Other city threads (NYC WNYL and LA KROQ conversations) here on RD are referencing KINK's remarkable success since Gene Sandbloom arrived in 2019. Yet there is scant reference to this successful and unique station here locally. 101.9 is now Alpha Media's highest ranked music station in Portland and the market's third highest ranked (6+) music station overall. What do you like and what would you like? How much is the mess at 94.7 benefitting KINK? How much of the KINK formula could work at WNYL and KROQ? Let's discuss.
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KINK - Doing Very Nicely - Discuss
- Thread starter david
- Start date
I used to listen to KINK quite often. Admittedly, I don’t listen as religiously anymore (mainly due to the fact that I don’t live in close enough proximity to hear them anymore). With that being said, I think they are doing “alternative” better than most stations in 2022. I’d classify their playlist as carefully curated, with a good mix of quality new music interspersed with songs that have stood the test of time. I’m on the young end of the age spectrum, but I personally think that their mix of music fits the taste of a younger audience too. A lot of the people I know (who ARE alternative listeners) don’t careful for new direction that Audacy has taken. And as we have seen, Audacy is starting to walk back from this new direction. There’s more to alternative than playing music that is on tik tok or was popular in the 1990’s.
Portland is a very unique place, and KINK is a unique radio station. It has something WNYL didn't have, which is heritage and a heritage morning show with Mitch Elliott. When you evaluate the really successful alternative stations, they all have really successful local morning shows. And for the most part, those successful local morning shows don't rely on music for their success. Heritage is hard to build. It takes time and dedication to earn the trust of the alternative audience. That's what KINK has done.
So there is no KINK formula that can be moved, unless you're willing to invest time and energy in creating a morning show. KROQ had a successful morning show with Kevin & Bean, but it ran out of steam after 30 years. So they're back to square one.
"very unique": My sister would slap you! According to she, it's either "unique" or not. There's no such thing as "very unique".
I know Portland is unique, but KINK's success reinforces for me that playlists don't have to be extremely tight and repetitive for a station to find success.
Depends on what you mean by tight and repetitive. The playlist has 700 songs. That's larger than a typical classic rock station, but smaller than another AAA station WXRT Chicago, which has 1000 songs. KINK has a very small group of 20 currents that it plays 5 times a day for about 30 spins in a week. Some of those currents are not rock songs but pop songs like "As It Was" by Harry Styles. If you played that song on any other rock station, the audience would revolt. But once again, this is Portland, which is younger, better educated, and more open than a lot of other places. Like WXRT the station has heritage that allows it to get away with things that would never have worked at WNYL. And the station has a very successful morning show where most of the money is made. But sure, this works in Portland. You could play the exact same songs in the same rotation in another place, and it would fall on its face.
Yet, using a rolling average, KINK is 11th in AM Drive, 8th in Middays and 10th in PM Drive in 25-54. In no major demo is AMD ahead of PMD or Middays.
I don't know of a AAA station that does well in 25-54. That's why so few commercial stations use the format. AAA is typically an older format because it has a larger playlist with mostly older songs. They're #5 in 6+, which tells me that most of the audience is over 50. Median age for the AAA format is 51 with 25% in 55-64. 92% white, 52% male. The question isn't about demos, because they're not going to be good. The question is about revenues. Where does KINK rank in revenue?
Here's an interview with KINK PD Gene Sandbloom who describes their approach to the format.
www.allaccess.com
I noticed they played Adele this morning. Name an alternative or rock station that would ever play Adele.
10 Questions with ... Gene Sandbloom
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS: 1982-1987 Intern, Music Director, KIIS-FM, Los Angeles 1987-1989 Associate Director A&R, MCA Records 1990-1992 Managing Editor, Network Forty Magazine 1992-2019 Music Director, Assistant Program Director, Operations Manager KROQ-FM and JACK, Los Angeles 2019-present...
I noticed they played Adele this morning. Name an alternative or rock station that would ever play Adele.
I am comparing KINK to most Classic Rock or Classic Hits stations, not AAA stations. With 700 songs in the playlist, that represents more songs - and the frequency is also less - than any other station in the Portland market.
18th. Off by 75% in last 6 years.
Classic rock or hits stations don't play currents or recent songs. At least 1/3 of the songs KINK plays are either current or from the last five years. So you're comparing two different things, aiming for different listeners. I saw one of the currents is a country song by Elle King and Miranda Lambert called "Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home.)" They play that song 7 times a week. So yes, they play more songs than other stations. But are they really songs you want to hear?
I said KINK plays it's currents 33 times a week. The classic rock station KGON plays its top songs 11 times a week. Same for the classic hits station KLTH. So they each play their songs less frequently than KINK. Then again, neither of those stations play any currents. If they did, the playlist might be larger or different.
That makes the subject of this thread incorrect. The station owner Alpha went through bankruptcy last year, so the prognosis for KINK isn't too good.
Alpha Media Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection.
Alpha Media, the privately held company that owns more than 200 radio stations, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday. The Portland, OR-based company filed a prepackaged plan to overcome
Since there are such few commercial AAA stations anymore, I guess it is not all that meaningful to compare them. Yes, it is a different format than Classic Hits or Classic Rock. My point is that I'd rather listen to KINK, with its 700 song library, than, say, KRTH, with its 300 song library (and which plays some songs up to 11 or 12 times per week).
As I said, KINK plays its currents 33 times a week, which is three times as often as KROQ or KGON. I would bet most of those currents are songs you wouldn't recognize. That's an easy way to solve the repetition problem. Listen to a format where you don't know any of the music.
Just don't binge-listen to it for hours on end, for weeks on end. Those outlier listeners will realize the true nature of the playlist and the rotation of currents within the first few days.
Because the audience is older, they're less active, so they listen longer. The old songs they play would seem to conflict with the new songs. I can't imagine playing The Beatles and then playing Death Cab For Cutie, but that's what they do. Sounds like a trainwreck to me. I also can't imagine a classic rock station playing Taylor Swift. But as someone who goes to her concerts, I can attest that she has a lot of 65 year old women among her fans. Once again, the data on this station isn't like other commercial stations, so any comparison is fultile.
But mixed in with all those currents are another 650+ songs. And you don't know that I wouldn't know those currents. They play Adele, and nearly everyone knows Adele's music and voice. Other stations don't have a playlist that wide.
That's correct. For a good reason.
We have been through this too many times. And for voicing my opinion on the matter, and not agreeing with the majority, I have been threatened with suspension from the board.
So, as usual, you win, sir.
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