Could an Old School Hard Rock and Metal Station Make it in Memphis?

[Sandscott]

I will admit I grew up a fan of the 80's hair bands, so maybe my question is more wishful thinking than anything, but I have noticed an interesting thing going on in the music world. This week there is a five day hard rock festival going on in Pryor, Oklahoma called Rocklahoma. A lot of the hair bands are playing and they are drawing huge numbers. This year Motley Crue's new album debuted at Number Four on the charts, Whitesnake and Def Leppard put out new ones to some success, and Judas Priest's new album is doing okay. Alice Cooper, who is one of the bigger influences of hair bands has a new one coming out on July 29th and I hear it is selling like hotcakes on amazon.com. It made me think, could a station that played 70's and 80's hard rock make it Memphis? A lot of people like that type of music and it would also play harder classic rock from the 70's, could it make a go on perhaps one of the smaller stations? I know the auidence is relatively small but it is has always been very dedicated and I suspect could draw ratings that would put it somewhere in the middle of the pack of Memphis ratings if promoted right.

 

[gonzoid]

Such a station would have at least one very enthusiastic listener, my friend.

 

[KarsonWithaK]

That music already exists on my Memphis radio. Sirius-ly. ;D

K~

 

[Meepster]

Lots of listeners...few advertisers.
soooo.........no!

 

[spaceman]

A good active rock station would mix in the old school rock with currents. When 92.9 MFS was programmed correctly, it had a rabid following and consistently decent ratings (3.2- 3.8ish), especially for such a small signal.

I guess that being a modern rock/alternative station that pulls a 1.3 and makes NO money is more desirable to the folks at Entercom than actually moving the needle.

ANYWAY, to answer the question at hand: I think programming a station with 80s rock/metal as a centerpiece would be a mistake. Using 80s rock/metal as "image" records for an active rocker? Absolutely.

I will say that any rock station that plays (or has ever played) Amy Winehouse should be flipped, stomped, beaten and murdered.

Just my $.02

 

[tomservo]

It'd make a good HD-2 station. Otherwise, no, no matter what city you're talking about.

 

[gonzoid]

I will say that any rock station that plays (or has ever played) Amy Winehouse should be flipped, stomped, beaten and murdered.

Just my $.02

And a shiny .02 at that!

 

[Zeke_Terry]

If by "Make it" you mean make money? Then NO -- would it have listeners? yeah

 

[longleggs]

Actually I disagree. I think if the station would throw in some new music from the older bands and open up the playlist to play more than just the hits (stuff like Dio, Megadeth, etc) it could make some money if it went after the right kind of advertisers. It would take some work, but on a station that doesn't get very good ratings, it could actually improve upon them and possibly gain advertisers. I would definitely listen.

 

[Neanderpaul]

As someone who worked at MFS when it was one of the heaviest Active stations in America, I can tell you the problem we had back then was simple...

Where's that signal located?

Exactly. Not quite "demographically friendly"

There was no way we could realistically compete with Rock 103 back then. We certainly put a nice thorn in their backsides. I know 18-34 they were feeling it. We absolutely maximized the potential of that station way back when. Ran CC's 96X out of the format. Which makes the "93X" brand all that much more puzzling.

But...Once Jim Fox walked, the Belz' really had no idea what to do with the brand that he, and all who worked there built. Charlie Waters was clueless. We went from Rage and Metallica to Billy Thorpe & Night Ranger. I don't have to elaborate further. His tenure speaks for itself. Addison inherited that mess, and did a credible job trying to repair it. And obviously, WMFS as it exists now is nothing like what it was then. I'm not saying it's any better, or worse. I'm saying it's not what Solid Rock 92-9 MFS! was. And the legend certainly exceeds the station's actual impact We had a blast and I still have amazing audio, and fond memories of time spent there. It was the best place to be at the time.

As far as whether the format could work in 2008? IMHO...Certainly not WMFS. Not with that signal. Active Rock is struggling all over America right now. The new music is mediocre, and a lot of stations just aren't executing it correctly. Causing those who don't know what they're doing (oh...you know they're out there), to react instead of paying attention to what the market might want.

Picking a solid library that they could really own would be secondary to the signal challenges.

And if a company with a full signal decided to flip a property to focus on "Classic Hard Rock," there's very little chance they could establish a foothold with WEGR's heritage ownership of most of those artists.

Perception is reality. The financial expenditure to brand a new "Rock" station in Memphis would be considerable. The payoff probably not worth the effort. Not to mention selling the format. Training salespeople to sell a lifestyle as opposed to hard numbers is also a consideration.

I don't see that happening.

Just my opinion. I'm comfortable if I'm on an island

 

[Zeke_Terry]

As an actual station I think it would have some significant monetary issues - BUT - if there was perhaps a specialty show that concentrated in that area on - say - 98.1, then I think it could work.

Though a good chunk of current rock music ain't worth a 'splat', there is enough out there that is air-worthy. Making a GOOD combination of the new and old is looking like it's winning. Living in the past, and playing ONLY classis stuff is getting .... well .. OLD. I like classic rock, but I also like some of the new stuff - 103 RARELY plays 'new' stuff and that is a big problem I have with them. That and the whole I 'dislike' CC stuff, but that's personal

98.1 has a pretty good mix of old and new - still some VERY over-played songs - and GOD I hate that Kid Rock song, gotta change the channels everytime I hear it.

But then again - you're never gonna please ALL the people, ALL the time. So grab what you can.