Editor’s note:  What follows is my opinion.  And what I say below does not necessarily go for all in the business.  This is only based on my observations of places I’ve worked and places I’ve lived.  Your mileage may vary.

I wear a lot of hats in my job.  Odds are pretty good that you do, too.  It’s part of the way things are these days.  And I’m not complaining.  I like the opportunity to do different things, instead of just hammering through the same thing, eight or so hours every day, until I get my gold watch.

I think part of the problem with radio is they really take the whole multi-tasking thing to ridiculous ends.

I grew up on AOR radio.  AOR stands for Album Oriented Rock, and that meant the station played more than just the hits. 

For example, back in 1984 (and into 1985), Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In The USA” album spawned seven singles.  Every one of those was a top ten hit.  My favorite songs off that album aren’t any of those seven, though.  They are “No Surrender”, “Bobby Jean” and “Workin’ On The Highway”.

I owned the record, of course.  Since it went 15 times platinum (platinum is a million sales), there’s a chance you did, too (or at least, someone you know owned it).  But I grew to really love those three songs from hearing them on the radio.

I still really like them, though I couldn’t even begin to guess when a radio station played them last.  For that matter, you don’t really hear those seven hit singles any more, either, at least not most of them.  “I’m On Fire” is suddenly getting a lot of airplay on a station here, so there’s a pretty good chance that a station near you is playing it all of a sudden, too.

A lot of stations these days “test” the music they play.  They do tests over the phone or in auditoriums, with a couple hundred people who fit the demo of their station.  This isn’t just a 2013 phenomenon; it’s been going on for years and years.  That’s why you can travel from town to town and coast to coast, and find stations that play almost the exact same music.

Of course, this doesn’t apply to every single station in America.  But it applies to a lot of them.  Too many.  They become afraid of playing a song that doesn’t test well, or they go the other way and get very excited about a song that does test well.  That’s how a song that you haven’t heard on the radio in thirty years can suddenly pop up often, even daily.  And that’s also why there’s a good chance that your favorite station has slipped “I’m On Fire” back into rotation.

Aside from all the music testing, there’s the multi-tasking issue. 

In a lot of stations, the program director and the music director don’t just work for one station. They run several, what the corporations like to call a “cluster”.  So the guy programming your local rock station may also have similar tasks at their sister station, which is country, or adult contemporary.  Or all three.  Or even more.

I like lots of different kinds of music, but I don’t have a real passion for all of them.  And because of that, I don’t really know a lot about them.  So if I suddenly had to program a country station, I’d be in trouble.  Unless someone told me what I should be playing.

Someone who was also telling other country stations what they should play.  Or other adult contemporary stations.  Et cetera.

The other thing is that, for those stations whose employees do care about the music, the same protocols are in place.  Here’s a list of what your station is going to play.

I get that radio stations aren’t jukeboxes, but having someone who doesn’t care about the music deciding what music gets played, based on testing (and other nebulous factors) might give you a good idea about why stations sound the way they do.

And then there are conspiracy theories.

One of the most recent, and most popular, concerns U2 and their 2009 album “No Line On The Horizon”.

Around the time this album came out, there was a controversy about radio paying royalties to the artists they played.  Bono, lead singer for U2, spoke out in favor of that.  He joined in with the MusicFirst coalition, who were campaigning Congress to reconsider prior legislative decisions was allowing radio stations to play music without paying royalties to artists and record companies.

Anyway, the rumor is that a major radio conglomerate told its stations not to play U2’s new album because of this.

The album debuted at number one in thirty countries, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.  It was certified platinum in Brazil within its first week!  It also had three singles that did really well in other countries, but only one, “Get On Your Boots”, cracked the top forty in the U.S.

It could be a coincidence, and we could probably argue for pages and pages about how well this album stacks up to other U2 albums.

But regardless of how you feel about the quality of that album, or the possibility of conspiracy against it, what happened with that album and radio is typical, sadly, of what happens to lots of singers and bands that have been around for a long time.  Radio tends to ignore them.

U2’s previous album, “How To Dismantle An Atom Bomb”, came out in 2005.  It is probably mostly remembered in the U.S. for the song “Vertigo”, which was featured in an iPod campaign.  There were a total of five singles released from this album, and they did well in other countries (at least ten other countries that I’ve been able to find charts for), but went largely ignored by American radio.

Similarly, Bruce Springsteen released an album just last year (“Wrecking Ball”).  Other than some cursory airplay of the first track, “We Take Care Of Our Own”, it was also largely ignored by American radio stations. 

The same happened with his previous album, 2008’s “Working On A Dream”, which even featured a Grammy-nominated song from the movie “The Wrestler”.  In fact, going back year-by-year, the story seems to be the same for Springsteen.  The last new song of his that got serious airplay was “The Streets of Philadelphia” in 1994. 

That was almost twenty years ago.

In those twenty years, he’s put out seven studio albums, four box sets, six compilations, three live albums nine video collections and appeared (with new songs) on at least three soundtracks.

But the people who run most (not all, but most) rock radio stations don’t have that love for their format’s music.  So the majority of his music, going all the way back to 1973’s “Greetings From Asbury Park NJ”, gets ignored.  In fact, you’re more likely to hear Manfred Mann’s version of “Blinded By The Light” than Springsteen’s original version.

And other than a couple tracks off his Greatest Hits collection, or the recently-tested “I’m On Fire”, you’re not likely to hear much from one of the hardest working guys in the history of rock.

U2 got some decent airplay with 2001’s “All That You Can’t Leave Behind”, but twelve years later, there are only a handful of their songs that you still hear on the radio.  And most, if not all, of that can be found on their singles’ collection from 2006.  You just aren’t likely to hear anything more than the usual suspects from them.

Then there’s the Beatles.

John, Paul, George and Ringo had a lot of great songs, together and on their own.  In 2000, thirty years after they broke up, Capital Records released an album simply called “1”, which was a collection of their number one songs.  This went on to become the fastest-selling record in history.

If you’re lucky enough to have a station that still plays the Beatles, you’re lucky if you hear anything besides the songs on this album.

And as far as the solo stuff goes, some stations still play John’s “Imagine” and George’s “My Sweet Lord”.  You’ll probably get “Band On The Run” and “Live And Let Die” from Paul.  And your oldies station might throw on Ringo’s “Photograph” once in a great while.

It seems like a crime to me that all this music is getting lost.  And that radio has become such a wasteland that the people running it just seem to have absolutely no musical soul.

I used three easy examples here (Bruce, U2 and the Beatles) but there are so many more (and it’s growing every day).

And there are plenty of these artists who had terrific albums back then (whenever their “back then” was), and are still making music today!

Here’s a small sample of artists that have put out new stuff in just the last few months:

I don’t mean to suggest all these are equal.  While I still like “The Heart of the Night”, a new album from Poco doesn’t equal a new album from U2 (no offense intended to fans of either band).
I guess the thing is, I just get tired of turning on the radio in my car and hearing a lot of the same old, same old.  I can almost guarantee you that I will hear a Pink Floyd song and a Led Zeppelin song every time I go anywhere, even if it’s just a quick trip to the store.  And it’s also almost always one of the same few songs from either artist.

I’ve ranted a long time here, and I realize that won’t solve anything.  I think it’s time I bit the bullet and took the matter into my own hands.

This could be very cool, or it could be a huge failure, but I’m working on what I think the solution is.  Just need to get a few more pieces of the puzzle in place, and I’ll share what I think it a great idea with you very soon….

In the meantime, here’s what shuffled out of my player as I typed this…

Pat Benatar “Suffer the Little Children/Hell Is For Children” (live)
Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On”
New Order “Regret”
Boston “Don’t Look Back”
Sting “Fortress Around Your Heart” (live)
Skid Row “I Remember You”
Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Bruce Hornsby, Bryan Adams and Kim Wilson “Angel From Montgomery’ (live)
John Lennon “God” (acoustic)
Procol Harum “Conquistador”
Aerosmith “Just Push Play”
E.L.O. “Turn To Stone”
The Cyrkle “Red Rubber Ball”
R.E.M. “Drive” (live)
Joan Jett “Bad Reputation”
Bourgeois Tagg “I Don’t Mind At All”
David Bowie “Jean Genie”
Lenny Kravitz “Dig In”
Fleetwood Mac “Landslide”
Diesel “Sausalito Summernight”
The Tams “What Kind Of Fool”
The Eagles “Do Something”
Bob Seger “Katmandu” (live)
Aerosmith “Kings and Queens”
Ringo Starr “I’m The Greatest” (live)
Rush “Freewill”
Elvis Costello “This Year’s Girl”
Bruce Hornsby “The Road Not Taken”

To Be Continued…

Ken

Did you know I’m on one of Paul McCartney’s albums?

In 1990, Sir Paul released a double live album of his just-completed world tour.  The version of “Let It Be” was recorded at a show in Miami, and I was part of that crowd, singing away with thousands of my closest friends.

You won’t be able to hear me on that track, of course, and there’s a good chance that the world should be thankful for that.  Still, even though you may not know it, and I can’t really prove it, I know I’m there.

But I know it.  I was there, part of that crowd.  It was a sold out show, and there’s no real danger that it wouldn’t have happened if not for me.  But I loved Paul (still do) and was happy to give him my hard-earned money in support of that show (tickets plus two t-shirts).

In a way, I supposed that was my first experience with Crowdfunding.  Maybe that’s a stretch, but the components of that are similar to what goes on today.  Like many others, I bought my tickets way in advance.  If none of us had, there wouldn’t have been a show in Miami that night. 

The album still would have happened, and the version of “Let It Be” would have been recorded elsewhere, because even if everyone in South Florida had decided not to support that tour, he’s still Paul McCartney and there are plenty of others across the globe that would have eagerly handed him their money. 

It’s hard to connect the former Beatle with Crowdfunding.  He has enough die-hard fans from his lengthy career that he could record himself singing in the shower and everyone would buy it.

But what about all those who weren’t in the Beatles.  The ones that haven’t had years of sold-out shows.  The ones who have never had a platinum record.  Or even a gold one.

The ones who just have the dream.

Dreams are really where Crowdfunding begins.

Odds are pretty good that you know someone, or at least know OF someone, who has been involved in Crowdfunding.

It’s possible you don’t know that you know they’ve done it, or at least tried it, but since so many have been involved one way or another, statistically, you’re probably at least as many degrees from them as you are from Kevin Bacon.

For those who don’t know, Crowdfunding is a way to raise money by letting your friends, your fans and even people you haven’t been in contact with yet, find out about your project and give you their support.  It’s kind of like getting investors to support you, but instead of going to business meetings and pitching your ideas to the suits, you’re taking it right to the public.

In 1990, when there was nothing comparable to today’s social media, you supported an artist by buying their music and going to their concerts.  You may have even told your friends about that new band you like, and convinced them to buy a CD or go to the show.

For those too young to remember that, that’s how social media worked back in the days before Twitter and Facebook (and even before MySpace).

Done correctly, Crowdfunding is really a merging of social media and business fundraising.  Sort of.

It’s not begging, though some do seem to approach it that way.  There are a few popular examples of people using Crowdfunding to pay off their credit card bills.  While this may have worked once or twice, it’s unlikely that this kind of project would be successful again.

Many singers and bands have done this. Like social media, it’s a great way to connect with fans.  It also allows those who love what you do and believe in you to actually be a part of your project.

You may or may not know of Amanda Palmer.  She’s someone who’s name is often tossed out amid discussions of Crowdfunding.

Amanda was the lead singer for the Dresden Dolls.  More recently, she’s released several solo albums and singles.

She is also one of the best at connecting with fans, and has very successfully gotten them to be a part of her projects.

The terminology there may not be quite right.  Saying that she’s “gotten” them to be part of her projects sounds a little like she either tricked them into it, or somehow persuaded them to do it.

Neither is true. 

It would be better, or much more apt, to say that she allowed them to be a part of her projects.  And there eagerness to help her is something that most who think about Crowdfunding will never quite get.

Here’s a terrific talk she gave at a recent TED conference.  I know it’s longer than you probably want to commit to, but if you have a dream you think you could achieve with just a little help, you really should watch this!

Of course, I’m bringing all this up because I have some projects on the horizon that involve Crowdfunding.  Some are close and personal to me, things I’ve been very interested in doing and hope others will find them pretty darn worthwhile, as well.   Others are friends’ projects that I’m really just tangentially involved in – I believe in what they’re trying to do and would like to help them succeed.

There’s a very cool project that’s on the way, connected to my day job at the Good Day Show.   I’ll have some more details soon. 

While I don’t want to reveal too much too early, I can tell you that, if there’s something you’ve always wanted to do – be it your own album, a book, a business or something else entirely – but you’ve never been able to figure out how you’d ever get it off the ground, I just might be able to help you out, or at least get you pointed in the right direction (and help you tell LOTS of other people about what it is you want to do)!

While I wrote this, I was listening to a playlist that just might figure into something I hope to be working on soon!  Here’s what shuffled out…

The Rolling Stones “Doom and Gloom”
John Fogerty “Rockin’ All Over The World” (live)
Bruce Hornsby and the Range “The Way It Is”
Noel Gallagher and the High-Flying Birds “The Death of You and Me”
Steve Winwood “Valerie”
The Smithereens “The Blues Before And After”
Little Feat “Dixie Chicken”
The Hooters “Hanging On A Heartbeat”
Paul McCartney and Wings “Live And Let Die”
Glenn Frey “Lyin’ Eyes/Take It Easy” (live)
U2 “In God’s Country”
Slade “Mama Weer All Crazee Now”
Jackson Browne “The Pretender” (live)
Rush “Something For Nothing”
Elvis Costello and the Attractions “Every Day I Write The Book”
Grateful Dead “Built To Last”
Paul Simon “American Tune”
Joe Jackson “Is She Really Going Out With Him?”
R.E.M. “We All Go Back To Where We Belong”
The Yardbirds “For Your Love”
Men At Work “Underground”
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers “I Should Have Known It”
David Bowie “Heroes”
Robert Plant “Tall Cool One” (live)

By the way, don’t spend any time trying to figure out some significance to the artists or the songs I posted.  They really did just shuffle out of my player in that random order.  I have some pretty cool things to share beyond all this, but I’d just thought I’d subjected you to enough.  For now.

Ken

H All!

Been crazy-busy on some exciting new projects that I can't wait to tell you about!

As I've been writing/editing/downloading/uploading/updating tonight, I was thinking about the sad state of radio. 

Some friends of mine were recently talking about another station in their market flipping over to classic rock.  At first, they were excited, thinking that FINALLY someone was going to play the music they loved (and for most, grew up with).

Then reality set in as the "new" station trotted out all the usual suspects, presenting little more than a repacked K-Tel collection of stereotypical classic rock tracks.  No originality.  Nothing to show that anyone there liked this music, or even knew much about it.  Anyone can easily find out what the big "hits" were and roll them out with little effort.

While I do like to occasionally hear "Stairway To Heaven", there is so much more than that that Led Zeppelin has to offer.  When someone plugs that Rod Stewart is coming up, it doesn't always have to be "Maggie May", does it?  And despite what you hear on the air, Boston actually did have more than one album.

Anyway, before I really get on a rant, here's what shuffled out of my 70's playlist tonight...

Steve Miller Band "Jungle Love"
Steely Dan "Kid Charlemange"
John Lennon "New York City"
The Rolling Stones "Far Away Eyes"
Jethro Tull "Cross-Eyed Mary"
Lynyrd Skynrd "Gimme Back My Bullets"
Cheap Trick "Surrender"
George Thorgood "Move It On Over"
Gerry Rafferty "Right Down The Line"
E.L.O. "Wild West Hero"
Styx "Light Up"
J. Geils Band "Musta Got Lost"
The Kinks "Rock 'N Roll Fantasy"
Procol Harum "Conquistador"
Pat Travers "Boom Boom (Out Go The Lights)"

Ken