B96 WBBM-FM Rhythmic Gold-Leaning Top 40?

[tall_guy1]

You keep asking about specific songs on specific stations and many of us keep telling you that larger market stations do research and base their play lists on the results. So the answer is always "it did not pass the test" or "the Program Director did not think it fit the station's feel".

You don't need to ask about every song a station plays or does not play.

I am just curious in general if those songs get tested a lot. That Mariah Carey song seems to have disappeared everywhere, but was one of the biggest hits of all time.

 

[davideduardo]

I am just curious in general if those songs get tested a lot. That Mariah Carey song seems to have disappeared everywhere, but was one of the biggest hits of all time.

Stations that do full library music tests include everything they currently play plus lots of possible songs. Those "possibles" are sometimes ones they played in the past which no longer tested but might have come back, ones that are becoming eligible due to age / era considerations and just plain "what if" songs.

We don't care if a song was a big hit. We care if our listeners want to hear it today.

 

[tall_guy1]

Stations that do full library music tests include everything they currently play plus lots of possible songs. Those "possibles" are sometimes ones they played in the past which no longer tested but might have come back, ones that are becoming eligible due to age / era considerations and just plain "what if" songs.

We don't care if a song was a big hit. We care if our listeners want to hear it today.

Could a station perhaps look through a catelog of what was played during a particularly high period? Say if ratings were really high in 2012, but have dipped a lot since then, could they look through the 2012 playlist?

 

[davideduardo]

Could a station perhaps look through a catelog of what was played during a particularly high period? Say if ratings were really high in 2012, but have dipped a lot since then, could they look through the 2012 playlist?

No.

We look at how songs perform today. It does not matter how a song or a music genre performed in the past.

"High Period" is not definable. Ratings are based on the performance of each station, its competition and the overall quality of music in the period. The presence of individual songs is irrelevant as what we want to know is whether people want to hear them now.

 

[JackindaBox]

I wonder why a song like One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey would disappear? It was one of the highest charting songs in history, so you would think it would at least be heavily looked at for testing for a station like this

It hasn’t disappeared on ALL stations but most. KOIT still plays it on occasion.

 

[JackindaBox]

Could a station perhaps look through a catelog of what was played during a particularly high period? Say if ratings were really high in 2012, but have dipped a lot since then, could they look through the 2012 playlist?

Idk if it would work if they played all those songs since most people probably forgot about a lot of them. It worked back then because they were “Top 40” hits at the time.

 

[davideduardo]

Idk if it would work if they played all those songs since most people probably forgot about a lot of them. It worked back then because they were “Top 40” hits at the time.

And that is why songs are tested. We want to know how much our target listeners want to hear each song today. We run radio stations, not museums.

 

[JackindaBox]

There’s so much more overlap between Hot AC and CHR because both now are targeting a similar audience and Hot AC has more material to pull from in the gold library. A consensus hit (“Flowers” or anything by Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran, Weeknd as an example) these days is going to smash on both CHR and hot AC.

IMO WPOW and WBBM-FM are both trying to grab listeners that remember their glory days (or later glory days) by playing a lot of the music they played when they were successful. Despite what people keep saying on the Philly board, what TDY has done is nothing like WPOW or WBBM-FM. TDY is more of a segue to a somewhat broad based hot AC. And of course that station doesn’t have much heritage to be proud of (or really ashamed of).

I’m not sure how these new directions for BBM or POW will do long term. It seems like a short term fix to a large problem to try to stop the bleeding. B was struggling before CHR started to have issues nationwide. I don’t think I’ve seen iHeart try this formula on any of their CHR’s, most have just reduced spin counts and added more recurrents or mass appeal golds from the last 20 years while still presenting themselves as CHR. That’s what Z100 has done, seems like others have followed.

KQMV has somewhat done that while keeping the Top 40 format but they don’t play any 90s titles. They don’t play as much currents though but still have around 40 current/recurrent titles. However KBKS is the only other CHR station in the market so I don’t think KQMV will go back to a Rhyhtmic Hot AC/Rhythmic AC format.

 

[tall_guy1]

And that is why songs are tested. We want to know how much our target listeners want to hear each song today. We run radio stations, not museums.

Is it possible younger people like being "introduced" to older music for discovery purposes? Back when I was 19, I liked hearing the "throwbacks" from the 90s even though they were tailored for an older demographic.

 

[davideduardo]

Is it possible younger people like being "introduced" to older music for discovery purposes? Back when I was 19, I liked hearing the "throwbacks" from the 90s even though they were tailored for an older demographic.

Nobody is targeting 19-year-olds today, particularly if their format's target demo is all adult

 

[JackindaBox]

No station is "forced" to add any songs or play the ones they have added in a specific rotation.

They probably are choosing to go more hip-hop since there is already a Rhythmic Hot AC station in the market by playing some old-school/newer hip hop titles that normally don’t get played on the format. Artists like Drake, Sean Paul, 2Pac, and Ice Cube are more likely to get payed on Power than WBBM (which only plays select throwbacks from these artists) due to this.

 

[JackindaBox]

The only difference is that b96 can't play too much rhythmic gold because it would overlap with 104.3 jams while Power 96 does not have that problem.

They might get rid of 104.3 Jams to get rid of that problem later this year so they can add more Classic Hip Hop in its playlist while retaining all the other titles.

 

[JackindaBox]

So far no Keith Sweat, Mystikal, Michael Jackson, DMX, Busta Rhymes, Bobby Brown, Sugarhill Gang, deeper tracks from the artists mentioned, etc. There is a lot of overlap, but there's some B96 is not playing. They're only picking the biggest tracks from those artists.

Some Rhythmic Hot ACs are playing Micheal Jackson and DMX since they don’t have that problem.

I'm pretty sure 104.3 is also a factor. That said B96 is playing some 90s dance (La Bouche, Amber, etc) that 104.3 does not play.

MOViN 107.7 also can’t play too much Classic Hip Hop as it also has this problem though IheartMedia has no intentions of getting rid of 92.1 The Beat currently. MOViN does play Micheal Jackson but WBBM does not. I think WBBM would retain dance titles even if WBMX changes formats as most Rhythmic Hot AC’s play dance.

 

[JackindaBox]

No, they are only playing the songs that research well.

Probably like any format.

 

[JackindaBox]

I tend to see more consultant programmed stations in smaller markets or towns. Sometimes they'll use Westwood One or Local Radio Networks depending on what format they do. But there are others where there is absolutely no testing done at all. They might check the charts, but otherwise it's just the local PD putting it together. This is usually in cases where they can't afford a consultant and it's not a priority.

Not everything everywhere is decided by a consultant or research. Some PDs at some stations might have the ability to make certain decisions on their own. This is not as common in rated markets obviously. But in your small middle of nowhere towns, it's normal.

KSWW and KANY in the Ocean Shores area does Local Radio Networks but KSWW used to do Westwood One. KANY did Westwood One before they flipped to Y107.3.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

I wonder why a song like One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey would disappear? It was one of the highest charting songs in history, so you would think it would at least be heavily looked at for testing for a station like this

Because people got tired of it? Because being big at one time is irrelevant to a desire to hear it now?

If people repeatedly tell you “no” to a song, you don’t need to keep asking. If something changes, like inclusion in a major movie or TV show that seems to change perception, great, try it again if you so desire.

No matter how many one-off examples one wants to keep throwing in, the people doing the work know darn well what they’re doing.

 

[tall_guy1]

Because people got tired of it? Because being big at one time is irrelevant to a desire to hear it now?

If people repeatedly tell you “no” to a song, you don’t need to keep asking. If something changes, like inclusion in a major movie or TV show that seems to change perception, great, try it again if you so desire.

No matter how many one-off examples one wants to keep throwing in, the people doing the work know darn well what they’re doing.

There was a 90s noon block on our Hot AC owned by Audacy where songs like Remember the Time by Michael Jackson and One Of Us by Joan Osbourne got spun, but the block went away. However, the tracks must have tested okay to get selected.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

None of which really contradicts the underlying point. Obviously if your data shows people tell you “h*ll no,” you don’t play it.

 

[PB Randolf]

Really it's the smartest move they could make.

 

[tall_guy1]

It hasn’t disappeared on ALL stations but most. KOIT still plays it on occasion.

It does look like KOIT plays it (they spun it twice just today, looking at the charts.) Several stations I see including KBIG also spin Selena-Dreaming of You and other Mariah Carey songs not usually heard across the nation, so perhaps it appeals just to certain markets through individual testing.

I will try to make less posts about what songs play from now on.