Are Mums Being Treated Badly By Local Radio Stations

[TamsinTiger]

Hello there,

I would be grateful if you could have a look at this thread.

www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=1287859&highlight=scr

It started as a discussion about Local Radio playlists and is throwing up some interesting and very patronising attitudes to Mums..

Thankyou.

[tethersend]

I'm sorry, I lost the will to live by page 3.

[mumofthreesweeties]

Am with tethersend......would you please kindly just spill the beans and tell us the crux of this thread so that we can comment on whether YABU or not. So far YABU for directing us to a link with another link it to the point of confusion

[callalilies]

Lost the will by the end of page one, then skimmed the rest for any mention of mums or patronising attitude towards them. Couldn't see any tbh, so they need pointing out as others have said.

(Could see some people who seem to have an awful lot of time on their hands though, and felt very sorry for that Steve whatsisname doing his best to answer email questions. Surely if people don't like the music a radio station plays, they can tune out or off? Or am I missing something? Probably.)

[mumofthreesweeties]

on hindsight, I think this might be a wind up. OP are you still around

[tethersend]

This blog also contains some bad words. Or something.

[TamsinTiger]

No it is not a wind up!.

Probably best to skip this thread if you do not listen to Local Radio stations.

The crux here is that local stations target to 2 distinct demographics during daytime..what they call housewives and the over 55s..they base the music they play on their target(the Playlist)..now these playlists are trite cheesy repetitive rubbish in the most part..and their perception is that is what we want to hear.
Sort of a bad 80s disco to remind us of our youth..given that it is men over 50 in the most part who have decided that ..I consider patronising and an assumption that we have little taste.

I saw this thread ..and questioned their judgements and did a quick survey at my school gates..this was dismissed as "what a few Mums in a playground" think is of lesser value than what they consider that we should want to hear..

[addictedishavingagirl]

actually i quite like what my local radio station play during the day

[Alambil]

I love my local radio station - it has a range of djs during the day so we get a fabulous range of music

[Chil1234]

They've probably run all kinds of focus groups and found that repetitive cheese in the bad 80's disco style is actually what the punters want.... Radio 2 has done very well on it for years.

[callalilies]

I think going from 'I don't like my local radio station's playlist policy' to 'Mums are being treated badly by radio stations' is a pretty big leap tbh.

[TamsinTiger]

Fine..accept it then..TBH I expected a more intelligent response..but lets all dance round our handbags and be told that we like to listen to Phil Collins ..Bee Gees ..Cheryle Cole etc etc..I just hope our children rebel ..

[southeastastra]

you don't listen to radio london then? that's fantastic, try it online. aimed at just us clever people - don't even have to live in london

[cornsilky]

Maybe some folk like 'Phil Collins ..Bee Gees ..Cheryle Cole etc etc..'

[TamsinTiger]

Possibly they do..but I don't..most of my friends don't and I am like I said extremely dissapointed that you are all happy to have your music decided by mainly men in their 50s..it would be funny if it was not a bit sad..

[callalilies]

I decide my own music personally. If I don't like what a radio station plays I switch to another one.

Seems more 'intelligent' than complaining that you are being 'treated badly' because you don't like what your local station plays.

[maryqueenofyachts]

But do you not think they have focus-grouped it etc.? I don't like it much either but I know people who have it on all day. My local stations play contemporary stuff too; maybe instead of telling you that you like Cheryl Cole, they are going by her sales figures which indicate that a lot of people do like her music? They want to get the biggest listenership so they can sell advertising space, so it's in their interests to provide what the largest number of people will listen to. If you don't like it then put a CD on; it's not a public service, it's a commercial business.

[southeastastra]

men in their fifties do usually have great taste to be fair

[Chil1234]

"TBH I expected a more intelligent response"

Meaning 'I expected you to agree with me'. Sorry love, you're just sounding like a petulant teen... go and slam a door somewhere because we DON'T UNDERSTAND!!!!!

[TamsinTiger]

No, you miss the point..they are in fast fall and losing listeners ..because they are not prepared to accept that their focus group approach is flawed..and I do not want to bore you with the details you can look on the thread..if you have any interest.

And no, I am also talking about BBC Local Radio and I pay my licence fee ..so why should I have to put on my CDs ..ALL THE TIME??

And yes Radio is a commercial business..but not to the exclusion of what the listener at home wants..that is absurd.

[TamsinTiger]

Oh some of you are so horrible...

[tethersend]

"extremely dissapointed that you are all happy to have your music decided by mainly men in their 50s"

That's a huge assumption. I'm disappointed you have your music decided by any radio station, TBH.

How on earth do you work out someone's intelligence by their music taste?

I listen to BBC6music- what GCSE grades did I get?

[usualsuspect]

We listen to our local station at work sometimes ...nowt like a boogie to Lionel Richie to pass the time

[PatriciaHolm]

"they are in fast fall and losing listeners" - not true. In March 2006, local commercial radio had a reach of 24.8m people, and a 30% share of listening. In March 2010, it had a reach of 26m and a 31% share. Hardly "falling fast". And average listener hours have gone up in that period too! And if you don't like what your local radio station is playing, then listen to another station - with a DAB radio you have access to hundreds of stations, ONE of them surely will play whatever you are looking for?

BBC local radio is different and isn't a commercial business - you seem to be confused there. Their target audience is defined differently and in many cases is explicitly the older (50+) listener - not you.