Capital FM - Has it become the absolute dirge of the British Music Industry?

[Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 471
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I saw this topic on another forum but thought I would bring the debate over here.

A bit of background first.

Capital is owned by Global, who also have a record label which houses artists such as The Wanted, Cover Drive, Lawson. And they also have a music publishing company which Jessie J is part of.

Capital have 20 million listeners and 44% of the audience share.

They have also been known to snub artists from Capital's playlist like One Direction and Joe McEderry when they have been in direct competition with their own acts.

Now here is the interesting part that I want to get other's opinions on:

On CompareMyRadio you can compare how often a station replays a track in comparison to how often they play a unique track to give each station a variety rating. Capital's variety rating is 2% Radio 1's variety rating is 36%.

If you go back a year you get these stats:

Capital FM played 654 unique tracks
BBC Radio 1 played 15,862 unique tracks
The stations share 398 unique tracks
Capital FM shares 61% of its playlist with BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 shares 3% of its playlist with Capital FM


http://comparemyradio.com/compare/Capital_FM/BBC_Radio_1

Basically Capital FM is playing the same tracks over and over again with very little else getting a look in. Jessie on average was played 6/7 times a day last year on Capital to get around 2100 plays in a year. And with 20 million listeners its very influential.
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Comments

  • FanFromHollandFanFromHolland Posts: 5,987
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    Yeah they suck, and should be punished by a listeners drop, but they won';t
  • Zack06Zack06 Posts: 28,304
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    I hate everything they stand for. They have a nerve calling themselves the 'UK's #1 Hit Music Station' when all they seem to play are artists on the Global Talent roster which is part of their parent group. It's disgraceful that they have been allowed to effectively control the charts....the government needs to intervene.
  • SlojoSlojo Posts: 4,230
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    Dont really listen to music on the radio but some of the figurs in the OP look wrong

    These were publised on the 21st of May by Media UK

    The top 10 radio stations with the most listeners
    Normally, when people ask for the most popular radio station, they mean the one with the most amount of listeners. This will always give national or London stations as a result, and ignore smaller, local radio stations - even though, in many areas, the most popular station is a local one.

    1. BBC Radio 2 (14.6m)
    2. BBC Radio 1 (11.1m)
    3. BBC Radio 4 (10.3m)
    4. Heart (7.5m)
    5. Capital (7.0m)
    6. BBC Radio 5 live (6.5m)
    7. Classic FM (5.4m)
    8. Kiss (4.4m)
    9. Magic (3.6m)
    10. Smooth Radio (3.3m)


    Full Article here

    http://www.mediauk.com/article/32695/the-most-popular-radio-stations-in-the-uk
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 447
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    I can't bare to listen to it, it was once in the background and I heard them play Rihanna 4 times in an hour which is just apalling imo.
  • elasticloveelasticlove Posts: 18,254
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    I can't bare to listen to it, it was once in the background and I heard them play Rihanna 4 times in an hour which is just apalling imo.

    I agree, there should be some rule to prevent this. :(
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 844
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    I used to take an hour's drive to work with this as the only station that worked on my clapped out radio (got a new one, thank god) and I heard Domino, Wild Ones, and various Rihanna tracks over and over and over again. Olly Murs twice... it's like a teenager's playlist when doing homework. The point of radio is that they have endless material.

    Their DJs are dire. Unfunny, unintelligent, vile trash.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,304
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    Can't stand Capital, it's very much aimed at the young audience... not sure why they do this, the most successful show is Radio 2. A show that plays music regardless of age and more about the quality.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 56
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    Dire radio station, never listen to it, will not ever listen to it. I usually listen to radio for the good DJ's and to hear new music, which is why i listen to Radio 1 over Capital
  • C14EC14E Posts: 32,165
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    I can't say I've ever noticed much difference to other commercial stations, tbh. And I've never noticed anything like the whole "playing the same track twice in one hour" thing. I prefer Radio 1's DJ's during the day anyway but most of the music they play is the same. I think R1 still very much dominates and leads playlist decisions at commercial radio.

    The thing with Global Talent does seem to be a bit of an issue, however. Perhaps not just now but what happens if the roster keeps on growing and they have 10 or 15 acts?
  • AdzPowerAdzPower Posts: 4,861
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    I cant stand capital now, they used to be ok, but now they play the same songs over and over, I was at a bbq a couple of weeks ago and they played the new Cheryl song 3 times in about 40 minutes, I like the song, but I dont need to hear it that often on the friggin radio!
  • ScrubberScrubber Posts: 4,106
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    Capital is the worst. Literally the top 20 on loop.

    Radio 1 play a great mixture of different genres as well as new and unheard music.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 526
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    Their playlist consists of:

    Domino
    LaserLight
    Mama Do The Hump
    Next To Me
    Starships
    Titanium
    Turn Me On
    We Found Love
    Where Have You Been
    Call My Name
    Chasing The Sun
    Lego House

    over and over and over and over and over.....:eek:
  • Hav_mor91Hav_mor91 Posts: 17,183
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    I haver never listened to it and am glad
  • unclekevounclekevo Posts: 20,749
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    Listened to it for half an hour the other day, they played the same song (an Olly Murs atrocity) TWICE in that 30 minutes :eek:
  • cnbcwatchercnbcwatcher Posts: 56,681
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    I've never listened to this station and don't plan to either. In fact I rarely listen to radio at all. Youtube is my radio now.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,241
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    I suppose you know what you're getting when you listen to be fair. You'll get nothing different or challenging.

    What did shock me was when Capital and the whole Global network banned One Direction songs for THREE months because one of the kids mistakenly thanked R1 instead of Capital at the Brits. :eek:

    I'm not a 1D fan at all but what a mean spirited,selfish and petty thing to do. Indicates the values of the management there.
  • habanalahabanala Posts: 2,863
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    The global situation does need looking at, people shouldnt be so stupid to just buy all the shite they churn out but the wanted are a great example of this.
    But i highly doubt any of you have heard the same song 3 times in an hour on any station. Dont be so dramatic!
  • daniellehdanielleh Posts: 7,852
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    I don't listen to Capital FM, just because it's a bit too chart... if that makes sense. I much prefer Radio 1, a good balance between chart and non-mainstream music, variety of genres etc. Also I hear Capital tend to repeat the songs they play pretty often, whereas R1 only plays each song once per show... so on average, probably once in 3 hours. Can't really complain about that.
  • Big Boy BarryBig Boy Barry Posts: 35,290
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    Magic seems to play the same songs over and over too

    Especially Neil Fox.
  • AlrightmateAlrightmate Posts: 73,120
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    I hate the TV advert where they think that they're too cool for school.
  • iseloidiseloid Posts: 9,392
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    Yes, only due to lack of variety though. Oh and the silly amount of plays of Jessie J :p
  • SevenSeizeSevenSeize Posts: 187
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    I hate the TV advert where they think that they're too cool for school.

    Oh god, I almost feel like kicking my TV over whenever that cringeworthy thing comes on

    While Radio 1 aren't exactly a shining beacon of perfection, I'd EASILY take it over Capital any day of the week
  • Dex_BracewellDex_Bracewell Posts: 155
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    I'm glad I listen to BBC R1. Almost everybody in my high school asked for Capital FM all the time. I did manage to put Kiss on instead, but it's too faulty and lacks a lot on DJs just like Capital. I take R1 any day even if I have to hear Sara Cox does her funny but very cringey mum talk on the random day she covers in for Fearne Cotton.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,583
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    Zeb Atlas wrote: »
    I suppose you know what you're getting when you listen to be fair. You'll get nothing different or challenging.

    What did shock me was when Capital and the whole Global network banned One Direction songs for THREE months because one of the kids mistakenly thanked R1 instead of Capital at the Brits. :eek:

    I'm not a 1D fan at all but what a mean spirited,selfish and petty thing to do. Indicates the values of the management there.

    I'm no 1D fan at all but that is shocking and just nasty. How on earth is something like that not some kind of breach of regulations/abuse of power?

    Disgusting.
  • RadiomaniacRadiomaniac Posts: 43,510
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    Crapital make even Heart sound good.
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