Villages Radio Station Music Selection

[terenceanne]

We are Having a discussion about the music selection played on the station. Mostly "B" list type music - lesser known one off's from the sixties and seventies etc...….rather than "A" list music....in other words you rarely hear Rolling Stones, Beatles, Kinks or anything from today etc.....
One argument is that is it just the selection they want to play - I say it's a financial decision. Google says major stations pay 12c per spin for royalties, it's goes down to 1c depending on the contract. Obviously our station is a small market.
Anywho just wondering if anybody knows for sure …...I say most of ours are in the 1c range :)

[Bogie Shooter]

Are there not other music sources?

[JoMar]

We are Having a discussion about the music selection played on the station. Mostly "B" list type music - lesser known one off's from the sixties and seventies etc...….rather than "A" list music....in other words you rarely hear Rolling Stones, Beatles, Kinks or anything from today etc.....
One argument is that is it just the selection they want to play - I say it's a financial decision. Google says major stations pay 12c per spin for royalties, it's goes down to 1c depending on the contract. Obviously our station is a small market.
Anywho just wondering if anybody knows for sure …...I say most of ours are in the 1c range :)

Has been discussed many times in this forum, you can search and find a lot of responses. All conjecture of course but mostly focused on generational. Average age is 66 so they frame the music on both sides of that average. IMO

[Viperguy]

Apple music, Spotify, Pandora................listen to what you want

[Bay Kid]

Love am 640! I will even stream it when in VA.

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

I’m 81 and don’t consider myself in the 1c group, while my first love is jazz I have enjoyed music from each decade including some very good music being played today from all over the world I would rather go without food then to give up my satellite radio or pandora on my phone . If you listen to the oldies all day there not the oldies there just now

[Polar Bear]

...I have enjoyed music from each decade including some very good music being played today from all over the world...
My kinda music listener! :)

Care to share some of your current music stuff...”stations”, playlists, sources, etc.? Especially the current music you listen to...what and from what source?

[Fredman]

They should get paid for some of the music they play. Before u get started, my wife likes to listen to that station. I am not a fan

[terenceanne]

The question is not about the music itself - good, bad or indifferent. My question is about the financials of it. Do certain songs get played over and over because the royalties are cheaper - particular on older stuff. This is just for curiosity not for any other reason.

[Rich42]

Just one more thing for the boomers to complain about.

[SuzyQtoo]

I love the music WVLG plays and don't consider the 60s and 70s music they play to be "B" music - The BeeGees, Carpenters , Beatles, Gary Puckett, Petula Clark...

[jedalton]

We are Having a discussion about the music selection played on the station. Mostly "B" list type music - lesser known one off's from the sixties and seventies etc...….rather than "A" list music....in other words you rarely hear Rolling Stones, Beatles, Kinks or anything from today etc.....
One argument is that is it just the selection they want to play - I say it's a financial decision. Google says major stations pay 12c per spin for royalties, it's goes down to 1c depending on the contract. Obviously our station is a small market.
Anywho just wondering if anybody knows for sure …...I say most of ours are in the 1c range :)
I love this music.

[lindaelane]

One part of the decision has to be the awful sound of electric guitars from outdoor speakers in the town squares. Really super annoying. For instance, I like the Rolling Stones "Satisfaction" but its repetitive twang from a poor speaker would just be really annoying. I think they must curate for a more "easy listening" style because their songs will be heard in public. (And I do not want harder rock, e.g. heavy metal, even from the 60s, coming out of any speaker.)

[caljeff]

I enjoy the WVLG music. The addition of the FM band a while back was a nice touch.

[shortstack]

If you haven't already, check out watercolors on Sirius radio. I think it is channel 66, or 56. GREAT station.

[bronxboy]

If you like jazz try streaming Jazz24.

[newwillo]

I don't get it...........Is someone actually complaining about the music.....? What a treat to be able to walk in our town centers and listen to it..
I love everything about it.....the tone, the selections, the information announced in between....! I hope they don't eliminate, or make changes...........

[davem4616]

I don't get it...........Is someone actually complaining about the music.....? What a treat to be able to walk in our town centers and listen to it..
I love everything about it.....the tone, the selections, the information announced in between....! I hope they don't eliminate, or make changes...........


My thoughts exactly!!

A small number of people seem to move here because they fall in love with TV, then they want to change it....reminds me of that old play "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change"

I wish there was a way to send the person that made the OP a cheese basket to go along with their whine :1rotfl: :1rotfl:

[024engine]

Don't listen to it.

[Pajulian]

The Villages station has initiated a FM station on 102.7 and the music is great. I was not able to get quality reception in my Yesterday Cart on AM stations. FM 102.7 works fine.

[kendi]

We are Having a discussion about the music selection played on the station. Mostly "B" list type music - lesser known one off's from the sixties and seventies etc...….rather than "A" list music....in other words you rarely hear Rolling Stones, Beatles, Kinks or anything from today etc.....
One argument is that is it just the selection they want to play - I say it's a financial decision. Google says major stations pay 12c per spin for royalties, it's goes down to 1c depending on the contract. Obviously our station is a small market.
Anywho just wondering if anybody knows for sure …...I say most of ours are in the 1c range :)

I often enjoy TV radio station. Listen most mornings even when up North. Switch to my Spotify playlist when I need a change.

[Guitarman1951]

Try 102.7 . They advertise as a radio station for the Villages. Plays great music.

[fdpaq0580]

I think that the answer to you question is a combination of many of the answers you have already received. Certainly the cost, listener base, ambiance they want to create all come into play. I don't listen to the radio very much, myself, but when I do, I notice that the great majority of what I hear is pretty much middle of the road, non-controversial (ie: 60s/70s war songs). Think of it a little like elevator music or background music.

[La lamy]

WHOA. You sure didn't get an answer to your original question! May want to ask the general manager of the station. In Canada all songs are the same cost that goes into a pool for the artists. May be different in The States.

[Joelack99]

I worked in radio and in the music biz (half a hundred years ago). So I used to know a tiny bit about this.

It’s not a financial decision, at least as the question is framed. Different songs do not bring different royalties. What You Didn't Know About Terrestrial Radio Royalties (https://blog.songtrust.com/what-you-didnt-know-about-radio-royalties)

It is a financial decision in that the rates advertisers will be willing to pay are based on the numbers listening. (And also on who the advertisers are. So who advertises? Largely The Villages itself, so their preferences are likely taken into account.)

But my guess is they are mostly playing songs that will let the listener say, “Wow, there’s a great one I haven’t heard in a long time.” Beatles and Stones and the blockbusters still get played but perhaps down rotation and maybe songs that you don’t get on the other oldies stations. Call and ask the program director if you want his or her take. Or call and request what you want. If enough people do, they’ll play it.

[EnglishJW]

Just one more thing for the boomers to complain about.

I think the OP's point is being missed here. It did not appear to me to be a critisim of the decision to cover a broader range of music from additional time periods. It seemed to question the specific musical selections from some of those periods. I fully agree.

Secondly, this isn't an either or issue. Loving music, I rely on every available source. WVLG is our local station. For some it may be a primary source. For many others, it is something to listen to occasionally. I don't have to stop listening to WVLG because I have Sirius XM, Music Choice, iPods, Spotify, Pandora, iHeart Radio, Youtube, etc.

[ismatta]

I have been listening to satellite radio for over ten years and enjoy it. After to moving to the Villages a year ago I listened to WVLG to see what the local station is about. I was pleasantly surprised, and find I can enjoy it int he background for hours. The National news they provide is a horror show of disinformation, but the music, is well targeted to the villages demo. They play an good mix for their target audience. Having been an oldies disk jockey in a major market for many years, I sometimes need a break with something else, but I’m happy to get my oldies fix from WVLG. Are they programming by cost per song? What? I don’t think so.

[BlackhawksFan]

Are there not other music sources?

All radio stations have to pay ASCAP and BMI fees to the songwriters regardless of where it comes from. It's why news and talk radio are so profitable.

I'm not sure where the .01 to .12 cents comes from as BMI charges radio stations a percentage of their annual gross revenue. There is no "cost per spin" rate officially, and certainly one song does not cost more than another.

ASCAP also charges similarly. It's a blanket fee based on how the music is used, there is no "per spin cost" nor does any song get charged at a higher or lesser rate.

[BlackhawksFan]

I worked in radio and in the music biz (half a hundred years ago). So I used to know a tiny bit about this.

It’s not a financial decision, at least as the question is framed. Different songs do not bring different royalties. What You Didn't Know About Terrestrial Radio Royalties (https://blog.songtrust.com/what-you-didnt-know-about-radio-royalties)

It is a financial decision in that the rates advertisers will be willing to pay are based on the numbers listening. (And also on who the advertisers are. So who advertises? Largely The Villages itself, so their preferences are likely taken into account.)

But my guess is they are mostly playing songs that will let the listener say, “Wow, there’s a great one I haven’t heard in a long time.” Beatles and Stones and the blockbusters still get played but perhaps down rotation and maybe songs that you don’t get on the other oldies stations. Call and ask the program director if you want his or her take. Or call and request what you want. If enough people do, they’ll play it.

As a former radio air talent (23 years) I can tell you that music stations operate on a clock and a music rotation process.

The songs all get a category. New music might have two or three sub categories like new releases that haven't charted or are low on the chart, current hits which are songs at or near the top of the format chart or fast climbers (with a bullet) and re-currents which are hits that are basically going down the charts or already dropped off. Then there are what they call gold hits or classics and those can be subcategorized in several ways too.

Then each category get slotted into in the hour and given a certain number of slots. The currents, re-currents and new songs also get a certain number of spins per day based on how many songs you have to play in those categories plus how many slots the subcategory is given in an hour.

On an oldies or classic rock station everything is still categorized but has different names and could be based on age of the song. I once worked at an oldies station we played music in a 20 year period 1953-73. Songs were categorized by decade and popularity with the top hits of the core years, 1964-1970, getting the heaviest play, music from 53-59 getting light play, 60-63, 71-73 and secondary hits of the core years getting moderate play.

I hope this helped.

[LiverpoolWalrus]

The question is not about the music itself - good, bad or indifferent. My question is about the financials of it. Do certain songs get played over and over because the royalties are cheaper - particular on older stuff. This is just for curiosity not for any other reason.

Great question, and it's also something I've wondered about. I shared your frustration as I read the answers that weren't addressing your question. But discussion forums are like that - folks go off on tangents or misread the question or comment all the time. Comes with the territory.

Having said that, it's good that a couple of people did weigh in on the royalty angle. I, like you, suspected they were paying less for lost songs that charted but quickly fell into obscurity like say Billie Davis' Angel of the Morning or Parade's Sunshine Girl for example. Whatever the reason, the fact that WVLG plays these forgotten third tier gems is one thing I like about the station.

I have read somewhere that stations pay a lower royalty for live versions of songs or alternate takes. Maybe someone here can verify that. If it's true, I wouldn't be surprised if WVLG also has a sliding scale of some sort, but judging by the replies here from those in the know, maybe not.

If you happen to call the station manager, let us know what you find out!

P.S. To the person who said this was something else for the "boomers to complain about," it is not not a complaint at all. How do you spell irony?

[LiverpoolWalrus]

I wish there was a way to send the person that made the OP a cheese basket to go along with their whine :1rotfl: :1rotfl:

Sorry you (and others) thought OP was whining. To me, it looks like he/she was looking for objective information.

[jimjamuser]

Has been discussed many times in this forum, you can search and find a lot of responses. All conjecture of course but mostly focused on generational. Average age is 66 so they frame the music on both sides of that average. IMO
People in the average 66 age range from the East Coast will have a, somewhat significantly, different taste in music than people from the Midwest.

[Jerry101]

We are Having a discussion about the music selection played on the station. Mostly "B" list type music - lesser known one off's from the sixties and seventies etc...….rather than "A" list music....in other words you rarely hear Rolling Stones, Beatles, Kinks or anything from today etc.....
One argument is that is it just the selection they want to play - I say it's a financial decision. Google says major stations pay 12c per spin for royalties, it's goes down to 1c depending on the contract. Obviously our station is a small market.
Anywho just wondering if anybody knows for sure …...I say most of ours are in the 1c range :)

Please accept this with respect intended. I laughed out loud when I read your post. My wife and I were talking yesterday about the great variety of songs and artists on WVLG (now with two FM frequencies and multiple places to find streaming). I heard the Beatles, Doors,Dave Clark 5, Hollis, CSN& Young, Chicago, Doobie Brothers, Dan Fogelberg, Santana, Earth, Wind & Fire, Kool & The Gang, Michael Jackson, Springsteen, Mellencamp, Annie Lennox ... I could go on! 😎 ... I find your conspiracy dislike for TV seeping through your comments... for what it’s worth!

[Dust Bunny]

I will check out this station. Thanks for the tip.

[Avella75]

We are Having a discussion about the music selection played on the station. Mostly "B" list type music - lesser known one off's from the sixties and seventies etc...….rather than "A" list music....in other words you rarely hear Rolling Stones, Beatles, Kinks or anything
from today etc.....
One argument is that is it just the selection they want to play - I say it's a financial decision. Google says major stations pay 12c per spin for royalties, it's goes down to 1c depending on the contract. Obviously our station is a small market.
Anywho just wondering if anybody knows for sure …...I say most of ours are in the 1c range :)
For the most part I enjoy the selection of music played but I really wish I could hear more news about Florida rather than New York!

[Kahuna32162]

As a former radio air talent (23 years) I can tell you that music stations operate on a clock and a music rotation process.

The songs all get a category. New music might have two or three sub categories like new releases that haven't charted or are low on the chart, current hits which are songs at or near the top of the format chart or fast climbers (with a bullet) and re-currents which are hits that are basically going down the charts or already dropped off. Then there are what they call gold hits or classics and those can be subcategorized in several ways too.

Then each category get slotted into in the hour and given a certain number of slots. The currents, re-currents and new songs also get a certain number of spins per day based on how many songs you have to play in those categories plus how many slots the subcategory is given in an hour.

On an oldies or classic rock station everything is still categorized but has different names and could be based on age of the song. I once worked at an oldies station we played music in a 20 year period 1953-73. Songs were categorized by decade and popularity with the top hits of the core years, 1964-1970, getting the heaviest play, music from 53-59 getting light play, 60-63, 71-73 and secondary hits of the core years getting moderate play.

I hope this helped.

Having been both on on air talent and a Program Director for different formats and in different markets, ASCAP, BMI and CSAC all get paid for music and publishing rights. About once a year we had to submit a week's worth of logs of all the music we had played that week. In the early days, this was all hand written and what a pain in the a$$ that was. Now, computerized scheduling and automation have made that process almost automatic. There was never a discount for playing songs that were not considered hits or 2nd tier selections. Songs were songs are were all reported.

Please remember that WVLG is not a music station that is competing for ratings. They are a promotional vehicle of The Villages, there to promote the lifestyle, the sales and the open houses that happens to play music in between promos. Given the current demographics of residents, I believe they do a decent job of providing entertainment, information and, of course, sales pitches for new residents.

Bottom line is, it is what it is, and in this day of technology and streaming, the average consumer has a plethora of choices to pick from.

[Sheldon5663]

Great question. I hope you find the answer.

[terenceanne]

OP - Thanks to everyone who understood the question that was asked. That's enough posts on this one :)

[Nucky]

When our radio station was only played on AM it was a little rough. Many pleaded their case for the station to be broadcasted on FM and Streamed. It took a while but they got it done. For us, it's just about perfect. A, B, C list? It doesn't matter in the least to us. Other than the Stations we Stream through Pandora this is the only other local station we listen to. It's fine. The FM Streaming is Great!

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

I plug in different stations on my Pandora, example African Radio , I do find I do find if I plug in a certain style of music on safari a bunch of videos with different people will show up I’ve found many artists on there from all over world . I’ll set up 5 or 6 videos of say French jazz group , a middle eastern Gypsy , a Jamaican artist maybe something from Coltrane and send them to people hope this helps

[mydavid]

I have been listening to satellite radio for over ten years and enjoy it. After to moving to the Villages a year ago I listened to WVLG to see what the local station is about. I was pleasantly surprised, and find I can enjoy it int he background for hours. The National news they provide is a horror show of disinformation, but the music, is well targeted to the villages demo. They play an good mix for their target audience. Having been an oldies disk jockey in a major market for many years, I sometimes need a break with something else, but I’m happy to get my oldies fix from WVLG. Are they programming by cost per song? What? I don’t think so.
I never got satellite radio in your car, to be worth the cost you would have to spend a lot of time in your auto. I like rock n roll from the 60's and 70's. When we lost the Sax sound we lost the roll and we were left with just the rock. Just my opinion.:ho:

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

Satellites radio about$100 a year , how many hours are we in our car , Don’t be discouraged by the price every year they will start out with a bill for around $250 and you end up at about a hundred sometimes less only once have I had to shut it off for 3 days and they gave in , also if you do have options In car , Pandora , Apple play , believe me it’s not hard to don, I’m 81 I just went out and asked the first 9 year old to help an old man