Probably in the minority on this...but w/o a doubt an emphatic yes! Many of the folks Ive come across (I live here in the Indianapolis area) say they DONT listen to the radio, let alone music on the dial! And there have been some, who have stated that they 'religiously' listen to talk o-n-l-y! (The age groups vary) I also believe it has sussed record/cd buying just the same!
I remember back in the 70's (living in NJ then), how ever so important it was to frequent record shops and talk with the sales associates and others (customers) bout the last goings on with the artists! So whacha say on this one?
Radio: I really don't listen to it anymore. I never got into talk radio at all. We have a local classic rock station that plays something like 50-55 minutes commercial-free per hour. But they just play the same songs over and over. Several years ago I got an XM radio in the car but after several years it seems they play the same songs too. So I mostly play CDs in the car (vinyl at home for serious listening!).
Record Shops: I really miss the days when I used to go down to the local independent record store that was owned by my friend, Jimmy. I would hang out for hours and he would play some of the new promos he got in and we would talk about new artists and new releases from old artists. I remember when he got a copy of the Police's first album when it was fist released. We listened to it and I bought my own copy. Then later we found out that The Police were playing in a local club. This is when they were touring in a van and hauling their own equipment (or at least that's how the story goes). I think there were about 300 of us in the club that night. They played everyting that they had and we were going crazy! I had the opportunity to see them on their recent reunion tour - 18th row seats. So I guess I can say I saw them at the beginning and at the "end."
I think the larger issue is that all the stations were bought up by media syndicates, who centralized management, homogenized the content, and used the medium as purely a method of distribution.
Turns out they screwed up. It didn't work. Radio can be interesting when reflects local interests, artists, and personalities. Otherwise it's just Muzak.
The rest of the story:
Ad revenues have dropped.
Talk radio produces revenue.
That's about it.
All we have left are the college radio stations, and the plug is being pulled on those.
We can try to protect what we have left. I don't see it coming back.
Talk radio is cheap to produce where as royalties must be paid to the artists. I also heard I do not know if there is any truth to this, but the oldie songs can actually be played for a cheaper price.
If you are a sports nut then yes you would listen to talk radio. As all these baby boomers retire what do you think they will be doing? Easy listening to the oldie stations! The Brunch With The Beatles has one of the biggest listenerships going also Nights With Alice Cooper and Little Steven's Underground Garage are all going strong! You just have to look for them on the dial. Yes there is Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh and all the others, but the youth of today don't even know how a tuner radio even works! Well maybe they do they just can't figure out where to plug their ear candy headphones into them!
John
People who have a real passion for music will, for the most part, eschew talk radio. Those who want to vocalize their views for the few seconds alloted, will , for the most part, hang on the line hours on end to just do that! (nothing else do I suppose.... lol!)
I remember a time when you pass by a car, music WOULD BE flowing outta the car systems, even if was a particular radio station on the dial! Seems its becoming more and more infrequent, let alone non-existent!
Never got into XMFM, remember when I was employed for a minute at a Radio Shack In Nashville, how they were trying to 'push' this new thing on the dial. Kinda sampled it and really wasnt impressed what was being played...pretty much a 'playlist.' In fact, I had emailed the so-called pd's @ a few of the 'stations' and told em their selections were totally limited in breath and scope. That didnt go over to well! It never changed since then! When my wife and I would rent a car out that did have XM in it, just for a lark , we'd fan thru the dial....time and time again....same ole same ole. Whether it be the jazz/soul/others.
As for regular fm, actually stopped listening back in the early 70's (New York stations)...the playlists started as did the advertisers looking for the demographics amongst many other things!
Interestingly , I've been part of the radio mix back in '05-'06, r&B/soul station in Nashville Tn (no it WASNT a college deal either!) On the AM dial and played pretty much what I wanted, plenty of album trax/more obscure....even putting in stuff that I knew would 'fit' by artists that were not (normally) associated with r&b. (Automatic Man Brian Auger and Zappa for example.)
Even though Ive been a part of radio, it still is WAY MORE important to go into a record store and explore the music....referencing the credits i.e. the artist/producer/studio used and all that kool stuff!
Serious listening is anywhere for us...whether it be an album or cd! If a release has never been issued on vinyl, then it will have to be a cd.....for the most part esp jazz!
'NWAC' and Van Zandt's shows def have a big following...the latter has over a million plus listeners.
Both are broadcasted in the Indy area.
Their popularity, I believe is due to the 'built ins' of being affilated with fm rock/classic rock stations which seem to stay fairly 'constant' thruout! (That particular stations format doesnt seem to 'change.') Little Steven is also on the XMFM dial as well!
Too bad jazz doesnt avail that type of popularity. Their is one station here in Indy the Diamond 88.7 that usta play plenty of jazz but thats been cut back (sad enuf)
As for the talkers, I still feel that there has been a rather big shift from music appreciation talkie appreciation! It seems that more so, since the last decade 'talk radio' not only has saturated the am dial but also fm as well! Regardless if its cheaper to produce!
I, too, no longer have any interest in or listen to the radio that much any more these days, and if I do it is generally to some oldies or classic music station.
I never much cared for talk radio. You can take talk radio and much of what they have to say with a grain of salt. In my opinion, in most cases I've found radio talk show hosts and/or their guests to be simply individuals providing their comments and opinions about a certain subject, and just because they are on the radio does not make them wizards or professors, or their comments/opinions and what they have to say held in gospel or etched in stone! In fact, I was often in disagreement or usually found much of their rambling jabber to be erroneous, gibberish, or utter bull crap the majority of the time!
John pretty much summed up my feeling about those old record shops/stores. I miss going in and flipping through the many bins of albums, 45s, new releases, various music genres, etc., and being able to see full sized album cover and rear photos and album info instead of the reduced facsimile "tid-bits" that CD jewel cases or booklets/inserts provide and have to offer!
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