Industry Heads: How Does Urban Radio Work?

[me no pass]

Been listening to the radio a lot more often (not by choice)

and all they do is play the same damn songs over and over again

interested how it works..do labels play certain stations to play their song for a X number of times or what

 

[slaptastic]

Originally Posted by ME NO PASS

Been listening to the radio a lot more often (not by choice)

and all they do is play the same damn songs over and over again

interested how it works..do labels pay certain all stations to play their song for a X number of times or what

There's your answer. It wasn't always like that though, back in the day the DJ had some form of creative control, if there was a hot song in the streets that's buzzing heavy, he could drop it in the mix somewhere so the people could hear it, and then you know call in and request this song if you like it blah blah. Now a days the DJ is just given a set list of songs that isn't modifyable at all, and if they do, then they get angry & threatening calls from the label. Along with "If you don't play this song from [insert popular artist] this amount of times, you can forget about getting any future songs from them (which is damaging to the radio station ratings, which they rely heavily on)

%!$@ is so shady in the music biz now a days

 

[mangudai954]

Cant stand the radio circuit down here. Doesn't matter what time it is, they're playing club music.

 

[Jordan8]

Nah paying radio stations for play is illegal
Its more political and based on your knowledge of the radio consumer base. If you can get past the gatekeepers and have a sit down with the PDs if you can present to them that your song fits the format of their radio station theyll put your song in rotation. Its that simple

At the end of the day radio makes money off of advertising so they only play songs that they "believe" the listeners will like. They dont like taking risks by playing songs that dont fit the format because then they'll lose ratings and ad dollars. 

 

[tdwnc]

U gotta pay to play.  Bottom Line.   it is illegal..but so is weed... yet people r still smokin it

 

[da r entertainment]

Originally Posted by cartune

Nah paying radio stations for play is illegal
Its more political and based on your knowledge of the radio consumer base. If you can get past the gatekeepers and have a sit down with the PDs if you can present to them that your song fits the format of their radio station theyll put your song in rotation. Its that simple

At the end of the day radio makes money off of advertising so they only play songs that they "believe" the listeners will like. They dont like taking risks by playing songs that dont fit the format because then they'll lose ratings and ad dollars. 

Sure it's illegal, but it still happens. I've seen it first hand.

 

[thunderchunk69]

Originally Posted by Da R Entertainment

Originally Posted by cartune

Nah paying radio stations for play is illegal
Its more politicaland based on your knowledge of the radio consumer base. If you can get past the gatekeepers and have a sit down with the PDs if you can present to them that your song fits the format of their radio station theyll put your song in rotation. Its that simple

At the end of the day radio makes money off of advertising so they only play songs that they "believe" the listeners will like. They dont like taking risks by playing songs that dont fit the format because then they'll lose ratings and ad dollars.

Sure it's illegal, but it still happens. I've seen it first hand.

 

[rawsheed]

pay
o
la

 

[ruxxx]

Originally Posted by RawSheed

pay
o
la

Man I was JUST about to say this.

 

[me no pass]

Originally Posted by Da R Entertainment

Originally Posted by cartune

Nah paying radio stations for play is illegal
Its more political and based on your knowledge of the radio consumer base. If you can get past the gatekeepers and have a sit down with the PDs if you can present to them that your song fits the format of their radio station theyll put your song in rotation. Its that simple

At the end of the day radio makes money off of advertising so they only play songs that they "believe" the listeners will like. They dont like taking risks by playing songs that dont fit the format because then they'll lose ratings and ad dollars. 

Sure it's illegal, but it still happens. I've seen it first hand.

interdasting

 

[illphillip]

Originally Posted by cartune

Nah paying radio stations for play is illegal
Its more political and based on your knowledge of the radio consumer base. If you can get past the gatekeepers and have a sit down with the PDs if you can present to them that your song fits the format of their radio station theyll put your song in rotation. Its that simple

At the end of the day radio makes money off of advertising so they only play songs that they "believe" the listeners will like. They dont like taking risks by playing songs that dont fit the format because then they'll lose ratings and ad dollars. 

Look. All you guys talking "payola" and pay to play probably have no REAL understanding of how this works. So what you're basing this on, I have no idea.

Does it happen? Sure. Is it the rule? Or the exception?

I don't work Urban Radio actively. But I have, along with Latin. And I work other formats. Not much difference.

But a lot of what cartune is saying is closer to the truth than this whole belief in "payola".

Even if you can pay to get a record on, that %+%! is getting buried between like 2-5am. When only nightwatchmen and morticians are listening.

So can you cut a deal here and there? Sure. Can you get REAL airplay from that. Not likely at all.

To answer OP's question, if the same song is playing over and over again, it's because that radio stations core audience likes it and wants to hear it over and over again. Which again goes back to what cartune is saying.

No radio station is risking losing tens of thousands in ad dollars because some dude slid them a stack.

Another thing that does happen though, is if a station likes your record, and they decide to put it in and bang it, they may ask you to show some love back. Send some contest winners on a trip etc.

You're not paying for the airplay. You're showing love back for them showing you love. A practice that likely occurs in some way-shape-form in every industry in America.

 

[illphillip]

Originally Posted by Slaptastic

Originally Posted by ME NO PASS

Been listening to the radio a lot more often (not by choice)

and all they do is play the same damn songs over and over again

interested how it works..do labels pay certain all stations to play their song for a X number of times or what

There's your answer. It wasn't always like that though, back in the day the DJ had some form of creative control, if there was a hot song in the streets that's buzzing heavy, he could drop it in the mix somewhere so the people could hear it, and then you know call in and request this song if you like it blah blah. Now a days the DJ is just given a set list of songs that isn't modifyable at all, and if they do, then they get angry & threatening calls from the label. Along with "If you don't play this song from [insert popular artist] this amount of times, you can forget about getting any future songs from them (which is damaging to the radio station ratings, which they rely heavily on)

%!$@ is so shady in the music biz now a days

You are generalizing something terrible and the part in BOLD is just outlandish.

 

[thunderchunk69]

I remember Wu Tang(probably Meth) called Hot97 very upset in the 90s that Badboy/Puff was doing concert tixx, give aways for radioplay.

I also know that NY has many "mixtape" djs that seem to be able to play music from "off the playlist", and dudes be shoutin out the rappers when they do lol.