Comments, Suggestions, Discussions > Lets have a Winge

What The Hell Is Wrong With Aussie Radio

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summercity:
Is it just me or has radio always been this bad.I know that i read somewhere that aussie radio only has to play a (very small) percentage of aussie music. Something between 2-5%. Unfortunately (with the exception of JJJ and a few others) they stick rigidly to this figure.

You know, the record companies talk about declining sales and blame it on people downloading music ..etc but could it possibly also be the fact that most people have just lost interest because all we are hearing on the radio is talkback and "HIP" stations playing crap from the USA.No one is interested in playing fresh aussie music anymore.

I find it hard to believe that we live in a country with radio that flatly refuses to do anything about its own talent.

Rant over

bob:
When I was a young fellow I was an ardent 4zzz listener,
there was even less to choose from than today.
I switched to JJJ when they went national, and
after a few years I returned to zzz.
JJJ still play a lot of good music, but they play a lot
of crap too and the aiming at the youth market gets a bit
trying a times. 4zzz play some crap to but as a free form
station the annoucers can play what they like, unlike
all the formula stations JJJ included.
As far as local music goes zzz went a long way to
making the Brisbane music scene what it become.
JJJ have consistently ignored so much Australian talent
it makes me wonder sometimes.
Having said that they have also gone out of their way
to promote undiscovered bands.
The other formula radio stations are just dreadfull.
So bad they almost make me laugh, like MMM and
their never ending classic rock playlist.
Or B105 and the seeming never ending amount of
terrible girl bands there is these days.
ciao bob

Dr Keats:
In Community radio, we have to play 25% Aussie content. I try for around 50%. Mind you, APRA never checks, and it's an "across-the-board" requirement, not "per program", so if you have a couple of shows devoted entirely to Aussie content, it covers you for a couple of non-Aussie shows...

I agree with summercity - pretty much anything that charts in the US or UK is rush-released here. Doesn't automatically follow that we'll dig it.

What's wrong with Aussie radio? Hmmm... The following is based on three years of listening to radio in my workplace for eight hours a day, locked onto each station for a month or two at a time. You see patterns begin to emerge:

Triple M? "The Bogan's Choice". Great if you're a bogan, absolute purgatory if you're not... Warhurst & Hellier are awful. So are Wil & Lehmo. Spoonman's the only decent thing on there...

Fox? It's not "variety" to play the same song three times in one 8-hour period. Worse still when you do it with the same three or four songs every day... "Gotcha" calls.

Vega? It's not "variety" to play three different songs by the same artist in one 8-hour period. Worse still when you do it with three or four artists every day... Announcers you've either never heard of, or never want to hear of again.

Nova? Dave Hughes. Need I say more? OK - Akmal. And all the other unknowns. Not to mention doof-doof...

Gold 104? "Beatles FM"... More music, by more dead people, more often...

Mix? Not quite as bad as the others - at least there's more variety in their playlist, albeit a tad on the bland side...

Common to all the above:

Near-rigid playlists. Once a song's on, it's pretty much there for life. Vega seems to recycle its entire playlist every two days - if you heard it on Monday, you'll hear it again on Wednesday. Sometimes Tuesday. Same with Gold.

Horrible "alternate" versions - the version of "Heart Of Glass" everyone's playing ain't the one that charted. Same with that woeful extended version of "Nutbush City Limits" - how many times do they repeat that synth break?. And "Borderline" by Madonna. Sure, play 'em if they're better than the radio cut - not just 'cos they're different. Try the "Sons Of Beaches" cut of "Downhearted" for a change...

No back-announcing - you'll hear a great new track, followed by "Khe Sanh". Guess which one they back-announce?? Yep, the one you've heard a million times...

Same old songs - if a band had a dozen chart hits, why always play the same three? People who remember them will remember the other nine as well, and they'll get the whole "Haven't heard that one for AGES" vibe happening... when Gold announce a track by Stevie Wright coming up next, you pretty much know it'll be "Evie"... What about "Black-Eyed Bruiser", "Hard Road", or "Guitar Band"?

Refusal to move on - three singles on, these stations are still flogging the song that dropped out of the charts nine months ago. Yes, we've heard that one, now play the current release...

Ass-hats...

gazzastapo:
If God had meant for us to listen to radio, He wouldn't have invented CDs, the internet & MP3 players ;D

I don't...no that's wrong...I won't listen to commercial radio because of all the factors everyone has stated above, plus the mind-numbingness of the waffle inbetween..be it announcers, station breaks, ads or whatever...I hate it!!
There are a couple of programmes on local (shire/eastern suburbs) community radio that I listen to, plus radio national sometimes has a good programme.

Austwiz:
Radio in the 70s was not too bad as I remember...  ::)

The main things I hate about current radio are the bloody DJs who think we want to listen to their fucking constant drivel, and the ceaseless barrage of inane advertising.  You seem to be lucky (or usually unlucky) to have 5 songs an hour!

Me, I listen to audiobooks on my mp3 player in the car, and cd/mp3 at home, I get my new music from the 'net these days   :-\

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