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102.9 "The Lake" Debut

A

amfmradio1

At midnight, July 1st.

1029thelake.com

They say they are going to be commercial free for two weeks.

How long does it take to play 5,000 songs, commercial free?

What are they going to do after two weeks & 5,000 songs?

Sounds somewhat like 98.7Simon, Bob FM, etc. "We Play Everything".

I'll tell you, they play songs K104.7, 99.7The Fox & 107.9The Link play, & more.

I like their moniker, The Lake (Lake Norman, Lake Wylie, Mountain Island Lake, etc.)

Their website says:

Hi there! We're Charlotte's newest radio station, 102.9 The Lake, where it's all about variety! We're unlike any station you've ever heard before. We take all kinds of songs and mix them all together. It doesn't matter what decade it's from or whether it's Rock, Pop, One-Hit Wonders or anything else. Cause after all, you love all kinds of music, and so do we. And to win you over, we're playing 5,000 SONGS IN A ROW, COMMERCIAL FREE. Thanks for checking us out.
 
I've been listening to "The Lake" this morning, though the audio was unavailable from their site and I-Heart Radio. My initial reaction - totally unimpressed.

Just my opinion, but I thought the imaging was horrible and the music, in the short time I listened, was often unfamiliar, a little "rocky" and seemingly off-target. If they continue down this musical road, it's possible that they might cannibalize their sister station, the FOX a bit.

And what's with "The Lake" moniker? So we have Lake Wylie, Lake Norman, Mountain Lake, etc. - What's that got to do with radio?

My prediction. "The Lake" will be just a memory within a year and CC will be placing another format on the 102.9 frequency.

Have you listened? What are your thoughts?
 
IMO the music ain't bad - but to agree with y-dar the imaging is horrible. I'll likely listen to K-104.7 more, however I'll visit "The Lake" to see how the water feels from time to time. I've also noticed that the "102.9 The Lake" liner sounds like I'm hearing "102.9 The Link" - that's not good. It is background "noise" here in the office, so maybe if I was listening more intently it may not sound like I'm hearing LINK instead of LAKE.

Eric
 
But... won't they have a 500-600 song rotation? that's my guess...

Being an old radio man, I am so tired of the "THE _____________" monikers... Magic, and Kiss end up in each market usually, and occasionally someone tries something creative with "The River", or "The Shark"... a station has lost it's identity by call letters. So for me, "The Lake" isn't too bad... I just miss the call letters emphasis... but branding is important by the moniker now...

Anyone venture a guess on how many songs in rotation?
 
It was inevitable that they did something. The format's not necessarily a bad choice, but I don't get the rock lean. I like 97.7 Chuck FM in Greenville more - they play mostly 70s, 80s, and 90s, (emphasis on the first two), and mix pop/disco/rock/etc. I think a mix like that would do work better as it would help serve the classic hits audience, retain more of Lite's audience (what was left of it), and protect WRFX. They need to cut back on the rock.

I had wondered if variety hits was an option but figured not with WRFX in building as well as overlap with The Ride who has a similar presentation.
 
I think it's funny! How to kill a radio station.

Going home today even K104.7 was ROCKIN'.

I predict this will give the two country stations their best books ever!
 
They had already killed it. A 3.4 share in the last book and huge decline since Christmas. Charlotte could not support 3 AC stations, no market can. I don't think the new format will perform fantastically but I think it will do around what Lite has done this year but be much cheaper to run.

That being said, I do agree that it doesn't sound very good. Far from the best "play everything" station I've ever heard.
 
102-9 The Lake

My first thought was that the new format may hurt WRFX. I'll listen for a little while because it's something new, but I don't know if The Lake will hold my attention. Side note: I found out about the format change when the station started following me on Twitter.
 
102-9 The Lake

I found this on the FCC website: A request for WLKO dated 07/02/2012 has been filed by CAPSTAR TX LLC.
 
Actually, 102.9 isn't using Premium Choice. Its recently played is quite different from Baltimore and Cleveland.

Not only will this, IMO, have an impact on WRFX, but what about The Ride? I know they probably don't care, but it's worth thinking about. WRFX isn't doing great as of the last book, and this certainly won't help them.

I'm sure CC will "park" the WLYT calls somewhere.
 
102-9 The Lake

It didn't take long for that new car smell to wear off. Driving home this morning I heard "Barracuda"...they lost me...back to K-LOVE.
 
We lets look at it this way- they're better than the RIDE and FOX, and play currents with some disco and Motown. And now here's Abracadabra.
 
I heard Back in Black on the station this morning.
After 16 years at Lite, hearing ACDC was just weird.
Whatever they do after the 5,000 commercial free songs, I hope they consider hiring local talent.
 
yugoidar said:
And what's with "The Lake" moniker? So we have Lake Wylie, Lake Norman, Mountain Lake, etc. - What's that got to do with radio?
Click to expand...

Since CC has the Lake in Cleveland, maybe they're gonna name new variety stations the Lake (though they did put on a Jack in Jacksonville, FL earlier this year).
 
the golden boy said:
yugoidar said:
And what's with "The Lake" moniker? So we have Lake Wylie, Lake Norman, Mountain Lake, etc. - What's that got to do with radio?
Click to expand...

Since CC has the Lake in Cleveland, maybe they're gonna name new variety stations the Lake (though they did put on a Jack in Jacksonville, FL earlier this year).
Click to expand...

The Lake in Cleveland makes sense since the city is on Lake Erie, but in Charlotte it's kind of goofy. The lakes are not a big part of life here. For cities like Chicago, Milwaukee, etc., it makes sense. But not Charlotte. I think the new format is terrible. The rock lean makes no sense. CC's Steve 96.7 in Columbia is much better. The variety isn't big enough to be even considered a variety format. They sound like an AC station with a few tired classic rock tunes mixed in. Lame.
 
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