Hopefully everyone had a happy holiday season. Here we are in January and 2010 and for the classic overachievers; they are no doubt hitting the ground running bent on exceeding a new round of goals. For radio, I continue with my belief that many goals are misplaced.
While away in South Florida for the past few weeks, I had a computer glitch so I couldn’t answer email so I thought I would do it here. I appreciate many of the favorable comments to the “PPM Saga.” Some of you wondered why this was done in the first place. All I can say is I did it to illustrate the huge hole in our market among other things. It is said every picture is worth 1000 words so there you go. And no, I didn’t think any of this was a waste of my time. I satisfied a personal goal and that’s fine for me.
Perhaps our geography sparked a number of comments comparing my list to the Orlando classic hits station. I did not want to emulate them so the playlists have differences. For reasons I won’t get into here, they are my least favorite CBS Radio classic hits station. The Jacksonville market is different from Orlando – pure and simple.
The biggest number of responses questioned my motivation and why I have the continued drive and energy to make the case for change in a market that is so adverse in doing so. I can only say that to understand what motivates me; you would need to know ME. Going into that kind of detail of my life runs the risk of sounding self-serving. So, all I will say is my love of radio and music have to do with my family and where I grew up. Radio made very positive impressions on me young in life. I’ve been lucky to have heard the very best broadcasting offered IMHO. I had the honor to meet many talented people in radio. When I was even a kid, I met many in the entertainment world too because the times were different and the “acts” weren’t fearful to mingle. It’s been quite a trip.
The list was not complete but rather representative of the type songs for the format. There were just too many songs to post. As for all the “how did I pick the songs?” questions, I can’t give a simple answer. In the interest of time, a lot of it came from those I respect the most. For the 60’s, even though I lived through it, I got a ton of insight from listening to Mindy Lang of WMXJ (Majic 102.7) Miami for more than a quarter century. She’s been music director/Assist PD there for close to that time – almost unheard of in the world of revolving door radio. The station isn’t afraid to be what they are given all the 60’s they still play today.
For the 70’s, this became the best of all worlds as I combined the efforts of at least 3 classic hits stations that I consider the very best in the country – WCBS-FM (NYC), WOGL(Philly) and WMXJ(Miami). Each station has a different interpretation of that decade and I attempted to capture that flavor. Soul, funk, R&B, disco, Motown etc. accounted for a good number of the biggest hits in that decade. I believe WOGL interprets that decade very well. Given the large African-American populations both in Jax and in Philly, I feel that if by some miracle the format came to Jax, it would make business sense to attract minority adults in the workplace as part of the strategy. None of the current mainstream adult stations do that and a greatest hits format would need to differentiate itself in order to be a success. It starts with keeping the station upbeat offering artists such as Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, who is not heard on WJGL or I would think at WEJZ. Then with all the other music variety, I believe an overall sound not found anywhere else would help bring new, minority listeners into the fold of a non-urban station. I’ve seen many studies that indicate that African-Americans are on the record in enjoying all kinds of music and we shouldn’t assume it’s the urban format. This, I believe is particularly true of adults 35+ who grew up listening to mass-appeal radio. I went to a lot of social network sites and read a lot of comments. No, we can’t make assumptions about 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. The right songs can attract a lot of different groups of people across the spectrum of age, gender and race. I believe certain segments of our minority community are in that “hole” in this market too.
The 80’s were chosen in probably a very unconventional way. First off, I needed to reeducate myself about that decade. The Point was so narrow in scope and restrictive that quite frankly I forgot a lot of great music. Ironically, it was from their Cox Radio sister station WFLC (The Coast) in Miami that got me thinking of doing all of this in the first place. They are that good – particularly when they get 80’s intensive on weekends. This is one of several formats I wanted to see come to Jax. The music variety, clever positioning of songs and the on-air excitement made me realize that good music is good music. Elements from prior decades would mix because there really is commonality among the decades. I believe this is why 60’s Motown fares so well today.
While in South Florida, I listened to a few hours of Coast’s 80’s programming and with the exception of a song here and there, they played everything I had included on the list. I gained a sense of validation as no one can accuse the Coast of being geriatric. But as far as the unconventional method, I thought of the genius of a guy by the name of Bill Tanner who programmed CHR Y-100 (WHYI Miami) in the late 70’s/early 80’s. There were so many great songs I began to recall. The station sounded so great that even today, I can hear the soundtrack in my mind. There were a number of songs included on the 80’s list not often heard in the format but I believe they would work in our market – especially the ones with dance overtones and that are female attracting.
For the majority of the 80’s tunes, WCBS-FM was the greatest inspiration. Brian Thomas who is the PD there has done a great job as the station has a huge audience and has a distinct sound. This was earned. There are lots of great stations across the country doing this kind of radio and I can’t listen to everything. But among the stations I do listen to, I have to give the nod to WCBS-FM for being a leader, an innovator and the most creative in the programming department. The 80’s are positioned in such a way that they don’t hit you over the head with them. They keep the songs from burning out as they constantly move songs in and out of rotation. For a listener like me and someone who gets turned on by effort, I’m inspired and I have found a radio home.
Yes, a lot of effort went into those lists but it was well worth it. Maybe it’s just me but I believe in aiming high and fighting to win. I don’t regard Jax as a small market. My expectations for radio here is a big town sound and I was happy to have shared my vision with all of you. Why I left 80 degree weather to return to winter proves I'm not perfect.
So, all that’s left to say now is Happy New Year and best wishes for a successful and healthy 2010! Peace.
While away in South Florida for the past few weeks, I had a computer glitch so I couldn’t answer email so I thought I would do it here. I appreciate many of the favorable comments to the “PPM Saga.” Some of you wondered why this was done in the first place. All I can say is I did it to illustrate the huge hole in our market among other things. It is said every picture is worth 1000 words so there you go. And no, I didn’t think any of this was a waste of my time. I satisfied a personal goal and that’s fine for me.
Perhaps our geography sparked a number of comments comparing my list to the Orlando classic hits station. I did not want to emulate them so the playlists have differences. For reasons I won’t get into here, they are my least favorite CBS Radio classic hits station. The Jacksonville market is different from Orlando – pure and simple.
The biggest number of responses questioned my motivation and why I have the continued drive and energy to make the case for change in a market that is so adverse in doing so. I can only say that to understand what motivates me; you would need to know ME. Going into that kind of detail of my life runs the risk of sounding self-serving. So, all I will say is my love of radio and music have to do with my family and where I grew up. Radio made very positive impressions on me young in life. I’ve been lucky to have heard the very best broadcasting offered IMHO. I had the honor to meet many talented people in radio. When I was even a kid, I met many in the entertainment world too because the times were different and the “acts” weren’t fearful to mingle. It’s been quite a trip.
The list was not complete but rather representative of the type songs for the format. There were just too many songs to post. As for all the “how did I pick the songs?” questions, I can’t give a simple answer. In the interest of time, a lot of it came from those I respect the most. For the 60’s, even though I lived through it, I got a ton of insight from listening to Mindy Lang of WMXJ (Majic 102.7) Miami for more than a quarter century. She’s been music director/Assist PD there for close to that time – almost unheard of in the world of revolving door radio. The station isn’t afraid to be what they are given all the 60’s they still play today.
For the 70’s, this became the best of all worlds as I combined the efforts of at least 3 classic hits stations that I consider the very best in the country – WCBS-FM (NYC), WOGL(Philly) and WMXJ(Miami). Each station has a different interpretation of that decade and I attempted to capture that flavor. Soul, funk, R&B, disco, Motown etc. accounted for a good number of the biggest hits in that decade. I believe WOGL interprets that decade very well. Given the large African-American populations both in Jax and in Philly, I feel that if by some miracle the format came to Jax, it would make business sense to attract minority adults in the workplace as part of the strategy. None of the current mainstream adult stations do that and a greatest hits format would need to differentiate itself in order to be a success. It starts with keeping the station upbeat offering artists such as Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, who is not heard on WJGL or I would think at WEJZ. Then with all the other music variety, I believe an overall sound not found anywhere else would help bring new, minority listeners into the fold of a non-urban station. I’ve seen many studies that indicate that African-Americans are on the record in enjoying all kinds of music and we shouldn’t assume it’s the urban format. This, I believe is particularly true of adults 35+ who grew up listening to mass-appeal radio. I went to a lot of social network sites and read a lot of comments. No, we can’t make assumptions about 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. The right songs can attract a lot of different groups of people across the spectrum of age, gender and race. I believe certain segments of our minority community are in that “hole” in this market too.
The 80’s were chosen in probably a very unconventional way. First off, I needed to reeducate myself about that decade. The Point was so narrow in scope and restrictive that quite frankly I forgot a lot of great music. Ironically, it was from their Cox Radio sister station WFLC (The Coast) in Miami that got me thinking of doing all of this in the first place. They are that good – particularly when they get 80’s intensive on weekends. This is one of several formats I wanted to see come to Jax. The music variety, clever positioning of songs and the on-air excitement made me realize that good music is good music. Elements from prior decades would mix because there really is commonality among the decades. I believe this is why 60’s Motown fares so well today.
While in South Florida, I listened to a few hours of Coast’s 80’s programming and with the exception of a song here and there, they played everything I had included on the list. I gained a sense of validation as no one can accuse the Coast of being geriatric. But as far as the unconventional method, I thought of the genius of a guy by the name of Bill Tanner who programmed CHR Y-100 (WHYI Miami) in the late 70’s/early 80’s. There were so many great songs I began to recall. The station sounded so great that even today, I can hear the soundtrack in my mind. There were a number of songs included on the 80’s list not often heard in the format but I believe they would work in our market – especially the ones with dance overtones and that are female attracting.
For the majority of the 80’s tunes, WCBS-FM was the greatest inspiration. Brian Thomas who is the PD there has done a great job as the station has a huge audience and has a distinct sound. This was earned. There are lots of great stations across the country doing this kind of radio and I can’t listen to everything. But among the stations I do listen to, I have to give the nod to WCBS-FM for being a leader, an innovator and the most creative in the programming department. The 80’s are positioned in such a way that they don’t hit you over the head with them. They keep the songs from burning out as they constantly move songs in and out of rotation. For a listener like me and someone who gets turned on by effort, I’m inspired and I have found a radio home.
Yes, a lot of effort went into those lists but it was well worth it. Maybe it’s just me but I believe in aiming high and fighting to win. I don’t regard Jax as a small market. My expectations for radio here is a big town sound and I was happy to have shared my vision with all of you. Why I left 80 degree weather to return to winter proves I'm not perfect.
So, all that’s left to say now is Happy New Year and best wishes for a successful and healthy 2010! Peace.