Radio's Answer to Spotify? Less Variety

Stations Create More Repetition, Fearing Listeners Will Tune out Unfamiliar Tunes

By Hannah Karp, WSJ
Jan. 16, 2014 2:16 p.m. ET

Synth-pop band Capital Cities has plenty of songs on its debut album that it wants to promote as singles—if only radio programmers would allow it.

The band's hit, "Safe and Sound," is the only song most fans have heard: it has been playing on the radio for more than two years. And because so many listeners now know the song, which peaked last year at No. 2 on radio's Top 40 chart, stations are afraid to take it out of rotation.

"'Safe and Sound' just wasn't going away," said Capital Cities' manager, Dan Weisman, who postponed plans last fall to promote the band's second single until later this year. "You don't want to shove it down people's throats if they're not ready to move on."

Faced with growing competition from digital alternatives, traditional broadcasters have managed to expand their listenership with an unlikely tactic: offering less variety than ever.

(More here.)