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Big 98.1

vw86 said:
WOCL/1059 Sunny FM here in Orlando, another Audacy Classic Hits station, seems to be taking a similar approach. I haven't listened in a while but had it on in the car for a while tonight. Looking at the playlist history, in the last few hours they have played:

I Kissed A Girl - Katy Perry (playing now) (likely overlap with sister Hot AC Mix 105.1)
My Own Worst Enemy - Lit (likely overlap with sister Hot AC Mix 105.1)
Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson (likely overlap with sister Hot AC Mix 105.1 and sister Rhythmic Throwbacks 102 Jamz)
Crazy - Gnarls Barkley (likely overlap with sister Hot AC Mix 105.1 and sister Rhythmic Throwbacks 102 Jamz)
Family Affair - Mary J. Blige (likely overlap with sister Hot AC Mix 105.1 and sister Rhythmic Throwbacks 102 Jamz)
Rolling In The Deep - Adele (likely overlap with sister Hot AC Mix 105.1)
Kryptonite - 3 Doors Down (likely overlap with sister Hot AC Mix 105.1)

This is all mixed in with the usual 80s centric stuff like Electric Avenue, Don't You Forget About Me, Pour Some Sugar On Me, etc. The overall presentation of the station sounds so different than when I was a big listener 6-7 years ago.
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We'll have tp pay attention to see how this works out. Kryptonite because its about 25 years probably works. Everything else is too new.
 
Seltzer said:
Was any research project done before 98.1 made this massive change from what the core Classic Hits listener wants? If you are going to drastically your sound, it shouldn't just be based on the whims of a programming executive. CBS FM in NYC has evolved smartly and will continue to do so. OGL is a mess.
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If you think for one second that an Audacy-owned station in a major market isn't constantly doing research, I don't know how to answer you on the above.
 
Seltzer said:
CBS FM in NYC has evolved smartly and will continue to do so. OGL is a mess.
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WCBS doesn't have the demographic problems WOGL has. Same with KRTH. These demographic problems pre-date the May music changes by a long time, going back to the rebrand. It's been years since WOGL has been Top 5 in 25-54 or any sellable demographic.
 
Seltzer said:
We'll have tp pay attention to see how this works out. Kryptonite because its about 25 years probably works. Everything else is too new.
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WOCL has had excellent ratings on a consistent basis for the past decade. And this is despite a very polarizing "angry white guy" style conservative morning show in a fairly liberal town that is extremely out of place for a music format.
 
Here's a list of some "new to the rotation" songs I see on the Big 98.1 recently played list for today, Saturday 7/19

Hey Ho - Lumineers
Doo Wop (That Thing) - Lauryn Hill
Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5
Hey Ya! - Outkast
Still D.R.E. - Dr. Dre
Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson
Genie In A Bottle - Christina Aguilera

And here's a list of similar tracks new to the rotation on WOCL/1059 Sunny FM Orlando today, Saturday 7/19

Return of the Mack - Mack Morrison
Drops of Jupiter - Train
Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO
Gangsta's Paradise - Coolio
Bailamos - Enrique Iglesias
Since U Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson
Mr. Brightside - The Killers
Party In The USA - Miley Cyrus
Boombastic - Shaggy
Hot In Herre - Nelly

It will be fun to watch these two Audacy Classic Hits stations to see how they continue to tweak their music rotation and how their respective markets respond.
 
vw86 said:
It will be fun to watch these two Audacy Classic Hits stations to see how they continue to tweak their music rotation and how their respective markets respond.
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And less fun to watch you complain about the tweaks, regardless of whether or not they make sense.

Comparing a relatively short list of recently played songs to see which songs you believe were added is probably the most unscientific "research".

You gave a like to my post about Audacy constantly doing research. I am fairly confident that whatever songs they add make sense in their respective markets. If anything, your lists are making a good case for their not being "cookie cutter".
 
I'm not the one complaining about Big 98.1 or setting arbitrary rules for Classic Hits. I'm genuinely interested in seeing where these different stations take their playlists in the months and years to come.
 
vw86 said:
I'm not the one complaining about Big 98.1 or setting arbitrary rules for Classic Hits. I'm genuinely interested in seeing where these different stations take their playlists in the months and years to come.
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Fair enough. I hope you will look at longer "recently played" periods for your future observations.
 
Well, seeing as how all I have access to is the 'Recently Played' list on the respective websites of the stations, that's pretty much all I can do. But if trying to contribute to the conversation is such a thorn in your side, I won't bother any further.
 
vw86 said:
Well, seeing as how all I have access to is the 'Recently Played' list on the respective websites of the stations, that's pretty much all I can do. But if trying to contribute to the conversation is such a thorn in your side, I won't bother any further.
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I would suggest, then, that you check those "recently played" lists over several days and times of day, and then be able to make comments that relate to a wider span of time than just once.

That's what I meant by "longer". I'm sure you can see that the more samples of the playlists you have, the better your comments will be.
 
vw86 said:
Well, seeing as how all I have access to is the 'Recently Played' list on the respective websites of the stations, that's pretty much all I can do. But if trying to contribute to the conversation is such a thorn in your side, I won't bother any further.
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If you have the time, you might do a screen capture at each refresh interval. If you have a printer, then do more than one day and lay them out so you can see patterns. Some stations may not play a song in the same daypart for a week or more.
 
Two Audacy classic hits stations I follow are KXSN/San Diego and KOOL/Phoenix. Both have very cohesive playlists that flow very well. Neither are all over the place like WOGL. Both, especially KXSN, do quite well. WMXJ/Miami is another good example of a station that has a more rhythmic flavor, but isn’t going to the lengths of pulling out Dr. Dre, Nelly, and Rihanna.

However, the first two stations are more 80s rock centric which WOGL was trying with apparently little success. WOGL is at the stage of throwing whatever against the wall to see what sticks.
 
Seltzer said:
When you are in a financial mess, you cut corners.
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I will doublecheck my go-to source on that, but given the fact that once music research shifted from in-person at auditoriums to online surveying, the costs are relatively negligible now.

So I am fairly confident, until I learn otherwise from my source, that Audacy hasn't cut that corner.
 
Radio Wreck said:
Are these the same “researchers” who decided that Dr. Dre was a good fit to follow Journey? Because if so, perhaps Audacy needs new researchers.
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Okay, here we go with another misconception for me to debunk and correct.

(I am getting tired of having to do this, BTW.)

Music research, whether done in-house or by contracting with an outside firm, only provides the raw data from listeners ranking songs in terms of how well they like or dislike them. That research has no bearing whatsoever on how those songs are scheduled next to each other.

When you blame "researchers" you are showing a complete lack of knowledge of how the process works, similar to the misconception about "consultants" ruining radio based on your own personal perceptions. Consultants make recommendations; station management decides whether or not to implement them. The exact same responsibility falls on the individual station programmers to use the music research to determine what songs are the ones that the market's audience is most agreed on as consensus favorites.

And the average listener does not care if Dr. Dre follows Journey. They care whether or not they like both songs in the first place. Your analysis comes from a personal perspective that does not exist for the audience as a whole.
 
K.M. Richards said:
Okay, here we go with another misconception for me to debunk and correct.

(I am getting tired of having to do this, BTW.)

Music research, whether done in-house or by contracting with an outside firm, only provides the raw data from listeners ranking songs in terms of how well they like or dislike them. That research has no bearing whatsoever on how those songs are scheduled next to each other.

When you blame "researchers" you are showing a complete lack of knowledge of how the process works, similar to the misconception about "consultants" ruining radio based on your own personal perceptions. Consultants make recommendations; station management decides whether or not to implement them. The exact same responsibility falls on the individual station programmers to use the music research to determine what songs are the ones that the market's audience is most agreed on as consensus favorites.

And the average listener does not care if Dr. Dre follows Journey. They care whether or not they like both songs in the first place. Your analysis comes from a personal perspective that does not exist for the audience as a whole.
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When you begin your response with “here we go, I’m tired of all of the misconceptions that I have to correct, etc.” you come across as extremely condescending. No one is forcing you to “correct” me or anyone else.

Anyway, regardless of whether it was research, a consultant, the music scheduling program, or the DJ himself who programmed Dr. Dre and Journey back to back, you are so caught up in showing us that you’re the smartest guy in the room that you completely overlooked the main point that I was reiterating and that is that Big 98.1’s numbers took a swift nosedive as soon as they started implementing some of these types of changes to the playlist a few months ago.

As far as my “analysis and personal perspective” is concerned, I never gave it. And I certainly never claimed that it represented the audience as a whole. That said, the audience reacted, and they didn’t like what they heard.
 
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Radio Wreck said:
Anyway, regardless of whether it was research, a consultant, the music scheduling program, or the DJ himself who programmed Dr. Dre and Journey back to back, you are so caught up in showing us that you’re the smartest guy in the room that you completely overlooked the main point that I was reiterating and that is that Big 98.1’s numbers took a swift nosedive as soon as they started implementing some of these types of changes to the playlist a few months ago.
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Then you should have said that instead of asking in a snide tone:

Radio Wreck said:
Are these the same “researchers” who decided that Dr. Dre was a good fit to follow Journey?
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