Can anyone comment on this channel? Liz Janek is supposed to be programming it, so I'm curious as to the playlist. It's actually one of the deciding factors for me, once the new units go on sale in Canada.

Thanks.

they have been on sale since the first of dec....
and in my view... that ch is garbage.... and so are the other Can. ch.. its no wonder the Can. artists need the CRTC to help them out...... they cant even make a good song.....(but there are lots of good Can artists.. and thise are the ones that we hear on the US stations too... cuse they ARE GOOD ENOUGH..!!)
but that is what I think.....some of you will not agree..
I love the Maxim ch along with octane, hair nation, and buzz saw..

that ch is garbage.... and so are the other Can. ch......
but that is what I think.....some of you will not agree..
I love the Maxim ch along with octane, hair nation, and buzz saw..

From what you "love" it's easy to see why you wouldn't like Iceberg!!!!!

The playlist from Octane, Hair nation and Buzzsaw are miles apart from the iceberg playlist (except for the odd Nickleback song).

My biggest pet peeve with Iceberg is, it doesn't have any of it's own identity other than "being Canadian". The range of songs on it's playlist is too wide. It plays country, rap, rock, hippie, and everything else under the Canadian banner.

I don't remember "Canadian" being a valid "genre".
People will have a few to a number of favorite "genres". A very small group will like ALL genres. A lot of people will have "genres" that they Categorically DO NOT LIKE (CDNL).

While listening to Iceberg, if a song which fits a Genre that I CDNL I WILL change the channel. It could be hours or days before I make it back to Iceberg.

CBC Radio 3 is a different story. It plays a lot of new independent Canadian artists. While it does spread it's playlist across the "genre spectrum", I find it doesn't play a lot of my CDNL genres. The other aspect of CDC R3 is, i've been exposed to some bands that I've really liked and have since bought their CDs. I will actually suffer through a few "bad" songs in the hope of hearing something I haven't heard before that I will like. CBC R3 seems to be able to spread the genres evenly so I know it's a matter of time for a good Alt Rock tune to come on.

A band that is featured quite often lately is The New Pornogrophers. There is another band from Atlantic Canada called Two Hours Traffic that seem to have a future.

I also like Octane, Hair nation and Buzz saw but I also like Spectrum, Classic Vinyl and Left Of Center....... AND CBC R3.

wonder the Can. artists need the CRTC to help them out...... they cant even make a good song.....(but there are lots of good Can artists.. and thise are the ones that we hear on the US stations too... cuse they ARE GOOD ENOUGH..!!)

Amazing taste you have! Essentially, you are saying that any popular music from any part of the world is crap, because it's not on the US Top 40?

they have been on sale since the first of dec....
and in my view... that ch is garbage.... and so are the other Can. ch.. its no wonder the Can. artists need the CRTC to help them out...... they cant even make a good song.....(but there are lots of good Can artists.. and thise are the ones that we hear on the US stations too... cuse they ARE GOOD ENOUGH..!!)
but that is what I think.....some of you will not agree..
I love the Maxim ch along with octane, hair nation, and buzz saw..


Just because an artist has "made it" in the US, it doesn't mean that they're the best that's out there. Major record companies back artists/bands that are easy to sell to the mass market. Often the most innovative and original artists are overlooked by the major labels because it is just easier to sell more CDs of a generic Nickelback or Creed clone, for example. More CDs sold (or "making it in the US") doesn't always mean better...

But hey, we've all got our tastes. That's why we have so many channels to choose from.

Regarding Iceberg, I find that it's hit and miss for me. Like another poster said, being Canadian isn't necessarily a genre. I prefer CBC 3 because it is fresh, diverse, and a lot of the artists can't be found on commercial radio.

JS

never said they were the best..... just that there must be a reason why we are forced (well we can always change the ch.)by the CRTC listen to them..... IF they were good enough.... we wouldnt need a CANcon ch to hear it.. it would be on all the ch.... like the GOOD Candian artist that I DO hear on the other NON CAN. ch.. know what I mean....??

never said they were the best..... just that there must be a reason why we are forced (well we can always change the ch.)by the CRTC listen to them..... IF they were good enough.... we wouldnt need a CANcon ch to hear it.. it would be on all the ch.... like the GOOD Candian artist that I DO hear on the other NON CAN. ch.. know what I mean....??

Yeah, I know what you're saying. I just wish that it worked out that easily. The Canadian music market is in a unique situation. The US is the largest exporter of "culture" in the world. It would be far easier (and cheaper) for Canadian radio to play songs from the US rather than support home-grown talent. That's why the Can Con regulations exist - otherwise there would be no place to develop Canadian artists. As much as I'd like to believe that the cream would rise to the top and magically get discovered by some big US record company, even the artists that have made it in the US have done so by taking advantage of Can Con regulations, government grants, etc.

And let's not forget that songs get played on the radio because record companies pay radio stations (indirectly through agents/middle men) to play their artists. It has been illegal since the 50's, but it still happens today. Radio stations in Canada (and anywhere) have a choice to make - play the local guy, who may be better, but doesn't have the budget to pay off the radio station, or play the band that's paying them cash to do so. That's why the government forces radio stations to play Canadian artists - they wouldn't get played otherwise. And it's not about the quality of the music - it's about economics.

I'm sure that even bands like Nickelback took full advantage and are still benefiting from Can Con regulations to get airplay, FACTOR and other similar government grants, etc. The fact is, no matter how good they were, they never would have made it onto the radio in Canada, and especially not in the states.

That said, I think that satellite radio is generally a good thing for Canadian artists. There are a few Can Con channels that provide better exposure than conventional radio ever could. Hopefully there will be a "Canadian invasion" of sorts in the years to come because the audience is now the entire continent, and not local stations.

JS

very well said....

CBCR3 is the main reason that I am considering Sirius.

Check out their podcast: http://radio3.cbc.ca/

And let's not forget that songs get played on the radio because record companies pay radio stations (indirectly through agents/middle men) to play their artists. It has been illegal since the 50's, but it still happens today. Radio stations in Canada (and anywhere) have a choice to make - play the local guy, who may be better, but doesn't have the budget to pay off the radio station, or play the band that's paying them cash to do so. That's why the government forces radio stations to play Canadian artists - they wouldn't get played otherwise. And it's not about the quality of the music - it's about economics.


Absolutely and completely false. I can tell you from being involved in both sides of that relationship that it is not happening in Canada.

Absolutely and completely false. I can tell you from being involved in both sides of that relationship that it is not happening in Canada.

Record labels DO and HAVE been pre-releasing songs to radio station for them to play. This is a form of Payola. It provides advertising for the not-yet-released songs and the radio station uses the songs as bait.

I have heard numerous radio station advertise a new song by some artist claiming it's the "premiere" on the radio station. They'll go on for a few days saying that the song will play at a specific date and time.

The song is provided "free of charge" but the radio station can profit in other ways by using the song.

Some labels have their own "private" download software where a registered memebr can download a selection of new songs prior to their official release date. How do you think some non-yet-released songs make their way to the PTP arena? Not all of them come from "enterprising" employees of the studio or record label companies.

That's why CBCR3, and others, will balance the playing field. Artists, and just plain old you and me, can request a song from an unknown artist and they will play them because that is their "mission statement" to play the new unknown artists. OTA radio stations will never play new unknown stuff until it becomes popular.

Advertisers need to know that the station is hitting a specific demographic in a large enough quantity. Advertisers is where the money is for OTA radio stations. Sat radio's money comes from the subscribers (and the receivers, especially at the price they are selling for in Canada!). We pay for the luxury of not having to listen to commercials, and more importantly, being able to listen to a wider spectrum of artists and genres.

Since listening to Sirius for 6 months I have been exposed to so many artists that I have NEVER heard of before, some bad, some good and some GREAT. Some are new, others have been around for a while but never got mainstream radio play.

If you like to experiment with listening to music then Sat radio is the way to go. Don't forget, if you just want to listen to all your favorites, it's the way to go also. It's a win/win situation! IMHO

Record labels DO and HAVE been pre-releasing songs to radio station for them to play. This is a form of Payola. It provides advertising for the not-yet-released songs and the radio station uses the songs as bait.

Some labels have their own "private" download software where a registered memebr can download a selection of new songs prior to their official release date. How do you think some non-yet-released songs make their way to the PTP arena? Not all of them come from "enterprising" employees of the studio or record label companies.


The satellite stations receive their music exactly the same way. Promoting records to a single continent-wide station is going to be just as important to the labels as promoting it to the biggest FM stations in the biggest markets. It's a massive stretch to call that payola.

And the day the labels make singles available to radio IS the release date of the single. Singles and albums have different release dates.

The song is provided "free of charge" but the radio station can profit in other ways by using the song.

The only thing that's free about it is the download or the hard copy. Stations pay royalties for every song they play. Again, the exact same system is at play with Satellite.

The fact that Satellite is not advertiser and ratings dependant *could* actually make it more prone to actual Payola. For the big FMs, in the big markets, Payola doesn't make economic sense. Playing a song for any reason but their own research and ratings strategy would hurt ratings and cost more money in lost advertising than the lables would be willing to spend on the Payola in the first place.

[QUOTE=itcamrch]It's a massive stretch to call that payola.[\QUOTE]

Granted Payola may be a bit strong for the games being played today. Songs ARE pre-released through these download sites BEFORE the actual single is officially released. I have seen this first hand!

Here is just one example:
Richard Ashcroft
His single has been available from the DMDS download site since December 2nd 2005 (also available on his official homepage)
but this website claims it is available on January 9th 2006!!

http://www.contactmusic.com/new/home.nsf/webpages/richardashcroftx02x12x05


[QUOTE=itcamrch]And the day the labels make singles available to radio IS the release date of the single. Singles and albums have different release dates.[\QUOTE]

Yes, singles and albums are released on different days but you can see that singles are being released early. Not sure if the radio stations are under some contractual obligation to not play the song ON AIR until the official realease date.

The fact that the song is readily available from the artists official homepage makes my argument a mute point. If the song is readily available to all (who have internet access) then that diminishes the power of having "exclusive" access to the song.

The Ashcroft single is available on I-Tunes too. In fact, every new song on the first page of DMDS today is available on I-Tunes (with the exception of 1 artist who has nothing on I-Tunes at all)

But even in the cases where songs are available on radio before sale, there's really nothing wrong with it. A station isn't going to play a song they wouldn't otherwise play just because they can play it 'first'. If stations were being paid to play specific songs they wouldn't otherwise consider, then you'd have a problem.

Also, 'hear it before you can buy it' isn't a problem because it's Equal Opportunity. The labels are servicing Radio, Video, Satellite, and Internet equally. There's also no Major Label advantage since it costs nothing to allow broadcast to preceed sale.

Iceberg Radio should be renamed "Nickleback Radio".

Everytime I tune to that station they're playing Nickleback.