MU121 Chapter 10: FM Radio Goes from Late 1960s Free Form to AOR-
Document Summary
Fm radio goes from late 1960s free form to aor: By begining of 70s, fm stations broadcasted rock. Format developed into what is now called album oriented rock. Change accompanies by a decrease in freedom of disc jockeys to choose their own music. By end of decade, aor stations were heavily formatted. Musicians and record companies understood ideal length for fm radio track to be 4-5 minutes. Bands that did not conform to this time length would have hard time breaking into growing aor market. Since these listeners were tuning in for free, commercial radio stations had to look to advertising for profits. Rock radio became increasingly profitable in mid 70s. This resulted in major corporations (that had nothing to do with the music industry) buying radio stations. Growing perception that aor had abandoned the rebelliousness once central to rock movement.
