Nothing New on the Radio?

Picture it: cruising down the highway, listening to the radio, windows down. The DJ comes on, announces your favorite band not only has a new album out, but is also set to hit the road for a kick-ass tour. You’re stoked. You get ready to hear some new tunes… the song starts, and it’s something that’s been out for about a decade.

What gives?

Apparently, this isn’t a vast conspiracy against musicians. It’s really just an alternative form of music marketing, according to Pam Edwards, owner and executive producer of ‘The House of Hair with Dee Snider.’ Says Edwards, “Telling the audience about a favorite artist's new record or tour actually does help the artist, even if it’s followed up by one of their classics. People are aware of what they're up to and if the listener is still into new music, might buy the new CD which they otherwise wouldn't have known about. Maybe even more importantly, they might catch the tour and buy some merch.”

While this trend may annoy fans of legacy artists, it comes down to a matter of format. Edwards adds that classic rock stations stay modern by announcing current information about artists in their respective catalogues.

Fans can speak with their voice – and wallets. Boycotting stations and advertised products has worked in the past, but don’t expect the system to change anytime soon. Instead, research favorite bands on your own and continue to support them by buying new music – even if you never hear it on the radio.

Thoughts?

Comments

[Lucifer]

I just don't listen to music on the radio, it's a simple as that. I can't really fathom why anyone would, the internet has made it irrelevant. Now if I want to find new bands, I can either trawl through myspace, or just come on here. If I ever want to find out about rock news, it's usually on BBG. And if I want to hear some of my old favourites, what's wrong with just sticking my iPod on shuffle?

[Bryon]

I think radio's power for breaking new bands is done. Like Lucifer said, the Internet killed radio, just like it's killing the newspapers. But that's not a bad thing - between my iPod/iTunes and web sites, I can listen to whatever I want, whenever I want, wherever I want. And I do.

But this also means that it's easier to get out of touch with new music, especially in a non-mainstream format like glam. Fortunately, there are a few great sites like this one that keep me in the loop.

[Damnp78]

I agree with the above. For most of my news I prefer to get it from here. By the time I hear it on the radio (Sirius not the Other Stuff) it is usually old news.

[JB]

My thought comes down to Motley Crue. I thought SOLA was one of the best records and was recorded for their fans, but the radio pretty much ignored it. With the quality of music on that record not being played it made me pretty much be done with Radio.

[Christian]

John Kalodner tried to resign a bunch of 80s bands and found out the hard way that most fans don't WANT to hear new music. That's why every tour, bands like Poison or Def Leppard, play one or two new songs, and next tour, they will never be heard again. Sad, but true.

[Johnny]

I feel ya Christian...Def Leppard is my favorite band and I would kill to hear certain songs...sadly 60% of the rest of the audience wouldn't....

[Kenny Ozz]

I couldnt agree more. I get so aggravated when the radio plays the same old songs when the band has a new and viable album out. And you have to know this is part of the reason some bands dont release new albums *cough, cough, Poison, cough, Cinderella, cough*. Main stream rock radio sucks. Thats the bottom line. And unfortunately it wont ever change.

[Christian]

Cinderella doesn't have more CDs out b/c of label hassles mostly, I thought.

[Kenny Ozz]

Eric Brittingham has told reliable sources that those rumors are bullshit Christian. That they havent written any new shit in almost 15 years.