No doubt anyone still checking in here lately (there were 132 of you yesterday) has noticed that I really haven't had much to blog about. I'm still getting 4 or 5 days a week at work (with a 6-day week thrown in there) and they're all starting to blur together at this point. Dice has its moments, but I'm now to the point where I really need some extra motivation to re-hash the daily stories on the blog. I'm sure every single person reading this has some interesting moments from their work-day that they could share, but how many really want to write about them after spending 8 hours in the office?
So when I don't feel like writing about the adventures behind the felt, I normally make simple posts that include pictures or youtube clips, this post being no different. One thing that I've always wondered about, really for the past 20 years or so (when I first started listening to classic rock stations on a regular basis), is if there are rules pertaining to royalties that prevent stations from playing a band's lesser known stuff. For example, does a station pay a standard fee for playing "song x" from a band, whether they play it once or 10,000 times? Can "song x" cost more to the station than "song y"? Does it matter which album its from? Does "song x" cost more to play if its off a live album as opposed to the studio album?
Why do I ask these questions? The reason is that I have finally found myself turned off from listening to FM radio! I am pretty much only interested in classic rock, and there are two stations here in Vegas that I have programmed in the car (97.1 and 96.3 for those who might happen to live here). The problem is that 96.3 changed its format slightly a few months after I moved here. It wasn't a complete change (from rock to country for example), but I think they went from a "classic rock" station to a station that plays "classic hits" or "rock 'n' roll oldies" or some horses**t description like that. So now instead of hearing some pretty cool Led Zep song you don't hear much or a King Crimson song that most stations are afraid to play, now I hear the same Steely Dan, Boston or Kansas tune over and over and over again!!
So let's go back to my original question. Do stations buy in bulk? Why do classic rock stations play the same tunes over and over again? Does it cost them more to play the live version of Comfortably Numb off the Pulse album than the studio version that's been played to absolute death?
This practice has not only turned me off certain overplayed songs, but some bands as a whole! I can't listen to ANY Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steely Dan, Boston, (etc. there are others) anymore. It's just the same 4 or 5 songs over and over again from these bands. YES has a TON of great stuff from the past, but the closest 96.3 would probably get to playing Yes is, of course, "Owner of a Lonely Heart". Ugh! Did Peter Frampton decide to retire for some reason after recording only those three songs (don't make me list them!)? Is "Dreamweaver" really classic rock??
Well, I'll wrap up the post by embedding a couple more youtube clips. These are songs that some fine folks have uploaded from three of my favorite bands. They are songs that you probably have never heard before, but to me they are just as enjoyable to listen to than the "big hits" from the bands. Instead of "Stairway", you'll get "Down by the Seaside". No "Money", try "Wots.....uh, the Deal", and let's go with something besides "Pinball Wizard". Let's try "Heaven and Hell". Enjoy!
So would it really kill a station to play songs like these three every once in a long while instead of f*****g Free Bird 20 times a day?
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
....and if the band you're in starts playin' different tunes
Posted by Rob at 1:54 AM
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6 comments:
It ain't Skynyrd that kills me--it's that god-awful 'Magic Man' by Heart that I can't stand. Seriously, every time I hear it, it makes me want to call up Cameron Crowe and tell him to bitch-slap his wife.
FREE BIRD!!!!
Actually, radio stations get licensed to play music from ASCAP and BMI - they pay an annual fee that allows them access to all music they wish. It really comes down to the perception of the music and program directors of the station, based on research, as to what they think their audience wants to hear. They're going for the widest possible audience, and know that listeners switch back and forth among stations throughout the day.
Plus playing Free Bird is safe. Everyone likes it...and fewer will tune away from it than from a more obscure cut.
It's all just business...
Steve
Radio stations pay licensing organizations such as BMI or ASCAP for rights to broadcast. There may be songs that have no performance rights but this is rare. Basically the performers license their songs with one of the licensing organizations then those organizations collect the performance fees from the broadcasters.
As long as the song is covered by a license (and nearly every song is covered) and the broadcasters have paid for a performance license then they could play the deeper tracks, there isn't a higher fee for a deeper track.
The reason you don't hear the deeper tracks is probably the result of programing and ratings than anything else.
This would be a good time to recommend XM sat radio for their Deep track channel. Or have fuin searching for some of the rare classics internet radio stations like www.bee.fm
Well said. Trust me there are tons of us who ask the same question. Same old classic rock over and over again. Stations never getting deeper into an album. They only play the usual stuff. What is worse yet are the people who call in and request the same old boring crap.
Since Fm or "Terrestrial radio" is free, each station basically can play what it wants hindered only by the guidelines of the FCC, the stations format, the marketing department and most importantly some sniveling ass kiss program director. The problem with satellite or subscription music is that being a pay service, they have a lesser selection to draw their playlists from depending on which ever agreements they have with the companies/artists. That is why you will here the same song three times during an eight hour shift EVERY day if the XM station is not changed by casino management! I have been a dealer for over thirteen years and now am in my fifth casino. I have worked all possible combination's of days off and shifts with many different bosses and countless customers. When will we put the 70's to rest and play something form the last three decades or before?! Seriously, I'll take "Tuxedo Junction, Don't Worry Be Happy, Johnny Be Good, Ode to Joy," hell I'm so desperate at this point I would even listen to the Hanson's "mmmbop!"
Hanson mmmbop:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd0C_Us31kk&feature=related
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