Too Little Radio Airplay, Star Singer Complains

Michael Hedges May 30, 2011 Follow on Twitter

Radio broadcasters and the music industry enjoy a special relationship. Once it was quite symbiotic, mutually beneficial, and both were content. In time it became co-dependent, almost pathological. The relationship has never been true love.

Czech singer Helena Vondrackova, more than four decades on the music scene, is unhappy about the airplay her songs get on Czech radio, specifically Czech public radio channels. “Some of my songs are so popular that it can be said they are treasures,” she wrote in a formal complaint to the Czech public radio (Ceske Rozhlas CRo) Council. “I am convinced that my work can be classified as a national cultural asset.” Therefore, she argued, the public broadcaster is legally obliged to play more of her songs or play her songs more often.

The CRo Council was brutal in its response. “I do not understand the absurd complaints,” said council member Anthony Zelenka, announcing the decision to dismiss the charges (May 26). “I wonder whether the (CRo) council would not do a charity concert for Helena Vondrackova and raise money for her from listeners,” he added, quoted by tyden.cz (May 26).

“In April we played Helena Vondrackova’s songs 817 times,” explained CRo Radiozurnal director Hana Hikelová. “That means twenty-seven songs a day.” Radiozurnal is the main general interest channel of Czech public radio.

“Remember that not long ago Radiozurnal was criticized for centering on two performers, Helena Vondrackova and Karel Gott,” she added defensively. “We just adapted to the desires of our listeners.” Karel Gott is another oldie-but-goodie on the Czech music scene.

More to the point, Czech public radio pays considerable attention to the musical interests of its listeners.  “Virtually all the songs by Helena Vondrackova had average or below average preference scores,” said CRo head of research Vaclav Hradecky. ”It's very sensitive. Programmers must consider whether to let a song on the menu. It’s better to discard rather than irritate the audience.”

It is sensitive, to be sure. No radio programmer keeps their job playing music that irritates listeners, “stiffs” as they are called. No artists – and certainly not their managers and recording labels – want their tunes relegated to the dustbin. But there are only so many hours in the day and audience ratings generally reflect whether or not a radio channel offers enough treats.

It is accepted practice among all radio broadcasters of a certain scale to put every programming element to tests more rigorous than simple ratings. Internal – and confidential – surveys and focus groups are mounted to explore listeners every like and dislike. Music testing, typically a variation on the focus group, has been used for decades to cull the “stiffs” and shorten playlists.

Before downloaders were the object of incandescent ire, music research was the primary object of hatred by music promoters. Influencing playlists was a necessary business practice, if occasionally expensive.  As radio managers looked for every competitive advantage, what the listeners wanted was what the listeners got. The music people are still not happy about it.

Ceske Rozhlas conducted its most recent music test last fall, explained Hradecky in a separate Tyden.cz posting (May 27). Short excerpts of 800 songs were played to 300 people aged 30 to 60 years. Typically, the panel is made up of frequent listeners who score each title. The science is a bit dubious but the shift in influence from the music industry has had positive results for broadcasters.

Helena Vondrackova’s songs ranked “in the bottom half,” said Hradecky. At the top of the list was “We Are the Champions” by Queen, a perennial favorite among listeners across many boundaries even though the band has been gone for two decades. Helena Vondrackova’s manager called the decision to restrict her tunes “censorship.”

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