Traditionally, people would discover Country music at about age 35 so there would be little marketability for a classic version of it outside of the South. That has changed so it should now be a viable option.
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96.5 to Country
- Thread starter Cobra14
- Start date
Really? How has it changed? By your thinking, wouldn't that push the demographic to 65+?
Why do you think that was? Was it the music choice, or was it some other factor? Was KGA still classic country at that time? Did they have a lock on classic country? Just curious.
Great find.I take back whatever was said prior. There's a new country format destined for 96.5; Classic Country Rap:
Pretty wild. Actually sounds like Hank.
Yes, it was at the time, the only classic country station in the market.
In hindsight, I believe they relied on too much limited or anecdotal research which determined classic country would likely be successful. Professional research companies understand they need to drill down to determine what someone would mean when saying they love country classics. Many times that includes asking the same question several different ways across a predetermined sample group that represents a fair percentage of the radio-listening population for that area.
Humans are funny. It's not unusual for them to say one thing, and mean something else. Stations that did formats like Smooth Jazz, and AAA, found that if surveyed, listeners would say they loved Smooth Jazz, but PPM revealed not enough ever actually listened to it. I attribute something similar to Classic Country. Someone might tell you they love listening to music from artists like Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, etc., but they might be saying it as a statement of interest, not that they would actually listen to, nor patronize sponsors of such a station.
The other thing to consider now is the demographic range of those who would regularly listen to music from that era. It might be fine for a small midwestern station with only local advertisers but don't expect any national ad revenue catering to 65+ demos.
The way it's changed is that young women listen to Country now. They didn't before so when they're 35-45, if not younger, they might want to hear some of those songs.
So you're saying that women 18-24 weren't listening to country back in early 2000's? I've seen no data that would back up such a conclusion. Ultimately, "might" isn't enough to justify a station changing formats. Using 'might' as a qualifier would be like your friend might have done a good job packing the parachute you're about to use.
No, I used the word, "traditionally". "Traditionally" is not the early part of this century. For the purpose of this discussion, it's anytime that country music attracted basically mature people, mostly men. I would say that changed with Garth Brooks and that was over 30 years ago so there should be an opening for a classic version beginning around 1990.
So how do you account for the attempt at"Young Country" back in the 90's? Young, New And Kickin' Country -- A Trio Of Seattle Radio Stations Try To Corral A Larger Herd Of Country-Music Listeners | The Seattle Times
My guess is that they were aiming at young men! There weren't that many young women listening yet. Demographic share has increased over the last 30 years. This should now be a viable option for reaching Women 25-54.
Again, I don't believe your anecdotal estimate is correct. I worked for KMPS back in the 90's and their promoted concerts had just as many cheering women attending as men.
BigA might be able to shed more light on the subject, considering they're plugged into the country programming realm.
They have a name for that: I believe it's called a date.
Again, your evidence is purely anecdotal.They have a name for that: I believe it's called a date.
Let's take another tact. This is the same concept that made Adult Standards, Oldies, Classic Hits, Classic Rock and Classic Hip-hop successful. Is there some reason it wouldn't work with Country? Assuming that research was done and the answer was negative, why do you suppose that is?
I've never been a Country fan. It's the "radio guy" in me that finds it interesting.
But unlike Country; Adult Standards and Oldies completely aged-out and faded away with their already old demos. Classic Rock and Classic Hits are still around because the genre started as 70's-80's-centric rock and rock crossover that evolved to 90's-2000 rock hits featured. Classic Hits and Classic Rock is just another name for Oldies.
If talking purely Seattle-Tacoma, or in my example, Spokane; for whatever various reasons the market(s) can't seem to support more than one or maximum two Country stations at once. Even then, any more than one seems like the one completely dominant station survives and others become a distant caboose. As with other successful stations of any format backed up by history, the major factor of success is powered by a popular morning show, full stop.
Me neither, but Country as a music format is a bit of an odd duck. As I mentioned; two country stations in the same market playing researched music just means they'll both have similar if not identical playlists. The difference separating will be a strong morning show. Just as with the opinions about what constitutes AC artists and eras not driving how popular the station is, Country attracts similar demos. The difference? The station with the same music but a popular morning show wins.
I think that if another station flips to Country it might split the ratings again.
But what if one has an established and popular morning show, and the other doesn't? Will they still split the audience?
I circle that back to the point I was trying to make earlier. If someone were to flip, throw Bobby Bones on for the morning show, and copy/paste the same playlist, it would be another failure. The way I see it, someone would have to have a bold plan. This is insane speculation, but it would have to go as far as being a big-time morning show, major incentives for listeners to make the switch, etc. Otherwise, it’s a tough battle (one of which Hubbard couldn’t win, despite a good effort).
But that's the thing. Popular morning shows that work in a particular market, or markets, don't grow on trees, or just suddenly appear by throwing stacks of money out the door. It takes the right chemistry of people and time to determine whether it's the right chemistry plus has legs. The ultimate goal becomes; that all the music between 10AM and 4:59:59AM the following weekday amounts to being filler.
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