Music Based Programming

Radio Station: Absolute 80s
Radio Listen Date: 11/04/2013
Radio Audience: Absolute 80s Radio Station is aimed at "reluctant adults" who want to connect with the tunes of their youth.
Typically looking at ages 21 - 45 years.
Radio Frequency: 105.8FM
Radio Type: 80s Hits
Travel Updates: 11:30am | 11:45am | 12:01pm

Time	Track	Artist
11:24	Build	The Housemartins
11.34	Getting Away With It	Electronic
11.39	Sweet Dreams (are made of this)	Eurythmics
Link (Fr: Martyn Lee) - Advert Break - 11.44
11.46	Do You Really Want To Hurt Me	Culture Club
11.50	Cover Me	Bruce Springsteen
11.53	Young At Heart	The Bluebells
11.56	La Isla Bonita	Madonna
Absolute News (Fr: Tanya Snuggs) - 12:01 (Duration 3') | Link (Fr: Martyn Lee)
12:03	Tainted Love	Soft Cell

Radio Station: Kiss 100
Radio Listen Date: 21/05/2013
Radio Audience: Kiss is a UK radio station broadcasting on FM and National DAB, specialising in hip hop, R&B, urban and electronic dance music. Typically looking at ages 13 - 21 years.
Radio Frequency: 100 FM
Radio Type: Dance
Travel Updates: 18:20am

Time	Track	Artist
18:20	So Good To Me	Chris Malinchak
18.23	One More Night	Maroon 5
18.27	What Love is Made Of	Katy B
Link (Fr: Michael & Clara) – 18:30
18.32	I’ve Got That Power	Will.i.am
18.35	Treasure	Bruno Mars
Link (Fr: Michael & Clara) – 18:37
18.37	Talk That Talk	Rihanna
18.40	I Need Your Love	Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding
18.43	Thrift Shop	Macklemore / Ryan Lewis
18.45	How Ya Doin’?	Little Mix
Link (Fr: Michael & Clara) – 18:48
18.48	Waiting All Night	Rudimental
18.51	Just Give Me A Reason	Pink

Radio Station: Choice FM
Radio Listen Date: 27/05/2013
Radio Audience: Choice FM is a brand used by the UK's biggest radio company, Global Radio for its urban music radio station.
Typically looking at ages 13 - 21 years.
Radio Frequency: 107.1FM
Radio Type: Urban Music
Travel Updates: 17:59pm

Time	Track	Artist
17:53	Let Your Body Groove	The Architects
Link (Fr: Abrantee) Advert Break – 17.58
18.02	Fine China	Chris Brown
18.06	2 Reasons	Trey Songz
18.09	Right Now	Rihanna
Link (Fr: Abrantee) – 18.12
18.13	Suit And Tie	Jay Z & Justin Timberlake
18.17	Treasure	Bruno Mars
18.19	Need You (100%)	Nuke Dermount
Link (Fr: Abrantee) - 18:22
18.22	I Wish	Skee-Lo

Radio Station: Capital FM
Radio Listen Date: 29/05/2013
Radio Audience: Capital is a radio network of nine independent contemporary hit radio stations in the United Kingdom which are owned and operated by Global Radio. Typically looking at ages 12 - 20 years.
Radio Frequency: 95.8FM
Radio Type: Pop Music
Travel Updates: 18:43pm

Time	Track	Artist
18:38	I Knew You Were Trouble	Taylor Swift
Link (Fr: Greg Burns) Advert Break – Travel Update – 18.42
18.45	What About Us	The Saturdays
18.48	Goin’ Crazy	Dizzie Rascal
18.52	I Need Your Love	Calvin Harris ft. Ellie Goulding
18.54	Where Them Girls At	David Guetta
Link (Fr: Gregs Burns) Advert Break – News (Fr: Holly Jones) –18.57
19.01	Mirrors	Justin Timberlake
19.05	I Could Be The One	Avicii vs Nicky Romero
19.08	*No Track Name*	*No Artist Name*
19.11	Waiting All Night	Rudimental

Radio Station: BBC 6 Music
Radio Listen Date: 07/06/2013
Radio Audience: BBC Radio 6 Music is one of the BBC’s digital radio stations. It was known officially as BBC 6 Music from its launch on 11 March 2002 until April 2011. 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years.
Typically looking at ages 25 – 44 years.
Radio Frequency: DAB: 12B
Radio Type: Jazz / Soul
Travel Updates: //

Time	Track	Artist
21.44	Second Summer (RAC Remix)	Yacht
Link (Fr: Tom Ravenscroft) – 21:47
21:48	Lignou Mome	Jeri-Jeri
Radio Advert Break – 21:50
21:50	Conversations	Fyfe
Link (Fr: Tom Ravenscroft) – 21:55
21:55	Sonic Rage	H-Sik
Link (Fr: Ben Watt) – 22:00
22:00	My Way	Close
Link (Fr: Ben Watt) – 22:04
22:04	Across 110th Street	Bobby Womack

Programming Evaluation:

Having listen to all tracks from all 5 different radio stations 30 minutes each, it's quite surprising how some radio stations vary when it comes to the Programme Clock. Though they do tend to stick to the important stuff, for example the news every hour, but some radio stations have very little travel updates. This could be because the updates are noted on the Radio Player itself, but if it's not they will mention important updates (for example: crash on the M6).

In terms of advert breaks, there has been quite a few occassions where they will use an advert break. In my time of listening to music, I think I've heard twice as more links than advert breaks... probably even more! Throughout the time of listening to all radio stations, only a few stations used advert breaks at every 10/15 minutes. I've experience about two, or possibly three, stations that did not have a single advert break. Why is this? I'm guessing it's either:
1 - I tuned in at the wrong time (therefore missing an advert break if there was on previously).
2 - They limit their advert breaks.
3 - They want more people to enjoy the music rather than sitting through adverts which leads to having chances of losing listeners.
Number 3 to me seems reasonable, and if I were to be a producer of a radio station, I'd make sure 2 & 3 are of top priority! Although it's not good for the advertising companies, but viewers are what's important when it comes to radio.

On stations that allow Travel Bulletins, they will come quite frequently. Around 20 minutes past each hour there will be a traffic or travel update. Since I was listening to the radio online, it had information about the travel and transportation services. However, for those listeners who are traveling, the updates were frequent / infrequent (depending on the time of day, for example: peak times). News bulletins that come every hour (or some cases two hours) normally lasts about 5 - 10 minutes after giving a brief explanations on the day's top news. After bulletins have finished, we are then rejoined by our radio presenters with their news and sometimes upcoming music tracks & artists.

When the presenter speaks to the audience, they sometimes add a little comedy to keep the viewers entertained. I recall laughing a few times because of the interesting puns or jokes presenters had made about either themselves or the artists (of course apologizing if it was a joke that could be taken in a wrong way), but it made listening a lot entertaining. The presenter would normally speak to the audience every 2 - 4 tracks that are played. However, in the last station I listened to (which was 6 Music), the Presenters tended to speak after each track, which I found very annoying!

In conclusion to my choices of radio stations, they all had specific age groups that they wanted to reach out for. Presenters giving jokes were mainly on stations that had young audiences (12 - 25 years of age), seeing as they can take a joke. Don't get me wrong, middle-aged and elderly people can take a laugh, but listening and understanding the jokes presenter gives about the artists could offend a majority of listeners. Having it be young people, for example, they are more streetwise; knowing how to handle jokes to a manner. Each station had a specific type of music that it generally plays. Absolute 80s played 80s music and Kiss 100, having the younger audience, played more dance and pop style of music.
I enjoyed my time listening to different walks of music because it shows the variety of different songs and what type of audience that radio station attracts.

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Anton Lewis