The art and science of Christmas music programming for radio
[This was my weekly column for GlobalNews.ca. – AC]
With American Thanksgiving, the retail carnage of Black Friday just a few days away (anyone got the over/under on how many people will be injured?), and the appearance of Santa Claus parades, it’s officially Christmas season.
That means for the next five weeks, holiday music will be blasting at every turn.
The creep actually began months ago. In late August, I dropped into my local Canadian Tire looking for some garden supplies. I couldn’t find what I wanted because the shelves were filled with Christmas decorations. When I got back to the home office, I saw that one of the digital music delivery services I use sent me Brenda Lee’s Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree. It was Aug. 28. It was followed a day or so later by several more Christmas songs.
The people of the Philippines take Christmas so seriously that they begin preparations Sept. 1. This included the first seasonal spins of Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You on radio stations in Manila and beyond, which seems a bit much, even for Mariah. “My personal preference is to wait until after Thanksgiving. But there’s no regulating festiveness!!!” She also posted “I’ll allow it for my Filipino lambs, though! I don’t make the rules!”
