DJs taking over records

Dr Lobster* · Thu 12 Mar, 2009 20.35

just wondering if they do this to stop you 'taping' stuff of the radio?

i usually listen to radio 4's today programme in the car on the way to work to get my fix of news but on occasion (when there's a story they seem to go on about for most of the programme) i tune to radio 2, it just dawned on me that they never ever seem to play anything to completion. why is this?

Nini · Thu 12 Mar, 2009 20.37

I think the concern of taping from the radio has passed in recent years, maybe they're just gobby on R2?

all new Phil · Thu 12 Mar, 2009 23.09

I'd guess that it's just because it sounds better, to be honest. Talking over silence and then stopping when the very beginning of the music starts just doesn't sound right - it doesn't flow well.

Don't radio stations have a countdown on their computer for each song that tells them exactly when the vocals come in and, therefore, when they should stop talking?

Philip Cobbold · Thu 12 Mar, 2009 23.33

I know that GMG have it in their style guide that presenters shouldn't talk over records at all, claiming it upsets listeners if their favourate song is talked over. If this always happens is another thing of course.

stu · Fri 13 Mar, 2009 02.25

It's just so they can talk to the listener more, get more travel news in, read more texts etc. Steve Wright talks over tunes, but annoyingly never says what they are!

cdd · Fri 13 Mar, 2009 02.42

Talking over records is what differentiates a radio station from an iPod on shuffle.

Spencer For Hire · Fri 13 Mar, 2009 12.19

It just happens because it sounds slick, adds pace and keeps a radio show moving. It's the same reason beds are used to talk over.

Jovis · Fri 13 Mar, 2009 21.15

I agree with the above post - I like the DJ taking up to the vocal, it sounds a lot better!

Alexia · Thu 02 Apr, 2009 22.45

all new Phil wrote:Don't radio stations have a countdown on their computer for each song that tells them exactly when the vocals come in and, therefore, when they should stop talking?

Some systems do, but it has to be loaded for each song, so mostly it's done manually. Ashby Radio used a system which had a count-up and count-down at beginning and end of the song.

Of course, if you make an effort to learn your music library and/or can get a grasp of the rhythm of a song, then it is fairly straightforward to judge when to speak and when not to.

Question to fellow current and former presenters - is it sacrilige to speak over the ending of Mr Blue Sky? Like a certain Mr Wright does?

Nick Harvey · Thu 02 Apr, 2009 23.33

Never been known to talk over Mr Blue Sky at all.

However, guilty of one sin on that one. Back in the days of vinyl and slip mats, I often started it a little way in, on the 'boom boom boom', missing out the quiet bit right at the beginning.

It makes for a more dramatic start, especially if it's the first record of the show, which was often the case with me.

Alexia · Fri 03 Apr, 2009 17.45

Nick Harvey wrote:It makes for a more dramatic start, especially if it's the first record of the show, which was often the case with me.

It's a good one for start or end, methinks. A news jingle just after the final chord and "please turn me over" sounds pretty.