Who's Listening ..is Phantom changing ??

Trev M

Just wondering to myself.....I haven't been listening regularly to Phantom in a while (Due to lack of coverage in Clondalkin where I work) and was asking around the place over the weekend if anyone else had been ? To my surprise a lot of people have said that they aren't tuning in as much as they usually would because there was an evident change of direction?

Now bear in mind I would be chatting with unsigned bands and such folk much like myself but I think a lot of people are feeling a bit adrift from phantom at this point ....

Is Phantom being sucked into the commercial swanny and forgetting the roots , think of the children for godsake!!....are you guys getting too wrapped up in the whole fiasco that is the licencing issue and moving away from the underground type scene (lets not get all technical about this one eh)? Maybe Im stirring it up here and I accept Phantom is developing and evolving, but as a genuine Phantom fan with my well declared interests I am worried that the station is losing some of its appeal in a direct trade off to becoming more commercially attractive,...again I could be wrong ......Raggamufin , I have no doubt you have an opinion on this one and would be interested to hear it,
Having said that I still remain a huge fan of the station and hope all is going well!!!

All the best - Trev M

Splinters

i wouldnt be the best person to judge if its chaged much over the long term as ive only properly been listening to it for the last year or so (again due to ****ty reception where i live but i got me a kick ass stereo now with a good radio) but i have to say even if it drifting towards a mainstream market (which i cant say ive noticed) its still considerably better than any other station i know of, that my tu'pense worth anyway

BrianD

Firstly. if you are in west Dublin you can tune into 88.1 FM which should give you better reception than 91.6FM - in fact 88.1 reaches right down to Kinnegad and other rural parts!

You are very unspecific on this "change of direction" ... is it the music, presentation style overall ethos of the station? Naturally, we're concerned when we hear some people may be tuning out and we'd like to know more and learn from the feedback.

The only thing that is really changing as a result of experience with the licensing process is that we are getting more professional and efficient when dealing with the relevant bodies and authorities.

Music policy hasn't changed anymore than genre has changed over the years - we do have to move with the times. We have older listeners lamenting that we don't play enough of The Stone Roses, Radiohead etc that was the staple of the playlist during the late 90's while we have younger listeners demanding more Korn, System of A Down etc. We try and strike a balance. We make no apologies for the fact that the general direction of the station is "mainstream indie" but I think that the individual styles of each presenters adds diversity to the overall station sound.

We still have the same committment to playing new Irish music, particularly from unsigned local bands but we do insist on standards. We don't just play it because it's Irish and we do expect some level of technical quality. Our policy is also to make affordable advertising airtime available to gigging bands which is why you now hear more advertising than before. At the same time, the amount of advertising you'll hear is still a fraction of what you'll hear on commercial stations in the city.

While the "rough and ready" element of the station is appealing is some respects but most of our listeners are demanding higher standards (just like you would prefer pristine stereo reception in your area). To achieve this we do have to become more refined and professional in what we do which will always require some element of compromise and ultimately the station becoming more commercially orientated than before. Fortunately, we split our income over a number of sources so we're wholly dependent on advertising airtime.

Anyway, enough from me ... let's hear your feedback and suggestions!

Paul Hare

It just so happens that for some reason I got to listen to alot of radio over the weekend. In my car, tidying my bedroom, waking up on Saturday morning to a real bad hangover and listening to phantom for quite a fiew hours till I could rise out of the covers.

And I thought the choice of music and programs were excellent, entertaining and professional.

So I just want to say thanks to Phantom FM for being a great station this weekend,

Regards,

Paul

www.ginsengmusic.com

Trev M

Thanks Brian D,
88.1 is in and out in the car Im sorry to report maybe I need an upgrade hahaaa!....I guess you've hit the nail on the head with the "rough and ready" aspect, I always felt it was a major part of Phantoms appeal for me anyway and is definetly going if not gone. I always felt phantom was accessible even before I was part of the unsigned music scene.....I mean commercial radio stations may aswell be on mars for all the impact the average listener has on them.

I accept of course all the points you have made and was not levelling any type of direct criticism , just expressing a sentiment/concern/feeling that is developing.

To clarify "change of direction", I mean that the station is becoming less alternative and more mainstream in many peoples view, something I can't comment on as my opinion as I haven't been tuned enough recenetly. I think the compilation cd would be a signal in that direction though.....having said that you have clarified that this is the intention to some degree.

The commercial viability of the station is one that requires striking a balance absolutely ,I agree, but I wonder at what cost is phantom becoming less inclined to take risks or try new things because the station is almost like a hostage to conform to the mainstream idea of what a radio station should be. I mean will the station lose its edge when big buck advertising starts to roll in following a licence being granted to Phantom(Lets hope!!), he who pays the piper etc.....maybe Im coming across a bit negative here ,thats not the intention....but where is the line in the sand ....is "Mainstream Indie" the line in the sand and outside that becomes more the exception with Phantom....more Radio head / Coldplay etc etc and less room for alternative new music cause its not mainstream?

Regarding the unsigned bands point I wasn't making the point that unsigned music isn't played enough I was clarifying the people I was speaking with, these are of course a part of the stations audience , not the only part, not the biggest part but a very relevant part I think.....


In terms of positives ......ICON has always been great, Steve Conway is fantastic and I like the girlie hour(is that still on the go?)

Suggestion - Stay in touch with your listeners and never lose the perception that the station is accessible and local not a faceless entity run by advertisers. Phantom has always been good at responding to its listeners and if you reckon that's why things are changing then so be it ...!

All the best , thanks for the response,
A Loyal Phantomite,
Trev M

polarbelly

on a personal level, i used to listen to phantom all the time during work, in the summer... for two reasons

1. its the best radio station around
and
2. i didnt have many cd's that i was really really into that were new

at the moment i've a few new cd's and am listening to radio alot less in general, as i'm back in college and the likes and not available to listen during the day... but still whenever i do tune in its always to phantom...

still i can see where you're coming from trev, its kinda not the same as it used to be

maybe thats down to getting a bit older or my musical tastes changing or something... cos i know that only approx 2 yrs ago all my musical tastes were covered by the phantom umbrella but now they arent

if you are interested in feedback brian d. a few of my friends have been put off phantom recently... i'm not exactly sure why... i know thats not very good or constructive criticism, sorry...i'll ask them and try and find out if you want?

still despite all the above, the only station i tune in to is phantom.. unless i'm wit my raver mates of course (they'll beat me up for being a hippy lol)

tribble

Phantom have unquestionably changed over the years.

Anyone remember when they used to play albums (Nirvana etc.) from cover to cover?
The apologies because the ariel blew down?

I kinda liked the low-fi, the more rough than ready style.
I know it doesn't feed the cat but it was more endearing.

I'm only 21 and i feel like an old fart listening to them now...

b

BrianD

"Suggestion - Stay in touch with your listeners and never lose the perception that the station is accessible and local not a faceless entity run by advertisers. Phantom has always been good at responding to its listeners and if you reckon that's why things are changing then so be it ...!"

Re above ... We welcome all feedback ... criticism ... compliments about the station and all that goes with it. In fact when these posts pop up on the bulletin board we read them with interest and try to encourage them.

Let me be arguementative!! Two of the posts above tell us that some of your friends have stopped listening. Why? No real reason is given. For all we know they could have discovered one fine morning that Lite FM was really their brand of music! My point being if you're going to suggest that we stay in touch with our listeners - which we really try and do - please give us something meaningful to work on not just some vague impression that some of your mates may have stopped listening!

OK, I'll be good now stop being arguementative and listen!

bandit

I've been listening to phantom since its inception way back, its much more professional nowadays. We'll never again have the days of a scrathed cd playing the same song all through the night and that can only be a good thing, theres better djs and more of a variety of show types and songs.

Sadly i havent been listening to phantom as much as i used to, in my last job i had access to a radio and a lot of time to myself, but in my new job there aint no radio.

The thing i have noticed is that since i've stoped listening i've missed out on a lot of gigs and new bands, I dont think theres anyother medium that showcases new talent {both irish and other} around.
Mtv's a joke, Tom Dunne doesnt play that many demo's and dave Fanning is as relevant as Two Tone jeans {remember them?} and my computer takes WAY too long to down load mp3's of new bands.
So phantom is still as important as ever in plugging new music

polarbelly

Originally posted by BrianD
[BLet me be arguementative!! Two of the posts above tell us that some of your friends have stopped listening. Why? No real reason is given. For all we know they could have discovered one fine morning that Lite FM was really their brand of music! My point being if you're going to suggest that we stay in touch with our listeners - which we really try and do - please give us something meaningful to work on not just some vague impression that some of your mates may have stopped listening!
[/B]

brian if you read my post which is one of the ones you were refering to it says

if you are interested in feedback brian d. a few of my friends have been put off phantom recently... i'm not exactly sure why... i know thats not very good or constructive criticism, sorry...i'll ask them and try and find out if you want?

BrianD

Never mind your friends! I'm a pragmatist! They're gone and you're still here!! I notice that you say that two years ago you say Phantom covered all your musical tastes but now it dosen't ... please elaborate ... we'd be interested to know what rocks your boat now.

(apologies for not taking in some of your previous post ... got the earbuds out now so I'm all ears)

polarbelly

well, thank you for asking...

at the moment some bands that i'm really enjoying are... mum, cornelius, and sigur ros....

i know ph has played a wee bit of sigur ros since the new album came out...but.. evry time i post something bout them up here everyone goes mad about how much they love them, yet whenever i request them they arent played... i know their songs are long but i thought the ph policy (i know it is with irish upcoming bands) is: if the music is good we'll play it!

other stuff i like at the mo has obviously been getting lots of airplay and they are the reasons i still tune in...coldplays new album is hitting the spot for me, i love idlewilds new album...

the reason one of my friends doesnt listen anymore is the likes of american kid rock stuff being played... something i also detest
BUT...
i understand its your job to try to keep as much of the listner's haapy as you can

thedrowner

right....this is what MEEEEEEEEEEE thinks
firstly, phanotm should start playing u2 and stereophonics and interest loads of listeners, once theyve developed a loyal following then blact them out of ti with low and xtc (JOKE! DO NOT REFER TO IT TO CONDTRADICT ME FURTHER ON DOWN THIS POST)

i very rarely listen to the radio, at the moment its coz when i do listen to music, im very guilty about the amount of cd's i ahve that i dont know very well and oculd be missing out on good music, so im trying to give them a chance. when i do tune in its phantom, and its usually pete reeds show, he plays music i like-and this is a completely uninformed preference because for all i know any of the dj's could be playing a show more suited to my taste, i just havent had time to check them out.

with regards to phantom becoming more mainstream-i cant back up an opinion on this fully as i dont listen as much now. But i have to say that when trev said that the cd was an example of this, i have to say BOLLOX. If i showed the cd to my friends a lot of them would be saying 'pj who?' 'cake?' 'what the hell is a babelfish?' the word wlternative is starting to sound really pretencious in my ears-ie phantom can only be good if they play music nobody's heard of...i know this isnt what anyone's saying, but sometimes people make a statement and it really sounds like deep down, this is how they feel (not u personally trev!!!!!)

so what if more mainstream rock music is being played? this increases listnership, and keeps with the ideals of the station. you still have the opportunity to listen to bands who arent as mainstream/are more your taste on other people's shows. The only thing i do fear, is that people will declare phantom as 'too mainstream for their (pretencious) tastes' and go to xfm, when they can listen to both and be happy. I'm not knocking xfm, both stations play great music-i just feel that sometimes people admit to listening to certain music for the wrong reasons.

i do not doubt that there is a great difference in various shows the dj's play, so i think more people should try and find one that they like rather than lstening to one they dont like and condemning the station-it owuld be selfish to demand to listen to music only you think is good-and completely lucky if u happened to come upon a station u did. alternative music is becoming more mainstream-dont fight it, feel it. dont go against it coz u have to be cool. listen to what u enjoy-if u dont enjoy listening than dont, but at least give it a chance

as has been said, phantom went int a different direction to other stations years ago, and even if theyve beoming a little more mainstream, or have a bigger audience theyre still the best station around for people who like rock/indie/alt music. you wouldnt hear low/cocteau twins/66 electric on fm 104 and theyre terrible for this, but yet you'd accuse a station or being terrible when they play this kind of music, and the stereophonics? thats CLEVER-thats getting a loyal fanbase and a bigger audience.

Rob Taylor

Hi everyone. Firstly, thanks for all your opinions. As Brian D said, we always like to know what our listeners think of our output; it helps keep us on our toes. It's heartening for us to know that people would take a few minutes out of their day to log into the message board and challenge/question/support what it is that we do. All concerns and constructive criticism is welcomed.

Can i just say though, and this has been pointed out before by one of the other DJs; there seems to be a "rose-tinted glasses" outlook on the Phantom of yore. Fact is, we were based in a shed in Dublin 18 for over a year, working with a maximum of 300 CDs. Some might say that gave us a cohesive sound. We just thought it was restrictive. The number of requests we couldn't play cos we didn't have the CD was unbelieveable, and I guarantee you, if we had a message board back then, one of the perennial topics would be "Phantom never plays my requests".

Of course Phantom has changed. However, that change has been 100% organic. We've grown with our audience. The reason we play the Nu-Metal stuff is cos people want to hear it. You didn't hear nu-metal on Phantom a couple of years ago cos it hadn't exploded back then. Any organisation that wants to stick around has to allow itself to adapt. I've been with Phantom for almost 5 years, and I guarantee you that I would much rather have a wide range of music to choose from like we do now rather than having to raid the petty cash tin to buy a compilation CD that might allow us another 2 hours of music.

Everyone at the station is very aware of the fantastic thing we have in Phantom FM, and we're all extremely proud of it. We are also very grateful that listeners obviously care about what we do as well. We still play all the stuff we played 3 or 4 years ago, it's just that now we've more stuff as well. Here's an analogy, which also gives me an opportunity to mention His Bobness, something I try to do at every available opportunity. Many people reckon Bob Dylan was at the height of his powers in the 60's. That may or may not be the case, but the fact is, today you can still check out all his 60's output, but now you've got Blood On The Tracks, Oh Mercy, Street-Legal and Time Out Of Mind too. You get me?

Thanks for your opinions.

Cheers

Rob

Trev M

Originally posted by BrianD
"

Let me be arguementative!! Two of the posts above tell us that some of your friends have stopped listening. Why? No real reason is given. For all we know they could have discovered one fine morning that Lite FM was really their brand of music! My point being if you're going to suggest that we stay in touch with our listeners - which we really try and do - please give us something meaningful to work on not just some vague impression that some of your mates may have stopped listening!

OK, I'll be good now stop being arguementative and listen!

Brian maybe you missed this on my post and I think you are a bit defensive here if you don't mind me saying ......but the change of direction was the main reason I think, people I spoke too(not all my friends....) had stopped listening. You know, as an interested party getting a feeling for what was happening out there>?


Anyway this is what I said
"To clarify "change of direction", I mean that the station is becoming less alternative and more mainstream in many peoples view, something I can't comment on as my opinion as I haven't been tuned enough recenetly. I think the compilation cd would be a signal in that direction though.....having said that you have clarified that this is the intention to some degree."

so to summarise the reasons some people (not all Trev M's friends) have stopped listening to phantom in two sentences

less alternative - more mainstream
more commercial - less open to new things

Anyhow I think my post was well intended I just wanted to point out that there is a feeling of commercialism from Phantom and you have stated the actual policy "mianstream Indie" pretty clearly, which is fine.

I just want to say I also pointed out what I thought I liked about the station and what the really good points where for me in the hope that these could in some form stay a part of the station...from your posts Brian it looked very much like I had started blabbing on about how ****e everything was..which clearly is not the case, in fact 99% of the time if I dont have something good to say I usually won't post, this particular time I thought the feedback I was relaying was infact useful, not vague and unmeaningful



Now who's being all defensive hahaha
Thanks for your feedback too by the way
All the best - Trev

GerK

The reason I like Phantom:

Its a Rock/indie/Alt station that plays music you will NEVER hear on any other Irish radio station.

It will only ever lose its relevance and its audience, in my opinion, when it starts to play music you can hear on on any station.

Even if its goes completely mainstream, much like its many American counterparts it will still be playing music you can't hear on other Irish stations, and thats why it exists.

BrianD

Me defensive? Thought I was going on the offensive there! What I do find annoying is a vague statement of "some of my friends have stopped listening" which as feedback is of little use to use. It dosn't tell us where we are going wrong or give us any signals on how we can improve. Always give us something to work on. It's like somebody saying to a band "I don't think your music is any good any more". The first thing that you'd be saying is "Please elaborate".

As regards the "commercial" and "alternative" tags. What does alternative mean? Does it mean "choice" or going so far away from the "middle ground" that it is only relevant to an individual or small group of individuals. Hardly, a choice then. Alternative can also mean snobby - for want of a better word. How many people do you know who used like a particular band in their early days and now disown them because they are now apart of the main stream? The problem with good music is that sooner or later it is embraced by all.


You are wrong to assume that because PHantom is releasing a CD that it is a move towards commercialism. The CD provides us with two important things - revenue and publicity. (Ha! Is that not going commercial? you say) But look at it this way, the revenue from the CD means that we are not wholly dependent on the sale of advertising airtime and the CD is great publicity for the station. The alternative to spending (or wasting) vast amounts money on advertising on the side of buses. Plus, seven Irish artists who are on either on independent or their own labels gain from sale of the CD. Having a diversity of income sources - from the CD and other sources - will mean that we are not at the beck and call of advertisers. If you examine any of the "alternative" or non-mainstream stations in the USA or Australia you find that the vast majority of them produce their own CDs on a regular basis.

Being commercially orientated does not mean we're losing our identity our ethos. Phantom wants to use good business methods to achieve our goal of putting on the station and play the music that we do. I see no sense in being hypocritical and trying to cover this up. While Phantom relies heavily on volunteers, the running costs are now enormous and can no longer be sustained as a "labour of love". We have to generate an income. I don't think there's any band who dosn't want to make their music and earn a living from it.

I used the term "mainsream indie" myself - it's not an official station statement. I think it's a fair statement and I don't think the station has ever been anything but "mainstream indie". How far away we are from the real "mainstream" is really the question and this is something that constantly changes. The most important thing is does Phantom provide a listening alternative that is substantially different to other radio stations. I think so.

Niall S.

I was not going to get involved in this but there is 2 or 3 points that I would like to add, hopefully won't be too vague, as I hate being cross examined.

First off, I think that when I say this I also speak for Trev, but the fact that you are releasing a CD is not the issue, its the track list that has raised a few eye browse.
I think that some of the tracks, like Blink 182 or Radiohead were not a appropriate as other tracks that didn't make the cut.
Lets face it, if you want to hear Blink 182 or Radiohead there is 100 places to hear their material, like the best (worst) piece of crap album in the world volume 4, or Now thats what I call music 102, or of course you could just buy their albums, people like Ash and The Frames do belong on the album as they would get peoples heads turned, but bands that did not make the final decision that really should have for being devoted phantom bands like blotooth or Brando or the Sundogs, Skyjack, Polar I can go on here, but I think that atleast one unsigned band that is regularly played on Phantom, should have been put on the disc.
These are the bands that you can't find in HMV and could do with the Exposure, but instead it looked like you played the safe bet and picked a wide range of safe bands that already have been played to death.
I think that the safe bet might not have been as safe as you might think, but that is just my opinion, and no I am not being negative here, I am just speaking whats on my mind, I still think that Phantom is the best Station in the Country, but not flawless.

My second and last point, is less alternative = more mainstream, well I have to side with phantom on that one I am afraid, cause no one has considered the obvious possibility here.

Maybe alternative has become more mainstream, doesn't make it any less alternative, what is alternative rock, I always taught that it was rock bands that basically weren't Motley Crue, like the Smashing Pumpkins came out and were branded Alternative because they didn't have big hair and they didn't were spandex.

Besides two years ago you wouldn't hear about bands like System of a down unless you were into metal music now they are everywhere, which I think is a good thing.

Anyway keep on fighting the good fight.

Niall.

Trev M

Ok At this point I can see that no matter what way I word this it's causing offence .....by alternative I meant an alternative to the commercially hyped promo'd marketed to death shoved in your face Blink 182 / Greendays of this world....Phantom gave us something else....I belive from this thread that we can expect a bit less of something else from now on.

The disc is very orientated to this type of music with a few of the locals thrown in, I have no problem with that , I think you need to read my posts again with all repect. The fact that Phantom pushes this music on the disc is a nod in some respects to that type of commercially orientated music.... and yes I accept it is what a lot of listeners want.....evidently its not what some others want and that is merely one of the points I was trying to get across...serving others aswell as the popular "mainstream"...the Numetal thing I've no idea why that even popped up there but there ya go.

I didn't say this is wrong that is wrong I stated again an opinion that people feel that the commercial enterprise that is Phantom is overshadowing the radio station that is Phantom ....the disc is not the point, the labels are not the point, the point initially made was that Phantom is losing listeners because people do feel the Enterprise has gone into effect .....now I, just to clarify , accept and acknowledge what you are saying, can you see that I am making a point about the perception that exists out there.........."Phantom is selling out to the man", maybe silly maybe untrue, but its out there and its causing people to lose interest. This is like the "youre not cool enough for our gang" type of arguement haahhaaa , or the "Im so alternative arguements" myself and Raggamuffin once engaged in ....very uncool hahahahahahaaa

Anyway B you are failing to make the distinction between me pointing out a feeling that exists and what I believe or what is the actual case in terms of what phantom is doing. This is valuable feedback but you have repeatedly stated it isn't, I find that odd ??


You speak of business practice well I'll put it in that context then

The comercial enterprise that is Phantom needs to generate funds by serving its customers...its losing customers because some of them perceive the station to have changed its....here we go again ....."direction"

Frustrated at this point, I will offer no more evidently confusing statements or opinion on this one suffice to say Brian D that you are in the little black book, youre on the list hahahahaaaa. If nothin else I hope other opinions on this thread have offered something you feel is worth while....it beats the "this board sucks thread" no?? !!


I'll shut up now!
All the best,
Trev

BrianD

Trev, believe me you are not causing any offence! I think that anybody that has put any kind of music or artist endeavour together whether it be a band, a CD, a radio station has to be prepared and thick skinned enough to accept that not only will there be many who don't like it but will actively critcise it. (note: I view your criticism as constructive rather then the negative type). I don't take it personally - say what you like how you like - but I am interested in what you say as a member of the Phantom group.

What I completely fail to understand is this notion that the station was somewhat more alternative in the past. In my mind, it dosn't ring true - the general music policy hasn't changed over the years. We play artists that record artists promote the hell out of alongside demos and/or independent releases that were recorded on a shoe string. The only criteria being that it is good and fits in with the station sound (which is generally "rock" music). As pointed out by Rob T, the station now plays more music than ever as the library has never been bigger.

True, we dallied with the nu-metal movement for a while - maybe a bit too long. It's certainly not my cup of tea but for many, nu-metal is cutting edge, alternative and anti-establishment. Yep, the major labels have weighed in with the big bucks as they do into any scene as soon as it establishes. Everybody seems to want to remember the early years of Phantom. What were we playing then? Plenty of Radiohead, Stone Roses, Green Day that were all being supported by major record labels and were rotated to death on this station. While I wasn't a DJ at the time I was an avid listener, a friend of mine used to comment that Phantom played the same obvious songs all the time.


Briefly on the CD. We started with a much larger pool of songs, over 60 in fact. Originally we planned on a double CD - many songs/artists that we wanted we could not get licensed - including some mentioned in the previous threads. The CD was always going to be a mix of Irish and International artists as this reflects the Phantom FM sound and I think it's a fair audio snap shot. Yep, there's tracks I'd personally like to see on there but there you go. A safe mix? Perhaps, but we do want do a Vol 2 and the experience learned and hopefully the commercial (yes!) success of this one will give us more flexibility in the future and the flexibility to take more risks.


Personally, I believe that you are wrong in saying that the "commercial enterprise" required to operate the station is overshadowing the station itself. It is true that we didn't do these things in the past and it is a noticeable now that we have introduced them. Furthermore, using good business practices dosn't mean over the top commercialism. These practises can help us sustain the development of the station. Dosn't mean that we're on the road to becoming another Time-Warner or anywhere like it.

Check out Triple R FM in Melbourne, Australia which is a non-commercial station but has no problem in embracing good business practices to sustain it's development. Hell, they've even got a section called "buy stuff".

the snitch

i've just scan read some of this so excuse me if i cover old ground
maybe instead of bitching and whining about how phantom has changed the listeners should be making concrete suggestions as to how they'd like to chanel those changes. it's inevitable that the station will change as its an organic thing with changing staff and material to play, and it has progressed from its shed rawking roots, that comes with its growing popularity and professionalism as a broadcasting radio station. it could be a mite more democratic though. may i recommend a section on the phantom websites for suggestions and requests? this would enable the listeners to give their feedback to the music, programmes and presenters and would enable the station to be reponsive in a more systemised manner (and perhaps even a bit more relevant) for my two pence ha'penny phantom doesn't respond to my tastes, but no station does. i pick and choose between bbc and the best of the rest. bit like a record collection see? don't expect phantom to be telepathic, let them know what you want. phantom, you need to give the listeners a forum for feedback.

done and done

BrianD

The station is very accessable!

This very FORUM is here for purpose of interaction and debate all things Phantomesque - over 20,000 postings have been made here.

The sticky above tells you how to contact the station as does the contact page in the main web site.

You can E_MAIL almost all presenters and station "departments"

You can WRITE to use with old fashioned pen and paper.

When you TEXT us the message appears right in front of the presenter.

You can CALL us or FAX us ... though many presenters prefer requests via text.

You can slip us a NOTE at PHANTASM.

When a request is played it is NOTED and reviewd by the programme/music department.

We are a very accessable station and we do listen (that's not to say that we'll always play your requests!). You need to tell us what you think!

At some point in the future, we hope to have loose "focus groups" or open meetings where we can get more thougts from listeners.

The forum is here! Tell us what you like, don't like, would like more etc. Use it! We might argue - but we are taking it! The arguements are always good for teasing things out (well that's my excuse)

Niall S.

All good points, but my point of having a typical local unsigned act on the CD is not because I think that Skyjack or the Sundogs are great bands ( they are ) but that isn't the full matter I am trying to address.
I think that putting an unsigned band on the CD is good form, cause all the bands that have sent in their Demo's to phantom and have plugged phantom during gigs etc, it will show some sort of good will to them for their efforts, you can't put them all onto te CD but just one would have shown a kind of community participation.

You might say that it makes more sense to put Blink 182 on the Comp ahead of a band like Skyjack, I would disagree for the reason that, the people who buy the CD if they are Phantom listeners ( Majority of Phantom's listeners are people who want to hear local talent ) they will know Skyjack and this is a good way of not alienating them by throwing the same product down their throats, if they are not Phantom Listeners, then they get to hear the Skyjack/Sundogs ( Whatever ) track and alot of them will probably like it, and wonder why they can't find their album in HMV or Virgin, so they will go and look for it and I am sure that the first place they will look will be Phantom, and there you have more potential listeners.

Its good for you its good for the bands and its good for us.

Trev M

Brian D ,
I am completely satisfied that Phantom will not turn into a monster, I am also reassured that generally the ship sails purposely forward and will never be run by "the man"!!.
I think this topic has been worthwhile and informative, kinda like a strategy session here in work!

Peace and goodwill to all
TRev

the_corpo

hey brian, your show is on at the same time as my xfm show

isn't that something

Kurdt

Originally posted by BrianD

This very FORUM is here for purpose of interaction and debate all things Phantomesque - over 20,000 postings have been made here.

and don't forget all the deleted ones!!!

shay

Hey,

It's that old adage again - you know, the one about pleasing some of the people some of the time etc etc.

Much and all as I generally despise mainstream stations (2FM et al) they do acknowledge that they have to provide for certain tastes (Fanning and Dunne).

So, perhaps a more diverse range of shows, from the unsigned to the dangerously uncool commercial indie at hours people will listen to can help people out?? I like Stereophonics, Embrace, Travis, Ryan Adams but I also like NPB, Brando, Turn.

I may be missing the point, but please bear in mind I have spent 27 odd years developing and perfecting the art

P.S. I really enjoyed that kind of debate - very clever people both sides of the argument

P.P.S. I may dislike certain tunes Phantom plays, but I think the salient point is I have never actually been forced to turn off because I disliked it that much.

P.P.S. I have actually e-mail Mr. S. Pete and Paul Clarke - but got no replies to either, so there

Trev M

Originally posted by BrianD


Check out Triple R FM in Melbourne, Australia which is a non-commercial station but has no problem in embracing good business practices to sustain it's development. Hell, they've even got a section called "buy stuff".

I know I said Id shut up but but but.......I've just checked out the link above and am frightened at the prospect of the following.This is in the get your band on air section, to put it in context it does say your bands music will go to the library and distributed to the relevant programmes that you would be suited if you send stuff to them but the bit on the end is what bugs me....imagine some complete durge worthy band paying to get air time on Phantom ...that would truely blow goats bigtime and I guess that's were people fear Phantom might get too as the commercial side of things develop

"Should you ever wish to increase your profile with an on air promotion, we offer an indie band package for $300 (+$30
GST). This is inclusive of a 10 spot campaign, consisting of 4 prime and 6 off peak spots"

What do you guys reckon?? Im not saying this is a possibility or not for phantom but its the kinda thing I would hate to see phantom do to get the few extra quid and think it would take away alot of credibility, maybe this clarifies the concerns somewhat ?


All the best - Trev

thedrowner

well what i would like to hear is someone who plays music like the cocteau twins, this mortal coil, low, air, depeche mode, manics b sides etc etc

i would be more than willing to take on a slot

but i do know that the lovely pearl (or was it allison) has played music (or was it tara????/) by these people before so i cant really bitch about it


regarding this cd.... the idea's (amongst others) of this cd im sure was to have large sales where possible to finance phantom and to impress people whilst the liscnense fiasco goes on im assuming.

its still a good cd
personally i wouldnt like a lot of irish usgned bands to be on it, id prefer a good mix-i think this would be good as a listener(i found it good) and its a clever sales move.

BrianD

Trev ... you'd have to give the station a listen. This station - one of the finest community radio stations that I have come accross -has a very diverse range of spoken word and music programming filling in the gaps left by commercial radio. Consequently, the station has the reputation as being the foremost source of new music in Melbourne from jazz to folk to rock (unlike Phantom, it dosn't stick to one musical genre). Most of their sponsorship comes from the arts and entertainment sectors. This station is truely non-commercial. In fact they refuse to take advertising from the big bucks advertisers like the Mc Donalds.

The folks at Triple R would be aghast at what you are suggesting ... money for airplay?. That's your ill informed conclusion. To be honest Trev, I'm begining to wonder if you only pick out what you want to hear. Wake up to yourself! Here at Phantom FM, it is part of our unwritten charter to make affordable advertising space available to local bands. Read into that what you like.

Trev M

Fair enough maybe I am reading too much into it, i must have it wrong so...it does read like you can get your stuff played more if you pay though ???

I think we have the wires well and truely crossed here ...I myself have benefitted from the reasonably priced ad space on phantom and think its great bands can do that, thats not an issue I didn't say anything about that.

I mentioned previously about big buck advertisers yes.....MCD for example.....how many bands on this board have had gigs cancelled in Whelans cause the big boys with the dough have said we want that date and its tough crap small fry...similarly if the big boys with the dough decided I don't think we'll advertise on Phantom anymore cause you don't play our selected bands then what? Im not implying again here that Phantom would do anything immoral or whatever just saying it is a valid concern and you don't seem to acknowledge or accept that point of view??

The other point I was making by the way is if memebers of my band paid to get a track played on heavy traffic for example I'd be pretty ashamed of it, both the band and phantom for doing that, maybe thats neive or whatever I dunno, maybe some people feel that's fair game but I thought phantom was delivering a different kinda station than that.

Anyway f*ck it, enough is enough, regardless of my Ill informed opinions/conclusions you have been gracious enough to entertain the debate and of course are not in anyway obliged too so I'll say thanks and get doing some work as I've been on the board most of the day and will in here for hours at this rate hahahaaaaa..

All the best -
Trev

Niall S.

This is getting a bit much, it seems that people are asking valid questions and then the answer is "thats not constructive criticism" people are asking the question, has phantom just come one step closer to selling out, granted they are asking in a manner that suggest that they don't want to offend you.
The track list for the CD is a valid point I don't care how you put it, wether it be a safe bet, or economically sound, its causing a stir, and that has to be accepted.
The fact that other radio stations will play Coldplay before blotooth means that you are stepping into their shoes even if it is just this once, I know that its only a comp, but you did say that their is a second CD in the works, what happens if this CD sells through the roof, will you change your tac tics for the second one and put more unsigned bands on the track list, I would doubt it.
If your team is winning you don't change the players at half time.
And if it doesn't sell well, then you more than likely won't put out a second one, so either way the chances of an unsigned act being put onto the CD is slim.

I listen to Phantom for one reason, to hear local bands, I don't care about anything else, cause I can get the CD but if a cool local band is played on phantom then it makes it worthwhile, I first heard Skyjack on phantom and now they are one of my favourite bands.

The day that phantom stops playing local bands is the day that I tune out.

But until then keep on fighting the good fight.

Niall.