Ktu Or Latinomix?

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WHO PLAYS MORE FREESTYLE?

  • KTU

    Votes: 8 40.0%

  • LATINOMIX

    Votes: 12 60.0%
  • Total voters
    20
  • Poll closed .
Ok, I've done this before, but I'll do it again, I'll try to explain to everyone how things work any why things are the way they are with radio.....


PART I: THE OLD SCHOOL DILEMMA

Ok- first of all, everyone says "KTU plays the same freestyle songs every day and they don't give the new school any exposure". Let's break the sentence up- "KTU plays the same freestyle songs every day"...Yes- we certainly do play the same songs every day- we have about 75-100 freestyle songs that can be in rotation at any given time in our music library. Usually they go in groups of 10-15 or so. That isn't counting Sunday nights, in which any of the freestyle songs in our library can be played. Usually during any given daypart during the week however, you'll hear 1 or 2 freestyle songs an hour. How Latinomix claims that overall they play more freestyle is beyond me. New school, yes. Overall, I don't see how 5 hours a week adds up to more than KTU. Maybe I'm wrong lol. Anyways- back to my point. Understand that our listeneres NEVER GET TIRED OF THESE SONGS!!! Sure, you guys as "hardcore" fans are probably jaded by hearing "Show Me" 10,000 times for the past 15 years and roll your eyes when it comes on the radio now, but understand that we are dealing with a listenership well over 3 million people, and songs like "Show Me" and "Change On Me" get literally HUNDREDS of requests a day. Of these 3 million listeners, about 99% of them are what you would call an "average" fan. They like freestyle as in they'll listen to it in the car, maybe sing along, maybe recall hearing it in high school, but not roll their eyes because they've heard it 10,000 times before. Believe me, I sit in the studio with Judy some Sunday night and there are STILL a ton of people that call and say "who sings Maria?", "what song is this?". THAT is the audience we are catering to: the majority. The vast majority. At the end of the day we are a business. We play what people want to hear so they will keep listening. Understand that alot of you guys that post on this board are not within this vast majority. I'm not part of it either, so don't feel bad, I'm not putting you down.

PART II: THE NEW SCHOOL DILEMMA

For a song to even consider geting an add on KTU, it first needs to be physically brought to the station by a label rep by ways of the Wednesday music meetings. A lot of you say "Why won't you play the new Zoe?". I'll use her as an example. Well, first of all, who is Zoe? who's her label? and have they shopped the song to US radio yet? Answer me those first. 9 times out of 10, all of you who complain "Why don't you play the new...", it's more likely than not a song that hasn't been brought to the attention of anyone at the station. Telling Speedy if you see him at an appearance that you are a freestyle artist with a song does not count. It's the label's job to get the attention of the radio programmers. It's not the programmers job to go out and find songs. They have their hands full every week getting deluged by labels for potential adds. Now comes the real problem with new school freestyle: AS GOOD AS IT CAN BE- IT STILL SOUNDS LIKE 1988! And if it doesn't sound like 1988, it has that breakbeat-ish electro sound popularized in 1996 by songs like Lina Santiago "Feels So Good" and Angelina "I Don't Need Your Love" and Jocelyn Enriquez "Do You Miss Me". So I guess 1996 is a step up from 1988, but it still sounds DATED. So between the labels not giving a concentrated effort to promote the song in the clubs and to the stations, and the songs themselves sounding like they'd fare better in 1990, why should our programming department invest their time when the new Donna Summer or the new Widelife is a surefire hit with the progressive house, yet pop-melody dance tracks that our listeners love? KTU recently added the freestyle-based remake of Dana Rayne's "Object Of My Desire". Figuring it's a remake of a song that people will already find familiar, they gave it a shot. It didn't test well, so it was dropped. The sound of it just didn't work with our audience. If a familiar song like "Object..." didn't work, then why should programming believe that an unknown artist from Canada like Zoe would work?
 
PART III: THE MYTH OF THE OLD "HOT 103" AND "HOT 97"

This is another thing that annoys me concerning this age old argument. People love to bring up the "old days" of NY radio. Please don't. You are talking about a different place and time, when radio was run VERY differently. It's like politicians comparing how George Bush runs the country to how Theodore Roosevelt ran the country. Not only that, SO MANY people give this romanticized view of the old Hot, as song all-freestyle-all-dance music station. Well it wasn't. Hate to break it to you, but it wasn't. Don't believe me? I have the tapes to prove it. Tons of 'em. Random parts of the day, just random hours of radio play. You don't think that Hot was playing George Michael more than George Lamond on any given day? check the archives. They mixed up pop and top 40 tracks just as much then as KTU does now. Were they bold for adding indie label freestyle tracks in the first place? Sure they were. But what gave them the motivation to believe that these songs could work to an audience of millions? Because the street buzz and the club buzz was unavoidable. TKA was selling 100,000 12"s of "One Way Love" before anybody was playing it on the radio. Such was the case for alot of the early tracks. Today we have house music that has summarily replaced freestyle in terms of street buzz and club buzz. The "freestyle" sound, while still hugely popular in terms of the overall sound of NY dance music, has been relegated to "classics" status. Using a loop from the beat of "Come Into My Arms", while it sounds great to hardcore fans like you and me, isn't going to motivate anyone in NY radio to add the song. We can just play "Come Into My Arms" for that matter.

PART IV: THIS WHOLE LATINOMIX VS. KTU THING

It's stupid. Really, it is. Everyone who's spinning on the radio is talented, regardless of station affiliation. Latinomix is playing to a much smaller, specialized audience. They can afford to play what they like for an hour a day. Why? Because they're doing their job. They're targeted the smaller group, the HARDCORE fans, while picking up casual fans in their Spanish audience along with it, and they do a good job of it. It's a mixshow. They play a little bit of everything. I do the same thing on Sunday nights. I play the played-out classics we've all heard a million times as well as the lesser known tracks that the hardcore fans get back to me saying "OH MY GOD! You played "Dreams" by Lia Marquis last week!! I forgot all about that song until I heard you play it!" Well there ya go, that's my job. My job is to do the best I can to give MILLIONS OF PEOPLE something to listen to it and keep tuned in week after week. I sit and chop up songs every which way I can think to make them more imaginative. I do dubs, breaks, accapellas, you name it, I've edited it in somehow. Do I have to do this? No- 99% of my audience wouldn't know the difference if I let 6 minutes of an entire club mix play out or spent 3 minutes furiously cutting the song up 100 different ways. I do that for myself and for the hardcore fans. I do it so that 10 years from now, people will say "boy that James Anthony did some great mixes- I have 'em on tape from back in the day".


PART V: In conclusion

One thing I've learned very quickly from working in this industry is that "you can't make everyone happy all of the time". And for all the hard work I put in to "keeping freestyle relevant", theres still some people who say that I suck because I'm playing "Spring Love". Sure, those complaints are few and far between, I would say for every 50 good things I hear, I'll get 1 bad one. But the bad ones always make me stop and think "why do I bother doing this, nobody cares anyways". Well I do it at the end of the day because I love the music and it's a natural progression of how I grew up with this music. I have a gift that not alot of people can say they have. My work is heard every week by millions of people on the #1 rhythmic-based station in the #1 market in the country. I have nothing to prove to anyone. I made it. I don't bother writing post after post on these sites about what I played this week and how great I am, because honestly, I don't care. I do what I do. People like it, great. Don't like it? Don't listen! I do it for the music, my own pleasure and whoever wants to listen. The numbers are in the millions, so there you go, we're doing something right.



I hope this has set the record straight on some level with some people who sometimes say things without understanding why things are the way they are. I'm not attacking anyones opinion, merely trying to educate so that people's opinions in the future might be based on fact and not fiction.

PE@CE!! Any questions comments or death threats: send 'em my way to JAMESANTHONYKTU@AOL.COM!
 
I rarely listen to KTU anymore. When I do its cause other stations are giving dum commercials or a bachatata LOL. I dont care if ktu plays the same old freestyle tracks in fact thats the only time they hold my attention. The other is when they play a New House track. Or better known as a commercial or ktu house track. Its what appeals to the masses true its what I would have to play at a small venue for requests. those are casual listeners and casual club goers they want to hear what is on the radio cause thats what has been fed to them and they dont know that there is more of a range of music out there. Now of course late nite KTU on the weekend plays some good house. Its what the name djs send to the station to play for their level sets. Yet It cant be all imports or DJs produced orginal trax or the listeners wont know it or where to buy it. After all it is a business. Now on the whos better ktu or latinomix Its funny cause I dont see latino mix competing with ktu I see them competing with la mega. which I only listen to now for the Basilon de la manana after which I go to Latinomix. why. Latino mix plays alot of new material not the same raggaton not the same freestyle they include newer indie stuff as well. And of course Salsa and Merengue they also play rock en espanol they cover the latino spectrum. And I appreciate that. So that is my station of choice when Im driving. At home....... I'll crack open Promos or an import. So my choice... Latinomix... American...... LIR for now but hey lets see what happens with 102.7
 
Im sure if i add up all the freestyle latinomix plays in one week, it wouldnt add up to ktu. i just dont see how people say latinomix plays more when they dont.
 
James..Thank you so much for that detailed response. You answered alot of questions I wondered about. Regardless, I dont really have a favorite station for Freestyle. I support Freestyle WHEREVER they play it! And I will turn to whatever station plays it, WHEN, they are playing it.
I would like to mention, I am a fan of yours and try to tune in every Sunday!! Keep up the good work!
 
i wish they had a radio station where they only played freestyle new school to old school so everyone gets a chance to have there song played on the radio
 
Melly22 said:
i wish they had a radio station where they only played freestyle new school to old school so everyone gets a chance to have there song played on the radio
Click to expand...
back in 94, those were my very intentions. I was getting geared up to start a pirate radio station but KTU came up later so my plans were trashed.

now these days with the internet, everyone is a dj!
 
Kenny, you wanna laugh? One of my few and far between detractors called me a "PC DJ". This person who doesn't even know me and has never seen me live accused me of creating all my work through a computer. LOL!! Talk about the uneducated ones!!
 
James, its obviuos that the boys @ Latinomix know nothing outside of thier little world. if they bothered to talk to people, they would know theres alot more out there than thier station & thier small audience. I think theye just pissed that thier show was canceled and you were spinning at the biggest freestyle event in years. I think they know that thier beat.
 
James i am a fan of yours and have been since 2000 when u won the dj contest cf sponsored. u have a job and you have to follow the rules. i'm sure you mix it up when u dj else where and if not it's your choice.
 
OK ok now I know KTU does play more freestyle as far as minutes/ hours go but the majority if not all the people I know and that includes fans like the variety latinomix has. KTU wont even let their dj's mix any new school freestyle. I am a dj on latinomix now and have been for over a month. They dont tell me what to play or cant play. I gotta give props to them for that. And I am there when my mixes air. The phone lines are just rediculous. Its not cool to assume how big or small Latinomix's audience is. You really dont know. I know for a fact the majority of the Freestyle fans listen to latinomix at lunch time. I have been on KTU with judy and I had a great time, and I have been at Latinomix too. Yeah KTU has a bigger facility and has more money but latino mix is not as small as you think it is. I know most of you posting are being defensive and trying to down one station or the other. We should be happy that we have 2 stations pumping freestyle. We have great dj's at latinomix and KTU pumping it. But you gotta give props for the new school being played on latinomix. Tuesdays do well on latinomix cause of the new school being played. Now they also have wednsdays with myself and DJ paradise. Norty, Johnny and Baron Lopez are also starting to pump some new school. Also i wanted to make a point about something James wrote. I used to be up at KTU on radio days back when Andy shane was there. I used to be welcomed with no problem. But as soon as he left I had to make an appointment to be seen. Let me tell you I NEVER recieved a callback for a radio day appointment. I called and called and left messages. I didnt get any calls back to schedule me in for that day. I tried for months and months. How are we supposed to show KTU any good freestyle if they wont even let us in the door anymore. I still have alot of love for KTU and appreciate that atleast they do play freestyle. But Latinomix gives up variety and plays our new stuff. Not only unknown newschool artists but if TKA, George Lamond, Coro come out with anything new you will hear it there. To end this, yes KTU plays more freestyle. Like Anthony said 100 songs on their rotation library rotation. Thats great! But sneak in about 5 good new school tracks and that would make it even better. I know now someone is gonna post. "is there even 5 GOOD new school songs?" Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.... How do u know if you're not even listening........
 
Kenny, be careful- like I said- this is not a KTU vs. Latinomix brawl. Respect everyone who does their part on the radio. Everyone caters to their respective audiences, regardless of size. It's not about that.
 
Willie, i know its not cool to say what thier listnership is BUT its not cool of what they publicly post about KTU not playing as much freestyle they do.

Im not dissin the station. Im trying to state facts. I didnt see anyone running to KTU's defense on the other site and due to my current membership status on that board, I cannot reply. This is my place to vent and set things straight, thats all.

you know very well that not every freestyle/LATINO fan listens to that station. In fact, they never heard of it. & yes, ive asked people on long island, spanish and italian. The guys that work for me dont even listen to latinomix: they listen to LA MEGA.

DJ SOUL, my comment was not to insult.

REMEMBER: I am also part latino. so when i talk about lations, i include myself.

Willie, my point was not whether of not either station played new freestyle. it was just "who" played more freestyle.

I know LATINOMIX plays more new freestyle. that was never the case.

I just dont think its fair that they go around saying what they do. NUFF SAID!
 
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