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Christmas Music 2012

R

richllewis

It is that time of year again when the Christmas music library is dusted off. I am wondering this year who is going Wall to wall Christmas Music in 2012? Well maybe not wall to wall but a substantial part of the Broadcasting day?
 
105.1 and 98.7 in Jackson used to go all christmas, but havn't in several years. 98.7 will play christmas music mostly on weekends. I've been listening to SiriusXm channel 4 which is playing traditional christmas tunes Bing Crosby, Perry Como etc. and not the annoying catterwaulling pop star versions that are played ad nauseum on most AC stations these days. Sirius XM 17 is all christmas but they must only have a couple hundred songs on the playlist. The same ones keep playing over and over ever few hours. They over play "Run Run Rudolph" "Marshmallow World" and "Santa Baby" but happily I haven't heard any horrid toenail curling Stevie Nicks versions. I think I'll stick to the classics. Most new pop christmas music makes me either sick or angry.
 
If you are into Christian Hymns AFR has gone to Christmas Music. I note that K-Love has a separate channel online that has all the Christmas Music you would want. But I expect both K-Love and Air 1 to work in more as time goes along until Christmas Day.
 
I have a question. It's been years since I was on the air but I was wondering, if a station goes all Christmas and plays just the really old stuff, say for a month, could they just tell ASCAP and BMI that they did not use any of their music that month and therefor don't owe a fee?
 
Sorry, but all Christmas music sucks and alienates listener's who would desire to continue hearing the regular format.
 
qid937 said:
Sorry, but all Christmas music sucks and alienates listener's who would desire to continue hearing the regular format.
Click to expand...

And yet it causes stations' ratings to skyrocket.

You and I are in a very tiny minority, it seems. (Although I do listen to Christmas music within a few days of the actual day itself. This months-long non-stop stuff is crap, though.)
 
Not to highlight the obvious but how many radio folks do you think actually LIKE Christmas music to the point of playing it continuously for 6 weeks prior to the day? Anyone who has been in the Jackson radio market actively in recent years knows that that scheme doesnt work in this market. Oldies and Mix have both done it and seen their numbers tank. Jackson is not one of those "spike" markets.
 
If you had heard what 105.1 and 98.7 were playing you'd understand. They kept playing the same 2 or 3 hundred songs over and over. Too many newer unfamiliar versions by current artists, current artists are OK, but contemporary artists have a bad habit of butchering classic songs. I can't speak for everyone else, but when I listen to Christmas music I want to hear the classics, sung are played in a way that actually resembles the original song it doesn't have to be old stuff, and you don't have to play all Bing Crosby, but he actually did record more that one or two songs. Radio will take a few songs by a given artist and wear them out until the listeners are sick of them. Play something that sounds good. Nobody wants to hear Stevie Nicks murder Silent Night with her 1 octave voice range, or some pop diva caterwauling on Oh Holy Night ad nausem. There is still something called "taste" in Christmas music. I wish more people would look into it instead of going the way of least common denominator. Thats my rant for the day.
 
I would assume (dangerous) that 105 being a CC property, they would be playing the same list as any other CC Christmas station since they use universal numbering and all pull from the same hub. As for 98.7, they hardly play any new Christmas artists. Personally, I dont like a lot of Christmas songs and dont like stations that play my favorites 10 months out of the year and then flush the format for 2 months hoping for a "kiss" from the Arbi-Gods. You are now free to move around the studio.
 
I don't mind Christmas music, but I can't stand stations that go all-Christmas, especially how early they do it. There have been a few that have gone all-Xmas BEFORE HALLOWEEN!!

This whole movement started over a decade ago when a Kansas City radio station did it and the ratings took off. Every since then, seems like every AC station (especially) wanted to do it. Indeed, they get good numbers.

BTW, does Clear Channel mandate all of their AC stations go all-Christmas? Every one I've tuned into are.
 
I have to take exception to Golden Boy's account of when the All-Christmas format started. I believe that 99.9 KEZ (KESZ) in Phoenix was the pioneer of the format...dating back to the early or mid 90's when it was still locally owned with KTVK-TV (Ch.3) and prior to CC ownership. At that time, the format was launched the day after Thanksgiving at one of the Valley's major shopping malls, where the "Beth & Bill" morning show would broadcast their show complete with prize giveaways and live performances. They would even run an on-air contest prior, asking listeners to guess which Christmas song would be the first to be played when they started the shopping mall broadcast. Yes...the format then, and now, brings through-the-roof-ratings for 99.9 KEZ in the winter book, and everyone has come to expect that. CBS-owned 94.5 KOOL-FM even tried in 2010 to beat KEZ to the punch by switching to all Christmas the day after Halloween! It didn't produce the same ratings success as KEZ and they've never done it again.

Over the past few years since CC ownership, the guess, as in many other markets, is when will KEZ go Christmas. This year it was on Friday, November 16th. 99.9 KEZ partners with Fox-10 (KSAZ-TV) every year now for additional promotional push.

Unlike others who have posted here, I refuse to believe that the format doesn't work in the Jackson market. If the music blend is locally produced (not a national consultant), and cross promoted with one of the TV stations, and tied to a local charity that it could be a tremendous ratings success for the station.

Thoughts? Corrections/additions to what I've written here are strongly encouraged :)
 
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