Craig Burke - Jingle

http://soundcloud.com/livefromtheblock/craigbstinger

1. What is a radio Ident/Stinger?

This is a jingle that can open up a show and lets the listeners find out the information they need to know.

2. How do you make your stinger in the studio?

We play a song and then the reduce the volume of the music so it can only be heard in the background as we talk in to the microphone and say what we need to say. When we finish talking, we turn the volume back up and fade it out.

3. What is special about the music you used for your stinger?

The music i used for my jingle is a song that people will enjoy hearing, it's a song with a beat that everyone loves and will go down well.

Styles of Programming - Classic Hits

Classic Hits

Description of Format: Classic Hits is a music format for adults. It includes Rock and Pop music from 1964-1989.

Examples of Classic Hits:

• Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine
• The Beatles - Help
• Abba - Mamma Mia

The Classic Hits format can be found on radio stations like Magic FM, Heart FM and Gold.

The target audience for my sequence is 30+ and for males as well as females. It is also good for people who are not fans of modern music. Stations like Magic have shows dedicated for when people are driving home.

Music Sequence:

1. Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine
2. Queen -  A Kind Of Magic
3. Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer
4. Billy Ocean - Love Really Hurts Without You
5. Michael Jackson - Billy Jean
6. Duran Duran - Hungry Like The Wolf
7. The Journey - Don't Stop Believin'
8. Whitney Houston - How Will I Know?
9. Dexy's Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen
10. Stevie Wonder - Overjoyed

My sequence will be of interest to my target audience as it features 10 popular and classic hits. The target audience will be able to relate to all music that is played. 

The first part of my sequence features rock songs and after that the music is more mellow and there is more of a love theme.

Styles of Programming - Urban Hip Hop

Urban Hip Hop

Hip Hop is a culture that started in the 1970's in New York. The music is a mixture of rapping and DJing and is more commonly known as just 'rap'.

Examples of Hip Hop:

• The Notorious B.I.G - Juicy
  
• Jay Z - 99 Problems
  
• Kanye West - Through The Wire

 Hip Hop music can be found on radios such as Choice FM, BBC Radio 1Xtra and Kiss FM.

The target audience for my sequence below is people between the age of 15 and 35. It's mostly for males and anybody who is relaxed and likes well worded songs along with good beats.

Music Sequence:

1. Jay Z and Kanye West - Nigga's In Paris
2. The Dream feat. Pusha T - Dope Chick
3. Kid Cudi - Pursuit Of Happines
4. Jamie Foxx feat. Drake and Kanye West - Digital Girl
5. The Notorious B.I.G - Juicy
6. John Legend feat. Teyana Taylor - Bliss
7. Pharrell feat. Jay Z - Frontin'
8. Red Cafe feat. Ryan Leslie and Rick Ross - Fly Together
9. Kid Cudi - Creepers
10. Kanye West feat. Rihanna - All The Lights

My sequence is of interest to my target audience as it features 10 songs from some of the most popular and well known artists in Hip Hop. It features popular music that the audience will like and the sequence starts and finishes strongly. it has a mixture of new music with the popular material and there is a simliar vibe throughout. 

There are three 'extremely' popular songs in the sequence and I have paced them at either end and in the middle. I have included 3 new songs and each one is sandwiched between two popular songs as well as being scattered out in the sequence. I have limited the new material as too many new songs could make the audience disinterested as they like to be familiar with what they are hearing. That is why it's vital to have a balance between well known and new music.

Music Radio Formats Poster

10 Minute Questions

Music Programming

1. What is 'Music Programming'?
   Music Programming is a form of music production where you use electronic devices to generate music. This is done in nearly all forms of electronic music and is also used in Hip-Hop.
   
   
2. What is a station 'format'?
   A station format is what kind of music and talk is presented on a certain radio station. E.g. Rock music is a format and is played on Kerrang.
   
   
3. Please give an example of two radio stations, the format and an example of two tracks.
   On Majic FM, they play classic hits such as 'Jammin'' from Bob Marley and 'Fast Car' by Tracey Chapman. Alternatively, Radio 1 are Top 40/ contemporary hit radio. They play music such as 'I Cry' by Flo Rida and 'Let Me Love You' from Ne-Yo.
   
   
   
4. What is and 'ABC playlist'?
   
   An ABC playlist ranks music by how frequently a song is played. Songs in the A category are played often, whereas songs in the B category are played sometimes. Songs in the C category are played every now and then.
   
   
5. Explain how the choice of music would affect profits of a commercial radio station.
   
   It is important for every single radio station to play and talk about what the listeners want to hear. If the presenter plays to many new songs then listener numbers will decrease as people like to hear what they know. 2-3 new songs every 10 is advisable if you want to retain listeners.
   
   
6. Explain some techniques in music programming to keep the listener interested, with examples.
   
   As i said, it is important to limit new material and play songs that listeners will be familiar with as it will encourage them to listen to the station again. It is also important to scatter popular items across the show, for example if your doing a competetion then perhaps have people compete in that competition once every hour instead of lots of people at once.
   
   If it's a station that plays various genres of music then it is important that you don't go from one genre to a complete opposite genre as it could decrease the listeners mood to listen to your station. You can also use a segue to apply a smooth transition between two items.