It’s hard to survive in radio these days. Stations have to change and adapt, shift gears and give people the music they want.
This is especially relevant in Vancouver, which has seen multiple stations flip identities like switches on a board. As the calendar turns to the holiday season, it becomes harder to resist the lure of Christmas songs, and stations have to grapple with how to incorporate the festivities into their daily programming. For two Vancouver stations in particular, the answers are quite different.
James Sutton, music director and on-air host at 102.7 The Peak, has been in radio for 15 years and knows that Christmas is a tricky time for radio stations.
“When I first started, I didn’t think people wanted Christmas music,” says Sutton. “Every year we ask the questions, we send it out to our whole database, about 40,000 people we ask… and it’s overwhelming. It’s like 90 per cent [want to hear Christmas music].”
In the days leading up to Christmas, Sutton and his crew start slowly, rolling out one Christmas-themed tune an hour at the start of December. On Dec. 19 the station bumped it up to two per hour, with a steady increase until Christmas, which sees five.
The station tries to keep the material relevant to its usual programming, and the result is an influx of songs by indie rock bands that reference winter or snow.
It’s a way to sneak in tracks like the Fleet Foxes’ “White Winter Hymnal.”
“It’s really, really hard to write a new Christmas song,” Sutton says. “It has to be relevant enough, and it has to be good enough.”
Asked his favourite Christmas song The Peak plays, and the Richmond native doesn’t hesitate. “This Shins song [“Wonderful Christmas”] is probably the best indie rock Christmas song of all time. It’s a piped-in Christmas song to the max. But it’s a great song.”
Turn the dial to 103.5 QMFM and the vibe is completely different. For the sixth year in a row, the team at QMFM has been playing only Christmas music since late November. Drew Stanton, the co-host of Breakfast with Nat & Drew, chalks up the station’s decision to a Christmas-crazed fan base. “Literally we get emails starting Nov. 1. Every year the ratings get bigger and bigger, people are very passionate.”
Stanton, a radio veteran of 13 years, chalks up listeners’ fondness for Christmas songs to a desire to feel happy during the holidays. “It makes people feel good,” says Sutton. “It’s probably also a little bit nostalgic.”
Stanton’s favourite holiday song? “Darlene Love — ‘Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).’ I’m Missing Letterman now because he would always have her come on and do the show.”
For Sutton, it all comes down to one question: what is going to keep people listening?
“This is a super fun job, but it is a business and if we’re not making our boss money, I’m going to get fired, bottom line,” he admits. “That’s why stations flip all the time. We’re seven years deep and we’re holding good… There’s been years we play the Red Hot Chili Peppers version of ‘‘Deck the Halls,” and it’s only funny for me, because it’s like ‘Haha, the Red Hot Chili Peppers being awful,’ but no, it’s just awful.”
@ncaddell
