If NOW jumps on Christmas music in October

[StemCell]

I just hope its the Sunny approach and not the B101 and JBR stale safe direction. NOW should not signify Todays Christmas music, which does not sound as good as the former Sunny Standards and older tunes.

 

[Soon Yi CIV.V]

Well, I think they'd wait until at least November! Now (I have to stop starting sentences that way), some will argue that B101, even with their lame-ass Christmas mix, beat Sunny in the ratings. I however would argue that it'd be stupid for Now to do the same, dull Christmas music as B101 when they could offer some actual variety by doing it the way Sunny did. Rationale: They have to give listeners a reason to tune away from B101...and playing the exact same music ain't gonna cut it!

Not to mention, Sunny had a very loyal, cult-like fanbase. If B101 didn't do Christmas at all this year or shut down their transmitter entirely, I don't think emotions would run as high as they did when Clear Channel killed Sunny. The audience certainly wasn't as big as B101's...but they were fierce P1's.

BTW: If Now keeps up the commercial-free workday thing and then do a well-publicized all-Christmas flip, B101 is going to have to drop their commercials (not gonna happen) or suffer a pretty big ding from last year's holiday book. Now can add breaks all they want once 2009 rolls around but if they do all-Christmas with commercial-free workdays, I think that's just about the best possible way they can make their presence known.

 

[imhomerjay]

A tricky situation for them to be sure.

(And would anyone suffer if Thanksgiving happened before the formats changed for six weeks....but I digress).

Though the small-but-rabid fan base for Sunny might well be appealing, putting by businessperson hat on, I see a risk in spending a couple of months trying to build an identity as the 'younger approach' station and then flip to a much older-sounding holiday mix than the B, and then coming back to being 'younger' a couple of months later. Not saying it can't work, but it isn't without some serious downside potential, and with no real guarantee you'll even replicate what Sunny managed to eke out against the B. If you come closer to the B's mix (either making it even younger or matching it almost entirely), is there a greater reward potential in siphoning off a portion of the B audience by running fewer spots? It's a gamble either way, but it seems the safer bet would be to come closer to the B.

In the spirit of disclosure, I prefer the B's mix of music (quick, ban me from all message boards, lol). Why? Because I don't believe that just because artists weren't born 50, 60 or more years back that they're somehow automatically not able to record good, enjoyable renditions of holiday songs. I don't disrespect the older versions--and I LIKE that the B mixes them in with the current versions. I sure don't like all of the new ones any more than I liked all of the old ones, but my tastes tend to follow whether I like the artist in the first place. I know for example that Faith Hill has a holiday album coming out this year, and I think she happens to have an amazing voice, so why would I discount and dismiss what she's recorded just because she's, you know, still young and alive? Along those same lines, I think the holiday albums from artists like Gloria Estefan and Amy Grant were outstanding efforts and paid very good tribute to the classics they covered.

There are only so many ho-ho-ho songs out there, and--if one of my regular stations is going to play nothing but those songs for two months--I'd personally rather hear more different versions of said songs.

 

[hamNcheese]

i worked for a company that went xmas music in october. thought it would air in getting attention for their format flip.

if getting attention meant a 0.0 in the ratings then it was a huge success.


based on experience with a PD that successfully added xmas music in a major market, and a pd who added xmas music in a not so major market. I would say Thanksgiving is the corrrect time to go xmas.

 

[Soon Yi CIV.V]

Yes, I can see how it might be tricky to say they're younger and then play classics before going back to saying they are younger. But the truth of the matter is, saying they're younger while playing old music is what they're doing right now. LOL. Plus, going all-Christmas is breaking format no matter how you look at it.

If they really did the format the same way B101 does it, I personally will be royally pissed off. But I'll never listen to B101 during the entire season because if it's all I can get, I'd rather get it commercial-free. The reality though is that I'll probably just play my own Christmas songs with my iPod. It's honestly not as exciting as hearing it on the radio but B101's Christmas format was just so flat and uninspired. (I don't particularly care about which era the music comes from. I just want it to be varied and interesting.)

As for the timing, I always thought it was amazing for Sunny to start it before the second week of November. It got people shopping and it really seemed to put a lot of people in a good mood. For those who wanted to start the season early, it was something they could tune to. For those who don't, well...no one was forcing them to put their radios on 104.5. There are people who like an extended holiday season and I think it's nice to have the option.

Oh and BTW, Amy Grant's 1992 Home For the Holidays is my absolute favorite-ever Christmas album. And I to think Faith Hill's will be incredible. Other favorites: Bette Midler put out Cool Yule a few years ago that's really fun. Mariah Carey's Merry Christmas is a good, pop-ish way to enjoy the classics. Natalie Cole (Holly & Ivy, it may be called--can't remember) is awesome, as are Harry Connick, Jr's and Gloria Estefan's, both of which I believe were released during the 1990s. RuPaul put one out in 1997. Ho Ho Ho, I believe it's called and it is hilarious!

 

[imhomerjay]

Ah...iPods! My iPod is my...um, no pun intended, savior, at Christmas time. What I miss most is the mixing in of holiday songs with a regular format (great memories of WIP from childhood, among others)...though to be totally fair, Ben FM has done that in recent years (another reason they're my number one preset).

With my iPod, I can recreate that (though I miss hearing songs I may not have in my library) and build to the season. I love Christmas (after I'm done loving Thanksgiving), and receive the most enjoyment by building up to it (and I also figure that if I like the music on station X from January through October, I still like hearing it in November and December). But hey, it's not the way of the world now...so be it. I'll just tinker with my playlist to make sure I hear Faith's "Where Are You Christmas" the most of my holiday tunes, and enjoy going from '80s pop to holiday classics and back again.

Never heard the RuPaul album but I bet it's a riot. And Mariah's holiday album is the only thing I've enjoyed by her since her debut (now I can barely stomach her). Amy Grant's second holiday album was fabulous--and her first was pretty solid--Tenessee Christmas quickly became one of my favorite sounds of the season even if it wasn't widely played and even though I have no idea what a Tennessee Christmas is like. Just a beautiful meoldy and sentiment.

 

[CTNYRADIO]

I'm going to go a different direction here--how about no Xmas music at all? (until the very end, xmas eve) It would be a good contrast to the stale xmas music being played on the B. I think Fresh 102.7 took this approach last xmas in NY (while competitor 106.7 went xmas mid Nov.

 

[Phillyradiogeek]

CNTYRadio, by saying that, you just made Soon Yi CIV.V gasp for breath, clutch his chest Fred Sandford-style, and drop to the floor. No Christmas music at all? Bah Humbug !

 

[Soon Yi CIV.V]

Actually, I can see the rationale for not doing it at all. Maybe they'll want to hold on to the AC listeners who are jilted when B101 goes all Christmas. There's a flaw with that rational though: The ratings prove that the number of "non-regular" listeners added by the all-Christmas stunt far outweighs the number of regular listeners who tune away.

Based on last year's B101 ratings, GM could start selling the Holiday Book right now. The ratings are huge and there's money to be made. To not try to get a piece of that would be just the absolute stupidest thing they could do. Not to mention, going all-Christmas before B101 will ensure some much-needed word-of-mouth. It's a win-win.

 

[Rockin Rob]

I am with Homer Jay on this one, gradually mix in the Christmas music (Thanksgiving starts with adding at least one title per hour, ramp up the number each week until you hit 4 per hour - outside of the "Black Friday All Request Lunch Brunch", where you would play All Christmas by request to really get the shoppers in the mood) until Christmas Eve at 6AM, then go wall to wall (maybe even "commercial free") until 12/26 at Midnight.

 

[nd2023]

There was a station in Indianapolis that went all-Christmas from the middle of October to the second week of January last year. It became a talk station.

 

[imhomerjay]

I am with Homer Jay on this one, gradually mix in the Christmas music (Thanksgiving starts with adding at least one title per hour, ramp up the number each week until you hit 4 per hour - outside of the "Black Friday All Request Lunch Brunch", where you would play All Christmas by request to really get the shoppers in the mood) until Christmas Eve at 6AM, then go wall to wall (maybe even "commercial free") until 12/26 at Midnight.

Great formula, which was to me what made Christmas eve/day special growing up...things like the "36 hours of Christmas special" (or variations thereof) on the various stations. Sometimes it was with no live personalities, sometimes with them (I remember WIP's Bill Webber on the air one Christmas asking people to call in and talk about their favorite presents, intermixed with the holiday tunes...which being a radio geek kid, I did). And there were some fun variations on how to build up to the all-holiday specials, like Kiss 100's "Christmas Kisses"--15 minute blocks of holiday tunes woven in here and there.

Before the two months of holiday songs craze reached our city, I remember leaving a Y100 Thanksgiving-eve event at whatever ungodly hour it was on Thanksgiving morning and hearing of all things, Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer, and thinking "let the joy begin," knowing I wouldn't overdose on it before sitting down to have some turkey.

 

[Soon Yi CIV.V]

Great formula, which was to me what made Christmas eve/day special growing up...things like the "36 hours of Christmas special" (or variations thereof) on the various stations. Sometimes it was with no live personalities, sometimes with them (I remember WIP's Bill Webber on the air one Christmas asking people to call in and talk about their favorite presents, intermixed with the holiday tunes...which being a radio geek kid, I did). And there were some fun variations on how to build up to the all-holiday specials, like Kiss 100's "Christmas Kisses"--15 minute blocks of holiday tunes woven in here and there.

Before the two months of holiday songs craze reached our city, I remember leaving a Y100 Thanksgiving-eve event at whatever ungodly hour it was on Thanksgiving morning and hearing of all things, Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer, and thinking "let the joy begin," knowing I wouldn't overdose on it before sitting down to have some turkey.

These "radio memories" messages are some of my favorite posts on these boards. Probably second only to the ones where people make up completely illogical lies about format changes!

 

[imhomerjay]

These "radio memories" messages are some of my favorite posts on these boards. Probably second only to the ones where people make up completely illogical lies about format changes!

And I remember that the present I called to talk about was a remote-controlled car. Yet I can't remember where I put my keys on a nearly daily basis. I love middle age.

On the goofy rumor front, let's start some. How about B101 realizing they can't possibly compete with Now's younger approach, so they're flipping to FM talk. Makes about as much sense as some of what shows up. ;D

 

[Soon Yi CIV.V]

How about McGuinn accepting an extremely lucrative offer from Radio One to bring Y100 back to get a chunk of Radio 104.5's audience. This of course, starts a chain reaction during which Clear Channel panics and starts playing "Here Comes The Sun" over and over on 104.5 before kicking off 90 days of Sunny Christmas music. Come January, their plans to return to Soft AC are dashed after Now 97.5 starts playing Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, and Barbra Streisand at 11:30 p.m. on December 31. Not knowing what else to do, Clear Channel plays nothing but commercial-free Irish music until St. Patrick's Day, when they relaunch Rumba 104.5. Manny Rodriguez is the general manager of a small-market Radio One cluster before Christmas 2009 rolls around.

 

[imhomerjay]

That's not a rumor. I have it on authority from the sister of a cousin to a roommate's ex-boyfriend's stepfather's parole officer who ran into the plant watering service guy from the Radio One office that it's a done deal that McGuinn is coming back.

 

[wprt949]

y100 is not coming back get over it

 

[Rockin Rob]

How about McGuinn accepting an extremely lucrative offer from Radio One to bring Y100 back to get a chunk of Radio 104.5's audience. This of course, starts a chain reaction during which Clear Channel panics and starts playing "Here Comes The Sun" over and over on 104.5 before kicking off 90 days of Sunny Christmas music. Come January, their plans to return to Soft AC are dashed after Now 97.5 starts playing Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, and Barbra Streisand at 11:30 p.m. on December 31. Not knowing what else to do, Clear Channel plays nothing but commercial-free Irish music until St. Patrick's Day, when they relaunch Rumba 104.5. Manny Rodriguez is the general manager of a small-market Radio One cluster before Christmas 2009 rolls around.

..... AND THEN?????????????????????

 

[Soon Yi CIV.V]

Mike... a couple points: With all due respect, we were obviously joshing so stop taking this so seriously. And secondly, Y100 is back. At least the music that they'd be playing is back: Tune to 104.5 FM.

 

[Wil]

That's not a rumor. I have it on authority from the sister of a cousin to a roommate's ex-boyfriend's stepfather's parole officer who ran into the plant watering service guy from the Radio One office that it's a done deal that McGuinn is coming back.

At least it's a credible source!