Radio station programming question?

Question

Can a station play any song that they want (as long as it's edited for radio of course)? Or are they only allowed to play whatever songs the artists' allow them to?

Answer 1

There's less freedom in playing "whatever they want" because most stations play it safe. It's all about building the biggest audience to sell the songs and artists that the music industry wants to "push."

The DJs themselves now have very little freedom to pick the music they play. That's done by the program director.

The real world scenario is that most radio broadcasting companies' debt service is so huge that selling advertising and earning revenue is the dominating factor, much more than what the listeners want.

The songs are released to radio as "singles."

I've worked it all, from tightly-controlled playlists to a wider playlist without the restrictions.

Answer 2

A station can play any song it wants.  It doesn't have to be edited either. They're only restricted by complaints.  I remember when "Rich Girl" came out in 1977 and some stations censored it because they used the word "b -* -t- c -h".... I've heard uncensored versions of "Fight The Power", and the long, uncensored version of "Rapture" on the air, so  anything CAN be played unless the FCC moves in because of indecency complaints.  

Also, don't worry about the artists... they're more than happy to "allow" stations to play their music.

Answer 3

Anything that is released, which is virtually anything published, recorded and offered for sale.

The question: is it smart to play that many unfamilar songs?

-a guy nemd duh