CBS-FM ANALYSIS

[OldiesCat]

FYI, boys & girls:

- CBS-FM's current MediaBase Vintage analysis shows their era center at about 1973- 3 years ago (summer of '04), it was 1969, representing a pretty major (and logical) era advancement.

- CBS-FM's current era span runs from 1964 to 1989; peviously, that span was 1961-1978.

- They're playing about one pre-1964 title every hour/90 minutes or so (likely to placate the "golden oldies" contingent temporarily)-most of these are of the "Louie Louie", "Do You Love Me", "LaBamba" legendary hit ilk. Contrary to previous rumors, they are not in every hour.

Just thought you'd like to know where they are.

 

[NJListener]

You're a trip Cat-Man, Do you have a crystal ball there making these off the wall predictions? It's just a matter of time before doo-wopp will be added in. Trust me, it will happen much to your chagrin. Don't bet the farm on it not happening. If I rifle thru your posts the past 10 days I'd find a s**tload of "oldies are gone forever, get over it" statements. Now you're saying that every 90 minutes they will play them "temporarily" to placate us. If you had a basis for these comments I would like to know. I really am not trying to be antagonostic towards you, I just chuckle over all the generalizations that you make and then back track afterwards.

 

[lalumia]

why would they play them temporarily, as they're just signing back on, finding their audience? they then risk losing their initial sign on crowd immediately if they tamper with the DNA and EVERYBODY knows THAT; so keep dreaming that they'll sneak JACK back in with another name, that would only result in a second round of destruction for those foolish mortals who might make THAT decision!

 

[OldiesCat]

You're a trip Cat-Man, Do you have a crystal ball there making these off the wall predictions? It's just a matter of time before doo-wopp will be added in. Trust me, it will happen much to your chagrin. Don't bet the farm on it not happening. If I rifle thru your posts the past 10 days I'd find a s**tload of "oldies are gone forever, get over it" statements. Now you're saying that every 90 minutes they will play them "temporarily" to placate us. If you had a basis for these comments I would like to know. I really am not trying to be antagonostic towards you, I just chuckle over all the generalizations that you make and then back track afterwards.

Please learn to read- I've said "oldies AS IT WAS is gone, get over it". Oldies that's main music span is late 50s to early 70s, centered at around 1964-65, IS
gone. This isn't a 'prediction', it's a statement of fact, based on hour-by-hour reports and vintage analysis in MediaBase 24/7. That's why the post was titled "analysis", not "opinion".

I comment on what IS, not what some fantasize SHOULD BE.

 

[NJListener]

I don't have an hour-by-hour media vintage report making machine in my house so I guess The Kittyman must be right. I just have a radio. So according to you, they are pulling a bait and switch on us. Playing them temporarily then psyching us out by pulling the rug out from under us. I see, now.

 

[neo11]

I don't have an hour-by-hour media vintage report making machine in my house so I guess The Kittyman must be right. I just have a radio. So according to you, they are pulling a bait and switch on us. Playing them temporarily then psyching us out by pulling the rug out from under us. I see, now.

The (im)maturity level of alleged "oldies" fans continues to astound me. Oldies Cat pulled actual analysis for you from a respected industry report, and you're continuing to argue and moan and whine. They're not pulling a bait and switch or anything else. They moved the average age of the music forward several years and have cut back on the amount of pre-1967 music to one every 90 minutes. What the heck is so hard to understand about that? It doesn't mean they've cut out that music completely, but that they've limited the amount of it that is played in regular rotation. Don't like it? Well, that's the reality of major market oldies radio nationwide. Stations like CBS-FM aren't going to survive by filling up their playlists with the "fabulous" 50s. It's not bias or hate. It's a business reality. I really don't see what is so hard to understand about that. The whining is really quite astounding, especially since it's coming from posters who either A) are totally new to Radio-Info and seemingly are just here to rant about how CBS-FM doesn't fit their ideal notion of an oldies station should be, without contributing to the overall discourse here, or B) are the same people who were complaining about CBS-FM pre-2005, but then forgot all about that complaining and launched immature attacks against Jack FM instead, all the while calling for the return of the "greatest oldies station of all time," which they had nothing but complaints about before it went off air (and now, after it came back).

Please, enough already.

 

[lalumia]

there was nothing immature about the attacks on JACK; it SUCKED, and it STILL sucks!

 

[davideduardo]

I don't have an hour-by-hour media vintage report making machine in my house ....

MediaBase and its Nielsen owned equivalent, BDS, are the sources radio and the music industry use to determine airplay of songs, playlist characteristics and such. Nearly 2000 major radio stations are monitored, and dozens of configurable reports can be called up online. The cost to radio is based on market size, but is the equivalent of a couple of thousand dollars a week in the largest markets.

If you are interested in learning about the industry rather than just shooting at it, you can look at this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediabase where there is a reasonably accurate description of what Mediabase is and does. In part, "Mediabase is a music industry website containing in-depth charts and analysis based on the monitoring of 1,836 radio stations in the US and Canada, in 175 radio markets. Mediabase features realtime charts in 25 radio formats, based on radio airplay. In addition, its services features literally hundreds of analytical tools."

You may think such stuff is amusing and make little jokes, but these are tools that radio programmers used daily. And that is not even considering what the record ducks use it for...

 

[mcmannors]

there was nothing immature about the attacks on JACK; it SUCKED, and it STILL sucks!

A real mature post! ;D

 

[lalumia]

why, thank ya, pappy!

 

[NJListener]

I apologize because I don't have a clue as to what any of your radio lingo means and I have made stupid statements based upon ignorance. I appreciate David taking the time to explain and I have gone to wikipedia as you suggested. I am an idiot what can I say?

 

[neo11]

there was nothing immature about the attacks on JACK; it SUCKED, and it STILL sucks!

That's your opinion, and unless you feel that your opinion represents the entire listening audience, it remains only an opinion. And certainly, people calling the station "Jerk FM" and reciting the lyrics to "hit the road, Jack" when news of CBS-FM's return hit the rumor mill also says a lot about the maturity level of many of these listeners. There were many people who also liked Jack FM, hard as it may be for you and some others to believe.

I recall you were on Radio X for a while? How would you have liked it if there were hoards of listeners begging for the format of the station to be changed, hypothetically, to something else, and when that finally occurred and that something else replaced Radio X, all those people who were screaming and begging and whining for that format change and insulting Radio X, then started complaining about the new station because it didn't completely and exactly match their own, personal, subjective musical preferences?

 

[davideduardo]

I apologize because I don't have a clue as to what any of your radio lingo means and I have made stupid statements based upon ignorance. I appreciate David taking the time to explain and I have gone to wikipedia as you suggested. I am an idiot what can I say?

Hey, don´t beat yourself up too badly.

If you are not aware of some of the inside terms of the trade, ask. There are quite a few who will be glad to either explain or point you in the right direction. It is actually the opposite of being an idiot to ask for clarification.

 

[OldiesCat]

If you are not aware of some of the inside terms of the trade, ask. There are quite a few who will be glad to either explain or point you in the right direction. It is actually the opposite of being an idiot to ask for clarification.

100% agree. If some of these gentlemen would actually ask some informed questions vs. attacking some of us because they don't agree or understand, they might not get treated better.

Someone I used to work with put it best: he often said, "I'm not always most impressed by those who think they have all the answers than I am by those who ask the right questions". He was and still is right. And, the truth is, some of us here DO have may of the answers thanks to years of experience. We also get trashed for being "suits" and "consultants", as if it's a bad thing to have lots of experience and a successful track record- those attributes do not automatically make us bad, guys.

 

[lalumia]

unless you feel that your opinion represents the entire listening audience


...well, actually, yes, it does.../
RadioX did change to a religion station, after the ownership changed hands, which is different than CBS just flipping the bird to it's legacy and to what was a still successful station because some consultants got out their oujuia boards and tea leaves and delivered their oricular pronouncements from Mt. Olympus....

 

[wgliradio]

MediaBase and its Nielsen owned equivalent, BDS, are the sources radio and the music industry use to determine airplay of songs, playlist characteristics and such. Nearly 2000 major radio stations are monitored, and dozens of configurable reports can be called up online. The cost to radio is based on market size, but is the equivalent of a couple of thousand dollars a week in the largest markets.

You may think such stuff is amusing and make little jokes, but these are tools that radio programmers used daily. And that is not even considering what the record ducks use it for...

Just think of it as copying off someone else's paper

Of course, NJListener would have access to these for free, right???? So they could, you know, see for themselves???

 

[wgliradio]

unless you feel that your opinion represents the entire listening audience


...well, actually, yes, it does.../
RadioX did change to a religion station, after the ownership changed hands, which is different than CBS just flipping the bird to it's legacy and to what was a still successful station because some consultants got out their oujuia boards and tea leaves and delivered their oricular pronouncements from Mt. Olympus....

Radio X (WLIX-LP) did not change hands.

 

[davideduardo]

Just think of it as copying off someone else's paper quote]

Whether meant in jest or not, your statement indicates a fundamental lack of understanding of the way business works.

If Lever comes out with a new disposable diaper, P&G buys cases and cases and does all manner of analysis on the content and manufacturing, and then does blind test research with families that buy the product so that they can make sure their product is the best. The beneficiary is the consumer.

In radio, we watch other playlists (and have back to the days of the Gavin and Hamilton reports) to see what stations we respect are doing musically. Now, we have electronic data and can often find additional songs for out next music test this way. The audience benefits.

Of course, NJListener would have access to these for free, right???? So they could, you know, see for themselves???

Of course not. In bigger markets we pay in the six figures for access. Just as we pay a million a market for Arbitron in such cities. Both common sense and our contracts oblige us to protect copyright material. You may think we are stupid, but being #1 in the best radio market in the US is actually not that easy.

 

[neo11]

unless you feel that your opinion represents the entire listening audience


...well, actually, yes, it does.../

That's all I needed to know

 

[Robert Bass]

I apologize because I don't have a clue as to what any of your radio lingo means and I have made stupid statements based upon ignorance. I appreciate David taking the time to explain and I have gone to wikipedia as you suggested. I am an idiot what can I say?

After you finish beating yourself up... ;D

Check out www.yes.com. You can view hour by hour playlists of WCBS on that site (along with thousands of other stations as well).

R