When you play it, say it

Sometime back in the 1980s radio station disc jockeys were told to stop identifying the names of artists and titles of songs, because programmers became obsessed with ending "DJ Chatter." (I remember it well--I was a DJ at the time)

Of course it was a terrible idea, because people actually like to know the name of the song they're hearing and/or the artist that is performing it. CBS Radio is taking steps now to correct that twenty year mistake. Dan Mason, the head of CBS Radio, had a chat with the New York Times to explain it.

I realize he's only doing it to soothe relations with the music industry because they're trying to get more money in royalties, but I don't care that the motivation isn't pure. It's still the right thing to do. Every now and then radio lucks into a good decision because the economics call for it, and this is one of those moments.