Here is an item I wrote on The Pop View back in late August of 2000:
ALTERNATIVE TO WHAT: A recent article in the New York Times nicely summed up the quandary facing “alternative” (AKA “modern rock”) radio stations. Namely, that the mainstream rock radio station across town is playing the same music. Korn, Limp Bizkit, Beastie Boys, Kid Rock, Creed, Nirvana — you name it, it now fits both formats. The article cites a chilling statistic: the overlap between the playlists of modern rock and hard rock stations rose from 44% in ’98 to 54% in ’99. Another factor: mainstream rock stations didn’t used to be focused on current music. This is true; the FM rock radio stations of my youth (KMET and KLOS in Los Angeles) played Supertramp and Pink Floyd and Zepplin, year after year. Now, you’re lucky if you hear Tom Petty once in a while on Washington’s DC101.
On the one hand, I’m irritated that these stations are making big money off of music that they once mocked. But I also blame the alternative stations. If you’re supposed to be “alternative,” then provide one. Get adventurous. Stop playing Pearl Jam all the damn time. And Creed and Stone Temple Pilots and anyone else who sounds like Pearl Jam. I was recently in Pittsburgh, listening to WPTS-FM, the campus radio station. I heard true alternative music, stuff I’m not going to hear on KROQ or WHFS or Q101 or WXRK. I’m reminded of the old song by the Minutemen, “Do You Want New Wave Or Do You Want The Truth?”
Let’s compare the current Billboard sales charts:
|
Modern Rock
|
Mainstream Rock
|
| 10 Years | Nickelback |
| Weezer | 10 Years |
| Nine Inch Nails | Avenged Sevenfold |
| Fall Out Boy | Korn |
| System Of A Down | System Of A Down |
| Yellowcard | Shinedown |
| Matisyahu | Hinder |
| Coldplay | Disturbed |
| Avenged Sevenfold | Audioslave |
| Shinedown | Seether |
We find that 40% of the Alternative artists are also on the Rock chart. This chart is a measurement of sales, but every single one of those “Modern Rock” bands is also played on “Mainstream Rock” radio stations.
The other thing to point out is that there are six bands on those charts that I’ve never heard of at all. There are another several bands that I have heard of, but I couldn’t tell you what their sound is or name any of their songs. And yet I don’t feel bad about this at all. Huh…
Billboard Radio Monitor lists the following Rock radio formats: Modern Rock, Active Rock, Heritage Rock, and Triple-A. Over at Radio & Records, they list Alternative, Active Rock and Triple A. Let’s compare some airplay charts, such as R&R’s Alternative and Active Rock National Airplay charts. By comparing the top 50 for each, I find 23 singles duplicated.
I listen to even less radio today than I did in 2000. The consolidation of station ownership has gotten worse since then. But satellite radio and iPods give far more options to listeners and the stations are running scared (see this post from July of last year).
Here is an analysis of the development of Modern Rock radio that has different numbers, but at least lays out a lot of detail about the overlap and suggests what alternative radio ought to have played instead.