We’ve now ironed out the gremlins in the playout system, and from tonight will start experimenting with a ‘proper’ schedule which varies during the day. It’ll go something like this -
0600 – 1800: – very diverse music, no preference for any genre, no A/B/C playlist rubbish.
1800 – 2300: themed, genre-specific music, for extended periods: a chunk of Metal, some Electronica, a pile of rock, some jazz, stuff like that. Not aiming to be all formal, ‘an hour of this then an hour of that’, but trying to put similar styles of music next to each other for however long seems sensible.
2300 – 0100: Ambient. You might even hear some birdsong.
0100 – 0600: All kinds of everything, no restrictions, sometimes a bit wild. (Wee small hours radio listeners are workers, not people falling asleep!).
As usual, this is just an idea, and an experiment. Please tell me if you think this approach is wrong, and what you’d prefer. Once we get it right, we’ll start to introduce more voices – I think, only in the evening, all the feedback has suggested you don’t want DJs during the day – and then we’ll open all music selection up to interactivity, as all our systems should be in place and tested by then.
greeeeat !!! But , please , do something with internet broadband … It is not working … It’s the only way how i can listen to AR now. ..
I know, I’m really sorry. We bought a swanky rack-mounted professional radio to provide the internet stream, and it turns out to be rubbish – less reliable than the bog standard DAB radios we have in the office, that cost £18 from Currys. Very annoying. Kev is fiddling with it now to try to improve reliability. By the way, we’re planning to provide a proper online stream as soon as we can, one that won’t only work on iTunes or Winamp. So it should get more and more reliable in the next few days. I’m sorry for the hassle in the meantime. PC
greeeeat !!! But , please , do something with internet broadband … It is not working … It’s the only way how i can listen to AR now. ..
I know, I’m really sorry. We bought a swanky rack-mounted professional radio to provide the internet stream, and it turns out to be rubbish – less reliable than the bog standard DAB radios we have in the office, that cost £18 from Currys. Very annoying. Kev is fiddling with it now to try to improve reliability. By the way, we’re planning to provide a proper online stream as soon as we can, one that won’t only work on iTunes or Winamp. So it should get more and more reliable in the next few days. I’m sorry for the hassle in the meantime. PC
The test transmissions need to end and let the party commence! 4th of July ?? Go 4 IT Paul!
I like your style! That might be what we do – we’ve just got a bit more tinkering under the hood to finish off first. PC
The test transmissions need to end and let the party commence! 4th of July ?? Go 4 IT Paul!
I like your style! That might be what we do – we’ve just got a bit more tinkering under the hood to finish off first. PC
The mix so far has been excellent and proved my theory that unsigned/independent music has much to offer. In fact as these artists are only a signature away from getting “old fashioned” radio play why not play them today?
As an antidote to classic fm I’d also like two hours of ambient music at lunch or maybe afternoon – we all need a break from the beat. In fact I don’t see why there couldn’t be a whole channel of ambient music as an antidote to classic fm…
I love my metal and rock but can it be kept away from meal times? It always seems to interrupt food preparation and eating, especially when children are involved (we don’t eat children).
You’re spot on about the early hours and keeping it diverse during the day.
For a variety of reasons I really enjoy the policy of songs played back-to-back with no ‘jingle’ between them but… and I am speaking as someone who wants to be a presenter… I am missing the human touch, the people who love this genre and want to put that energy into the station.
However the artists introducing their songs is a great idea and it’s tempting to suggest lumping them all together in an hour called something horrendously obvious like “Introducing…” but if you are going down the few presenters route spreading them around is a much better idea.
Hi Xan, thanks for the very helpful and interesting thoughts. I think what we’re doing is all a work in progress; we need more reactions from you and everyone before we can decide which way to go …. and we can then change it all, if people want something different! Please keep commenting. I’ll get back to you on your presenter emails today, too. ATB, PC
The mix so far has been excellent and proved my theory that unsigned/independent music has much to offer. In fact as these artists are only a signature away from getting “old fashioned” radio play why not play them today?
As an antidote to classic fm I’d also like two hours of ambient music at lunch or maybe afternoon – we all need a break from the beat. In fact I don’t see why there couldn’t be a whole channel of ambient music as an antidote to classic fm…
I love my metal and rock but can it be kept away from meal times? It always seems to interrupt food preparation and eating, especially when children are involved (we don’t eat children).
You’re spot on about the early hours and keeping it diverse during the day.
For a variety of reasons I really enjoy the policy of songs played back-to-back with no ‘jingle’ between them but… and I am speaking as someone who wants to be a presenter… I am missing the human touch, the people who love this genre and want to put that energy into the station.
However the artists introducing their songs is a great idea and it’s tempting to suggest lumping them all together in an hour called something horrendously obvious like “Introducing…” but if you are going down the few presenters route spreading them around is a much better idea.
Hi Xan, thanks for the very helpful and interesting thoughts. I think what we’re doing is all a work in progress; we need more reactions from you and everyone before we can decide which way to go …. and we can then change it all, if people want something different! Please keep commenting. I’ll get back to you on your presenter emails today, too. ATB, PC
I think that I would like DJs on the station day and night. I think that it would really work.
OK, thanks, we’ll remember that.
Do you know when this schedule will take place?
It started last night (Wednesday) at 2300 – and will get fuller and fuller and more varied every day from now on. We’re not gonna go ‘bang, here it is’ on day one,v as we want to try stuff, see what people say, change it, listen to the feedback.
and one final question – do you have any idea when the test transmission will end because I am getting sick and tired of the same song being played over and over again?
Sorry! (were you listening over the weekend by any chance? It was really rubbish then – we had a technical problem). Test transmissions stop on Monday, when we start the proper interactivity of song choice. What this means is, go to amazingtunes.com, find some stuff you like, rate it, tag it, recommend it, buy it (especially, buy it – because musicians like to eat) – just basically do some stuff with it, and it will go up the chart and then get on the playist. It all depends on what you do. PC
I think that I would like DJs on the station day and night. I think that it would really work.
OK, thanks, we’ll remember that.
Do you know when this schedule will take place?
It started last night (Wednesday) at 2300 – and will get fuller and fuller and more varied every day from now on. We’re not gonna go ‘bang, here it is’ on day one,v as we want to try stuff, see what people say, change it, listen to the feedback.
and one final question – do you have any idea when the test transmission will end because I am getting sick and tired of the same song being played over and over again?
Sorry! (were you listening over the weekend by any chance? It was really rubbish then – we had a technical problem). Test transmissions stop on Monday, when we start the proper interactivity of song choice. What this means is, go to amazingtunes.com, find some stuff you like, rate it, tag it, recommend it, buy it (especially, buy it – because musicians like to eat) – just basically do some stuff with it, and it will go up the chart and then get on the playist. It all depends on what you do. PC
I was talking with friend about Amazing Radio and we came up with this slightly off the wall idea. As well as promoting new artists couldn’t the station also promote new comics, new poets, short stories, etc. with dedicated slots in the schedule. I not exactly sure how this would work though.
Now for a moan. I’ve always hated the way DJ’s on mainstream radio stations talk over or play jingles at the beginning and the ending of songs. Unfortunately, I’ve heard this a few times on Amazing Radio. I know some people don’t have a problem with this but it’s one of my pet hates.
Hi Lee. Now this is weird. When I read this blog, I’d literally just put the phone down after talking to a friend who’s a leading comedy Producer, in which we were discussing that very thing. A lot of me would actually like a second Amazing Radio station just for speech (‘we’d call it ‘Amazing Radio Too’) … but mebbes we’ll walk before we run.
Re voicing over music: when we started, we were religious about never, ever voicing over any songs. I just felt we should respect the integrity of the music. Last week we changed the policy, because someone pointed out that this makes it easier for people to copy music from Amazing Radio, without paying for it – they get the whole track, uninterrupted, off air. Rather reluctantly, I agreed. I did feel rather guilty though.
Does anyone else have views on this? It’s a trade-off between respecting artistic integrity and minimising the risk of rip-off. I’d hope that people listen to Amazing Radio because they want to help artists, and would never dream of stealing their music … but someone once told me, there are apparently some nasty people in this world. (I’ve never met any, myself, of course). PC
I was talking with friend about Amazing Radio and we came up with this slightly off the wall idea. As well as promoting new artists couldn’t the station also promote new comics, new poets, short stories, etc. with dedicated slots in the schedule. I not exactly sure how this would work though.
Now for a moan. I’ve always hated the way DJ’s on mainstream radio stations talk over or play jingles at the beginning and the ending of songs. Unfortunately, I’ve heard this a few times on Amazing Radio. I know some people don’t have a problem with this but it’s one of my pet hates.
Hi Lee. Now this is weird. When I read this blog, I’d literally just put the phone down after talking to a friend who’s a leading comedy Producer, in which we were discussing that very thing. A lot of me would actually like a second Amazing Radio station just for speech (‘we’d call it ‘Amazing Radio Too’) … but mebbes we’ll walk before we run.
Re voicing over music: when we started, we were religious about never, ever voicing over any songs. I just felt we should respect the integrity of the music. Last week we changed the policy, because someone pointed out that this makes it easier for people to copy music from Amazing Radio, without paying for it – they get the whole track, uninterrupted, off air. Rather reluctantly, I agreed. I did feel rather guilty though.
Does anyone else have views on this? It’s a trade-off between respecting artistic integrity and minimising the risk of rip-off. I’d hope that people listen to Amazing Radio because they want to help artists, and would never dream of stealing their music … but someone once told me, there are apparently some nasty people in this world. (I’ve never met any, myself, of course). PC
I agree with Lee Howard. I think that Amazing Radio would become much better promoting new comics, new poets, short stories etc as well as new artists.
Thankyou very much for replying to my comment. I look forward to Monday when the test transmissions stop and the interactivity really begins.
I agree with Lee Howard. I think that Amazing Radio would become much better promoting new comics, new poets, short stories etc as well as new artists.
Thankyou very much for replying to my comment. I look forward to Monday when the test transmissions stop and the interactivity really begins.
About rip-off : There will never be the method to avoid stealing … IMHO
Listening just to music can be annoying sometimes … Keep it going 
About poets/story writers : Great Idea ! I think , if 3-5 % of air time is spent on stories recorded by writers it would be amazing
Anyone else want some speech? What time of day? PC
About rip-off : There will never be the method to avoid stealing … IMHO
Listening just to music can be annoying sometimes … Keep it going 
About poets/story writers : Great Idea ! I think , if 3-5 % of air time is spent on stories recorded by writers it would be amazing
Anyone else want some speech? What time of day? PC
I would prefer to hear the whole song. I think those looking to copy music wouldn’t necessarily purchase tracks just because their copies had voices on them.
I think you’re right. I heard some really annoying junctions between songs today. We’ll change it back. PC
I would prefer to hear the whole song. I think those looking to copy music wouldn’t necessarily purchase tracks just because their copies had voices on them.
I think you’re right. I heard some really annoying junctions between songs today. We’ll change it back. PC
How about a late night hour of jazz poetry fusion? Take inspiration from this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETPRsJ-exZw
Mmm. That’s nice. PC (I’m talking to someone about this speech thing now – watch this space).
How about a late night hour of jazz poetry fusion? Take inspiration from this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETPRsJ-exZw
Mmm. That’s nice. PC (I’m talking to someone about this speech thing now – watch this space).
I disagree about the idea of adding speech content – I don’t think you should dilute the brand in this way. But by all means add a speech channel (although, aren’t there a few of those in existence already).
I’m having trouble connecting to amazingtunes.com. It worked for about 10 minutes but just won’t load pages now and times out when you try to connect. Perhaps this is traffic? However, I’m on VirginMedia and Mr Branson has a habit of telling us we have had our fill of certain websites (sometimes including his own_ from time to time by just forbidding us to connect, a bit like when he decided we didn’t need to watch Lost. Or 24. Or Sky Sports News. Not that I’m still bitter about that or anything.
Viva la revolution!
Hi Matthew, thanks for the comments. I don’t think we had any outages over the weekend so it may have been your ISP – there were some problems a week or so ago which turned out to be BT’s fault. Who knows, maybe Virgin are getting jealous of Amazing Radio and amazingtunes.com and wish they’d thought of it.
Meanwhile we’ll keep thinking about speech. PC
I disagree about the idea of adding speech content – I don’t think you should dilute the brand in this way. But by all means add a speech channel (although, aren’t there a few of those in existence already).
I’m having trouble connecting to amazingtunes.com. It worked for about 10 minutes but just won’t load pages now and times out when you try to connect. Perhaps this is traffic? However, I’m on VirginMedia and Mr Branson has a habit of telling us we have had our fill of certain websites (sometimes including his own_ from time to time by just forbidding us to connect, a bit like when he decided we didn’t need to watch Lost. Or 24. Or Sky Sports News. Not that I’m still bitter about that or anything.
Viva la revolution!
Hi Matthew, thanks for the comments. I don’t think we had any outages over the weekend so it may have been your ISP – there were some problems a week or so ago which turned out to be BT’s fault. Who knows, maybe Virgin are getting jealous of Amazing Radio and amazingtunes.com and wish they’d thought of it.
Meanwhile we’ll keep thinking about speech. PC
My vote is for plenty music and a little talk. Without the ads and excessive blathering you’re giving a much better experience than regular stations! Chatty stuff could go on another channel when you grow enough. Here’s a tricky one: how about emulating that “red button” concept from TV? Run another channel in parallel that talks over or between snippets of music giving details of band or track that has just played on the main music channel. Difficult to synch, but I’d love to listen to continuous music and flip to “about the current stuff” channel whenever a track really pushed my buttons.
Thanks Graham, really interesting feedback. Almost all feedback suggests less talk, more music. We’re now building a Twitter feed with all artist info which will do the ‘red button’ thing you mentioned; and of course there’s the scrolling text on the radio, and the ‘what’s playing’ on this site. We’re also looking into an Amazing widget btw. PC
My vote is for plenty music and a little talk. Without the ads and excessive blathering you’re giving a much better experience than regular stations! Chatty stuff could go on another channel when you grow enough. Here’s a tricky one: how about emulating that “red button” concept from TV? Run another channel in parallel that talks over or between snippets of music giving details of band or track that has just played on the main music channel. Difficult to synch, but I’d love to listen to continuous music and flip to “about the current stuff” channel whenever a track really pushed my buttons.
Thanks Graham, really interesting feedback. Almost all feedback suggests less talk, more music. We’re now building a Twitter feed with all artist info which will do the ‘red button’ thing you mentioned; and of course there’s the scrolling text on the radio, and the ‘what’s playing’ on this site. We’re also looking into an Amazing widget btw. PC
Less talk more music has always had my vote and no link longer than 15 seconds as a guide. As regards talk over, up to lyric and back ano would be my preference. ILR used the non talk over policy in my region and it doesn’t flow and lacks luster. Amazing Radio is a happening station and Inspiration for young musicians making their way. It’s the station for people who don’t want the radio equivalent of beans on toast every day.
Thanks Paul – we really appreciate the comments. Roll on a varied diet! We’ll keep tinkering with presentation styles in response to feedback like yours. PC
Less talk more music has always had my vote and no link longer than 15 seconds as a guide. As regards talk over, up to lyric and back ano would be my preference. ILR used the non talk over policy in my region and it doesn’t flow and lacks luster. Amazing Radio is a happening station and Inspiration for young musicians making their way. It’s the station for people who don’t want the radio equivalent of beans on toast every day.
Thanks Paul – we really appreciate the comments. Roll on a varied diet! We’ll keep tinkering with presentation styles in response to feedback like yours. PC
Following the demise of Chill in my area, I decided to try listening to Amazing Radio at bedtime. I have listened for four nights now (up to 07/08/09) and the 11pm onwards broadcast is always the same, complete with that annoying bird! Can I assume that you will be varying the 11pm onwards playlist?
Hi Jim, thanks for the message. We’ve had quite a few former Chill listeners contact us lately, although none quite as cross as you. I’m sorry you don’t like the 2300 format. It’s not the same every night, although it is deliberately meant to be soporific (in the office we call it the Mogadon Hour), so I guess it does sound similar – that being the idea of ambient music. The birdsong thing is a small nod to Terry Pratchett et al, who were similarly cross when we replaced Birdsong Radio on June 1st, as they liked hearing it. (The difference is that ours are real birds, not a loop, and if you buy the tracks from amazingtunes.com, we give all the revenue to the RSPB).
As you may have gathered, it’s literally the case that you can change the playlist on Amazing Radio if you want by going to amazingtunes.com – so if you’re prepared to give us another chance, the 2300 playlist – and everything else – can turn into what you want to hear. Hope this works, please feel free to email me direct on pc@amazigradio.co.uk with any further comments/criticisms. Best wishes, Paul (amazing founder)
Following the demise of Chill in my area, I decided to try listening to Amazing Radio at bedtime. I have listened for four nights now (up to 07/08/09) and the 11pm onwards broadcast is always the same, complete with that annoying bird! Can I assume that you will be varying the 11pm onwards playlist?
Hi Jim, thanks for the message. We’ve had quite a few former Chill listeners contact us lately, although none quite as cross as you. I’m sorry you don’t like the 2300 format. It’s not the same every night, although it is deliberately meant to be soporific (in the office we call it the Mogadon Hour), so I guess it does sound similar – that being the idea of ambient music. The birdsong thing is a small nod to Terry Pratchett et al, who were similarly cross when we replaced Birdsong Radio on June 1st, as they liked hearing it. (The difference is that ours are real birds, not a loop, and if you buy the tracks from amazingtunes.com, we give all the revenue to the RSPB).
As you may have gathered, it’s literally the case that you can change the playlist on Amazing Radio if you want by going to amazingtunes.com – so if you’re prepared to give us another chance, the 2300 playlist – and everything else – can turn into what you want to hear. Hope this works, please feel free to email me direct on pc@amazigradio.co.uk with any further comments/criticisms. Best wishes, Paul (amazing founder)
I’ve just ‘found’ Amazing Radio by total chance over the weekend by browsing on my digital radio and I think it’s just such a brilliant concept. I have told my friends on facebook about you in the hope of winning you some more fans! For what it’s worth, as a new convert’s opinion, what appeals to me is the totally diverse music range – that is, the total absence of scheduling. You seem to get absolutely anything following absolutely anything else and its wonderful! My musical tastes are wide and varied so this is perfect. Incidentally, I have recently reached breaking point with other stations due to the levels of inane chatter between songs so it would be a great shame if a wonderful concept like this was spoiled by too much talk being introduced.
Thanks Vicky, really really appreciate the comments. Hope you keep listening (and your friends do too!). Best wishes, Paul
I’ve just ‘found’ Amazing Radio by total chance over the weekend by browsing on my digital radio and I think it’s just such a brilliant concept. I have told my friends on facebook about you in the hope of winning you some more fans! For what it’s worth, as a new convert’s opinion, what appeals to me is the totally diverse music range – that is, the total absence of scheduling. You seem to get absolutely anything following absolutely anything else and its wonderful! My musical tastes are wide and varied so this is perfect. Incidentally, I have recently reached breaking point with other stations due to the levels of inane chatter between songs so it would be a great shame if a wonderful concept like this was spoiled by too much talk being introduced.
Thanks Vicky, really really appreciate the comments. Hope you keep listening (and your friends do too!). Best wishes, Paul
I think AR is working brilliantly and I listen to it often, but sometimes it does have, like daytime radio, that circular playlist thing about it, with certain artists cropping up with ‘amazing’ regularity. On a selfish note, my song Cheesemonster doesn’t appear to have ever been played on AR – I realise it’s probably not a favourite in inner circles, but it does remain the 3rd most popular song on AT ever and has been played over 5000 times – surely the radio station could have (air)time to play music from the categories you yourselves have set up – you do playlists, and chart, so why not the songs listed as popular? Anyway despite all that, I have championed AT almost from the off, and you have made it a terrific success and long may you continue – please don’t ever sell the company to anyone who may not continue with the integrity of your concept – sincerely yours, Phil Simon
ps I’m trying to become the John Peel of AT, and listen and comment on as many new releases as I am able to, whilst I give listeners a rest from my voice! (PLAY SUMMERNEIN too! ha ha)
Hi Phil, Many thanks for the feedback. I agree with you about the playlist frequency. It seems our playout system has all kinds of quirks which mean it repeats things even though you’ve told it not to. I think we’re almost there, but each time I’ve thought that before, we’ve found something else going wrong. It’s like trying to put a sleeping bag back into its bag. We’ll keep trying.
I’ll look into your music (there are no ‘inner circles’ by the way, or at least, the preferences of the guys in the office are not important). What matters most is track sales, then the famous Big Clever Algorithm crunches other factors including ratings, taggings, recommendations and track plays. Plays on their own are not massively important, partly in case someone sits there re-pressing ‘play’ on their own music all day long! I notice a lot of your songs are not available for download sale, which will limit the probability too. But watch this space – and thanks again for your comments, ATB, PC
I think AR is working brilliantly and I listen to it often, but sometimes it does have, like daytime radio, that circular playlist thing about it, with certain artists cropping up with ‘amazing’ regularity. On a selfish note, my song Cheesemonster doesn’t appear to have ever been played on AR – I realise it’s probably not a favourite in inner circles, but it does remain the 3rd most popular song on AT ever and has been played over 5000 times – surely the radio station could have (air)time to play music from the categories you yourselves have set up – you do playlists, and chart, so why not the songs listed as popular? Anyway despite all that, I have championed AT almost from the off, and you have made it a terrific success and long may you continue – please don’t ever sell the company to anyone who may not continue with the integrity of your concept – sincerely yours, Phil Simon
ps I’m trying to become the John Peel of AT, and listen and comment on as many new releases as I am able to, whilst I give listeners a rest from my voice! (PLAY SUMMERNEIN too! ha ha)
Hi Phil, Many thanks for the feedback. I agree with you about the playlist frequency. It seems our playout system has all kinds of quirks which mean it repeats things even though you’ve told it not to. I think we’re almost there, but each time I’ve thought that before, we’ve found something else going wrong. It’s like trying to put a sleeping bag back into its bag. We’ll keep trying.
I’ll look into your music (there are no ‘inner circles’ by the way, or at least, the preferences of the guys in the office are not important). What matters most is track sales, then the famous Big Clever Algorithm crunches other factors including ratings, taggings, recommendations and track plays. Plays on their own are not massively important, partly in case someone sits there re-pressing ‘play’ on their own music all day long! I notice a lot of your songs are not available for download sale, which will limit the probability too. But watch this space – and thanks again for your comments, ATB, PC