Delilah gone from My 102.5

[awp69]

Actually, what's overlooked is that WMYI still reports as AC, despite everything discussed here - so that's what they still consider themselves to be.  Yeah, few AC's play Gym Class Hereoes or LMFAO, but they're able to get by with it.

Really? I didn't know that. I don't have access to the official Arbitron ratings or books, but just look at the ones they post on this site and they do have MY listed as Hot AC.

Strange if they're still reporting as AC. Yeah, they play some traditional AC stuff (that isn't "fresh"), but it'd be odd to report themselves as AC with some of what's on their playlist -- including the aforementioned Guns N Roses.

Whatever. To me, whatever they're reporting as, they don't seem to do either format "right". So that just makes them a Hotish AC mess. And, yes, that's just my opinion, which is what we come to these boards to do.

 

[carolinaradio]

Radio-Info, I believe, doesn't follow what Mediabase has the station "reporting" as - they have their own definitions, I believe. I don't have access to further ratings, either.

Mediabase, who tracks the plays/music on WMYI to compile its music charts, classifies them as AC. AllAccess.com has a shortened Mediabase report for MY's playlist (as well as other stations) for free, which is interesting to look at. It's a bit lengthy to register for, but worth it. Mediabase, which is usually credible, lists them as AC - they could always have that changed if they wanted. In some cases, Mediabase themselves will move a station to a different reporting panel/chart if it's too far from the format it's reporting as. The station may choose to report as AC for sales purposes, who knows.

I think they're just straddling the line between AC and Hot AC, and given what they're doing now, there probably isn't much of a reason to move to Hot AC. They sound more like HAC to me, as far as the 80s/90s/00s part of the playlist goes. I must admit that I don't listen often anymore because it is just uninteresting.

 

[awp69]

Thanks for clarifying. I also think they have an overall Hot AC sound, but throw in some traditional AC too. And seemingly not determined to go after one audience or the other, they're not winning me over either. But, just because of the lack of any one station I feel fits my personal tastes, I'm a flipper so I get to hear the good and bad of alot of stations in this market.

If it wasn't for not playing any currents, I'd like Chuck more, but I understand what they're going for. MY, on the other hand, I just don't understand at all. And probably never will.

 

[carolinaradio]

I was listening to 102.5's webstream earlier and they were playing "Your Love Is My Drug" by Ke$ha, which is certainly an interesting pick for an alleged "AC" station.

I'm not in to this morning show at all. I'd rather hear Hawk & Tom...

 

[awp69]

Yeah, the morning show is pitiful.

On another note, I took my wife to the Kelly Clarkson concert last night and we listened to MY afterwards. They were all over it big time. Had an "after party" playlist with like 7-8 KC songs before going back to the regular playlist. Interestingly, they were taking callers from the show. And they were all sounding pretty young, which makes their decisions to mix in those "sleepy" Magic songs even more questionable. Guess there's at least some young adults listening.

Haven't listened to Magic in forever so I was curious if they've been playing "Stronger" and "Mr. Know It All".

 

[carolinaradio]

Yeah, the morning show is pitiful.

On another note, I took my wife to the Kelly Clarkson concert last night and we listened to MY afterwards. They were all over it big time. Had an "after party" playlist with like 7-8 KC songs before going back to the regular playlist. Interestingly, they were taking callers from the show. And they were all sounding pretty young, which makes their decisions to mix in those "sleepy" Magic songs even more questionable. Guess there's at least some young adults listening.

Haven't listened to Magic in forever so I was curious if they've been playing "Stronger" and "Mr. Know It All".

Magic is playing "Mr. Know It All", and have been for several weeks. They play a plethora of her older songs, as well.

MY absolutely rode this KC wave to DEATH. More than any single other station in this market, IMO. I know B-93.7 did a remote at it, but MY has been all over it. Perhaps they thought that was going to put them on the map, I don't know, but their Kelly Clarkson fascination has gotten tiring....they are either playing her music or talking about her.

I think the issue with the morning show is that there's no strong talent to carry it and the music certainly can't. If they don't try to make it in to a 'normal' morning show, like they did until now, it was fine, but now it's just annoying.

 

[freqdev]

this board follows 12+. a trend came out yesterday. in january 102.5 was 5th and 98.9 was 10th.

 

[carolinaradio]

I've never denied that 98.9 needs work, as well. They've let it sit stagnant for way too long. If they were 10th out of 12 in market signals, that's not good, but there's still plenty of potential there.

Why are the trends not made public for this market like they are for the other diary markets 12+?

 

[freqdev]

gsp is an embargoed market.

 

[awp69]

Magic is playing "Mr. Know It All", and have been for several weeks. They play a plethora of her older songs, as well.

MY absolutely rode this KC wave to DEATH. More than any single other station in this market, IMO. I know B-93.7 did a remote at it, but MY has been all over it. Perhaps they thought that was going to put them on the map, I don't know, but their Kelly Clarkson fascination has gotten tiring....they are either playing her music or talking about her.

I agree that they did overkill Kelly Clarkson with their contests and all. But while their were some "older" people at the show, I'd say the vast majority were in their teens, 20s and 30s.

If they wanted to use this to put them on the map, they should know they aren't going to keep those listeners if they continue to go down the road they currently are....ie., very few currents, mixing in older slow songs.

But I guess it's good to hear for MY if they were 5th in the 12+ January book.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Play counts also define Hot AC - even the most conservative Hot AC's play their top songs about 60-70x a week (traditional AC is around 20-30 usually, and CHR 90+), and the most MY plays theirs is around 40x/week.
Hot AC's add new music every week or 2, play more new music, and update the currents more...

Actually, what's overlooked is that WMYI still reports as AC, despite everything discussed here - so that's what they still consider themselves to be. Yeah, few AC's play Gym Class Hereoes or LMFAO, but they're able to get by with it.

I think the fact that they're playing the louder music counts more than what they're playing and shouldn't be.

WEZV in Myrtle Beach calls itself Soft AC according to Arbitron. I talked on the phone to the man in charge of such things and he wouldn't back down. But there is little similarity between that station and WDUV. Even WFEZ is listed on the site where I get my Arbitron ratings as "easy oldies", though it was "Soft AC" to begin with. Back when the man in charge of changing the formats on that site actually bothered to listen, he changed WEZV to "adult standards". It does have more in common with Dial Global America's Best Music than WDUV. Meanwhile, that site lists WJXA Nashville as Soft AC, but that station is just like all the other ACs based on its playlist. Nothing "soft" about it. The site did finally change WSPA, and it's about time. WMYI is listed there as Hot AC.

 

[carolinaradio]

I agree that they did overkill Kelly Clarkson with their contests and all. But while their were some "older" people at the show, I'd say the vast majority were in their teens, 20s and 30s.

If they wanted to use this to put them on the map, they should know they aren't going to keep those listeners if they continue to go down the road they currently are....ie., very few currents, mixing in older slow songs.

But I guess it's good to hear for MY if they were 5th in the 12+ January book.

Adele is another artist that they play to death....but who doesn't.
I'm glad that they are apparently doing alright, just because it's something different and they do sound better than before (although a full book will tell much more than a trend). However, I seem to recall a couple of good books 12+ for them before they made the changes they did in the summer, so who knows. They must have been falling short in some demographic.
Perhaps dropping Delilah and listeners sampling the station after Christmas helped them.

I thought I would mention Magic. The comment about them not doing well prompted me to listen to them some today. Their playlist is killing them, if anything is. Airstaff and presentation are fine. Except for adding some 'current' songs along, the playlist is exactly the same (to a t) as it was a year ago. I know because I used to hear it in the background all day, every day. You can't program a mainstream AC and leave the playlist stagnant for so long. I realize that they've been in a transitionary phase over the past few months with the programming staff, but the playlist is in desperate need of freshening. It's not an incredibly wide one, either. With mainstream AC, you have to rotate songs in and out on a regular basis to make it less predictable as you aren't playing many new songs. That'd be my advice to their new PD. 97.7 is probably denting them a little as well.

 

[awp69]

I thought I would mention Magic.  The comment about them not doing well prompted me to listen to them some today.  Their playlist is killing them, if anything is.  Airstaff and presentation are fine.  Except for adding some 'current' songs along, the playlist is exactly the same (to a t) as it was a year ago.  I know because I used to hear it in the background all day, every day.  You can't program a mainstream AC and leave the playlist stagnant for so long.  I realize that they've been in a transitionary phase over the past few months with the programming staff, but the playlist is in desperate need of freshening.  It's not an incredibly wide one, either.  With mainstream AC, you have to rotate songs in and out on a regular basis to make it less predictable as you aren't playing many new songs.  That'd be my advice to their new PD.  97.7 is probably denting them a little as well.

I always thought Chuck may hurt Magic and, possibly, Rock 101, the most. They play songs from similar eras - 70s, 80s, 90s - with probably the most emphasis on the 80s. BUT they have so much more variety that it is more fun to listen to because, as you kind of referred to, it's far less "predictible".


MY still is often sad to hear because of less variety of its currents, but it at least is mixing things up a bit (sometimes poorly). When vchimpanzee mentioned that the fact that they are playing "louder" music, it makes them sound more Hot AC, my first thought was that that's true. But they still play "soft AC" that sounds horrible in that mix.

Today, I heard a set that sounded "right" IMO. Maroon 5, Adele (yes, both MY and B play her to death), Guns N Roses (not sure why they're latching onto them so much. This time it was "Sweet Child O' Mine"), the Killers. And I just looked at their last 10 played and not a single 70s song to be found. But everytime I think they are moving in the right direction, the next day I usually hear something awful. Maybe that January trend will push them further into Hot AC. I just hope it doesn't somehow "confirm" with them that what they do is the right mix (few currents and hanging onto the softer stuff).

Will be interesting to see. But at least this gives me hope that they may stick around long enough to figure it out.

 

[awp69]

As much as I wanted to be right that the January trend giving my a substantial lead over WMYI giving it the green light to start pushing more currents and the Hot AC sound, I'm starting to think that management is taking it as a sign that the mix that still contains some slower 70s stuff is working. And they may not back off on it.

Listening over the past few days, they're still playing some of those songs -- just rotating in some new ones. Guess they think going from something like GnR and The Killers to Heart and Fleetwood Mac sounds good. Oh well, I guess if the trend continues to give MY decent ratings, maybe they are doing it "right" as far as the Upstate is concerned. It just isn't pure Hot AC and, at least for some of us, it sometimes sounds like a train wreck.

 

[carolinaradio]

As much as I wanted to be right that the January trend giving my a substantial lead over WMYI giving it the green light to start pushing more currents and the Hot AC sound, I'm starting to think that management is taking it as a sign that the mix that still contains some slower 70s stuff is working. And they may not back off on it.

Listening over the past few days, they're still playing some of those songs -- just rotating in some new ones. Guess they think going from something like GnR and The Killers to Heart and Fleetwood Mac sounds good. Oh well, I guess if the trend continues to give MY decent ratings, maybe they are doing it "right" as far as the Upstate is concerned. It just isn't pure Hot AC and, at least for some of us, it sometimes sounds like a train wreck.

Well, if what's being done now works, they'll keep doing it. I mean, it only makes sense. I didn't think they'd make any changes if they're having success with the current formula.

They don't play 70s - there may be some borderline songs from 1980 or the early 80s, but they pulled the ABBA/Gloria Gaynor/Elton John stuff back before Christmas. I don't really listen to them much just because I can't stand the fact that nothing new's ever added. That is something they've gotten worse about. I can't hear "Moves Like Jagger" many times more. It's the same "currents" over and over every few hours. The slow stuff like "Leather And Lace" and of course "Total Eclipse" are turn offs as well.

I still believe that once MY has been on the air in its current incarnation for a while, after all of the newness is gone and they don't have any interruptions to the regular format (like Christmas) they'll settle with lower numbers. I just think what they're doing will get tiring after a while. The playlist will eventually become as stale as 98.9's.

Nonetheless, it's still a big mess IMO that really makes no musical sense.

 

[awp69]

Well, if what's being done now works, they'll keep doing it.  I mean, it only makes sense.  I didn't think they'd make any changes if they're having success with the current formula.

They don't play 70s - there may be some borderline songs from 1980 or the early 80s, but they pulled the ABBA/Gloria Gaynor/Elton John stuff back before Christmas.  I don't really listen to them much just because I can't stand the fact that nothing new's ever added.  That is something they've gotten worse about.  I can't hear "Moves Like Jagger" many times more.  It's the same "currents" over and over every few hours.  The slow stuff like "Leather And Lace" and of course "Total Eclipse" are turn offs as well.

I still believe that once MY has been on the air in its current incarnation for a while, after all of the newness is gone and they don't have any interruptions to the regular format (like Christmas) they'll settle with lower numbers.  I just think what they're doing will get tiring after a while.  The playlist will eventually become as stale as 98.9's.

Nonetheless, it's still a big mess IMO that really makes no musical sense.

Guess you're right as far as the songs I mentioned being early, early 80s (Like Stevie Nick's "Age of Seventeen", which I mistook as Fleetwood Mac before she went solo. Never been a fan of either so hence my confusion.) but I guess some of them still have that 70s sound. And are definately out of place regardless. But, as you said, if it's working, they probably won't fix it.

To me, their playlist already is as stale as 98.9's. It just has more newer music, but most of the same music over and over...like "Moves Like Jagger". They may be doing okay because maybe there are more people that would rather hear stale new music than stale old music. If 98.9 doesn't do something, however, I could see MY continuing to beat them.

In the meantime, I'll continue to keep flipping around that dial!

On an offtopic note, but one that pertains to my constant flipping, B93.7 hasn't made a whole lot of moves. They were already leaning rhythmic and continue to do so, but I had feared that their new PD may send them completely in that direction. I've actually heard some new songs on the pop/rock side of things lately -- newer Foster the People and Coldplay's "Princess of China". Of course, both of those have been on station's like Channel 96.1 for quite a while now.

One difference is their new "number one request" at the top of every hour. This, of course, all but guarantees you'll hear Adele at least once an hour for now (not that you weren't already).

 

[awp69]

Hate to keep harping on it, but I really do think that MY took the January trend as the signal that what they were doing is right (playing few currents, mixing in some slower songs). And maybe even took as a buy-in to play more "older" songs (even if they're from the 80s, there are some that still don't sound "fresh". To me, more upbeat 80s is okay, but not the "sleepy Magic" stuff as even MY used in their promos).

In the past day or so, I've heard something that just stuck out like a sore thumb every single time I've tuned in. Prior to the last week or two, they still played some of those songs, but now they seem to be a bigger part of the playlist. And with no new adds, it's sounding more and more stale.

Just in the past 10 songs, they played Reo Speedwagon, Billy Joel and Belinda Carlisle. Those are all fine by AC standards, but not for a Hot AC (well, Carlisle, may be borderline). Doesn't matter, though. If they're getting the ratings, then it will continue this way. I just won't consider it Hot AC, just leaning that way. (I know it's been mentioned that they aren't reporting as Hot AC, but that's what they implied since the flip with their "fresh" tagline.)

 

[carolinaradio]

The station's pretty much....crap. I've all but quit listening to it. It's the same old hodgepodge of "fresh" songs over and over. They haven't added anything new in over six weeks. 6!

I think expecting any kind of change at this station is going to be a while as long as they have the current format. Just like they sat and let the mainstream AC format sit and wither away with little to no updating, the same will happen to this one. The same people are programming it and running the show, so how can we expect anything different?

 

[awp69]

The station's pretty much....crap.  I've all but quit listening to it.  It's the same old hodgepodge of "fresh" songs over and over.  They haven't added anything new in over six weeks.  6!

Yep. And what's funny is that I feared that B93.7 would get worse with their new PD. But, as I mentioned above, they actually seem to be getting a bit more pop-rock friendly like they once were and perhaps more adult-leaning as a CHR. I know it's early and it could just be coincidence with what they consider as "all the hits" these past few weeks. But they are, for now, sounding more like Channel 96.1 in Charlotte (a good thing).

 

[carolinaradio]

....and STILL nothing new on MY. I can't take "Someone Like You" or "Moves Like Jagger" anymore. At least when they were still throwing in the old, sleepy 70s, they added more new music. They are just getting worse and worse with adds, but the older 80s/90s is better than when they started, although some of that stuff is wearing out. I don't think Zack and Marne are getting any better, either.

B-93.7 is my second choice for CHR. I just like Channel 96.1 more, even the on-air personalities. They are very slow with songs that are actually current HITS - they play a lot of 'older' hits (That are falling down the charts) more than new top 10 hits. Still, hopefully they keep the more mainstream musical direction.

I was listening to Jacksonville radio the other day when I was travelling - so much variety, it's crazy. New rock, classic rock, alternative, adult friendly CHR, pop CHR, 2 classic rockers, classic hits...it's crazy. If Greenville could only have a couple of those stations.