I promise not to turn this into a '70s music blog, but over the course of my various peregrinations this week I now have four or five hours of "70s on 7" under my belt. And on the drive to Anaheim¹ this morning it occurred to me that during this time I haven't heard a single Fleetwood Mac song. Also nothing from Bruce Springsteen. Nothing from Abba. Nothing from Pink Floyd. Nothing from Wings. Nothing from Steely Dan. Nothing from the Bee Gees. Nothing from Elton John.
I'm not saying these are all great bands. Opinions will vary. But they were all big acts in the '70s. I suppose it's praiseworthy that "70s on 7" isn't saturated with just the stuff we've all heard a thousand times, but doesn't it seem odd that in 4+ hours I haven't heard a single song from any of these groups?
¹Anaheim is where the radiation clinic is located. I'm writing this in the waiting room.
How are the playlists made? Are they algorithm-based or done by a human? In your previous post, I thought if it were a human, it might not be someone who has the lived experience to make a proper playlist. But if it's an algorithm, it could be that someone just tossed a bunch of titles from the 70s and hit the random button without any weighting.
Just put on Yacht Rock, you'll be happy.
"You can summarize the decade's chart action when you realize that 'Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head' was the number one song for the entire month of January 1970 and 'Escape (The Piña Colada Song)' closed out the decade as the top song. In with a whimper, out with a whimper."
from The Worst Rock n' Roll Records of All Time
Yeah the problem is, you're listening to *satellite radio*.
You think they want to spend the money to license any of the good stuff?
Uhuh.
You get literally everything *but* the expensive stuff.
That's not how music licensing works. Like terrestrial radio, satellite radio pays a statutory license for the music they play. There is no negotiation or variable rates.
What I don't understand is why the Red Hot Chili Peppers seem to be every other song on any nearly radio channel playing anything in the general vicinity of 'rock'.