Is this legal?

[gr8oldies]

Quick question..if you're not going to do music tests, how do you know what music to play? Program the owner or PD's personal tastes? Guess? Throw songs on the air and hope something sticks to the wall? Assume you can hire a PD who "just knows"?

 

[cspotrun]

Quick question..if you're not going to do music tests, how do you know what music to play? Program the owner or PD's personal tastes? Guess? Throw songs on the air and hope something sticks to the wall? Assume you can hire a PD who "just knows"?

don't waste your time on any of it. because ratings DON'T matter ask ND radioguy.

 

[radioho]

Quick question..if you're not going to do music tests, how do you know what music to play? Program the owner or PD's personal tastes? Guess? Throw songs on the air and hope something sticks to the wall? Assume you can hire a PD who "just knows"?

don't waste your time on any of it. because ratings DON'T matter ask ND radioguy.

wklu's music tests told them to play FREEBIRD and LOTS of Beatles. Do you have to pay someone to tell you people like the Beatles that listen to a station that calls itself Classic Oldies? In other words, why hire a PD if all he/she is doing is editing MP3s?

 

[N_D_Radioguy]

Quick question..if you're not going to do music tests, how do you know what music to play? Program the owner or PD's personal tastes? Guess? Throw songs on the air and hope something sticks to the wall? Assume you can hire a PD who "just knows"?

don't waste your time on any of it. because ratings DON'T matter ask ND radioguy.

As usual, you missed the point.

I never said ratings didn't matter. I said 12+ didn't matter and I said that ratings are only a tool to gaining revenue.

If you're going to quote me, quote me, but don't mangle what I said or put words in my mouth.

**Never surprised how nuance is wasted on the dimwitted and the self-righteous**

 

[skippertthomas]

On testing... You can use it like a Thermometer or Borometer... I do recall when WFLZ came to be.. He just went down and found out what the locals were buying in the demo, at the biggest music stores in Tampa/St.Pete.... Today you'd have to find out what's going on with downloads and such.. But that homegrown research without the big outside testing group put "The Power Pig" up and past (at that time) the unbeatable 'Q-105'... That's been several years back, but it's all in the angle you take.... I've been at both extremes...

 

[cspotrun]

Many got into our business because they loved money, not radio. They oink! They ruined radio.
Now, as we watch them lose their shirt and pants, the last laugh will be ours!

The FCC will open many new frequencies under President Obama. Radio will no longer belong to the rich
who will lose thei butts.

what, they'll belong to the POOR who've already lost theirs? lets get a paycheck from them!

 

[cspotrun]

Quick question..if you're not going to do music tests, how do you know what music to play? Program the owner or PD's personal tastes? Guess? Throw songs on the air and hope something sticks to the wall? Assume you can hire a PD who "just knows"?

don't waste your time on any of it. because ratings DON'T matter ask ND radioguy.

wklu's music tests told them to play FREEBIRD and LOTS of Beatles. Do you have to pay someone to tell you people like the Beatles that listen to a station that calls itself Classic Oldies? In other words, why hire a PD if all he/she is doing is editing MP3s?

music tests are the "Life-Blood" of Consultants who have "Snake Oil" to sell and PD's who want to impress GM's & owners with their so called scientific knowlege. i've seem more stations ruined by Consultants and their so called "Safe Playlists". give me a good PD with "Experience" who studies the market and knows what the niche is and exploits it, and then does GOOD RADIO! with a great morning show, promotions and fun.

 

[gr8oldies]

OK..we don't ask our listeners and we just "assume" we know the right music to play..

 

[radioho]

OK..we don't ask our listeners and we just "assume" we know the right music to play..

If you are that out of touch with your format - and if you have to have 'experts' tell you to play 'Sweet Home Alabama' - then you should be selling shoes.

 

[elchupacabras]

music tests are the "Life-Blood" of Consultants who have "Snake Oil" to sell and PD's who want to impress GM's & owners with their so called scientific knowlege. i've seem more stations ruined by Consultants and their so called "Safe Playlists". give me a good PD with "Experience" who studies the market and knows what the niche is and exploits it, and then does GOOD RADIO! with a great morning show, promotions and fun.

You obviously have no idea how research is done. People via tests determine "safe" researched playlists, not consultants. etc. It might work in a nanomarket of 3 thousand people, but how many of those are left? A PD is the icing on the cake, but should cede to research. You can't afford NOT to play it safe in radio anymore. With so much competition for media attention, YOU have to play it "safe." Theory: BUSTED!

 

[Timewarp]

Now for some test results. Yes, many said Sweet Home Alabama, Free Bird,
and Stairway To Heaven are their favorites. But, when the songs come
on, they switch them off.

Why? Cause been there done that. These tests help to show what people
really want. Not what they say they want.

Also, most college educated men will say they love the blues. But, this
is not what they will choose to play, just what they say.

Music tests can be a useful tool.

 

[Timewarp]

music tests are the "Life-Blood" of Consultants who have "Snake Oil" to sell and PD's who want to impress GM's & owners with their so called scientific knowlege. i've seem more stations ruined by Consultants and their so called "Safe Playlists". give me a good PD with "Experience" who studies the market and knows what the niche is and exploits it, and then does GOOD RADIO! with a great morning show, promotions and fun.

You obviously have no idea how research is done. People via tests determine "safe" researched playlists, not consultants. etc. It might work in a nanomarket of 3 thousand people, but how many of those are left? A PD is the icing on the cake, but should cede to research. You can't afford NOT to play it safe in radio anymore. With so much competition for media attention, YOU have to play it "safe." Theory: BUSTED!

Life is also like this. You can play it safe and do OK. Or, you can go out
on a limb and take a gamble. You may be a real winner or you may fail.
It's a choice.

 

[gr8oldies]

Sadly, there are too many choice available to be able to afford to take a gamble.

 

[Timewarp]

Well! Fairbanks took a big gamble on Chris Conner and WNAP.
It paid off. We still talk about him 30 years later.

Then, we also have Wolfman Jack.

If you just want to be OK, no one will remember you. You were just OK.

 

[elchupacabras]

Well! Fairbanks took a big gamble on Chris Conner and WNAP.
It paid off. We still talk about him 30 years later.

Then, we also have Wolfman Jack.

If you just want to be OK, no one will remember you. You were just OK.

Great talent for their time, but as much as many of us 'duffers hate to admit it, times change and tastes change as well. If not you get stuck in a "Time Warp."

 

[radioho]

music tests are the "Life-Blood" of Consultants who have "Snake Oil" to sell and PD's who want to impress GM's & owners with their so called scientific knowlege. i've seem more stations ruined by Consultants and their so called "Safe Playlists". give me a good PD with "Experience" who studies the market and knows what the niche is and exploits it, and then does GOOD RADIO! with a great morning show, promotions and fun.

You obviously have no idea how research is done. People via tests determine "safe" researched playlists, not consultants. etc. It might work in a nanomarket of 3 thousand people, but how many of those are left? A PD is the icing on the cake, but should cede to research. You can't afford NOT to play it safe in radio anymore. With so much competition for media attention, YOU have to play it "safe." Theory: BUSTED!

Thanks for exposing me as having no idea. I appreciate you setting me straight. however...

I mentioned WKLU - I realize now that in my stupidity, I failed to realize as a result of their EXTENSIVE paid research (and I KNOW it was extensive, not speculation) they attained a Top 5 rating - oh, uh, sorry again, they're not even close ... they could have thrown a 1,000 cds in the air and randomly played them and came up with the same ratings they are experiencing right now.

Corporate, researched radio - the wave of the future - oh, uh, that's right, those corporations have lost their a** and are selling off stations at huge loses. Because 'that's how research is done!'

 

[Keith Kidd]

People don't listen solely for the music. There are many reasons why people listen and those reasons become more complex as we discuss formats like Oldies and other Classic Hits formats. You should only look at music research as something that aides in your strategy, not let it be your entire strategy. You have to know your audience, your town, your towns past, etc., etc., to really bring your station to the top. Music research isn't going to provide all of that needed information. Also, you can play it so "safe" that you become stale and un-listenable, which ironically isn't safe at all, it's risky. What's going on today is younger people work cheaper and those kids don't know the music within these formats. So what they do is rely on others to put a play list together for them. That's fine, but if you don't know the music or the times, there is no way you are going to "wow" your audience with a song or communicate with them effectively either. You become non-relatable, another risky situation. Is playing it safe really helping your station, or are you playing it safe because you don’t know how to effectively program the station but can’t admit to it?

that homegrown research without the big outside testing group put "The Power Pig" up and past (at that time) the unbeatable 'Q-105'

Skipper, the Power Pig didn't beat Q105 because their format was better than Q105's or because of any research that THEY did. The management of WRBQ and it's overreaction to the Power Pig is what beat them. They beat themselves with their own faulty research. They thought that just because they lost a few teeny boppers to the Pig, that they should all of the sudden compete against them when in fact it wasn't necessary to thrive and be on top. That overreaction caused them to eventually loose their infamous Q Morning ZOO. There's research for you. They researched themselves right out of a radio station. That wasn't the Power Pig's doing, that was Q105's doing.

 

[cspotrun]

Sadly, there are too many choice available to be able to afford to take a gamble.

NO Guts, No GLORY!. look, radio has played it 'Safe" with those 'Safe Tested Songs' and "Safe" formats from Consultants and now, after years of this, we have radio that is as exciting as kissing your sister. the listening audience is like Hawkeye Pierce yelling in the mess hall- "WE WANT SOMETHING ELSE"!!!!! they may not know what they want, but it isn't what they're getting NOW on radio. so go ahead and waste your time & money testing tunes with people who don't know what they want or even what they like in some cases. BUT instead, program with passion, experience, innovation, & emotion! BREAK SOME RULES!
the audience is waiting.

 

[skippertthomas]

Skipper, the Power Pig didn't beat Q105 because their format was better than Q105's or because of any research that THEY did. The management of WRBQ and it's overreaction to the Power Pig is what beat them. They beat themselves with their own faulty research. They thought that just because they lost a few teeny boppers to the Pig, that they should all of the sudden compete against them when in fact it wasn't necessary to thrive and be on top. That overreaction caused them to eventually loose their infamous Q Morning ZOO. There's research for you. They researched themselves right out of a radio station. That wasn't the Power Pig's doing, that was Q105's doing.

[/quote]

Keith... That's a good observation and second part of the death of the "Q", I do give "Z" (Pig) credit for not over-researching, as well as "Q" going nuts that someone else was going to do CHR, against them (Z-98 being the last one to jus 'be slick and there' in the market).... I was shocking (Terrance would tell us) to see these top doggers freaking out....

 

[Keith Kidd]

Edens hired people to come in and do "research" and to create a music format that was identical to the PIG and put on personalities with a presentation and appeal to 15 year olds. There was a hole to be filled with the kind of Music the PIG wanted to play and FLZ went for it. RBQ wasn't going to loose a whole lot of people to them anyway. Instead of tweaking Q105 (because that was needed to fit the times) and tweaking the ZOO a little bit, the Q wanted to scuffle with the PIG thinking that would bring them front and center. When they did they lost their audience, but not to the Power Pig, to other stations.

There's your research right there, a one page playbook disaster courtesy over paid and over rated researchers.