Mo’Shay LaRen, midday personality for 100.3 WRNB- Radio One Philadelphia contacted EURweb with great enthusiasm over the first ever EURweb Black Music Month Artist Spotlight.
LaRen remarked, “As much as I use EURweb as a go to resource for information on my show, I can’t believe I just stumbled upon this. I have been in radio for 15 years, 10 of those years spent as a Program Director, so I can appreciate opportunities, like this, that showcase “talent” not “imagery” and challenge radio to “think outside of the box”.
Ms. LaRen also notes that technology has changed the way people listen and purchase music. The variety of programming offered through satellite; the ability to program your own station with less commercials via apps like Pandora; moreover, the ability to personalize your entire playlist void of any commercials via iPods, has slowly chipped away the audience of people who listen to terrestrial radio. Especially when it comes to new music, most times these days, new music is discovered through some type of online vehicle, whereby, once upon a time, people would look to radio to “break” the next big thing! She offered these suggestions for today’s radio platforms.
“In order to remain competitive, I firmly believe terrestrial radio could use an overhaul in how we add music, program music and engage our audience.” LaRen said. “It should be living and breathing rather than predictable and regimented. I understand the importance of research and encourage it in the making of strategic decisions, but not to the point where it becomes bible to how a station is programmed.
Most records, independent or major, don’t even get considered if they aren’t already making an impact somewhere. Why can’t the somewhere start in radio? There is so much music out there, old and new; I would love to see terrestrial radio take back the crown and support the artistry of music by opening up and allowing their playlist to breathe!”
Mo’Shay LaRen joins scores of radio personalites and programmers who rely upon EURweb for content. This Black Music Month the challenge is out to carefully review the select group of talent that is showcased in EURweb’s Black Music Month Artist Spotlight. Radio consultants may suggest sticking to the formula, but the word on the street is that most stations play the same songs over and over and if you punch between radio stations, you can sometimes hear them playing at the same time.
In 2009, President Barack Obama issued a proclamation renaming Black Music Month as African American Music Appreciation Month. It was a progressive move to insure that the heritage of black music is preserved, but given the tight knit corporate structure of radio and the vast array of artists who are now independents with feeble arms to break the infrastructure, how will new chapters of black music history ever be added? The talent is there and the phone is ringing. Radio, will you answer and isn’t it time for change?
Follow Mo’Shay LaRen at www.rnbphilly.com or on Facebook: MoshayLaren or Twitter: @moshaylaren
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