Are repeats of songs in a given day or day to day a problem to you and to listeners in general? Also, there is an influx of "turntable" hits being used as filler songs that concern me a bit.
That's a good question. I had a listener complain that we should have at least a seven day interval before a song is repeated. That's asking a lot. We play well over 400 songs per day. That's 2800+ per week. I don't think that's desirable, even if you could find nearly 3000 killer songs. Top 40 worked for a reason. People like hearing music that is familiar to them.
For the summer we're experimenting with no repeats for three days. I'm thinking even that is too much. Somewhere there is a happy medium. If you find it, let me know.
I think a lot of it has to do with the "texture" of the music you're playing, as well as your target audience. A couple years ago Sunny 104.5 in Philadelphia -- soft AC before switching to Spanish tropical -- was the station our office listened to every day with an emphasis on its "no repeat workday." With songs like "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor and "Boogie Oogie Oogie" by A Taste Of Honey dominating their playlist, it became quite evident they were playing the same songs once every day. In an office environment, when you're tuned in for 6 or 7 hours, songs such as these stand out among the Carpenters and Barry Manilows and may actually become irritants. We ended up finding another station after a month or so. (By the way, the station has since dropped Spanish tropical for alternative rock).
Yes, people like music that is familiar, but if your audience tends to have extended listening periods such as everyday at work, care should be given to the type of songs in heavier rotation. The softer the music, the less noticeable will be the repeat factor.
