The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum » In an online music age, why radio requests still continue to chime in

RadioActive · November 4, 2019 6:50 pm

I have a number of problems with this article in the National Post.

For one thing, I think the author takes the concept of radio requests to ridiculous extremes.

"A radio request allows attention-seekers to broadcast a message to others (whether through actual speech or song choice) without the hassle of accumulating followers, finding the perfect filter or tracking likes.

"More than mere narcissism, song requests can also foster a sense of community."

Wow. That's just an insane conclusion that's way over the top.

The other thing that bugs me about this is that, outside of Boom 97.3 - which replays listeners asking to hear a song - what station actually takes requests these days? Even in the great Top 40 era, they basically just played a hit whenever it came up in rotation, and since popular tunes came up more often, it made it seem like a station was listening to its listeners.

Anyway, you can judge for yourself whether you think this piece is an exaggeration or not.

In a time reigned by Spotify and Soundcloud, radio requests still continue to chime in

November 4, 2019 7:16 pm

RadioActive wrote:
what station actually takes requests these days?

Freddy Vette on AM-800 CJBQ takes requests weekday afternoons. And if you write a book, he'll host you as a guest to promote your book

RadioActive · November 4, 2019 7:19 pm

Let me rephrase: What Toronto station actually takes request these days?

Freddie's show is great. But it's an anomaly in today's radio.

TheConsultant · November 4, 2019 7:22 pm

Let's be blunt. No station takes requests. Each station has a set playlist and eventually, the listener's song comes on.

November 4, 2019 7:24 pm

RadioActive wrote:
Freddie's show is great. But it's an anomaly in today's radio.

Popular on east side of the GTA (Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, Courtice & Bowmanville . . . )

paterson1 · November 4, 2019 7:56 pm

AM 740 takes requests from time to time. Not necessarily live on the air but they do take requests that are emailed to them. Robbie Lane in the evening is always referring about people who have emailed and requested such and such a song. Doubt if he is just making up names!

Daryl Maclean on his Weekend Beach Party show takes requests and puts people on air. I believe The Grand 92.5 in Caledonia also takes requests from time to time. CFOS in Owen Sound would take email requests for songs, haven't listened for a while so I don't know if they still do All of these stations play only gold.

Radiowiz · November 4, 2019 10:28 pm

TheConsultant wrote:
Let's be blunt. No station takes requests. Each station has a set playlist and eventually, the listener's song comes on.

Whatever happened to the days of broadcasting live from (place name here)"?

I can tell you right now Boom 97.3 sponsored the Phoenix Halloween party on Friday October 25th 2019
They were telling people (inside the club) to text their requests to some phone number.

Ah, but that's not necessarily radio. I believe Boom 97.3 was playing their own separate playlist that night?
Even if it were a live broadcast, we're still talking strictly about texting, and no encouraging to call the station directly at this point...at least inside the Phoenix night club.

Very different from calling with a request and asking "can I go on the radio?" or something like that...

Last edited by Radiowiz (November 4, 2019 10:35 pm)

November 5, 2019 1:43 am

geo wrote:
RadioActive wrote:
Freddie's show is great. But it's an anomaly in today's radio.
Popular on east side of the GTA (Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, Courtice & Bowmanville . . . )

Has the definition of popular changed or have city boundaries moved dramatically?

mace · November 5, 2019 8:16 am

Prod Guy wrote:
geo wrote:
RadioActive wrote:
Freddie's show is great. But it's an anomaly in today's radio.
Popular on east side of the GTA (Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, Courtice & Bowmanville . . . )

Has the definition of popular changed or have city boundaries moved dramatically?

My guess is that is as far west as CJBQ's signal goes. I have "heard" the station in the Avenue Rd/401 area, but it certainly wasn't listenable.

markow202 · November 5, 2019 11:35 am

Radiowiz wrote:
TheConsultant wrote:
Let's be blunt. No station takes requests. Each station has a set playlist and eventually, the listener's song comes on.
Whatever happened to the days of broadcasting live from (place name here)"?

I can tell you right now Boom 97.3 sponsored the Phoenix Halloween party on Friday October 25th 2019
They were telling people (inside the club) to text their requests to some phone number.

Ah, but that's not necessarily radio. I believe Boom 97.3 was playing their own separate playlist that night?
Even if it were a live broadcast, we're still talking strictly about texting, and no encouraging to call the station directly at this point...at least inside the Phoenix night club.

Very different from calling with a request and asking "can I go on the radio?" or something like that...

Not only does BOOM play an older format, their style in radio is also "older" and more "traditional. A really good station.

I dont even know why CHUM FM has personalities during the day. They simply state some fact of something going on (entertainment news, some fact of life) between songs and thats about it. You are unable to request anything if you wanted to.

TheConsultant · November 5, 2019 12:47 pm

markow202 wrote:
I dont even know why CHUM FM has personalities during the day.
You are unable to request anything if you wanted to.

Rather difficult to request anything to a VT.

Also... Who requests anything these days, anyway? There are so many other free and instant ways to hear a song available.

markow202 · November 5, 2019 1:30 pm

TheConsultant wrote:
markow202 wrote:
I dont even know why CHUM FM has personalities during the day.
You are unable to request anything if you wanted to.
Rather difficult to request anything to a VT.

Also... Who requests anything these days, anyway? There are so many other free and instant ways to hear a song available.

Indeed. Spotify. Things like Spotify also turned me away from listening to much radio... why? Commercials. I cant stand them but do understand it does pay their bills.

Peter the K · November 5, 2019 1:45 pm

TheConsultant wrote:
markow202 wrote:
I dont even know why CHUM FM has personalities during the day.
You are unable to request anything if you wanted to.
Rather difficult to request anything to a VT.

Also... Who requests anything these days, anyway? There are so many other free and instant ways to hear a song available.

When dinosaurs roamed the earth, and CKGL was an automated country station running the "Big Country" format, the voice tracking (from the U.S., no less) was so tight that people did call in for requests. Don't want to sound demeaning but most of the listening audience really don't know the difference anyway. (Until something goes wrong, but that's for another thread.)

But that was also back when you didn't have access to virtually anything at your fingertips. When I want to hear what I want, I turn to my phone or youtube. When I don't care what I hear, or want to be surprised, I'll turn to radio.

I used to have a wall of CDs by my desk. They're in a box now in the closet. The contents of those discs now sit on a micro-sd card in my phone. And even then, half the time, I just listen to whatever song I'm looking for on YouTube.

boom boy · November 5, 2019 4:34 pm

Just an FYI, boom DOES play requests. Listen at noon sometime. In the overnight we offer up “The Machine” which is like Speaker’s Corner back in the day.

Last edited by boom boy (November 5, 2019 4:42 pm)

markow202 · November 5, 2019 5:05 pm

Since we listen to radio at work - goes between CHUM FM and CHFI, a lot of people call in to radio but its contest related.

Indeed BOOM does the all-request lunch hour. CHUM was the last one to do that with Ingrid Schumacher a few years back with the "Power lunch"

Broodcaster · November 5, 2019 6:19 pm

Can you name some stations where the announcers talk to the listen and not at the listener?

Radiowiz · November 6, 2019 1:06 am

boom boy wrote:
Just an FYI, boom DOES play requests. Listen at noon sometime. In the overnight we offer up “The Machine” which is like Speaker’s Corner back in the day.

You just made me PINE for the days of Mix 999's all request all night.

boom boy · November 6, 2019 4:40 am

Radiowiz wrote:
boom boy wrote:
Just an FYI, boom DOES play requests. Listen at noon sometime. In the overnight we offer up “The Machine” which is like Speaker’s Corner back in the day.
You just made me PINE for the days of Mix 999's all request all night.

I used to host that, back in the day when I would fill-in for Punch

pmcknight · November 6, 2019 9:50 am

You may remember a Youtube video with Rockin’ Ron Sedaille at WDRC Hartford doing his Saturday night all request show. He was the hardest working man in radio! We lived in Connecticut during that time and could pick up DRC and Saturday night with Rockin' Ron became a must. From the look of the video he was using Scott Studios. I have to believe that ALL his songs were requests. And even if all songs were not requested Rockin' Ron made you believe they were and that's what radio was all about - theatre of the mind.

November 6, 2019 4:16 pm

I just called Freddy Vette (AM 800 CJBQ) & made a couple of requests, dedicated to SOWNY contributors, and he said he'd be delighted to dig one up & play it for the ladies & gents of SOWNY

geo

mace · November 6, 2019 7:06 pm

geo wrote:
I just called Freddy Vette (AM 800 CJBQ) & made a couple of requests, dedicated to SOWNY contributors, and he said he'd be delighted to dig one up & play it for the ladies & gents of SOWNY

geo

Geo, What did you request?

November 6, 2019 7:57 pm

F. Vette disclosed that due to declining participation in on-air requests & dedications, that segment has been shuffled to Friday only, and so tunes today requested and dedicated to SOWNY enthusiasts including you, Mace, being "Wear My Ring Around Your Neck" by Elvis, "That's All Ya Gotta Do" by Brenda Lee and "Bonnie Came Back" by Duane Eddy are scheduled by him for then. But if you'd like to hear anything else from the Oldies era, his phone lines will be open @ 2:00 Friday -- 1-866-969-1546 on your dial.

He's an extremely competent host (just ask Mr. D. R. Patterson) so he'll even promo your book if you have written one.

geo

TheConsultant · November 6, 2019 9:39 pm

Hmmm... Interesting. So the Messiah of Listener Requests indicates very few people actually call and request? Told ya.

Dale Patterson · November 7, 2019 3:48 am

Joe Donovan, who did the all-night Rock 'N Roll Revival on 840 WHAS from 1977 to 1997, would not only play requests, but would send you a copy of the song on cassette at his own expense if you wanted it. He played mostly vinyl recordings from his personal collection of some 18,000 songs in a friendly manner that sounded like he was talking just to you. Anyone here a fellow "Nighthawk"?

Last edited by Dale Patterson (November 7, 2019 4:06 am)

Kilgore · November 9, 2019 12:21 pm

RadioActive wrote:
I have a number of problems with this article in the National Post. For one thing, I think the author takes the concept of radio requests to ridiculous extremes.

The article appear on page WP3 of today's print edition, now headed "This One Goes Out to the One I Love". The author should have contacted "TheConsultant" here at SOWNY before submitting it

Crappy journalism.

K.

the original hank · November 10, 2019 11:54 am

this reminds me of the days when i was one of the hosts for a national weeknight oldies request show (goldline). we aired at least 6 requests/calls an hour during the 6 hour show . all of our music was on cds and we didn't have ops (and we used 3 library services with the indexes located in hard copy binders). the first request was the second song of the hour so if you were starting a shift you had about 6 minutes, or less, to record/ edit a call (including your interaction) & find the song. once you got in the groove the caller interactions really added to the show and provided some funny moments. then came a new hire who had trouble keeping up so he would bank his calls to be used the next night. it probably didn't make a lot of difference (except maybe in the the smaller markets) but i always viewed the practice as cheating. btw, back then (mid to late 90'/early 2000's) the hands down #1 goldline request was "unchained melody" (geo, i thought you'd like to know).