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Audacy making big changes at all Top 40?

M

Majic rockstar

Banned
Sounds like they will be putting all top 40 stations under one moniker and only having one live and local show in every market? This is not fact but has been alluded to by some and with the recent departures at a few of there Top 40 stations sounds like something will definitely be happening. Does this mean Janet and Nick will get jettisoned or finally be moved to Star? Or does Janet end up at drive time alone? Should be interesting to see what they are going. Not only that would they really toss the heritage Kiss name? This could end up being something to keep an eye on.
 
Does this mean Janet and Nick will get jettisoned or finally be moved to Star? Or does Janet end up at drive time alone? Should be interesting to see what they are going. Not only that would they really toss the heritage Kiss name? This could end up being something to keep an eye on.
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Nope and nope. Kiss is a known brand in Buffalo. Janet is part of that brand, if not a brand unto herself. And those brands deliver a lot of money. You don't blow up the castle. You don't poke the queen.
 
What Rusty said. The brand has value and will not go anywhere. I expect a national midday or evening show, the rest of the dayparts remaining local.

Also, who knows if the change of heart that iHeart's had on cutting local talent will make Audacy reconsider their strategy.
 
flybynight said:
Much to the chagrin of those who are striving to have the entire industry, and all of it's formats, running out of one small broom closet.
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Well I'm not sure honestly why Pittman & co. suddenly seem to start caring about it. I'm sure most of the smaller market clusters will remain fully voicetracked, but not so much in the medium markets where iHeart is voicetracking most if not all dayparts. It almost seems like a 180 from where things were heading, and I wonder if post-pandemic life led to that decision.
 
AceBiscuits said:
Well I'm not sure honestly why Pittman & co. suddenly seem to start caring about it.
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It has nothing to do with caring. It's about making money, especially post-bankruptcy. No question that the iHeart stations are doing very well in the major markets. What they've been able to do is reduce the number of older staff who are less digital-ready, and hire younger staff who already understand multi-platform digital media. That's what they need to compete.
 
TheBigA said:
It has nothing to do with caring. It's about making money, especially post-bankruptcy. No question that the iHeart stations are doing very well in the major markets. What they've been able to do is reduce the number of older staff who are less digital-ready, and hire younger staff who already understand multi-platform digital media. That's what they need to compete.
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So you're saying the iHeart cut big salaries and is replacing them with small salaries. Not to mention that those people who are left are wearing more hats and doing more with less. We'll see how that works out in the long run.
 
SirRoxalot said:
So you're saying the iHeart cut big salaries and is replacing them with small salaries.
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I don't know about the small salary part. People today start with higher pay than 25 years ago, and the benefits cost a lot more. The resumes I'm getting from recent college graduates demonstrate a proven ability to wear many hats and do more with less. They understand that they have to basically reimagine this business if it's going to continue. These are people who've spent their lives creating content in their parents' basements for free. That's a very different experience than people had 25 years ago.
 
The timing of the changes coincide with what Audacy believes is a “once-in-a-generation moment (in the Top 40 format) … to serve the next generation of listeners as the country rebounds from the pandemic.”
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Ah yes...the kids today, they love them some terrestrial radio. They're not leaving in droves for streaming services, and even if they are, having voice tracked midday, afternoon, and night shows will surely bring them back to mom & dad's old way of getting music and content!

Sarcasm aside, the sad part is that more talented and dedicated professionals will lose their gigs today or tomorrow. Not because they weren't doing a good job, but because Audacy needs their salaries to go into debt service instead.
 
Deus Ex Machiato said:
They're not leaving in droves for streaming services, and even if they are, having voice tracked midday, afternoon, and night shows will surely bring them back to mom & dad's old way of getting music and content!
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Mom & dad's old way of getting music was to buy it in stores, and yes that has gone away. That's not radio.

Deus Ex Machiato said:
Not because they weren't doing a good job, but because Audacy needs their salaries to go into debt service instead.
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They knew what they signed up for. No radio job is forever. Unless you own the company.

I doubt any of the cost savings will go to debt service. The salaries will likely be reassigned to digital content creators.
 
DN14224 said:
Sue O’Neal is named as one of the new “Regional Vice Presidents of Programming”…whatever that means…
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And Mike Danger of Rochester's WPXY was named as one of the Regional Brand Managers.

Note, too, that James Kurdziel(formerly of WEDG, who now works at KQRS in Minneapolis)is a regional VP for Cumulus; the Edge is one of the stations he oversees.
 
ckg279 said:
And Mike Danger of Rochester's WPXY was named as one of the Regional Brand Managers.

Note, too, that James Kurdziel(formerly of WEDG, who now works at KQRS in Minneapolis)is a regional VP for Cumulus; the Edge is one of the stations he oversees.
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You're not talking about the Edge in Buffalo, are you?
 
Why keep separate brands at this point? Just rename them all "Now" and it'll cut down on the voicetracking efforts.

Look, I know a brand like Kiss or Power might have held value at WKSE or WPOW, but I highly doubt that's the case if the station is not local in any way for the vast majority of the day.

It's a different time, a different era. Parochial branding is in many ways an outdated relic of the past that people just don't want to give up for some unknown reason.
 
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