Saving Commercial Radio From Itself
ATTENTION COMMERCIAL RADIO PROGRAMMERS AND MUSIC DIRECTORS:
If you’re looking for a surefire way to bolster your sagging ratings and stave off the full frontal assault on your medium by the Pandoras and Spotifys of the world, ADD MY NEW RECORD TO YOUR PLAYLISTS NOW!
No, I’m not arrogant enough to believe that my album alone could save us from commercial radio’s otherwise eminent demise. But it seems clear that a potent injection of fresh sounds would help lure back listeners who have turned to programming their own iPods or wandered down the dial to community radio in an effort to escape the monotonous repetition of mainstream terrestrial radio.
Two decades of mercurial technological advances are inspiring more great artists to create incredible music in their homes, on their laptops and (gasp!) on their cellphones. Still commercial radio playlists get shorter and shorter. Why?
Consider the tweet below as shared on Facebook by Steve Heath of Alma Artist Booking and Management:
And after the recent decision by US and EU regulators, we’re down to three major record labels. That means a shrinking number of corporate executives will exercise greater control over the music we’re force-fed by mainstream media outlets. As our information and entertainment pie grows, a few mega-companies are slicing up ever larger slices with the intent of stuffing consumer faces with more junk food media.
That’s bad news for those of us who turn on the news because we want to know what’s happening in the world, and who turn on the radio when we want to hear music that satisfies our souls.