All new Phantom mid Sept. '13???

Ultimate Ultan

Just heard Richie McCormack say that Phantom will be playing more music from Fugazi from the 16th of September on. I wonder are they going for the greying Indie market?

RichieMc

Aren't you a wee Curious George....

windowcleaner

Too little, too late

RichieMc

windowcleaner wrote: »

Too little, too late

Yet still you continue to comment here....

Ultimate Ultan

Still the best station for music the country has, by a long shot.

KingOfFairview

So was this just a flip remark, or is there a major change on the way?

Ultimate Ultan

Nope, something's going to happen. The two Richie's mentioned it last night. As I remember it, RMC said that RR was in early as he had to write up a press release for the big change in Sept. Maybe RMC, who commented above, could throw some us a bone? Eh? Richie? G'wan! We won't tell anyone.

Fingers crossed that part of the change is a much broader play list. Sick of hearing Vampire Weekend all the time.
(Okay, well it seems like all the time to me...)

ghostdancer

mid-September seems to be contract expiring time in Phantom, going on previous departures...

hopefully it's not going for the "greying indie market" tbh. the listening figures would dwindle even further, although i'm not sure how much smaller they can possibly get, going on recent piss-poor JNLR figures....

Ultimate Ultan

Well I have to say, in fairness, that I had a JNLR canvasser turn up at my door, but I was too old to fit their criteria. Were I the right age, Phantom's listener ship figures would have been through the roof. So realise that JNLR is a random role of the dice. (I'm not making this up, I really did.)

I repeat what I said earlier, Phantom is the best station for music in Ireland, bar none.

I will admit that a "greying indie market" does not seem like a market to go for , but think of how many great Bowie, Stones, Kinks, Waits etc., tunes are never heard any more? They're are as inspirational now as they have ever been, and were Phantom to play them, then they would have an appreciative audience. (Now realistically, I don't expect back to back classics, but were they to introduce classics to their every dwindling play list, I'd be more than happy.)

toastedpickles

^+1 on this, if you go to any other radio station it's just chart drivel, at least these guys play decent songs

In regards to the new phantom I'm all for seeing what happens, maybe the dear John Caddell will play some bon jovi on powerhouse? :pac::pac:

Ultimate Ultan

toastedpickles wrote: »

^+1 on this, if you go to any other radio station it's just chart drivel, at least these guys play decent songs

In regards to the new phantom I'm all for seeing what happens, maybe the dear John Caddell will play some bon jovi on powerhouse? :pac::pac:

No F****ing way. Jovi can stay on Nova!

toastedpickles

Ultimate Ultan wrote: »

No F****ing way. Jovi can stay on Nova!

Ahahahaha

Haha look at them there, Bon jovi, a great bunch of lads

Said nobody ever

RichieMc

ghostdancer wrote: »

mid-September seems to be contract expiring time in Phantom, going on previous departures...

hopefully it's not going for the "greying indie market" tbh. the listening figures would dwindle even further, although i'm not sure how much smaller they can possibly get, going on recent piss-poor JNLR figures....

You judge a station based on JNLR figures? Well then, one can only presume, given her astonishing sales, that you're a massive Emeli Sandé fan, and that Phantom isn't for you.

Or maybe, that you wouldn't find us entertaining as Mrs Brown's Boys is a top-rated comedy here, and that's not really 'us'. Also, given its attendance, you think the Liverpool-Celtic friendly at Lansdowne was the most important game played on this isle in a decade?

Figures don't denote quality, we are damned good at what we do.

One gets the impression, coming here, that absolutely nothing would make the sobriquet-wielding residents of Boards happy, so why they seem to hold a bizarre sense of entitlement over a radio station baffles me.

If any of you, being adults and using actual names, have anything constructive to add, i'd be delighted to hear it.

Warmest regards

Richie

KingOfFairview

It's the best station on the air IMO, but there are some puzzling decisions regarding what gets heavy airplay. BTW is Cinerama still going?

Ultimate Ultan

WHAT? They can't let Cinerama go!!!

KingOfFairview

Ultimate Ultan wrote: »

WHAT? They can't let Cinerama go!!!

No, I mean is it still on?

Ultimate Ultan

KingOfFairview wrote: »

No, I mean is it still on?

Phew... Yeah, Thursday night, 7 till 8.

ghostdancer

RichieMc wrote: »

You judge a station based on JNLR figures? Well then, one can only presume, given her astonishing sales, that you're a massive Emeli Sandé fan, and that Phantom isn't for you.

Or maybe, that you wouldn't find us entertaining as Mrs Brown's Boys is a top-rated comedy here, and that's not really 'us'. Also, given its attendance, you think the Liverpool-Celtic friendly at Lansdowne was the most important game played on this isle in a decade?

Figures don't denote quality, we are damned good at what we do.

One gets the impression, coming here, that absolutely nothing would make the sobriquet-wielding residents of Boards happy, so why they seem to hold a bizarre sense of entitlement over a radio station baffles me.

If any of you, being adults and using actual names, have anything constructive to add, i'd be delighted to hear it.

Warmest regards

Richie

of course i don't judge a station on JNLR figures, but they provide an indication of people's general attitude to the station, not least they're one of the indicators that matter to management when making scheduling choices, and deciding the station's future, as you well know.

Phantom has fallen off a cliff over the last few years in terms of listeners. I have no doubt that individual staff at the station do an excellent job and are great at what they do, but if you're(ie. Phantom) so damned good at what you (pl) do, then why are so many people tuning out?
you can pretend that everything is rosey in the garden, but as someone who had/has friends both on, and off-air on the top floor, i know that's not the case.

i've said multiple times here that the station's general music policy is the reason for the decline IMO. 7am-7pm it's boring, bland and predictable "indie".
there's so much great music out there, both old and new, and what are Phantom doing? playing Kodaline and Bastille every fukcing hour.
the same bands appearing again and again and again on the playlist over the last 5+ years whenever they have a single out.
the only non-indie acts being predictable choices like the Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk and Kanye West.
in this day and age when people have the internet to discover all manner of new artists and genres, Phantom is hopelessly behind the times.

there's some shows, like Derek's, Dee and Claire's Sunday morning ones, and to an extent The Weekender, that I enjoy and actually branch out and don't play the same plodding rubbish as the 7am-7pm weekday shows.

i'm sure you'll just dismiss that all as my personal tastes/opinions, and you're right, that's all they are, but as someone who barely listens to Phantom any more, those are the reasons why. I know several friends are the same.

sense of entitlement? no, just trying to offer some constructive criticism that would hopefully see Phantom thrive and be successful, instead of the downward spiral of the last couple of years, before even more people lose their jobs and the station gets pulled.

hopefully if there is a big change coming in September, it will be breathe new life back into Phantom and it can be as successful as it could and should be. otherwise there mightn't even be a station to discuss this time next year.

Colmkeegan

RichieMc wrote: »

You judge a station based on JNLR figures? Well then, one can only presume, given her astonishing sales, that you're a massive Emeli Sandé fan, and that Phantom isn't for you.

Or maybe, that you wouldn't find us entertaining as Mrs Brown's Boys is a top-rated comedy here, and that's not really 'us'. Also, given its attendance, you think the Liverpool-Celtic friendly at Lansdowne was the most important game played on this isle in a decade?

Figures don't denote quality, we are damned good at what we do.

One gets the impression, coming here, that absolutely nothing would make the sobriquet-wielding residents of Boards happy, so why they seem to hold a bizarre sense of entitlement over a radio station baffles me.

If any of you, being adults and using actual names, have anything constructive to add, i'd be delighted to hear it.

Warmest regards

Richie

Richie you asked for actual real names so here I am. I post in the radio forums and elsewhere but this is me posting as myself.

Ghostdancer below has actually said much of what I wanted to say in this post. It is very well written and I feel sums up much of what people think of Phantom nowadays. It's a sad reality of what Phantom is now.

I don't judge Phantom based on JNLR numbers but in fairness they are a good barometer of the dropoff of interest in Phantom. The problem at Phantom is that not just the numbers have dropped but the quality has too. You say that "we are damned good at what we do" but that needs to be challenged. It is easy to dismiss the listenership figures/boards comments/facebook comments etc but at some point you have to accept that perhaps the problem is not just the JNLR or Boards.ie or people on Facebook criticising the station but perhaps there might be a problem with the stations output that is causing the serious drop off in audience and the online criticism?

Phantom was essential listening three or four years ago but it's now a safe indie station with the odd flashes of what made Phantom interesting in the past. There is no way that a station like Phantom can shed so many of it's good staff and expect to maintain the same level of quality as before. Current Phantom is a big improvement on the mess that it was a year or two ago but it is still coming from a pretty low base. The four hours of ****e in the mornings are followed by better presenters but an only occasionally interesting music selection. The butchering of the weekends has not helped at all.

It's good to see you up for the fight Richie and doubtless there are others in there that think the same as you but that is rarely reflected on air.

Ultimate Ultan

Well it seems to me that there are two things that are coming out of this thread:

1. People want to see Phantom succeed. They know that it is the best/only station for decent music in the land.
2. There needs to be a greater variety in the music played. Too often the same stuff is played to death, when there is a lot of great stuff that isn't getting a chance.

I do hope that both of these things happen. Whenever I go back home to Galway, the stations available to me there, makes me realise how lucky Dublin is to have Phantom, and long may it last.

(No broadband in the family home, so can't listen on line.)

lordgoat

Ultimate Ultan wrote: »

Well it seems to me that there are two things that are coming out of this thread:

1. People want to see Phantom succeed. They know that it is the best/only station for decent music in the land.
2. There needs to be a greater variety in the music played. Too often the same stuff is played to death, when there is a lot of great stuff that isn't getting a chance.

I do hope that both of these things happen. Whenever I go back home to Galway, the stations available to me there, makes me realise how lucky Dublin is to have Phantom, and long may it last.

(No broadband in the family home, so can't listen on line.)

Have you tried flirtfm? The nuig station? Been a few years since i tuned in but from memory they have some good indie shows.

On the hole phantom thing, I think the playlist is way too small. And some of the presenters talk a) too much between tracks and b) over the start/end of a track.

I do think so of the evening shows are excellent but if it's during the day time, I'll listen to Dub City Fm or Newstalk.

Imo LiveDrive from 4-7 has the best playlist for daytime radio. Oddly I'd rather listen to traffic reports than inane chitchat or kookie questions to text in about.

KingOfFairview

I love Phantom, I do think it's the best around and I like all the DJs, but some very odd choices are made for rotation. Laura Marling was being played around the clock, at the same time Queens of the Stone Age were getting only the odd play, college (admittedly an obscure act) had a new one out with no plays at all and so on. I just think some of the choices are odd and seem conspicuously designed to draw in more casual listeners. I understand that, cause the bills have to be paid. But at the same time, I can't help wondering if every play of Adele drives away 3 listeners for every one it brings in.

Nonetheless, it's the only station I listen to, the rest tend to be brutal by comparison.

ghostdancer

the 2 Richies will be hosting a show Mon-Thurs, 7pm-10pm, starting in mid-September, and "will have news, reviews, film, sessions, fully-fledged arguments and is 100% unplaylisted."

KingOfFairview

100% unplaylisted has me intermolested

Eggonyerface

ghostdancer wrote: »

the 2 Richies will be hosting a show Mon-Thurs, 7pm-10pm, starting in mid-September, and "will have news, reviews, film, sessions, fully-fledged arguments and is 100% unplaylisted."

This sounds good.....

Adiaga 2

I wouldnt mind seeing phantom make a play for the greying indie market tbh. Give me teenage fanclub over 2 door cinema club any day.

SebBerkovich

ghostdancer wrote: »

the 2 Richies will be hosting a show Mon-Thurs, 7pm-10pm, starting in mid-September, and "will have news, reviews, film, sessions, fully-fledged arguments and is 100% unplaylisted."

Thats actually, really good news... looking forward

chris_d

that sounds promising, i have always enjoyed those two when they worked together.

recently been noticing a few green shoots in the daytime slot. john caddell seems to start each show with a personal choice and richie mccormack & recently jack hyland have been coming on to caddell's show to shoot the breeze and recommend a forgotten gem. steps in the right direction for sure.

i just really wish they would play a lot more homegrown stuff.

as always, recommend live drive on dublin city and dan hegarty on 2xm for anyone needing a change from phantom.

windowcleaner

RichieMc wrote: »

Yet still you continue to comment here....

saves me having to listen, I suppose.

station gone to the dogs and you know it.

and I hope you have the courtesy to respond in full to Colm Keegan's excellent, considered comment above rather than be flippant

RichieMc

windowcleaner wrote: »

saves me having to listen, I suppose.

station gone to the dogs and you know it.

and I hope you have the courtesy to respond in full to Colm Keegan's excellent, considered comment above rather than be flippant

http://youtu.be/pWdd6_ZxX8c

windowcleaner

Telling that you didn't reply to the considered, thoughtful views of Colm Keegan above. Sad too.

RichieMc

windowcleaner wrote: »

Telling that you didn't reply to the considered, thoughtful views of Colm Keegan above. Sad too.

To say what, 'cheers for ****tting on my workplace and colleagues'?

If you don't listen anymore, fair enough, move on with your life. We'd be happy to have you back at any time, but a hypothetical for you 'Windowcleaner'..... A person stopped listening to Arcade Fire after their first album, yet continues to whine on their message board 2-3 albums later - why?

All too easily in these 'get rid of XY&Z' conversations that happen here, people forget that it folks' modestly-paying jobs they're tossing about. Bills to be paid, kids to feed etc. Radio isn't all €600k a year and a Montrose pension.

Could figures be better? Yes, of course. But constant sniping about something you freely admit you no longer have an interest in is slightly weird. And no amount of allusions to your 'friends on the inside' alter that weirdness.

If you wish to discuss this any further - my email is richiemccormack@phantom.ie.

whiskeyman

RichieMc wrote: »

If you don't listen anymore, fair enough, move on with your life. We'd be happy to have you back at any time, but a hypothetical for you 'Windowcleaner'..... A person stopped listening to Arcade Fire after their first album, yet continues to whine on their message board 2-3 albums later - why?

I guess the issue is that many of the posters here feel loyal to Phantom after years of listening and they are annoyed how, in their opinion, it's gone downhill.
It's almost like following a football team. You love when they get the results and all is rosey. But when things start going wrong, you question the players and management - you don't just change clubs (although I'm sure many do these days).
If anything, that shows the passion of the listener.

However, you made a good point. It's peoples jobs and livelihoods at the end of the day. And, just like football, it's all business. It's about money, shareholders, market share and the real results that matter. Fans still find that hard to grasp sometimes.

KingOfFairview

Any more details on the new show Richie?

windowcleaner

RichieMc wrote: »

To say what, 'cheers for ****tting on my workplace and colleagues'?

If you don't listen anymore, fair enough, move on with your life. We'd be happy to have you back at any time, but a hypothetical for you 'Windowcleaner'..... A person stopped listening to Arcade Fire after their first album, yet continues to whine on their message board 2-3 albums later - why?

All too easily in these 'get rid of XY&Z' conversations that happen here, people forget that it folks' modestly-paying jobs they're tossing about. Bills to be paid, kids to feed etc. Radio isn't all €600k a year and a Montrose pension.

Could figures be better? Yes, of course. But constant sniping about something you freely admit you no longer have an interest in is slightly weird. And no amount of allusions to your 'friends on the inside' alter that weirdness.

If you wish to discuss this any further - my email is richiemccormack@phantom.ie.

Wow - and people wonder why listeners have tuned out of Phantom? That's your childish reaction to criticism? Surprisingly thin skin, Richie.

And surprising that you're the one batting for the station. I know you have to eat and pay bills but why aren't the station's bosses like Ricky Geraghty or Keith Walsh or John Caddell responding to the criticisms from once-faithful listeners? Or is "thrashing message board malcontents" now part of your job description?

PS Arcade Fire's third album is better than their first

RichieMc

windowcleaner wrote: »

Wow - and people wonder why listeners have tuned out of Phantom? That's your childish reaction to criticism? Surprisingly thin skin, Richie.

And surprising that you're the one batting for the station. I know you have to eat and pay bills but why aren't the station's bosses like Ricky Geraghty or Keith Walsh or John Caddell responding to the criticisms from once-faithful listeners? Or is "thrashing message board malcontents" now part of your job description?

PS Arcade Fire's third album is better than their first

As i mentioned, any more questions can be pitched to my above email.

As for childish, see: anonymously sniping about a company and wishing people out of jobs.

KingOfFairview

I sort of had an idea that the success of Longitude and EP might give Phantom a boost. Way to early to tell of course but I have the impression the tide is turning a bit vis-a-vis crap vs decent music.

lordgoat

RichieMc wrote: »

You judge a station based on JNLR figures? Well then, one can only presume, given her astonishing sales, that you're a massive Emeli Sandé fan, and that Phantom isn't for you.

Or maybe, that you wouldn't find us entertaining as Mrs Brown's Boys is a top-rated comedy here, and that's not really 'us'. Also, given its attendance, you think the Liverpool-Celtic friendly at Lansdowne was the most important game played on this isle in a decade?

Figures don't denote quality, we are damned good at what we do.

One gets the impression, coming here, that absolutely nothing would make the sobriquet-wielding residents of Boards happy, so why they seem to hold a bizarre sense of entitlement over a radio station baffles me.

If any of you, being adults and using actual names, have anything constructive to add, i'd be delighted to hear it.

Warmest regards

Richie

RichieMc wrote: »

As i mentioned, any more questions can be pitched to my above email.

As for childish, see: anonymously sniping about a company and wishing people out of jobs.

So have I got it wrong or do you just want nice things posted here and any form of criticism to go to your email?


I think what has annoyed most listeners over the years was the gradual change in format to one where, to me, it was no different to spin/fm104 during the daytime. And yep I stopped listening. I still listen to a few of the evening shows or at the weekend. I'll probably give your new slot a go too.

If I like it I'll praise it, if I don't I'll complain. Such is how it goes. One thing I am delighted about is that Phantom finally realised that it needed to change it's format.

CdeP

New show should be good, looking forward to it. What does it mean for Cinerama though? Very pointed reference to film in Richie's original tweet. Anyone have any idea? It's one of the very few consistently good shows on Phantom. Also the music Gavin plays is generally better than most of the playlisted stuff on Phantom. Hope it doesn't go.

KingOfFairview

CdeP wrote: »

New show should be good, looking forward to it. What does it mean for Cinerama though? Very pointed reference to film in Richie's original tweet. Anyone have any idea? It's one of the very few consistently good shows on Phantom. Also the music Gavin plays is generally better than most of the playlisted stuff on Phantom. Hope it doesn't go.

Agreed, id be sad to see it go

windowcleaner

RichieMc wrote: »

As i mentioned, any more questions can be pitched to my above email.

As for childish, see: anonymously sniping about a company and wishing people out of jobs.

Very poor but sadly predictable comeback. It's a public forum - email is private. Questions were asked in public so answer them here. Surely, you don't have to run everything by Ricky Geraghty, Keith Walsh, John Caddell and Denis O'Brien? Or is that a job condition now?

RichieMc

windowcleaner wrote: »

Very poor but sadly predictable comeback. It's a public forum - email is private. Questions were asked in public so answer them here. Surely, you don't have to run everything by Ricky Geraghty, Keith Walsh, John Caddell and Denis O'Brien? Or is that a job condition now?

Any other names your "mole" told you that you want to list off? And yet you seem so reticent to provide your own. C'mon, be an adult....

KingOfFairview

KingOfFairview wrote: »

Any more details on the new show Richie?

?

RichieMc

KingOfFairview wrote: »

?

Pretty much what we tweeted last week.

All revealed on the 16th, just know it'll be brilliant.

KingOfFairview

RichieMc wrote: »

Pretty much what we tweeted last week.

All revealed on the 16th, just know it'll be brilliant.

Looking forward to it!

RichieMc

KingOfFairview wrote: »

Looking forward to it!

Some positivity around these parts, unbelievable!!

Cheers

whiskeyman

RichieMc wrote: »

Pretty much what we tweeted last week, Bill.

All revealed on the 16th, just know it'll be brilliant.

Super stuff Richie! I think many are looking forward to this.

Also, the big question we all want to know....
have you seen Pat Kenny in the building yet? Do you all have to bow to him if you bump into him in the lift?

:P

windowcleaner

RichieMc wrote: »

Any other names your "mole" told you that you want to list off? And yet you seem so reticent to provide your own. C'mon, be an adult....

Huh? What names? Sure, anyone who looks at the Phantom website will see the names I listed.

I think, Richie, you're just trying to muddy the waters and confuse the issue. Shame to see a person who was once a fine DJ turn into a Communicorp sleveen. I hope they're paying you well for it.

Again, we're back to asking you to respond to the questions above. As simple as that.

RichieMc

windowcleaner wrote: »

Huh? What names? Sure, anyone who looks at the Phantom website will see the names I listed.

I think, Richie, you're just trying to muddy the waters and confuse the issue. Shame to see a person who was once a fine DJ turn into a Communicorp sleveen. I hope they're paying you well for it.

Again, we're back to asking you to respond to the questions above. As simple as that.

Alright champ, the only question i've seen directly asked is along the lines of "why have figures fallen down?", yet Lordgoat has (in an incredibly uneducated manner) compared us to market leaders. So, you tell me, what is you want, exactly? The waters have been muddied only by throwaway complaints by nameless (see also: gutless) people like yourself.

KingOfFairview

Sad to see confirmation Cinerama is gone, was consistently a great show.

CdeP

KingOfFairview wrote: »

Sad to see confirmation Cinerama is gone, was consistently a great show.

Such a shame. The Second Captains podcast on the Irish Times has been a great success so could the Irish Times maybe bring Cinerama back as a weekly podcast to supplement their existing film coverage? Half the contributors are Irish Times writers as it is. Obviously Cinerama didn't attract the same listenership figures as Off The Ball but I think people would listen. I would anyway.

Tara and Don get on it!