TV vs Radio

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I was going to post this as a comment on the Aly and AJ thread but I thought I'd give it its own post. I have to admit this is founded not at all in any kind of fact! Anyway here is my theory:

If yr a radio playlister or researcher your main desire is to stop people switching over: a lot of people stick to a single radio station and don't channel hop much so if someone switches over or off you might not get them back for a while. Video channels are far more accepting of switching, because TV users channel hop more.

So imagine songs being scored on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning "awful, would switch off/over", 5 meaning "terrific, would stop channel-hopping if I found it", and 2-4 being various degrees of like/dislike which cause no immediate behavioural reaction. Obviously you want the songs on your playlist to have as high an average score among your listeners as possible. But on radio you want to minimise the 1-scorers, and on video channels you want to maximise the 5 scorers. If a song like Aly and AJ has 2/3 "5" and 1/3 "1" reactions, it will have a higher average score than a song with all "3"s but will be a much bigger risk for a radio station.

And I think Aly & AJ IS that kind of song - the way it starts so breathlessly, it's in-yr-face with its poppiness and if you dislike teenpop in general I'd guess you'll find that less palatable than "Gimme More" or "About You Now". So even beyond the demographics there's a reason why it might hit on video and not radio.

Speaking of demographics, I guess Radio 1 and other stations must have a very firm idea about what age people start listening to radio regularly, and I would imagine that average age is getting nearer and nearer to the age they start driving. I get the impression that Radio 1 has basically given up on yr actual kids, which makes them much less likely to take a chance on something with kid appeal.

Comments

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

(Avril got to number 2 officially, but we'll let you off!)

[koganbot]

Wiki lied!

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

It did. I'm changing it now.

[koganbot]

It also lists "Potential Breakup Song" under the wrong Tim James. It's actually (or probably) this guy, who's listed in the Tim James disambiguation page as "musician," as opposed to the wrong one, who's listed as a "songwriter." (BMI's website isn't loading right, or I could link you to the correct info, if you're in the mood to make a change on Wiki. The correct Tim James is also called Timothy James Price, and worked with Antonina Armato on Hoku's "How Do I Feel" and "Another Dumb Blonde" prior to their working with Aly & A.J. The incorrect Tim James is also called Timothy James Auringer, and seems to be somewhat older.)(And half the time the people on Wiki get Antonina Armato's name wrong, calling her "Antonia" or "Antonio.") (I know, I could change them myself, but I've never tried to edit on Wiki.)

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Ah, good old BMI. They never cause us any problems at work unlike some societies (YES that means YOU, APRA, and your rubbish website). If I started updating songwriters on wiki I'd be there all blimmin day :)