I had heard some rumors that a pair of radio stations in the area have decided to do the “non-stop Christmas music” gimmick. No big deal, someone always does it right? BUT NOT ON THE FIRST DAY OF NOVEMBER! Until now. And I’m not kidding. At all. It’s friggin’ insane. These people are on crack.
When I worked in radio, we’d always be reading in “the trades” (the daily or weekly papers about the radio industry) that this station or that station went Christmas. But usually, these kinds of things would happen after Thanksgiving. Or in one case where Thanksgiving happened to fall “late” in November, many stations started the Monday prior, as if there was some kind of unwritten Christmas music quota. I never really understood that.
But this year, two stations near me (technically in different markets, but under the same ownership — and surprisingly, not Clear Channel) made the switch November 1st. I turned them both on this morning. Right now, one is playing Bruce Springsteen’s rendition of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and the other is playing one of the 5,382 artists who’ve efforted “Frosty the Snowman.”
I only listened long enough to get those titles, and now the radio is OFF. Christmas music does NOT belong on the radio on November 1. It doesn’t even belong on the radio the Monday before Thanksgiving, or even the day of Thanksgiving. If “Black Friday” is the unofficial start to the Christmas shopping season, it should also be the start of the Christmas radio season.
Seriously, who is actually listening to this stuff? Maybe for 30 minutes or an hour here and there. I’m sure stores love piping it into their PA systems. And people love it for Christmas parties. I’ll admit, I do like Christmas music too — in December. November 1st is waaaaaaaaaay too early. Hopefully enough listeners agree (it’s ratings season right now) and the owner of these 2 stations learns his lesson through poor numbers.
What do YOU think? Do you like it when radio stations play 24/7 Christmas music? When do you think they should begin? Leave your comments below. (If you’re a first timer, there is a delay — but only to help prevent spam. As long as your comments are legitimate, I’ll approve them.)
I love xmas music. and sometimes if it’s snowing, i’ll listen to it a little bit before thanksgiving, but only if i’m “in the spirit.” i can’t believe they started this music already! this holiday keeps getting forced on us earlier and earlier every year. i used to complain to rite aid that i hated how the retail calendar works (getting back to school stuff in july!). xmas music shouldn’t start getting played until black friday, i agree with you there. oh well. whaddya gonna do?
Whaddya gonna do? Since writing this post, I’ve removed the all-Christmas stations from my car stereo’s preset buttons. I’d rather have the same station on 2 buttons. I’ve always thought — and still think to this day — Lite 98.7 has the best strategy. They mix in a Christmas tune here and there. It’s enough to give you the holiday spirit without completely overkilling it.