Change at Sunny 95

[Bill Harmonic]

Sandy Bennett out of mid-days. Trisha Moore from Smooth Jazz takes over.

 

[SeanMGilbow]

Trisha was fun to listen to during morning drive when Clear Channel owned WQIO in Mount Vernon. She's sure to rev up afternoons.

Now, if Sunny could just update and expand its playlist....

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

Now, if Sunny could just update and expand its playlist....

If you switch over to 93.3 for a few minutes, Sunny will suddenly sound less boring than it really is...but not for long.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

OK, as long as I've already slid into my usual bitching about the drivel that ended up on 93.3, here's yet ANOTHER example of something listenable that CC just put onto one of its stations elsewhere (Cincy's 94.1) while we get to continue reveling in the delights of Barry Manilow and Carpenters. This the 6pm hour tonight per Yes.com. Any opinions? (BTW, I know this won't make a difference one way or the other, but I hesitate to post because I hope 91.5 keeps its current format as long as possible!)

The Smashing Pumpkins 1979
Colbie Caillat Bubbly
The Red Hot Chili Peppers Scar Tissue
Big Country In A Big Country
Norah Jones Thinking About You
The Cars Just What I Needed
Five For Fighting Superman
Midnight Oil Beds Are Burning
Bob Marley & The Wailers Jamming
The Fray All At Once
Nirvana About A Girl
Melissa Etheridge I'm The Only One
Rob Thomas Ever The Same
U2 Even Better Than The Real Thing

 

[OHIODEAL]

That all works well with me!Could Sunny head for a"Fresh"style format soon?Maybe like"Fresh 95"?

 

[Bill Harmonic]

94.1 in Cincy is in the vein of CC's Cities 97 in Minneapolis but seems to be a tad bit more Hot AC, especially in jock delivery (maybe it's just bad jocks), and not as well produced, as an adult alternative such as Cities. I wonder if Lauren McLeash had a hand in the set up. Columbus could use a station in this arena! WBNS is the closest thing right now but that's are they are...close. 91.5 is ok but they need structure and direction with that wide playlist. The jukebox will only go so far without a purpose even though I believe they have disrupted the market with their mix. Everyone else (93.3, 94.7, 101.1) are just pretenders. There have been a couple of proposals in the very recent past to do something like this but it seems like no one in this market can see down the road far enough to taste the future. Unfortunately I don't see this happen on a big enough stick so likely suspects include 107.1 and 107.9. Maybe 101.1 could quit reading their trumped up victorys in Columbus Monthly and start reaching out to an adult audience. Maybe I will contine to not listen to Columbus radio on a regular basis and continue my internet excursions to find broadcasters who see that the light at the end of the tunnel is the sound of change and that those who change will also be allowed to continue to play the game.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

94.1 in Cincy is in the vein of CC's Cities 97 in Minneapolis but seems to be a tad bit more Hot AC, especially in jock delivery (maybe it's just bad jocks), and not as well produced, as an adult alternative such as Cities. I wonder if Lauren McLeash had a hand in the set up. Columbus could use a station in this arena! WBNS is the closest thing right now but that's are they are...close. 91.5 is ok but they need structure and direction with that wide playlist. The jukebox will only go so far without a purpose even though I believe they have disrupted the market with their mix. Everyone else (93.3, 94.7, 101.1) are just pretenders. There have been a couple of proposals in the very recent past to do something like this but it seems like no one in this market can see down the road far enough to taste the future. Unfortunately I don't see this happen on a big enough stick so likely suspects include 107.1 and 107.9. Maybe 101.1 could quit reading their trumped up victorys in Columbus Monthly and start reaching out to an adult audience. Maybe I will contine to not listen to Columbus radio on a regular basis and continue my internet excursions to find broadcasters who see that the light at the end of the tunnel is the sound of change and that those who change will also be allowed to continue to play the game.     

Very intersting observations.  But I sure wouldn't count on 101 to do anything sensible.  They've proven that through those 13 years of utterly meaningless "victories" in the Columbus Monthly readers's poll  -- as unscientific a survey as you can get, with a fully self-selected base of respondents. 

 

[Inventor989]

Radio 94.1 is a rehash of Modern AC with some "neo" elements of delivery instead of a CHR based sound. I don't see the format "hole" for this in Cincinnati. It appears CC is trying to mess with Bonneville's Q102 and The Sound. Getting rid of Whoopi can't help but give it a shot. However, I don't see how it helps the cluster defeat its toughest competitors.

As for Columbus, the market forces are there for a conservative (not politically, musically) AAA that merges heritage music with new artists. The AAA consultants have been telling clients they must move away from older artists. I believe these consultants are dead wrong.

As for Sunny, the station they have modeled themselves after for many years, WBEB in Philadelphia, has just purchased rights to the "Fresh" moniker. I wouldn't be surprised if Sunny did the same, and made some moves in this direction.

 

[Bill Harmonic]

I agree that the market forces in central Ohio are there for a triple A / adult alternative and that heritage artists can be part of the mix but not necessarily heritage tunes from those artists. WBOS in Boston tries that with a station that leans classic rock one moment and adult alternative the next. Way to confusing and without any great results. They have let the clowns at the River (too hip for the room) get too close for comfort. There are some songs that work but they are few and far between. WTTS in Indy does a better job in that mix department. KTCZ in Minneapolis does the best. Heritage becomes the spice and not the foundation. There's room in town for a station that carve out it's own idenity while taking from 96.3, 97.1 and 101.1 among others and they will do it with a new blend. Interesting article from Edison Media Research on "New Adult Music Emerges: Who Will Own It?". Worth the read. It's always important to remember what got us here but more important to know what's going to take us farther down the road. I hope someone can see the options and would be glad to help if possible.

 

[jakej]

I'm your man, Bill, I'm your man! Well, maybe. Hit my name, read my past posts (the longer ones, the detailed rants -- go back at least to the earliest of my "Wake Up To This Each Morning And Smile!" stuff), and let me know what you think. Talk about a new blend!!!

Here's a hint right now at part of the concept -- Nu Roo, I don't know much about Barry Manilow, but The Carpenters made a lot of great music. I bet you don't hate them nearly as much as you hate having to hear the same few songs by them, over and over and over again, on the radio -- am I right? So on my station or show, what would you think about hearing the following selections of theirs every three months or so (and no more often than that):

From Offering (Ticket To Ride) -- "Invocation", "All of My Life", "Don't Be Afraid", "All I Can Do", and "Ticket To Ride"
From Close To You -- "Maybe It's You" and "Crescent Moon"
From A Song For You -- "A Song For You" and "A Song For You (Reprise)"
From Now & Then -- "I Can't Make Music", "Johnny Angel", and "One Fine Day"
From Horizon -- "Aurora"
From A Kind of Hush -- "You", "Can't Smile Without You", "One More Time", "Boat To Sail", and "I Have You"
From Passage -- "All You Get From Love Is A Love Song", "Sweet, Sweet Smile", and "Two Sides"
From Love Songs -- "Solitaire", "You're the One", and "Where Do I Go From Here?"
They also had a Christmas album with great tunes for December (NINE more there!), sixteen other songs that were "hits" but all of which you may not be sick to death of hearing (including "This Masquerade", "Goodbye To Love", "Love Is Surrender", "I Believe You", "I Need To Be In Love", and "Make Believe It's Your First Time" -- okay, two or three of those may not have been such big hits but should have been), and then of course there was their immortal "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft", which I may or may not choose to spring upon everybody on the day that the aliens finally decide to land and identify themselves to us.

Bill, you close your last post with "I hope someone can see the options and would be glad to help if possible." I see the options, and I'm glad to help ... but is it possible? That's up to radio management people, who unfortunately all seem to be running away from me at this time. If you and others would like them to stop and turn around, then you've got to let them know that. You've got to tell 'em that their stations are going down the tubes, you've got to tell 'em that they need to WAKE UP, and you've got to tell 'em that they need to invite jakej ([email protected]) into their conference rooms. Thanks.

By the way, you tell 'em all that stuff, too, Nu Roo. And keep in mind that even if you don't like anything by The Carpenters ... I'll also be playing a lot of Laura Nyro!

 

[Bill Harmonic]

Jakej...read your stuff and I wish you luck with your ideas. You've talked to some good people who can't always get things across to the powers in charge. I know from first hand experience. Just remember what the late Hunter S. Thompson said and that was "the radio business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side". I would like to believe we are getting closer to the time when the business will implode and something new will arise but I also believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy (not the guy in the Capital One TV spots...I already work with him) but without hope nothing is possible. That's why all us dreamers got into this in the first place. Maybe it's time for the real job?

 

[chip4]

Just remember what the late Hunter S. Thompson said and that was "the radio business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side".

Brilliant.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

Here's a hint right now at part of the concept -- Nu Roo, I don't know much about Barry Manilow, but The Carpenters made a lot of great music. I bet you don't hate them nearly as much as you hate having to hear the same few songs by them, over and over and over again, on the radio -- am I right?

Well, in a way.  I did kinda like Close To You, Rainy Days & Mondays and their cover of Leon Russell's Superstar...until they became soft AC mainstays (though they're pretty much off the radio now except for 93.3, which should change its calls to WHNS for "We Have No Shame").  But  even *before* looking at your list of Carpenters songs, the one that came to mind as one I'd still enjoy hearing is their cover of Leon Russell's A Song For You.  A tad gushified, but still a good listen.  And sure enough, there it was on your list.

But this reminded me of an absolutely incredible lost 45 -- a mesmerizingly soulful and spine-tingling version of A Song for You by -- of all people -- Jaye P. Morgan.  Ironically, I first heard it -- maybe it's the ONLY place I ever heard it -- on 94.1 in Cincy, when it was Pacific & Southern's WSAI-FM Radio 94...almost identical to the new Radio 94.1 moniker.    (I used to listen from Columbus with a high-gain rooftop antenna. At the time they had an unorthodox, short-lived format which was -- not surprisingly -- unsuccessful, but I personally loved it and it actually solidified my interest in radio and music.  So I've always had a fondness for that frequency despite the fact that it seems perpetually jinxed.)

 

[LocalGuy]

Just remember what the late Hunter S. Thompson said and that was "the radio business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side".

Brilliant.

Urban legend, I believe.

 

[Inventor989]

Bill H: I've read the Ross article, and I disagree with the SBR folks assessment. It's been my experience that people want to hear "good music". They don't care about the labels we in radio put on the stuff, they just want to hear what they like. The key to playing older heritage music with new stuff is to play the right stuff...from both genres, titles that appeal to younger and older listeners, as your core music library, and never stray too far from that center. WBOS hasn't done a good job of this for many years (they did great in 1992 when it was a locally-researched clone of its then-sister station, WMMO...almost hit a 4 share).

If you think this can't be done, check the ratings for WRHQ in Savannah. They've done this for over 15 years. Current list of carefully chosen AAA titles combined with heritage library of 70s-80s-90s artists. They are consistenly the number one adult station with households of $75,000+ income, and rank first or second 12+ when you put aside the urban stations that drive the top 5 in that city. And they have two classic rock competitors, a "Jack"-like competitor, and an oldies station in the market mix, so the market is quite crowded.

Radio needs to build audience coalitions if it is to survive in this brave new world.

 

[Bill Harmonic]

Inventor989...

You and I are very close in agreement. I really believe the SBR point is to give some of the older Triple A's a starting point to think about moving forward. The only station that's probably close to that kind of seperation is Sophie on the west coast and they are too hip for the room for my taste. Either that or I'm to old and that could be the problem. But I tell my kids that my age is not a problem and that their music really does suck. Good is good and bad is bad no matter what label you put on it. I have not heard an adult alternative station yet that does not play some classic library, it just depends on how much, and you are correct that they have to find the cuts that fit their situation. I'm a very niche and eclectic type of guy who knows that it doesn't matter where the song comes from or who does it, if it fits then you better be playing it. If I had a shot in Columbus, I would lay the format in between 96.3 and 97.1 leaning it more toward 97.1 without all the baggage they have. That should do some damage to a bunch of people in this market and make a few bucks at the same time. We are in the same ballpark and your points are right on the mark. Now all we need is someone to take the chance (cue the crickets).