Adeshina ‘El-Drizzle’ Osho, an On-air Personality at Soul 95.7 FM in Ibadan, Nigeria, has highlighted the challenges broadcasters face when playing music on the airwaves. Osho’s concerns center around the need to carefully scrutinize lyrics for explicit content in songs, especially when they are unfamiliar with the material.
Osho’s open letter emphasizes the pressure of having to monitor songs in real-time, with fingers poised on the fader to swiftly cut off tracks that contain inappropriate or explicit language.
Such situations not only disrupt the broadcast but can also lead to potential issues with regulatory authorities, such as the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) in Nigeria.
To address this issue and create a more seamless and responsible broadcasting experience, Osho has made a passionate plea to songwriters and music creators. He urges them to take the initiative to vet their songs and provide radio-ready versions, particularly when their lyrics include “Not To Be Broadcast” (NTBB) words or explicit content.
The statement reads:
Dear Songwriter and Artistes,
One of my biggest worry, as an On-air Personality on Radio, is the fact that when I get music requests to play on my show, I would always have to rush to check for the lyrics, and I need to be at alert, have my fingers on the fader just in case the song is getting to words that shouldn’t be heard on-air.
I get to do this, most times, for songs that I’m not familiar with. Once or twice, have I fallen into this web, carelessly; and because I am not ready to loose my job yet, by falling into the hands of the @nbcgovng , I have to do on-the-spot check as it goes straight up to the airwaves.
Songwriters and music makers can help broadcasters too to lessen this psychological effects that music brings to us, by vetting their own songs before bringing it to the radio. I mean, you can showcase your craft whichever way you want to, but if you’re coming to the radio, kindly come with a Radio Edit version, especially when you know that the lyrics of the song contains NTBB words.
We know it’s hard, these days, to have/make conscious, sane music, but please, for the sake of the minors out there who have become your fans, consider them too, through us, because they probably would only have access to your art on the radio.
Please save us, as we save our job too. We love you, and we love our job also.
Cheers,
Adeshina ‘El-Drizzle’ Osho
Soul 95.7 FM, Ibadan.
2023-10-23