Years ago radio was the source for being exposed to the new music that the radio personality (DJ) that you liked thought was worth playing. Back then the DJ would pick the songs and spin the discs (play the records) himself. We had personalities like Alan Freed, Cousin Bruce Morrow, etc. who played what they liked and thought we would too. Major corporations did not have stations pre-programmed, but that was then not today.
Today we have a few major companies deciding what you hear on the radio. This is why independent labels and artists are not heard. As a major of fact, if Rock & Roll started today you would never have heard it at all. Today we have the alternatives such as Pandora where you create your own playlists but that does not expose you to great new music that you might like. We now have satellite radio but to be honest, it’s not much better than commercial terrestrial radio.
It’s not that there are not great radio personalities, we have many but they are not allowed to play what they decide their listeners will enjoy. There are truly great radio personalities like Bob Collins of WRHU in New York and Bubba Jackson of KJAZZ in Los Angeles. These guys love music and respect their listeners. The problem is that they are on NPR stations and their audience is not as large as it should be.
I hope that internet radio is the new frontier bringing back radio personalities who listeners will identify with and can be exposed to great new music by, not just what the major labels are pushing. Internet radio has the ability to be independent and yet reach a worldwide audience. I know that there are quite a few internet stations but we still do not have any break out personalities whose taste can shape the future of music while embracing the roots of great music.
