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Why is There No Classical Music Forum?
- Thread starter DXnCruise
- Start date
Playlist depth and inclusion/exclusion of modern classical music might also figure into the discussion. But yes, with commercial classical radio nearly gone and fading fast from public/college, you're probably right about the general tone of the forum.
We do have a commercial classical music station in Albuquerque. But I live in an area that doesn't get it well (it is kind of a rimshot). I think the only thing that is keeping it on the air is that (as someone put it) is that Albuquerque has the largest number of radio stations per capita in the US. So I am thankful for that, but almost all of my listening is via Sirius/XM. And I need to send them an e-mail asking them to give some pieces a rest (playlist depth).
I am assuming that CTListener, you are probably in Connecticut. It seems to be a wasteland for Classical Music from my driving through the state.
I am assuming that CTListener, you are probably in Connecticut. It seems to be a wasteland for Classical Music from my driving through the state.
When you look at the "fans" of many topics, you see some common personality traits within the group.
Is it possible that fans of, listeners of, programmers of classical music are not comfortable with the concept of Internet Forums... at least the kind that we find here. We tend to be a somewhat rowdy bunch of people who are willing to "go on-stage" and share our thoughts, not even knowing who all is out there quietly reading, and knowing all to well who is out there who will un-quietly 'ram-in down our throat' if we say something carelessly.
I explained to someone yesterday that a medical professor told me that when first year med students make their rounds to the various clinics to see what all fields of medical study are available, you can almost tell who will gravitate to each specialty by the way they walk in the door, the way they dress, and how they talk. My audience yesterday was an attorney... who smiled... and said: Same thing is true in law school. You can quickly spot the future ambulance chasers, the future prosecutors, the future corporate lawyers, and the future professors.
My guess is the classical musicians and classical music broadcast folks have their own personality profiles and jabbering here doesn't really grab them.
Is it possible that fans of, listeners of, programmers of classical music are not comfortable with the concept of Internet Forums... at least the kind that we find here. We tend to be a somewhat rowdy bunch of people who are willing to "go on-stage" and share our thoughts, not even knowing who all is out there quietly reading, and knowing all to well who is out there who will un-quietly 'ram-in down our throat' if we say something carelessly.
I explained to someone yesterday that a medical professor told me that when first year med students make their rounds to the various clinics to see what all fields of medical study are available, you can almost tell who will gravitate to each specialty by the way they walk in the door, the way they dress, and how they talk. My audience yesterday was an attorney... who smiled... and said: Same thing is true in law school. You can quickly spot the future ambulance chasers, the future prosecutors, the future corporate lawyers, and the future professors.
My guess is the classical musicians and classical music broadcast folks have their own personality profiles and jabbering here doesn't really grab them.
The Charlotte and Raleigh markets in NC both have full-time classical stations with good signals. The NPR affiliate in each market eventually went all-talk.
Sadly, in Greensboro, between the two, the NPR affiliate has gone all-talk during the day. They did start an HD classical channel. In most areas in the market, classical music an still be heard on the radio. For a while, the Charlotte-area station had signal problems but those have been fixed.
Sadly, in Greensboro, between the two, the NPR affiliate has gone all-talk during the day. They did start an HD classical channel. In most areas in the market, classical music an still be heard on the radio. For a while, the Charlotte-area station had signal problems but those have been fixed.
In the daytime, you have WFCR in Amherst, Mass., and WSHU in Fairfield doing classical. At night, WFCR flips to jazz; not sure what WSHU does. Oh, and 1,000-watt WCCC(AM) Hartford pumps out birdfeed Beethoven Radio most of the day on 1290, then drops to 7 watts at night. Connecticut Public Radio is dishwater-dull local talk and standard NPR talk fare the rest of the time. Not a total wasteland, but when I'm in the mood for classical, I usually wind up with Sirius XM's Symphony Hall channel.
The trouble with WFCR (and many NPR stations) is that during drive time they are doing "Morning Edition" or "All Things Considered". Just when I happen to be on the road and want some classical music. Since WFCR has a fairly high powered AM station (WNNS) I am not sure why they need to simulcast.
I was always amazed that a state like Connecticut could not or would not support a full time Classical service.
Of the 9 presets on my Sirius/XM the two that get the most workout are 75 and 76.
I was always amazed that a state like Connecticut could not or would not support a full time Classical service.
Of the 9 presets on my Sirius/XM the two that get the most workout are 75 and 76.
Seattle has KING-FM 98.1. I don't think that's EVER going away. It may even become the last one on the air. It's in a non-profit trust (they also converted 98.1 to a non-com license) and while it's listenership is middle-low on the ratings, it's audience is fairly stable and rabidly loyal. The trust has been bombarded with offers since the '90s for frequency swaps and ungodly sums of money. But KING-FM isn't budging.
When Connecticut Public Radio dropped classical back in the '90s, I believe the reason was given as stinginess by classical listeners -- not donating in the numbers that fans of CPR's talk programming were. So I guess they feel they can get more from listeners in the political center and left seeking an alternative to the relentless conservative talk on WTIC, WELI, WDRC, etc.
What is the point of even being concerned about terrestrial radio? That's like being concerned about the telegraph. The Internet and, to a limited extent, satellite radio is where everything is. RD seems to be geared to those who still are interested in old line radio.
There are several markets in this country that have a very unique combination of culture, affluence and independent thinkers. I consider Seattle one of those places. My guess is that in a market like Seattle you could actually fund such a station a never have an on-air "beg-a-thon" by having a person or maybe a small multi-person staff that does quiet, person-to-person fundraising the way many colleges and universities do.
But even under those circumstances, there should probably be a public campaign now and then. Why should listeners to such a station who are lower income and lower net worth not have the opportunity to feel like they are "part of the family".
We still have one in Phoenix - KBAQ 89.5 - and I don't think it's going away anytime soon. Jazz is gone, other than a couple of hours a night, but Classical still hangs in there.
And if you listening to KBAQ in HD, the sound is fantastic.
A fairly decent list of classical music stations is at: http://www.classical.net/music/links/radio.php
List is larger than I might have guessed.
A fairly decent list of classical music stations is at: http://www.classical.net/music/links/radio.php
List is larger than I might have guessed.
In the UK Classic FM gets pretty decent numbers- 5.3 million out of 60 million Brits tune in at least once a week. It's a totally commercial affair with no public subsidy.
It does have the protection of its national FM licence requiring it to play classical music- it wouldn't be allowed by law to format flip to pop or AC or whatever. But with so many listeners and a fairly upmarket audience profile, it would probably be more profitable to leave it as it is, even if the licence was made open formet
I would have though a commercial classic station based in new york with repeaters giving FM coverage of the whole BosWash corridor would be profitable?
It does have the protection of its national FM licence requiring it to play classical music- it wouldn't be allowed by law to format flip to pop or AC or whatever. But with so many listeners and a fairly upmarket audience profile, it would probably be more profitable to leave it as it is, even if the licence was made open formet
I would have though a commercial classic station based in new york with repeaters giving FM coverage of the whole BosWash corridor would be profitable?
As a tangent to that idea, in today's less expensive interconnect expenses, you would think a classical NETWORK with not only stations in the northeast corridor could be commercially viable, why not make it a nationwide network of classical stations.
Just for discussion purposes, this could become a new thread where we discuss the whole concept of "localness and liveness" which is often discussed in the Forums when it comes to current popular music. Automation vs. live announcer will start a new argument, a new discussion any day of the week.
Do the classical music fans of Phoenix demand a different programming mix and style than do the gentrified folks of Boston? Will classical music that wins in NYC fall flat on it's face in Philadelphia?
I think you have posed a great question. How many ways could we bend and shape you concept? Would any of the shapes work in multiple markets? NPR distributes some classical programs nationwide. It would be interesting to know how different markets adhere to some of those programs while other markets demand something else.
Actually, NPR does not syndicate any daily classical music programs. American Public Media and Public Radio International have partnered to create "Classical 24", a 24-hour non-commercial classical music service. APM also distributes "Performance Today" with Fred Child, which many all-classical stations air. WFMT in Chicago offers the "Beethoven Satellite Network", which is voice-tracked around the clock by Peter van de Graff. WFMT Radio Network also offers some opera programs, also hosted by Mr. van de Graff. Both of these networks have their plusses.
There is an additional classical music network in the works from Pittsburgh-based PubMusic, assuming they get a few interested affiliates. There was also, last I checked, a very small commercial classical music network. The only affiliate I know of was in Kansas City.
Well for one thing the time difference.
I merely suggested the north east because it could be covered with a reasonable number of high powered transmitters and has a fairly high population density and a total population not much less than the whole UK.
I don't know if the RDS-AF facility is used in the USA, but if it is someone could get into a car in Boston and drive to Washington or Richmond listening to this hypothetical 'Classic FM USA' all the way......
Are school children and older students even taught classical music anymore? If you watch some of the older "silent" cartoons and even some of the Merrie Melodies cartoons, you will find that they were pretty heavy on the classical music. Disney's Fantasia was classical as well. Life just isn't all rock and roll.
I guess the modern day equivalent of that would be video game music http://www.classicfm.com/discover/video-game-music/
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