Meanwhile the sweet spot for CHR is a bit older: 25-34. Only 20% of CHR listeners are under 24.
That may also be why you see a difference between Apple and radio. Apple is mainly subscription and radio is ad-supported.
-
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
Let’s discuss 102.1: KRBQ
- Thread starter Radiopaw
- Start date
Meanwhile the sweet spot for CHR is a bit older: 25-34. Only 20% of CHR listeners are under 24.
That may also be why you see a difference between Apple and radio. Apple is mainly subscription and radio is ad-supported.
Haha, on a recent edition of KQED's Forum, I heard a comment by a guest arguing the opposite (51:05 of audio), that TikTok and similar online platforms are too generic:
Looks like he’s got the same idea as me. I’d personally agree with him, both radio and social media suffer from that. Public radio doesn’t suffer from it nearly as bad if as bad at all, only corporate.
Audacy has announced a change at KRBQ. But not what people here expected:
Audacy Sacramento Brand Manager Ben ‘Complex’ Romero Adds Oversight Of San Fran’s KRBQ.
Audacy Sacramento Brand Manager Ben ‘Complex’ Romero Adds Oversight Of San Fran’s KRBQ.
Sounds like Audacy won’t throw in the towel on KRBQ yet, but at this rate and if ratings don’t improve they might want to save that towel.
Yup, I have my reservations since it’s been so long. But we shall see.
There don't appear to be viable alternatives. Since the cluster was reconfigured with the spinoffs to Bonneville, there's no adjacency to the formats of other Audacy stations in the market. The most obvious "format hole", country, has a poor track record in the larger Bay Area market, though it can work on the edges. So why not give a brand manager working in adjacent formats in an adjacent market the chance to show what he can do in the really big leagues? The 5% worst-case scenario is for the station to remain as it is today. The best case is that the station improves and helps develop some leadership talent.
Last edited:
I passed by 102.1 during my drive home from work, when the station was playing "Hey Ma", the 2002 hit by Cam'ron featuring Juelz Santana, Freekey Zekey, and Toya.
There was much more censorship than the radio edit I remember hearing on 94.9 and 106.1 all the time in sixth grade.
Juelz Santana's opening verse was missing several lyrics that turn out to be sexual references by my check of Urban Dictionary. Thing is, the song contains no Carlin obscenities like F and S, instead more sly uses of ordinary words like "pipe" and "dome" that were dropped in the 102.1 version.
The chorus was missing the parts "You smoke? I smoke" resulting in an awkward silence before "I drink, me too".
For reference, this is the edited album version on Spotify that most radio stations played (with some words missing). YouTube has another "clean version" that somehow does not edit out any lyrics.
I have no idea why 102.1 wanted THIS particular version of "Hey Ma" without the lyrics about smoking, when this same station often plays "I Got 5 On It" (an entire song about weed) and they don't edit out "h--s" from certain Death Row-era Snoop Dogg song. And some songs that used to play on the radio with "a--" uncensored have that word missing on 102.1.
There was much more censorship than the radio edit I remember hearing on 94.9 and 106.1 all the time in sixth grade.
Juelz Santana's opening verse was missing several lyrics that turn out to be sexual references by my check of Urban Dictionary. Thing is, the song contains no Carlin obscenities like F and S, instead more sly uses of ordinary words like "pipe" and "dome" that were dropped in the 102.1 version.
The chorus was missing the parts "You smoke? I smoke" resulting in an awkward silence before "I drink, me too".
For reference, this is the edited album version on Spotify that most radio stations played (with some words missing). YouTube has another "clean version" that somehow does not edit out any lyrics.
I have no idea why 102.1 wanted THIS particular version of "Hey Ma" without the lyrics about smoking, when this same station often plays "I Got 5 On It" (an entire song about weed) and they don't edit out "h--s" from certain Death Row-era Snoop Dogg song. And some songs that used to play on the radio with "a--" uncensored have that word missing on 102.1.
Seems like there won't be a flip anytime soon
Different stations, different lawyers.
When I was driving home from a football game on Saturday night, I listened to 102.1. Around 10:20pm they played an edited version of "Mo Money Mo Problems". Not just the usual editing out of swear words and drug/weapon references - but cutting out Puff Daddy's verse entirely!
But Combs co-produced "Mo Money Mo Problems" - so why have it both ways, excising his performance while still making sure he gets his share of royalty, if the goal is to put Combs in the same "banned from radio" list as R. Kelly, Lostprophets, or Gary Glitter?
But Combs co-produced "Mo Money Mo Problems" - so why have it both ways, excising his performance while still making sure he gets his share of royalty, if the goal is to put Combs in the same "banned from radio" list as R. Kelly, Lostprophets, or Gary Glitter?
man, that’s depressing to hear.
I keep trying to give this station a chance but it’s such a mediocre one… is anyone even listening?
I like the idea, but I don’t see this working. You can’t really mix popular music that you’d hear in China, Japan, and Korea, since those countries are all very different. You’d have to take Southeast Asia and India out of the conversation, as that gets more complicated. I’m not Asian, but my partner is. Based on what I’ve learned from her, someone from one country is not likely to embrace the music of another.
I could definitely see a situation where k-pop might do well on a smaller frequency (with an owner who is willing to try out a niche format), but it would be a hard sell for a major corporation. This would take a level of TLC that is far beyond the interest or capacity of Audacy.
I genuinely like the idea and would listen, since I would personally enjoy this type of programming, but you’d have to find an independent owner who would be willing to play around with the idea.
As a side note, I think it would be interesting to see a station embrace upcoming music that is originates from the Asian community (but has mass appeal to a larger audience). There’s an Indonesia singer and songwriter by the name of Niki Zefanya. I was very impressed with her, albeit disappointed that you’d never hear her in a CHR station. She’s based in LA now, and I describe her music as R&B (all in English). I was recently at one of her concerts, and it was a very eclectic mixture of people in attendance (though 90+% were from Asian backgrounds). I believe Niki’s music probably could bridge the divide (since she seems to have a lot of appeal to younger people, regardless of their nationality or heritage). Obviously, you’d need like 20 versions of her to actually have a credible format on your hands, though.
I could definitely see a situation where k-pop might do well on a smaller frequency (with an owner who is willing to try out a niche format), but it would be a hard sell for a major corporation. This would take a level of TLC that is far beyond the interest or capacity of Audacy.
I genuinely like the idea and would listen, since I would personally enjoy this type of programming, but you’d have to find an independent owner who would be willing to play around with the idea.
As a side note, I think it would be interesting to see a station embrace upcoming music that is originates from the Asian community (but has mass appeal to a larger audience). There’s an Indonesia singer and songwriter by the name of Niki Zefanya. I was very impressed with her, albeit disappointed that you’d never hear her in a CHR station. She’s based in LA now, and I describe her music as R&B (all in English). I was recently at one of her concerts, and it was a very eclectic mixture of people in attendance (though 90+% were from Asian backgrounds). I believe Niki’s music probably could bridge the divide (since she seems to have a lot of appeal to younger people, regardless of their nationality or heritage). Obviously, you’d need like 20 versions of her to actually have a credible format on your hands, though.
Last edited:
iHeart's KUCD Pearl City, Hawaii ("PoP! 101.9") is the one US-based Asian pop station that comes to mind:
pop1019.iheart.com
radioinsight.com
The station debuted on KUCD-HD2 + translator in November 2019, moving to the full signal in May 2023.
PoP! 101.9 - the best PoP! on the planet
PoP! 101.9 | the best PoP! on the planet
More On Today’s Launch Of Pop 101.9 Honolulu
iHeartMedia has announced more information regarding today's 12pm move of Asian Pop "Pop 99.1" K256AS Honolulu/101.9 KUCD-HD2 from its 250
radioinsight.com
The station debuted on KUCD-HD2 + translator in November 2019, moving to the full signal in May 2023.
- Status