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AAA Radio Format in Atlanta

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Dan6053

Guest
Hello. I am new to the forum. I am not in the radio industry but have been a radio junkie since I was five years old. Please help me understand why Atlanta no longer has a AAA(Adult Album Alternative) radio station. Atlanta is the 8th or 9th largest radio market in the United States. Since Dave FM 92.9 changed to all sports and since 99x changed to "The Bone" I no longer hear some of my favorite artists. Examples are "The Lumineers", "Munford & Son"' "The Head and The Heart", "Toad the Wet Sprocket"; "Elvis Costello" and on and on and on. Please don't tell me Atlanta cannot support this format when other small markes like Asheville, North Carolina has a AAA station. Knoxville has a commercial AAA station. Hell, even Montgomery, Alabama has two alternative commercial radio stations; 104.9 FM the Gump and 93.9 FM the Tiger. Now, these stations in Montgomery advertise and the number of businesses in that metro is much smaller than ours and the population demographics are much smaller. There are only about 350,000 people in the Montgomery metro area yet they have two alternative stations. Yes, I know the difference between "alternative" and Triple A. At this point I would be happy with just an alternative station to listen too. When I drove up the east coast on vacation this past July I listened to a station up in Boston called "92.5 The River". Not like the River, here that is all classic rock. I can stream the Boston station via iphone to my head unit in my car and it sounds awesome. But it is not the same. I want local and on the radio, not the net. Someone please help me understand!!!
 
As much as I love Alternative/AAA, those charts are absolutely dead right now - there are a few songs at the very top of the charts that are selling (as well as songs that charted six months ago), and that's about it

There have been some new Alt/AAA stations popping up in certain markets, but most of those markets have never had a station of that kind before, so they draw from older tracks that have been absent from radio during the last couple decades

Once we start getting a slew of new tracks charting on Alt/AAA that have high callout/sales, I think companies will reconsider, but right now they'd be starting up a station based on Mumford & Sons, Muse, and that's about it
 
Thanks Atlanta Boy very much for the quick response. But why has Boston's AAA station been in existence since the 80s and how about Chicago's 93 XRT or Denver's KBCO. Those stations are AAA and are in very large radio markets and are still on the air?
 
Dan6053 said:
Thanks Atlanta Boy very much for the quick response. But why has Boston's AAA station been in existence since the 80s and how about Chicago's 93 XRT or Denver's KBCO. Those stations are AAA and are in very large radio markets and are still on the air?
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I'm guessing liberal politics - most cities with the reputation for being "liberal" have had AAA stations forever

Most of those large market AAAs aren't doing much better than Dave was doing in ATL, though - that's why I think politics must have a lot to do with keeping the stations on air
 
You said that usually cities with liberal politics have AAA stations that survive, but Knoxville, TN and Nashville, TN are not liberal cities. Hell, Atlanta has one of the largest gay populations in the entire country. Atlanta is one of the most liberal cities in America. How does politics have anything to do with it. I know republicans, many that love AAA format as well as many gay people that listen to talk radio and country music.
 
I love alternative and would love to see a Dave/99x hybrid. I can't agree with the liberal city opinon Atlboy said. I myself am a very active Libertarian and most of my fellow libertarian friends are very big alternative fans. I'm alsp gay and I'm here to say gays are not jamming to alternative rock. New York City lacks a modern rock station of any sort. So why are these formats struggling in atlanta? Its all about demographics. While I'm sure many blacks like alternative and AAA, those formats lean strongly white. Atlanta has a very high black population. I believe that has a lot to do with it. You may ask about country. One other thing different about alternative and AAA listeners is the $$$ and how much many of those folks are worth. Country attracts all classes of whites while alternative and AAA (especially AAA) attracts more wealthier classes of people. These are the folks who have also left terrestial radio. Note Myrtle Beach, Greenville, S.C, Columbia, S.C., Raleigh, N.C. and Wilmington all have alternative/AAA stations. Savannah has a AAA station as well but it sucks.
 
Dan6053 said:
You said that usually cities with liberal politics have AAA stations that survive, but Knoxville, TN and Nashville, TN are not liberal cities. Hell, Atlanta has one of the largest gay populations in the entire country. Atlanta is one of the most liberal cities in America. How does politics have anything to do with it. I know republicans, many that love AAA format as well as many gay people that listen to talk radio and country music.
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I should let someone else take a turn here, but
1. The AAA stations in Knoxville and Nashvile have ratings that were lower than Dave's (and the one in Asheville NC is NPR)
2. I don't think the gay population of a city has much to do with supporting a AAA station
3. Atlanta is definitely not "one of the most liberal cities in America," especially not outside of the perimeter
4. By "politics," I meant the politics going on with radio corporations

With all that said, I think the most important factor is that lack of momentum on the AAA/Alternative charts right now, and once we start to see more "action" on those charts, someone will start up either an Alt or AAA in Atlanta

In reponse to acheron, I don't think having a "liberal" radio audience is enough to start up a new station - you've got to have a solid amount of core artists with new tracks, into which the radio station can invest
 
Explain what you mean in terms of "liberal". I understant your not talking politics but not following what you are meaning. I'm slow! :p
 
I have to agree with Atlanta Boy. I've noticed for years that the markets with the really successful, heritage AAA stations are liberal, but let me go a step further. They are white liberal markets. Look at KINK-FM/Portland's ratings. Other markets where the format has thrived over the years include Seattle, San Francisco, Denver and Austin.

I'm familiar with radio in Greenville/Spartanburg and Raleigh, and cannot think of any AAA stations in those markets. Savannah, yes.

Dave-FM's music was AAA, but the overall sound of the station was different from the heritage AAA's, whose jock delivery sounds similar to NPR. Margot was the only personality on Dave-FM who sounded like a typical AAA jock to me.
 
acheron82 said:
Explain what you mean in terms of "liberal". I understant your not talking politics but not following what you are meaning. I'm slow! :p
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;D I was just responding to Dan's question about why AAA stations in Boston, Denver, and Chicago were surviving while Dave didn't - IMO major cities that are mostly Democratic tend to have communities that support AAA stations, even if the current hits just aren't there

Unlike cities like San Fran, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, etc., Atlanta had people (and posters) constantly bashing Dave, pressuring it to flip, etc., and I do think it had a lot to do with politics, both the politics of the ATL radio industry and the fact that conservative radio listeners ridiculed Dave and thought it was "weird" - whereas I couldn't possibly imagine posters in San Francisco pressuring KFOG to flip, same with Seattle, Portland, etc.

Anyhow, I hope someone starts up an Alternative station here soon (I feel like it's more likely than AAA) - I do think we have to wait until there are more "hits" on the Alt. chart, though, i. e. songs with large bullets, momentum, higher ITunes sales, etc.
 
Thanks everyone for their quick responses. I did want to add that the AAA station in Asheville, North Carolina is not an npr station like someone earlier said it was. WOXL-HD2 / 98.1 The RIVER
1190 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28806
Ph: 828-259-9695
Fax: 828-253-5619
Advertising Info: 828-210-8549
Listener Comment Line: 828-210-8588
River Studio Line - 240-9810
Frequency: 98.1 FM/96.5-2 HD
Market: Asheville, NC and surrounding areas
 
I think the reason is because both formats don't do well in Southern markets. It seems the only Alternative stations that are doing all that well in the South are WXXJ/Jacksonville and (to some extent) WEND/Charlotte. I will agree with Roddy and atlantaboy on the fact that markets with liberal vibes like the cities you both mention do a better job of supporting the format. Just look at the ratings in Chicago and Denver to see that one, as they're both doing a decent job. Dave seemed to get below a 2.0 for the final year or so in the format and considering the stick it was on, CBS wasn't gonna keep that around, especially considering they've had a blatant agenda on promoting their sports network and part of that promotion is using sports talk radio.
I also agree that Alternative would be a much easier sell than AAA, it just seems that there's nobody who is really looking to flip anything (I know the Wild duo has been tossed around, but knowing CC, they're more likely to flip to Adult Hits or Classic Hits than Alternative) at the moment.
 
WNCW Spindale NC that serves a large chunk of western north carolina and beyond.
 
The state of Alternative radio in Atlanta is quite depressing, and short of CC killing one of the 105's or Cumulus re-flipping one of its translators yet again, I can't envision a scenario that will rectify it.

atlantaboy rightfully noted that the Alternative and AAA charts are churning slowly. However, the increasing significance and frequency of the crossovers Alternative has sent to pop (CHR/HAC) formats over the last 18 months indicates increased vitality at the Alternative format. The Lumineers, Foster The People, Neon Trees, Fun., Alex Clare and Gotye have all had major crossovers; even without mainstream radio support, Mumford & Sons and the Black Keys are two of the most critically acclaimed bands around (and radio is showing signs of getting with the program re: M&S), and Imagine Dragons, Linkin Park, Of Monsters & Men and Grouplove have all made respectable crossover showings. I'd argue that there's more interest in Alternative than there has been in years, but whether the format is viable independently (i.e., not packaged amongst Hot AC or pop material) in the Atlanta market is highly questionable.

If Alternative is ever going to make a comeback on Atlanta radio, it's going to have to be a very accessible, hit-driven station (look at X102-9/Jacksonville's playlist for guidance, or to Cities 97/Minneapolis for a more AAA approach). Atlanta is a musically conservative market, and anything that strikes listeners as too outlandish won't fly. Meanwhile, Star 94 has the opportunity to own anything resembling Alternative in this market. They're the only station in Atlanta playing Of Monsters & Men, Mumford & Sons and Imagine Dragons, and until this week, they were the only ones playing Ed Sheeran. It's a tertiary benefit for them, but as a Top 40/HAC guy whose second favorite format is Alternative, it works for me.

I'm very familiar with the so-called AAA in Savannah, Q105.3, and it's by no means AAA in the Dave FM vein. It's very classic hits-driven - you are just as likely, if not more so, to hear Rod Stewart or Jimmy Buffett as you are to hear Mumford & Sons. Another huge variable is that WRHQ is one of the ever-dwindling locally-owned commercial stations; in fact, the owner is the afternoon jock. The station has cultivated enormous goodwill and loyalty amongst longtime Savannahians, with a tremendous emphasis on community involvement. In summary, it's a situation that will never, ever emerge in Atlanta radio given the current landscape and industry trajectory.
 
Dan6053, try giving Album 88 a listen- this was the original alternative station pre 99x. Granted, their music can be all over the place, but they really do play some good stuff. Otherwise, hope you have an unlimited data plan. Atlanta radio is a vast wasteland.
 
You may still catch a bit of AAA on WRAS and WREK...

If you were a fan of DaveFM, I am sure you are familiar with the soon to be released, EAVRadio (East Atlanta Village Radio), an AAA format on-line, created/produced by former DAVE-FM PD, Margot...Promises to go beyond what Dave offered (no upper management constraints) ;D


It was to be launched last week, but some legalities still need to be worked out...new date, Christmas week.

Stay connected with their fb page for up-to-date info

https://www.facebook.com/EaVradio/info
 
Part of the problem of Atlanta radio (any type of music or talk programming) is the lack of market covering signals. Atlanta was much smaller when both the AM started and really got screwed when FM's were handed out (allocated) in the 1960's. There is only one viable 24 hour AM signal, 750 and it is hampered by poor ground conductivity and urban sprawl. The original commercial FM's with a city of license of Atlanta are 92.9, 94.9, 96.1, 98.5, 99.7 and 103.3. Even 94.1 and 101.5 are early move ins from Cobb county. Here is a list of the FM's on towers close to heart of Atlanta.

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bi...Y&format=&dx=3&radius=15&freq=&sort=freq&sid=

There are a several FM stations that have been move closer to Atlanta, but only 106.7 and 97.1 are full class C's that can stop most FM radio's "scan" function in most of the market. Even Chattanooga has more "commercial stations on "downtown" towers:

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bi...Y&format=&dx=3&radius=15&freq=&sort=freq&sid=

With less than a dozen "market covering" signals there will not be much choice.
 
TheMusicMan said:
Meanwhile, Star 94 has the opportunity to own anything resembling Alternative in this market. They're the only station in Atlanta playing Of Monsters & Men, Mumford & Sons and Imagine Dragons, and until this week, they were the only ones playing Ed Sheeran.
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Unfortunately, the PD at Star seems unwilling to add Mumford & Sons (probably because they're still being beaten by B98.5) - right now, you actually can't hear M&S anywhere on ATL radio
 
Why always think in terms of FM for triple AAA? Maybe this sounds stupid, but I've been supplimenting my out of market AAA music streaming with 1690am WMLB. Very eclectic but they actually play The Lumineers (really great opening for Dave Matthews last week) and Alabama Shakes. Why doesn't some Atlanta AM station say hey, we've got nothing to lose and a whole listening audience being underserved and go triple AAA.
 
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