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90s/00s soft rock?

Will such music ever reach the airwaves again? It seems like the '90s and 00s music (outside of a few songs like The Fray's "How To Save a Life") is mainly very much CHR product like Spice Girls and Linkin Park. But the '90s and '00s had a lot of soft rock like some Elton John songs ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight"), James Blunt, Dido, Rob Thomas, Sara Bareilles, Norah Jones, Jason Mraz, Lily Allen, Lifehouse, and more which get very little airplay. Would a format ever open up for more 90s and '00s soft rock?
 
Will such music ever reach the airwaves again? It seems like the '90s and 00s music (outside of a few songs like The Fray's "How To Save a Life") is mainly very much CHR product like Spice Girls and Linkin Park. But the '90s and '00s had a lot of soft rock like some Elton John songs ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight"), James Blunt, Dido, Rob Thomas, Sara Bareilles, Norah Jones, Jason Mraz, Lily Allen, Lifehouse, and more which get very little airplay. Would a format ever open up for more 90s and '00s soft rock?
Your theoretical questions all miss the point that in any significant market in the US, music stations research their playlists and stations looking for a new format research dozens of styles and blends.

If those artists are not played, the issue is not the artist but the songs. Radio does not program based on artist appeal; radio programs based on individual songs. The songs you mention are not played because they don't test positively among any group of listeners.
 
Your theoretical questions all miss the point that in any significant market in the US, music stations research their playlists and stations looking for a new format research dozens of styles and blends.

If those artists are not played, the issue is not the artist but the songs. Radio does not program based on artist appeal; radio programs based on individual songs. The songs you mention are not played because they don't test positively among any group of listeners.
That's actually interesting. I'm surprised those songs were given any kind of thought at all by radio programmers! I always assumed those artists/songs were an "afterthought" of programmers.
 
The 90s sappy songs (I'm amazed you left off Celene Dion!) were largely enjoyed by women my mother's age -- soccer moms in their 30s or 40s at the time. Well, those women are now in their 60s, and radio doesn't really program to retirees.

At the moment, their children (i.e. my generation) have not expressed a desire to hear those songs again. I do not expect they will come back, but nostalgia is weird.
 
The 90s sappy songs (I'm amazed you left off Celene Dion!) were largely enjoyed by women my mother's age -- soccer moms in their 30s or 40s at the time. Well, those women are now in their 60s, and radio doesn't really program to retirees.

At the moment, their children (i.e. my generation) have not expressed a desire to hear those songs again. I do not expect they will come back, but nostalgia is weird.
I was going to say something similar. Many softer songs from the 90s were prevalent on stations up until a certain point, but as the audience ages out, so does the music they listened to in "their day". About 3 years ago I was visiting some relatives and searched around the dial for a station. The "lite rock" outlet there was still airing about the same playlist as when I lived there for a time in the 90s. All beaten to death lite rock stuff from the 70s - 90s. It caused me to shake my head and quickly switch it off. To be fair, that area is in what's considered the "rust belt", the demographic definitely skews older and to the right politically, so perhaps that station is playing what their particular listening audience wants. FWIW the classic rock station there is by far the ratings leader and has been for decades.
 
The 90s sappy songs (I'm amazed you left off Celene Dion!) were largely enjoyed by women my mother's age -- soccer moms in their 30s or 40s at the time. Well, those women are now in their 60s, and radio doesn't really program to retirees.

At the moment, their children (i.e. my generation) have not expressed a desire to hear those songs again. I do not expect they will come back, but nostalgia is weird.
What may be a strange fact for some: Because You Loved Me and My Heart Will Go On both charted high on the Rhythmic charts, reaching #4 and #3 respectively.

As for nostalgia, emo music may be the hair metal of the 00s, but a certain subset of the population likes it.

Will such music ever reach the airwaves again? It seems like the '90s and 00s music (outside of a few songs like The Fray's "How To Save a Life") is mainly very much CHR product like Spice Girls and Linkin Park. But the '90s and '00s had a lot of soft rock like some Elton John songs ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight"), James Blunt, Dido, Rob Thomas, Sara Bareilles, Norah Jones, Jason Mraz, Lily Allen, Lifehouse, and more which get very little airplay. Would a format ever open up for more 90s and '00s soft rock?
I feel the likes of Can You Feel the Love Tonight and Thank You (Dido) have some lasting power, as they are bonafide global hits, but most of the pop rock hits (think Modern AC) of the 90s/00s haven't aged well IMO.

The Spice Girls do have some ballads like 2 Become 1, which is played on occasion on some AC stations like the Breeze stations in Canada.

The likes of WCBS-FM & WEAT are receptive towards 90s/early Y2K AC-friendly pop, in contrast to the likes of KRTH & KOLA seeking the rap and rock songs during the same period. More 2Pac/Sublime and less Backstreet Boys/*NSYNC for KRTH.

Also, stations such as WDUV do play Celine Dion.
 
As for nostalgia, emo music may be the hair metal of the 00s, but a certain subset of the population likes it.
Yes, I definitely left out Celine Dion. KRBZ had a show called Taking Back Sunday with Mark a few years ago where he would play a lot of obscure emo tracks from the '90s and '00s and am surprised more stations haven't followed suit (i.e. Saosin, Early November, Mae, Thursday, Coheed and Cambria, Sunny Day Real Estate, Fugazi, and the likes). As for me, I might be weird but I like downtempo-to-midtempo music (Rob Thomas, Halsey, Elton John, ect.) as well as uptempo EDM type music. Most of the semi-rhythmic stuff on the radio that gets played bores the hell out of me.
 
Yes, I definitely left out Celine Dion. KRBZ had a show called Taking Back Sunday with Mark a few years ago where he would play a lot of obscure emo tracks from the '90s and '00s and am surprised more stations haven't followed suit (i.e. Saosin, Early November, Mae, Thursday, Coheed and Cambria, Sunny Day Real Estate, Fugazi, and the likes). As for me, I might be weird but I like downtempo-to-midtempo music (Rob Thomas, Halsey, Elton John, ect.) as well as uptempo EDM type music. Most of the semi-rhythmic stuff on the radio that gets played bores the hell out of me.
Just have to work EDM in there at least once, don't you? EDM was never a mass appeal thing.
Once PPM came along, it was discovered that 'soft rock' wasn't as popular with a female audience as originally thought. Similar goes for smooth jazz. Hot AC has essentially taken over the female 25-54 slot.
 
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The softer the songs, the older the audience.

We saw that with The Breeze, and why it went away in so many markets.

Having said that, programmers are always looking for new ways to reach people in their 30s, and one way may be to play some newer mush. I'm not in favor of any format built on ballads. It's important to vary the tempo in any music mix regardless of format. Or you end up with a very boring station.
 
You might see some of those tracks you listed get more airplay as the 40 year olds of today age into their 50s in another decade on classic hits oriented stations.

As an aside I’m curious as to how much Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles, Charlie Puth etc we will hear in another decade and how it will all age. They seem to produce a range of mid tempo/light pop product that is niche 35-45 soccer mom right now with some teenage female listeners. My prediction is it won’t all age very well. But we will see. Not really mushy music but just a niche I don’t see being carried on forever.
 
That's how the Colonel killed Elvis' career, isn't it?

Wow that's an obscure reference isn't it? I know what you mean, and Elvis never stopped singing Jailhouse Rock because of the success of Love Me Tender. So Elvis understood the value of both tempo and ballads.
 
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The softer the songs, the older the audience.

We saw that with The Breeze, and why it went away in so many markets.

Having said that, programmers are always looking for new ways to reach people in their 30s, and one way may be to play some newer mush. I'm not in favor of any format built on ballads. It's important to vary the tempo in any music mix regardless of format. Or you end up with a very boring station.
Probably why WFEZ and KISQ have played more uptempo songs from time to time (e.g. Billie Jean, Forget Me Nots, Believe), yet avoided more "harsh" pop songs like Since U Been Gone.
 
You might see some of those tracks you listed get more airplay as the 40 year olds of today age into their 50s in another decade on classic hits oriented stations.

As an aside I’m curious as to how much Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles, Charlie Puth etc we will hear in another decade and how it will all age. They seem to produce a range of mid tempo/light pop product that is niche 35-45 soccer mom right now with some teenage female listeners. My prediction is it won’t all age very well. But we will see. Not really mushy music but just a niche I don’t see being carried on forever.
Ed Sheeran was considered the Artist of the Decade (2010s) in the UK. He broke several records; in the UK, only Westlife, Cliff Richard, The Beatles, and Elvis Presley have more number ones.

And looking worldwide, he has been the most streamed artist on Spotify.

So, barring any newly-found salacious sex scandals or domestic violence accusations, Ed Sheeran will likely be viewed fondly in the future.
 
Ed Sheeran was considered the Artist of the Decade (2010s) in the UK. He broke several records; in the UK, only Westlife, Cliff Richard, The Beatles, and Elvis Presley have more number ones.
No one has ever accused the UK of having good musical taste. Well, not since The British Invasion when they turned the western world's entire musical pop charts 180 degrees around for decades.
 
No one has ever accused the UK of having good musical taste. Well, not since The British Invasion when they turned the western world's entire musical pop charts 180 degrees around for decades.
How would the UK's collective music taste be worse than the taste of North America?

Look at the bro-country and Soundcloud rap that continuously clogs the Billboard charts, for instance.
 
Look at the bro-country and Soundcloud rap that continuously clogs the Billboard charts, for instance.
I don't consider rap to be a valid musical genre. Just as certain 'musical' instruments (I'm think of you didgeridoo) make only sound and not what most people consider 'music'.

I have never paid attention to Billboard or any other rating service since I was a teenager back in the 50's. I know what I like and don't like and where it resides in popularity isn't a bit interesting.
 
Wow that's an obscure reference isn't it? I know what you mean, and Elvis never stopped singing Jailhouse Rock because of the success of Love Me Tender. So Elvis understood the value of both tempo and ballads.
I would not have called it obscure as it turned Elvis' career into dust almost overnight and I understood at the time it was the Colonel who forced the change. I wasn't a big fan of Elvis but it seemed to me that his radio song popularity virtually died about 1960 and the British Invasion finished him off. He seemed to make most of his money from touring. My ex went to a concert in VA around the mid-70's and when I asked how it was she just replied "he's fat and sweaty".

Apparently he still had a great voice but let the Colonel drive his musical releases.
 
I wasn't a big fan of Elvis but it seemed to me that his radio song popularity virtually died about 1960 and the British Invasion finished him off.

Maybe you forget he went into the Army. That took him out of the public eye for two years. The decision the Colonel made was for him to do movies. That kept him from touring during that time. Then the Beatles came, and Elvis got married.
 
Maybe you forget he went into the Army. That took him out of the public eye for two years. The decision the Colonel made was for him to do movies. That kept him from touring during that time. Then the Beatles came, and Elvis got married.
I was an early teen during that time so lived through it. Elvis was still a big item in the teen magazines while in the army. And he did do a great business in the movies as well (most of which were musically based on his songs). When I got back from Vietnam in '66 it was "Elvis who?". He was still big news during the time he was waiting for his future wife to "grow up".
 
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