Radio’s New Tune: Play More Songs

A fascinating piece in the Wall Street Journal today that seems to suggest that radio stations believe that they can save their future by upping the content:

Previously, like most stations, KCJK-FM 105.1 let computer scheduling programs pick the songs from a library of 300-400 titles, with the same 30-40 songs playing most of the time. Now the station is going against the grain of the past two decades in radio, more than tripling the number of song titles played on any given day. With more than 1,200 songs on the playlist, most songs get played only once every few days, rather than several times a day. Program director Mike O’Reilly and his assistants handpick the music and the order in which they are played….

…Most radio executives continue to believe strongly that audience research tells them which are the best songs to play, and most stations are still run by programmers who believe in the power of playing the most popular songs over and over again.

But some are starting to broaden their playlists, including the adherents of the "Jack" format. Mike Henry, chief executive of Paragon Media Strategies and a consultant on the format, says listeners want to hear familiar music, but a larger selection and variety of it. So Jack plays only songs people will recognize, albeit from a variety of styles and timeframes. "You’re only challenging them on a stylistic level," says Mr. Henry. "You’re not challenging them on a familiar/unfamiliar level."

Sounds like a steadfast strategy then???

Wall Street Journal  (I’ll get a precise link later today)
(Via Mishpucha)