What are some stations that have changed their sound over the years. One example I can think of is mix 93.3 in kc. 2010 and before it had a sound (even at that time) which could be categorized as "hot ac"....which is very little rhythmic product and a lot of music which only charted on hot ac (despite carrying the rick dees chr top 40.) It mainstreamed shortly after. What other examples do you have?
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
Stations that have drastically changed their sound?
- Thread starter tall_guy1
- Start date
Good Lord, here we go again... Freaking Groundhog-post-Day.
Well, for starters, KIIS-FM sounds a little different today than it did on October 1, 1975...
I mean stations which made a conscious effort to change their sound (not chr stations which changed as a result of changing new product or stations following a format trend like hot acs adding rap.)
Last edited:
Okay, then, any of the permutations of Power 106 in the last 37 years. Rhythmic CHR to Hip-Hop and a chunk in between. Come to think of it, KMEL in San Francisco started as a mainstream CHR in '84 and by '87 was on the same path.
When it comes to KMXV, it tended to evolve slowly from AC KLSI to a hotter and hotter AC until it became Mix 93.3. A year or two after becoming Mix 93.3, it changed calls to KMXV. “It's 11:00 at KMXV Kansas City, where MX stands for 'Mixed' and V stands for 'Variety'….”
When it went from Hot AC to CHR in 1994, it was a dance heavy CHR. After a few staff changes and its main competitor left the format, it started mainstreaming and maybe even leaning a little more adult. That was really when the ratings started going up.
Over time, KMXV has evolved to suit the tastes of its target audience and to adjust for new competition it has received. As an example, in 2001, it dropped its all request 80’s lunch after KFME 105.1 launched with an 80’s heavy hot AC format. That's standard for most stations. Whether they intend to do so or not, they adjust their music and their presentation to appeal to their audience. As members of the audience age into and out of their demos, they will play songs those people like. They won’t be the same songs nor the same presentation.
Another good example of that is 94.9 KCMO. It changed its name because Oldies 95 was the station my parents listened to. It had many of the same jocks it had even going back to the 80’s when it was CHR/Top-40 KCPW Power 95. It had to completely change its image and music mix, however, to get those of us who were Power 95 listeners as teens to go back.
Mix leaned adult until 2010 when it really started mainstreaming (it leaned adult slightly still in the daytime until 2014 when steel city took over and erased all remnants of that.) Since then, they've faced competition more aggressively from kzpt which has recently become more current based than in years past.
Theres some stations that change their sound only as part of a nationwide trend (hot ac stations becoming more rhythmic, classic hits adding 80s/90s ect.). However, to answer your question, winc-fm in winchester, va. has the sound of a hot ac from 1-2 decades ago (artists like sara maclauchlan, lifehouse, dave matthews band, matchbox 20, kris allen, sara bareilles alongside mostly non rhythmic currents.)
As has been explained to you many times before; stations usually adjust their music mix to their market tastes. Many determine music changes through research of varying levels. Unless imposed by a parent company, there are no national or international guardrails or rules, where stations must play certain artists or titles to remain in whatever-format club.
Radio is a business, and you stay in business by serving-up the largest majority of listeners within the demographic range advertisers want to reach, what they want to hear. All the nuances you bring up about this artist or that artist is minutia that in the scheme of things as a business, means nothing.
I was aware of that. In the case of mix 93 back in 2010, they started getting beaten by 95.7 the vibe by at least a point in the ratings which were more rhythmic.Mix started leaning more rhythmic and today they are at a 5.5 while the vibe sits at 2.2, so I'd say it worked for them (their main competition now is adult chr 99.7 the point which holds a 4.5).
Let me guess...you're referring to 6+ numbers again?
Well, to be fair the wikipedia page for them says the same thing (Id guess at the time they were being beaten in younger demos by them, which is why they altered their sound.)
Typically, when you find yourself suddenly losing to a competitor, you try to figure out why and fix it. "Roll over and play dead" usually isn't an effective strategy.
- Triple J in Australia had a strong focus on Alternative rock. Now the music is more "TikTok friendly", for a lack of a better term.
- BBC Radio 2 has played hip-hop as of late (albeit older tracks), but that doesn't mean they have stopped playing Barry Manilow altogether.
- WDUV in Tampa Bay has long been known as the "super soft" station, one that played standards music to go along with the likes of Melissa Manchester. Now, songs like Electric Avenue and If It Makes You Happy are mainstays of the station. And you won't be able to hear Streisand on the Dove.
Exactly.
Cue Ava Max reference in 3…2…1…
For ratings, Nielsen has a limited list of format names that a station can select for the ratings data that ad agencies can see in the reports that they get about local radio.
Stations don’t have to show playlists to Nielsen to qualify for "belonging" to a particular format listing. Nielsen accepts the self-classification with no verification. However, if a competitor feels a station has mis-classified itself, they can register a complaint.
For example, an alternative rock station might list itself as classic rock because they know that advertisers may have negative feelings about alternative. A competitor can tell Nielsen and it is likely the listing will change.
Of course, what is not always understood here is that those sites that publish ratings summaries don't get the format names from Nielsen and they have to do their own investigation to determine the appropriate descriptor. So each site that shows ratings results will have a different array of format names.
Well stated. Radio is not in the music business, does not control releases of songs or the signing of artists. We decide on a salable target audience and then, usually, do research to find out how to serve that group. We could really care very little about who has the "#1 song this week". We simply track listeners and do what we find they would/should/might like.
Information on Wikipedia is worth every penny you pay for. Just the fact that vchimp, a frequent poster here, admittedly posts information that he has no prior knowledge of on Wikipedia, speaks volumes regarding it's accuracy. Or, lack thereof.
6+ isn't representative of an 18-34 demo that a Hot AC might target. In other words; you're yet again basing conclusions on lacking, or flawed data.
Well, I dont think they changed their sound for no reason.
- Status