Voice Tracking Fun

[Andy Mancini]

I was just watching the local news (KDKA TV News at 11), and they did a report on the new "radio craze" called voice tracking. Voice tracking, for the people who have no idea what I'm talking about, is a process by which so-called "local" DJs pre-record all of their "snappy DJ banter" hours before their shows come on, sometimes in another city entirely. I have never heard this personally, although there is a handful in town (Pittsburgh) that does this. This is because the three music station I listen to; WXDX (modern rock), WDVE (new and classic rock and the flagship station for our beloved Pittsburgh Steelers), and WYEP (a freeform/new age station that relies on mostly volunteer DJs), do not partake in this practice. How do you guys feel about this? It really bugs me. Has this practice stopped you from listening to the radio? Does this make go to MP3s or indepentant radio? It just seems like beginnings of "Payola 2002" to me.

(Note for the mods: I have no idea which board to post this on, so please this if I picked the wrong board.)

[jimi5150]

Hey dj_gir! How yins doin?

I've had not heard of this nasty habit.

The biggest thing bothering me about the radio these days is the terrible habit of the DJ talking through the entire lead-in to the song, stopping (maybe!) only when the vocals start.

This USED to be what I called an "AM radio thing" on the pop stations.

"Mega Rock" (out of Brookville?) actually cuts songs WAY short, so the DJ's can hear themselves talk more.

Then of course..."Classic Rock" stations taking a band that has made over a dozen albums in their career and playing the SAME THREE SONGS OVER AND OVER AND OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

okay.........I feel better now..........

[Mackenzie Rainelle]

That's why I absolutely adore The River (out of Knoxville, TN). They play jazz, reggae, heavy metal, classical rock, Top 40, oldies, all kinds of stuff (except rap, blonde bimbos, and boy bands). And they play the CD versions, not the radio cuts. Listening to The River was the first time I got to hear the full version of Santana's "Smooth" without having to dig out my CD. Usually radio DJs talk until Rob Thomas starts singing, cut out a huge chunk of Carlos Santana's awe-worthy guitar riffs from the music break in the middle of the song and fade out of the ending entirely too fast so the DJ can talk more. I love The River.

[czyznyck99]

I think this is why Napster and CD burners were created, to tell radio that we did not need them to advertize the songs, or themselves, anymore. I had a feeling that the pre-recording was occuring, I just wasn't aware it was common. The only things I want to hear out of a DJ on the radio is news about live events, album release dates or other relevant news. And I especially don't want to hear about them during a song.

No longer can the argument be made that the voice-overs during the songs are done to protect piracy, it already happens. I haven't listened to the radio seriously in over 4 years. I would start again if there was a station that wasn't interested in shameless self promotion.

[Nickdisk]

I dont listen to the radio much, but that would put me off listening to stations because i like the whole 'live' thing

[Magentabeams]

I live in the Northern Panhandle of WV so I get stations from all 3 border staes.And I have noticed that Pittsburgh's stations does do that a lot. So does some the Ohio stations. I won't mention WV's crappy stations.


Sarahanne

[GrayGhost]

I live in Pittsburgh also and I believe KISS FM (96.1) does the same thing. It is owned by Clear Channel (as is DVE)...

I could care less actually. I really don't like any of the Pittsburgh stations anymore and usually end up listening to WVAQ lol. Hey I won a cd on WVAQ for answering a trivia question - thanks Lorray heh.

Also, did you know that a ton of the celebrity interviews on the channels are fake. The radio stations are sent promotional "interview" cds. They have preset questions that the DJ can record himself asking and the celebrity's answer is on the cd - making the listener think that the celebrity is actually there.

[Andy Mancini]

Don't start with the CD burner/MP3 crap. This type of thing has been coming since 1980, when the idea of focus groups and playlists were introduced. This was right around the corner. I also think this is why MP3s make radio people nervous: they lose some control over what the people buy. Do you think that bands like Linkin Park and Shaggy would be popular if it wasn't for MP3s? Of course not. If this trend continues, I see MP3 downloads and free form radio memberships going up.