Radio Re-Remixed
Idolator pointed me towards an interesting story in the Chicago Reader (I'd point ya to it too, but Blogger's not letting me do links right now for some reason) about a local radio stations decision to play pirated internet leaks of the new White Stripes new album leading to a bitchy phone call from none other than Jack White himself. The comments from Radio station's music director were a sad lament about radio's behind the curve status. I think the most poignant quote from the piece is this.
"Say a record leaks and kids are passing it around on the Internet for two weeks. [Record labels] still want me to talk about the world premiere broadcast I'm gonna do. And you wonder why people listening to the radio don't think of us as a source of new music anymore. They're getting it before we are."
There's been more than a few of these sorts of articles over the past few iPod-ruled years, as the MP3 has very quickly made anachronisms out of the album, radio, and even record labels themselves (everybody clap your hands and say yeah!). But for all the doom and gloom these articles evince at the day the music died, there's a simple question that can put it all into perspective? Do you listen to the radio? According to these articles, the modern music lover doesn't need or want to. They listen to CDs or iTunes or internet radio. If those are the preferred method of listening to new music, then why should anyone care if something they don't need or want to listen to goes under? The only thing I can think of is that, despite it's falling status as the leading source for discovering new music, it is still the leading source for discovering new music. Most people in America didn't hear about Gnarls Barkley from an MP3 blog. Although it sounds silly, even a band like Broken Social Scene probably would have sold quite a few more records if your No. 1 source for new music had played Anthems For a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl a thousand mjavascript:void(0)ore times than they did (which was zero). Even if people don't like the songs on the radio, their incessant repitition at least makes them recognizable to most people. But, as this article makes clear, diversifying playlists just leads to the death knell for radio stations. That's because the only people left listening to the radio are only the most casual of music listeners. Which is why there are so many classic rock stations on your dial.
In any case, the mainstream success of bands should be of the least concern to a music listener. The new Spoon album may or may not crossover to the casual music listener, but if it doesn't that doesn't mean you don't get to listen to Spoon anymore. There is a bit of an incentive for movie lovers to hope their favorite directors score a hit. Movies are so expensive to make that anything that gets their directors to another movie is welcome. But even the most obnoxious, tuneless person can record their ultimate double album on their computer at home and distribute it internationally over the internet. They may not find success, but they can get their music heard. And the impression that most music writers give off is that they don't want their favorite bands to be successful, as any person who has seen their favorite small band succeed only to lose themselves in the mass of backward ball-capped idiots at the next concert.
So there will be no sobbing from me the next I hear of a modern rock radio station folding or a modern hit radio station switching to talk radio. If I don't listen to it, I can't mourn it. I do turn the dial in my car from NPR and the college station occasionally to other formats. And that's fine with me. Cars are already implementing iPod connection slots into their radios. It's only a matter of time before your car will be able to wirelessly connect to your computer and you'll be able to download music directly to your dashboard.
"Say a record leaks and kids are passing it around on the Internet for two weeks. [Record labels] still want me to talk about the world premiere broadcast I'm gonna do. And you wonder why people listening to the radio don't think of us as a source of new music anymore. They're getting it before we are."
There's been more than a few of these sorts of articles over the past few iPod-ruled years, as the MP3 has very quickly made anachronisms out of the album, radio, and even record labels themselves (everybody clap your hands and say yeah!). But for all the doom and gloom these articles evince at the day the music died, there's a simple question that can put it all into perspective? Do you listen to the radio? According to these articles, the modern music lover doesn't need or want to. They listen to CDs or iTunes or internet radio. If those are the preferred method of listening to new music, then why should anyone care if something they don't need or want to listen to goes under? The only thing I can think of is that, despite it's falling status as the leading source for discovering new music, it is still the leading source for discovering new music. Most people in America didn't hear about Gnarls Barkley from an MP3 blog. Although it sounds silly, even a band like Broken Social Scene probably would have sold quite a few more records if your No. 1 source for new music had played Anthems For a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl a thousand mjavascript:void(0)ore times than they did (which was zero). Even if people don't like the songs on the radio, their incessant repitition at least makes them recognizable to most people. But, as this article makes clear, diversifying playlists just leads to the death knell for radio stations. That's because the only people left listening to the radio are only the most casual of music listeners. Which is why there are so many classic rock stations on your dial.
In any case, the mainstream success of bands should be of the least concern to a music listener. The new Spoon album may or may not crossover to the casual music listener, but if it doesn't that doesn't mean you don't get to listen to Spoon anymore. There is a bit of an incentive for movie lovers to hope their favorite directors score a hit. Movies are so expensive to make that anything that gets their directors to another movie is welcome. But even the most obnoxious, tuneless person can record their ultimate double album on their computer at home and distribute it internationally over the internet. They may not find success, but they can get their music heard. And the impression that most music writers give off is that they don't want their favorite bands to be successful, as any person who has seen their favorite small band succeed only to lose themselves in the mass of backward ball-capped idiots at the next concert.
So there will be no sobbing from me the next I hear of a modern rock radio station folding or a modern hit radio station switching to talk radio. If I don't listen to it, I can't mourn it. I do turn the dial in my car from NPR and the college station occasionally to other formats. And that's fine with me. Cars are already implementing iPod connection slots into their radios. It's only a matter of time before your car will be able to wirelessly connect to your computer and you'll be able to download music directly to your dashboard.
posted by Jesse @ 11:23 PM
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