YOUTH ENGLISH SECTION
CREATING AN AURA OF "REALNESS"
On December 14, 1998, a new broadcasting station hit the airwaves in Moscow. It plays only Russian music, avoiding pop. Nashe Radio quickly entered the Top 10 of the most popular commercial stations, and, according to the newest poll, is the fourth best. On the eve of the station’s birthday, we talked with its general producer, Michael Kozareff, trying to understand why the result is so brilliant.
I wonder whether any objective criteria are present in the selection of new songs put on the air?
The objective criteria are, first of all, dictated by the goal you set.
Creating a new radio station, you want to solve a certain problem. For example, to unite a
generation of people, a community for which this or that music is congenial; or simply to
play today’s most popular music to earn money as soon as possible.
An example. You set a goal to create a station for intelligent, educated, serious people,
who need a pleasant, light ambience. Then you might hold the following criteria: whether
this or that piece corresponds to the time of the day and creates a comfortable atmosphere
– isn’t the piece too vulgar for this audience, does it reach a certain “bar of
quality”?
Another example. A station wants to attract people from all walks of life, the most
common, undemanding listeners. Then you follow quite different criteria: how deep a dumb
refrain sticks in one’s brain after the first, second or third listening. The more the
better.
I tell all this to show that criteria determine a station’s format.
In the case of Nashe Radio, the task was to create for the station an aura of
some “realness”, to pick up the music pleasant for a generation growing up with it,
but not rejecting everything new. Therefore several dimensions were, and remain, essential
for us. First, to what extent does the new music meet the concept of “realness”,
truth? By the way, just for that reason, we, as a rule, work with musicians who write
their songs themselves. It is difficult to be sincere when always singing other people’s
texts or melodies. Naturally, other criteria, such as the popularity of an artist’s
name, or a composition’s success or failure, also exist.
Sometimes we get a new song of a completely unknown group, and Philip Galkin, our Program
Director, and I put it in on the air at our own risk, simply because the song is well
written. Don’t forget, an average listener perceives everything new very critically. But
we take the risk. The calculation is simple: a group, being promoted, draws the radio
audience after it, people understand (probably, unconsciously) – this station was the
first to put the group on the air. That causes a reflex of “curiosity” towards the
station which “opens” new music.
How do you select old songs for the air?
We, at Nashe Radio, face a certain problem with repertoire. It is
obvious: within the framework of this music “great” groups can be counted on, if not
one, two hands. Each of them has five songs of maximum popularity, which are known to
absolutely everyone. These songs are always well received, at concerts the group reserves
them for encores, and the audience sings along with them. To be successful, the station
can mix a cocktail of these songs and never give it up. But that is not enough. It is
necessary to chequer the air with somewhat less-known and less-popular songs. The problem
is how much to do it.
I love the album “Треугольник” of the band Аквариум. I
believe the song “Поколение дворников and сторожей” to be
one of the main discoveries in the group’s work. There is their remarkable ballad
“Аделаида”, ending with a shrill electro-guitar passage striking to the bottom
of the heart. But alas – so goes the world: only an insignificant minority of adepts
know these songs. People who simply like Аквариум, not great fans of this
group, who don’t worship Boris Grebenschikov, but simply like it... for them such songs
as “Поезд в огне” or “Город золотой” are much more
congenial.
It is not an easy task to find a compromise. Once in several months we take a large set of
songs, and evaluate them, employing quite a smart technology, which allows us to define
whether this or that song is well-known and is not a bore.
By the way, now we have invented some tricks concerning out-of-the-way music. In
particular, we much more often present the feature “Our History” in which we include
not only live versions of well-known songs, but also archival records from albums. Under
this heading, Yanka Dyagileva and Alexander Bashlachev, almost unknown compositions by
famous artists, are played. It is a step towards the adepts of our music, who are very
upset by the presence of only hits on the air. Besides, in our new evening show “The
Beauty and the Beast” we daily submit to the audience an absolutely new song.
There are a lot of quite interesting groups, which are not played on the air of Nashe Radio. Why?
Some groups are not played on the air because they don’t have a single good song, with which we could begin. For example, until recently the band Ночные снайперы wasn’t presented on the air. I like them; I was at several of their concerts. I did not want a common story to happen to them: a song emerges on the air, almost becomes a hit, plays for about a fortnight, only on Nashe Radio, and comes to nothing, with no support … The problem is that now it is not enough to write a good song and to get airtime on Nashe Radio. There is a lot of good music, but very few super-hits. Only when the first song “breaks through in the full program”, excites the listener, and differs greatly from others, can it launch a group into high orbit. Let me give such examples as “Утекай”, “Любочка”, “Хару-Мамбуру”. And that’s why we were waiting until Ночные снайперы brought out their new album. At present their song “31-я весна” can be heard on Nashe Radio.
What vocabulary should be considered as impermissible on the air?
Naturally using obscene words on the air can cause serious problems,
first of all with the Ministry on Press, TV and Broadcasting. As for me, I am a bit more
liberal than others towards unusable words. There are words, which I categorically, by no
means can accept on the air; but there are other words which sometimes slip out and will
slip out in the future. When a strong expression is appropriate and precisely displays a
person’s emotional state, at times I turn a blind eye to it. Several times that happened
to Kolya McLaud, the host of the morning show, to some songs. Such songs as “На
кухне” by Ва-банк, “Таня” by Крематорий,
can illustrate this. In general, I completely agree with my mother, who says that only one
speaking good, rich, literary Russian, may enjoy the right to use obscene language.
Or, for example, the vocabulary describing drugs, frequently occurring in the rock-culture
in general. It is also not an easy problem for the program directors: what is acceptable
for the air, and what – immoral and reprobate? I always ask myself, why the word or the
image is here. It may be justified – to display the author’s state of mind, or to give
an exact and biting description of the way of life represented in a song. But the image
can be used simply to excite the audience. Drugs are an acute, burning topic, it is easy
for promotion: throw in the word “cocaine” several times, scatter it through the song,
and everyone pays attention to you. In my opinion, the song “Опиум для
никого” by Агата Кристи was a revelation, and here the use of
the drug theme was completely justified; it was impossible to say in other words.
Unfortunately, it was a major part of their life, and they could only in this way express
feelings of bespredel, hopelessness, which possessed them. Other songs, where
drugs were mentioned simply for effect, have never reached the air at all.
To what extent does the station management interfere in the process of the host’s program creation?
A special decision is made for each particular case. For example, when
I joined Radio Maximum, the program “Учитесь плавать” by
Alexander F. Sklyar already existed. I almost did not influence the process of its
creation. As for the music – I did not interfere at all, and only a few times, to the
minimum extent, in the contents, when Alexander attempted to express his political ideas
too distinctly. As for the programs we launched at Radio Maximum, for example,
“Хит-парад двух столиц”, “Взлетная полоса –
Жаворонки”, “С перцем по жизни” – I was deeply involved in
their creation.
Now, at Nashe Radio, we are launching the program “Соки – воды” by
Kirill Kalian. At present Kirill and I are working together closely. This is connected
with certain steps in the adaptation of the program to our format.
What should a news program look like at a musical radio station?
A clear answer to this question doesn’t exist. Naturally, I like the work of our news service most of all. In my opinion, Nashe Radio is the best in keeping a balance between national news of general interest, opening every broadcast of the news program, and that concerning our audience’s way of life, i.e. music and culture. At Radio Maximum I worked with Alexander Abrakhimov, who still leads the news service at that station. Alexander is probably the brightest news presenter on Moscow’s FM-band. He makes programs in his own unique style, brightly displaying individuality – he has no match here. But his sense of proportion is, unfortunately, poor. He, for example, may cover some narrow-elite tusovka (party) where he interviewed one of his friends, and dedicate three quarters of a program broadcast, which lasts three times longer than it’s planned, to that interview. Boris Barabanov, the head of our news service, has, in addition to brilliant radio presentation, a gift to arrange, to understand, what is necessary to say to the listener at any particular moment; how to put emphases. Besides his sense of timing is precise. He understands how long he should speak on this topic or that.
To what extent can the radio station influence advertising on the air?
Someone comes to purchase a piece of air time. He is ready to pay from his own pocket, or from the pocket of his company. Figuratively speaking, he came, took out a pack of notes, and said: “These thirty seconds are mine. During this time I’ll do anything I wish”. And our power to impose any restrictions on our clients’ advertising is very small. You see, they bring money, which feeds the station. But there is a certain set of rules, and any commercial clip should meet them: for example, it should not use obscene words; should not foment national or religious hatred; should not contain the sounds of a siren or sharp brake squeals; and should not use music without the permission of its legal owner. Beyond that we only can recommend. We can offer the client different versions and explain which of them is better for radio.
How viable is a station created not on the basis of polls but on the basis of one person’s taste?
It depends on the person. If he has a gift to evaluate music exactly, a
station with such a format can well exist. It’s another matter, that in such a case the
probability of a mistake is much higher than when his opinion is supported by surveys.
Simply speaking, one head is good, two – better, and a lot – just perfect.
It may seem that, after years of work, I would develop a sense of which song will succeed,
and which won’t. But I practically never put songs on the air based on my personal
decision. Our program director, Philip Galkin, and I find a verdict for each song
together. As a rule of thumb, the art council takes part in deciding a song’s fate. It
consists of many people, who just express their opinions; meanwhile some of them don’t
pertain to the music at all. Rather frequently I learn again that I am not always right.
It happens that I don’t recognize a song as a hit, but employees of other station’s
departments – accountants, a secretary, producers – do recognise it. The opposite also
happens: I was absolutely sure, that a song would become a hit, but we see the
dissatisfied looks of people, and decide not to put it on the air. It is always better to
consult – to test one’s own views.
By Yusup, 4th year MSU student
Photo by Я слышал п(р)о радио website
( www.fmradoi.ru )