[Dixielandjazz] Playing what's popular with listeners.

[Steve Barbone]

Perhaps this points to why trad bands might play a good mix of the better
known tunes, (Saints, Hello Dolly, DYKWIMTMNO, etc.) in addition to the more
eclectic ones. Below article excerpted.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone


Radio¹s Newest Strategy: Play a Hit, Again and Again

NY TIMES - By JEFF LEEDS -December 1, 2007

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 30 ‹ For the millions of Americans who listened to Top 40
radio last week, it was almost impossible to miss ³Apologize,² the
string-tinged elegy performed by the modern rock band OneRepublic and
remixed by the eclectic producer Timbaland.

WIOQ-FM, a pop station in Philadelphia, played the song 123 times last week,
letting as little as 50 minutes tick by between repeat spins. And this
month, ³Apologize² broke the record for the most plays of a song on the
nation¹s Top 40 stations in a single week since computerized tracking began
in 1990. The song played more than 10,240 times in a week, reaching an
estimated audience of more than 70 million listeners, according to Nielsen
Broadcast Data Systems, an airplay monitoring service, and the chart-keepers
at Radio & Records, a music trade magazine. . .

It¹s also a sign of how radio stations are responding to the competition for
listeners as radio¹s audience fragments and rival entertainment choices
abound. While the overwhelming majority of Americans still tune into
traditional broadcast radio each week, they are listening less. And they are
increasingly drawn to the dizzying choices of music and other programming
available on iPods and satellite and Internet radio.

But many pop radio programmers appear keen to repeat the biggest hits as
much as ‹ or more than ‹ ever. ³Apologize² surpassed a record that had been
set only in July by Fergie¹s ³Big Girls Don¹t Cry,² according to the data.
Of the 10 songs that have notched the most plays in one week, 8 joined the
list in the last three years. And the oldest of the 10, Avril Lavigne¹s
³Complicated,² dates only to 2002. (The all-time most-played song across all
radio formats is Santana¹s ³Smooth,² with more than 1.1 million total plays
since it was released in 1999.)

Tom Owens, the executive vice president of content for Clear Channel
Communications, which is the nation¹s largest owner of radio stations and a
big influence in the Top 40 format, said that ³Apologize² deserved such
heavy airplay because it had received ³off the charts² results in listener
research testing, and added that the song is devoid of content that might
prompt more conservative pop stations to limit its airplay. . .

Even so, executives at some individual stations say they are playing hits
more heavily than they did even two years ago. That is not so much out of
concern over digital competition as it is a desire to respond to listeners¹
busy lives, said Kat Jensen, music director for KKMG-FM in Colorado Springs,
which played ³Apologize² 78 times last week. ³There¹s a very limited window.
If they¹re going to listen 15 minutes a day, you want to make sure they hear
their favorite song in that 15 minutes. It¹s really the fast-paced life
style that we all live.² . . .

For now, however, radio is regarded as the most powerful promotional tool
when it comes to exposing new music ‹ even if the connection between
popularity on the airwaves and popularity in record shops is not as direct
as it once was. . .

³Even though radio does seem like it¹s kind of an archaic behemoth, in terms
of actually being able to pay the bills, it¹s still one of the best ways,²
said Greg Wells, the longtime producer who oversaw ³Dreaming Out Loud.² ³