Assessment [1b]

How effective is ASDA FM at appealing to it's varied target audience through it's music schedule?

ASDA FM is the UK's most listened to Radio station due to it having a "Captive" audience, which usually means that the people listening to the station are being exposed to it when gathering in a certain area without the original or main intention to listen to it, in this case any ASDA Supermarket. The Station primarily consists of advertisements and chart music. The main intentions of the ASDA radio as well as the majority of other in-store radios are to both entertain customers who are doing their shopping and to help advertise products and certain offers in store. It could be considered that the radio subliminally helps customers part with their money in-store, after hearing a certain advertisement or song they may be compelled to buy a certain product.
Much like any other Radio Station, ASDA FM plays different types of music depending on what time of day it is, for example on a Friday or Saturday night one could typically expect to hear more up-beat songs, mainly dance and dub-step as this is when a certain demographic are most likely to be in store. The Radio plays more obscure music during the least crowded times of day and provides uplifting music throughout the night to help motivate the night-shift workers. Whilst other stations can specialise in certain genres of music 24:7, ASDA FM ensures that it has a highly varied playlist of songs, one can expect to hear mainstream chart music but more obscure music is often played, including songs that would usually be heard on Radio stations such as XFM and BBC Radio 6, other types of music played include songs directed at children which would usually be heard between 3-5pm (as children are finishing school and shopping with their parents) when these are played you would typically hear advertisements for children's products.
Obviously certain times of year will yield related songs to be played, for example one could typically expect "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer" and "Do they Know it's Christmas?" to be played in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Not only does this allow the customer to get into the "Christmas spirit" but it may persuade them to buy Christmas related products, when at the time of shopping they did not have the original intention to buy such products.
In conclusion, I believe that ASDA FM appeals to it's wide range of listeners very well. This is because they have taken into account the Days and Times that certain people are most likely to be shopping, thus ensuring that music directed at them is to be played. With advertisements and promotions constantly being aired between songs, the station has the ability to manipulate a customers trail of thought without them knowing. Most songs are picked out intentionally to get a customer or member of staff in a certain mood.

Assessment [1A]

How effective is BBC Radio 1 at serving the target audience of 15-29 year old's through the station's music scheduling?

BBC Radio 1 predominately plays Chart and Dance music during the day, although it does have shows that showcase different genres of music, these are directed toward a smaller demographic of listeners, so these are broadcast during hours that aren't considered to be "Prime-time". However, during the day, especially during "drive-time" hours (the times of day that people travel to and from work) the station airs more main-stream music, with flag-ship shows including "The Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw" and Shows hosted by DJ's such as Fearne Cotton, Zane Lowe and Greg James. All of these shows mainly choose to focus on music that is currently in the charts although they also use these shows to showcase newly released music and material by lesser known artists.
The majority of these shows feature special guests, usually music artists, in order to promote their music.  The show attracts it's target audience, by playing the music during times of day that most people will be listening. the target audience of 15-29 consists of people that are either in Education or day work. The majority of these people will listen to the radio mostly in the mornings and evenings, as well as occasionally during the day. The general hobbies of this demographic include going to gigs/club-nights and also festivals, which Radio 1 heavily focuses on during the festival season.
The station tries to suit all tastes in music, including specialist shows such as: BBC Introducing with Jen and Ally, David Rodigan's Reggae Show, The Rock Show, presented by Daniel P. Carter, Mistajam- who plays Grime and Dubstep. The majority of these shows are played during hours of the day when not so many people are listening to the Radio. However, many alternative and non-mainstream songs are played during the day by DJ's such as Zane Lowe, this could possibly be to garner more attention to the specialist shows.
The reason that Radio 1 adheres to it's playlist schedule each day is so that regular listeners can tune in and listen to the same standard of music everyday, ensuring that Bands and Artists can gain exposure at these peak times.
I personally believe that BBC Radio One is very effective at serving it's target audience, I believe this because  they prioritise the most popular types of music to be played at the times of day when there will be the most listeners, they also merge in less familiar songs, in order to gather attention to other shows played at different times of day. The radio caters to a very large demographic, and ensures that the majority of people aged 15-29 will have a show to suit their own individual tastes in music.