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Alt 92.3 to Become WINS Simulcast

All news is aging for a reason. Few people listen to it. FM radio will soon go by the way of AM radio. We will have nothing left on FM radio but news and talk. The radio companies themselves are killing off FM radio and radio as we know it.
On the other hand Iheart and Audacy are boosting attention to their apps because the median audience is using that for music and podcasts. All are responding to Spotify and TuneIn for audio content for the median audience. It's more like OTA radio as we know it today AM and FM has a higher median demo.



Note these dashboard app systems are more likely on newer cars and may only be accessed by 4G LTE cellular signals.
 
Otherwise, most currents are polarized at least a couple of ways.... one group loves them, one tolerates them and the third group hates them. With a few exceptions for "universal" hits, almost all alternative music of the last 12 to 15 years is that way. The songs with big passion scores are older than that.

I see this as an alternative fan. I prefer the 90s grunge and "harder" alternative. Bands like Imagine Dragons are "wuss rock" to me. Yet, my friend who also likes alternative loves them. Doesn't like the harder stuff as much.
 
I see this as an alternative fan. I prefer the 90s grunge and "harder" alternative. Bands like Imagine Dragons are "wuss rock" to me. Yet, my friend who also likes alternative loves them. Doesn't like the harder stuff as much.
I like the new stuff, but Imagine Dragons is really pop. I do not think it will stand the test of time on Alt formats down the road.
 
Simply the name "WINS" itself rolls off the tongue and is a strong brand, but no doubt they will be emphasizing the FM frequency.
New York, unlike other cities, is slow to change. Remember that it took years since the beginning of the AM/FM simulcast before WFAN finally stopped mentioning "66." I think there is going to be a transition during which both "92.3" and "1010" will be mentioned. Listeners in the NY metro area need time to adjust to the new frequency, so I think that it will be at least year before WINS stops mentioning its iconic AM frequency.

Meanwhile, WINS has been letting its listeners know about the upcoming FM simulcast that will begin on October 27.
 
I like the new stuff, but Imagine Dragons is really pop. I do not think it will stand the test of time on Alt formats down the road.
I would turn off the station if I heard Billie Eilish :sick: yet other alternative fans love her. There's definitely a ton of polarized subsets of alternative rock. We could have a whole thread on which bands should be considered alternative.
 
I see this as an alternative fan. I prefer the 90s grunge and "harder" alternative. Bands like Imagine Dragons are "wuss rock" to me. Yet, my friend who also likes alternative loves them. Doesn't like the harder stuff as much.
Where I am a big fan of 90s Alt, I actually enjoy the Alt Pop sound of today. Before signing up for satellite radio, I usually jumped between both Alt 98.7 LA and KROQ. I think a big issue with Alt is that everyone as a unique definition of it. I do see the Alt of today to be more in sync with Alt of the 80s, which I personally enjoyed.
 
Otherwise, most currents are polarized at least a couple of ways.... one group loves them, one tolerates them and the third group hates them. With a few exceptions for "universal" hits, almost all alternative music of the last 12 to 15 years is that way. The songs with big passion scores are older than that.
Is that really true with indie rock though? I would think things like Mumford and sons and animal collective would be something alt listeners would pretty much like.
 
Is that really true with indie rock though? I would think things like Mumford and sons and animal collective would be something alt listeners would pretty much like.
The next question is whether Indie Rock is commercially viable. College stations seem to do better with it than large scale commercial stations. And I'm on the record for personally enjoying Mumford and Sons. I just don't see it gaining a large enough listener base to program a station and sell ads for a market like New York.
 
Is that really true with indie rock though? I would think things like Mumford and sons and animal collective would be something alt listeners would pretty much like.
It depends on the market. Audacy was cloning the same thing in every market and it backfired on them. Same thing with iHeart. All of their "Alt" stations had the same generic playlist. They flipped the majority of them.

In some markets, the indie stuff does pretty well. Denver gets pretty good ratings on their AAA (KBCO) and (KTCL). KTCL is very Indie, Pop, Current friendly. Milwaukee, similar story. WLUM does quite well. They're more open to playing newer artists on a regular basis, a lot of them Indie in nature. Your Mumford, Grouplove, Lumineers, Lord Huron, Fitz & The Tantrums, all that stuff. Other markets the harder edged rock does better. Take St. Louis for example. KPNT is usually at or near the top. They play Alternative, but they lean heavy on the active acts. iHeart tried their generic "Alt" format on their junk frequency 104.9 (Flips all the time) It got ratings, but it wasn't enough. They flipped it. Houston, The Buzz does pretty well. They're a little more heavy.

You can't expect one variation of the format to work everywhere. They need to be market specific and nobody wants to pay to do that.
 
I had the opportunity to participate in a radio focus group the other night. Much of the commentary revolved around alternative radio in my current market. While it doesn’t directly apply to New York, I think it’s interesting to hear about what some of the participants think. I’ve summarized some of what I heard in this thread.
Not saying it's the case here...but my experience is that what people say they like is often different from what they actually do.
In other words, the person in the focus group might say that they want "new music" but tend to be the first ones to tune out when they hear something that's not familiar or don't like.
 
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Not saying it's the case here...but my experience is that what people say they like is often different from what they actually do.
This is very true. And it is one reason why I never did focus groups, preferring one-on-ones with single listeners or potential listeners.
In other words, the person in the focus group might say that they want "new music" but tend to be the first ones to tune out when they hear something that's not familiar or don't like.
When you do a none-on-one, generally you spend the first five to ten minutes getting to know the person so that you understand their answers... and so that they are honest with you.
 
WKMB 1070 am had a deeper playlist than the average Country station. The mom and pop broadcaster had loyal listeners in the small section of the New York metro that could receive its modest signal.
After managing to broadcast Country music for around 23 years (quite a feat in this area!) It was sold about 20 years ago, to a religious broadcaster by the heirs of the original owner. Maybe they figured that it would be difficult for a standalone small daytime only AM station to provide much revenue, among all the clusters owned by major radio corporations.

Very Local Country Station
I used to listen to it while driving thru Prospect Park on my way to Williamsburg from Midwood.I even have one or two top songs lists.
 
Oh, come on! I think that Imagine Dragons is one of the best rock bands of the last 10 years!
Notice how you said, "Rock" and not "Alternative or "Hard Rock" or "Active Rock".

Allot of the new stuff is popish rock like Imagine Dragons, but not so much Alternative Rock with that harder edge you would hear mostly in the 90s and 2k. If the station is really Alternative with that hard edge, Imagine Dragons does not really fit.

I think there is a place for a new Pop-Rock format that spins groups like Imagine Dragons without any of the hard alternative stuff as well as a format that just sticks to the harder Alternative Rock. Right now they are all lumped in together and it does not work all that well which is why WNYL failed.
 
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