I looked at the 2016 Holiday book for LA, and KOST had 18.4% of listening in 18-34 (Millennials), 35% 35-54 (Gen-X) and 34.4% in Boomers 55+.
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Christmas music vs. winter music
- Thread starter frankberry
- Start date
I looked at the 2016 Holiday book for LA, and KOST had 18.4% of listening in 18-34 (Millennials), 35% 35-54 (Gen-X) and 34.4% in Boomers 55+.
Do millennials really ditch KOST in droves when the Christmas music is on or are Semoochie's "recent Nielsen study" numbers erroneous? If the numbers are right, why do stations risk losing members of a desirable demo to another station -- not playing holiday music -- during the season and not seeing them come back afterward?
Millennials are on average (using last 6 months), 18.2% of the KOST audience. Some months are higher, some lower, but very consistent all year.
The only significant change is in 35-44, where there is a spike from an average of around 13.5% to 17.5% in "Holiday". And the 55-54 group is down from a normal 19% to 15% in the Holiday book. I see no logic to these changes from a demographic perspective, so I think it has to do with the fact that KOST's listening levels in Holiday are twice that of the rest of the year, and I suspect that older groups that already listened a lot did not increase as much as younger groups who were not regular listeners.
The Nielsen data is multi-media and national, and studies music preference, not just use of radio for holiday music. It includes Soundscan purchase data and BDS streaming and on demand information as well as PPM listeningfor radio listening.
Here is one piece of data of interest from the public Nielsen press release at
http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2013/its-beginning-to-sound-a-lot-like-christmas.html
Myth #1 – Only Older People Like Holiday Music
Holiday Music Fans Breakdown:
Gen Z (Age 13-17): 8%
Millennials (Age 18-34): 36%
Gen X (Age 35-54): 31%
Boomers & Beyond (Age 55+): 25%
A side issue: The article mentions "White Christmas" as being from 1944. The original Bing Crosby recording was from 1942 but I understand the version usually played is from 1947. This makes sense in that 1948 is the year that the 78 rpm was dropped in favor of the 45 rpm and 33 1/3 rpm.
At one station (automated) that I worked for, "Another Old Lang Syne" was on a reel of (otherwise) "Christmas" music. (It may have also been on some "regular" reels, but if it was, I was not aware of it.)
All the "winter weather" songs and "Christmas" songs typically shared space on the same albums and CDs. At another station where I worked, all the "Christmas" music was kept put away in a box in a closet, and was only gotten out for the "holiday" season. After the holidays passed, that box was put back on the shelf, where the next season, it would be pulled out again, this time to be played by all-new staff who weren't there to play it the previous season! Lather, rinse, repeat. (Yeah, turnover was that high at some stations that I worked for!)
All the "winter weather" songs and "Christmas" songs typically shared space on the same albums and CDs. At another station where I worked, all the "Christmas" music was kept put away in a box in a closet, and was only gotten out for the "holiday" season. After the holidays passed, that box was put back on the shelf, where the next season, it would be pulled out again, this time to be played by all-new staff who weren't there to play it the previous season! Lather, rinse, repeat. (Yeah, turnover was that high at some stations that I worked for!)
SiriusXM's soft-rock channel, The Bridge, plays the Fogelberg song year-round. I like the song, but it doesn't sound right in July and I'd rather it be saved for the season. Kind of like pumpkin pie -- I love it and eat it often from October through the end of the winter, but never buy a single pie once the weather gets warm again.
I'm with you on that. I remember telling my sister (RIP) that it was a winter-weather song, and extremely rare to hear it in warm-weather months. (I believe that the "drinking in the car" bit was problematic for some. The son of our former police chief got ticketed for doing exactly that (in a parked car!) in a neighboring county, and his dad did NOT take up for him! (I'm guessing that the law has changed since that song was written.))
The wife likes all the pumpkin pie and pumpkin-spiced stuff, but I am content to wait for all the peppermint stuff! (Still don't know why McDonald's brings back the McRib for the "holiday" season.)
Yeah, they drained a six-pack and she drove off to her mansion and her loveless marriage to an architect. Tsk-tsk. Johnny Paycheck had an even more blatant offender in the '70s, a ditty called "Drinkin' and Drivin'' which went something like "Three dollars worth of regular, five dollars worth of wine, just give me a road map and point me toward the state line," winding up with the hook "I'm gonna drink and drive that woman right off of my mind!" If "Same Old Lang Syne" would have trouble getting recorded today, "Drinkin' and Drivin'" wouldn't even find a publisher.
My seasonal food touchstone for several years was Popeye's crawfish, which used to appear in late October and be available through mid-November. But 2013 was the last year it was offered, and it hasn't returned this year, so I have a feeling it's gone for good. I like the McRib, too, but never realized that McDonald's had been bringing it back only around Christmastime. Were they consistent about that or did it pop up on the menu at other times occasionally?
And speaking of holiday food, have you noticed that pumpkin pie is available in supermarkets year-round, which I suppose means SOMEONE is eating it in July? But try to find egg nog after early January. You'd think that people who eat pumpkin pie in summer wouldn't mind a bit of the old nog, would you? I wonder if it's EVER been available year-round.
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And one reason these songs don't have a religious message, even if they mention Christmas at all, is that some of the writers of these songs were Jewish.
I change the channel if that Mariah Carey song shows up. But Josh Groban's "O Holy Night" seems to play everywhere that I have tried.
Some weird choices are related to Christmas TV specials. "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" just doesn't seem to fit the season. On the other hand, "Linus and Lucy" from the Peanuts specials not just the Christmas special) doesn't seem to get played anywhere the rest of the year. It would be a good choice for standards stations but I don't know that they play it other times.
Most of the religious Christmas music is very, very old. Many of the songs with a religious message are Christmas hymns ... but I'm guessing that your point does have some validity.
Although I like a lot of pop and rock Christmas music, I'd rather hear secular singers do the secular songs and Christian singers do the Christian songs. I never liked Stevie Nick's version of Silent Night because of the line "Jesus Lord at thy birth" being changed to another line of "Sleep in Heavenly peace". It may have not been intentional to deny the idea of Jesus' diety but to me it comes across that way. There's also the idea of singers who don't even pretend to be Christians any other time doing religious Christmas songs that I'd rather that they just did the secular songs.
I hope I didn't go over the line with the religious comment there.
I hope I didn't go over the line with the religious comment there.
I may have to get back to you on that. I have not seen it on the menu yet this year, but I have noticed that they don't necessarily discontinue it right after the holiday, maybe more like mid-January or whenever they run out of McRib-related inventory. (Seems like they once discontinued one of their peppermint McCafes for the same reason.) So maybe the McRib is considered winter "comfort food."
The first few times I heard that one, I figured that someone had edited it out. But since I have never heard it any other way, you are probably right.
If I am not mistaken, Irving Berlin was Jewish.
I am sure that I will hear Adam Sandler's "Hanukkah" song (don't know the actual name of it) again this year, but I always look forward to hearing his "Turkey" song leading up to Thanksgiving every year!
That he was. As were Mel Torme (The Christmas Song), Johnny Marks (Rudolph and Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree), Jay Livingston (Silver Bells). Sammy Cahn (Let It Snow) and Felix Bernard (Winter Wonderland). Remember that until the last 40 or so years of the 20th century, there were still a lot of schools and professions where Jews were not welcome or restricted by quota. The entertainment industry, including songwriting, was wide open. There was nothing nefarious going on at all -- just a bunch of professionals crafting memorable lyrics and melodies that would appeal to as many people as possible during a season that is special to most Americans.
I'm sure they could have written some really good carols and other religious music, too, but there was no reason for them to try to do that, as the standard repertoire has been around for centuries and is both familiar and beloved.
As was Buck Ram, who wrote I'll Be Home For Christmas.
At least "very old" (18th and 19th centuries), although some have origins that go back to the late middle ages.
Old in terms of origin, but recent contemporary singers like Amy Grant, Steve Green, Twila Paris, Maranatha Singers....etc... have excellent versions that tend to be avoided. Frankly, I really enjoy hearing Amy Grant's version of "Silent Night late on Christmas Eve, originally composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber (acc. to wikipedia)
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