Slacker Radio Jingles now playing on cached stations (including custom ones)

[DAB]

Has anyone else noticed that the Slacker Radio jingles are now running on caches stations. Even the custom caches stations! I've noticed this last week and just forgot to mention it. This is pretty cool. They seem to only play about every hour to hour and half.

It certainly makes it seem more like radio with them. I like it! Remember to hear them, you must have turn DJ's setting to ON. I had to turn it off on my New Age/Meditation station because it woke me up the other night! LOL

Anyone else notice this?

 

[Biaviian]

Actually no I haven't. I turned the DJ off for most of my cached stations so it didn't do what it did to you (wake me up). That is a great idea though provided the volume of the jingles is on the same level as the music. I'll have to check it out. I do have a few cached stations with the DJs.

 

[Jon]

I haven't heard ONE on 90's Alternative yet, and I have the DJ setting on.

EDIT: There's one.

 

[DAB]

Yeah I am hearing them on all my stations at this point. I am glad too, this is a radio component I felt they really needed to add. I was with a co-worker today going to a meeting and one of these came on. He was like Slacker Radio? I had to tell him about it. He was like cool I got to check that out.

Still a lot of folks that haven't a clue about Slacker Radio! I did turn off the DJ setting on my New Age/ Medication Station and I've not heard anymore so these DJ on and off is working.

 

[HecticArt]

Yeah I am hearing them on all my stations at this point. I am glad too, this is a radio component I felt they really needed to add. I was with a co-worker today going to a meeting and one of these came on. He was like Slacker Radio? I had to tell him about it. He was like cool I got to check that out.

Still a lot of folks that haven't a clue about Slacker Radio! I did turn off the DJ setting on my New Age/ Medication Station and I've not heard anymore so these DJ on and off is working.

The DJ is one thing I really miss when I listen to Slacker. I had 1st Wave on today and the DJ mentioned that Billy Idol is going on tour this summer. :headbang: Awesome!

I know most of the Sirius banter is canned, but it's good to hear that kind of thing from time to time. It would be incredible if Slacker could actually snippets like that every so often.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I still have not heard it on my custom stations. Heard it on my non-custom stations quite some time ago.

 

[Jon]

The DJ is one thing I really miss when I listen to Slacker. I had 1st Wave on today and the DJ mentioned that Billy Idol is going on tour this summer. :headbang: Awesome!

I know most of the Sirius banter is canned, but it's good to hear that kind of thing from time to time. It would be incredible if Slacker could actually snippets like that every so often.

Or just do it like a last.fm does it where it says that the artist playing is on tour, and when you click on the prompt, it displays tour dates and links to tickets. DJs are pretty well irrelevant anymore.

 

[DAB]

Or just do it like a last.fm does it where it says that the artist playing is on tour, and when you click on the prompt, it displays tour dates and links to tickets. DJs are pretty well irrelevant anymore.

I think that is more of a personal perception than reality in terms of DJ's being irrelevant. I think most still do like DJ's and having some interactive connectivity with a personal on the Radio.

I personally wish Slacker added more DJ's rather than just on Today's Hits. Someone like yourself could opt out, while someone such as myself would absolutely be down with having them.

For those that like contemporary todays hits has Parker which does a pretty good job. She will intro an artist and talk about them. Pretty cool, but unfortunately they don't do it enough for it to really impact the station. I think it could be improved and should be. The Radio Jingles playing is the first step, I hope!

 

[HecticArt]

Or just do it like a last.fm does it where it says that the artist playing is on tour, and when you click on the prompt, it displays tour dates and links to tickets. DJs are pretty well irrelevant anymore.

That would be cool too. I do like to just hear someone tell me things, so that I don't have to drop what I'm doing to read it on line, but the link scenario would be some awesome supplemental info.

I think that is more of a personal perception than reality in terms of DJ's being irrelevant. I think most still do like DJ's and having some interactive connectivity with a personal on the Radio.

I personally wish Slacker added more DJ's rather than just on Today's Hits. Someone like yourself could opt out, while someone such as myself would absolutely be down with having them.

For those that like contemporary todays hits has Parker which does a pretty good job. She will intro an artist and talk about them. Pretty cool, but unfortunately they don't do it enough for it to really impact the station. I think it could be improved and should be. The Radio Jingles playing is the first step, I hope!

Yeah, it wouldn't be hard to do (says the man with minimal programming experience) you can opt in with the DJ option, and there may even be a second tier option for programming announcements. Perhaps you could select them like you pick an artist. They could have someone record 20 or so 30 second spots per genre that get rotated out every week or two.

 

[Jon]

The iPod generation has been living without DJs for ages, once these services become more popular with the younger set, you'll see the idea of DJs going away. Interactivity with the product itself (selecting what you want played, etc) is what it's about. With or without humans.

 

[Argji]

The iPod generation has been living without DJs for ages, once these services become more popular with the younger set, you'll see the idea of DJs going away. Interactivity with the product itself (selecting what you want played, etc) is what it's about. With or without humans.

Jon, let's test your theory out and post this over
on the Octane, Alt Nation, and SiriusXMU Facebook
pages and see what that generation thinks. I don't
think it is that cut and dry.

 

[DAB]

The iPod generation has been living without DJs for ages, once these services become more popular with the younger set, you'll see the idea of DJs going away. Interactivity with the product itself (selecting what you want played, etc) is what it's about. With or without humans.

That is simply not true. While a lot of young folks today do have iPod's and MP3 players, they still listen to FM Radio. So, they are still being exposed to DJ's. I also work with young people and I can tell you that I hear them talking all the time about local DJ's and how they met them at so and so doing a remote etc. So, I am just not buying it! You seem to think it is an either or situation, but I don't see it that way. I think there are times when folks like to be able to listen to exactly what they want and then there are times when they enjoy allowing someone else to do it for them via radio. Why do you feel it has to be either or? I think you are making a lot of assumptions. But you know over the years we've done polls between SBS and DRC and each time radio with DJ's has won out. Granted no one wants an overly chatterbox DJ, but a lot of them on Sirius XM do a great job balancing it out. ON FM they still talk way too much, but if you look at FM's demographics they still appeal to a young audience depending on the format.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

That is simply not true. While a lot of young folks today do have iPod's and MP3 players, they still listen to FM Radio. So, they are still being exposed to DJ's. I also work with young people and I can tell you that I hear them talking all the time about local DJ's and how they met them at so and so doing a remote etc. So, I am just not buying it! You seem to think it is an either or situation, but I don't see it that way. I think there are times when folks like to be able to listen to exactly what they want and then there are times when they enjoy allowing someone else to do it for them via radio. Why do you feel it has to be either or? I think you are making a lot of assumptions. But you know over the years we've done polls between SBS and DRC and each time radio with DJ's has won out. Granted no one wants an overly chatterbox DJ, but a lot of them on Sirius XM do a great job balancing it out. ON FM they still talk way too much, but if you look at FM's demographics they still appeal to a young audience depending on the format.

At the local amusement park last Saturday the local FM remote was surrounded by young adults watching the local DJ do his show live. If only old folks listened to radio, every radio station would be a 80s or 70s music station.

Back on topic, I still have not heard any jingle on a custom music station. Perhaps Slacker has not yet obtained the Canadian rights to the Slacker jingles.

 

[Jon]

I've also spoken to college kids who when asked what they're favorite local station is, say they don't have one. Most if not all of their music discovery is done online, through friends, or through certain *ahem* various other networks. Especially true with the college kids whose internet access is about 2-3 times faster than what you and me get last I heard. If they listen to any 'regular' radio it's usually the college radio station in town. Last time I was on a major college campus (2 years or so) I saw nothing but iPods and Mp3 players.

That's where their listening habits are. Personally, at age 35 I still do listen to SOME regular radio, NPR especially, since I am at that age where I remember when radio was still pretty good and had plenty of local content, but I also do a lot of that listening online through the iPhone or through a web stream, even the local stations when I want to get a quick weather forecast or something. I also remember the first day I heard my favorite station at the time had been bought and turned to utter crap by clear channel (much the same reason I left satellite in the first place.) If you are below the age of 25, chances are better than average you've never heard anything besides a short snippet of regular 'local' radio and aren't a regular listener. As many young people here that are into satellite radio as well as iPods and other things, that proves it.

Hell, even me, as it stands now I couldn't tell you who the regular DJs on our local stations are. Mostly because anything but the morning shows (which are crap) are usually automated. That's also the one thing that may very well hasten my return to satellite radio in the future, although certainly not for the music, save for the occasional special or two, and the stuff that neither Slacker/Pandora nor regular radio do well like Classical and Opera.

 

[DAB]

I am still not convinced Jon, I still think you are using your own personal preference and applying it across the board to younger folks. I see a totally different picture than you are painting in my home town. We have 3 Universities here and the young folks are very active with local DJ's. They know them and they listen. Yes they have iPod's and MP3 players and they use those. But I still think there is a pretty good balance for most people between listening to those devices and radio.

Radio is still very popular and as I said depending on the format they do very well with the younger demographics. There is little doubt that there are some in our population that would prefer there not be any DJ's, but overall society likes DJ's and that includes the younger generation. Maybe not so much as us baby boomers because we were raised with limited sources for entertainment. Still people enjoy the interactivity that radio offers especially on a local level.

 

[Jon]

At the local amusement park last Saturday the local FM remote was surrounded by young adults watching the local DJ do his show live. If only old folks listened to radio, every radio station would be a 80s or 70s music station.

Most of the stations that get ratings here are. Either that or country. The only exception being a Hip Hop-R&B station that places well in the ratings consistently.

Radio is still very popular and as I said depending on the format they do very well with the younger demographics. There is little doubt that there are some in our population that would prefer there not be any DJ's, but overall society likes DJ's and that includes the younger generation. Maybe not so much as us baby boomers because we were raised with limited sources for entertainment. Still people enjoy the interactivity that radio offers especially on a local level.

In a smaller town environment I can see that, where there aren't that many choices to begin with. And most of the DJs who work those stations are more likely to stay. I live in a city of about 3 million people. And while it is a nice place to live, it's not exactly the last stop for most people in Radio or Television who wish to move to NYC or someplace like that. And there aren't that many local radio DJs to begin with who aren't voicetracked in some form. And Wifi is widely available as well as products to provide alternate entertainment in the city environment where wifi is more widespread. I'm not saying local radio is going to go away, I'm saying you're going to get the same kind of information you got with DJ input, without it. Technology will make sure of that, and in my case, and many people I know, already is. And the radio stations seem to realize that they're being replaced with other forms information gathering. I was stuck in traffic during a Tornado Warning one time, and turned on the 'local' news and they were discussing (what else) politics. No mention of the tornado except for a short break-in at the half hour. While my email was on my iPhone was off the hook with warnings and updates. That's the kind of thing I'm talking about when it comes to 'local' content.