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Cape Cod year in review 2009

I am trying to figure where you're coming from. It seems you are a disgruntled dance fan radio listener & everything not urban or dance is rock. Is this correct?
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Not correct. I am just saying much of the music they play on WCOD and WQRC is from artists like John Mayer, Dave Matthews Band, Counting Crows, Alanis Morissette, Train, Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox Twenty, Jason Mraz, Lifehouse, and Nickelback, to name a few examples. These are under the category of Adult Alternative on this list from Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_adult_alternative_artists
 
radiojay1 said:
I am trying to figure where you're coming from. It seems you are a disgruntled dance fan radio listener & everything not urban or dance is rock. Is this correct?
Click to expand...

Not correct. I am just saying much of the music they play on WCOD and WQRC is from artists like John Mayer, Dave Matthews Band, Counting Crows, Alanis Morissette, Train, Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox Twenty, Jason Mraz, Lifehouse, and Nickelback, to name a few examples. These are under the category of Adult Alternative on this list from Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_adult_alternative_artists
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First off the page states that it doesn't quote any sources. Secondly, I don't know of any A.C. stations that would play, for example, The Indigo Girls. Thirdly, I don't know of much rock that Paula Cole or Norah Jones have put out. This list is more germane to what WMVY plays. Sadly there doesn't appear to be a list of Adult Contemporary artists but A.C. has had rock influence for a long time: Elton John, Billy Joel, James Taylor, etc. but that doesn't make the stations rockers. They play whatever happens to be safe & in vogue. In the '90s it seemed to be more urban than it is now (I think WSNE used to play En Vogue, for example. That didn't make WSNE an urban station). The only true rockers on the Cape are WCIB & WPXC with WMVY technically one as it's an A.A.A.-formatted station.
 
First off the page states that it doesn't quote any sources. Secondly, I don't know of any A.C. stations that would play, for example, The Indigo Girls. Thirdly, I don't know of much rock that Paula Cole or Norah Jones have put out. This list is more germane to what WMVY plays. Sadly there doesn't appear to be a list of Adult Contemporary artists but A.C. has had rock influence for a long time: Elton John, Billy Joel, James Taylor, etc. but that doesn't make the stations rockers. They play whatever happens to be safe & in vogue. In the '90s it seemed to be more urban than it is now (I think WSNE used to play En Vogue, for example. That didn't make WSNE an urban station). The only true rockers on the Cape are WCIB & WPXC with WMVY technically one as it's an A.A.A.-formatted station.
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Yup I know which stations are the rock stations there, N1WVQ, but I was simply saying there is a lot of this "pop rock" or whatever you call it, being played on WCOD and WQRC. I never said they were rock stations. If Hot AC is leaning more toward rock, fine, it's not my kind of music. But I will say having two Hot AC stations playing this same kind of music, is a waste of dial space, but like corporate radio ever cared what the listener thought. HA! That's a laugh.
 
while some of your comments are valid as it regards formatting, the question asked was "do you think it was a good or bad year for radio in the cape market?" By your responses, its clear that many of you, if not all, don't even work in the market. So how can you provide insight based on "whenever I visit" or "when I was down there last?"

Here's why the year 2009 was horrible for the Cape market.

Two of the top three radio companies, in an effort to reduce budget, lost non-traditional revenue opportunities, and trimmed staff to stay above water. The third declared bankruptcy to re-strure its debt and avoid firing its employees.

So naturally, too many radio people lost their jobs. Not because of performance, but because of economics. A number of full-timers were fired, or "let go", because of the insurmountable cost to hold on to a full-time employee. and then, because they were desperate for work, these same people were re-hired on an hourly basis with no benefits. Some were hired part-time, others not re-hired at all. We're talking about people who support their families, not part-timers who supplement income. The loss of these employees was devastating to the market.

the economy, eroding sales forcasts unlike ever before in the market, also made sales managers think desperately. As a result, advertisers were taken advantage of by sales teams desperate for revenue who sold them rate instead of reach. cape advertisers, already a not-so-trusting bunch, lost faith and respect for sales in general because their ads were not working, and radio lost a number traditional revenue streams from businesses who instead just hung on to their money because they have no idea if they can open their doors in 2010. Businesses hurt themselves by not advertising and maintaining their market share, and they got screwed by being convinced that buying at a cheaper rate was a way to save money, even though those spots were not even reaching their target demo.

So yes, 2009 was really bad for the cape market. you guys who don't work or live here don't get that this is an economy-based market, not a format-based market. We choose first to serve the community, not break the "hotest" format. And right now, serving the community is the hardest job we've ever had to do.

So please, stop complaining about the fact that there's too much rock or not enough chr, or whether or not the cape will ever have an urban station again. we're trying to help businesses stay alive down here, trying to help people keep their jobs and put food on their tables. That's all there is too it. We don't care about what formats you think should be here. We're just happy to have jobs in this lousy economy and we're trying to help the rest of the community keep theirs too.
 
MoLarry, you mentioned serving the community and helping employees to keep their jobs. People can find something a lot better than working in corporate radio. The average radio employee does not have to stay in a business with lousy pay and zero job security. Who would want to, unless you love working in the business so much and you don't mind its drawbacks. Who would want to work in a business where you don't know if you will still have a job the next day? However because of this economy and high unemployment, the people who don't even want to be in radio are stuck there, because they can't find anything better. You also made my point about corporate radio. It does not care what the listener thinks. It only cares about the ad dollars, THAT'S all there is to it. When you have listeners going to others sources for news, talk, sports, and music, there's nothing you can do, but without those ad dollars, the business will continue to suffer. There are so many other choices now to offer listeners what they want, instead of being limited to what is only on the radio locally. I am so glad I got out of the radio business many years ago when the monopolies started. That was when radio's downfall started, and its never come back. I never looked back at a career in radio since then. And you wonder why CSB School of Broadcasting (I went there in the 90's) is lucky to still be around today. Good luck to those still in corporate radio today, and those who actually still enjoy working in the business. I give them credit for staying with it despite the uncertain future of their careers.
 
People who remain in radio in markets like Cape Cod do it because they want to be in radio pure and simple. It's nice to say you serve the community and want it to prosper, but those in charge do it because they themselves want to thrive. If you say it isn't a format based market then you're saying Cape stations are not there to entertain but to sell ads to businesses who obviously won't or can't advertise. How many on air people in Cape Cod radio would bolt in an instant if there were jobs elsewhere? Quite a few I bet. Your average young jock is not tied into any community. He's tied to his headset.
 
I might also add that although I wish the Cape radio folks well, what you're saying would be similar to a movie theater saying it doesn't matter what the movie is because we're just here to sell a lot of popcorn.
 
wrong. radio DOES matter to us down here. If you don't live here, how could you possibly understand this market and how it works? the full-time people who work here in radio are not doing so to line themselves up for a gig somewhere else. THEY LIVE HERE. But it matters differently to us than it does to someone who doesn't live here or understands historically how radio has worked and succeeeded historically with business in this market. I've worked in markets of all sizes, from top 200 to top ten. I get how the machine works, I hate corporate radio, but the Cape market is unique in more ways than you can possibly see if you don't live here year-round.

there's a saying down here by people who work in radio: "It beats shucking clams or mowing lawns". And we say that seriously, because we do work in a cushy job, and we're not busting our butts out on the sea or painting houses like a lot of hard-working wage earners in this market. we have it easy in radio. And its ironic to say that because some of us do have to shuck clams or mow lawns to keep aloat. God help you if you are a family head who got cut from your radio gig and now you have to try to find not one job, but several to keep afloat because no well-paying, benefit-providing jobs are remotely available. When you have 26 people with management experience applying for one administrative assistant job, what does that tell you about the market?

So does the market really complain about the format changes you all speak of in this market? Not really. They take what they get and roll with it. I don't hear anybody cryin' about the ROSE being gone other than the posters on this site who don't even live here.

while 2009 sucked for this market, we are working hard to keep our jobs, even though our collegues are losing theirs, and that means, regardless of what formats you think should be in this market, helping the community businesses stay in business by steering local dollars into their doors is cape cod radio's main goal. Because if we do that, then of course, we win too and we get to keep our jobs longer. Your comments on corporate radio are true in the general sense, but corporate radio doesnt run the market down here. Locally-owned business does.

And for the record, most everyone who works in radio down here is NOT working here so they can bolt to another market the minute a job becomes available. YOU DONT COME TO CAPE COD TO FURTHER YOUR CAREER IN RADIO SOMEWHERE ELSE. We live here. We're year-rounders who love cape cod and have well-rooted famillies here. This is our home, not another market stop on the wonderful career path to big time radio.

and if you didn't catch the sarcasm there, you've missed my whole point.

if nothing else, thanks for reading!
 
MoLarry,
No one has to stay in Cape Cod radio, or on Cape Cod.  If they really love it and want to stay on the Cape, that's great, and I wish them the best.  If I was in radio and not able to support my family or myself, and could not find a better job, I would move to an area where I can have a good life and nice job.  However I know that's not an option for everyone.  I live in Rhode Island, and I will tell you it is certainly not my first choice of a place to live, but until this economy improves, I am stuck here.  I would rather go to upstate New York near Lake Champlain, or southern coastal Maine.  I am sure some people pass through the Cape Cod market on to bigger markets.  It's such a small market, and also an expensive place to live.  Yes, you do have the veterans, and that's great.  The best voice I ever heard on Cape Cod radio was Dave Reid.  And yes, MoLarry, you are right about the different type sound of Cape Cod radio vs. the mega monopolies.  One station that always impressed me was WQRC, not the music, but its community oriented style.  I like after the hourly ID when they say "from (village name) to (village name), this is 99.9 WQRC FM Barnstable/Hyannis", and I often would not know where those villages were, but I was sure the true Cape Codders did. 
 
MoLarryMoLarry said:
there's a saying down here by people who work in radio: "It beats shucking clams or mowing lawns".  And we say that seriously, because we do work in a cushy job, and we're not busting our butts out on the sea or painting houses like a lot of hard-working wage earners in this market. we have it easy in radio. And its ironic to say that because some of us do have to shuck clams or mow lawns to keep aloat.  God help you if you are a family head who got cut from your radio gig and now you have to try to find not one job, but several to keep afloat because no well-paying, benefit-providing jobs are remotely available.  When you have 26 people with management experience applying for one administrative assistant job, what does that tell you about the market?

So does the market really complain about the format changes you all speak of in this market?  Not really.  They take what they get and roll with it.  I don't hear anybody cryin' about the ROSE being gone other than the posters on this site who don't even live here.

while 2009 sucked for this market, we are working hard to keep our jobs, even though our collegues are losing theirs, and that means, regardless of what formats you think should be in this market, helping the community businesses stay in business by steering local dollars into their doors is cape cod radio's main goal.  Because if we do that, then of course, we win too and we get to keep our jobs longer.  Your comments on corporate radio are true in the general sense, but corporate radio doesnt run the market down here.  Locally-owned business does. 
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... so, if you work in cape radio, what business are you in?
 
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