These are all very important questions to ask! And there is a very surprising answer. Or is it that surprising?



The reason for all these problems with radio stations today is that most major radio stations that come in very well (in terms of reception) are actually all owned by just a few corporations. Those corporations deal directly with major record labels and the music that gets played is really more of a paid promotion to help these companies sell their artists records. Nothing more!

Were you thinking that radio stations simply played what happened to be selling the most records? Did you think that radio stations simply played the songs that were the most requested? Did you think that radio stations played the best new music from all over the country? None of the above!

This seems a little disingenuous, doesn't it? Many radio stations use slogans like, Today's Best Hits to describe the songs that they play. Hmm, they may be playing the best hits, but WHY are those PARTICULAR songs hits? Are they the best songs around? Do they have the best lyrics? Are these the best singers? Are these the best bands? Again, none of the above!

A hit is simply determined by how much marketing and promotion is happening behind the scenes. Put simply: the more money behind a song, the more likely it is that it will be a hit record. The radio stations don't really care what they play. On a local level, the only decisions being made are things like the order of songs in each hour, when the DJ is supposed to talk, when the weather is announced, and other non-musical procedures.

What's interesting is that if you ask a local Program Director (the person in charge of a radio station), they will lie and tell you that they do, in fact, have control of their playlist-they will claim that they DO chose which songs go on the radio locally. This is simply not true. It may be ALMOST true, but it is not true. They can choose which particular GROUP of songs from a pre-determined list they receive from the record companies...but they don't choose songs arbitrarily that they like the most. In fact, most Program Directors will not even PLAY a song, not even once, if it is not on a MAJOR record label.

This kind of relationship between radio stations and record labels works well from a money standpoint. The major record companies sell CDs and mp3s because their artists' songs are being advertised through radio airplay; radio stations get money from advertisers in their local area because they have popular music playing. (Radio stations also receive from the major labels merchandise, trips, gift cards, and money in exchange for airplay-an illegal but common practice called payola.)

It all comes down to hype and money. While the music that major record labels tout is often indeed very GOOD music, this situation does go against the FCC's purpose for what a radio station's function is supposed to be: a public service. How does the local public benefit from being spoon-fed pre-manufactured music and playlists? The ethics behind radio payola and the general setup of the music and broadcast industry have failed the public and struggling recording artists everywhere!