Does anyone besides me think AC today is a joke?

[Han Solo]

Exactly. They're introduced to classics through family and friends, TV, Internet, etc.

Also, how much a millennial recognizes a classic depends on the song. An obscure song or a one hit wonder song that has faded from the public awareness are ones they wouldn't be familiar with.

Precisely to both points!

 

[Sally Ann]

I'm a millennial. To speak for my generation, millennials aren’t clueless. We do happen to know who The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, etc. are.

 

[TheBigA]

I'm a millennial. To speak for my generation, millennials aren’t clueless. We do happen to know who The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, etc. are.

I understand that...my point is those groups aren't a separate category of music.

 

[Sally Ann]

I understand that...my point is those groups aren't a separate category of music.

You said that millennials wouldn't recognize them when played in a mix. I'm saying that we do recognize them when played in a mix.

 

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[TheBigA]

You said that millennials wouldn't recognize them when played in a mix. I'm saying that we do recognize them when played in a mix.

I don't see where I said that. Millennials know older songs and artists. They don't isolate them into separate groups or formats the way radio currently does.

 

[vchimpanzee]

So, what are you saying? Will all future stations consist of a hodgepodge of everything?

We have that. It's called Jack.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Yep. We're seeing it already. Country stations are playing songs with elements of other genres. Boomers don't recognize them as country. The audience just thinks of them as music.

This would explain the songs with fiddles or steel guitar or banjo or a combination of these that aren't recognizable as country.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Guitar Man (Elvis Presley)
With Pen in Hand (Billy Vera)
Brown Eyed Woman (Bill Medley)

Is the first one the Bread song? I haven't heard that one lately but it does get played on my station.

The second one is a Vikki Carr song (or is it?) which gets played on my station.

The third one is about Van Morrison's "Girl" after she grew up.

 

[Billy Bob]

I don't see where I said that. Millennials know older songs and artists. They don't isolate them into separate groups or formats the way radio currently does.

It was on page 29:

Only because that's where they know they can find it. But away from radio, if you're at a concert or a party and the songs are mixed by era, the response is the same. Personal mix tapes or Pandora channels typically aren't categorized by era. Music is music.

 

[TheBigA]

Where did I say they wouldn't recognize those songs? They not only recognize them, they know the words and sing along. When I'm at a party, it's not unusual for a DJ to play "Celebration" by Kool & The Gang, and follow it with Bruno Mars or something current, and they crowd knows both songs equally. But right now, radio formats don't typically mix songs that way.

 

[vchimpanzee]

One other thing about millennials is they don't think of music in terms of when it was released. If they like Sweet Home Alabama, it's a current song to them. Not a classic hit. Because they have no knowledge or experience of the song in the context of its time.

This is true for me as well. Songs that were popular when I was in high school that I haven't heard much if at all since then seem old to me. Nat King Cole songs from the early 50s don't seem old because I have been hearing them frequently for decades. One time a DJ on a station that played him said something that seemed strange (because it was something you would hear only on a station with old songs) because to me these songs aren't old. Well, of course they are. They don't seem old to me.

 

[Billy Bob]

Where did I say they wouldn't recognize those songs? They not only recognize them, they know the words and sing along. When I'm at a party, it's not unusual for a DJ to play "Celebration" by Kool & The Gang, and follow it with Bruno Mars or something current, and they crowd knows both songs equally. But right now, radio formats don't typically mix songs that way.

In your post above Han Solo's on the same page:

One other thing about millennials is they don't think of music in terms of when it was released. If they like Sweet Home Alabama, it's a current song to them. Not a classic hit. Because they have no knowledge or experience of the song in the context of its time.

That's why people have been pointing out in their replies that millennials do have knowledge of those songs.

 

[TheBigA]

That's why people have been pointing out in their replies that millennials do have knowledge of those songs.

Read the rest of my sentence: "...in the context of its time." What that means is they weren't alive then, so they don't associate it with an experience they had when that song was current. As I've said several times, millennials know old songs. They know the songs, the artists, and the words. But not in the context of when they were released. Because they weren't alive then.

 

[Han Solo]

Read the rest of my sentence: "...in the context of its time." What that means is they weren't alive then, so they don't associate it with an experience they had when that song was current. As I've said several times, millennials know old songs. They know the songs, the artists, and the words. But not in the context of when they were released. Because they weren't alive then.

The point that people here are making is that millennials know those old songs come from the 60's and 70's and know it's not a new (i.e., 2010's) song.

 

[TheBigA]

But that's not why they listen to them or enjoy them. Their parents listen to them and enjoy them because those songs were hits when they were young. Very different motivation for millennials.

 

[Billy Bob]

But that's not why they listen to them or enjoy them. Their parents listen to them and enjoy them because those songs were hits when they were young. Very different motivation for millennials.

It's as Music Lover's quote says: Good music appeals to all ages, nor does it have an expiration date.

 

[Susie Q]

My parents grew up listening to the music of that era, and so did I. I was always surrounded by it. I really loved it from as long as I can remember.

 

[Bob Eubanks]

Seems to be a whole lot of arguing that entirely misses Big A's point, or at least takes it out of context. I see evidence of exactly what he's saying.

 

[K.M. Richards]

Seems to be a whole lot of arguing that entirely misses Big A's point, or at least takes it out of context.

"Out of context" has become a favorite tool of those posters who are hell-bent on "proving" the radio professionals wrong.