IS CLASSIC ROCK DEAD IN LA?

[flyonthewall]

It seems that what the September PPM's show, at least in the numbers released to the general public. CHR/ AC on fire, AMP keeps getting bigger with a 4.6! And a country station, KGO climbs from a 2.8, 3.0 to a 3.2? Who would have thought that would happen in LA.
KLOS drops to it's lowest number in some time, a 2.5 from a 2.7, steadily losing Cume. Bad timing with the Cumulus takeover. JACK ,still the number one rock station, but only at a 2.9 . The Sound posts an impressive 2.4 to KLOS' 2.5, but The Sound is also losing Cume. Is Classic Rock DOA in LA? Just asking. I am sure David will have inside numbers that could prove this theory wrong?

 

[radioresearcher]

The answer to your question is yes and no. JACK is still an extremely profitable radio station and in many ways is the Classic Rock station for Los Angeles.

In Sept, JACK was #6, KLOS #13, and KSWD #15 P 25-54

Most of KLOS is morning drive - they used to be top 5 - but they were 8th this month

Sound came in 6th in middays 25-54, that's pretty impressive.

Here's the issue: JACK bills because it is steady top 5-7 ... KLOS makes money because of Mark & Brian, but KSWD has not been able to become a revenue player yet.

 

[flyonthewall]

Thanks much for that! I agree Jack is THE rock radio station in town. Mark and Brian down to number 8 in morning drive. Wow, that is terrible. Maybe those guys stayed too long at the party. As I have stated before, without M & B, KLOS would have nothing. Thanks for the unbiased info.

 

[ChannelFlipper]

Thanks much for that! I agree Jack is THE rock radio station in town. Mark and Brian down to number 8 in morning drive. Wow, that is terrible. Maybe those guys stayed too long at the party. As I have stated before, without M & B, KLOS would have nothing. Thanks for the unbiased info.

Fly, you are very funny. I always look forward to your posts.

Here is another piece of unbiased observation. This will be music to the ears of both you and your client.

It is now time for KLOS to acknowledge the presence of KSWD and realize they are starting to lose share to them. In a most unusual turn of events, the larger playlist at the Sound is starting to make a positive difference. I don't listen to either station enough to think I have their respective pulses, but I will speculate that there are may listeners like me who feel that KLOS has become too repetitive. This can happen when you focus on only the last 20 years of a potential 40-45 year catalog. For example, I love AC/DC, but I would get tired of hearing the same five songs of theirs that are in the KLOS rotation.

Perhaps people are giving the Sound a try just to hear a different playlist within the same genre. Whatever the reason, the Sound has gone from wanna be upstart to bona fide competitor and it is not the Sound that just got bought by a company with little regard for heritage and a sharp focus on bottom line. Uh-Oh.

The bottom line for KLOS - the panic button is there, it is lit up, and it is now time to press it.

 

[flyonthewall]

For once Channel Flipper we agree. However, I think the horse has left the station for KLOS. Way too late to realize the Sound is a real competitor and push the panic button. Sad as it may be, I think Cumulus will push the panic button for them and KABC. Really bad numbers amidst a take over. KLOS was once one of the best rock stations in America. And KABC was once a real player in talk radio... But maybe you are right and KLOS will pull a rabbit out of the proverbial hat?

 

[casual observer]

Classic rock is challenged in LA but certainly isn't dead. JACK, KLOS and KSWD combined add up to a 7.8 share. Still, KLOS does sound stale. It used to be a great station but suffers from too much consultant rock and a tendency to coast on their reputation.

 

[flyonthewall]

I can't imagine with these paltry numbers that Cumulus is not going to blow the management of KLOS and KABC sky-high. Sad, because I listened to KLOS growing up. Sad how they have let consultants etc, determine the future of the station. Thoughts? Anyone?

 

[Uncle Rob]

I can't imagine with these paltry numbers that Cumulus is not going to blow the management of KLOS and KABC sky-high. Sad, because I listened to KLOS growing up. Sad how they have let consultants etc, determine the future of the station. Thoughts? Anyone?

Thoughts? A lot of them. Thanks for asking. As for consultants, if you have to hire someone from outside your company to tell you how to run it, get out of that business. I never did understand that, especially in radio. Essentially what they are saying is "We don't know what to play for our listeners so let's hire someone to tell us." Weak.

As for KLOS, DON'T count them out. Yea I nag about them all the time, but they've been playing the same 12 songs by the same 10 artists since at least the early '80's and they are still going with it.

Mark & Brian, I didn't know they were still on. The last I heard I thought they were in Bakersfield or Fresno. Were they really that funny? Or was it just that we were so burned out on Rick Dees and Robert W. Morgan that it was something new and refreshing? The "beginning of the end" for them was when Howard Stern came to town and totally demolished them.

As for "The Sound", is it me or are they starting to sound more and more like KLOS? Seems like the past couple of months they are playing a lot of the same songs and starting to get as repetitive as KLOS. Can you say KLOS jr.?

A friend told me he's starting to hear the Clash get a lot of airplay on KLOS. I said "So they're pretty much sounding like they did in the '80's?" He said "Yep!". The more things change the more they stay the same.

I REALLY miss Pirate Radio.

 

[uncamark]

As for KLOS, DON'T count them out. Yea I nag about them all the time, but they've been playing the same 12 songs by the same 10 artists since at least the early '80's and they are still going with it.

Documented proof that they play the same 12 songs by the same 10 artists, please. Please use Mediabase as your source.

And what part of "majority rule" don't you understandA?

 

[davideduardo]

Thoughts? A lot of them. Thanks for asking. As for consultants, if you have to hire someone from outside your company to tell you how to run it, get out of that business.

Do you go to a doctor or a dentist? Do you have a CPA or tax specialist do your IRS return? Do you use a lawyer when buying a home or negotiating a lease or writing a will? Do you call a plumber or an electrician ever?

Those are all consultants.

We use consultants when we need deep specialized skills to complement our personal or collective more broad and generalized skills.

 

[hotpatrick2004]

As for KLOS, DON'T count them out. Yea I nag about them all the time, but they've been playing the same 12 songs by the same 10 artists since at least the early '80's and they are still going with it.

Just like what kost and other light rock stations will become in just under 2 months the same 12 xmas tunes by the same 10 artists merry merry everyone ;D

 

[uncamark]

As for KLOS, DON'T count them out. Yea I nag about them all the time, but they've been playing the same 12 songs by the same 10 artists since at least the early '80's and they are still going with it.

Just like what kost and other light rock stations will become in just under 2 months the same 12 xmas tunes by the same 10 artists merry merry everyone ;D

Once again, documented proof from Mediabase, please.

 

[Uncle Rob]

Thoughts? A lot of them. Thanks for asking. As for consultants, if you have to hire someone from outside your company to tell you how to run it, get out of that business.

Do you go to a doctor or a dentist? Do you have a CPA or tax specialist do your IRS return? Do you use a lawyer when buying a home or negotiating a lease or writing a will? Do you call a plumber or an electrician ever?

Those are all consultants.

We use consultants when we need deep specialized skills to complement our personal or collective more broad and generalized skills.

They are not consultants, they are professionals. If I go to a Doctor, Dentist, Plumber, Electrician, whoever, it is because they can do things that I can't. I can't drill a tooth then fill it, or do surgery on myself for example. If i'm hired to do a job and I can't do it, they will fire me and find someone else who can.

 

[Uncle Rob]

As for KLOS, DON'T count them out. Yea I nag about them all the time, but they've been playing the same 12 songs by the same 10 artists since at least the early '80's and they are still going with it.

Documented proof that they play the same 12 songs by the same 10 artists, please. Please use Mediabase as your source.

And what part of "majority rule" don't you understandA?

I knew it wouldn't be long before KLOS sent their shill over here. Sorry Sparky, but I don't do the paper thing. If you are a radio exec, you should put down all those papers you are shuffling and go outside and talk to real people. I'm a "listener" as are others and You'll find none of us fit any of the demographics you think they should fit into. I got into it with David when I said I missed the Drama Hour on KNX and he accused me of being in my 80's. I'm not anywhere near it. According to him it was impossible for someone like me to like the old time radio shows, but I know plenty of people younger than me, some were as young as 9 that LOVE those shows too. Tune in to KLOS. Try to listen to them for an 8 hour day and I guarantee you starting with the third hour you'll be saying "Didn't they just play this?"

3 times in the past 18 months i've been able to set a clock to within minutes by listening to KLOS. Had a friend come out from Utah this year, he moved their 6 or 7 years ago. Listened to KLOS for 20 minutes and said "They're playing the same songs, in the same order as when I left." That's pretty sad. Saddest of all was last year when at a BBQ and they had KLOS on I was able to predict 9 out 10 songs/artists that they would play next. That's a 90% success rate. Think of how pathetic that is that a listener to your own station can predict with such accuracy your playlist that he can set clocks to it.

And just what exactly is this majority that you speak of?

 

[Uncle Rob]

As for KLOS, DON'T count them out. Yea I nag about them all the time, but they've been playing the same 12 songs by the same 10 artists since at least the early '80's and they are still going with it.

Just like what kost and other light rock stations will become in just under 2 months the same 12 xmas tunes by the same 10 artists merry merry everyone ;D

Once again, documented proof from Mediabase, please.

Once again, tune in and "listen". It's something radio execs don't do because they are too interested in whatever a piece of paper says.

 

[Uncle Rob]

As for KLOS, DON'T count them out. Yea I nag about them all the time, but they've been playing the same 12 songs by the same 10 artists since at least the early '80's and they are still going with it.

Just like what kost and other light rock stations will become in just under 2 months the same 12 xmas tunes by the same 10 artists merry merry everyone ;D

I listened to them for a while last year and it got so repetitive as to make you nauseous. It sounded like a loop to me with the same stuff over and over and the voice drops mixed in.

 

[justpassingthough]

This is a lot of complaining about a format that is "classic". In other words, the vast majority of the music is old and the core artists at this format are no longer making records or having massive hit records like they once did. Some of them are no longer alive. What do you expect out of a format thats "classic"? How do you keep it fresh and keep listeners? Its a nearly impossible task.

To keep cume up, you have to play the songs that people are familiar with- and not deep album cuts that a handful of listeners love, but the majority have never heard before. The coffin on Rock music was being hoisted into a place over the last 10 years- there are no longer artists like there were from the 80s and 90s that are making massive records and getting crossover airplay at CHR or gaining mainstream acceptance through MTV. So, yes, the format is dying in that regard. A few Foo Fighters hits intermittently sprinkled throughout a decade won't save a format that is based upon guitar driven rock that frankly doesn't exist anymore.

 

[robnokshus06]

Documented proof that they play the same 12 songs by the same 10 artists, please. Please use Mediabase as your source.

Perception is reality.

If your listener thinks you play the same 12 songs by the same 10 artists it doesn't matter what you or Mediabase have to say about it.

 

[uncamark]

Documented proof that they play the same 12 songs by the same 10 artists, please. Please use Mediabase as your source.

Perception is reality.

If your listener thinks you play the same 12 songs by the same 10 artists it doesn't matter what you or Mediabase have to say about it.

Then how do you combat that perception without playing a bunch of stiffs that only record collectors know? Or do you just kiss off the people like Uncle Rob as the minority of the listenership they are?

 

[Gregg]

Except for one or two songs each hour, everything KCBS-FM plays is Classic Rock. OK, maybe today's Classic Rock station won't play The Thompson Twins or The Go-Gos. But these acts were very much on the playlists of Rock stations and Alternative stations in their day. In fact, Jack plays FEWER songs outside the Classic Rock genre than they did when they first started. Originally Jack played a couple of Rhythmic songs per hour. Songs like "Can't Touch This" and "Waterfalls" have been weeded out of the format.

So in effect, LA has 2 and 4/5ths Classic Rock stations.

What is dying is Contemporary and Alternative Rock in some cities. In three of the biggest markets in the U.S., NYC, Chicago and Miami, there are no Contemporary or Alternative Rock stations. LA has two Alternative stations: KROQ and KYSR. That's not bad in a market that Arbitron says is 41% Hispanic and 7% Black. San Francisco's only Alternative station, KITS, has fallen to #21. And it has no Contemporary Rock station.

Classic Rock still scores very well with Men 25-54. And that's a demo that advertisers want. Every decent sized market has a Classic Rock station or two. There is one in NYC and Miani, two in Chicago. Classic Rock remains a healthy format.



Gregg
[email protected]