The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum » Will New Michael Jackson Documentary Force His Music Off Radio?

RadioActive · March 2, 2019 8:31 pm

Alan Cross asks that intriguing question as HBO gets ready to air a stunning documentary addressing the pedophile allegations that swirled around superstar Michael Jackson even before his death in 2009.

What will radio programmers do after the Michael-Jackson-was-a-pedo doc runs on HBO?

March 2, 2019 9:09 pm

There are probably some stations quietly sidelining his stuff. Easy to do: if they don't make a big deal about it, most listeners don't miss what you're *not* playing, at least for a while.
Seems to me that quite a few stations backed off Jackson's music in the early 2000s, then eventually went back to some of it, paying careful attention to song titles and lyrics.

RadioAaron · March 2, 2019 9:15 pm

Two Toronto stations to watch with MJ in rotation: 12 tracks on CHFI, 10 on Boom. None on G98.7 or CHUM.

In fact, he's the 3rd most played artist on CHFI.

Last edited by RadioAaron (March 2, 2019 9:17 pm)

Fitz · March 2, 2019 9:28 pm

RadioAaron wrote:
Two Toronto stations to watch with MJ in rotation: 12 tracks on CHFI, 10 on Boom. None on G98.7 or CHUM.

In fact, he's the 3rd most played artist on CHFI.

Curious who the first two artists are. Twenty years ago Celine Dion may have been on the list but now Taylor Swift , Katy Perry ?

Also different magnitude of stardom but Gary Glitter's famous song has been pretty much banished from everywhere since his scandal broke.

Johnny B · March 2, 2019 9:45 pm

There is more than enough smoke here to suggest an inferno...I hope history judges this sick bastard for who he really was...a pedophile abuser.

RadioActive · March 2, 2019 9:59 pm

Here's a side question to the one Cross posed: If they were to ban his music, would that include the Jackson Five material?

After all, he was only a little kid then and whatever his later proclivities, they would certainly have not played a factor when those songs were on the radio. It would be a shame to lose that early Motown Jackson stuff, because almost without exception, it's magnificent.

RadioActive · March 3, 2019 9:48 am

And it begins:

Michael Jackson music 'dropped' from BBC Radio 2 amid child abuse claims

mike marshall wrote:
There are probably some stations quietly sidelining his stuff. Easy to do: if they don't make a big deal about it, most listeners don't miss what you're *not* playing, at least for a while.
Seems to me that quite a few stations backed off Jackson's music in the early 2000s, then eventually went back to some of it, paying careful attention to song titles and lyrics.

I agree with Mike - the easiest thing to do is not say anything. But the real test may come on October 31st. If you don't hear "Thriller" on Hallowe'en, you'll know Jackson is off the playlist for good. It's one of the few chestnuts - like "Monster Mash" - that turns up every year on that date.

FanOfPromos · March 3, 2019 11:46 am

Would love to hear Quincy Jones speak on this issue. I always found it "odd" that Jackson's largest success was the album Q produced, but they only worked together once.

March 3, 2019 12:03 pm

Quincy Jones produced Thriller and its follow-up, Bad, five years later.

Jody Thornton · March 3, 2019 12:41 pm

I'd have to go home and look, but didn't Quincy work on "Off the Wall" too?

Fitz · March 3, 2019 1:05 pm

Jody Thornton wrote:
I'd have to go home and look, but didn't Quincy work on "Off the Wall" too?

According to Wiki:

Quincy Jones – producer (all tracks), rhythm arrangements (4, 6, 9), vocal arrangements (6, 9)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off_the_Wall

March 3, 2019 1:18 pm

Fitz wrote:
Jody Thornton wrote:
I'd have to go home and look, but didn't Quincy work on "Off the Wall" too?

According to Wiki:

Quincy Jones – producer (all tracks), rhythm arrangements (4, 6, 9), vocal arrangements (6, 9)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off_the_Wall

There you go. Jones produced more than one Jackson album.

Chrisphen · March 3, 2019 5:00 pm

I thought Toto was responsible for most of the sounds in Off the Wall and Thriller.

RadioAaron · March 3, 2019 6:08 pm

Fitz wrote:
RadioAaron wrote:
Two Toronto stations to watch with MJ in rotation: 12 tracks on CHFI, 10 on Boom. None on G98.7 or CHUM.

In fact, he's the 3rd most played artist on CHFI.
Curious who the first two artists are. Twenty years ago Celine Dion may have been on the list but now Taylor Swift , Katy Perry ?

Michael Buble, Madonna.

Chrisphen · March 3, 2019 7:27 pm

MJ's probably still too profitable to be blacklisted. This is a regrettable assertion.

Fitz · March 3, 2019 7:51 pm

Chrisphen wrote:
MJ's probably still too profitable to be blacklisted. This is a regrettable assertion.

I read that Janet Jackson was very profitable until the wardrobe malfunction.

FanOfPromos · March 4, 2019 11:05 am

Okay...I was wrong! Appreciate the good natured "lumps". Guess i've hit the age where I can't trust a fart AND my memory!

March 4, 2019 3:29 pm

Hey, don't sweat it. I figured you were referring to Thriller, knew that Quincy worked on Bad, but really wasn't thinking of Off The Wall or anything else.

RadioActive · March 4, 2019 6:09 pm

Media guru Fred Jacobs took up this issue on Monday, quoting research off Mediabase's Classic Hits panel of how much Jackson was played on stations with that format in the U.S. during the first two months of the year

The results are telling:

Yep, the so-called King of Pop is the second most played artist down south for Classic Hits stations. What do they do now? That's just one of the questions he asks in this column:

Radio’s Dilemma: The Man And His Art

RadioActive · March 5, 2019 9:42 am

Quebec radio stations stop playing Michael Jackson over documentary's child abuse allegations

RadioActive · March 25, 2019 4:51 pm

Jackson may be off some radio stations, but he's not being banished from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Michael Jackson Not Getting The Boot From Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Despite ‘Leaving Neverland’ Backlash