Don't Say OLDIES

[onair]

I've noticed WORC-FM has stopped saying "Oldies 98.9"

Only a few jingles now and then mention the "O" word. New logo on the website. http://orcfm.com/

"98.9 O-R-C-F-M, Worcester's Greatest Hits"

Very similar music to 100.1 The Pike, but with Motown

 

[DToTheJ]

There's still at least one station in New England that's not afraid to call themselves an "oldies" station!
http://www.kool101fm.com/

 

[radio zombie]

Don't you think this whole thing about not calling Oldies Oldies is idiotic? That's what people--listeners--call them. By running from the truth it only draws more attention to it.

Does the listener actually notice the difference is the question. I suspect only "radio" people are talking about it, not listeners. No one on the air at these stations that have dropped the O word talks about it.

 

[CTListener]

I'm assuming that, as with just about everything else in media, money is at the root of the shunning of "oldies." Stations want to skew as young as they can because advertisers hate anything that sounds "old." And "oldies" certainly fits that description. The question remains, though: Would a station that had been "Oldies xxx.x" and had been playing mostly '60s and '70s with a smattering of '80s really generate substantially more advertising revenue by simply rebranding itself "Classic Hits xxx.x" and keeping the same playlist, or would the rebranding have to be accompanied by the discarding of most of the '60s titles and the addition of dozens of '80s titles?

Oh, and I'm in my mid-50s and work in an office with several people in their 20s. When I talk about songs from the '60s and '70s, those "kids" will often call them oldies. The big songs from the '80s are another matter, in that they never really disappeared from stations that played current songs the way those older songs did. They might not have been played on CHRs, but the teens of the '90s and '00s were still hearing them on adult contemporary stations and in fast-food restaurants' background music -- right along with current chart-toppers. The "kids" use another "old" term to describe those songs: old school.

 

[MickeyD]

I'm assuming that, as with just about everything else in media, money is at the root of the shunning of "oldies." Stations want to skew as young as they can because advertisers hate anything that sounds "old." And "oldies" certainly fits that description. The question remains, though: Would a station that had been "Oldies xxx.x" and had been playing mostly '60s and '70s with a smattering of '80s really generate substantially more advertising revenue by simply rebranding itself "Classic Hits xxx.x" and keeping the same playlist, or would the rebranding have to be accompanied by the discarding of most of the '60s titles and the addition of dozens of '80s titles?

Oh, and I'm in my mid-50s and work in an office with several people in their 20s. When I talk about songs from the '60s and '70s, those "kids" will often call them oldies. The big songs from the '80s are another matter, in that they never really disappeared from stations that played current songs the way those older songs did. They might not have been played on CHRs, but the teens of the '90s and '00s were still hearing them on adult contemporary stations and in fast-food restaurants' background music -- right along with current chart-toppers. The "kids" use another "old" term to describe those songs: old school.

Someday advertising agencies will realize that the "oldies" have most of the disposable income! Kids today sure as hell don't work they get it from somewhere! They get it from those "Oldies but goodies"

 

[JIBGUY]

Someday advertising agencies will realize that the "oldies" have most of the disposable income! Kids today sure as hell don't work they get it from somewhere! They get it from those "Oldies but goodies"

But remember, we 60-year-olds are not as easily swayed by advertising as the average 25-year-old is, and 60+'s are less likely to be impulse buyers. We're older and wiser. The agencies and advertisers know this. Also, remember that America's economic engine is credit; and not necessarily from the tiny profit of the product. And, we 60-year-olds usually pay our ENTIRE credit card bill each month or write a check, thereby not contributing all that much to the Wall Street Banks.

 

[12 In a Row]

You are right on. Being in the 55+ and watch the evening news I'm sort of depressed seeing nothing but ads for heart conditions, cronic pain, adult diapers and the couples in separate bath tubs. I still don't get that connection. The side effects are pretty scary, cept for the last one.

 

[JIBGUY]

The evening network news should be entitled: "See how many big-pharma commercials we can squeeze in here with softball news stories interspersed within".

 

[12 In a Row]

The nets are making HUGE $$$$$$$$$$. We wonder why drugs cost so much. "Ask your doctor about ______."

 

[CTListener]

The nets are making HUGE $$$$$$$$$$. We wonder why drugs cost so much. "Ask your doctor about ______."

We'd be paying even more if the big pharma companies were advertising on "Dancing With the Stars," "American Idol," and all those other shows that appeal to Madison Avenue's coveted young-stupid-and-gullible demographic instead of on the nightly news, which hasn't been a cash cow for the networks in many years. We should be thankful for small favors, I guess.

 

[Seltzer]

I'm assuming that, as with just about everything else in media, money is at the root of the shunning of "oldies." Stations want to skew as young as they can because advertisers hate anything that sounds "old." And "oldies" certainly fits that description. The question remains, though: Would a station that had been "Oldies xxx.x" and had been playing mostly '60s and '70s with a smattering of '80s really generate substantially more advertising revenue by simply rebranding itself "Classic Hits xxx.x" and keeping the same playlist, or would the rebranding have to be accompanied by the discarding of most of the '60s titles and the addition of dozens of '80s titles?

Oh, and I'm in my mid-50s and work in an office with several people in their 20s. When I talk about songs from the '60s and '70s, those "kids" will often call them oldies. The big songs from the '80s are another matter, in that they never really disappeared from stations that played current songs the way those older songs did. They might not have been played on CHRs, but the teens of the '90s and '00s were still hearing them on adult contemporary stations and in fast-food restaurants' background music -- right along with current chart-toppers. The "kids" use another "old" term to describe those songs: old school.

So you don't say oldies and refer to these stations as Greatest Hits. That describes the music perfectly and there should be no backlash from advertising agencies. Problem solved.

 

[Early Byrd]

Someday advertising agencies will realize that the "oldies" have most of the disposable income! Kids today sure as hell don't work they get it from somewhere! They get it from those "Oldies but goodies"

But remember, we 60-year-olds are not as easily swayed by advertising as the average 25-year-old is, and 60+'s are less likely to be impulse buyers. We're older and wiser. The agencies and advertisers know this. Also, remember that America's economic engine is credit; and not necessarily from the tiny profit of the product. And, we 60-year-olds usually pay our ENTIRE credit card bill each month or write a check, thereby not contributing all that much to the Wall Street Banks.

Yes, and on a related subject, how many out-of-work radio people over a certain age get hired? Thank God I'm not in that kind of situation anymore.

 

[BeenThereDoneThat]

Yeah, great move ! "Hair Color" for radio ! LOL !