This is a strong pet peeve of mine. As a one-time radio GM, our stations
held firm on clutter and price, but we were undermined by the competition
and our customers. Of course, my argument was still right... that too many
commercials is an incredible turnoff factor for listeners, and if people
don't listen, no one hears the spots.

No ****. And if you have too many spots, all you have to do is double the price.
Half of the advertisers will drop, the other half will pay their share, and you just
cut half of the spots from your station. So simple, yet many are too afraid to
turn down any advertiser to do it. We did it and it works just fine. Better to
turn away advertisers than listeners! If you have listeners, you will always have
advertisers, but you don't get listeners from having more advertisers, you get LESS
listeners.

Now that I am a listener, I am one of the first to turn away from a station
that plays too many spots, especially if the spots are totally uncreative,
boring and repetitive.

This is the problem with those in radio management, they never just ask themselves
what THEY would listen to. All you had to do is ask the DJs what they thought, as
they are the ones that listen to the station longer than anyone. If they get sick
of a song or spot, it means time to drop it!

Sometimes stations play the same spot twice during a
single set! How effective can that be to that customer?

I never understood that. If I was the advertiser, I would much rather have had the
extra spot play in another hour or on another station than waste two in the same
break. Besides, it ****es listeners off, and doing that means people will remember
to NOT buy your product, just as they never buy from companies that send spam or
telemarket.

Radio has become ridiculously redundant.

Haven't been able to listen to it in many years.