Hot AC is kind of a dumb format If you think about it

[viper452]

Its basically the current top 40 without the rap, or other harder edge songs. Some of them do lean towards older songs as well which is nice but I almost want to hear the full top 40 also, not just 90 percent of it.

 

[landtuna]

Not to be picking an argument here but since when is the T-40 'adult'?

It's always been teens and even pre-teens as far back as I can remember.

 

[whit979]

Its basically the current top 40 without the rap, or other harder edge songs. Some of them do lean towards older songs as well which is nice but I almost want to hear the full top 40 also, not just 90 percent of it.

Not everybody wants to hear the "harder edge" stuff, which is why, in my opinion, it's a brilliant format. What thirtysomething mom wants to blow out the subwoofers in her Camry while hearing a song about hoes and popping bottles amongst the more pedestrian Top 40 hits? Hot AC as a format remains a great idea, but unfortunately, it is well-executed only on a handful of stations.

 

[carolinaradio]

IMO, Hot AC is still a good concept, but some of them are starting to add so much rhythmic/dance pop material they can be hard to distinguish from CHR. I think the format's seen its better days, but if properly executed still has viability.

 

[AM FM listener]

Not to be picking an argument here but since when is the T-40 'adult'?

It's always been teens and even pre-teens as far back as I can remember.

According to Arbitron's Radio Today 2009, the majority of Top 40 (CHR) listeners (52%) are 25-54. That's pretty "adult" if you ask me. That said, a larger percentage of Hot AC listeners, 66%, are 25-54. Interestingly, "only" 56% of Mainstream AC listeners are 25-54 as that format is skewing older each year. So, Hot AC seems to be in a pretty good place in terms of attracting sellable demos.

 

[SilverTonicFree]

Its basically the current top 40 without the rap, or other harder edge songs.

And CHR/Rhythmic is Top 40 without the rock songs.

 

[Jay F]

It's not a dumb format because in several markets it does very well in women 25-54, a key advertising demo.

 

[johnbasalla]

What about the Alternative Rock that occasionally appears on Hot A.C.? Muse is one example.

 

[lovejamminoldies]

I prefer Adult CHR's... you get the best of both worlds. CHR and Hot AC - great for women and your 18-34's... but, yes... I have heard Rhythmic is testing well with women 18-34 - rhythmic is the new CHR... look at the CHR charts - full of rhythmic.

 

[the golden boy]

I disagree about hot AC being a dumb format. Like any other format, it can be great if done right. Hot AC has opened itself to a lot more rhythmic product in recent years, but it has to be the right songs. Songs like "Rude Boy" or "Your Love Is A Drug" are fine, but I'm not too keen on rap songs being on there.

 

[Tom Wells]

It's the most divisive fraction of formatted radio.
Top 40 at its best played ....ohh.. fr'instance.. Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass plus The Troggs.
Teens and adults got to hear both. Those who couldn't handle it listened to "beautiful music".

If it stays away from "troublesome music", then it AIN'T hot, it's just adult contemporary.
It simply allows advertisers to avoid music that makes THEM uncomfortable.

I don't like rap either...hey, I heard some Polish or Chechnyan (sp?) rap last night on the way to work, and it sounds
just like rap in any other language....do they all just use the same backing instrumental "song"?

 

[Wildstyle K]

Of course todays HOT AC will sound more like CHR now that most of the new hits these days are HOT AC material. Remember the trends and phases / era's we went through throughout the years - disco, rock n roll, blues, jazz, disco...etc? Well, now you can add hip hop to the list now that the hip hop era is over. The smart people will eventually jump on the CLASSIC hip hop formula, the same way Classic Rockers did when they realized "rock n roll" was no longer the "next big thing" and had passed its peak. The hip hop generation are now the PARENTS. The kids of this next generation are growing up into a new sound of hit music, if you've noticed.

Even rappers themselves have realized this, which is why you see many rappers "abandoning their sound" and rapping / singing on electronic dance and electro-pop beats these days. Times change, things move on, and that's just how it is. Today's top 40 hit music consists of many things that are also safe for HOT AC, so yes, it will be hard to distinguish the difference between the two. I'm not even that familiar with what a "HOT AC" is, but if the descriptions here are accurate, then it shouldn't be too different from today's top 40. Anyway, I'm happy with the direction music is going these days. The only one more thing I ask for are the return of quality lyrics in today's music, and bringing back the creatively done futuristic Timbaland style beats that many urban hits used to use back in the late 90's and early 00's. Why we've gone back to the simple, easy to make boring instrumentations and beats today, especially in urban pop and hip hop, I don't know.

I'm especially tired of the "boom.....click boom click click boom click" type beat that everyone seems to want to rap on today.

Anyway, it will soon all pass. I'm not sure how HOT AC will continue to separate itself from traditional rhythmic top 40 in the next few years as both sounds start to sound more alike. Maybe all the pop hits with rap verses will have the rap verses cut out on HOT AC. As far as hip hop/urban goes, I think it's a REALLY GREAT IDEA to start jumping on the classic hip hop format, especially when everywhere you go, you can see that today's hip hop hits are disappointing to an incredible amount of people including the rappers themselves who are wondering "what happened here?". People in London are also tired of current American hip hop as well, by the way. Go see what they are saying.. And lastly, I can't even go a day without seeing somewhere "hip hop died. It's all about the old school".

Well, if you are a fan of the HOT AC, electro-pop / dance, or pop sound, then you will be in for a treat with the next big sound that will rule the top 40 airwaves 2010-2019.

 

[Wildstyle K]

Actually, I think I got the wrong idea of what HOT AC is. I was thinking a rhythmic sound without the hardcore hip hop hits, but I have a feeling it's those stations that lean mainly pop/rock with some "safe" r&b and pop thrown in. If this is the case, then maybe it will be possible to keep the CHR Top 40 and HOT AC sounds apart.

I guess that's what our MOViN 97.5 KMVA is now.

 

[semoochie]

Hot AC is a hit based format that skews female 25-34 and extends both directions, nothing too old or soft and nothing that applies primarily to young teens or younger. It's the modern equivalent of the original AC. As time goes on, audience expectations change and so will Hot AC.

 

[new_friends_gr]

Actually, I think I got the wrong idea of what HOT AC is. I was thinking a rhythmic sound without the hardcore hip hop hits, but I have a feeling it's those stations that lean mainly pop/rock with some "safe" r&b and pop thrown in. If this is the case, then maybe it will be possible to keep the CHR Top 40 and HOT AC sounds apart.

Brilliant. That's a good way to distinguish Hot AC and CHR. It seems like a good Hot AC station would have pop/rock songs that go back, say, 20 years or so, and periodically mix in a bit of "safe" R&B/rhythmic songs from then and now.

Someone else hit on a key point about what Top 40 truly is: a combination of rhythmic, pop, and rock songs that are simply at the top of the pop charts now. In a message I posted in a different forum (the Michigan board), I raised the question about what format 105.3 WHTS in Grand Rapids truly is. It's really a pure Top 40 (or possibly "Adult CHR") station that includes rhythmic, pop, and rock songs. The station stays away from rhythmic music that's "harder-core" but does include a lot of rock songs: by artists like Kings of Leon, Shinedown, and so on. But could this also be considered just plain-old mainstream CHR? So many subtle differences among these formats.

On the other hand, 104.5 WSNX is a purely rhythmic CHR station because it avoids rock songs. It may throw in a pop song every now and then, but it's basically rhythmic CHR.

96.3 WDVD in Detroit seems to be gradually shifting from Hot AC to Top 40 with all the CHR-type songs they're throwing in: Lady Gaga, Beyonce, and so on. 96.3 has been a pretty good Hot AC station, but with its shift toward Top 40, it will leave Detroit without a Hot AC station - unless one the two mainstream AC stations (100.3 WNIC and 105.1 WMGC) makes a shift toward Hot AC.

 

[butlerguy03]

96.3 WDVD in Detroit seems to be gradually shifting from Hot AC to Top 40 with all the CHR-type songs they're throwing in: Lady Gaga, Beyonce, and so on. 96.3 has been a pretty good Hot AC station, but with its shift toward Top 40, it will leave Detroit without a Hot AC station - unless one the two mainstream AC stations (100.3 WNIC and 105.1 WMGC) makes a shift toward Hot AC.

Lady Gaga & Beyonce...not HotAC? No way! HotAC Demo is 25-49 W, look at photos from Gaga & Beyonce concerts...W/G 12-49. How can these not fit the profile? It allows conversion from Pop to HAC and keeps the 25-49 crowd "cool." As Sean Ross has said, Mom/Daughter music. Sure, both artists have CHR or Rhythmic leaning singles, but the majority of the releases are very middle-of-the-road mainstream stuff.

If it's Radio Disney friendly and does well at pop...why would HotAC not add it? (Gaga probably wouldn't be on RD)

 

[icycool7227]

96.3 WDVD in Detroit seems to be gradually shifting from Hot AC to Top 40 with all the CHR-type songs they're throwing in: Lady Gaga, Beyonce, and so on. 96.3 has been a pretty good Hot AC station, but with its shift toward Top 40, it will leave Detroit without a Hot AC station - unless one the two mainstream AC stations (100.3 WNIC and 105.1 WMGC) makes a shift toward Hot AC.

Lady Gaga & Beyonce...not HotAC? No way! HotAC Demo is 25-49 W, look at photos from Gaga & Beyonce concerts...W/G 12-49. How can these not fit the profile? It allows conversion from Pop to HAC and keeps the 25-49 crowd "cool." As Sean Ross has said, Mom/Daughter music. Sure, both artists have CHR or Rhythmic leaning singles, but the majority of the releases are very middle-of-the-road mainstream stuff.

If it's Radio Disney friendly and does well at pop...why would HotAC not add it? (Gaga probably wouldn't be on RD)

That's because Radio Disney has lots of annoying teen songs which isn't what adults really want to hear. Radio Disney is directed at children while hot AC is directed at adults. Though I still think Hannah Montana's first songs should have been on hot AC. Now known as Miley Cyrus, her sad, depressing songs are now on hot AC - go figure.

 

[Tom Wells]

Hot AC is a broken air conditioner. Someone call the electrician.
AC is supposed to be cold.


Or Hot AC means the electric power is on, as opposed to dead AC..and we'd need a flashlight.

 

[XCountry285]

Hot AC is a broken air conditioner. Someone call the electrician.
AC is supposed to be cold.


Or Hot AC means the electric power is on, as opposed to dead AC..and we'd need a flashlight.

Haha! I love this!

 

[butlerguy03]

That's because Radio Disney has lots of annoying teen songs which isn't what adults really want to hear. Radio Disney is directed at children while hot AC is directed at adults. Though I still think Hannah Montana's first songs should have been on hot AC. Now known as Miley Cyrus, her sad, depressing songs are now on hot AC - go figure.

I disagree. Mom's like some of what they hear on Radio Disney. I watch thier charts. Look at them, its not far off of what some HotAC or Adult CHR (minus Disney-only acts) sound like.

Selena Gomez, Taio Cruz (x2) , Carrie Underwood, Justin Bieber (x2), B.o.B., Miley Cyrus, OneRepublic, HWood, Iyaz, Demi Lovato, Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Swift, Allison Iraheta. Not a bad mix.

http://radio.disney.go.com/music/top30.html