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What is kroq gonna do?
- Thread starter hotpatrick2004
- Start date
Re:
Here we go...
Yet ANOTHER example of know-it-all radio programmers with COMPLETE disregard for the audience:
Mike Kaplan = Class A jerk.
Federman chimed in, too. He's done such a GREAT job "fixing" 97.1! (Sarcasm)
I hope KROQ enjoys its sub-2 share ratings. That's the territory in which they'll reside for a long time to come. Maybe I'll be proven wrong. We'll see in the coming months. Alterna-pop listeners will continue to pick 98.7, which has the better morning show and the better signal.
Here we go...
Yet ANOTHER example of know-it-all radio programmers with COMPLETE disregard for the audience:
Mike Kaplan = Class A jerk.
Federman chimed in, too. He's done such a GREAT job "fixing" 97.1! (Sarcasm)
I hope KROQ enjoys its sub-2 share ratings. That's the territory in which they'll reside for a long time to come. Maybe I'll be proven wrong. We'll see in the coming months. Alterna-pop listeners will continue to pick 98.7, which has the better morning show and the better signal.
Neither of the two has a top-tier Mt Wilson signal, but both are about the same in 60 dbu population coverage. One on Mulholland, one on Verdugo, neither is great by comparison to others.
I see it as the other way around. The audience gave up on the station a long time ago.
The programmers did everything they could to hold things together for as long as they could, but the people had spoken.
I'm not sure I see evidence that they Programmers have done everything they could to hold things together.
- KROQ lost its heritage morning show when Bean left. The show which remained was just a shell of its former self. So, KROQ launched a new morning show which will likely take time to develop and find their audience (and may require additional cast?).
- Musically, they needed to make some decisions with the emergence of KYSR, which may/may not have been the right decisions. Recently, they've updated the music which may/may not have been the right direction.
- KROQ currently has a part time Program Director who appears to be based in New York City, rather than LA. Not sure how that plays out once we get through the current health/economic crisis.
Not sure what the long-term plans are once we emerge from the pandemic, but KROQ still has a lot of opportunity to reclaim their dominance IF they make the right decisions.
They didn't fire Bean. He quit. They gave the new show a year, and after a year, the results were clear and obvious.
As for the music, the genre has expired. It's no longer doing anything new or interesting. That has hurt not only KROQ but other stations in the format.
KROQ didn't cause alternative rock to become stale. The artists did. When the music was exciting, KROQ benefited. But that time has passed.
Don't blame the canary when the coal mine collapses.
Nobody said Bean was fired.
I see no evidence that they've done everything they could. (If you read yesterday's Variety article, their former PD even acknowledges taking his eye off the ball when spread to thin with other stations.
The verdict is still out.
I see no evidence that they've done everything they could. (If you read yesterday's Variety article, their former PD even acknowledges taking his eye off the ball when spread to thin with other stations.
The verdict is still out.
I see no requirement that they HAVE to do everything. Once again, the music was dead, the audience was gone, and the DJs were tired and old.
How long do you have to wait, and how much money do you have to lose before you move on?
Good New KROQ Music is Plenty Available
Music is not what it used to be = a common refrain for alternative, CHR and other new music dependent formats. I submit a focus on new music can reap lasting benefits, yet programmers have been conditioned by research to play too much old music (Red Hot Chili Peppers - rest my case).
New music worth spinning of the current moment includes well known artists like The 1975, Coldplay (Champion of the World not getting enough airplay), CHVRCHES (current release is Forever), Tame Impala, Cage the Elephant (Black Madonna is current hit), the Killers (Caution is a wonderful song and true to the Killers DNA); ...and lessor known artists like Wilderado, Magic Giant (puts out catchy tunes), Blue October, Absofacto, Little Hurt (new song is Better Drugs),... Then you have classic KROQ bands that have had wonderful recent releases that were underplayed, such as Pearl Jam with Dance Of The Clairvoyants.
There is a lot of good alternative music out there circa 2020.....but it needs to be played so it can become familiar and loved. Newer songs necessitate being spun in heavier rotation for the audience to become familiar with and grow fond of. If new music is not cultivated and exposed to the listeners then philosophies such as the above about this music genre having expired become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Music is not what it used to be = a common refrain for alternative, CHR and other new music dependent formats. I submit a focus on new music can reap lasting benefits, yet programmers have been conditioned by research to play too much old music (Red Hot Chili Peppers - rest my case).
New music worth spinning of the current moment includes well known artists like The 1975, Coldplay (Champion of the World not getting enough airplay), CHVRCHES (current release is Forever), Tame Impala, Cage the Elephant (Black Madonna is current hit), the Killers (Caution is a wonderful song and true to the Killers DNA); ...and lessor known artists like Wilderado, Magic Giant (puts out catchy tunes), Blue October, Absofacto, Little Hurt (new song is Better Drugs),... Then you have classic KROQ bands that have had wonderful recent releases that were underplayed, such as Pearl Jam with Dance Of The Clairvoyants.
There is a lot of good alternative music out there circa 2020.....but it needs to be played so it can become familiar and loved. Newer songs necessitate being spun in heavier rotation for the audience to become familiar with and grow fond of. If new music is not cultivated and exposed to the listeners then philosophies such as the above about this music genre having expired become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
There is plenty of great alt. music out there, just listen to KCSN. I feel a format such as KCSN would be viable as a commercial niche play. Not everyone (even young people) want to listen to hip-hop, pop or tired 30 year old music. For evidence, several of these current Alt. acts (Coldplay, Killers, Death Cab for Cutie, The National, Vampire Weekend, Lumineers, Lana del Rey, Mumford and Sons etc.) do quite well in selling out concerts (when we had those). There is a viable audience out there, it just needs someone to figure out how to program it correctly and for ownership to take a chance.
The new KROQ is almost all new music. No more old stuff. They're playing a lot of the stuff you mentioned. But people have to show they're interested in hearing new stuff. The problem with the old KROQ is the older fans didn't like the new stuff, and the younger folks were tired of the old stuff. So all that's changed.
It's not even viable as a non-commercial station.
I have wondered in the past decade why a lot of mainly commercial Alternative formatted stations in the US haven't kept pace with the evolving nature of the format. Until recently, you would swear stations were aging with their audience. I get that it is hard to sell the demographic, but let's be honest, in it's purest form Alternative isn't/wasn't meant to be a male or female format. These days with the heavy pop lean, you could say it's female, but if you follow music trends, 12 months from now the format might head back in a rock direction. But who decided that Rock/Alternative was a male genre anyway. A good PD could program a station with wide appeal, not just male or female target.
Here is Australia Triple J is our national Alternative radio station, and has been since the mid 70's. It has ridden many music waves, and been responsible for many artists that have gone on to be played all over the world, even KROQ, think Amy Shark and Atlas Genius. While being a public broadcaster, their demographic story shows that they regularly beat commercial stations in 18-24 and are highly competitive in 25-39. I get that commercial radio is designed to educate listeners however, paying attention to stations like KCSN could help a station like KROQ stay in the game musically.
Here is Australia Triple J is our national Alternative radio station, and has been since the mid 70's. It has ridden many music waves, and been responsible for many artists that have gone on to be played all over the world, even KROQ, think Amy Shark and Atlas Genius. While being a public broadcaster, their demographic story shows that they regularly beat commercial stations in 18-24 and are highly competitive in 25-39. I get that commercial radio is designed to educate listeners however, paying attention to stations like KCSN could help a station like KROQ stay in the game musically.
Good observation. A radio format is an investment. It's an investment in branding and staffing. It can't always shift on a dime the minute a genre changes direction. When a teenager such as Billie Eilish comes along and changes things, it makes your format look very old. That's kind of what happened here. Sure the station could keep pace, but that would have required the DJs to keep pace with the changes in their own genre. They had reached an age where they weren't doing that any more. Just considered how the music changed in the 90s, and KROQ was always on the forefront of that change. But after a while they developed feet of clay. It happens to everyone.
I am not sure I understand your response to my earlier remarks, BigA.
Mike Kaplan was pretty much dissin' the people who took time to visit KROQ's Facebook page to share feedback regarding recent programming changes. Instead of taking time to explain the changes, invite their input, or at least say, "I hope you give us another try someday," he repudiates these folks, even making an absurd over generalization that they probably were not fans of the station before.
Most businesses encourage consumer feedback or at least pretend to encourage consumer feedback.
What do arrogant FM radio programmers do? They express disdain for those with constructive criticism, and then pick one or two interns to monitor the Facebook page around the clock to delete any & all comments perceived as negative. That is NOT a winning formula in a social media savvy world.
But hey - keep living in a myopic world.
It's hard to want to root for people like Mr. Kaplan to be successful in his pursuits.
I'll give Kevin Weatherly some credit here; he at least acknowledges he could've done some things better. He - unlike Kaplan - showed some humility.
They're haters. How much time should you give haters? The time to take action about a radio station is before the ratings go to 1 share. Not after. Once the numbers have gone that low, the audience has spoken in language that is far more verifiable than posting on a Facebook page. They stopped listening. That's the only obligation here. They aren't subscribers. They haven't given the station their credit card numbers. There is no contract. They walked away from the station, and the owner is left with no choice.
I've spent time in the listener sponsored world, where the listeners pay membership for a format. I have those listeners' names and credit card numbers. I have an obligation to them. There is trust between me and them. That doesn't exist in commercial radio, and when I did pledge breaks, I told our listeners that.
But to say commercial radio has "disregard" ignores how much power those listeners had. If they had remained after Bean left, nothing would have changed. But they didn't, so things changed. Why? Because the listeners went away.
***UNPOPULAR OPINION***
How many stations have DJ's (in contemporary formats) going around that are out of their depth? Assuming you have a cluster like iHeart's infamous Wall of Women, I wonder if it is possible to move talent around to suite the changing nature of any given format. Say, you start on KIIS, if you are still around after 7-10 years, you slide to KOST. I would say, those KROQ DJ's who have a long tenure could slide easily into a gig on KRTH, it keeps both stations fresh and relatable to their audience in that KROQ gets talent that moves with the next wave, and KRTH gets a market veteran and known talent to add a fresh approach to the Classic Hits format.
You're mixing two topics together, BigA.
Totally appreciate the need for programming changes at KROQ. I've been beating that drum myself on this board for at least the past three years, even as some folks defended the track record of Weatherly.
However, to blow off prior/current/potential future cume is just really, really foolish. You seem to be falling into the same trap as him--referring to those folks as "haters."
I hate to say it - but I agree with this particular statement of yours. You're right. I think the attitude of commercial radio needs to change. If it doesn't, it will remain on the current death spiral trajectory on which it finds itself.
Totally appreciate the need for programming changes at KROQ. I've been beating that drum myself on this board for at least the past three years, even as some folks defended the track record of Weatherly.
However, to blow off prior/current/potential future cume is just really, really foolish. You seem to be falling into the same trap as him--referring to those folks as "haters."
I hate to say it - but I agree with this particular statement of yours. You're right. I think the attitude of commercial radio needs to change. If it doesn't, it will remain on the current death spiral trajectory on which it finds itself.
So you're saying that if Kaplan apologizes to the Facebook haters, his ratings will soar? Really? You think there's something a radio station could do that would cause listeners to throw away their phones and give up free streaming?
I hate to tell you, but even in non-commercial radio, listeners screw the station. We calculated that only 7% of the people who listen actually send money. What does that tell you about radio listeners? We pour our hearts into a station, dedicate our time and effort to our listeners, and only 7% feel the need to pay for it. Terrible.
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