Nicky G Out at WOGL?

[TheBigA]

There's been plenty like the 30s since. Old time radio held on for years and was celebrated on some AMs even into the 80s.

But not on top rated music stations like WOGL or even WCAU-FM in the 70s. Old Time Radio basically disappeared when the big stars transitioned to TV in the 50s. That's what opened the door for local DJs. Sure some AM stations continued to air radio drama late Sunday nights into the 80s as you say. And actually stations like WXPN play some progressive rock today as though it's still the 70s. In fact, WXPN did a huge re-enactment of Woodstock last August. That's where people can still hear music either from that era or influences by that era. The music is available, just as the music of the 30s & 40s continued to be played until recently.

Meanwhile, terrestrial music radio isn't inventing new formats and its audience is splintering, just as musical tastes did in the 90s and after.

Keep in mind that radio companies aren't in the music business, so it's up to the music business to create the music. If it's popular enough, radio will invent formats built around that music. That's really how rock expanded in the 60s, and later how smooth jazz came about. It begins with the music. Right now, radio stations are mixing in a lot of new musical genres into existing formats because music taste isn't as focused on specific genres as it used to be. But there are some types of music that are attracting mass audiences, and those are the ones radio is playing.

 

[davideduardo]

But not on top rated music stations like WOGL or even WCAU-FM in the 70s. Old Time Radio basically disappeared when the big stars transitioned to TV in the 50s. .

Exactly.

For some good reads in very interesting capsule articles...

www.goldtimeradio.net/

This is the "GOld Time Radio" blog done by a long-time broadcaster who is a marvelous writer and researcher.

And it's obvious that the real fans for this kind of radio are those who lived in the 30's, 40's and very early 50's. It's a niche today.

 

[davideduardo]

Keep in mind that radio companies aren't in the music business, so it's up to the music business to create the music. If it's popular enough, radio will invent formats built around that music. That's really how rock expanded in the 60s, and later how smooth jazz came about. It begins with the music. Right now, radio stations are mixing in a lot of new musical genres into existing formats because music taste isn't as focused on specific genres as it used to be. But there are some types of music that are attracting mass audiences, and those are the ones radio is playing.

I remember over 30 years ago that one of the annual programming conventions (R&R, Billboard) included in its "AC" format panel session what they were calling "New AC". That is the format that was called, of course, Smooth Jazz later on.

A very famous AC consultant who is known for his sharp and stylish dressing said, "that's not AC. It's songs you don't know by artists you've never heard of."

Yet Smooth Jazz thrived for nearly two decades in the diary surveys which favored "favorite stations" with high apparent TSL despite lower cume. The PPM showed that the TSL was not "all day long" and the cume did not expand like most mass appeal formats did. And the reality, exposed by the PPM, killed that format.

Today, the niche formats are streams. If one grows, or one segment of a format explodes, it will become mass appeal enough to have a broadcast format. But that only happens if there are, consistently, lots of broadly appealing songs to sustain the format.

In the pre-Internet days I recall how disco exploded. A bunch of race track owners from Puerto Rico took a station in New York and beat WABC in one book. WABC never recovered, but WKTU only lasted a couple of years because disco collapsed so suddenly that we can even name the last big hit: "Funkytown". In fact, if you Google "last disco hit" you get that tune as the first find. The format had burnt, and there were no really good new songs that didn't sound like covers of the last 20 "good" songs.

 

[andygradel]

I definitely agree that the bulk of listeners are tuning in purely for the music, but the problem is that practically no station is grooming the next generation of talent to fill the void which will be left when the current crop is gone. Without those night and weekend shifts, there aren't opportunities for new blood to find their way.

And, even if listeners are coming for the music, I still believe it's the personality/imaging/attitude that keeps them there long-term. Eventually, there will be no discernible difference between local, satellite and streaming, which is a shame.

(And that's coming from a mid-40's guy who grew up on many iterations of WMMR and loves streaming, but always ends up coming back to the local stations...)

 

[TheBigA]

I definitely agree that the bulk of listeners are tuning in purely for the music, but the problem is that practically no station is grooming the next generation of talent to fill the void which will be left when the current crop is gone.

You'd be surprised how that's happening. First of all, there's college radio. One of the regular posters here went to Rowan University and was on their station. There are several other area stations, and they're cranking out a lot of people who have been taught how to combine on-air and online. Then there are second string stations. Smaller markets or suburban stations. People work there and learn. There's still a lot of movement of talent from station to station. There's a huge new industry of talent coaches. These are where some veteran talent go after they've been let go. They take on young clients, teach them what they know, and assist in placement. In addition there are several big talent conventions that take place during the year. That's where developing talent meet and network. There is no shortage of ways for young talent to get training outside of working the overnight shift.

There are fewer full time on air jobs than there once were. But there still are a lot of support jobs in areas like production, digital, promotion, and of course sales.

 

[JBraddock]

...stations like WXPN play some progressive rock today as though it's still the 70s. In fact, WXPN did a huge re-enactment of Woodstock last August. That's where people can still hear music either from that era or influences by that era. The music is available, just as the music of the 30s & 40s continued to be played until recently.

Exactly. There's still an audience for that music though it's largely moved out of the advertiser demographics (I'm a member of WXPN who's just passed to the far side of 60 and at station events, I'm younger than many attendees).

XPN is trying to be many things though, in an effort to keep older donors active and also attract younger listeners. They've introduced a hip hop show and featured soul-based music (while still running Jerry Blavat for an hour on the weekends). But a lot of the current music XPN features is disposable. After the year-end "Best Of" roundup, you never hear it again. XPN leans on classic rock, especially on the weekend music shows.

Noncomm AAA formats, along with Jazz and Classical, are still supported, but they're running into a demographic wall, as is NPR in general. As those audiences dissipate, those formats will be kept alive online, but their future on even noncommercial radio is up in the air.

Right now, radio stations are mixing in a lot of new musical genres into existing formats because music taste isn't as focused on specific genres as it used to be. But there are some types of music that are attracting mass audiences, and those are the ones radio is playing.

What are some of those new genres?

I don't pay attention to contemporary hit music these days, but what comes out of the bank ceiling sounds awfully generic and similar. There have been recent articles about how artists and producers are deliberately incorporating sounds and cadences from past hits to generate new ones - deliberately copying elements from current hits to play it safe (and mastering the songs into distortion-level loudness to hold peoples' attention). While there's always been a certain amount of this happening, it now seems especially noticeable to even this casual observer. I assume this is being done based on audience research, much of which reflects what people choose to stream online.

 

[TheBigA]

What are some of those new genres?

That's a funny question. What genre is adult contemporary? What genre is Contemporary Hit Radio? They're not genres, they're formats, and those are the formats that will survive whatever genres disappear as their audiences "dissipate," as you say.

 

[TheBigA]

Wouldn't be surprised if they start piping in syndicated stuff like Tom Kent for the evening hours.

Syndicated stuff costs money (via barter spots) and they likely play songs that WOGL doesn't want to play.

For those reasons and more, Entercom tends to stay away from syndicated shows.

 

[JBraddock]

That's a funny question. What genre is adult contemporary? What genre is Contemporary Hit Radio? They're not genres, they're formats, and those are the formats that will survive whatever genres disappear as their audiences "dissipate," as you say.

My original contention was that terrestrial radio isn't creating any new formats; to the extent that Hit radio and AC are varying the mix of music on an ongoing basis, I guess those formats are evolving and in that sense "new." But commercial radio can't sustain, for example, new age, chill or ambient formats that attract listeners online, though those genres were part of experiments in the Smooth Jazz format.

Those formats are sound-signature/atmosphere dependent as is Smooth Jazz. David cited a consultant who poo-pooed 'sound' formats as having unfamiliar artists. That consultant probably had a similar complaint about Jazz, Classical and Easy Listening. Smooth and Soft AC stations vary the sound mix; I'm not sure if all the artists KTWV plays are familiar, but the sound apparently fits well judging by their ratings. To me, Hit radio sounds generic. I don't know any of the artists, but they all sound very much the same. I assume that's by design. I guess the consultant would be satisfied if the artists making those generic sounds were familiar names?

 

[TheBigA]

My original contention was that terrestrial radio isn't creating any new formats; to the extent that Hit radio and AC are varying the mix of music on an ongoing basis, I guess those formats are evolving and in that sense "new." But commercial radio can't sustain, for example, new age, chill or ambient formats that attract listeners online, though those genres were part of experiments in the Smooth Jazz format.

Keep in mind that companies like iHeart and Entercom are also online radio companies. iHeart has its "format lab," where it experiments with formats online. In a lot of markets, The Breeze is only available either online or as an HD2 station. So there's a lot of this experimentation going on, just not on the main channel. You mention smooth jazz, and right now you can hear WJJZ as WISX's HD2. The demographics for online and HD2 are different than on air radio.

Artists are constantly working on music and releasing new music. Not all of it ever gets on the radio. That's why it's so important for people in radio to think of it as more than just towers and transmitters. In the story talking about the changes in personnel at WOGL, the market manager talked about redirecting staff to other platforms besides on-air. That's what this is about.

https://radioinsight.com/headlines/...f-schedule-revamp-eliminating-evening-talent/

 

[JBraddock]

iHeart has two Smooth Jazz formats online: Michael Tozzi's JJZ (which, in addition to appearing on WISX HD2, is also currently being fed to analog FM translator 104.1 W281BI in the Trenton area), and Smooth Jazz (The Smoothest Place On The Planet). Interestingly, a search for 'smooth jazz' on an iHeart radio page only brings up the "Smooth Jazz" branded channel, but not JJZ. The formats are similar. It's nice to be able to flip between the two when the inevitable vocal R&B/pop song comes on.

The media companies whose holdings include radio are putting out the word to 'air personalities:' Voice tracking is one of many capabilities we expect you to have, and it's an ever-shrinking part of the required skills mix. I would imagine that production, marketing, podcasting and social media promotion are becoming more valuable than just being able to crack a mic.

 

[TheBigA]

I would imagine that production, marketing, podcasting and social media promotion are becoming more valuable than just being able to crack a mic.

If you go to college today and you're studying the broadcasting or communications curriculum, that's largely where the focus is.