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B98.5 and shifting identities

R

RadioFreeAtlanta

Poor B98.5 - they have more personalities than Sybil. It seems they are never happy with who they are: an AC station.

I was listening to them recently and some of their music blocks are indistinguishable from Star 94.

In the 90s and 00s they went after Peach/Lite with a vengeance. (Remember that commercial with a guy sleeping with "Zs" and they substituted a Z with a peach.)

Now, they are going after Star with: Rihanna, Maroon 5, fun., Neon Trees.

Competition is the name of the game and it makes everyone sharper; however, they have been given a WIDE, OPEN field in the AC world. If there aim is to bring Star down, they can try but they will be unsuccessful. Going after 94.1 they way they are doing is going to cause B to stumble... in the long run.
 
RadioFreeAtlanta said:
Poor B98.5 - they have more personalities than Sybil. It seems they are never happy with who they are: an AC station.

I was listening to them recently and some of their music blocks are indistinguishable from Star 94.

In the 90s and 00s they went after Peach/Lite with a vengeance. (Remember that commercial with a guy sleeping with "Zs" and they substituted a Z with a peach.)

Now, they are going after Star with: Rihanna, Maroon 5, fun., Neon Trees.

Competition is the name of the game and it makes everyone sharper; however, they have been given a WIDE, OPEN field in the AC world. If there aim is to bring Star down, they can try but they will be unsuccessful. Going after 94.1 they way they are doing is going to cause B to stumble... in the long run.
Click to expand...

They are not going to B this format much longer...................
 
BRENT said:
RadioFreeAtlanta said:
Poor B98.5 - they have more personalities than Sybil. It seems they are never happy with who they are: an AC station.

I was listening to them recently and some of their music blocks are indistinguishable from Star 94.

In the 90s and 00s they went after Peach/Lite with a vengeance. (Remember that commercial with a guy sleeping with "Zs" and they substituted a Z with a peach.)

Now, they are going after Star with: Rihanna, Maroon 5, fun., Neon Trees.

Competition is the name of the game and it makes everyone sharper; however, they have been given a WIDE, OPEN field in the AC world. If there aim is to bring Star down, they can try but they will be unsuccessful. Going after 94.1 they way they are doing is going to cause B to stumble... in the long run.
Click to expand...

They are not going to B this format much longer...................
Click to expand...
Right now we have 4 full power intown signals in the CHR/hot AC space, and a fifth on a suburban signal. I would be very surprised if all 5 are around in a year, and if more than 3 are around in 2 years.
 
RadioFreeAtlanta said:
B98.5

Now, they are going after Star with: Rihanna, Maroon 5, fun., Neon Trees.
Click to expand...

Most normal AC's (at least the hip ones ones I've heard) play those artists. Nothing new here. I don't see B98.5 being hurt from this.
 
KDM 7000 said:
RadioFreeAtlanta said:
B98.5

Now, they are going after Star with: Rihanna, Maroon 5, fun., Neon Trees.
Click to expand...

Most normal AC's (at least the hip ones ones I've heard) play those artists. Nothing new here. I don't see B98.5 being hurt from this.
Click to expand...

Try streaming B98.5, and you'll see a huge difference (from normal ACs) - they'll play a current, followed by a recurrent from last year, followed by another current - I'd say about 70% of the songs they play are from the last five years
 
atlantaboy said:
KDM 7000 said:
RadioFreeAtlanta said:
B98.5

Now, they are going after Star with: Rihanna, Maroon 5, fun., Neon Trees.
Click to expand...

Most normal AC's (at least the hip ones ones I've heard) play those artists. Nothing new here. I don't see B98.5 being hurt from this.
Click to expand...

Try streaming B98.5, and you'll see a huge difference (from normal ACs) - they'll play a current, followed by a recurrent from last year, followed by another current - I'd say about 70% of the songs they play are from the last five years
Click to expand...

Oh I see... I think I'll check it out now.
 
I'll admit - "Stereo Hearts" by Gym Class Heroes on B98.5 is a little unique. But so far I haven't heard anything or any arrangement that's too far off from a typical AC. Maybe it's Murphy's Law; I tune in, and the time I tune in just happens to be a time when a bunch of AC songs that are pretty much evenly distributed from different eras in time happen to play.

However, I did look at their last played music list from their website and I do kind of see what you mean. I doubt that B98.5 will flip, though. At the most they'll most likely just continue to tweak slightly every now and then. Top 40 music is probably the most AC friendly nowadays than it has ever been in a while.
 
KDM 7000 said:
I'll admit - "Stereo Hearts" by Gym Class Heroes on B98.5 is a little unique.
Click to expand...

Especially because Star 94 never played it - same with D. J. Got Us Fallin' In Love by Usher

As long as they keep throwing in 80s songs, though, they'll stay AC - even if it's followed by Bring Me To Life by Evanescence (which they really like playing)

The Link/Charlotte is actually doing something pretty similar, and they also report to the AC panel
 
Yeah I checked for "Dj Got Us Falling in Love" by Usher because KESZ (my local AC) is also playing it along with our variety hits station. That song is really not that far off from Taio Cruz "Dynamite" anyway. But Gym Class Heroes is a bit of a stretch, although it is kind of safe.
 
B98.5 also played David Guetta's "Without You." And like Gym Class Heroes, Star 94 never played it. In the case of David Guetta, I wondered why Star didn't play it. It leans Rhythmic but sounds perfectly acceptable for Star's audience at least in my opinion.
 
Even our extremely adult leaning + alternative leaning Hot AC (KMXP) plays "stereo hearts." Not sure why Star passed on it. They're supposed to be hipper than KMXP ever was!
 
KDM 7000 said:
Even our extremely adult leaning + alternative leaning Hot AC (KMXP) plays "stereo hearts." Not sure why Star passed on it. They're supposed to be hipper than KMXP ever was!
Click to expand...

Yeah, Star doesn't like playing anything that could even remotely be labeled as "rap" - they still haven't added Hall Of Fame by the Script, probably because he "raps" the verses - I also remember them editing the "rap" out of Waiting For The End by Linkin Park and even Sing by My Chemical Romance - they never played anything by B. O. B., Gym Class Heroes, etc.
 
When I hear a Rihanna tune bumped against a Maroon 5, seguewaying into the latest P!nk song, I think, "Hmmm, Top 40".

Funny how this market goes from abhorring CHR to embracing it head-on.
 
I get this feeling that if B98.5 went full on CHR, they could probably give both Power 96.1 and Q100 a run for their money. One of the other two probably wouldn't survive well against B98.5 in the long run. BUT this would probably only work if B98.5 did a very slow shift and transition rather than a sudden flip. I could see Q100 probably doing a better job at AC when it comes to the music.
 
RadioFreeAtlanta said:
When I hear a Rihanna tune bumped against a Maroon 5, seguewaying into the latest P!nk song, I think, "Hmmm, Top 40".
Click to expand...

Problem is they're not actually playing the "latest" Pink or Rihanna, or Maroon 5 - the songs you're hearing are a couple months old - And there's still the issue of mixing in 80s songs (and now Christmas songs)

They're getting close to being extremely conservative Hot AC I guess, but a long way from being or attempting to be CHR
 
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