Locating the Format
What is format radio? At a glance, the answer might seem simple. In common parlance, the concept is often presented as a pejorative counterpart to non-commercial broadcasting. However, to render the concept synonymous with commercial broadcasting neglects its historical specificity. Previous research has demonstrated the nuanced factors at stake in the selection of music at specific broadcasting stations (Ahlkvist and Fisher 301-325). Beyond economic structures and conditions, however, remains the matter of whether we can posit an aesthetic expression that epitomises format radio. Previous research has focussed predominantly on semantic source materials and theoretical propositions to hone in on the question. However, my wager is that the signal content itself can help us reveal something about the nature of formats.
To pursue such a task, the Swedish case offers a promising possibility. Swedish media archives provide the opportunity to study how, and if, formatting tendencies can be detected beyond the realm of commercial broadcasting. Unlike many of its global counterparts, Sweden maintained a public service radio monopoly until the late twentieth century. Throughout the 1980s, experiments were done with regional radio, and by 1993 full commercial licencing was permitted. The result is a rare situation where the entire flow of daily Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) can be studied from the 1980s onwards, which in turn allows for large-scale analysis of the relationship between organisation structure and content stylistics before and after the introduction of commercial broadcasting.
Broadcasting in Sweden was during this time maintained by the company Sveriges Radio (SR), and had been in more or less the same form since the early 1920s. The organisation was not directly owned by the state, but financed through the so-called broadcasting licence, which in turn depended upon governmentally decided goals. The overall ambition was similar to the usual PSB objectives: the guiding documents for broadcasting would thus be inclined to emphasise values like objectivity and diversity – yet little is said about aesthetics (Banerjee and Seneviratne 10). This arrangement was the setting for regular conflicts throughout Swedish radio history, in which the demand of the audience squared off with the ideals of broadcasters. Yet in the last decade of the century, the media environment was about to change in a precedented way.
During these years, conceptual and economic tension between commercial and public service radio reached new heights, in turn forcing the matter of formats on the agenda. Research by Stjernstedt and Forsman, while not exclusively focussed on radio formats, addresses the theme within the broader framework of commercial Swedish radio. Their findings, along with those of Hedman and Jauert, suggest the influence of commercial formats on Swedish radio prior to the formal introduction of commercial broadcasting. This allows for an interesting epistemic possibly: if their propositions are correct, it would allow us to study the character of radio formats, without being intermixed with the scope of commercial broadcasting. The following analysis thus attempts to track the actual changes in the content, which could reveal the influence of format radio on PSB.
For critics like David Hendy and Wolfgang Hagen, the format comes down to a question of self-similarity, “Programmierung von Selbstverständlichkeit” as Hagen critically dubs it (333), supposedly induces a certain superficial uniqueness of music stations, despite a fundamental sameness in their content. For this reason, the analysis is focussed on repeated similarities in the musical content.
Methodological Approach
Given the significant role ascribed to music in the theorisation of radio formatting, this aspect appears to be a potentially apt focus for constructing an experimental analysis. This is also practical as it allows for the translation and application of established spectral analysis methods from the realm of music analysis. In the context of audio data, spectral analysis refers to a process where the frequency components of a sound signal are decomposed and examined as numerical values. This method is crucial in audio engineering to understand the underlying structure and composition of sound and can assist in identifying specific patterns or anomalies in audio data.
The analysis uses a sampling approach, concentrating on full-day broadcasts from music channels P2 and P3 in order to capture the general channel characteristics. These were the two formal music channels of SR during the time, with P3, the popular music channel, being directed at a younger audience, and P2 offering a more diverse mixture of classic and world music. The data, selected randomly from five weekdays across each of the years 1988, 1991, 1994, and 1999, are examined for indicators of self-similarity and format structuring. The hypothesis guiding this study suggests that format radio, shaped by technical standards and theoretical principles, exhibits a degree of radiophonic self-similarity. This proposition is explored quantitatively, applying statistical methods to the spectral data to assess similarities. The analysis itself is executed in combining a set of Python libraries. Initially, a segmentation model from The National Audiovisual Institute of France is used to isolate the musical content from the broadcasts. Then, the audio analysis library librosa converts these segments into spectral data, providing insights into timbre, key, and tempo.
The results are presented using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) visualisations. These visualisations employ dimension reduction to represent the relationships between audio segments in a Euclidean space, with the proximity of nodes indicating similarity between data points. Even though the PCA method has limitations, well-discussed in the methodological literature, it grants certain insight into the structure of the dataset (Jolliffe and Cadima). In essence the method uses two-dimensional space to plot the relationship between n-dimensional data objects. The implication is that the distance between each entry entails something about the general similarity between the features of these data points.
Critical scholarship, like that of Johanna Drucker, has brought attention to the epistemological tendencies inherent in these standardised statistical methods. The PCA method was also at the centre of discussions concerning the general credibility of computational literary studies in 2019, and I here follow Andrew Piper’s conclusion that the limitations are less a reason to abandon ship, and more an encouragement to remain “skeptical” (11). Thus, it is a call for complementary and comparative approaches. In order to do this, my analysis also employs audio recognition tools to compare the feature elements of the data set. By comparing both these different levels of analysis, across yearly samples from the decade, the study traces the evolution of musical styles and formats, potentially relating them to wider technological, cultural, or sociopolitical shifts.
Results
Fig. 1: The distribution of observations from the years 1988, 1991, 1994, and 1999, arranged from the top right to the bottom left. For each year, around 1,000 songs from each channel were studied.
Data from 1988 indicate that the popular music channel P3 had a somewhat broader distribution spectrum in its content than its more eclectic counterpart. Initially, this may seem counterintuitive, as one might expect the expanding range of classic and world music of P2 to exhibit greater sonic variety than a channel playing mainstream and popular music. A possible explanation for these results can be found in prior research. Musicologist Alf Björnberg has provided a detailed account of the musical content of Sveriges Radio. His narrative emphasises that P3 underwent a significant content shift during the 1980s. Throughout this decade, the channel began to accommodate artists and genres that had been marginalised in the expanding landscape of broadcast media for decades (320). While P2 was not without variation during this era, P3 experienced a more notable change, moving towards avant-garde rock and experimental electronic music.
This shift reflects a broader trend in the radio landscape, where traditional boundaries of genre and style were increasingly blurred, allowing for more diverse and experimental sounds to emerge in mainstream channels. The visualisation of these data not only highlights these historical shifts but also provides a quantitative basis for understanding the evolution of musical trends and preferences within the radio broadcasting domain. Björnberg’s study, predominantly centred on playlists and textual documents, mainly focusses on the period up to the end of the 1980s. Shortly summarising the 1990s, Björnberg concludes that 'the effects of commercial competition were most noticeable for P3' (326), especially during the early years of this competition.
The data reveal a surprising trend in this regard too. At first glance, it might appear that P3 is reducing its musical variety, which could be interpreted as a response to the new, more rigidly formatted radio landscape. However, this perception is an illusion created by the rescaling of graphs to accommodate P2's possibly drastic content expansion. When calculating the average distance between points in P3's data, it becomes evident that the variation remains within the same range, with a fluctuation of only 0.4. This figure contrasts with P2's distance, which increases from 34.2 to 46.7 between 1988 and 1994. Instead of P3 reducing its musical variety, it is P2 that broadens its musical offerings. This can be seen as a response to the identified issue. Sveriges Radio addressed the new competitive situation with two seemingly contradictory initiatives: seeking a unique sonic identity while emphasising "diversity with a quality signifier" (Björnberg). The developments in P2's data can be viewed as a concrete expression of this ambition to counter the entry of format radio with increased variation.
These findings underscore the complexities and adaptive strategies in the broadcasting landscape, demonstrating how public broadcasters like Sveriges Radio navigated the challenges posed by commercial competition. By expanding and diversifying their musical content, channels like P2 showed a commitment to maintaining their relevance and appeal in a rapidly changing media environment. This study not only sheds light on the historical trajectory of Swedish radio but also offers broader insights into the dynamics of cultural adaptation and change within the media industry. However, it is crucial to understand what the analysis actually signifies – it is not an absolute statement about the variation in music, but rather an analysis based on a number of specific measures.
The assessment of the musical content, as mentioned earlier, is based on the combined factors of tempo, key, and a simplified measure of timbre. These metrics are analytically recognised methods for categorising musical content and have been used in previous research to address genre variation (Bogdanov et al.). However, this does not necessarily mean that they provide a comprehensive understanding of how the music actually sounded.
In the graphs above, the timbre data is represented by a median value. To more accurately capture the variation in the sound profile, it might be more appropriate to analyse a broader spectrum of frequency values. In the following graphs, values are compared over time across 13 different frequency bands, based on the first 30 seconds of each song. This refined approach allows for a more nuanced understanding of the sonic domain. By examining a wider range of frequency values, the analysis can potentially reveal subtler shifts in the musical characteristics of the radio channels over time. This method acknowledges that while tempo, key, and timbre are significant, they are only part of a more complex auditory picture. By broadening the scope of analysis to include more detailed frequency data, a richer and more textured picture of the evolution of musical content on these radio stations emerges. This approach offers deeper insights into the intricate ways in which radio programming responds to and reflects broader musical trends and listener preferences.
Fig. 2: The distribution of observations from 1988, 1991, 1994, and 1999, from the top right to the bottom left.
This approach to measuring audio content results in a less dramatic visualisation, with no longer a clear dominance in the pace of development; instead, both channels undergo a similar process of differentiation. What we observe here is a form of channel profiling, where both channels progressively establish a more distinct sound profile. According to the definition by Hendy and Hagen, this type of channel characterisation can be considered in terms of formatting. What is revealed is an increase in channel self-similarity. However, this empirical examination of audio material suggests a nuanced understanding of formatting. On one hand, both channels, particularly P2, expand certain aspects of their music. Simultaneously, the sound profile becomes more distinctly framed for each channel.
Understanding this stylistic evolution compels us to reflect on what self-similarity means on a perceptual level. While self-similarity as a mathematical concept does not require comparative data points from another source, this value means little for the listener's perceptual experience. The content coherence of a channel, in terms of experience, depends on a contrasting example. This contrast is precisely what the two music channels within Sveriges Radio offered during this period. Their musical profiles became clearer by sonically contrasting with each other. Under this broader channel similarity, certain characteristics, such as tempo and key, appear to have been able to vary more freely. Nonetheless, this profiling represents a type of complexity reduction – an increased predictability within the format's constraints.
These conclusions offer an indication on how radio channels adapt and refine their identities over time, responding to both internal objectives and external competitive pressures. It underscores the dynamic nature of radio broadcasting, where channels continually evolve their formats to maintain relevance and listener engagement. The nuanced understanding of formatting and self-similarity provides valuable insights into the strategic decisions made by broadcasters in shaping their auditory content.
Björnberg echoes Hagen and Hendy’s tendency to primarily criticise the lack of creativity in radio formats. However, his focus is specifically on a certain format – the 'adult contemporary' (Björnberg). Against this backdrop, a comparative study of the audio content of commercial alternatives would indeed be interesting. Unfortunately, due to the scarcity of preserved material, compiling a proportionate dataset for such a study is challenging. However, we can still contemplate the general content of 'adult contemporary' music. One speculative approach to addressing this question is to examine the instruments used in the music to see if they align with specific format descriptions. Such an analysis could provide further insight into how the PSB style is changing under the stakes of commercial competition.
Fig. 3: Percentage distribution of instruments in sub-segments from the music content of P2 and P3 in the sample data from 1988.
The results offer a potential explanation for the questions raised by the initial graphs in this study. While P2 shows some variation, there remains a, perhaps expected, focus on string instruments and the piano. P3, on the other hand, displays a wide mix of content. Notably, there is a relatively high presence of the accordion – an instrument that is as lauded as it is loved within the Swedish context. The instrument belongs to a longer tradition of popular music, encapsulating both certain folk music traditions, as well as ‘dansband’ tunes. Already by the onset of broadcasting, the accordion split the audiences right down the middle (Hadenius 76), and by the late 1960s, it was proclaimed a “dead” instrument (Björnberg 257). Here, my results highlight a certain perseverance of the instrument, speaking to the resilience of this sound. While the accordion may seem peripheral to the 1990s debates about radio formats, this example serves both as a reminder of the persistence of stylistic questions and their emotional charge. Therefore, it is instructive to study the instrument distribution in the final year of the sample data.
Fig. 4: Percentage distribution of instruments in sub-segments from the music content of P2 and P3 in the sample data from 1999.
The historical development has several interesting tendencies. Whilst the general distribution of instruments on P2 remains similar, P3 has witnessed significant changes. The previous sample displayed a wide variety of sounds with high distribution, albeit with guitar at the top. The data from 1999 have developed in a more guitar-centred direction. While this provides certain analytical depth to the previous stages of analysis, it might also give a clue into the more general question of format radio. The results demonstrate a tendency towards a clearer channel identity, with a more unified sound.
Extending the interpretation, we can also consider the results in a scope of international research. Eric Weisbard, alongside other researchers like Saesha Senger, has extensively mapped the content of the top charts during the final decades of the twentieth century, revealing a clear direction towards synth music and guitar-driven rock during the 80s and 90s. Since we cannot study the actual content of commercial broadcasting in Sweden during this time, such historical references remain a promising second-degree comparison. In this perspective, P3 partly mirrors global trends, illustrating the station's responsiveness to changing listener preferences and the dynamic nature of music consumption. We are here engaged in classical historical work, piecing together fragments of data from different types of sources. Nevertheless, the results indicate how old traditions and global trends intermingle in the construction of a national format: a soundscape where accordions and guitars reverberate in parallel.
Summary
The investigation into SR’s channels P2 and P3 during the 1980s and 1990s reveals a nuanced understanding of radio formatting and its implications. Both channels exhibit idiosyncratic approaches that blend various musical styles to develop distinct channel identities within the context of format radio. While the channels have moved towards more predictable and structured formats, reminiscent of commercial radio, this has not led to an overall homogenisation of content. Instead, each channel has developed a unique version of formatting, and maintained its distinct identity while incorporating elements of structure and predictability.
Finally, this matter runs up against an epistemological question which has fascinated sound scholars for some time. To create format radio is to create a sound in time that feels uniform. Philosophers and psychologists have long debated whether sounds can at all be understood as continuous perceptual phenomena, and what it means for a sound to be 'the same' over time (for example, Moles). If sonic uniformity is a scientific challenge already on the time scale of the second, then radiophonic flows introduce whole new complications and questions. Here it is no longer the similarity between two tones in flow, but day-long broadcast products to be understood under the same channel identity. This requires a shaping of sound at completely different scale. The empirical study of such challenges has only begun.
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May 14, 2024
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