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Radio - What?s Happened To It?
Remember when radio stations played great music? OK, before you accuse me of sounding like your dad, I'll rephrase that. Remember when radio stations played an exciting variety of music and artists and you never knew what they would play and when? Well my friends if you do remember that, you've probably been around awhile. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, I'll explain. Years ago, privately owned radio stations and their local disc jockeys would choose the music or content they wanted to play, when they wanted to play it, whatever came to mind. And if someone called the station for a request and it felt right, they'd play that too. What? You mean they don't do it that way now? Well in a word, no. In fact let me add no, no, no, and more no. These days, the majority of American radio stations are owned by mega corporations like Clear Channel and Infinity Broadcasting. These corporations hire programmers who decide exactly what songs to play and in what order they will be played. Then in many cases they do what is called, "Voice-tracking". Voice tracking is a process where someone records the programming in one city and then distributes it to the many stations owned by the mega corporation throughout the country. So what you hear in San Francisco may be exactly what you hear in New York City or Atlanta. Often they'll throw in content like local weather, traffic and sports to give the illusion that the DJ is local. Fooled ya! Unlike the FM band, AM radio is made up of mainly news and talk stations and relies on listener involvement as its core strength. AM has been relying more and more on syndicated programming and I have nothing against that for many of the programs are very well done like Clark Howard's informative consumer action show and the Kim Komando Show, another very informative show about computers and the Internet. But as for FM's move to mass music programming, many listeners have grown tired of the predictable playlists and have turned to ipods, podcasting and satellite radio. Not only does this mega programming squeeze out the possibility of new artists and their music from being heard, but it also makes many stations sound cookie cutter identical. Like a particular Top 40 song? No problem. Just switch to the four or five stations in any given market sharing a similar format and you can be assured it will be played, again and again. Today's stations still classify themselves in formats like Country, Top 40, and Rock and some are even experimenting with what they call "whatever" playlists trying to mimic the popular ipods and podcasts. But the station's playlists are still preprogrammed into hard drives that spit them out along with the commercials in a precise, predictable, business like order. And although the powers that be tried in vain to slow or even stop the progress of satellite radio, it harkens back to the days when VHS and then later CDs came to be. The bottom line is that if the consumer wants it, it's going to happen. What will eventually cause conventional radio listenership to decline won't be satellite or mp3 players. It will be the watered down, mass market approach these mega companies are taking. Because they've changed what was once exciting, unpredictable radio into what should now be called the, "FM Bland". Hal Eisenberg is an award winning copywriter, producer, voice over talent, and owner of The Eisenberg Agency, a full service advertising agency specializing in creative ads that get results. Visit his web site at http://www.eisenbergagency .com; mailto: halacious@eisenbergagency .com.
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Creating Your Own Unique Music Have you ever dreamed of penning your own compositions? Writing music has been a dream of mine for the longest time. And it's a dream I am fortunate enough to have realized. Downloading MP3s Made Easy The MP3 movement started out with a huge audience of music enthusiasts on the internet. The MP3 digital music format has had, and will continue to have, a huge impart on how people, gather, listen to and share music. New Age Piano Tricks One of the things that makes New Age piano so enjoyable is that it's easy to get started. A Brief History of Fender Guitars Perhaps no other guitar maker has touched the hearts of so many players and collectors as Fender. By producing excellent guitars at reasonable prices, Fender has been the instrument of choice for many guitarists throughout the world. Both the famous and not so famous have relied on Fender guitars to define their signature sounds. How to Construct Chords and Improvise How To Construct Basic Chords on the Piano Bagpipe Lessons In Your Own Home ! Bringing Bagpipe Tuition to Everyone, Everywhere. What All Do I Have to Know to be a Really Good Piano Player? Many students ask me a question that goes something like this: "What all do I have to know to be a really good piano player?" How I Learned How To Play The Guitar After Giving Up In Disgust I was 17 at the time (the Beatles era), and it was considered cool to play the guitar. I had a little training in music in elementary school where I had learned how to play the trumpet. I remember that the only reason I started the trumpet was because my daddy had run across an old beat up horn that a woman was selling for $10. An Interview with Jon Bon Jovi ? 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Cant Be Wrong The idea originated with singer Jon Bon Jovi. Jon kept upping the ante with his label and ultimately they consented to a four-CD set of essentially new material. Here, he talks about this 20th anniversery project (100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong) and the things that make Bon Jovi unique. Inspiration Wanted - Apply Within! One of the biggest stumbling blocks for music students is knowing what to practice. In the early years students listened to their teachers and did what they told them to do, which is still of course perfectly valid. But the real turning point that sets a student on their own path is the ability to self motivate and take the reins without the aid of a mentor. Copyright Basics for Songwriters Should you copyright your song? If you're a songwriter, sooner or later you will probably have some questions about getting your material copyrighted. Since I've already been down this road before, you might be able to benefit from my experience. Though I am not an expert in the field, I do believe that I have some valuable information to share with you. Arranging for New Age Piano A while back, I wrote an article that compared flower arranging to music arranging. While this may seem a world apart, it really isn't. Acoustic Or Electronic Drums - What Is Your Choice? A debate rages on in the drumming world! You might think that the debate centers on brands of drums, or different styles of drums. However, you would be wrong. This debate centers on the use of electronic drums in the music industry. Learning How To Improvise Those of you who have been reading my articles for some time now know that I believe improvisation to be the cornerstone of musical creativity. Why? Because without the ability to just play, we become stifled and the "real" music that is within each of us withers and dies. Music Making as Spiritual Experience If you've been playing piano for some time, you may come upon periods where you forget yourself and only the music remains. You might even have had a spiritual experience. A phenomenon where emotion and intellect become one and the outside world disappears. Quick and Easy Violin Mute One of the reasons I picked up the violin was because it was easier to travel with than a guitar (not that I haven't found some nice travel guitars, but that's another story). It fits in an airplane overhead and is easy to carry! How to Download Music From The Internet Most of you have probably heard of the RIAA's quest to crush online music piracy. The illegal sharing of copyrighted songs via the MP3 format over the Internet costs the music industry billions of dollars. This is conventionally done using illegal file sharing programs like KaZaa and iMesh. This article explores the legal ways to download and enjoy music from the Internet. Motorhead Inferno Motorhead-"Inferno"-Review by Les Lewellyn When David Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame release the sensational CD "Probot" this year it rekindled my metal tastebuds. For those of you not familiar with his project I'll explain. He recorded songs on which he played all instruments and he had guest vocalists come in and sing as well as write the lyrics and play whatever instrument they might also play. The cd features vocalists such as King Diamond, Snake from Voivod, and many other great singers/musicians. The whole cd flows like it was a gift from God or at least the Heavy Metal God. On that cd Lemmy from Motorhead does a fantastic job on the tune "Shake Your Blood". On first listen I was excited to hear Lemmy singing on such a awesome tune and the excitement was enough for me to do some google searching and that is where I found out that the boys were back and had a new CD released on the indie label Sanctuary entitled "Inferno". Like Monster Magnet, being on an indie has enhanced their sound big time! Always a rough and tough rocking band, Motorhead has never rocked like they do on this CD. What's amazing is how great Lemmy's vocals sound. I have loved the band since their beginning and my fondness for Lemmy dates back to his Hawkwind days. I have to say I have enjoyed Motorhead whenever I've bought a cd and listened. But NEVER have I been entrapped into their sound like I am today. The opening song, "Terminal Show", features Steve Vai on guitar. I have to admit even though I'm a guitarist I respect Steve Vai but I just can't get into the instrumental cds he's released. Actually, I dig them I just don't find myself playing them very often. But Steve takes hold of "Terminal Show" and sounds like he's in the band. He refrains from overplaying his part and he fits Motorhead like a glove. Philip Campbell, Motorhead's guitarist, allows Steve Vai to play with no conflicts and it's sweet as honey! But Philip Campbell then goes on to play lead on all the rest of the tunes like a banshee in heat except the end of "Down On Me" on which Steve Vai returns. What's cool about this is the fact that the two tunes on which Steve Vai plays guitar are not necessarily the best on the cd. It's a seemless collection of tunes that will rock the toughest crowd. I can only imagine how great they sound live and I can't wait to catch them on their current tour. Mikkey Dee returns on drums and this cat pounds the hell out of them. Lemmy attacks the bass like a maniac and his vocals are his best to date. The cd never gets politcal but it does paint a dim look at life in these troubled times. It's really kind of creepy how convincing Lemmy sounds on the tune "Killers". Obviously the dude is fascinated with murder because he sings three tunes about the topic. I'm glad he's got his bass and band to keep him busy!!!! I know I claimed Monster Magnet have the best cd this year but I have to say that Motorhead are coming in with a tie at least! "Inferno" is a must buy cd for any hard rock fan. From start to finish the album soars past and demands repeated plays. I am sure that Motorhead's old fans will freak out over this cd and also they've created a cd that will hopefully get them some new young fans. Visit their site at http://www.imotorhead .com Buy this CD! How to Make $30,000 with Your Music Before Years End As an independent musician and/or recording artist, if you did *NOT* earn $30,000 (or more) with your music alone last year, let's jump right in and get you started with doing so this year. What is Music? That's a fair question!
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