That all sounds nice. It goes against all the data and most all of the buying decisions being made. If we were a clothing store in a ranching community, its like you demand we sell 3 piece suits versus cowboy books and blue jeans. We simply are stuck with the world as it is and we don't know how to make an entire industry ignore what they do to make an exception. We are told to bring in a certain group of listeners and what we do turns a profit. You might think the station is lousy but if it is making it, simply put, we're doing our job just as our owner instructed us. It's not easy but easier than what you suggest. I'm not saying you're wrong but you seem to be saying we can just choose to do something that is not frequently found in radio because it doesn't work in most cases. Radio stations are just as much a business as Walmart, McDonalds, Whole Foods and the like. The whole idea is to be profitable, even making more than you need if you are a non-commercial. It is not to be a jukebox for a group we can't find a way to monetize. And that's too bad. That means there are fewer and fewer stations playing what I prefer musically. Let's put you in the owner shoes: you buy a station for millions. Will you try to get as many of those ad agency dollars as you can get or will you say you don't care? Can you afford to risk what might be millions more to wind up having to do what everyone else does after learning you don't control buying decisions. As a business owner what would you choose?
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Radio Determines Which Songs People Remember
- Thread starter TheFonz
- Start date
Most of the categories you mention are accounts typically handled by agencies. Agencies essentially make no radio buys against 55+.
Restaurants are the exception. They fall into the chains such as Olive Garden and Chili's which are agency accounts and local direct accounts. THose of us who have sold of managed local business identify restaurants as the worst-pay category, and generally demand cash in advance.
Nice try, but you have just identified some of the kinds of advertisers who never buy radio for 55+.
And that station is apparently in financial difficulty on very low billings.
There is no money being placed specifically against 55+ in radio.
We have determined over and over again, most tediously, that you are not typical of 95% of the people who enjoy classic hits stations. You are atypical, with musical preferences that are often in total opposition with those of the vast majority of 35-54 listeners.
Many of your "favorites" are most other people's stiffs or unfamiliar songs.
Discussions under Radio Formats also can involve Radio Enthusiasts as well as pros (and we've been down that road before as well), according to the heading. But when I read other discussions here that "irk" me, I or any fan should be able to respond accordingly.
I'm not here not have another 70 page thread of repetitive posts from the past, but the pros are always responding to comments made by radio fans here, so WE should too.
If your are going to threaten us with filling out "blank e-mails to the board GM", then you are making this an unbalanced forum. I can easily e-mail the mods as well.
Come on KM, didn't we agree earlier on other issues on that 1970's music post a while back to close it out?
Remember, the subject heading under RADIO FORMATS involves discussions with pros and radio fans TOGETHER, unlike maybe the L.A. boards, where I seldom post anymore. Please, give us a break.
But since you are basically "policing" these boards, I'm sure you will report any comment you totally disagree with. With all due respect, I believe you are being a little lop-sided here and over-the-top, on a two-way board.
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There you go again....it's someone else's fault.
We've gone through this with you thousands of times, and you just don't pay attention.
There IS a way: YOU pay for the music you want to hear. Take some responsibility.
They have rebranded themselves as Cruisin' oldies, broadcasting on 100.3 as well. In fact, they have a segment during morning drive, Rick Dees in the Morning, with music from the 50's thru the 80's.
They are no longer part of the I-25 Radio Network. They belong to the Soco radio group. I believe you are underestimating their performance a bit.
You are missing my point, again.
If other radio stations can appeal to 55+, such as the one I mentioned already, then others if done correctly, should be able to as well. Never said it was YOUR fault, but like I've said "thousands" of times, there is a way and NOT by subscription services. Like another poster mentioned earlier, the baby boomers are now in this range. The Gen X group is fast approaching. Find a way to service them. 690 and others have.
You're missing MY point. This is not a hobby. This is our job. We know the options, we've tried all of your ideas. We don't need you to tell us how to do our job.
In any job, field or task imaginable, there's always room for improvement.
In retail, changes happen to increase sales and we do it accordingly.
Fine then. It's a stalemate.
That's NOT what you're talking about. You want what you want. This is your selfish personal demand. It has nothing to do with whether or not it's an "improvement." We've tried it before, and we know it's not an improvement. But you don't care. You want what you want, and nothing else matters.
It's what the 55+ wants, it's what the senior citizens want, it's what people in retirement homes want, it's what the baby boomers and Gen X's want and I'm taking their side. It's what I wish, since I'm speaking on their behalf. Nothing SELFISH about it. There are MILLIONS of them and I care.
Radio can be improved, like any job (look at the secret service!). It's up to you guys to make it happen. If not, then they will continuously be shut out, as usual and then they can waste their money on subscription services, when they should be getting their music for FREE!
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You have no knowledge or facts to make that claim. None. You're not speaking on behalf of anyone but your selfish self.
Where we do what we do, we are among the most listened to stations in the market. The stations you like don't do as well. That's what we know. You don't like what we do. That says it all.
Don't need facts. Word of mouth is all I need, and I've heard it already. And I'll base that "fact" for the other people 55 and over that cannot hear their music for FREE today. That's all I need. And that's the 3rd time you've called me selfish. I'm not selfish at all.
I know the shortcomings and I'm presenting them to you, again.
And 690 does well enough to stay on the air, for well over 2 years now, broadcasting to 55+ and their hits.
In fact, I've heard "I Can't Stop Loving You" by Ray Charles three times this month. That says it all. My small market station does not need to sound like a certain west coast station with a puny playlist, it does fine and dandy the way it is today.
Many radio and music fans and 55+ dislike what you do. That's a fact!
Anything else? Otherwise consider this discussion over.
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It's BEEN over.
K
K.M. Richards
Guest
We did. Which is why I am sadly surprised to see you reopening that can of worms here.
Oldies 76, buy your own station. You really should. You might prove us wrong. If you do, I hope you'll stream the station. This seems to be your option for hearing what you prefer to hear on radio.
A friend of mine thinks the music testing by playing a clip of a song is bogus. He says you need to let the person hear all of the song. I suggested if the station tested 800 songs that's about 40 hours of music listening at a minimum, maybe closer to 50. I asked how many people had 40 to 50 hours to spare. He hated Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life", so I asked how much of that song he needed to hear to determine if he liked it or not. He said all of it and complained there was too much to do and too little time to do it all.
A friend of mine thinks the music testing by playing a clip of a song is bogus. He says you need to let the person hear all of the song. I suggested if the station tested 800 songs that's about 40 hours of music listening at a minimum, maybe closer to 50. I asked how many people had 40 to 50 hours to spare. He hated Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life", so I asked how much of that song he needed to hear to determine if he liked it or not. He said all of it and complained there was too much to do and too little time to do it all.
The names you cite are brands, not the ownership. The ownership has not changed since 2011 when the previous owner surrendered the stations to the current proprietor in exchange for assumption of debt accumulated over the prior years of operation- There have been 5 sales of this station announced in the last 10 years, and that generally means that nobody can make it operate profitably.
This is a horrible example of any kind of successful radio operation.
Actually, it is only what a small percentage of those over 55 want. A large percentage of that group has moved on and like newer music. Another part of 55+ listens to talk and news. Others never liked Top 40 and listen to country or urban AC or classical or jazz and even options in other languages.
What you are asking for is a format that only a portion of those over 55 care about, and which has no way of making much, if any, money in most markets.
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