Can "soft music" br programmed for young demos?

[GeneSavage]

(Let me start by saying I'm 42... so I'm no spring chicken, but I'm not some cranky nursing home resident, either. This could be relevant to the discussion.)

In my hometown, there seems to be a station for just about any listener under the age of about 50... with the exception of those who might be looking for light rock / soft music / EZ-listening / instrumentals / smooth jazz / standards / etc.

Of course, the stock answer is "nobody under 80 listens to soft music."

Really? Love ballads don't still sell? People don't still like to relax?

Even as a kid, when everything I regularly listened to had to have a beat, there were times when I sought out the "soft" stations... I was tired, or stressed, or ill... and I liked having it there as an option.

Now if I want anything of less than "party-level" intensity, I have to go to CD or the internet... and often those stations are programmed at an older target.

Will today's young adults just not listen to ballads, downtempo tunes, etc... or is it that nobody has yet successfully tested a truly contemporary mix (of, perhaps, the last five to ten years) of popular light / soft music?

Here's a handful of songs that made last year's Hot 100 year-end Billboard charts that I think such a station could play:

Colder Weather - Zac Brown Band
Sure Thing -Miguel
How To Love - Lil Wayne
You and Tequila - Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter
The Lazy Song - Bruno Mars
Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People
Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not - Thompson Square
Cheers (Drink To That) - Rihanna

Some of these songs might not work that well, and there might be other songs I didn't list that would work better... but hopefully this gives you some idea of what I imagine for such a station.

Is this possible? Has it been done recently? Is it being done (broadcast OR internet stream)?

Do young adults truly NEVER want the party to stop EVER, even when trying to go to sleep or when feeling bad or...? Are "Quiet Storm" shows only for the 35+ set?

I'm interested to hear your feedback.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

In my hometown, there seems to be a station for just about any listener under the age of about 50... with the exception of those who might be looking for light rock / soft music / EZ-listening / instrumentals / smooth jazz / standards / etc.

Of course, the stock answer is "nobody under 80 listens to soft music."

Really? Love ballads don't still sell? People don't still like to relax?

You have framed the question very well. You are not alone in pondering this question.

This is not a question that refers only to music..... so maybe we can understand the music struggle if we place it on the exam table next to some other issues I think may have common forces at work.

The cell phone industry is a good suspect to throw into the line-up. Suppose you have someone in your life who has never been a gadget freak, a person who does not through natural instinct make friends with equipment. Have you gone to the market place and tried to buy a simple, easy to understand phone that fingers that are no longer so nimble can easily operate?

Have you gone looking for a gas grill to go on the patio that is simple and durable... one that does not include a spin-dry cycle and a radar detector?

Have you tried to buy a car that has a front passenger seat that has POWER ADJUSTMENTS that make the long ride comfortable for the one person in the car who CAN GO TO SLEEP and not endanger safe travel?

We are told that the market-place responds to consumer demand. Maybe the ugly truth is that the market place only responds to the producer demands.

Besides the concept that maybe the audience demand for "soft music" for a youthful listener would be modest and limited, are there operating costs that would be out of line for such a format? Is there "raw material" available or would broadcasters have to commission special recording sessions and have such a music genre mass produced lest they end up playing a very limited play list over and over and over. There has been discussion in the forums that "Easy Listening" as we knew it back in the 60s and 70s doesn't exist today. There is no such content being produced in the studios.

List some examples of soft music as you envision such programming for a younger audience.

 

[Bongwater]

"Soft" music has ALWAYS existed in the mainstream Top 40. So it's there. Beyond that, it's a niche. To program a "Lite CHR" (the softer side of very recent music without the oldies of the previous decades) would be difficult because today's audience expects things to shake up when a wildly popular new uptempo hit (think LMFAO) comes out.

That isn't anything new. In fact, there have been CHRs that have tried a 'softer' lean - trying to appeal to females namely. But they never last. Younger audiences by nature tend to gravitate to what moves them at any particular moment.

You could probably find some people willing to listen at first. But once the Next Big Thing shows up, it's going to be hard to ignore the tune-out. For example, look at 1990. There were ballads EVERYWHERE on CHR radio that year and for most of 1991. Then Nirvana came out in the fall of that year and it was not only over, it was DEAD by the new year.

Older audiences are and will always be the most receptive to softer music - especially when the Next Big Thing (which they often reject automatically if it doesn't have anything for them) has firmly taken root.

So while the once ballad heavy CHRs began flipping en masse to either alternative or hip-hop (the twin gamechangers of pop radio in the early '90s), AC stations scooped up the rest. And that's how the cards are usually stacked up.

Just my observation.

 

[landtuna]

For much of my working life I would come home after a particularly stressful day in the salt mines and want nothing more than to slide into my easy chair and flip on some peaceful music (think the old "smooth jazz" KYOT). It seems there were a significant number of us but not enough to keep the station from flipping to its current unsuccessful format. The only other alternative of which I am aware is KOY-AM but their lousy signal makes listening to music reminiscent of the 1920's.

When I was growing up as a teen we had soft sounds in Top-40 (Johnny Mathis, Steve Lawrence, Earl Grant etc.) and so-called "love songs" tended to be very popular at dances and date nights. That music seems to have migrated with the aging crowd and isn't heard much anymore.

A few years ago, when my youngest daughter was a teen, her first act when climbing into the car was to hit the KYOT pre-set.

A station that plays softer music, particular instrumentals, will never make it to #1 in their market but could probably make a decent living. Although the raw numbers aren't there for the younger demo the older among us tend to be more loyal to those advertisers who sponsor things that please us.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Colder Weather - Zac Brown Band
Sure Thing -Miguel
How To Love - Lil Wayne
You and Tequila - Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter
The Lazy Song - Bruno Mars
Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People
Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not - Thompson Square
Cheers (Drink To That) - Rihanna

Some of these songs might not work that well, and there might be other songs I didn't list that would work better... but hopefully this gives you some idea of what I imagine for such a station.

Is this possible? Has it been done recently? Is it being done (broadcast OR internet stream)?

Do young adults truly NEVER want the party to stop EVER, even when trying to go to sleep or when feeling bad or...? Are "Quiet Storm" shows only for the 35+ set?

I'm interested to hear your feedback.

I don't know these songs but based on who is singing them I wouldn't expect to like them.

 

[GeneSavage]

Ah.. but are you in the target demo?

 

[passtheword]

Colder Weather - Zac Brown Band
Sure Thing -Miguel
How To Love - Lil Wayne
You and Tequila - Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter
The Lazy Song - Bruno Mars
Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People
Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not - Thompson Square
Cheers (Drink To That) - Rihanna

Some of these songs might not work that well, and there might be other songs I didn't list that would work better... but hopefully this gives you some idea of what I imagine for such a station.

Is this possible? Has it been done recently? Is it being done (broadcast OR internet stream)?

Do young adults truly NEVER want the party to stop EVER, even when trying to go to sleep or when feeling bad or...? Are "Quiet Storm" shows only for the 35+ set?

I'm interested to hear your feedback.

I don't know these songs but based on who is singing them I wouldn't expect to like them.

Most of what comprised the soft AC format 25-30 years ago were ballads. Most of the softer music out today, what little there is which could possibly be used for an up-to-date "soft hits" format, is not ballad-based. I just don't think it would work, myself.

btw, welcome back, Chimp. I see you finally made it back to radio-info.

 

[willdav713]

Pump up kicks, it is not soft, it is not a ballad. It is tiresome and annoying. I am in the 25-54 demographic, the one where the money is.
But according to Arbitron, they think all I listen to is 99.5 Kiss Rock/Classic Rock or 101x Alternative. Because those stations target the male 25-54 demo.

 

[GeneSavage]

"Pumped Up Kicks" made it on the year-end Hot 100 chart last year.

What do you hear that's not "soft?" There's no electric guitar except for a very buried, jangly guitar in the bridge. There's a strange buzzing at the beginning which could possibly be mixed out, a gentle bright bass line, and a chorus that sounds like an early 60s lite bright pop hit. There's no question that the lyrics are morbid to the extreme... but I remember our local EZ-listening station playing "Alone Again Naturally"... go look up the lyrics on THAT one.

I accept that you don't like that song... but a WHOLE lot of other people obviously DO.

Would a modern EZ-listening station sound like the beautiful music stations of 50 years ago? Of course not! I also just stuck that list of songs up as an example of what songs have hit on the pop charts recently that might fly in such a format.

Quite frankly, I think a successful "Modern Soft" station would have to look at album sales and then listen through those albums to find the best soft tracks. So often they release all the "rockers" off an album to top-40 but if you get the album, there's one track on it that just the lead singer and an acoustic guitar, or atmospheric keyboards and the singers buried in reverb, or a soft instrumental.

By pulling soft songs off of popular albums you would be playing songs many people would be familiar with, but you wouldn't be "just the slow songs from the local AC" station.

I doubt that it could be instrumental based; otherwise, smooth jazz would have attracted a younger audience. That doesn't mean you couldn't mix in some smooth jazz and some "Narada" style New Age instrumentals (assuming that kind of music is still being made).

There appears to be some younger audience for what is called "Chill-Out," or "Electronica"; those genres might be good sources to pull tracks from for such a station. Listen to Musical Starstreams http://www.live365.com/stations/starstreams56k?play=1 as one example; Skylab Radio http://www.skylabradio.com/ is another.

The challenge would be pulling enough familiar music that it would work for a local market. A stream over the internet costs so little, you can put one up as a hobby and never have any listeners besides yourself; operating a terrestrial transmitter to cover a market requires a more accessible format.

...At the same time, most of the Beautiful Music stations play tracks that were exclusive to them... so should it matter if the tracks are familiar?

 

[jhguthlac]

When softer ballads were included on the Top 40 playlist, they were often there to lure the older listener. The Everly Bros "All I Have to Do is Dream". The Lettermen. "Loe Is Blue". "It's Impossible". Often, the younger listener would hear the song, like it, and buy a copy.

Few programmers want to try that anymore. Even the "not so Hot" AC stations shy away from softer sounds.

If listenable softer sounds are out there, including them on the playlist would make as much sense now as it did in the 60's/70's. Broaden the audience. And people may start to show they really like the music. But I am afraid a format built on those songs will have to wait until the current cycle has worn out its welcome.

 

[semoochie]

I think the Everly Brothers is a poor example because they primarily appealed to youth but my friend and I both bought "Love Is Blue", when we were kids. It has a rock tempo, if not the beat.

 

[willdav713]

"Pumped Up Kicks" made it on the year-end Hot 100 chart last year.

What do you hear that's not "soft?" There's no electric guitar except for a very buried, jangly guitar in the bridge. There's a strange buzzing at the beginning which could possibly be mixed out, a gentle bright bass line, and a chorus that sounds like an early 60s lite bright pop hit. There's no question that the lyrics are morbid to the extreme... but I remember our local EZ-listening station playing "Alone Again Naturally"... go look up the lyrics on THAT one.

I accept that you don't like that song... but a WHOLE lot of other people obviously DO.

Would a modern EZ-listening station sound like the beautiful music stations of 50 years ago? Of course not! I also just stuck that list of songs up as an example of what songs have hit on the pop charts recently that might fly in such a format.

Quite frankly, I think a successful "Modern Soft" station would have to look at album sales and then listen through those albums to find the best soft tracks. So often they release all the "rockers" off an album to top-40 but if you get the album, there's one track on it that just the lead singer and an acoustic guitar, or atmospheric keyboards and the singers buried in reverb, or a soft instrumental.

By pulling soft songs off of popular albums you would be playing songs many people would be familiar with, but you wouldn't be "just the slow songs from the local AC" station.

I doubt that it could be instrumental based; otherwise, smooth jazz would have attracted a younger audience. That doesn't mean you couldn't mix in some smooth jazz and some "Narada" style New Age instrumentals (assuming that kind of music is still being made).

There appears to be some younger audience for what is called "Chill-Out," or "Electronica"; those genres might be good sources to pull tracks from for such a station. Listen to Musical Starstreams http://www.live365.com/stations/starstreams56k?play=1 as one example; Skylab Radio http://www.skylabradio.com/ is another.

The challenge would be pulling enough familiar music that it would work for a local market. A stream over the internet costs so little, you can put one up as a hobby and never have any listeners besides yourself; operating a terrestrial transmitter to cover a market requires a more accessible format.

...At the same time, most of the Beautiful Music stations play tracks that were exclusive to them... so should it matter if the tracks are familiar?

I have an aircheck of Musical Starstreams from Smooth Jazz 106.7 KCJZ during it's last days as a Smooth Jazz station. I used it to put me to sleep when I had Insomnia fits. The music on Starstreams didn't air also at CHR KTFM or then Rock Top 40 Mix 96.1

 

[Darth_vader]

"Would a modern easy-listening station sound like the beautiful music stations of 50 years ago? Of course not!"

I take it you don't listen to KAHM, do you?

I don't know about *50* years ago, since I have yet to discover any tape from that era. KAHM still does have a very strong resemblance to easy listening stations I've heard tapes of from 35-40 years ago; for example, the long-gone KXLs, KWHGs, KFABs and WDVRs of the world.

 

[new_friends_gr]

"Would a modern easy-listening station sound like the beautiful music stations of 50 years ago? Of course not!"

I take it you don't listen to KAHM, do you?

KAHM is a gem of a station. I've been to Arizona a couple times over the past three years and thoroughly enjoyed listening to that. Very soothing and relaxing. It reminded me of WJOI (Beautiful Music station) in Detroit from the early to mid '80s when I was very young.

I'm a little late in joining this conversation, but I've often wondered the same thing about soft music. I'm 32 years old and love listening to soft music sometimes. I love CHR/pop music (and probably listen to that more than anything else), but I grew up listening primarily to Adult Contemporary stations and appreciate soft music at different times. I love listening to soft music at work (I stream WFEZ online), and a lot of times I'll listen to soft music in the evening at home (sometimes at home I'll stream WFEZ and sometimes WDUV).

It saddens me that Smooth Jazz stations are gone and that the only option really for listening to soft music is with CDs and the Internet. If a communications company is willing to try some kind of "modern soft" station, I'd love to listen to it.

 

[tvnut]

It's definitely the missing format (along with classical on commercial stations in smaller cities) out there. Or not out there. Chicago used to have WCLR-FM, which would fit the bill, but it's gone maybe 20 years now. WLIT-FM? Not so much, if I get the definition. Of course, people in the demo that would listen probably have at least a few CDs of the music the station would air. So is the market there? Beats me, but if I won the lottery and was inclined to buy a station somewhere, I might give it a try.