If I'm not mistaken, KQ played that Jayhawks track when it was new. Closing Time is a bit crispy at this point, the Jayhawks makes people do a double-take. Which for stunting is exactly what you want.
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Something is up at KQ
- Thread starter aspric
- Start date
Seems like they're just trolling at this point. 😂
I don't think hearing the Jayhawks on KQ would make anyone flinch. However, hearing the Replacements, Husker Du, Roxy Music, and Soft Cell certainly would.
For those still curious, they're now playing nothing but... Prince. Which may scare away the listeners who lack a sense of humor. Which is probably quite a few.
I mean, this is still the "stunting" phase but at some point KQ HAS to update their music library (as does 93X). If the demo is 25-54 that means that someone who was 25 in 1995 (and thus would probably really resonate with 80s-90s rock) is now 55.
To stay in the demo, you'd almost have to put the "center" of the format at around 1995, and basically play music from 1985-2005 (with a heaver emphasis on the 90s, a lower emphasis on the 80s and early 2000s). The problem is, I just described where 93X is CURRENTLY.
Now, if they emphasize the "lighter" side of rock and 93X stays to the "heavier" side of that same period, that might work, and is similar to where they were this morning.
93X does lean toward the harder, current stuff. Sure, they play Foo Fighters and RHCP, but there seems to be enough differentiation between the two. If anything, 93X might have to absorb more of the hair metal hits from KQ.
As far as KQ goes, I'm guessing an updated version of the classic rock format they've been doing for the past 40 years. But, instead of adding a bunch of 80s metal, they're adding more 80s-90s alt rock, based on their stunting. Especially from the bigger Twin Cities bands like the Replacements, Soul Asylum, etc. That kind of music plays well in the Twin Cities, and helps them compete with some of the younger upstarts that have passed them, like The Current, Jack FM and even Kool 108. And some of the gold they've been playing this week, like the Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, Depeche Mode, etc. have always worked in the format. Some more recent stuff too. They've been playing Sublime, Cake and White Stripes. They even played Alabama Shakes a few days ago! And, they've mixed in some of the old warhorses, like the Stones, GnR and Springsteen. Will all this make up the New KQ? We'll find out.
It is quite surreal to see this heavy, sluggish, dull old beast, long resistant to any sort of change, being dragged into the 2020s. Like a rock n' roll version of WCCO. But that's why it's so intriguing to watch. But, they have to change. I look at a station like 1400 KLBB from the 90s, and I'm guessing almost all of their audience from then is deceased. As scary as it is, times do change. So does classic rock.
If your target is 25-54 or somewhere inside that, you research on the core where the "hump in the graph" is.
So if you expect to get 30 to 60 year-olds overall, you write off the 55-60 as they don't help sales. Your core may be 45-54, then. So that is what you look for in research. Maybe, to be ready for people to age into your target, you test something like 39-48 to get a sweet spot.
You test everything they might like. Some of the songs may be as old as the youngest listeners and that is because they have been played nonstop since they were currents and even the youngest listeners know them and like them.
There is no correlation between a listener's age and the songs they like in strict linear form. More is based on having heard a song before and liking it.
And there can be extremes... a station I worked with in LA played songs that were nearly twice as old as the youngest target listener, but still totally familiar and very well liked in the testing.
What KQ is doing right now seems to be a better version of what Baltimore's WZBA did in 2024. (WZBA has since unfortunately reverted to a traditional classic rock sound.)
I am quite impressed by some of the hourly logs on KQRS the past couple days. I strongly suspect what we've been hearing is a preview of the sound that will launch officially tomorrow.
If this works well in Minneapolis, I'd love to see other Cumulus classic rockers try a similar music formula. Maybe KSAN in San Francisco, as an example.
I am quite impressed by some of the hourly logs on KQRS the past couple days. I strongly suspect what we've been hearing is a preview of the sound that will launch officially tomorrow.
If this works well in Minneapolis, I'd love to see other Cumulus classic rockers try a similar music formula. Maybe KSAN in San Francisco, as an example.
So yeah, this appears to be the format. An evolved version of the old one. Oh, and they hired Paul Fletcher, formerly of Cities 97. And a new name. Now it's "MINNESOTA'S 92 KQRS."
Hey, for them, this is radical change.
Hey, for them, this is radical change.
So far seems like a lot of hype to not much of a format change. First song after the first break was Tom Petty. They rebranded the morning show to "Gorman in the Morning" but the station has remained KQRS which I'm good with. They have Gorman, Ryder and someone named Fletcher I'm unfamiliar with. The new VO voice is really refreshing though, the old one sucked.
I'm really interested what jocks they have on later in the day. I'm hoping Lisa Miller will be back but I'm not keeping my hopes up.
I'm really interested what jocks they have on later in the day. I'm hoping Lisa Miller will be back but I'm not keeping my hopes up.
Paul Fletcher was on Cities 97 for years. The website shows Lisa moved to weekends.
The alleged relaunch was basically a nothing burger. Which is fitting for a station that has historically been resistant to radical change. But transitioning to a Gen X-oriented approach was inevitable at some point. I find it interesting that, rather than going all-in on 80s hair metal like other classic rock stations, much of the added music seems to have come from the playlists of 80s-90s alt-rock stations. Probably a good way to coexist with their sister station, 93X.
Trolling and goofing around with the audience like this is at least novel instead of looping the song for 24 hours.
At least playing "1999" makes sense. It was the last song WLOL played in 1991. Would Prince fit on the permanent format? Eh… …
I was proven correct. I was also correct days ago when I suggested classic alt & AAA elements might be part of the modified KQRS sound.
I am actually quite pleased with the direction management has chosen. Only limited doses of "butt rock" remain. The station has a more upscale and younger aura to it now.
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