ESPN and CNN have discovered what Top 40 radio has known for several decades: Most people tune in to a broadcast to hear more of something they already know. Radio audiences can’t anticipate what the next song will be. But as every car driver and radio executive will affirm, people mostly just want to hear songs they recognize. For decades, DJs on pop music radio stations have considered unfamiliar songs to be “tune-outs” because audiences tend to spurn new music. These listeners want to be surprised—that’s why they play the radio rather than a CD or playlist—but they want to be surprised by
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