The current state of UK radio :(

[Legacywr]

I’ve been meaning to start a thread for a while now regarding the poor state that UK radio has fallen to.

Please forgive me, as I’m no wordsmith.

In the South we had a great station called Wave 102, this played contemporary and classic tunes, pretty MOTR, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Of course, it’s now been bought by Bauer Media, who now broadcast GHR instead.

I mostly listen to the radio whilst driving, which exposes me to around 3 hours.

I’m a bit of a tart when it comes to the radio, and I’m constantly flicking through my 10 preset stations…

They’re all playing the same bloody tunes…

I don’t know what the business model of the big media companies is? Do they get a discount for playing a tune X many times a week? If not, why are their playlists so restrictive?

This link prompted me to start this thread, as they really are killing of my love of some of my favourite oldies.

https://societyofrock.com/rock-radio-ruined-10-son...

It seems the only station you can get a true eclectic mix on now is BBC R2!

[Evercross]

It's a dying format, pure and simple. The infrastructure is too expensive for the audience return, which is why smaller stations have been absorbed into bigger national operations. Changed days from when a local station could draw in millions of listeners.

[Skyedriver]

Legacywr said:

It seems the only station you can get a true eclectic mix on now is BBC R2!

If that's the case we're truly doomed. Coming home tonight my son had Sara cox on. It was like sitting behind two old women on a bus.
Eeee, where've you been?
Been shoppin'.
What you bought?
Internal combustion engine
and so it went on

At one time there were radio station playing so many alternative types of music. Now it's nearly all manufactured stuff, loads of chat, phone ins, yak yak yak.
Oh and "make me winner"

[Riley Blue]

I don't think you can blame UK musical stations for playing the popular tunes of the day so 'broaden your horizons' is my suggestion. I listen to Radio Paradise during the day and never find it repetitive:

https://radioparadise.com/home

[miniman]

Riley Blue said:

I don't think you can blame UK musical stations for playing the popular tunes of the day so 'broaden your horizons' is my suggestion. I listen to Radio Paradise during the day and never find it repetitive:

https://radioparadise.com/home

Thought I’d check out what’s playing

I can make out Electric Avenue by Eddie Grant but the rest… ???

[Hub]

I gave up on radio a while ago - it used to be great listening to breakfast radio in the car on the commute but now I'm more inclined to listen to podcasts, or music playlists. There is so much more content out there and competition that listening figures must be down and audiences more fragmented.

Agree on the limited playlists. The wife has Heart on a lot and it seems to play nothing except two extremely annoying Lewis Capaldi tracks. There's probably a 50% chance of hearing one of them anytime you switch it on. I don't think DJs must have any autonomy on what they play.

6 music is good - though maybe a touch too deliberately eclectic even!

[bigpriest]

It's gone the same way as local papers - it's simply a portal for selling advertising space and if you can sell that space across multiple channels but actually only have to do the work once and then copy+paste, why bother with local offices or local stations. Podcasts plus a playlist basically gives you your own radio station anyway.

[remedy]

I pay for YouTube and enjoy an eclectic music experience to my taste free of adverts, phone-ins and annoying knob head DJs.
YouTube Music algorithm rocks.

[ric19]

Try Boom radio..I like an eclectic mix and some of the songs thy play on there I havent heard for years, the other day they played Jasper Carrots Funky Moped and Jilted Johns,Jilted John..well they made me happy

[R6tty]

One of my vehicles has DAB and that doesn't get me much. Whenever I tune in to R6 it just seems to be chat. With a bit of music. So I've almost completely given up on 'Radio'. The only music I listen to at home or via my phone in my (elderly) cars is on-line.
So I'm most definitely going for Radio Paradise and Radio Caroline. RP has a choice of 'mixes', and you can skip tracks. Absolutely no adverts and I chuck them a tenner every now and then. Radio Caroline has adverts every half hour but little chat. A bit presenter orientated. Oh, still available on medium wave! Went out to the boat last year. Wonderful!

[Riley Blue]

miniman said:

Riley Blue said:

I don't think you can blame UK musical stations for playing the popular tunes of the day so 'broaden your horizons' is my suggestion. I listen to Radio Paradise during the day and never find it repetitive:

https://radioparadise.com/home

Thought I’d check out what’s playing

I can make out Electric Avenue by Eddie Grant but the rest… ???

Try a different channel. Go Listen>Channels and pick one of the five. I like listening to music from around the world before so go for the Global Mix.

[Randy Winkman]

I just listen to BBC 6Music which is like a radio station that was literally made for me. I appreciate though that everyone has different tastes though so cant comment on other stations.

[48k]

Legacywr said:

I don’t know what the business model of the big media companies is? Do they get a discount for playing a tune X many times a week? If not, why are their playlists so restrictive?

Their business model is to make money (obvs). They do this by selling airtime (advertising/sponsorship/competitions) to commercial partners. The value of that airtime (and thus the price they can charge) is driven by the time of day, the number of listeners and the demographic of those listeners. People (listeners) like familiarity. The more familiarity you can provide, the more you can attract the type of audience you need to charge the commercial partners top dollar.
Independent Local Radio (ILR) stations got absorbed by the big groups because the economics of running smaller radio stations became unviable. Bauer and Global can deliver an advertiser very targeted audiences on pretty much a national scale. In terms of bang per buck its a very strong proposition.

If you want to go back to the old days of truly local radio with a broader playlist you have to hunt around for a decent Community Radio Station or one of the few independents like Boom Radio.

[Legacywr]

ric19 said:

Try Boom radio..I like an eclectic mix and some of the songs thy play on there I havent heard for years, the other day they played Jasper Carrots Funky Moped and Jilted Johns,Jilted John..well they made me happy

Yes, I like Boom, it’s one of my presets, play some absolute gems. There’s no way I could listen to it full time, though.

[Fore Left]

Absolute Radio. OK its Bauer Media but the main station is a reasonable mix and there's dedicated stations for 60s through to 20s as well as Country and Classic Rock. Pay for Premium (£3.99 a month I think) and no ads on app and smart speaker and you can skip songs. I rarely listen to anything else these days.

[Mercdriver]

Legacywr said:

Yes, I like Boom, it’s one of my presets, play some absolute gems. There’s no way I could listen to it full time, though.

+1 for boom, ok it is my generation but the music suits me, on from morning till afternoon.

I think every generation thinks their music is the best and older is rubbish, depends on your generation.

I want music not a presenter talking drivel for 50% of the time

[Mont Blanc]

Evercross said:

It's a dying format, pure and simple. The infrastructure is too expensive for the audience return, which is why smaller stations have been absorbed into bigger national operations. Changed days from when a local station could draw in millions of listeners.

Agree it's a dying format.

It is slowly turning into nothing but background noise for van drivers and tradesmen, or other people who don't actually care what they are listening to as long as it is some form of music.

I don't bother with music radio anymore, and with thousands of songs and 30+ playlists, plus streaming anything I like, on my phone, why would I bother?

It is nothing but adverts, the same playlists, and annoying presenters.

What I do sometimes enjoy listening to is talk radio such as LBC or Radio 4.

All the local independent stations are getting swallowed up by Bauer or Global and then spat out again rebranded as yet another 'Smooth' or 'Hits' station getting its content from a mothership station.

Soon it will be nothing but either BBC or bland generic Bauer or Global stations covering all 180 DAB channels. Pretty much the opposite of what DAB was supposed to achieve.

[Squadrone Rosso]

I mainly listen to Absolute 70s or 80s via streaming. Now on Rayo. I pay the monthly fee for no ads.

Sometimes Absolute Country.

Heart 70s or 80s in the car.

[Legacywr]

Squadrone Rosso said:

I mainly listen to Absolute 70s or 80s via streaming. Now on Rayo. I pay the monthly fee for no ads.

Sometimes Absolute Country.

Heart 70s or 80s in the car.

They’re all limited playlists, though.

[steveatesh]

I like Captial Chill when in the car……. Otherwise I don’t listen to the radio at all nowadays.