How would judge this stations performance. And do you see it staying put
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93XRT
- Thread starter CassChopper96
- Start date
It's owned by Entercom, as long as WXRT keeps pulling down top 10s every month it won't be going anywhere. It is a true heritage Chicago station, that gives it some intangibles as well.
Greg Solk's decision to energize the recurrents with Q101-era alternative rock and reduce the amount of 60s/70s soft/AOR rock while shutting down some low-rated programs has paid some dividends. WXRT was struggling before Solk made that call, but in this era you adapt or die, and Solk wisely chose to adapt without removing the vintage WXRT music entirely. Iggy Pop, Elton John, Beatles, etc. are definitely still around on the playlist. The new music Solk has been adding tends to be more lively as well, while still adding WXRT standbys like Wilco when they release new singles.
When I was in high school, WXRT was known as the "sleepy Springsteen station" (this is the "clean version", a far more derogatory term tended to be used to describe WXRT). They were not cool. They didn't play music anyone wanted to listen to, they were derided as a dad rock station, and they were in danger of becoming a grandfather rock station before Solk basically did what he needed to do to prevent what would eventually befall The Loop. So far it seems to have worked, albeit at the cost of some of WXRT's fanbase going elsewhere. The Q101 nostalgics seem to have moved in enough to take their place and then some, however.
The Loop going away didn't seem to hurt either, as WXRT's ratings saw an uptick after that happened (tho it was minor compared to what WRDV got). The tale of Chicago's final two heritage rock stations, WXRT and WLUP, and how one managed to survive while the other didn't is interesting.
Extenuating circumstances at WLUP was the Cumulus bankruptcy.
I know, but my point is that had WLUP adapted better and maintained better ratings Cumulus would not have seen WLUP as expendable. They would have found another station to sell to EMF in some other market. It did not help that whenever WLUP flirted with 90's rock or experimented with becoming a mainstream rocker the audience would leave in droves and not all of them would come back when WLUP ceased their stunts.
What made WLUP expendable was getting its ass kicked by WRDV for over half a decade if not longer. Steve Downes (the former WRDV morning host) ate WLUP for lunch in the mornings throughout the 2010's, no matter who or what WLUP tried.
WRDV essentially threading the needle between WXRT and WLUP in terms of classic rock standards (WXRT being softest, WLUP being loudest) seems to be the sweet spot for Chicago. WRDV was #1 last month, while WXRT is still kicking they had to switch up their playlist significantly to stay relevant, and WLUP is gone.
The other part of it was the station was still owned by Merlin Media, and Cumulus had an LMA. Merlin sold it to EMF:
http://www.wlsam.com/2018/03/06/iconic-chicago-radio-station-wlup-to-be-sold/
Ah yes, Merlin Media. The killer of Chicago's other heritage rock station, Q101, and ran The Loop into the ground with the same 200 song loop over and over with no adjustments.
What a blight they were to Chicago radio.
That sounds like a set up for a movie: "Debt and Debt-er".
Radio is an advertising business, and time doesn't stand still, so you have to adjust. I get that. Having said that, for those of us who love music, and a wide playlist, WXRT (IMHO), was at its best, while it occupied space at 4949 W. Belmont, and the years that Danny Lee owned the station. Danny's exact words, "I want to have the best progressive rock radio station". IMO, Danny Lee never gets the credit he deserves. Those of us that grew up with 'XRT, from 1976 - 1995, still miss all of the things that made 'XRT great. They may currently have Top 10 ratings, and may (thankfully) be a surviving rock station, but they are no longer great. Yes, that is my opinion.
WXRT ratings are better now than what they were a couple years back
It's officially been added as of last week. They're playing it twice a day. KQX has also added it.
I knew WKQX had it, they've been playing it since day 2 (Entercom had the exclusive for day 1).
It makes sense for XRT to spin the new Green Day. It's the closest GD has ever come to sounding like a vintage XRT artist. Even though the band or label isn't giving AAA a major push with the lead single XRT being attracted to it isn't unexpected.
WXRT is the biggest AAA station playing the song, and they are playing it the most of any station in the format. Nine other AAA stations are playing the song including KCMP Minneapolis, KRND Spokane, KKXT Dallas, and KGSR Austin. The song is charting in both active rock and alternative.
Thank you for a great example of what listeners who hear a new song they don't like do.
The problem with current material in all the genres of rock is that the songs mostly only appeal to subsets of the partisans of that genre... so fer every person who listens, there are several who won't listen.
It's two minutes and thirty seconds long, XRT only uses five minutes of airtime each day on the song. This just feels petty to me.
Honestly the song sounds like Green Day doing a riff on Jack White-style rock, particularly The Raconteurs. I like most of what Green Day does and this is no exception.
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