The reasons include deregulation, a greedy government, and companies far more interested in profit than a quality product.

Go back about 10 to 15 years, and New Zealand radio was an incredibly different scene. In fact it was extremely similar to here. Regulation ensured there was no direct competition, companies were making healthy profits, and we had the luxury of time to create some beautiful radio.

Then came deregulation, the government realising they could raise huge funds from licensing station after station, and big international companies (Canwest & Clear Channel) coming in with the goal of making a lot of money. On one radio station I worked on we used to have to play half an hour of ads every hour, but still claimed we played 50 minutes of music.

These days, most of New Zealand radio is automated & networked, there’s hardly any local anymore, there are two of every station in every market (two easy listening, two classic rock, two classic hits), and, due to downsizing, staff are strung out trying to produce content for multiple stations.

People don’t really treat New Zealand or Australian radio experience with terribly much respect. They tend to equate it with hospital radio. But it’s very true that these consultants you criticise most definitely have to work a lot smarter than we do. They struggle with direct competition from identical stations on a daily basis. They’re constantly pressured to cut costs leading to more automation and less staff. They have to be shrewd, because they’re not just handed their audience on a plate. And they have nowhere near the amount of money we have to do things. Yet they still manage to produce radio that wins awards.

When I arrived here about 8 years ago, I was staggered by the amount of resources that go into radio. The fact we have programme controllers, deputy programme directors, programme managers etc, where in NZ, that generally falls onto the shoulders of just one person, and they’re stretched across two or three stations. In fact, some stations don’t even have a PC. Some don’t even have presenters, with presenters from other markets feeding automated shows into their computer.

The fact that OFCOM are looking at Auctioning Classic FM’s frequency worries me greatly, because once the government discovers how much cash they can make out of radio licenses, what’s going to stop them licensing more and more and more. Now arguably it’s great for the listener to have a choice, but when that choice comes at the expense of quality, is it really that great for the listener?

I love the industry here, because it’s exactly what it used to be like back home, and it was the golden age of New Zealand radio I’m glad I got to experience. We have it good, but don’t get me wrong, we can definitely afford to become a bit more slicker and smarter. However if radio here becomes as focused on profits, redundancies and downsizing as it has become back home, then we’re likely to be forced into producing the same lower quality product that Joel came to criticize.

Whilst 14 minute progressive rock tracks by the likes of King Crimson etc, may be stretching it a little, I do think it’s silly to think that the audience can only handle three minutes of song before they start drooling and fall asleep. Often when tracks are cut down for airplay on radio and tv, they cut it at just the point that people wait patiently, like the end solo in November Rain, (i’ve seen videos on MTV where they stop just before this part), or the epic solo in Purple Rain.

I may well be revealing myself as a closet air guitarist, and lover of older rock, but to quote John Lennon; “I know i’m not the only one”.

I remember a consultant explaining to me in 1996 why they play their music on plus 2. It is very obvious to most people and there is nothing better than hearing a classic power ballad from the 80s sung by The Smurfs….

Then they come up with this…..Not only speed up my favourite songs but then edit them to 2 minutes in length.

WHY ??? – So we have the feel that we play more music. Remember in OZ listeners must count the number of tracks each station plays every hour (and people pay these guys for this advice)

My counter argument was…If Shania Twain, Man I feel like a woman is the top testing track right now should we not be playing in full instead of hacking it to bits ??

And the only reason I bring this up is because I went to a Karaoke night at Key 103 and we had been playing Nickelback “How you remind me” every hour for a year. I went up to sing it in front of rammed room and had no idea the 2nd chorus actualy existed as we had hacked it to bits.

Sadly the view that we only play 10 cds on repeat, however just or unjust it is, is the view that a hell of a lot of people have of us. There are so many good songs out there, ones that we have played in the past, have A-listed in fact, that simply slip off the playlist and now sit redundant on the cart wall never to be played again, deemed to risky even for ‘Haven’t Heard It For Ages’. People don’t like them less just because they haven’t heard them for a while, in fact, when we hear a track in the office that hasn’t been played for a while you will hear the mexican wave style murmur of ‘Tune’ ripple across the floor. Or most commonly ‘Are we really playing Nirvana?’ I wonder if you hear that in peoples homes and cars as well?

For what it’s worth, I’m not a Programmer, and this is just my humble opinion, but it seems to me that this new ‘era’ is the perfect chance to look at peoples perceptions of us and change it if necessary, update it perhaps, but most importantly simply look at what we do and make it better. If that’s spice the playlist up a bit, then you certainly won’t hear me complain.

Too often when posing the question “why are we still playing XXXX” to PDs and Heads of Music over the years, the response I’ve got has been “because it’s still testing SO well”. Over the past decade, I don’t think I’ve ever got a “because my gut is still telling me we should still be playing it” or “because it still has great appeal to our target audience”.

Something to consider, UK commercial radio Programme Directors and Heads of Music.

You know who you are!

PS. I don’t have one of those purple-vinyl/picture sleeve copies of ‘Sweet Talking Woman’.