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Album Sides Thursdays on The Sound

U

Uncle Rob

So The Sound is playing Album Sides on Thursdays now. A bit ago it was "Triple Play Thursdays". I remember a Phoenix station doing something like this when I lived in Arizona in the late '70's when I was in high school so it's nothing new. (And yes David even then I listened to the Drama Hour on KNX) They had a couple of good ones on, but I would think it has more drawbacks than benefits. A few concerns .....

1. If you don't like the band (let's say they are playing a side of Genesis and you can't stand Genesis ..... for the record i'm a fan of Gensis so when they played a side of Abacab I enjoyed it) then you will tune out for a longer period of time. Hearing a song you don't like you can listen thru, but 20 minutes or so? You'd tune out.

2. The problem with most stations in any format is they play the same songs/artists over and over. The 3 sides I heard yesterday were from Pink Floyd "The Wall", Fleetwood Mac "Rumours" and Gensesis "Abacab". So how much variety will they put into it. Will they keep playing the same megabands just different albums? Or will they throw in some Traffic, or The Animals or such? And what about Metal? I'm sure Zep and Deep Purple will get play but I don't think i'll be hearing "Too Fast For Love" from Motley Crue or "Holy Diver" by Dio anytime soon. Are they playing Greatest Hits albums?

3. Is this just a temporary gimmick or do you think it will have staying power?
 
It has staying power. They have been doing "Album Sides Thursday" approximately once a month for quite some time now.

Yes, they generally only play album sides that contain at least 2-3 hits on them, so by definition, the choices are few and the album sides do get repeated.

I've yet to see how Album Sides Thursday has hurt them, since their ratings have been relatively stable for the last year or so, but I definitely tune out (assuming I'm even listening in the first place, which is rare these days) and play my own CDs. As I've posted before, one of my gripes is the whole "vinyl" thing. The sound difference is noticeable to me and it drives me crazy. If I want to hear a side of Steely Dan, I can play the whole CD in beautiful CD clarity without annoying hisses and pops.

The Sound's days may be numbered as Bonneville is actively trying to divest its radio properties and completed a major sale of stations in other major markets this week. If that is the case, it doesn't make sense for them to have one radio property in LA that they cannot use to leverage other media ad sales, so a sale here is likely too. Also, top Bonneville radio management went to the acquiring company, further evidence that Bonneville wants out.

It is unlikely that a future buyer will want to keep the current format with its aging demos and stronger competitors in the market serving those same demos.
 
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