Is what is considered "Mainstream AC" going older

[JackindaBox]

As has been mentioned many times already; in medium to large markets, nights and weekends are considered filler time. As in; there is little to no revenue associated with those days/hours. Unless sold as a local ad package; sticking something unique like era-specific content remains just filler content.

Your obsession with Christmas music and any potential impact on 6+ ratings is nothing more than repetition. Whereas I think you have unique insights, it would be nice if you would consider merging your insights with actual industry knowledge from pros on this site. Who knows, you might learn something.

Ratings do get higher 6+ for Christmas music on many stations. Often times stations like KRWM, KKCW, WLTW, and WMJJ use filler time most of these listed do increase 80s for the weekend filler time. I think Delilah and John Tesh are often used for night fillers and the Ellen K Weekend show is another one of IHeartMedia’s fillers.

 

[Kelly A]

Ratings do get higher 6+ for Christmas music on many stations. Often times stations like KRWM, KKCW, WLTW, and WMJJ use filler time most of these listed do increase 80s for the weekend filler time. I think Delilah and John Tesh are often used for night fillers and the Ellen K Weekend show is another one of IHeartMedia’s fillers.

Good Lord. You really are fixated on one thing.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

Ratings do get higher 6+ for Christmas music on many stations. Often times stations like KRWM, KKCW, WLTW, and WMJJ use filler time most of these listed do increase 80s for the weekend filler time. I think Delilah and John Tesh are often used for night fillers and the Ellen K Weekend show is another one of IHeartMedia’s fillers.

6+ ratings are worth precisely what people pay for them.

 

[kevtronics]

Maybe TikTok is causing these stations to increase 80s titles. Numerous AC stations are increasing the amount of 80s on the weekends and labeling it “Best of the 80s Weekends” every weekend except during their Christmas music programming

AC stations play lots of '80s music because it continues to test well with their target demographic. It's as simple as that. WLTW has had "Best of the '80s Weekends" since, what, 2010?

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

I think it depends on what their compeiitors are playing. Some Classic Hits stations compete with Classic Rock/Adult Hits stations and/or an AC station. There are some that compete with Soft AC’s in certain markets. I’m sure they make tweaks based off of that.

i do some work for a very broad playlisted AC Variety station.... we do what we do because our competitors are 2 country stations, a rock station, a hot pop/chr station and public radio. the commercial music stations are almost all male heavy but a large margin and lean a bit older.. the pop station leans younger than us.

Were the mom friendly, family friend upbeat station everyone can listen to.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

AC stations play lots of '80s music because it continues to test well with their target demographic. It's as simple as that. WLTW has had "Best of the '80s Weekends" since, what, 2010?

The AC Station im on is late 60s to now, centered on 80s 90s and 2000s... but id say were mroe then light, but less than heavy on the AC gold..... its the stuff thats upbeat, danceable, singable and stuff our target audience.. likes. i cant count how many times ive said on the air "I remember that when...."

 

[101tm]

Something else I’ve noticed with AC: more AC’s than not have always been light with currents, but more AC’s have dialed down their currents even more, likely as a result of the “new music” drought at CHR. For a song to do well on AC, it has to be a CHR hit first generally (this has increasingly been the case over the last couple of decades). AC hasn’t had a great track record of producing its own hits for a while.

My local AC’s (WSPA-FM) newest songs getting the highest rotation are still “Stay”, “Flowers”, “Anti-Hero”, and “Bad Habits” getting around 25-28 spins per week. They used to have a “power” rotation of 5 currents at about 30-35 spins per week that was updated quite often until a year or two ago.

Musically, the playlist is 80s and 00s/10s tracks (way more 10s than 00s). 1-2 90s per hour and still a handful of 70s hanging around. If we shift back just a decade, the station wasn’t playing 60s music, and not nearly as many 70s songs as they are 80s now. 90s have decreased. The longer time goes on, the slower stations have evolved the age of the music they play.

When it comes to 90s tracks, there are tons of songs that were hits on AC in the 90s, but the issue is the 90s hits or Elton John, Celine Dion, and company were hits with the AC target demo back then - meaning those listeners have long aged out of the format. That leaves AC trying to cobble together well testing ballads, rock acts like Alanis, Goo Goo Dolls, MB20, etc, and even some dance tracks like “What Is Love” and the Nikki French version of “Total Eclipse of the Heart” for 90s material.

 

[DavidEduardo]

The AC Station im on is late 60s to now, centered on 80s 90s and 2000s... but id say were mroe then light, but less than heavy on the AC gold..... its the stuff thats upbeat, danceable, singable and stuff our target audience.. likes. i cant count how many times ive said on the air "I remember that when...."

Here is a good sidebar: At any station I've programmed that played gold where a jock said "remember...." in any context related to a song would get exactly one warning before being shown to the door.

People listen for songs they like. They don't need to be reminded that they have to be 50 or years old to have liked the song when it was new. When we test music, we ask "score it on how much you'd like to hear that song on the radio today". Not "...used to have liked decades ago".

Any gold a station plays has to be a hit now with the target listeners, not "back then". Don't tell listeners that they are old.

But that is my programming philosophy. "Favorite songs" and not "old songs".

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Here is a good sidebar: At any station I've programmed that played gold where a jock said "remember...." in any context related to a song would get exactly one warning before being shown to the door.

People listen for songs they like. They don't need to be reminded that they have to be 50 or years old to have liked the song when it was new. When we test music, we ask "score it on how much you'd like to hear that song on the radio today". Not "...used to have liked decades ago".

Any gold a station plays has to be a hit now with the target listeners, not "back then". Don't tell listeners that they are old.

But that is my programming philosophy. "Favorite songs" and not "old songs".

I dont necessarily disagree with your philopsophy or way of doing things .. but these seems to work for us/me and ive never had a complaint. Were one of the best stations in the county as evidenced b ya number of factors, so i think we're doing ok after 12 years

 

[KeithE4]

Here is a good sidebar: At any station I've programmed that played gold where a jock said "remember...." in any context related to a song would get exactly one warning before being shown to the door.

People listen for songs they like. They don't need to be reminded that they have to be 50 or years old to have liked the song when it was new. When we test music, we ask "score it on how much you'd like to hear that song on the radio today". Not "...used to have liked decades ago".

Any gold a station plays has to be a hit now with the target listeners, not "back then". Don't tell listeners that they are old.

But that is my programming philosophy. "Favorite songs" and not "old songs".

I remember a Phoenix oldies station -- IIRC it was the rimshot on 104.3 -- about 25 years ago who's slogan was "Listen... and remember." A total turnoff, although the music was good. No wonder it didn't last. I'll take the Lumberyard any day of the week. They're not condescending to us geezers.

 

[CTListener]

I remember a Phoenix oldies station -- IIRC it was the rimshot on 104.3 -- about 25 years ago who's slogan was "Listen... and remember." A total turnoff, although the music was good. No wonder it didn't last. I'll take the Lumberyard any day of the week. They're not condescending to us geezers.

That was an oldies station. This thread is about adult contemporary stations, which play current, recurrent and gold. I don't listen to AC radio here, but I can tell you that the two primary country stations both call attention to the gold cuts they play twice an hour with liners. One, WXLF "The Wolf" has one that goes "This one's got a little grey in its fur, but that doesn't mean it can't run with the pack. Here's another legendary Wolf track on 95.3 The Wolf!" The other, WXXK "Kixx" uses a couple with the same theme: "We love today's country, but sometimes we've just got to play one with a little more twang to it!" In both instances, that liner is followed by a song from roughly 1988 through 1999. I don't see where that is a negative element, but maybe country is different. I'm not insulted by being reminded that "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses" is a 35-year-old song.

For what it's worth, when they play something that goes back to the 2000s or '10s, there's no "remember" element. Taylor Swift's "Love Story" or George Strait's "Check Yes or No" is treated the same as a current or recurrent is.

 

[JackindaBox]

KRWM's newest songs are Levitating by Dua Lipa, Heat Waves by Glass Animals, As It Was by Harry Styles, Bad Habits by Ed Sheeran, Unstoppable by Sia, and Cold Heart by Elton John & Dua Lipa which were hits on their sister KQMV before they all crossed over to KRWM. However, KQMV no longer plays Unstoppable by Sia since it isn't on CHR stations anymore. Their top song is Levitating which only has 22 spins though most AC's have around 33-34 spins at top due to their no repeat workday. They played these songs at 10 AM yesterday.

10:02 AM	BON JOVI	It's My Life	2000	G
10:05 AM	REXHA, BEBE	Meant To Be f/F.G.L.	2017	G
10:08 AM	ROCKWELL	Somebody's Watching Me *Halloween Exclusive (doesn't play on most other days)	1984	G
10:19 AM	IMAGINE DRAGONS	Believer	2017	G
10:23 AM	DAIGLE, LAUREN	You Say	2018	G
10:27 AM	WHITESNAKE	Here I Go Again	1987	G
10:31 AM	MENDES, SHAWN/CABELLO, CAMILA	Senorita	2019	G
10:34 AM	MADONNA	Into The Groove	1985	G
10:39 AM	DJ SNAKE	Let Me Love You f/J. Bieber	2016	G
10:42 AM	SIXPENCE NONE THE RICHER	Kiss Me	1999	G
10:52 AM	LORDE	Royals	2013	G
10:55 AM	HART, COREY	Sunglasses At Night	1984	G
10:59 AM	GUETTA, DAVID	Titanium f/Sia	2011	G

 

[CTListener]

How is that an AC if it plays nothing in a given hour from the current decade, let alone 2023?

 

[JackindaBox]

How is that an AC if it plays nothing in a given hour from the current decade, let alone 2023?

It didn’t play any currents during that hour but it does play a couple of their newer songs in some hours which is why it is an AC. Seems more like a gold-based AC based on post.

 

[JackindaBox]

AC stations play lots of '80s music because it continues to test well with their target demographic. It's as simple as that. WLTW has had "Best of the '80s Weekends" since, what, 2010?

That is true... but I was thinking about the other iHeartRadio stations and other stations.