Yeah the good old days, I heard snippets of 2sm in the late 70s ( I was s bit young), it was a very good informative production even though it was your top 40 station.
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From what I read and can remember, in the late 70s and early 80s 2SM was perhaps the best marketed radio station that Australia had ever seen, even to this day. Think of the denim zip logo, sponsorship of surf competitions (right on point for much of their target market), stunts like putting a jumbo under the harbour bridge (after much anticipation it was an elephant from Taronga Zoo) or paying the bridge toll in the morning, playing new Australian music, involvement in racing at Oran Park (again on-point for the target market), Australian recorded jingles (the likes of Mark Hunter), Rocktober, disc jockeys that were personalities, free concerts in the cityâs parklands and clever ads on TV (âyou have a remarkable mouthâ). Some of this was taken from overseas (remarkable mouth) but most originated from within Australia (the demin zip logo and Rocktober). There were some good thinkers at the station.
But when I listen to old air-checks and other promotions on YouTube I am reminded that they played over 12 minutes of ads an hour and it was unusual to hear two songs in a row (unless it was the top of the hour). The station sounded very cluttered. They certainly played music like AC/DC but that could have been followed by Judy Collinsâ âSend in the Clownsâ.
Mind you, until mid-1978 their only competition was 2UW so life is different with limited competition.
By 1984, as the Rock of the 80s, the station was very different and it rated a 10.1. The music was 100% Top 40 pop and rock hits and the clutter was gone.
The high rating 2SM of the late 70s was quite a cluttered sound, but brilliantly marketed.
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the inane chatter on radio is a turn off. I have been driving to work so i have had time to hear both breakfast and drive and honestly, itâs shocking. I donât want to hear, how many times you toileted your kid last night or how âdivine your roast was for dinnerâ
Give me Music, Traffic and sport. thats it.
the only things radio have going for it is 2 things
1 - itâs local. (or it should be). i should be able to tune in and not feel like im out of the loop because they are talking about Blacktown rather than Broadmeadows. I should get local news and traffic, and
2 - its immediate. When news breaks radio is still the best source of info. This was proven with the death of HRH Prince Philip.
otherwise, you have no USP and your competing with thousands of other stations worldwide, all streaming
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The guy I work with wants the radio on during the day,not međ
I want to play my own music,no ads ,of course you have to pay for Spotify to have no ads
Or I can play the songs that I have stored on my iPhone
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I would be interested to get your thoughts on my programme. I am painfully aware that I need to provide a point of difference to the streaming services. My strength is curated music with juxtapositions that the algorithms donât think of. âPlaying the songs that the algorithms donâtâ is a tagline that Iâll be using more often.
Talk breaks are usually simple but add commentary where appropriate. Iâm not naturally loquacious or garrulous. I give weather and traffic updates, too.
Spotify is great for discovering music in a particular genre, for example start a playlist with Roxy Music and it will often suggest a relatively obscure new wave track. I do this myself when I want pure music discovery, mainly when driving. It doesnât mix genres that well though, and their curated playlists are pretty safe and boring.
This weekâs log:
Soulja Boy- Crank That (Soulja Boy) [Wrong song]
Sound Unlimited- One More From The City
Ian Dury & The Blockheads- Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick
Joan Jett (Barbusters)- Light Of Day
Patty Smyth- Loveâs Got A Line On You
Jenny Morris- She Has To Be Loved
The Silencers- Painted Moon (Blues Mix)
Red Rider- Lunatic Fringe
Lindsey Buckingham- Go Insane
The Clash- This Is Radio Clash
The Kinks- Around The Dial
The Smiths- Panic
Australian Crawl- Trouble Spot Rock
Zed- Renegade Fighter
Southern Sons- We Are One
Foo Fighters- Generator
John Lennon- Power To The People
Electric Hippies- Greedy People
Def Leppard- Armageddon It
Alan Parsons Project- Youâre Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned
Edwin Starr- War
SUMO SHUFFLE
Billy Joel- New York State Of Mind
Jebediah- Sheâs Like A Comet
Shakespearâs Sister- Youâre History
Girl Overboard- I Canât Believe
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That often comes through here when personal experiences or preferences of a radio nerd are quoted as to what the general populous wants.
How many of those are expats?
My GF is Fijian Indian and at home we listen to Mirchi FM via Smart Speakers but in the car itâs FM just for sheer convenience.
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So based on the above, if youâve got a Number One breakfast show in your market, then there is a good chance youâll also be Number One as parents/workers get back in the car at 3pm with the radio still locked on the same station.
And exactly in reverse again, as when they get back in the car the next morning, the radio will most likely still be on the same station that it was at 3pm.
Some but definitely not all. Same goes for a lot of the US listeners to BBC 2, some are expats but the majority arenât.
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I downloaded the UK radio app and discovered BBC Radio 2 . I can see why some of you other posters on here like this station,interesting mix of music,I donât mind the new songs they play.If only I had a station like this to listen to while Iâm at work during the dayđinstead of one of our boring FM stationsđ
If I did listen to BBC Radio 2 on my phone during the day at work I would use up all my mobile data very quickly 
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I listen every morning at work from about 9am to lunchtime and donât seem to have any problems with data usage. Itâs a great time to listen too because itâs the OJ Borg show from midnight to 3AM in the UK - a lot of music and some fun shows like midnight mastermind. I love it.
I like the mix of older and new music. They seem to be able to pick the new songs I like.
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This commentator doesnât hold back re. the effectiveness of ACMA:
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⌠a couple of points overlooked in this article ⌠the Press Council can only adjudicate on matters concerning its members, but rags like the Guardian Australia which often contains factual errors is not a member so cannot be brought to heel ⌠and the ACMA has also taken the ABC to task on matters of âbad behaviourâ such as 4 Corners, but the ABC news department and the people who call themselves journalists just turn their collective noses up and get the ABCâs vast in-house legal department and its corporate spin department to respond with âwe respectfully disagreeâ ⌠whatâs good for the goose is good for the gander and for âmedia accountabilityâ to be effective, it has to cover all media, not just the ones selectively pinpointed as is the case today âŚ
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Correct @Brianc68. The industry is in a race to the bottom with poor excuses of entertainment.
Thereâs an art of saying more with less, a real skill. The best announcers are those who practice this. Endless waffle about topics suited to the intelligence of a 12 year old isnât entertainment that will be sustainable for the industry.
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Easy, their intelligence isnât high. They have an aversion for new topics like they do new music. They hate change, liking their world to be safe, comfortable and recognisable. They are very conservative though most would not admit it.
Look at the covid scare campaign by state premiers. In Qld, so many flocked to back the 'Chook because these people who donât think for themselves, preferring echo chambers of Facebook, Tiktok, Snapchat etc, thought a government would keep them safe rather than personal responsibility of making your own choices on what keeps you safe.
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The guy I usually work with was on leave this week so I wasnât forced to listen to Triple M yesterday and today and could listen to my own tunes instead.Yay!!
The âYap yap yap,from the âBig Breakfastâ show, just drives me nuts most daysđ
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And they arenât versed in the Socratic method either.
Why are they like this?
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