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« Wright Amendment Headed for the Dustbin of History! | Main | Mall Fair » June 16, 2006They Deserve It?The Friday Tennessean says the Dixie Chicks "deserve" airplay for their latest music. Not true. We live in a market-based economy, and that includes entertainment. Country radio station programmers aren't playing the Chicks because their audience doesn't want them to play the Chicks. How do I know? Because country radio station programmers know that their radio station exists to make money for its owners, as all for-profit businesses do. And radio stations make money by attracting lots of listeners, and then charging profitable rates for advertising. If the market - country music fans - wanted to hear the latest Dixie Chicks music on the radio, the station's programmers would be playing it. They don't, so they aren't. You don't get what you "deserve" in a market-based economy, you get what you earn. The Dixie Chicks said they didn't want to do country music any more and, judging from their latest album, they aren't. They don't "deserve" airplay for non-country music on country music stations, or any other stations. They'll get airplay if sufficient numbers of listeners to a radio station request it. Posted in Miscellaneous
Comments
They may not deserve it, but they don't really need it either. Their new album was number one for several weeks. Posted by: brittney at June 16, 2006 6:55 AMBut tour ticket sales are disappointing. Posted by: Bill Hobbs at June 16, 2006 7:51 AMDisappointing to whom? And Radio knows that people are sheep and will listen to, and follow whatever Radio plays. Market doesn't drive everything. Posted by: thehomelessguy at June 16, 2006 8:30 AMIf you call adding a whole bunch of shows and not cancelling any disappointing. In some states it's not an immediate sell-out like last time, but I'd say a million records and hundreds of thousands of concert tickets ain't to shabby. Check out: http://www.liberalcountryfan.com/ Posted by: Brent Hecht at June 16, 2006 11:05 AMThe Memphis show was cancelled over ticket sales, according to radio here. As for radio station managers following listeners, that's not quite correct. Back in the aftermath of 9/11 I recall a USATODAY story about Tim Worley's "Do You Remember?" Station programmers were complaining because their phone lines were being burned up by requests for the song. Almost all of them didn't want to play it! It didn't fit their "single working mother with kids" demographic, they claimed, and it increased the chances of listener tune-out. They were resentful of the problems it was causing them and avoiding it as much as they could get away with. Posted by: mike hollihan at June 16, 2006 12:16 PMGood post. Freedom of speech is a negative right, not a positive one. Government should not infringe upon my right to speak, but they shouldn't have to guarantee me the resources to do so either. Dixie Chicks can sing what they want to sing, and radio stations can play what they want to play, whether those reasons are for the market, or for their own personal agenda. Posted by: Chance at June 16, 2006 6:28 PMWonder if these same radio stations think that unabashed patriots, as opposed to unabashed patriot bashers, also "deserve" play? Are we approaching the point where certain media will be placed in an elevated or protected status due to their political orientation? If so, fascism, can't be far behind. Posted by: Mike's America at June 17, 2006 1:07 PMAs long as the radio stations are as up front about their position politically as the Dixie Chicks are, then that's really cool. But when rightwingers try to pass themselves off as "fair and balanced" then we've got a problem. Posted by: thehomelessguy at June 18, 2006 2:25 PMAs long as the radio stations are as up front about their position politically as the Dixie Chicks are, then that's really cool. Personally, I don't think anyone has to explain their free speech. But that's just me. Personally. Posted by: Chance at June 20, 2006 2:26 PMPost a comment
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