fmtooner said:
Holstead said:
The Arrow's always been the redheaded stepchild at the family reunion within the local chain.
[reply]
is that why cc kept it and flipped klol?
I'm certainly not trying to hurt your feelings, here. Objectively, KLOL was caught in a textbook "squeeze play." It was more than 25 years ago that I first read the term in an impassioned article in R &R; the writer was deeply concerned that, with the rise of niche' formats like alternative and classic rock, the heritage and active rock audience would be siphoned off. Such division would weaken the audience core, leading to the eventual demise of the active rock format and the bleak vision of heritage rock stations going dark all over the country. Of course, he was thinking in terms of market competition, not competition for audiences within the same chain. I've long forgotten the writer's name, but I often think he must feel pretty awful if he's still around to see how right he was.
The fact remains that nostalgia formats are cheaper to run. There's no need to convince the audience to give the new Arrowsmith song a chance; those listeners will still pay to go see Arrowsmith in concert the next time they come to the Pavilion, and the time after that, and probably the next time, too. The listeners know beyond a shade of a doubt that when they turn on the dial, they're going to hear Foreigner, Boston, Tom Petty, Lynyrd Skynyrd, et. al. The Research has been done and put to bed.
It absolutely makes sense to put more dollars/resources into the formats which serve as the outlets for music development and new product. Those dollars translate into better talent development, more live dayparts and more live weekends, more budget for giveaways and face it, cooler prizes. Three festivals per year translate into hundreds more ticket giveaways, developing new listeners in the younger demos. The resources spent create a self-sustaining return on investment. When there are limited resources to go around, it makes sense to put the dollars there.
I'm sorry if I conveyed that in a manner that put you on the defensive, Josh. I certainly didn't intend to.
concept4141 said:
schmave said:
That's a very good post and as a regular Arrow listener, I quite agree. The one thing I think the Arrow truly needs right now is a solid midday personality bridging the morning show to afternoon drive.
And maybe revamp the playlist a bit... Sheesh. D&R were good harmless fun, but when that same damn Aerosmith song comes on, its bye bye... The sad thing is K-hits playlist is even thinner. Especially since they started playing so much of what the Arrow does anyways; sprinkle in a few moldy oldies and you're good to go!
I think we can all agree that even classic formats could benefit from the occasional tweak.
Jennifer was terrific in what she did, and also wears the bonus hat of years' worth of solid production. Like Mike says, she's worth a lot more money than is probably budgeted for those positions right now (to be perfectly crass). I love Suzi but haven't heard her in the middays. I agree that she's under-utilized and she was great fun with D&R. I'm bummed she didn't make the hop with them, actually, because I think she adds a great element. She's versatile enough to go back to hard news, if she wants, or shop around and find whatever it is that she wants to do. I hope she lands well in whatever endeavor she pursues, be it middays or mornings or war correspondence or ski-dooing all over the world!
adguy said:
I have not listened to Dean & Rog in several years, but when I did they were hands down the best...
...The next thing: Congress reactivating the fairness doctrine, which will of course spell the quick end to AM radio with massive media property sell-offs and bankrupcies. That's another group of fine geniuses. Everday seems more and more like we are living on Planet Bizarro, not Earth.
Scary, isn't it?