HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Music radio is a
radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when radio was compelle ...
in which
music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...
is the main broadcast content. After television replaced old time radio's dramatic content, music formats became dominant in many countries. Radio drama and comedy continue, often on public radio. Music drives radio technology, including wide-band FM, modern
digital radio Digital radio is the use of digital technology to transmit or receive across the radio spectrum. Digital transmission by radio waves includes digital broadcasting, and especially digital audio radio services. Types In digital broadcasting sy ...
systems such as
Digital Radio Mondiale Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM; ''mondiale'' being Italian and French for "worldwide") is a set of digital audio broadcasting technologies designed to work over the bands currently used for analogue radio broadcasting including AM broadcasting—pa ...
, and even the rise of
internet radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitte ...
and music streaming services (such as
Pandora In Greek mythology, Pandora (Greek: , derived from , ''pān'', i.e. "all" and , ''dōron'', i.e. "gift", thus "the all-endowed", "all-gifted" or "all-giving") was the first human woman created by Hephaestus on the instructions of Zeus. As Hes ...
and
Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
). When radio was the main form of entertainment, regular programming, mostly stories and variety shows, was the norm. If there was music, it was normally a live concert or part of a variety show. Backstage sound engineers who jockeyed discs (records) from one turntable to another to keep up with the live programming were often called
disc jockeys A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...
. With the mass production and popularity of records in the mid 1940s, as well as the birth of TV, it was discovered that a show was needed to simply play records and hire a disc jockey to host the program. One of the first disc jockeys (later called DJs) was Dick Clark. Others followed suit and today music radio is the most numerous format.


Format

The radio station provides programming to attract listeners. Commercial radio stations make profits by selling advertising. Public and community radio stations are sustained by listener donations and grants. Young people are targeted by advertisers because their product preferences can be changed more easily. Therefore, the most commercially successful stations target young audiences. The programming usually cycles from the least attractive item, to most attractive, followed by commercials. The purpose of this plan is to build listener interest during the programming. There are several standard ways of selecting the music, such as free-form, top-40, album-oriented rock, and Jack. These can be applied to all types of music. Because dead air does not attract listeners, the station tries to fill its broadcast day with sound. Audiences will only tolerate a certain number of commercials before tuning away. In some regions, government regulators specify how many commercials can be played in a given hour.
Jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...
s are radio's equivalent of neon signs. Jingles are brief, bright pieces of choral music that promote the station's
call letters In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assign ...
, frequency and sometimes disc-jockey or program segment. Jingles are produced for radio stations by commercial specialty services such as JAM, in Texas. Jingles are often replaced by recorded voice-overs (called "stingers", also depending on region more often "liners"). In order to build station loyalty, the station announces time, station calls letters and frequency as often as six to twelve times per hour. Jingles and stingers (liners) help to give the station a branded sound in a pleasant, minimal amount of air-time. The legal requirement for
station identification Station identification (ident, network ID or channel ID or bumper) is the practice of radio and television stations and broadcast network, networks identifying themselves on-air, typically by means of a call sign or brand name (sometimes known, ...
in the U.S. is once per hour, approximately at the top of the hour, or at the conclusion of a transmission. News, time-checks, real-time travel advice and weather reports are often valuable to listeners. The news headlines and station identification are therefore given just before a commercial. Time, traffic and weather are given just after. The engineer typically sets the station clocks to standard local time each day, by listening to WWV or WWVH (see
atomic clock An atomic clock is a clock that measures time by monitoring the resonant frequency of atoms. It is based on atoms having different energy levels. Electron states in an atom are associated with different energy levels, and in transitions betw ...
). These segments are less valued by the most targeted market, young people, so many commercial stations shorten or omit these segments in favor of music. While most music stations that offer news reports simply "tear and read" news items (from the newswires or the Internet), larger stations (generally those affiliated with news/talk stations) may employ an editor to rewrite headlines, and provide summaries of local news. Summaries fit more news in less air-time. Some stations share news collection with TV or newspapers in the same media conglomerate. An emerging trend is to use the radio station's web site to provide in-depth coverage of news and advertisers headlined on the air. Many stations contract with agencies such as Smartraveler and
AccuWeather AccuWeather Inc. is an American media company that provides commercial weather forecasting services worldwide. AccuWeather was founded in 1962 by Joel N. Myers, then a Pennsylvania State University graduate student working on a master's degree i ...
for their weather and traffic reports instead of using in-house staff. Fewer radio stations (except on medium and major market, depending on daypart) maintain a call-in telephone line for promotions and gags, or to take record requests. DJs of commercial stations do not generally answer the phone and edit the call during music plays in non-major markets, as the programming is either delivered via satellite, or voice-tracked using a computer. More and more stations take requests by e-mail and online chat only. The value of a station's advertising is set by the number, age and wealth of its listeners.
Arbitron Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging ...
, a commercial statistical service, historically used listener diaries to statistically measure the number of listeners. Arbitron diaries were collected on Thursdays, and for this reason, most radio stations have run special promotions on Thursdays, hoping to persuade last-minute Arbitron diarists to give them a larger market-share. Arbitron contractually prevents mention of its name on the air. Promotions are the on-air equivalent of lotteries for listeners. Promotional budgets usually run about $1 per listener per year. In a large market, a successful radio station can pay a full-time director of promotions, and run several lotteries per month of vacations, automobiles and other prizes. Lottery items are often bartered from advertisers, allowing both companies to charge full prices at wholesale costs. For example, cruising companies often have unused capacity, and when given the choice, prefer to pay their bills by bartering cruise vacations. Since the ship will sail in any case, bartered vacations cost the cruise company little or nothing. The promotion itself advertises the company providing the prize. The FCC has defined a lottery as “any game, contest or promotion that combines the elements of prize, chance and consideration.”


Programming by time

Most music stations have DJs who play music from a playlist determined by the program director, arranged by blocks of time. Though practices differ by region and format, what follows is a typical arrangement in a North American urban commercial radio station. The first block of the day is the "morning
drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this cla ...
" block in the early morning.
Arbitron Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging ...
defines this block between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m., though it can begin as early as 5 a.m. (though usually not later than 6), and end as early as 9 a.m. or as late as 11 a.m. This block usually includes news bulletins and traffic and weather advisories for commuters, as well as light comedy from the morning DJ team (many shock jocks started as or still work on drive-time radio). Some stations emphasize music, and reduce gags and call-ins in this period. The midday block (defined by Arbitron as 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., though often extended later to about 5 p.m.) is mostly music, and in many places is at least partially voicetracked from another market. For a period around noon a station may play nonstop music or go to an all-request format for people eating lunch. This block is often occupied by a "no-repeat workday;" stations that offer this feature usually target captive audiences such as retail workers, who have to listen to the station for long periods of time and can become irritated by repetition. In the early evening, or "afternoon drive" (defined by Arbitron as 3 to 7 p.m.), the evening rush-hour programming resembles the midday programming, but adds traffic and weather advisories for commuters. Some stations insert a short snippet of stand-up comedy ("5 O'Clock Funnies") around 5 o'clock when commuters leave work, or play specifically selected "car tunes" ideal for listening while driving. The evening block (defined by Arbitron as 7 p.m. to midnight), if present, returns to music. Syndicated programs such as Tom Kent or
Delilah Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ar, دليلة, Dalīlah; grc, label=Greek, Δαλιδά, Dalidá) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved b ...
are popular in this shift. The overnight programming, from midnight to the beginning of drive time, is generally low-key music with quiet, if any, announcing. Some stations play documentaries or even
infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dir ...
s, while some others play syndicated or voicetracked DJs. Complete automation, with no jock, is very common in this day part. It is not uncommon to play more adventurous selections during late night programming blocks, since late night is generally not considered significant for ratings, and are not subject to federal restrictions as stringently as during the daytime. Stations are permitted to sign off during this time; in areas where AM radio is still significant (especially in the United States), local stations may be required to either sign off or cut to low-power to protect
clear-channel station A clear-channel station is an AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The system exists to ensure the viability of cross-co ...
s. Weekends, especially Sundays, often carry different programming. The countdown show, ranking the top songs of the previous week, has been a staple of weekend radio programming since 1970; current hosts of countdown shows in various formats include Rick Dees,
Ryan Seacrest Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American media personality and producer. He is the co-host of ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'', as well as the host of multiple media shows including ''American Idol'', ''American Top 40'', and '' ...
,
Jeff Foxworthy Jeffrey Marshall Foxworthy (born September 6, 1958) is an American actor, author, comedian, producer and writer. He is a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, with Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, and Ron White. Known for his "You might be a ...
,
Kix Brooks Leon Eric Brooks III, better known by his stage name Kix Brooks (born May 12, 1955), is an American country music artist, actor, and film producer best known for being one half of the duo Brooks & Dunn and host of radio's '' American Country ...
, Bob Kingsley, Crook & Chase,
Randy Jackson Randall Darius Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American record executive and television presenter, perhaps best known as a judge on ''American Idol'' from 2002 to 2013. Jackson began his career in the 1980s as a session musician playing bas ...
,
Walt Love Walt is a masculine given name, generally a short form of Walter, and occasionally a surname. Notable people with the name include: People Given name * Walt Arfons (1916-2013), American drag racer and competition land speed record racer * Walt Bel ...
, Al Gross, Dick Bartley, and (via reruns)
Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice No ...
. Other types of weekend programming include niche programming, retrospective shows and world music such as the Putumayo World Music Hour. Stations may carry shows with different genres of music such as blues or jazz. Community affairs and religious programming is often on Sunday mornings, generally one of the least listened-to periods of the week. In addition, weekend evenings are particularly specialized; a dance station might have a sponsored dance party at a local club, or a classical station may play an opera. Saturday nights are also similar to this; request shows, both local and national (e.g. Dick Bartley), are very popular on Saturday night. The longest running radio program in the country, the ''
Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divi ...
'', has aired on Saturday night since its inception in 1925. Many music stations in the United States perform news and timechecks only sparingly, preferring to put more music on the air. News is often restricted to the talk-heavy commuting hours, though weather updates are still very common throughout the day, even on these stations.
ABC FM News ABC News Now is an Internet-delivered news radio that is currently owned by The Walt Disney Company's ABC Audio division. The network was previously distributed by Cumulus Media Networks (through Cumulus Media) and licensed the ABC branding fro ...
is an example of an American news network that is designed for music radio stations. The BBC and ABC take a different approach, with all of its stations giving news updates (
BBC Radio 1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been ...
produces its own news segments under the name TX.)


Music formats

Some well-known music-radio formats are ''Top 40'', ''Freeform Rock'' and ''AOR (Album Oriented Rock)''. It turns out that most other stations (such as Rhythm & Blues) use a variation of one of these formats with a different
playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs, but sometimes a loop. The term has sev ...
. The way stations advertise themselves is not standardized. Some critical interpretation is needed to recognize classic formulas in the midst of the commercial glitz. See List of music radio formats for further details, and note that there is a great deal of format evolution (or, to borrow a television term,
channel drift Channel drift or network decay is the gradual shift of a television network away from its original programming, to either target a newer and more profitable audience, or to broaden its viewership by including less niche programming. Often, this ...
) as music tastes and commercial conditions change. For example, the
Beautiful music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator m ...
format that developed into today's
Easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...
and
Soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...
formats is nearly extinct due to a lack of interest from younger generations, whereas
classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...
has become popular over the last 20 years or so and
Jack FM Jack FM is a radio network brand, licensed by Sparknet Communications, with the exception of the European Union where it is licensed by Oxis Media. It plays an adult hits format, in most cases not using DJs. Format characteristics Stations ...
has arisen only since 2000 or so. The most popular format in the U.S. is
country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...
, but
rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States and ...
sells the most.


Top 40

The original formulaic radio format was
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "conte ...
music, now known within the industry as
contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...
or ''CHR''. In this radio format, disc-jockeys would select one of a set of the forty best-selling singles (usually in a rack) as rated by Billboard magazine or from the station's own chart of the local top selling songs. In general, the more aggressive "Top 40" stations could sometimes be better described as "Top 20" stations. They would aggressively skirt listener boredom to play only the most popular singles. Top 40 radio would punctuate the music with jingles, promotions, gags, call-ins, and requests, brief news, time and weather announcements and most importantly, advertising. The distinguishing mark of a traditional top-40 station was the use of a hyperexcited disc-jockey, and high tempo jingles. The format was invented in the US and today can be heard worldwide. Todd Storz and Gordon McLendon invented Top 40 radio. Bill Drake and Rick Sklar have had a lasting modern influence. Variants and hybrids include the freeform-like
Jack FM Jack FM is a radio network brand, licensed by Sparknet Communications, with the exception of the European Union where it is licensed by Oxis Media. It plays an adult hits format, in most cases not using DJs. Format characteristics Stations ...
(mentioned below under Freeform Rock) and the "Mix" formats mentioned below under Oldies. Top 40 music is heavily criticized by some music fans as being repetitive and of low quality, and is almost exclusively dominated by large media conglomerates such as
iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
and
CBS Corporation The second incarnation of CBS Corporation (the first being a short-lived rename of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation) was an American multinational media conglomerate with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing, an ...
. Top 40 tends to be underrepresented on the Internet, being mostly the domain of commercial broadcasters such as Virgin Radio UK. Some of the most famous Top 40 stations have been Musicradio 77 WABC/
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
, Boss Radio 93 KHJ/
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
, The Big 89
WLS WLS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * WLS (AM), a radio station in Chicago, Illinois, US * WLS-FM, a radio station in Chicago, Illinois, US * WLS-TV, a television station in Chicago, Illinois, US * DWLS, a radio station in Metro Manila ...
/
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
,
1050 CHUM CHUM is a Canadian radio station in Toronto, Ontario, broadcasting on 1050 kHz. The station is owned and operated by Bell Media. CHUM's studios are co-located with The Sports Network, TSN at 9 Channel Nine Court in the Agincourt, Toronto, A ...
/
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
, Famous 56
WFIL WFIL (560 AM) is a radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, with a Christian radio format consisting of teaching and talk programs. Owned by Salem Media Group, studios and transmitter facilities are shared with co-owned WN ...
/
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, and The Big 68
WRKO WRKO (680 AM) is a commercial news/talk radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, serving Greater Boston and much of surrounding New England. Owned by iHeartMedia, WRKO is a Class B AM station that provides secondary coverage to portio ...
/
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
. Today, there are popular Top 40 stations such as WHTZ-Z100/
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
, 102.7 KIIS-FM/, and KAMP-97.1 AMP Radio/ in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
, and Jovem Pan in
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...


Freeform and progressive rock

A later development was freeform radio, later commercially developed as
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
radio, and still later even more commercially developed as AOR (Album-Oriented Rock), in which selections from an album would be played together, with an appropriate introduction. Traditional free-form stations prided themselves on offering their disc jockeys freedom to play significant music and make significant social commentary and humor. This approach developed commercial problems because disc jockeys attracted to this freedom often had tastes substantially different from the audience, and lost audience share. Also, freeform stations could lack predictability, and listeners' loyalty could then be put at risk. Progressive rock radio (not to be confused with the
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
music genre) was freeform in style but constrained so that some kind of rock music was what was always or almost always played. Responsible jocks would realize their responsibility to the audience to produce a pleasant show, and try to keep the station sound predictable by listening to other jocks, and repeating some of their music selections.
WNEW-FM WNEW-FM (102.7 FM, ''NEW 102.7'') is a hot adult contemporary formatted radio station, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Ma ...
in New York during the 1970s exemplified this approach to progressive rock radio. At their best, free-form stations have never been equaled for their degree of social activism, programmatic freedom, and listener involvement. However, to succeed, the approach requires genius jocks, totally in-tune with their audience, who are also committed to the commercial success of the radio station. This is a rare combination of traits. Even if such people are available, they often command extremely high salaries. However, this may be an effective approach for a new station, if talented jocks can be recruited and motivated at low salaries. Freeform radio is particularly popular as a college radio format; offshoots include the recent (and somewhat controversial, due to its lack of on-air personalities) eclectic-pop format known as variety hits, which plays a wide assortment of mostly top-40 music from a span of several decades; and
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
radio, a mostly talk format pioneered by Infinity Broadcasting's KYOU station in California and Adam Curry's Podcast show on
Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Holdings. Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Sirius ...
.


AOR (album-oriented rock)

AOR (
album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-orient ...
) developed as a commercial compromise between top-forties-style formulas and progressive rock radio/freeform. A program director or music consultant would select some set of music "standards" and require the playlist to be followed, perhaps in an order selected by the jock. The jock would still introduce each selection, but the jock would have available a scripted introduction to use if he was not personally familiar with a particular piece of music and its artist. Obviously a computer helps a lot in this process. A useful, relatively safe compromise with the artistic freedom of the jocks is that a few times each hour, usually in the least commercially valuable slots of the hour, the disc-jockey can highlight new tracks that he or she thinks might interest the audience. The audience is encouraged to comment on the new tracks, allowing the station to track audience tastes. The freedom to introduce new artists can help a station develop its library. Significant AOR offshoots include
classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...
and
adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, 2 ...
.


Oldies, standards, and classic rock

Classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...
or
oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as wel ...
formats have been described as having the weakness of not playing new artists. This is true in a creative sense, but not a commercial one.
Conventional wisdom The conventional wisdom or received opinion is the body of ideas or explanations generally accepted by the public and/or by experts in a field. In religion, this is known as orthodoxy. Etymology The term is often credited to the economist John ...
in the radio industry is that stations will not get good ratings or revenue if they frequently play songs unfamiliar to their audience. This is why "Top 40" stations played only the biggest hits and why oldies and classic rock formats do the same for the eras they cover. An inherent danger to this philosophy is that closed-campus work environments, such as retail, foster an environment where listeners hear the station continuously for several hours, multiple days in a row, which can become unpleasant after a short amount of time. Oldies and related formats do have an inherent advantage in that they have a much broader time frame (up to 30 years, compared to the current hits of a top-40 station) from which to draw their playlist and can thus play a greater variety of songs than a station bound to devote the majority of its spins to a limited list. The ideal "classic" station (of whatever format) finds the balance between playing listener favorites frequently enough to develop a base while at the same time cultivating a playlist broad enough not to breed contempt. Nevertheless, there seems to be a cottage industry of Internet stations specializing in specific forms of classic rock and oldies, particularly
psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
and
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
. The oldies and classic rock formats have a strong niche market, but as the audience becomes older the station becomes less attractive to advertisers. Advertisers perceive older listeners as set in their brand choices and not as responsive to advertising as younger, more impulsive listeners. Oldies stations must occasionally change to more youthful music formats; as a result, the definition of what constitutes an "oldies" station has gradually changed over the years (and the phrase "oldies" itself is falling out of use except for the stations that still regularly play music from the 1960s and earlier). This is why many oldies stations, like
WCBS-FM WCBS-FM (101.1 FM) is a radio station offering a classic hits format licensed to New York City and is owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are in the combined Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood in lower M ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
and WJMK in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
, have switched over to the younger-oriented
Jack FM Jack FM is a radio network brand, licensed by Sparknet Communications, with the exception of the European Union where it is licensed by Oxis Media. It plays an adult hits format, in most cases not using DJs. Format characteristics Stations ...
format in recent years—although WCBS-FM adopted a Classic Hits format on July 12, 2007, and the "Jack FM" format was moved to its HD2 subchannel. Unlike WCBS-FM's pre-JACK format which was centered on the 1955-1979 era, the post-JACK station was based on the 1964-1989 era because of the aging listener demographics of the original format. This preference for younger listeners caused the decline of the "Big Band" or "Standards" music formats that covered music from the 1930s to the 1950s. As the audience grew too old for advertisers, the radio stations that carried these formats saw a sharp loss of ratings and revenue. This left them with no choice but to adopt more youthful formats, though the Standards format (also known as the
Great American Songbook The Great American Songbook is the loosely defined canon of significant early-20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes. Definition According to the Great American Songbook Foundation: The "Great American Songbook" ...
from the series of albums produced by rocker
Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...
) has undergone something of an off-air revival, with artists such as Stewart,
Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his bir ...
and
Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album '' All Hail the Qu ...
putting their own interpretation on the music. During the mid-to-late-1990s, the "Mix" format—a loosely defined mixture of Top-40 and classic rock with something of an emphasis on
adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...
music—began to appear across the country. While the format has no particular standard identity, most "mix" stations have rotations consisting largely of pop and rock music from the 1980s and 1990s (and often the 1970s), with some current material mixed in. In addition, stations devoted to the pop music of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s on their own have developed as the audiences that grew up with that music grew older and nostalgic for the sounds of their youth. The continued play of such songs on such stations has also exposed the music to younger generations that can take a renewed interest in the music, prolonging its
shelf life Shelf life is the length of time that a commodity may be stored without becoming unfit for use, consumption, or sale. In other words, it might refer to whether a commodity should no longer be on a pantry shelf (unfit for use), or no longer on a ...
beyond what conventional wisdom in the industry may suggest. The
full service Full service or Full Service may refer to: * Full-service radio, a wide range of programming * Full Service Network, a communications company Entertainment * "Full Service", a song by the New Kids on the Block from their album ''The Block'' * Fu ...
format is a more freeform variant of this type of format. Full-service stations will often mix the oldies, classic rock, classic hits, and adult standards music, occasionally with music found in formats such as
beautiful music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator m ...
, adult contemporary, or
classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on inn ...
. On weekends, specialty or niche programs focusing on formats such as
Celtic music Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celtic people of Northwestern Europe. It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and recorded music and the styles vary considera ...
, polka and Italian music (depending on the ethnicity of the area) are common. In addition to music, a limited amount of local talk programming is heard on most full-service stations. Full service tends to be heard primarily on rural stations.


Classical, pop, easy-listening, jazz, dance

These formats all have small but very loyal audiences in the largest markets. Most follow formats similar to the above (Top 40s, Freeform, AOR and Oldies), except with a different playlist. Public service stations following these formats tend to be "freeform" stations.


Regional Mexican

Regional Mexican is a Latin music radio format, typically including Banda, Conjunto, Corridos, Duranguense, Grupero, Huapango, Mariachi, New Mexico music, Norteña, Ranchera, and Tejano music. It is the most popular radio format targeting Hispanic Americans in the United States. The large number of immigrants from Northern Mexico can lead to an emphasis upon Norteña on Regional Mexican radio stations, though markets with larger Hispanic audiences can have multiple Regional Mexican stations, with variations in which region from which the music is taken and where it is popular.


Easy listening

Easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...
and
adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...
are related formats that play largely down-tempo pop music of various styles. The difference is mostly in the era and styles covered --
Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...
is mostly older music done in the style of standards from the early 20th century (typical artists include
Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...
and Frank Sinatra) combined with
Big Band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...
music and more modern performers in the same style such as
Céline Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...
and Josh Groban, while
Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...
focuses more on newer pop music from the 1970s on. An ancestor to the easy listening format is
Beautiful Music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator m ...
, a now-rare format (though XM features one channel of it, called Sunny) focusing mostly on smooth jazz or classical arrangements of pop music and original compositions in a similar vein. Perhaps the best-known Adult Contemporary station currently in operation is
WLTW WLTW (106.7 FM) is an adult contemporary radio station licensed to New York City and serving the New York metropolitan area. WLTW is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios in the former AT&T Building in the Tribeca neighborhood of ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
, better known as 106.7 Lite FM.
Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...
stations generally play either traditional jazz forms or
smooth jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 1 ...
. The jazz station, more than any other except the college station, is stereotyped as having a small listenership and a somewhat overly highbrow on-air personality, and many are college-run stations. California State University Long Beach sponsors KJAZZ 88.1, which has a fairly significant online listenership as well. Two very well known smooth jazz stations are WNUA in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
and 94.7 The Wave in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
, both of which were introduced in 1987, and still continue to enjoy tremendous success in the format today. Also, WUCF-FM in
Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures r ...
has been playing jazz music since 1978. Both traditional and smooth jazz stations have been in severe decline, both on commercial and noncommercial stations, since the 2000s, in part because of the formats' lower profitability compared to other formats (adult contemporary for commercial stations, NPR-driven news/talk for noncommercial ones). Blues programming is generally limited to niche programs on stations that primarily broadcast other formats. An exception to this is CIDG-FM, an all-blues station based in the Canadian city of
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
. Dance music is a niche, and so-called "rhythmic pop" stations have had a fierce but not always commercially sustainable following. There was a wide spectrum of disco-format radio stations during the late 1970s, but virtually all of them died out during the
disco backlash Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric piano, ...
; WXKS in Boston is one of the few notable survivors, now a
Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
-owned top-40 station of considerable influence. Nevertheless, there are a large number of dance music stations available both on the internet and on satellite radio, mostly specializing in various forms of
electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to ...
. Both major US satellite radio services include disco stations.


Alternative and modern rock

Rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States and ...
has a long and honorable radio tradition going back to DJs like
Wolfman Jack Robert Weston Smith (January 21, 1938July 1, 1995), known as Wolfman Jack, was an American disc jockey active from 1960 till his death in 1995. Famous for his gravelly voice, he credited it for his success, saying, "It's kept meat and potatoes ...
and
Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout N ...
, and as a result variations on rock radio are fairly common. The
classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...
and oldies formats are discussed above; in addition to those, however, there are several genres of music radio devoted to different aspects of modern rock music. Alternative rock grew out of the grunge scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s and is particularly favored by college radio and
adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, 2 ...
stations; there is a strong focus on songwriters and bands with an outsider sound or a more sophisticated sound than the "three chord wonder" cliché. Meanwhile, other stations focus on heavy metal, punk rock, or the various post-punk and pop-influenced sounds known collectively as "modern rock". Narrow-interest rock stations are particularly common on the Internet and satellite radio scenes, broken down into genres such as punk, metal, classic rock,
indie music Independent music (also commonly known as indie music or simply indie) is music that is produced independently from commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, a process that may include an autonomous, do-it-yourself approach to recording a ...
, and the like. There is a general feeling among radio connoisseurs that rock radio is becoming badly watered down by big corporate ownership, leading to a considerable do-it-yourself spirit.


Country

While stereotyped as rural music, the
Country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...
format is common and popular throughout the United States and in some other countries (particularly Canada and Australia, both of which share much of the same Anglo-Saxon and Celtic roots as the United States). Country has been a popular radio format since the early days of music radio, dating back to the early days of radio itself when barn dance radio programs were widely popular; however, the format was indeed originally a predominantly rural phenomenon, especially on AM radio. Decades worth of efforts at mainstreaming the format eventually paid off when country radio became widely popular among a large number of FM radio stations that signed on in the suburban United States in the 1980s and early 1990s. For most mainstream country stations, the emphasis is generally on current pop country, following the same process as top 40; the remaining music in a particular station's library generally uses music from the past fifteen years (shorter for "hot country" or "new country" stations), with the exact music used varying depending on the station and the style of music the listener wants to hear.
Classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on inn ...
is a variant of the country music format; it is effectively the country music analog to oldies. Classic country is generally preserved in the rural AM stations that country music aired on before its mainstream expansion. Depending on the music mix, it can play either relatively recent classic country tunes from the 1970s to the 1990s (generally more favorable to advertisers) or can span all the way back to the 1920s, thus playing music far older than almost any other radio format available. Due to increasing similarities between country music and some variants of rock music (such as
southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar specul ...
,
country rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal ...
and
heartland rock Heartland rock is a genre of rock music characterized by a straightforward, often roots musical style, often with a focus on blue-collar workers, and a conviction that rock music has a social or communal purpose beyond just entertainment. The ...
), there have been efforts at combining country and rock formats together, most of which have been unsuccessful. An alternative country format is Americana, which eschews the mainstream pop country songs in favor of classic-era, alt country and cult musicians. Like the music it plays, these stations can develop strong
cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic ...
s and listener loyalty, but they are also less commercially successful than pop country stations.


Urban (hip-hop/R&B)

The explosive rise in popularity during the 1980s of
rap music Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
has led to a large number of radio stations specializing in rap/hip-hop and R&B music (with the exception of classic R&B such as
Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''mot ...
, which is as often as not the province of Oldies stations). This format is popular among all ethnic groups and social classes.


Dance music radio

Dance music radio focuses on live DJ sets and hit singles from genres of
techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...
,
house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air ...
, electro,
drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...
,
UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. I ...
and big beat. While some stations play all kinds of electronic dance music, others (mainly
pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially ...
stations) focus on particular genres. This format is popular in England, Germany, Netherlands and some other countries, but less so in the United States (where dance is a niche format often exclusive to internet radio stations). However, the number of U.S. stations airing such content has grown; five terrestrial radio stations in the U.S. with a purely dance-oriented format (one of which airing it part-time during the night and early-morning hours) report their airplay to the Billboard
Dance/Mix Show Airplay Dance/Mix Show Airplay (formerly Hot Dance Airplay) is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. History The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic ...
chart, while top 40 and rhythmic stations may also air EDM songs that have crossed over onto pop-oriented charts due to the recent growth in mainstream popularity of dance music.


Christian and gospel music

Christian and gospel radio stations usually plays the popular
Contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and ...
, others playing Gospel music and/or Praise and worship. K-Love and Air1 are among the most popular Christian radio stations. In the United States, Christian music stations (especially ostensibly noncommercial ones) often rely heavily on
brokered programming Brokered programming (also known as time-buy and blocktime) is a form of broadcast content in which the show's producer pays a radio or television station for air time, rather than exchanging programming for pay or the opportunity to play spot comm ...
: a Christian music station typically only carries music for part of the day, with the rest of the day filled by evangelists who pay to place recordings of their sermons on the station.


Public, commercial and community radio


Public radio formats

Some music radio is broadcast by public service organizations, such as
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from othe ...
or the BBC. In the United States, public radio is typically confined to three formats: news/talk, classical music, or jazz, the last of which is declining rapidly as of the late 2000s. In other countries, where national broadcasters hold significantly more clout, formats can vary more widely.


Community radio

Community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popul ...
often relies heavily on the music format because it is relatively cheap and generally makes for easy listening.


Commercial radio

Commercial stations charge advertisers for the estimated number of listeners. The larger the audience, the higher the stations' rate card can be for commercial advertising. Commercial stations program the format of the station to gain as large a slice of the demographic audience as possible. A station's value is usually measured as a percentage of market share in a market of a certain size. The measurement in U.S. markets has historically been by
Arbitron Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging ...
, a commercial statistical service that uses listener diaries. Arbitron diaries were historically collected on Thursdays, and for this reason, most radio stations have run special promotions on Thursdays, hoping to persuade last-minute Arbitron diarists to give them a larger market-share. Stations are contractually prohibited from mentioning Arbitron on the air. Market share is not always a consideration, because not all radio stations are commercial. Public radio is funded by government and private donors. Since most public broadcasting operations don't have to make a profit, no commercials are necessary. (In fact, because most public broadcasting stations operate under noncommercial licenses from their country's broadcasting regulator, they may not be allowed to sell advertising at all.) Underwriting spots, which mention the name of a sponsor and some information but cannot include “calls to action” attempting to convince the listener to patronize the sponsor, may be allowed. Also,
satellite radio Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a '' broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than ...
either charges subscribers or is operated by a public broadcasting service. Therefore, satellite radio rarely carries commercials or tries to raise money from donors. The lack of commercial interruptions in satellite radio is an important advantage. Often the only breaks in a satellite music station's programming are for
station identification Station identification (ident, network ID or channel ID or bumper) is the practice of radio and television stations and broadcast network, networks identifying themselves on-air, typically by means of a call sign or brand name (sometimes known, ...
and DJ introductions.
Internet radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitte ...
stations exist that follow all of these plans. Much early commercial radio was completely freeform; this changed drastically with the payola scandals of the 1950s. As a result, DJs seldom have complete programming freedom. Occasionally a special situation or highly respected, long established personality is given such freedom. Most programming is done by the program director. Program directors may work for the station or at a central location run by a corporate network. The DJ's function is generally reduced to introducing and playing songs. Many stations target younger listeners, because advertisers believe that advertising can change a younger person's product choice. Older people are thought to be less easy to change. Music radio has several possible arrangements. Originally, it had blocks of sponsored airtime that played music from a live orchestra. In the 1930s, phonograph records, especially the single, let a
disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...
introduce individual songs, or introduce blocks of songs. Since then, the program has been arranged so that commercials are followed by the content that is most valuable to the audience. Programming is different for non-traditional broadcasting. The
Jack FM Jack FM is a radio network brand, licensed by Sparknet Communications, with the exception of the European Union where it is licensed by Oxis Media. It plays an adult hits format, in most cases not using DJs. Format characteristics Stations ...
format eliminates DJs entirely, as do many internet radio stations. The music is simply played. If it is announced, it is by RDS (for FM broadcast) or ID3 tags (for Internet broadcast). Satellite radio usually uses DJs, but their programming blocks are longer and not distinguished much by the time of day. In addition, receivers usually display song titles, so announcing them is not needed. Internet and satellite broadcasting are not considered public media, so treaties and statutes concerning obscenity, transmission of ciphers and public order do not apply to those formats. So, satellite and internet radio are free to provide sexually explicit, coarse and political material. Typical providers include Playboy Radio, uncensored rap and hard rock stations, and "outlaw"
country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...
stations. The wide reach and selective, non-broadcast usage of the internet allows programmers access to special interest audiences. As a result, both mainstream and narrow-interest webcasts flourish; in particular, electronic music stations are much more common on the Internet than they are in satellite or broadcast media.


Regional differences

Outside of
English-speaking world Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the ''Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest languag ...
, several radio formats built around local musical genres are popular. Examples include Portuguese
Fado Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre that can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado wa ...
, Spanish-speaking
Mexican Regional Regional Mexican is a Latin music radio format encompassing the musical genres from the different parts of rural Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Genres include banda, country en español, Duranguense, grupero, mariachi, New Mexico ...
,
Reggaeton Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American hip hop, ...
and
tejano Tejanos (, ; singular: ''Tejano/a''; Spanish for "Texan", originally borrowed from the Caddo ''tayshas'') are the residents of the state of Texas who are culturally descended from the Mexican population of Tejas and Coahuila that lived in t ...
, French
Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...
(especially in French Louisiana), Russian
Shanson Russian chanson ( rus, русский шансон, r=russkiy shanson}; from French "chanson") is a neologism for a musical genre covering a range of Russian songs, including city romance songs, author song performed by singer-songwriters, and ...
, and (since the late 2000s) Korean
K-pop K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, g ...
.


Cost of programming

Stations usually adopt a music format to gain the greatest number of listeners for the least expense. Since the content has already been produced, the station merely adds the low-cost on-air programming between records. Music radio stations pay music-licensing fees to licensing agencies such as
ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
and BMI in the United States or PRS in the UK. These fees or royalties are generally paid to the songwriters; the musicians themselves typically do not get a cut of radio royalties, even if they own a share of the performance rights, unless they wrote the song themselves. (Thus, a song that is in the public domain is free to play on the radio, regardless of who performs it or when it was performed.) For example, the industry-wide fees payable in 2004 to ASCAP was $176 million. Commercial stations often get their CDs free, but still pay royalties to play it on air. Some small neighborhood stations play unlisted locally produced music, and avoid these fees. Licensing issues nearly destroyed early Internet radio. In the U.S., Congress intervened with a royalty structure that was expensive to small independent operators, but easier than the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...
's standard scale. Both XM and Sirius provide commercial packages allowing exclusive license-free use (though not rebroadcast) of their music programming by businesses. Most popular internet radio networks such as Pandora and Digitally Imported were paying royalty fees annually to SoundExchange.


Music radio and culture

Music radio, particularly
top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "conte ...
, has often acted as both a barometer and an arbiter of musical taste, and radio airplay is one of the defining measures of success in the mainstream musical world. In fact, the rise of
rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States and ...
to popularity is intimately tied to the history of music radio. Early forms of rock had languished in poor areas of the South. It was enjoyed mostly by rural blacks, with notable exposure in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 Uni ...
due to the all
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
programming of WDIA. Rock music entered the mainstream during the 1950s because of controversial white DJs such as Dewey Phillips,
Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout N ...
,
Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 198 ...
, and
Wolfman Jack Robert Weston Smith (January 21, 1938July 1, 1995), known as Wolfman Jack, was an American disc jockey active from 1960 till his death in 1995. Famous for his gravelly voice, he credited it for his success, saying, "It's kept meat and potatoes ...
with an appreciation for black music. For many years, many listeners have been dissatisfied with the content of radio programming since the decline of early free form-rock radio. The popularity of offshore
pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially ...
stations in the United Kingdom was an early symptom of frustration with the often overly safe and occasionally politicized playlists of commercial radio.'' Reconstructing the Past: History in the Mass Media 1890–2005'' (Author: Sian Nicholas) p. 115 The growth of Internet radio from a small experimenter's toy in the mid-1990s to a huge phenomenon allowing both small do-it-yourselfers and large commercial stations to make their offerings available worldwide was seen as a threat to over-the-air music broadcasting, and was nearly shut down by onerous licensing demands made by the recording industry. Meanwhile, the rise of satellite radio services as a major competitor has brought many of the advantages of Internet radio to an increasingly mobile listening public, including lack of censorship, greater choice, a more eclectic approach to format programming, and static-free digital sound quality. Indeed, one-size-fits-all programming is no longer seen as tenable by some, as the diversity of musical tastes among the listening public has created a proliferation of radio formats in what some might call a form of narrowcasting.


See also

*
Playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs, but sometimes a loop. The term has sev ...
*
Music scheduling system Music scheduling systems are employed to sequence music at radio stations. Although these systems were originally implemented by manual index card methods, since the late 1970s they have exploited the efficiency and speed of digital computers. They ...
*
Audio theater Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
*
Radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when radio was compelle ...
*
List of radio programs This article lists lists of radio programs in different countries: *List of Canadian radio programs *List of Estonian radio programs * List of UK radio programmes *List of U.S. radio programs The radio programs listed below are all from the U ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Music Radio History of radio Radio formats