Nation Radio UK has announced its launch line-up - featuring Mike Read, Russ Williams, Neil Francis, Neil Fox and Dean Martin.
Dr. Fox said:
Like everyone else, we are bored of the same repetitive playlists. So, guess what? Like radio used to be... we’re picking the music. Quite right too! The World’s Greatest Songs and the innovative Heritage Chart. The classics and the future classics together. It’s time to be free.
Don’t get me wrong, I was a fan of him on Capital... but there’s a lot to unpick in that quotation!
Firstly, if "everyone else" was bored of tight music rotations, the stations in question wouldn’t have such big audiences.
Personally, I don’t listen to a great deal of music radio these days (I prefer making it!) and Heart is, quite literally, not for me - but millions do tune in so it must be doing something right.
The most popular tracks, informed by research, are the most played - and no-one ever complains about hearing their favourite song.
Another point is about the average length of time people consume it for. They’re not listening all day long - especially in today’s digital world, that’s a big ask.
We’re spending more time with more media/more radio stations. Each time a track comes round, different people are hearing it to the previous play. They would test more songs if it was felt to be necessary.
As for jocks picking the music, we know there are presenters who bring genuine expertise to their specialist show which attracts an audience - and the best programmers have the best gut instinct - but can it work more generally as a station format?
When the art/science of radio programming is adhered to, yes, but an eclectic personal record collection has no value for the listener.
Surprises, absolutely, but they have to sit within a well-targeted music policy (as I discussed in the context of community radio earlier this year).
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