence over programming and operations with individual affiliates.  Pacifica's finances are also shaky for reasons I believe to be largely self-inflicted.  However, it's individuals actively involved with WPFW who are mostly responsible for the station's predicament.  As I write this op-ed, there are rival factions within the station defined by complex and sometimes overlapping racial and ideological lines busily circling their respective wagons in response to the latest changes.

I'm reluctant to take a side in this internecine squabble because a) people I know on both sides of the issue are making valid arguments, b) I don't have the authority or inclination to act as arbitrator or mediator, and c) first-hand experience with WPFW instructs me not to volunteer solutions for a hot mess.  Nevertheless, I've compiled a brief list of my initial reactions to the station's latest melodrama: 

• WPFW retains enough autonomy to address its challenges
• the station's culture is dysfunctional
• the amount of programming devoted to local issues continues to steadily and precipitously decline
• Pacifica appears to be making station policy contrary to its core principles
• the station's management and station board members lack imagination and nerve, if not tact
• station resources are vastly underutilized
• the new schedule's evening jazz programming is an improvement
• its listener base is aging, shrinking, and contributing less.
• many of WPFW's 'publics' (volunteers, listeners, artists, etc.) put personal agendas ahead of the best interests of the station or its community of license
• the ongoing strife at WPFW symbolizes in the U.S., 'public' stations aren't so public; 'progressive' media isn't always progressive.

Elect Your Favorite DMV Music Acts Into Fall 2012 Music Festival

The D.C. area's music fans have a novel opportunity to support their favorite local music acts this fall.  The Amplify Music Expo announces it will feature performances from the area's top 75 progressive music acts as determined by local fans' nominations during its month-long festival scheduled for October 2012.  Fans may nominate any DMV-based solo performing artist or group of the following genres:

• progressive rock
• jazz
• hip-hop
• neo-soul/R&B
• electronica
• world beat/reggae
• blues
• funk

simply by adding as much information as they have available on the performer; i.e, name, contact information, website, Facebook fan page, etc., to this thread.  Amplify will then contact the performers to coordinate their inclusion in the expo.  No purchase is required.  The expo asks fans to limit their individual number of nominations to 10 and list 1 performer/nominee per entry, but the use of more than one of the 10 nominations on a single performer is acceptable.

Nominations will be accepted until September 15, 2012. 

The Demise of 'Black' Radio?

A meme lamenting the demise of 'Black' radio is presently circulating through the Afrosphere with the announcement Disney is switching the format of WRKS-FM (a.k.a., "98.7 KISS" to New Yorkers) from urban contemporary to sports talk.  In what some are billing as a "merger", 98.7 KISS' long-time UC rival, WBLS-FM, is hiring some of the former's announcers to fill time slots presumably occupied at the present time by WBLS employees.  One notable casualty of the format switch is Tom Joyner's syndicated morning show. 

The reaction I've seen from African-American media pundits has been predictably apocalyptic, if not a bit melodramatic.  Paul Porter, a radio industry veteran who maintains the blogs RapRehab and Industry Ears,  suggested on Facebook WRKS' format switch as another log added to 'Black' radio's funeral pyre.  My initial response was ambivalence: 98.7 KISS isn't owned by African-Americans, therefore "we" aren't losing anything of substance.  I wanted to say if by 'Black' radio is a station, regardless of its ownership, that features content aimed at a predominantly Af-Am audience, then 'Black' gets reduced to a fashion statement subject to change on a whim.

Several people weighed in on Porter's thread attributing this development to several factors, including syndication, commercialism, and deregulation.  While all those factors (and others) collectively explain the current, non-competitive state of radio today -- including 'Black' radio -- I question whether a given station's format change by itself is a reliable reference point for measuring the presence of Af-Ams in the radio industry.  It's no exaggeration to state Af-Ams are underrepresented in every aspect of the radio industry.  However, relative to 1980 (to pick a year) and earlier, there are more Af-Ams working as talent, clerical staff, and managers; more Af-Ams are owners of radio stations and network groups than at any point in American history.  Af-Am professionals are dispersed throughout the industry with companies of various sizes.  Additionally, Af-Am-themed content and content created by Af-Am artists is being increasingly assimilated into the programming of other radio formats, i.e.; adult contemporary, Top 40, CHR, etc.  These facts suggest something contrary to 'Black' radio's demise is underway. 

I submit this slow assimilation of Af-Ams and Af-Am culture into so-called 'mainstream' radio is a net positive and represents not only the class' expansion into the industry, but an opportunity for Af-Am entrepreneurs and investors to make the leap beyond ethnocapitalism.  Perhaps the conventional model for what Porter and others call 'Black' radio has become an anachronism, and therefore requires a new, more accurate definition by which the state of the industry can be judged.  It should be noted that WBLS' ownership has transferred from the Af-Am-owned Inner City Broadcasting to a group including Magic Johnson -- who, the last time I checked, is African-American.  Even Radio One has taken steps to diversify its outlets' programming to offer rock and all-news formats.  I expect as Johnson's group adds to its portfolio of radio stations and other media properties, his participation alone will come to represent the archetype for 'Black' radio moving forward in time.  I'd like to see industry professionals like Porter lend their talents and expertise to this evolution by actively participating in organizational efforts that can become the basis for a new, proper 'Black' radio vanguard.

I'm skeptical whether this type of activism is forthcoming from the armchair pundits and those others protesting the loudest.  However... hope springs eternal.

Call for Submissions - Cool Worldwide Radio

Cool Worldwide Radio and React Radio Network are now accepting submissions for airplay from music artists throughout the Washington-Baltimore region. Rock, Jazz, Funk, Neo-Soul, Hip-Hop, Blues & World Beat music accepted; re-issues and out-of-print recordings OK. Albums and singles are acceptable in CD Audio and/or .mp3 format. Send an e-mail for more information on promoting your next album release or reserving performance space.

MP3 singles less than 4.5Mbps may be forwarded by e-mail. Please include your contact information, i.e.; full name, name of act (if different), phone number, mailing address, etc., with your submission. Please forward CDs -- singles and albums -- with your contact information to:

Cool Worldwide Radio
c/o 4415 39th Place
N. Brentwood, MD 20722.

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