Weird Radio Rules??

[nobodyschild]

The other day I heard "You Really Got Me" on the radio, but the Van Halen cover version. This wouldn't be strange, but, every time I've heard that song on the radio (too many times to count), it's always been the Van Halen version. I don't know if the Kinks wrote it but they certainly made it famous, it was a big hit for them, so it doesn't make sense to me why the radio would only ever play the cover of it. Am I just always not in the car when the Kinks version is played, or is there some weird rule (maybe around a copyright or lawsuit or something) that the radio can't play the real version of the song?? Seems trivial but this has been nagging at me for months, lol.

[Timeblue]

I don't think that I've ever heard Van Halens version, so I don't know why this is...

[dillwyn]

i'd imagine in the US it is because it is arguably a more radio-friendly version. VH would have a bigger audience as well....
VH are a minor band in the UK who had the hit with Jump! there is a story to why the kinks didn't break the us I believe.

There are dozens of cover versions more famous than the original though.
In the UK Tainted Love is often thought about not as the Gloria Jones version but as a soft cell song or Blondie thought of with Denis(e) not the original randy and rainbows version.

that is a thread in itself ...

[Timeblue]

Aug 4, 2020 10:14:35 GMT dillwyn said:

i'd imagine in the US it is because it is arguably a more radio-friendly version. VH would have a bigger audience as well....
VH are a minor band in the UK who had the hit with Jump! there is a story to why the kinks didn't break the us I believe.

There are dozens of cover versions more famous than the original though.
In the UK Tainted Love is often thought about not as the Gloria Jones version but as a soft cell song or Blondie thought of with Denis(e) not the original randy and rainbows version.

that is a thread in itself ...

Just looked and The Kinks version got to no. 7 in the states but VHs version barely made the top 40. I get what you say about them having a bigger audience but it wasn't as though it was more successful... 

[dillwyn]

would you believe there is an article about it

ultimateclassicrock.com/van-halen-you-really-got-me/

[BSJ]

Sick of the Van Halen version.

[orioles70]

radio station economics are a big driver

for Income, stations presumably care mostly about their ad revenue, unless they are a college or non-commercial radio station in which case they still have to worry about playing what will grow an audience and satisfy whoever is paying the bills

I've always wondered if they have to pay more the first time a song is played each month than they do for replays. Do they focus on the hits just because that's what people want or is there an economic incentive to limit the number of songs?

and then there's the matter of where those song royalties go
in the USA, the songwriter gets paid but the band does not (money for Jeff, not for Kelly)

found an informative article on how royalty payments work
soundcharts.com/blog/radio-royalties

[queenofthehours]

I didn't know Van Halen had made a cover of 'You Really Got Me'. I've never heard it. Whenever the song comes on the radio it's always been The Kinks I hear.

A weird thing I notice about the radio is the fact that on the station my dad listens to (it's probably some local station) they are almost certainly guaranteed to play The Cars' 'Drive' before lunch. I love the song but it's odd it's played so often. 'You're the Voice' by John Farnham too, it's on almost daily.

A big issue I have with radio is when they excite you with the promise of an ELO song or a Pet Shop Boys hit after the news bulletin and then they play the exact song you thought they would play . Mr DJ, you are tempting your audience with the promise of a Tom Petty track? Could it be 'I Won't Back Down'?

I remember hearing 'The Last DJ' a lot years ago, it helped me discover Tom. Nowadays you only seem to hear Petty, Dylan, Orbison or Harrison songs on the radio if they are related to Jeff. That's no bad thing, Jeff is responsible for some very excellent radio but sometimes its too predictable.