Addressing the audience

Most times there’s a real person behind the microphone. Radio stations employ music programmers; what plays in the car begins with them.

“They have been selected because of their specific interest and niche musical tastes. Most have two-hour slots that they get to program how they want,” Boyer said. 

Music programming is more nuanced than creating a playlist, according to Boyer. Programmers also think about how their show sounds on air. 

“You may be great at selecting and curating a show, but you also have to be able to present it on air and maybe tell a little story. Maybe be able to interview a guest, a musician, or host an actual show,” Boyer said.

A radio station’s mission is reflected in its programming, which is reflected through the music programmers. The focus of the playlists differs between stations: some focus on diversity, others on familiarity. A music programmer for a pop station will choose a playlist full of big hits, whereas one for a classics station will select exclusively from past decades. 

At KCSM, a jazz station in the Bay Area, the programming is focused on diverse and high-quality jazz music. KCSM plays a variety of jazz subgenres thanks to a variety of music programmers.

“They are all individual; they’re different. They select their music based on the genre of jazz that they want to reflect. It’s their decision to choose what music and artists they want to feature,” said KCSM Station Manager Robert Franklin, PhD.

As a public radio station, the programming at KALW caters to the Bay Area’s diversity. According to Boyer, music programmers choose eclectically, so there’s something for everyone.

“Every listener on some level can see or hear themselves in our music, in our stories,” Boyer said. “That’s the goal, for people to feel like they’re part of something and that they belong in the Bay Area.” 

KALW music programmer Juan “Wonway Posibul” Amador closes the gap between different and diverse genres. 

“My goal is to introduce people to new music and maybe older music that they may not be familiar with, or they haven’t heard in a long time,” Amador said.

Each music programmer approaches their allocated time differently. Amador spins through genres to keep things diverse. 

“I’m gonna play six 20-minute sets, and every 20 minutes is a little different than the last 20 minutes. So there’s 20 minutes of jazz, and then there’ll be 20 minutes of indie rock. There might be 20 minutes of hip-hop or electronic music,” Amador said. “I try to keep it varied and eclectic. That’s my goal, every night.”

In addition to the radio station’s mission, music selection is also impacted by the programmer’s individuality, according to Amador. 

“Most of the time the DJ is really giving you a slice of his personality. Even though I’m keeping it eclectic, I’m showing you what I like in those genres or what I’m excited about,” Amador said.

Amador isn’t at the main station while he’s on air; his music gets sent live to the station, where it gets broadcast by Damien “D Minor” Minor. Minor then controls the soundboard and all the audio frequencies sent to it, ensuring Amador has the right timing through a FaceTime call.

Minor is one of multiple announcers at KALW. He engineers live shows and speaks between music sets, introducing the program and delivering public service announcements to the studio’s log. 

“I’m what they call the liaison to all the programs. So I’m making sure that Juan’s on the air. I’m his eyes and ears,” Minor said.

Minor has worked at public and commercial radio stations, which differ in key ways. Individual music programmers decide the programming at KALW and KCSM because both are public stations. 

“Juan curates his own playlist; he does his own thing. The same goes with KCSM. In the commercial stations, the music director will pick a few hours of music, and then that will play throughout the day. (The program log) is what they call the music master. They curate all the songs for that day,” Minor said. 

Both commercial and public radio stations have a lot of people behind the scenes with unique work to bring the station to life. Program directors at commercial stations have slightly different responsibilities. 

“The program director deals with the day-to-day operation of the station. They’re dealing with the overall sound of the station. They’re dealing with radio personalities. They’re dealing with dealing with sales. They’re dealing with the promotions people, and they’re also working closely with their music director,” Minor said.

The objective of commercial stations is to win the public’s affection, according to Minor.

“The difference between commercial and public stations is that commercial stations kind of live and die by ratings,” Minor said.  “(They) sometimes compete for ratings. They play similar records, and their radio personalities are similar in style, so it’s about ratings. Whoever has ratings that are high gets commercials.”

The corporate aspect of commercial stations didn’t take away from the passion that goes into the work for Minor.

“I love music, so it’s not like I’m selling you on it. I just love to talk about it. And people like to talk about their favorite things; they can talk about it so much that it doesn’t feel like you’re selling because if it comes off as sincere,” Minor said.