How Popular Music Actually Works [Podcast]

Today we have a rather serious discussion about the relationship between Top 40 radio stations and the handful of major corporations that basically control which music is deemed “popular.”

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Since our show’s inception we’ve mentioned dozens of songs that historically “topped the charts,” reached the Top 40, etc. But what is the process that defines popular music, and how has that model changed over the past few decades?

Put simply, today’s Top 40 radio stations are under the heavy influence of (and in many cases outright owned by) a handful of large corporations that also happen to run the largest music labels in the world. And while these companies can’t legally pay radio stations directly to play their music, independent music promoters (or “indies”) essentially serve as money handlers between these two entities in a good ol’ fashioned legal loophole. Radio DJs themselves have no hand whatsoever in which songs are played; as those decisions are made by Program Directors or even higher executive powers.

This is a stark contrast from 30-some years ago when, for example, the budding genre of hip hop was heavily catalyzed by local DJs being aware of this new style of music. Since they were in control of what was played on the air, DJs has the opportunity to introduce the masses to virtually unknown artists simply because they saw this new genre’s potential to grow into the mainstream.

If you want to learn more about the nitty-gritty of this process, HowStuffWorks.com has a great article on this: How Top 40 Radio Works. (And while we’re at it, we want to give a shout out to their Stuff You Should Know podcast, which is one of Peter’s personal favorites.)