Easy 93.1 seems to be official folks....or is it?

[vadar]

rock ballards are ok, does it have to be the same 3 ones from the same artists?

 

[richiedon]

Wow, they just reached way back to 1958 for The Teddy Bears' To Know Him Is To Love Him.

Aha....the other 50s songs I have heard were "My Special Angel" by Bobby Helms, and "Mr. Blue" by the Fleetwoods.

I wonder which song, so far, is the most *recent* on their playlist? I've heard "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion (1997), but not sure of anything more recent than that.

cd

OK, somebody also mentioned Breathe by Faith Hill. What songs from the two thousandzies
do you think would fit the format. I haven't given it a lot of thought, but how about
Graduation Friends Forever by Vitamin C, Only Time by Enya, Train's Drops of Jupiter.
Backstreet Boys: Show Me The Meaning of Being Lonely. Those are all rather old, too.
More recent ones?

How about these:
1. Desert Rose - Sting
2. Breathless - Corrs
3. Thank You - Dido
4. Never Had A Dream Come True - S Club 7
5. A New Day Has Come - Celine Dion
6. Out Of My Heart (Into My Head) - BB Mak
7. Ordinary Day - Vanessa Carlton
8. Don't Know Why - Norah Jones
9. Voice Within - Christina Aguilera
10. With You - Jessica Simpson
11. First Cut Is The Deepest - Sheryl Crow
12. Trouble With Love Is - Kelly Clarkson
13. Forever and For Always - Shania Twain
14. She Will Be Loved - Maroon 5
15. Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield
16. You're Beautiful - James Blunt
17. Unfaithful - Rihanna
18. Take A Bow - Rihanna
19. Big Girls Don't Cry - Fergie
20. We Belong Together - Mariah Carey
21. I'm Yours - Jason Mraz
22. Hey Soul Sister - Train

 

[vchimpanzee]

How about these:
1. Desert Rose - Sting
2. Breathless - Corrs
3. Thank You - Dido
4. Never Had A Dream Come True - S Club 7
5. A New Day Has Come - Celine Dion
6. Out Of My Heart (Into My Head) - BB Mak
7. Ordinary Day - Vanessa Carlton
8. Don't Know Why - Norah Jones
9. Voice Within - Christina Aguilera
10. With You - Jessica Simpson
11. First Cut Is The Deepest - Sheryl Crow
12. Trouble With Love Is - Kelly Clarkson
13. Forever and For Always - Shania Twain
14. She Will Be Loved - Maroon 5
15. Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield
16. You're Beautiful - James Blunt
17. Unfaithful - Rihanna
18. Take A Bow - Rihanna
19. Big Girls Don't Cry - Fergie
20. We Belong Together - Mariah Carey
21. I'm Yours - Jason Mraz
22. Hey Soul Sister - Train

I was going to list the ones I think belong. I don't know most of those and the ones I do other than "Don't Know Why" by Norah Jones I despise. I'm not sure whether I know "Desert Rose" by Sting but I can't stand anything he has ever done. I absolutely hate "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt. As for "Take A Bow", is that the Madonna song? If so, play the Madonna song.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I don't feel it's any more "harder edge" than say, Hall and Oates "You've Lost That Loving Feeling", which was a staple of most of the original soft AC stations and is both on "Easy's and Tampa's "Dove" playlists.

That one doesn't belong either. Play the Righteous Brothers instead.

And I stand by my position on Tears for Fears.

Fortunately, I don't live in the Tampa area or the Miami area. My fear is that the type stations I listen to are going to get ideas from WDUV and Easy 93.1. While I have watched the Easy 93.1 playlist occasionally using yes.com since I found out they had their last songs played there, the fact that they have a lot of good songs doesn't mean much to me. For me to listen to those good songs, there has to be a balance. My favorite station has Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and those newer songs in that same style by Rod Stewart, Michael Buble, Harry Connick Jr. and so many others. You want currents with an Easy 93.1? There's plenty of good stuff to play. Not like those songs that have stayed on the AC charts for years.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I agree. "Faithfully" does not belong on that station. It's too intense. Unlike "Open Arms" which maintains a level of mellow throughout, "Faithfully" builds up and if some old lady is tuning in during the last :60 of that song, she'll hobble away.

I remember the same phenomenon with Richard Mark's "Hold On to the Nights". I think the station was still "easy listening" but it eventally dumped the instrumentals and went soft AC. Other soft ACs figured out they could edit out those screaming guitars, or someone did. I haven't heard those screaming guitars in years.

As for newer music, if they really want to go there they might consider "Home" by Michael Buble or "Back at One" by Brian McKnight. I can agree with "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine, but a lot of her other stuff gets a bit screamy. But their appeal seems to lie in the older stuff they play. They should stick with the gold if they want to stick around.

Plenty of artists are recording new soft music. I don't know how much of it is getting played on AC. But I'm hearing it and it's good. A talk station where I live plays smooth jazz and some of it shows up there--Diana Krall, Vanessa L. Williams, etc.

 

[passtheword]

I don't feel it's any more "harder edge" than say, Hall and Oates "You've Lost That Loving Feeling", which was a staple of most of the original soft AC stations and is both on "Easy's and Tampa's "Dove" playlists.

That one doesn't belong either. Play the Righteous Brothers instead.

And I stand by my position on Tears for Fears.

Fortunately, I don't live in the Tampa area or the Miami area. My fear is that the type stations I listen to are going to get ideas from WDUV and Easy 93.1. While I have watched the Easy 93.1 playlist occasionally using yes.com since I found out they had their last songs played there, the fact that they have a lot of good songs doesn't mean much to me. For me to listen to those good songs, there has to be a balance. My favorite station has Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and those newer songs in that same style by Rod Stewart, Michael Buble, Harry Connick Jr. and so many others. You want currents with an Easy 93.1? There's plenty of good stuff to play. Not like those songs that have stayed on the AC charts for years.

Many of the artists you mentioned would be more appropriate on a standards station. From reading your posts on here, the soft AC/EZ board and the yahoo BIV group, I tend to believe your interest in music falls along those lines. Although the adult standards and soft AC formats have been merging together for many years, Easy is not a standards station. It all depends on what you refer to as "soft AC". To me, Easy sounds more like soft AC stations sounded 25 years ago. During that time, there were standards being played on those kinds of stations, but they were few and far between. Every once in a while I would hear something along the lines of Johnny Mathis (maybe once a day if that much)...those artists were minimally interspersed with the rest of the format. I believe most of Easy's listeners wouldn't want to hear an overabundance of those artists you mentioned. I can see playing them every now and then, but not a "hefty serving" of them in the playlist. As far as the Hall and Oates song, I remember hearing many of the original soft AC stations playing "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" alongside the Righteous Brothers version. I don't see anything really odd about that myself. If it was considered "soft AC" 25 years ago, why would the Hall and Oates version sound out of place in a comparable format today?

As far as "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt...I would definitely say that song would be appropriate for a format such as Easy's. I know you said you didn't care for that song, but you can't make a statement that a certain piece of music ought to be excluded from a station's playlist just because you have a personal dislike for it. I have heard Easy play "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison many times now. Although I don't like that particular song, I don't see anything wrong with them offering it because it "fits" within the format and there are many people who do enjoy it. There is no way that every listener is going to be 100% satisfied with any format. There are always going to be songs offered which fit within a station's format that some listeners would rather not hear.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I don't feel it's any more "harder edge" than say, Hall and Oates "You've Lost That Loving Feeling", which was a staple of most of the original soft AC stations and is both on "Easy's and Tampa's "Dove" playlists.

That one doesn't belong either. Play the Righteous Brothers instead.

And I stand by my position on Tears for Fears.

Fortunately, I don't live in the Tampa area or the Miami area. My fear is that the type stations I listen to are going to get ideas from WDUV and Easy 93.1. While I have watched the Easy 93.1 playlist occasionally using yes.com since I found out they had their last songs played there, the fact that they have a lot of good songs doesn't mean much to me. For me to listen to those good songs, there has to be a balance. My favorite station has Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and those newer songs in that same style by Rod Stewart, Michael Buble, Harry Connick Jr. and so many others. You want currents with an Easy 93.1? There's plenty of good stuff to play. Not like those songs that have stayed on the AC charts for years.

Many of the artists you mentioned would be more appropriate on a standards station. From reading your posts on here, the soft AC/EZ board and the yahoo BIV group, I tend to believe your interest in music falls along those lines. Although the adult standards and soft AC formats have been merging together for many years, Easy is not a standards station. It all depends on what you refer to as "soft AC". To me, Easy sounds more like soft AC stations sounded 25 years ago. During that time, there were standards being played on those kinds of stations, but they were few and far between. Every once in a while I would hear something along the lines of Johnny Mathis (maybe once a day if that much)...those artists were minimally interspersed with the rest of the format. I believe most of Easy's listeners wouldn't want to hear an overabundance of those artists you mentioned. I can see playing them every now and then, but not a "hefty serving" of them in the playlist. As far as the Hall and Oates song, I remember hearing many of the original soft AC stations playing "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" alongside the Righteous Brothers version. I don't see anything really odd about that myself. If it was considered "soft AC" 25 years ago, why would the Hall and Oates version sound out of place in a comparable format today?

As far as "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt...I would definitely say that song would be appropriate for a format such as Easy's. I know you said you didn't care for that song, but you can't make a statement that a certain piece of music ought to be excluded from a station's playlist just because you have a personal dislike for it. I have heard Easy play "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison many times now. Although I don't like that particular song, I don't see anything wrong with them offering it because it "fits" within the format and there are many people who do enjoy it. There is no way that every listener is going to be 100% satisfied with any format. There are always going to be songs offered which fit within a station's format that some listeners would rather not hear.

They're trying to position it like a standards station. It's not even close to what would be considered AC, with all the older songs. But really I'm just saying what I like, and Easy isn't doing it. Which is why I worry about stations like this becoming common. With these stations, who will need standards?

 

[richiedon]

As for "Take A Bow", is that the Madonna song? If so, play the Madonna song.

It's a different song. You could check some of the others at youtube.com, if you'd like.

 

[richiedon]

I saw an ad on TV a couple of days ago for Lite FM, 101.5. In it they feature clips
from Elton John, Celine Dion, James Taylor, Whitney Houston, and Lionel Richie.
They're touting themselves as always light, always refreshing.(as opposed to soft and relaxing?) Could the light be feeling the heat from 93.1?

 

[vchimpanzee]

As for "Take A Bow", is that the Madonna song? If so, play the Madonna song.

It's a different song. You could check some of the others at youtube.com, if you'd like.

I'll pass. If you want to see why I posted the reason on another thread.

http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=183332.60

Passtheword is right. I should just be content with my standards stations for as long as they last. This phenomenon of "soft AC" is only in a few markets like Tampa, Miami, and Columbia, SC.

 

[cd637299]

^^^
In all fairness, VC, I will say that even many of the "MOR" stations on FM in the 70s (like the old WAIA Miami) didn't play standards either.

I listened quite a bit to "A1A" back then, and for months I had wondered why I had not heard any Dean Martin (I think the only DM song they played was "In the Misty Moonlight"). They played some Sinatra, but it was mostly his recent stuff, like "Anytime" and "(I Believe) I'm Gonna Love You."

I'd say that about 85% of what was on Billboard's EZ Listening chart at the time, A1A played. About 1 current for every 2 "oldies," and even their "oldies" weren't really more than 7 years old.

WFEZ has a bit of A1A in 'em.

cd

 

[Groove1670]

richiedon NONE of the songs you listed fit the easy format. (Norah Jones would pass) This a very gold based soft AC format.

 

[passtheword]

richiedon NONE of the songs you listed fit the easy format. (Norah Jones would pass) This a very gold based soft AC format.

What about these two:

Thank You - Dido
A New Day Has Come - Celine Dion

I realize the station is mostly gold-based soft AC, but wouldn't those two songs pass as well?

 

[cartman1964]

Is there an aircheck of the flip from rock to Christmas music? Or the yes.com song log from 11/20 ? Did they just suddenly segue from Rage Against the Machine into Bing Crosby? I've been so curious but can't find anything that shows exactly how they flipped formats at 7am that Saturday morning.

 

[vchimpanzee]

richiedon NONE of the songs you listed fit the easy format. (Norah Jones would pass) This a very gold based soft AC format.

I saw this station listed as oldies somewhere. That would work.

 

[passtheword]

richiedon NONE of the songs you listed fit the easy format. (Norah Jones would pass) This a very gold based soft AC format.

I saw this station listed as oldies somewhere. That would work.

Soft oldies...yes. I wouldn't say full fledged oldies, though.

 

[denio]

First, I have to say I really enjoy the great discussion on this board. Nobody is calling anyone names etc. That's very refreshing so thank you.

I do agree that you can have a mix of both current soft AC artist, AC Gold artist and a few Standard artist its all in the mix and how it sounds much like Pandora. I really believe you're going to see a re-birth of soft AC around the country. The upper end of the baby boomers turn 65, they were 20 in 1971! Go into any market today and its nothing but Urban Rap, CHR Rap (Not like a CHR of the 70's) or Hot AC or Country. Very few markets have a station for those 45+ and the markets that do (Tampa, Miami, Myrtle Beach) and here in Columbia will do very well. The key is you must have radio programers old enough to understand the power of this demo and know the right songs to play.

 

[Ai4i]

Interesting to note that many of these songs would have been considered anything but ee-zee back when they were released, an earlier generation might have considered some of these selections loud and obnoxious.

 

[davideduardo]

First, I have to say I really enjoy the great discussion on this board. Nobody is calling anyone names etc. That's very refreshing so thank you.

I do agree that you can have a mix of both current soft AC artist, AC Gold artist and a few Standard artist its all in the mix and how it sounds much like Pandora. I really believe you're going to see a re-birth of soft AC around the country. The upper end of the baby boomers turn 65, they were 20 in 1971! Go into any market today and its nothing but Urban Rap, CHR Rap (Not like a CHR of the 70's) or Hot AC or Country. Very few markets have a station for those 45+ and the markets that do (Tampa, Miami, Myrtle Beach) and here in Columbia will do very well. The key is you must have radio programmers old enough to understand the power of this demo and know the right songs to play.

The issue is not about finding programmers...

-There are hundreds of good, underemployed programmers who played that music when the songs were currents.

The issue is not about "sounding like Pandora"...

-Pandora is intended to be personalized. Radio does not do that at the individual level.

The issue is certainly not about there being stations for persons over 45.

-Country, Urban AC, AC, News/Talk, Spanish language AC and Spanish language Oldies, Classic Hits and a number of other formats are predominantly 45+ or have huge audiences over 45.

The issue is the 55+ audience. There is essentially no transactional business (meaning agency and large advertiser buys based on ratings or other metrics). Advertisers instruct their agencies as to the age groups they want their advertising targeted towards the age groups where the ROI is justifiable. And 55+ is not where there is a good ROI on advertising.

The "upper end of the baby boomers" turned 65 13 months ago (The first boomers were 25 in 1971, not 20); 1/1/1946 is considered the start of the generation of boomers. But if there is nearly no advertising for 55+, there is truly none for 65+.

Of course, Cox is creating what may be a successful station anyway... hitting WLYF on the high end may ding it enough for the other Cox properties to increase in rank and relative share. If you look at WDUV in Tampa, you see a station that is #1 in 12+ but is about 14th in 25-54 and also around 14th in billings. The station probably costs little to run, so it is likely a nice contributor to profits, and certainly nobody is going to compete against a station that is so far down in billings.

Like Tampa, the introduction of the format in Miami is a cluster strategy as such a station could not make it as a stand-along. And what remains to be seen is how Hispanics respond to it, since much of the specific music being played on the station was not popular in Cuba and the Caribbean Basin which is where most Miami MSA Hispanics are from. Since the metro is over 50% Hispanic, the fate of the station may lie to a great extent in the Hispanic acceptance of the format.

This will be interesting to watch both on the ratings level and on the sales and business levels.

 

[davideduardo]

Of course, Cox is creating what may be a successful station anyway... hitting WLYF on the high end may ding it enough for the other Cox properties to increase in rank and relative share. If you look at WDUV in Tampa, you see a station that is #1 in 12+ but is about 14th in 25-54 and also around 14th in billings. The station probably costs little to run, so it is likely a nice contributor to profits, and certainly nobody is going to compete against a station that is so far down in billings.

I forgot to add that the first ratings indications after the holiday season indicate that WFEZ has seriously dinged WLYF, even in 25-54, while not touching WFLC at all. The result is apparently going to be WLYF dropping below WFLC, giving the AC crown to COx who should be able to monetize that change.