Quote:
Originally posted by Rick and Roll
I guess I really don't listen enough.
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Bingo. As someone who got his BS in Mass Media Communication and worked in radio for four years before being bought by Conglomerate Evil Radio Empire USA and replaced by a satellite feed, I think I can respond with a "somewhat" intelligent explanation . Rick said he doesn't listen enough to truly be annoyed. Obviously, people who listen for hours each day will hear these things repeated a lot, but folks who don't get to listen much might not. That is the rationale. A programmer knows he's got the regulars. He want's to make sure EVERYONE knows. It's is called "the Parsimony Principle" in TV and radio, which is a long thing to explain, but I'll do it if anyone cares to read it (just let me know).
Secondly, due to the parsimony principle, one thing consumers (people who listen, myself included) don't realize is that they play a lot less than is percieved. The average on AM to the best of my knowledge is that the computer inserts a promo, from a seperate folder than the music, once every six or seven songs. A nice example of how this happens is that occasionally people call radio stations asking them to "quit playing Song X to death! I hear it three times a day!" Yet, often, they are shocked to be told the station dropped the song two weeks ago! You know that initial 2 minute announcement about BrainRock, the one telling you to buy headphones that look like earmuffs? It's been off the station for five days (as of July 4th), but I'll bet many of you could have sworn that you heard it three times already today. That's the way the Parsimony Principle works. Ya'll probably don't realize it, buy AM plays about 56 to 57 minutes of music per hour, as opposed to the 40 to 45 on broadcast radio.
But, occasionally I've noticed that 4 or 5 promos will play in a row. I don't know why (ask Avian), but I agree that that is quite annoying.
While I can't speak for the other shows, I plan on changing my promos every week, promoting that week's show. I have a standard promotional bed I made which is the "bookends" of the promo, and I'll change out the song's it's promoting each week. It is exactly 60 seconds long. Right now there are four BrainRock promos on AM (3 for the week's show and one general one announcing the playtimes). Yes, there are a lot of BrainRock ones because it's a new show, and this will decrease (on my end anyway) once the show is firmly in people's minds. The promoting of the week's show will drop from 3 to 1 or 2, depending on the week. I'm also playing with some 30 second spot ideas instead of 60.
In fact, the ideal is to have many, many, many more promos, about 50, in fact (for the whole station, not for BrainRock). But the frequency doesn't change. Right now there are a total of 12 promos and station IDs. They repeat "so often." Increase that number to 50, but the frequency of plays is the same, and you hear each one much less. Secondly, you change about 10 a month (Add ten, delete ten). The average listener never notices what ten are gone, but then one day they just notice that a certain one is suddenly gone.
Also, and this may get me in trouble from bosses, but I think they need to be short. AM isn't corporate radio charging for airtime, so the promos and IDs don't have to be exactly 30 sec or 60 sec, I do think 60 should be max.
So, while I can't speak for Avian, I doubt very seriously that promos will stop. But I do think the frequency of how often they play could be cut in a third or even half. But that's an Avian decision.
Does that make any sense? Do you care? Do you just want them to stop, or would you rather they change frequently enough you never got too sick of one?
Yesspaz, a man with no actual power to do anything one way or the other, signing off...