The Spirit of Radio
So WORD Magazine has an article about “why records DO all sound the same?“, which has this epic quote:
“Two or three times a year, a company like LA-based Music Research Consultants Inc arrive in town, hire a hotel ballroom or lecture theatre and recruit 50-100 people, carefully screened for demographic relevance (they might all be white suburban housewives aged 26-40). They’re each given $65 and a Perception Analyzer; a little black box with one red knob and an LED display. Then, they’re played 700 seven-second clips of songs. If they turn the knob up, the song gets played. If they turn it down, it doesn’t.” [emphasis mine]
Ponder that. Seven Seconds. That’s the Pepsi Challenge of Music. And we all know where that got Coca-Cola.
This sort of market research is what gets every industry in trouble. It’s like the contest to find the funniest joke in the world. You end up with a joke that’s not really funny, but “[...]the world’s blandest joke–the gag that makes everyone smile but very few laugh out loud.” It’s why software fails, why cars fail. You can’t ask people what they like. You need to observe them and see what they habitually prefer. Otherwise you end up with Windows Vista and SUVs. And Maroon 5.
Now I’m going to go off and listen to some unlistenable Legendary Pink Dots.
March 4th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
The KLF saw this coming a long way away.
March 6th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
You mean I am actually being fed music on a commercial basis from a bunch of gueros sitting around with knobs listening to seven seconds of whatever it is? Jesus! That’s worse than Frank knowing where all the blue & red light districts are.
And secondly, is the is the basis behind pandora.com, which your mother loves & I have used to play save-the-whales-music at work until everyone is so mellow they pee themselves when the ocean waves and songbirds cuts come on?
Garam H.
. . . the orphan twins are sleeping in the bathroom; Abby has rediscovered birds; Mz Kitty is still neurotic. Call your brother.