101 CBS FM

[AbrahamJSimpson]

Right....my station would be geared to people who enjoy music and would love to relive the great times, with great classics. They don't need to listen 24/7. An hour or two every now and then would suffice to my target, people who lived the day. My target audience is not yours. My target would enjoy and rarely, if ever complain. It's a concept that needs to return to the airwaves and if I had the money, I'd do it in a heartbeat, even as a small 50 watter.

You would never be able to monetize whatever small group of fringe listeners you attracted. Sorry to sound harsh, but it's a business and that summary as the start of a business plan will not result in a viable operation.

There's a reason things work the way they do. People whose ability to "put food on the table" for their families and invest their careers in understanding those reasons know more than hobbyists with an axe that always seems to need grinding.

 

[John Gallagher]

Would be curious to know a few of the songs that KRTH might play in overnights or evenings that wouldn't get daytime airplay.

 

[Tibbs4]

You would never be able to monetize whatever small group of fringe listeners you attracted. Sorry to sound harsh, but it's a business and that summary as the start of a business plan will not result in a viable operation.

There's a reason things work the way they do. People whose ability to "put food on the table" for their families and invest their careers in understanding those reasons know more than hobbyists with an axe that always seems to need grinding.

----------------------------------
Abraham:

You are exactly right. It is a fine-line format and not overly viable on full-power stations. The key is to know that you are programming to two sources (in no particular order) - a small, but fairly loyal listenership that skews older than all the corporate stations are programming too (and thus the ease of ad buys) and
potential local business owners that like the music and could never afford to spend tens of thousands of dollars. It's not much different than small market radio.

I have to give you best business quote of the year on this board: "There's a reason things work the way they do. People whose ability to "put food on the table" for their families and invest their careers in understanding those reasons know more than hobbyists with an axe that always seems to need grinding."

May I use that with your name? That applies to almost every business.


Other follow-ups: Oldies - if you win that $300M, and I hope the heck you do, after taxes are paid and every friend and family member you never knew poaches you, just remember, $300M might be on the line of not having enough!

BigA - I did not engage our server at the restaurant, Natalie, in great detail. I let her talk. But, she did say she had the Hippie app on her cell, was on her pre-saved choices on her radio and that the station made her happy and she liked that Nashville had something different and fun to listen too. So she has made an effort to make it a part of her life and routine. One thing that is interesting - the term Hippie does not apply to an exact age group. Many females, in particular, consider themselves to be a young version of a hippie. Natalie surprised me. She is movie star material. Quite nice to have he as a loyal listener.

 

[CTListener]

Would be curious to know a few of the songs that KRTH might play in overnights or evenings that wouldn't get daytime airplay.

Looking at the playlist for the last hour, maybe "Dead Man's Party" by Oingo Boingo?

 

[oldies76]

Looking at the playlist for the last hour, maybe "Dead Man's Party" by Oingo Boingo?

Is that the best they can come up with? Not even a hit single and never heard of it to this day! Jeez KRTH.

 

[davideduardo]

Looking at the playlist for the last hour, maybe "Dead Man's Party" by Oingo Boingo?

That song has played 9 to 11 times per week for the last 3 months at least. It's a regular rotation song.

 

[davideduardo]

Is that the best they can come up with? Not even a hit single and never heard of it to this day! Jeez KRTH.

Obviously the song tests well and is a good example of a tune that is a hit today in the context of the format.

Remember, Brown Eyed Girl just barely made it into the top 20, and in many markets it was not heard at the time. Yet it went on to become the oldies format's most-played song, despite its very brief appearance on the charts.

On the other hand, many songs that spent week after week at #1 are totally unplayable today.

Songs have to still be "hits" today to be programmable on the radio.

 

[TheBigA]

Is that the best they can come up with? Not even a hit single and never heard of it to this day! Jeez KRTH.

As we've said here many times, chart position doesn't matter. What matters is if the song resonates with the demo. Here are a few examples:

"The song has made many appearances in popular culture. It is perhaps best known for its appearance in the 1986 film Back to School, where the band performs it at a party. It was also featured in the series Chuck in the episode "Chuck Versus the Couch Lock," during John Casey's fake funeral, as well as the Malcolm in the Middle episode "Halloween" and in a promo for season 5 of the series Bones. It is also referenced in the novel Ready Player One."

 

[Tibbs4]

I guess that would be a "regional classic local hit" that obviously gets a lot of LA love, as the group was formed there and had a ton of local airplay. I can see how it would fit well on KRTH. That's part of the good magic of radio. Same discussion has been applied to songs that work well in the South vs. North. Obviously Molly Hatchet works better in the South. But, there is certainly exact science on that. One of Hippie's best adds (I will hear about this over and over) is "Ah Leah" by Donnie Iris. It was not huge in many markets, but KDF played a lot of Donnie Iris in the 80's, so it works well in 2018. KRTH is certainly not an oldies station and they ain't programming to those of us that are 55+. I admit I know OB's "Weird Science," but this tune eluded me. Not surprising.

 

[briancraig]

It will be interesting to see in the next decade what happens to classic hits stations as the 80s generation gets too old to interest advertisers.

The 1990s as a decade does not have nearly the number of mass appeal songs as previous eras. Similar to what Sean Ross likes to call the mother/daughter factor where mom and her kid both like the same records. That was true in the 1980s when you had acts like Madonna, Michael Jackson, Prince etc. But in the 1990s that was not true. Has been more true in the last few years as acts like Bruno Mars and Katy Perry have more multi generational appeal so maybe 20 years from now classic hits might be ok, but the format could be in trouble pretty soon.

Same with classic rock, once rock really divides after the 1980s, how do you make it demographic friendly. At some point playing the same 300 classic rock songs from the 1970s will have to become very advertiser unfriendly.

 

[mjb1124]

"Dead Man's Party" seems to be an example of how KRTH plays more '80s new wave/alternative fare than other Classic Hits stations, as that was very popular in the LA area back then. Personally I much prefer that stuff over the corporate rock that CBS-FM emphasizes. I think KRTH might have an easier time phasing into the '90s as they can easily segue into the big alternative songs of that decade. CBS-FM will have a harder time unless they decide to go more rhythmic, which I think would be a good move. Alternative, hip-hop, and dance were the big genres of the '90s, and the latter two had bigger appeal in NYC.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

Integration of the 90s will be its own challenge, but the solution, as it has in the past, will be based on what tests now, not solely what defined tastes then. Let’s see what the data looks like as it comes in. Format boundaries will continue to morph; the approach to moving ahead into the 90s won’t be monolithic and may not entirely mimic previous evolutions.

 

[TheBigA]

Format boundaries will continue to morph; the approach to moving ahead into the 90s won’t be monolithic and may not entirely mimic previous evolutions.

I agree with that, and format boundaries are morphing because THE MUSIC is morphing. When we discuss genres now, the defining things often revolve around lyrical music vs. rhythmic music. So the traditional definitions of genres are disappearing right before our eyes. That will affect how we redefine music that inspired today's music. As I said in another thread, what may have been southern rock at one time has now become country. Those kinds of changes will happen to other formats as we move forward.

 

[Tibbs4]

"Dead Man's Party" seems to be an example of how KRTH plays more '80s new wave/alternative fare than other Classic Hits stations, as that was very popular in the LA area back then. Personally I much prefer that stuff over the corporate rock that CBS-FM emphasizes. I think KRTH might have an easier time phasing into the '90s as they can easily segue into the big alternative songs of that decade. CBS-FM will have a harder time unless they decide to go more rhythmic, which I think would be a good move. Alternative, hip-hop, and dance were the big genres of the '90s, and the latter two had bigger appeal in NYC.

I have to give both stations great credit. They have programmed themselves for their individual markets. CBS plays a lot of Michael Jackson, dance club hits and more of the traditional late 70's and early 80's fare. It fits the beat of the city. KRTH has more of that cool, hip California sunshine beat for those trying to race through the traffic and forget the stress. I think they will have more of a quick tune-out factor than CBS, which is more traditional, but still very engaging. The jocks at KRTH fit the 80's-style tempo. Nothing can compare to Broadway Bill on CBS, when he is on a roll. That is a good fish out of the water. One would think he doesn't fit the format. But, man, then you realize no one else can fit it better. Brilliant radio in 2018. I do agree KRTH can just transition into the years without a glitch.

 

[John Gallagher]

I saw the Mother/Daughter factor in my own business about the time that Lady Gaga and Black Eyed Peas were tearing up the charts with hits (2009 or so.)

 

[DOB]

I saw the Mother/Daughter factor in my own business about the time that Lady Gaga and Black Eyed Peas were tearing up the charts with hits (2009 or so.)

Thanks to DG with another great response btw. I think that it will be difficult to come up with a strong enough set of 90s songs when the time comes and thus they will have to take from the 2000-2009 to fill it out, maybe for some it will be holding on to a good many 80s songs. I think you need to rethink it all as nostalgia based formats and as music splintered in the 80s nostalgia formats will have their variations. Hip hop/rnb oldies, the traditional I guess you would say pop based classic hits, and maybe an alt classic hits could work on some degree as well.

I just don't know that you can have a cbs-fm k-earth of the 90s playing DMB, 2Pac, Nirvana, Spice girls, alanis, real mccoy, tlc, 3rd eye blind, all on one station.

 

[CTListener]

Thanks to DG with another great response btw. I think that it will be difficult to come up with a strong enough set of 90s songs when the time comes and thus they will have to take from the 2000-2009 to fill it out, maybe for some it will be holding on to a good many 80s songs. I think you need to rethink it all as nostalgia based formats and as music splintered in the 80s nostalgia formats will have their variations. Hip hop/rnb oldies, the traditional I guess you would say pop based classic hits, and maybe an alt classic hits could work on some degree as well.

I just don't know that you can have a cbs-fm k-earth of the 90s playing DMB, 2Pac, Nirvana, Spice girls, alanis, real mccoy, tlc, 3rd eye blind, all on one station.

Alanis, Jewel, Sheryl Crow, Paula Cole and the whole Lilith Fair crowd are going to have a hard time getting on any classic hits playlist. They just aren't a comfortable fit with the rock or the rhythmic components of '90s CHR, nor do they work especially will with much from the '80s or '00s. If anything, they're more like the singer-songwriter stuff of the '70s, but nearly all of that music has aged out. Now that they aren't getting played much on AC anymore, they may just disappear from radio. I do hear a lot of that music as restaurant/retail canned music, along with things like "Babylon" and "Unwritten" that also are hard to imagine in the company of Nirvana, Tupac and such.

 

[ATSFGuy]

It seems WCBS FM in New York is going a little bit deeper than KRTH in Los Angeles is!

 

[TheBigA]

It seems WCBS FM in New York is going a little bit deeper than KRTH in Los Angeles is!

That's the way it should be, with two very different population bases and cultures, don't you think?

 

[andreajesus]

It seems WCBS FM in New York is going a little bit deeper than KRTH in Los Angeles is!

count it!! I was at the Summer Blast-Off down at Coney Island - and one of the live acts was SMASH MOUTH!! Ugh!! and Taylor Dayne was another - sad thing....years ago, these acts would not have even had a CHANCE to get in on it - it would have been acts like The Regents and John Kuse and the Excellents - sad....