Imagine turning on the radio and hearing nothing but slow ballads and mournful music - on every single station. That's what's happening in England after the death of Queen Elizabeth and it's going to be a long week until the funeral on Sept. 19th, with playlists of all formats being affected. 

"According to Ben Cooper, chief content and music officer at Bauer Media Audio UK, a company that operates dozens of British radio stations, at the time of the queen’s death, blue “obit lights” flashed in radio stations around the country. Long-standing protocols, known as “obit plans,” quickly kicked into gear. There would be no more advertisements. No on-air competitions. Prepared playlists flooded the airwaves.

"As the country was still processing the death, British radio had already turned down the dial on the pep and begun providing listeners with more somber sounds: Coldplay’s “The Scientist,” for example, Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” The Cars’ “Drive” and a lot of Adele...

"According to Cooper, stations are expected to start introducing more midtempo music in the coming days but will return to somber tunes for the day of the funeral, Sept. 19. He has encouraged producers and hosts to monitor the emotional pulse of their audiences."

I can't imagine a scenario where that would happen here. Did stations do that after the 911 attacks? 

In Britain, sad music floods the airwaves as radio mourns the queen