[FA Worldmusic] music chains and knowledge transfer

[Dore Stein]

> As someone who *likes* categorization, I'd argue this: I don't treat
> the labels I put on music as a box with high, impenetrable sides and
> coils of barded wire ...

That's fine but unfortunately most radio stations do. The
nichification of radio formats on the web and satellite radio
exacerbate this. And terrestrial radio's industry coined music formats
have little to do with music and are more tied to sales, life style,
etc.  For ex. in the early 90's I was Music Director at a Smooth Jazz
station in San Francisco. Early on station research determined that
the two words most associated with our sound was "smooth" and "jazz".
This was despite the fact we didn't play 'real' jazz. It was more
accurately instrumental pop music. Regardless, announcers had to come
out of sets using the phrase "smooth jazz' regardless of the performer
or song. "That's smooth jazz from Enya,"  etc. That's analogous to
being instructed by a PD to describe Nusrat Fatek Ali Khan as Arabic
music because research shows that the majority of listeners associate
Arabic with his sound. (This is a hypothetical ex.!)


> (if you want to build your
> audience beyond accidental stumbling onto your show, I'd argue that
> you need to be able to describe your show to folks as well).

Programmers don't need industry created labels to describe their radio shows.


>
> Looking at Dore's web site, for instance, he *does* use labels:
> world, roots and jazz (albeit in exactly the kind of non-simplistic,
> communicative fashion that I would suggest). Perhaps without the
> dogma, we're really not all that far apart?

probably true - I am distinguishing between industry created terms
that do little to
define the music as opposed to musical styles and terms that educate
the listener.

thanks Mark,

Dore

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Dore Stein
Producer/Host
Tangents Radio
301 Gambier St.
San Francisco CA  94134-1341

Customized MONDOMIX Tangents shows are available listen-on-demand at
tangents.com and mondomix.com/en/radios.php

Broadcast Saturday Nights 8p-mid on KALW (91.7, San Francisco) and
webcast at www.kalw.org

Playlists are uploaded in real time at tangents.com

Website: www.tangents.com
Email: tangentsradio at gmail.com

Tel: (415) 584-4367 (Mon-Fri 2p-7p)
       (415) 841-4134 (Studio: Sat. 8-mid)