It's beginning to sound a lot like Christmas

[Marcos_C]

If it sounds good I'm willing to try it. It might end up reminding me of Christmas.

But all these new songs by people still recording hit songs today do nothing whatsoever for me.

I enjoy listening to "Merry Christmas" by Ed Sheeran and Elton John, which was released last year. It is an uplifting song. I also enjoy the song's music video, which I admit requires familiarity with British Christmas pop culture to understand.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I enjoy listening to "Merry Christmas" by Ed Sheeran and Elton John, which was released last year. It is an uplifting song. I also enjoy the song's music video, which I admit requires familiarity with British Christmas pop culture to understand.

"Uplifting" doesn't mean a thing to me. Songs described that way have a sound that doesn't appeal to me.

 

[Marcos_C]

"Uplifting" doesn't mean a thing to me. Songs described that way have a sound that doesn't appeal to me.

My point is that we have different ideas about what makes a Christmas song meaningful.

 

[vchimpanzee]

My point is that we have different ideas about what makes a Christmas song meaningful.

Right. We can disagree on that.

 

[seatownmedia]

If you want to add Christmas programming you have to go all in these days. Playing a couple or three Xmas songs per hour doesn’t work. And a good tip is to rely on about 30-35 familiar songs. Listeners don’t want to hear obscure songs that they may or not remember. Sometimes pd’s get too deep and that is the biggest mistake you can make with Christmas programming.

 

[Mikey Radio]

And a good tip is to rely on about 30-35 familiar songs. Listeners don’t want to hear obscure songs that they may or not remember.

That said, there are a few songs that would be nice to hear every once in a while, even if they just threw in one obscure but still appropriate holiday tune every hour or two. They might be surprised and get good listener feedback about some of them. Also, though I've not listened to any stations playing Christmas music so far in 2022 (still a bit too early for me to listen to carols, though my shopping is nearly complete), stations or media companies sometimes pick one version of a Christmas tune or carol and they'll play that to death, though there may be a few well-known versions, and the one they've chosen may be the weaker one. I've also heard stations go with just 1 song by a particular artist, though they may have released a dozen and 3 or 4 may be really solid.

Yeah, I realize that programming all of it takes time and effort, but it seems that with just a bit more of that, they could expose people to more music by different artists and at the same time reduce listener fatigue. As for me, once I do get into listening to Christmas music at work and in the car, I tend to listen to a few different sources, stream some, etc. to mix it up as listening to just 1 station becomes monotonous after a while with the same stuff repeating every few hours throughout that several week long season.

 

[seatownmedia]

But you are not programming to select listeners. You are programming to the masses. While I, too like to do some select programming, it is proven a dead end with ratings. Hey, I used to have a similar view but decades in the industry have convinced me this thinking really doesn’t succeed.

 

[Mikey Radio]

But you are not programming to select listeners. You are programming to the masses. While I, too like to do some select programming, it is proven a dead end with ratings. Hey, I used to have a similar view but decades in the industry have convinced me this thinking really doesn’t succeed.

Oh I fully understand how programming works and how integral and important the research and data and analysis is. I'll also fully admit that some of the holiday stuff I like to hear once in a while may not be mass-appeal enough to make it into rotation on a mainstream AC station in 2022, though most of it I did discover by hearing it on the radio somewhere at some point (Hark the Herald Angels Sing by Straight No Chaser and O Come All Ye Faithful by Celine Dion are a few examples). That said, it's also my opinion (and I'll fully admit that's all it is) is that they could do more to change it up a bit so there's not so much listener fatigue after several days of hearing the same holiday tunes over and over. Again, there are lots of renditions of the same songs by several artists, and lots of artists have done a number of popular tunes and it wouldn't hurt to bring some of them into the mix after a few days to give others a rest.

 

[anotherguyTN]

In recent years WASL 100.1 Jack FM in Dyersburg, TN has had what they call A Jacked up Christmas. where they play Christmas music that fits the Jack format. The big problem is that it doesn't run long enough. It will run from about 5 or 6 PM Christmas Eve until no later than Noon Christmas day. I wish they would run it longer, especially with Christmas falling on a weekend like it is this year. Do any other Jack FM stations do something like this?

 

[Don CT]

If you want to add Christmas programming you have to go all in these days. Playing a couple or three Christmas songs per hour doesn’t work. And a good tip is to rely on about 30-35 familiar songs. Listeners don’t want to hear obscure songs that they may or not remember. Sometimes pd’s get too deep and that is the biggest mistake you can make with Christmas programming.

I would call obscure Christmas songs the newer ones. People remember the classics that they grew up with.

 

[vchimpanzee]

"Baby It's Cold Outside" was just played on Serenade Radio. That's a British online only station, but I only listen to the Palm Springs based show from 4 to 6 Eastern Sundays. There's one on Saturday too but I have other commitments at that time. I don't know how much Christmas music that show will have.

 

[seatownmedia]

Bottom line, Christmas music works. That said, it needs to be classically based. And if you even try to add modern Christmas songs you will fail. It really has become an all-in or nothing format. As I posted earlier you can’t go half in with this format. You are better off with your normal format than going in half assed.

 

[Gregg.]

If Ed Sheeran and Elton John team up for a Christmas song, yes, that's a rare exception to the rule. You do play that one. Some years, there might be an exception, like a Sheeran-John collaboration. Other years, there's none. You just plug in last year's playlist.

But just as a Classic Hits or Classic Rock station isn't going to play anything from the last two decades, unfamiliar Christmas songs are self-defeating. If Train, Kelly Clarkson or John Legend release a new Christmas album, you play it, but only their new interpretations of songs we already know. No new compositions.

The whole point of Christmas music is memories of past Christmas holidays, even going back to your childhood and hearing your parents or grandparents play their Frank Sinatra or Nat King Cole Christmas albums. Introducing a song we're unfamiliar with won't work. Not to mention, a six week window isn't enough time for a casual listener to develop a liking for any song, Christmas or otherwise.

 

[seatownmedia]

Again there are probably only 35 Christmas songs that need to be played for optimal ratings. It is really that simple.

 

[vchimpanzee]

If you want to add Christmas programming you have to go all in these days. Playing a couple or three Christmas songs per hour doesn’t work. And a good tip is to rely on about 30-35 familiar songs. Listeners don’t want to hear obscure songs that they may or not remember. Sometimes pd’s get too deep and that is the biggest mistake you can make with Christmas programming.

How does this sound?

WVLG in The Villages in Florida has ten songs listed under "last songs played". Four are Christmas songs.

The format is really hard to define. Most of the songs are older. "Get Off of My Cloud", "Addicted to Love" and "I'll Always Love You" are among the songs that are not Christmas-related.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Again there are probably only 35 Christmas songs that need to be played for optimal ratings. It is really that simple.

See if those are on this list.

Alvin and the Chipmunks--The Chipmunk Song

Leroy Anderson--Sleigh Ride

Gene Autry--Here Comes Santa Claus, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Up on the Housetop

Harry Belafonte--Mary's Boy Child

Tony Bennett--All I Want for Christmas Is You, Christmas Time Is Here, Christmas Waltz, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, I Love the Winter Weather/I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm, I'll Be Home for Christmas, My Favorite Things, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, Winter Wonderland

Tony Bennett and Vanessa L. Williams--Winter Wonderland

Tony Bennett, Vanessa L. Williams and Placido Domingo--My Favorite Things

Brook Benton--This Time of the Year

Les Brown--I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm

Boston Pops--Babes in Toyland/March of the Toys, Messiah HWV 56 Hallelujah Part 2, Sleigh Ride

Jimmy Boyd--I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

Michael Buble--The Christmas Song, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, I'll Be Home for Christmas

Michael Buble and The Puppini Sisters--Jingle Bells

Buckingham Strings--Coventry Carol

Charlie Byrd--Mistletoe and Holly

Ralph Carmichael--Away in a Manger, We Three Kings

Carpenters--Christmas Waltz, Do You Hear What I Hear, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Home for the Holidays, Little Altar Boy, Merry Christmas Darling, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, Sleigh Ride, Winter Wonderland/Silver Bells/White Christmas

Vikki Carr--It Must Have Been the Mistletoe

Celtic Woman--Christmas Pipes

Chad Mitchell Trio--Marvelous Toy

Kristin Chenoweth--Christmas Waltz, Sing

Nat King Cole--The Christmas Song, Caroling Caroling, Deck the Halls, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, O Tannenbaum

Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole--The Christmas Song

Perry Como--Ave Maria, Christmas Eve, Do You Hear What I Hear, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Here We Come A-Caroling, Home for the Holidays, I Wish It Would Be Christmas Forever, Love Is a Christmas Rose, O Holy Night, The Real Meaning of Christmas, Silver Bells, Some Children See Him, There's No Christmas Like a Home Christmas, Toyland, The Twelve Days of Christmas

Perry Como and The Fontaine Sisters--It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Harry Connick Jr.--Blue Christmas, I Could Write a Book, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Ray Conniff--Away in a Manger, Deck the Halls, Frosty the Snowman, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/Let it Snow, Here Comes Santa Claus, It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, Jingle Bells, Jolly Old St. Nicholas/Little Drummer Boy, Joy to the World, Little Drummer Boy, O Little Town of Bethlehem, O Tannenbaum, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, Silver Bells, Winter Wonderland

Bing Crosby--Christmas Is A-Comin', Do You Hear What I Hear, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, I'll Be Home for Christmas, Silent Night, White Christmas

Bing Crosby and David Bowie--Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy

Bing Crosby and Michael Buble--White Christmas

Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters--Here Comes Santa Claus, It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, Mele Kalikimaka

Bobby Darin--Auld Lang Syne

Doris Day--Silver Bells, Toyland

Celine Dion--Blue Christmas

Linda Eder--Here Comes Santa Claus/Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

Percy Faith--Christmas Is, The Christmas Song, Deck the Halls, Good King Wenceslas, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Joy to the World, O Come All Ye Faithful, O Holy Night, O Tannenbaum, We Need a Little Christmas

Ferrante & Teicher--Brazilian Sleigh Bells

Stan Freberg--Nuttin' for Christmas

Kenny G--I'll Be Home for Christmas, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, What Child Is This

Amy Grant--I'll Be Home for Christmas, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Jingle Bell Rock, Mister Santa

Josh Groban--I'll Be Home for Christmas, O Holy Night

Vince Guaraldi--Christmas Is Coming, Christmas Time Is Here, O Christmas Tree

Harry Simeone Chorale--Do You Hear What I Hear, Little Drummer Boy

Jack Jones--Mistletoe and Holly

Spike Jones--The Angel in the Christmas Play, Jingle Bells

The Judds--Silver Bells, White Christmas

Diana Krall--Christmas Time Is Here, What Are You Doing New Year's Day

Angela Lansbury--We Need a Little Christmas

Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme--Baby It's Cold Outside, Happy Holiday, That Holiday Feeling

Peggy Lee--Jingle Bells, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

Lettermen--Christmas Waltz

Manhattan Transfer--Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, Let It Snow

Barry Manilow--The Christmas Song, Happy Holiday/White Christmas, Home for the Holidays, Toyland

Mannheim Steamroller--God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (acoustic), Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming

Dean Martin--I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Dean Martin and Martina McBride--Baby It's Cold Outside

Johnny Mathis--Blue Christmas, Caroling Caroling/Happy Holiday, The Christmas Song, The First Noel, Holly Jolly Christmas, It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm, Jingle Bells, Let It Snow, Merry Christmas, Sleigh Ride

Katharine McPhee--Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Bette Midler--Mele Kalikimaka

Mitch Miller--Twelve Days of Christmas

Roger Miller--Old Toy Trains

Lorrie Morgan--Let it Snow, Sleigh Ride

Lorrie Morgan and Johnny Mathis--Blue Snowfall

Anne Murray--Christmas in Killarney, I'll Be Home for Christmas, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer/Frosty the Snowman, Winter Wonderland

Willie Nelson--Pretty Paper

New Christy Minstrels--Here We Come A-Wassailing, We Need a Little Christmas

Olivia Newton-John and Vince Gill--Away in a Manger

Elvis Presley--Blue Christmas, Here Comes Santa Claus, Winter Wonderland

Elvis Presley and Carrie Underwood--I'll Be Home for Christmas

Laura Purcell--That's What Christmas Used to Be

Bill Pursell--Our Winter Love

Linda Ronstadt--The Christmas Song

Frank Sinatra--Christmas Waltz, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, I'll Be Home for Christmas, Mistletoe and Holly

Frank Sinatra and Cyndi Lauper--Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

Rod Stewart and Dolly Parton--Baby It's Cold Outside

James Taylor--The Christmas Song, Winter Wonderland

Mel Torme--Glow Worm

Steve Tyrell--Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, This Time of the Year

Bobby Vinton--Christmas in Killarney, Dearest Santa

Roger Whitaker--Away in a Manger, Little Drummer Boy, The Holly and the Ivy, Twelve Days of Christmas, We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Andy Williams--Do You Hear What I Hear, Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Let It Snow, My Favorite Things, Silver Bells, Some Children See Him, The First Noel

Andy Williams and Lorrie Morgan--Little Snow Girl

Vanessa L. Williams--Winter Weather

 

[vchimpanzee]

That was my Christmas iPod, created about a decade ago with additions as I hear good songs.

I disagree with The Chipmunks because once Christmas gets here, it's over. I want it to continue.

 

[seatownmedia]

I will offfer my opinion on your list, based on over two decades of programming Christmas music.

Of your list, these are the ones that I believe work best...

Leroy Anderson (Sleigh Ride)
Gene Autry (Santa is coming to town)
Jimmy Boyd (but low rotation)
Michael Buble (best for AC)
Carpenters (a few Christmas songs, all good)
Nat King Cole (The Christmas Song)
Amy Grant
Manheheim Steamroller
Elvis (Blue Christmas)
Andy Williams (Happy Holidays)

 

[crainbebo]

Mannheim, definitely. You don't hear about them any other time of year...it's as if they come out of hiding in November and go back into hibernation before the ball drops in Times Square. Trans-Siberian Orchestra, too. 'Christmas Canon' is still well-loved by listeners, me included.
Jimmy Boyd? Kidding? He's at the same level as Spike Jones. Little kids of the '50s singing novelty holiday songs that should rarely get played. Don't get me started on Barking Dogs 'Jingle Bells'...which I think 'Santa 95.7' aired yesterday in Tri-Cities. Carts of that song should be burned and thrown in the ocean. I'm also getting tired of Pentatonix and Meghan Trainor. Appealing to young women, I get it.

Gene Autry Santa Coming to Town should be 'Here Comes Santa Claus,' and the original Rudolph is spun on overload even to this day. Much more than Burl Ives' version from the TV special.

I wonder if some stations are playing Xmas songs from Olivia Newton-John given her recent death. Her version of 'The First Noel' is gorgeous, but you won't hear it on a major market station at all.

Now if I was programming a Christmas station (in your wildest dreams), there would be a minimum 2 smooth jazz/piano instrumentals per hour. Jim Brickman, Dave Koz, etc. and smoother vocals (Vanessa Williams/Bobby Caldwell 'Baby, It's Cold Inside' is an example). Again, in my wildest dreams! Less novelties, more holiday favorites, with a 1/2-1/2 on Santa/winter and traditional/Jesus birth songs.

My local Christmas station sometimes puts on country Christmas songs - Lorrie Morgan, Garth Brooks, etc. It's not surprising given the rural location of Yakima.

 

[seatownmedia]

Well, about Jimmy Boyd, you did notice I said low rotation!? Merry Christmas!