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Extremely high streaming fees are causing big companies to drop am music formats

A

antennatv

I feel the reason am 1210 is not dropping talk is because if they dropped talk for a music format they would be forced to drop their audio stream because of the extremely high streaming fees. And the second reason is because they can't find a music format that will sell to the sponsors in this market. An oldies type format whether it is oldies, singers & standards or classic country will no longer sell to sponsors in this market.

So radio stations today are left with only two decisions they don't want to make, but are forced to. It's either you drop your audio stream and change to a music format, or keep your audio stream and stay or go with a conservative talk format. Also, check the two examples below:

WOBM AM dropped their oldies format for conservative talk because they felt it was getting way too expensive to continue streaming the Goodtime Oldies format. They would have to drop the audio stream if continued carrying oldies.

WMTR AM dropped their audio stream. Again, it was getting too expensive to continue streaming the oldies format. So, they had to make a decision they really did not want to make. They wanted to keep their oldies format, so they had to drop the audio stream instead.
 
Streaming fees are only high if there are lots of users. So to say that changing from talk to music is "prohibitive" due to those fees is disingenuous. Further, a station can introduce geofencing to limit streaming to the station's coverage area and to only allow it where such listening is of benefit.

In some cases, stations simply don't believe that enough benefits are derived from the stream, and they move their digital efforts in other directions.

The main reason why big AM signals do not do music today is that AM sound quality, which is a combination of the NRSC "wall" at 10 kHz and the sucky AM radio made in the last two decades or so, is so inferior that nearly nobody under 70 would listen to music on AM unless it were the absolute, only place to get the music.
 
One of the current issues with Oldies streams has to do with recordings made before 1972. The Copyright Act covers all records made after 1972. But there's nothing said about those songs written before. As a result there have been lawsuits against digital providers like Sirius by The Turtles, who claim the company is playing their songs without permission. Dropping the stream eliminates the potential of a similar lawsuit, at least until the courts come to some conclusion.
 
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Fred, what are you hearing on WVLT 92.1 FRIDAY EVENINGS BETWEEN 7 AND 9PM?

Fred, I don't understand what you are talking about? What then are you hearing between 7 and 9pm on WVLT FM 92.1? If you are not hearing Disco Music, what then are you hearing? My writeup refers to radio stations who are no longer playing music at all because of extremely high streaming fees. They would rather go in a talk direction, than pay extremely high fees to stream. The stations that are keeping their music formats would rather drop their audio streams than switch to a talk format. Now do you get what I am saying?
 
'Classic oldies' WMID Atlantic City/WCMC Wildwood is also running frequent announcements about 'if you want the music to continue write down the songs you hear in case anyone asks'. I can't help think that running Limbaugh in middays is a liability in keeping the oldies audience tuned in or tuning back after his show, with the shore also having 2 stations playing 'newer' oldies, Wibbage 94.3 & Kool 98.3. I wonder if the streaming issues has anything to do with the 'threat announcements' to change formats or not?
 
Antenna TV: 1210 did an Oldies format a number of years ago [50's-60's] while the FM did a 60's-70's format]. 1210 went back to talk. I don't believe they got the listeners nor the local spots. So probably why 1210 sticks with talk, including Rush, is money. They probably sell more local spots with talk than with music that both you and I would probably enjoy hearing.

AM1290 in Wilmington also had good ratings playing standards, but couldn't get local spots either, so now is a Fox Sports Radio affiliate with far less listeners, but apparently making money.

Just returned from a trip to Pittsburgh and they had a big signal AM playing standards/pop oldies. I didn't hear many local spots, plenty of PSA's so don't know how long that station will remain music before competing with KDKA as a talker out there.
 
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David Eduardo, I never knew streaming fees were bases on numbers of listener. What would it cost if one person listened, or a thousand...etc Can you give examples?
 
In Chicago a HD2 signal that played Classic Rock Deep Cuts dropped their stream. They even announced that they were dropping it because the stream was too popular and the fees were too high.
 
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