Why Pop or Hip hop stations appear to have 20 songs in their repertoire( they play same ones everytday)?

Question

Everyday they play the same thing.. They even play a song a few times throuout the day. I thought there was tons of people making music so why do we have to hear the same things everyday.

Moreoever, even an artist has a few songs he sings..but the radio station just keeps putting the same 1 song from that artist and that's it.

Then they advertise it as the BEST VARIETY.. or whatever.. VARIETY???? give me a break

Answer 1

i, get tired of that also that makes me want to throw my radio out the door.

Answer 2

It's because they are usually categorized as "Top 40" format stations. Their audience LIKES the same songs they hear on MTV over and over again. The record companies pay these stations to play that same music to bump them up on the charts so people go and buy the albums. It's not just about the listeners' demands.

There are, of course, some Top 40 stations that have decided to put some more variety in their playlist, to reach another demographic, but that all depends on what market you're in.

Answer 3

Same situation here in L.A.:the "old" KIIS 102.7(the Rick Dees years) had some of the best playlists in all of the L.A. area, then ClearChannel took over and FIRED him(and wife Julie McWhirter-Dees) to attract the "Jonas Bros./Miley-Hannah" genre, while KPWR 105.9(aka Power 106) had actor Jay Thomas as morning DJ(he was FIRED to change the format to crappy gangsta rap...KOST 103.5 was playing "soft music, w/ less talk", ClearChannel took over that and former rival KBIG 104.3(now "MyFM") last year...meaning ClearChannel has a near-monopoly on L.A. radio...

IF you listen to regular(classic rock) instead, go to KLOS 95.5 and every weeknight, you have Jim Ladd's "Free Form Radio";he may NOT play hip-hop, but plays what you the listener REALLY wants to hear, like an old(and barely-heard) song by the Duran Duran spinoff, Arcadia:"Election Day"...

All I can say is: I wish ClearChannel was GONE!...and bring back the old Mutual Broadcasting System!...

HTH...and good luck!

Answer 4

Hi,

A Top 40 Radio Station will only play a record ho can be a hit the more the play the more it will sell by the public. A record company can feel very good when a song can be a hit or not. This all have to do about money and make profit. The more the station will play the song  the more it will sale.

When groups make a record  it don't mean that i can be a hit song it will bring no money in the pocket to the record company and the Top 40 station. This possible sounds very silly to you but that is how the market works MONEY ! is all what counts to make a profit (The hole turns around money)

I hope you get a better view now ?

I'm a radio freak from Belgium for over more than 35 years and radio and the media is a hobby of me so i know allot how radio formats works

Answer 5

Oh my. We have some straightening out to do. No offense, but you guys - even the usually clever Jetteset - are really wrong.

First: NO RECORD LABELS ARE PAYING FOR AIRPLAY!

sorry 'bout the all caps - keys got stuck.

In fact, it's the opposite. Radio is currently fighting tooth and nail with the labels and artists because THEY want radio to pay them - and are probably going to end up in court over it. The old relationship of, "you play my records and we'll give you all the records you want for free (and buy commercials to support them)" are gone. Long Gone.

The reason stations play the same songs over and again is because most people only tune in for a few minutes at a time several times a day. When they tune in, they want to hear the hits. So the stations play them in a rotation that ensures a new listener will hear a hit within a few minutes of tuning in.

That's it. It's just that simple. And it goes back to the early '60s when two frustrated radio programmers were drowning their sorrows one night, complaining about how television was killing them and noticed that people kept plugging their nickels into the jukebox to hear essentially the same songs over and again. BOING! Next came Top-40 (which referred to the 40 most popular songs sold each week as reported by "Billboard" magazine).

You are correct that many people are making music these days, it is unfortunate, but I'll bet most of the people who read this answer don't realize that you have contributed to the downfall of the radio and record industries. Ever downloaded a song and not paid for it? Betcha have. Which means you're saying there is no value to that song, By extension, no value to the artist. How're they suposed to eat. Your boss pays you - right? Time to start paying for your music again, folks.

Also, just to clear up an error in another answer, Clear Channel has over 1,200 stations, not 40. They average 5-8 per market they are in. That does't count TV, Outdoor, Premiere Radio Networks nor stations outside the US (of which there are many).

CCU (their stock ticker symbol) also owns a significant part of satellite radio and lotsa other stuff.

-a guy named duh

Answer 6

Back in the day it wasn't always that format.  The BillBoard Charts Radio airplay for songs.  The record labels give some action to the big companies like Clear Channel who own like 40 radio stations sometimes more then one in each city.  Pending on how big the market is.  I live in Philly, we have 102 FM which is mostly hits or pop, then we have Wired which is Hip Pop (popular hip hop), 100.3 the Beat (which is a franchise) Hip Hop, then the original black music station Power 99, and of course the oldies original funk & soul 105.3....

The Program Directors basically and taking orders.  They get a Play list from various Labels who Pay to Play.  Essentially, MTV, Vh-1, BET and so on are all operated much like the Program Director of a radio station operates:

Each time you hear a song get 2 plays on the same radio station in less than one hour it is very annoying if you don't understand it.

When you see a TV Commercial get used 2 times during the same TV Show you tolerate that right?

Essentially, the play is a Commercial for the albums on Sale.

The radios do have Lunch Hour (in most cases a D.J. will do old School Mix or something else that is all the D.J. and not at all on the Program Director's agenda).  They sometimes take requests both online & on the phone.  The Market has changed the radio.

Before the music business turned so corporate, radio stations back in the day operated way more differantly.  Take the Program Director out to a strip club & get him drunk & you just got your song in heavy rotation.  It aint that easy these days.

1980 something is when the good old days ended...

Corporate Music World Took Over