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KEARTH 101 (it's only 80's if we say so)

I didn't forget---although I wish I could---but in the past two months KRTH has not been playing that song as frequently as they did in the early part of this year. I noticed that Hotel California, Billie Jean, September and Old Time Rock & Roll were part of WOGL's A-to-Z Weekend...along with Brown Eyed Girl. But WOGL did not play I Melt With You, which seems to be KRTH's most-played song. Stay classy, Philadelphia!
 
Of course playing a bunch of songs in alphabetical order is not creative. The wide variety of music and that "oh wow" factor within the list was creative. That is why I listened, Any station can alphabetize their regular rotation or place numbers on songs that are in their rotation. The fact that WOGL played songs you normally don't hear on the station and mixed them with their usual playlist made it creative. That is what I meant. KRTH rarely deviates from their playlist during special programming. WOGL di/ That's what made it unique and kept me listening.
 
benale said:
Of course playing a bunch of songs in alphabetical order is not creative. The wide variety of music and that "oh wow" factor within the list was creative. That is why I listened, Any station can alphabetize their regular rotation or place numbers on songs that are in their rotation. The fact that WOGL played songs you normally don't hear on the station and mixed them with their usual playlist made it creative.
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Unless it goes counter to the expectations and likes of their core in-demo audience, in which case it would be destructive, not creative. But Philly ain't L.A., which is why both WOGL and KRTH are successful with their very different approaches.
 
Several of the "oh wow" songs on that list left me thinking..."oh wow, hope I never hear that again. ;)"
 
TheBigA said:
Playing a buncha songs in alphabetical order is creative?
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Yes it is. The addition of hardly-heard songs mixed with the core well-tested hits makes the special creative and interesting. We're talking HOLIDAY WEEKEND here, a FOUR-DAY weekend. How many of those do you get a year?

Kudos to WOGL for being pro-active, to go above and beyond the call of duty. Philly does not play these "extra" songs in their regular rotations.

K-Earth 101 can continue to play their washed out 250 songs every week if they desire, but like Philly, they should go above and beyond on holiday weekends in their own way. And playing a group of 80's songs from their core 250, does not cut it for an Eighties Weekend. And they could not even play "Physical" once out of a four-day weekend to satisfy a listener. Really, it's too bad.

KRTH is obviously set in stone in their exceptional, ultra-restrictive presentations.
 
eriedj said:
Several of the "oh wow" songs on that list left me thinking..."oh wow, hope I never hear that again. ;)"
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To you, not to Philly. It obviously works, since this is the umpteenth time they've done this special over Memorial. Oh btw, over Labor Day, they do the same thing, except with number one songs, A to Z.
 
LARadioRewind said:
Okay, Mister oldies76, allow me to analyze that A-to-Z list:

Country artists: Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Glen Campbell.
Novelty artists: Steve Martin, Ray Stevens, Rick Dees, the Blues Brothers.
1950s hits: Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Haley, Jackie Wilson, Connie Francis.
1980s artists: Bananarama, Boy Meets Girl, Duran Duran, the Go-Go's.
Teen idols: Donny Osmond, John Travolta, Tiffany, Andy Gibb.
R&B artists: Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, the Temptations.
MOR artists: Dean Martin, Barry Manilow, Frank Sinatra, Wayne Newton.
Rock & roll legends: Elvis Presley, Beatles, Beach Boys, Rolling Stones.
Disco artists: Amii Stewart, Shalamar, the Trammps, KC & the Sunshine Band.
Instrumentals: Joy, Axel F, The Hustle, Theme From Rocky.

And you honestly think WOGL's playlist is better than KRTH's playlist? You'd really rather hear 2000 different songs instead of being able to hear September, Billie Jean, Old Time Rock & Roll and I Melt With You five or six times a day, every day of your life? How can you ignore the hard work of the researchers and consultants who tell you which songs you should want to hear? I hope you have a good explanation, young man!
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They even played that "forbidden" song, right after "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by Kim Wilde

I like your approach! No explanations needed.
 
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TheBigA said:
And as a result, they are one of the most listened-to radio stations in Market #2. Boo hoo.
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"Now presenting, K-Earth 101's monster, one-of-a-kind, A to Z weekend, featuring the mere 250 songs you just voted for and that we play everyday, every week, all year long, just for your enjoyment!! Remember, these are the 250 songs considered by us, to be the only Greatest Hits on Earth!"

Fast forward to the B's....."By Van Morrison, the only 60's song you voted for in this A to Z special, regarded to be the greatest sixties song ever produced, from 1967.....here's (drumroll.............) "Brown Eyed Girl"!

Yeah...
 
benale said:
Of course playing a bunch of songs in alphabetical order is not creative. The wide variety of music and that "oh wow" factor within the list was creative. That is why I listened, Any station can alphabetize their regular rotation or place numbers on songs that are in their rotation. The fact that WOGL played songs you normally don't hear on the station and mixed them with their usual playlist made it creative. That is what I meant. KRTH rarely deviates from their playlist during special programming. WOGL did. That's what made it unique and kept me listening.
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Exactly. Listening online for 4-5 hours the other night, W's onward. It was sort of mysterious as to which song would be next. Too bad they didn't play 1982's "You Should Hear How She Talks About You" by Melissa Manchester. One of my favs from the 80's.
 
oldies76 said:
"Now presenting, K-Earth 101's monster, one-of-a-kind, A to Z weekend, featuring the mere 250 songs you just voted for and that we play everyday, every week, all year long, just for your enjoyment!!
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As you -- once again -- ignore everything you have had explained on how music research works, and call it a "vote".
 
oldies76 said:
You didn't get the sarcasm. WOGL & what KRTH "would" do instead.
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I got the sarcasm. I just objected to the choice of words, as it makes you appear to still not accept the realities of music research and its process.

It really would be easier if you would stop jumping in to every KRTH thread with your already well-known opinion of WOGL and why you think it "proves" KRTH is wrong. The facts show otherwise and your constant harping endears you only to your fans, who are also in denial.
 
K.M., does anyone know which radio station was the first to use "research" to determine which songs to play? In the 1950s-60s, there were hundreds of top-40 stations but the first top-40 stations were broadcasting in the 1920s-30s, although the term "top 40" had yet to be created. I'm guessing that the announcers in the early years of radio could play any song they wanted, whether by Gene Austin, Gene Autry, Ozzie Nelson, Bing Crosby, Blossom Seeley, Ada Jones, Al Jolson, cellist Pablo Casals, ukulele player Wendell Hall, blues singer Bessie Smith, novelty singer Ish Kabibble, Broadway star Frank Crumit, the Carter Family, the Sweet Violet Boys, the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, the comedy team of Moran & Mack, Gid Tanner & His Skillet Lickers, or Leopold Stokowski & the Philadelphia Orchestra. Big band, swing, classical, jazz, country, blues, marches, patriotic songs and comedy recordings could all be heard on a single station.

By the 1950s-60s, we had thousands more stations and some played top 40, some played country, some played r&b, some played MOR, some played jazz, some played classical, some played beautiful music.....and most of them started doing "research." A few stations, such as KFWB, would allow the DJs to vote each week on which new songs they wanted to add to the playlist, but most stations started relying on research and music tests. In 2015, even though a few stations like to say "We play what we want," I doubt that any station has such a policy. They all use research and/or a consultancy firm. So.....which station was the first to do so? And are there examples of stations with a format that failed even though the "research" said it would work? Do radio programmers place too much trust in research? Is "gut programming" gone forever?
 
LARadioRewind said:
the first top-40 stations were broadcasting in the 1920s-30s
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Hmmm...I'm not sure about that. Lots of legal issues with radio playing recorded music during that time. There were a series of lawsuits by a variety of people, including Paul Whiteman, against radio airplay of recorded music. So it really didn't become prevalent until after the Whiteman decision in 1940.

LARadioRewind said:
Do radio programmers place too much trust in research? Is "gut programming" gone forever?
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Like most things, there is no general rule in radio. I still meet programmers who claim they make their own music decisions. Some do their own research. Lots of ways to make music decisions. It's not all done the same way, or done by the same people. I get calls every day from label promo people trying to influence my decisions. They use their own research, they use reviews, they use sales figures, concert attendance, agendas and ideologies, and anything else that might close a sale. At the end of the day, there is no sure way to predict a hit. And even after a song achieves a level of consensus, there's no way to predict the longevity of a hit. So people do whatever works for them. If they say they know a hit when they hear it, they're lying.
 
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TheBigA said:
Hmmm...I'm not sure about that. Lots of legal issues with radio playing recorded music during that time. There were a series of lawsuits by a variety of people, including Paul Whiteman, against radio airplay of recorded music. So it really didn't become prevalent until after the Whiteman decision in 1940.
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And even then, it had to wait until the harsh control of the AFM by Petrillo was diminished for people like Todd Storz to "invent" the format.

The idea of a hit parade goes back to sheet music. The idea of playing the same hit parade over and over and over comes out of the truth and fable of KOWH.
 
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