The fact is there are numerous Radio Stations purporting to be "A Better Music Station". These are not restricted to 'local' Radio, but the Nationals also claim to be superior in their play list. And that is just one tip of the iceberg. In order for the Station to have an 'identity' the playlist is created usually by the Programme Controller. His or Her influences include :
1. The age group the Station is aiming for.
2. Personal taste.
3. 'Advice' from Record Company A & R representatives.
4. Advertisers.
Once the Station's identity 'feel' has been decided there seems to be little room for the individual Presenters to contribute to the actual Programme value, or content. I know of one National UK Music Station who play nothing from the CDs themselves but all material is played from a PC with giant storage facility. This practise is becoming commonplace with the original CDs donated to Hospital Radio or simply 'lost' after transcription. Technically this is fine, if all goes smoothly, but what has happened to the inlay sleeves ? What value can be added to the Music other than "That was xxxxxx by yyyyyy and more from zzzzzz after the break". Small snippets of information about the Artist may be available to read from a monitor screen but you could be in serious trouble if any personal information is volunteered. Not so long ago, Music originating from the UK accounted for some 18% of World sales. Reliable sources suggest that this has now fallen to an appalling figure of less than 10%. And why ?
I believe there are several good reasons for this to have happened. Firstly, the promotion of a new Album now falls heavily on a very commercial Single that can be played to death on as many Stations as possible. With luck, a second Single can be used as a follow up. A prime example of this was Sheryl Crow's "Tuesday Night Music Club". "All I Wanna Do" was one song that Sheryl herself did not want released as a Single, as it simply did not reflect the entire remainder of the Album. Agreed, the Single did get the promotion required for Sheryl to gain international recognition which she richly deserved, but the point remains that the rest of the Album is somewhat different.
Not convinced ? Even the Album Charts have now had to be 'split' into two completely separate categories, one of 'Artists own' and another of Compilation Albums with titles like 'Summer Sounds 99' or the 'Now' series. Why are these Compilations so successful ? Because, for the most part, that is all that we are fed by the Radio Stations. Buy a copy of Blur's "13" because you liked the Single "Tender" and you are in for a shock. Blur are another Band who have 'matured' and experimented with production to enrich their material. "Tender" is not indicative of "13".
The U.K. Music Business is in poor shape. With insufficient international influences and 'commercial' Radio (not necessarily funded by advertisements) unwilling to provide anything other than 'hit' Singles, the industry will continue to flounder in it's own complacency. For the sake of Music, we need to reintroduce some of that 'Personality Radio'. By that I mean good Presenters who have a real passion for, and knowledge of, Music in all genres. I still believe such Presenters have a great deal to offer, but in these 'commercial' times when the words 'Revenue' and 'safe' are paramount, many of these people are simply being overlooked.
These are of course my personal views and I do not suggest that they are shared by all Album Zone Presenters ; (but I suspect they are).
Andy Miles