Radio today - USA vs Europe

A creative space for business discussions.

Moderators: admin, mdc, TAXIstaff

Post Reply
tomasf
Active
Active
Posts: 25
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 4:27 am
Gender: Male
Location: Kristiansand, Norway
Contact:

Radio today - USA vs Europe

Post by tomasf » Sat Mar 11, 2017 10:07 am

In Europe, at least in Norway where I´m from, music consumers don´t wait for radio to play them the hottest music. Instead, radio waits for songs to blow up on Facebook, YouTube and Spotify before they play them on air. Of course they play whatever the major labels are serving them, but as for smaller artists - this is how it goes.
It was quite different 10-15 years ago, before social media played a big part in peoples lives.

Do radio operate in the same manner in the USA? I mean, do they sit on the fence when it comes to new artists the same way?
Best regards,
Tomas Fordelsen a.k.a. Tom Frost
www.novemberhomecoming.no
www.tomfrost.no

User avatar
Danny
Impressive
Impressive
Posts: 321
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2016 12:34 pm
Gender: Male
Contact:

Re: Radio today - USA vs Europe

Post by Danny » Sat Mar 11, 2017 2:55 pm

Hi Tomasf,

In the USA, Pop radio, record companies and marketing strategists pick songs that may be good or may suck. Then they jam them down the throats of the American consumer by playing them twice an hour on Pop radio stations. Most young or impressionable people become hooked on the songs by constant play and by what the radio stations tell the people what is "Hot".

This is just my opinion and maybe not a popular one. There are thousands of artists out there doing a ton of genres but the radio stations and marketing have the listeners like trained sheep, listening to what's "Hot".

Len911
Total Pro
Total Pro
Posts: 5351
Joined: Mon Dec 07, 2009 4:13 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Peculiar, MO
Contact:

Re: Radio today - USA vs Europe

Post by Len911 » Sat Mar 11, 2017 8:46 pm

Tom, I think that's the formula for radio deals here, in the states, but remember, you are generally more socialist, and we are more capitalist. :lol:

Most media organizations are controlled by a few large conglomerates. They own radio stations, record companies, cable stations, newspapers, book publishers, music publishers.
http://www.businessinsider.com/these-6- ... ica-2012-6
more updated:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_conglomerate

And sometimes one arm of the conglomerate promotes the other arm, and sometimes it's a disaster,lol!
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/nov/08 ... e-20131108
https://soundcloud.com/huck-sawyer-finn
Not an expert on contemporary music

User avatar
DesireInspires
Serious Musician
Serious Musician
Posts: 1358
Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2012 12:06 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Miami Beach
Contact:

Re: Radio today - USA vs Europe

Post by DesireInspires » Tue Mar 14, 2017 3:59 am

Danny wrote:Hi Tomasf,

In the USA, Pop radio, record companies and marketing strategists pick songs that may be good or may suck. Then they jam them down the throats of the American consumer by playing them twice an hour on Pop radio stations. Most young or impressionable people become hooked on the songs by constant play and by what the radio stations tell the people what is "Hot".

This is just my opinion and maybe not a popular one. There are thousands of artists out there doing a ton of genres but the radio stations and marketing have the listeners like trained sheep, listening to what's "Hot".
I agree that the same music gets played a lot on American radio. But that is exactly how songs become popular; by being played over and over.

Most artists would love to have their songs played over and over. That doesn't necessarily mean the artists will become rich and famous, but building a fan base helps to get music to spread through word of mouth.

I give props to anyone that is able to get music in heavy rotation on the radio. It is not as easy as it looks. That is why most people are unable to do it. The business is deceptive that way!

jonnybutter
Committed Musician
Committed Musician
Posts: 834
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 12:37 pm
Gender: Male
Contact:

Re: Radio today - USA vs Europe

Post by jonnybutter » Tue Mar 14, 2017 11:59 am

I think probably the bigger difference between radio in some countries in EU vs the US is that radio is still a bigger deal culturally in parts of Europe (and elsewhere) than it is in the US. You have a much stronger tradition of publicly paid for, public/national broadcasting in the rest of the world compared to the US. So, say, the BBC or Radio Netherlands might still be worth listening to, while we never had strong public/national radio in the US to begin with. So by the time the internet could supplant radio as a media/advertising delivery device, it pretty much did. The radio business in the US is a faint shadow of what it was even 25 years ago. People still listen in their cars sometimes, but that's about it.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 7 guests