Another person somewhat in the mold of Rick Carroll maybe? He could always pick winners musicly and personalities for the stations he managed.
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KROQ, again
- Thread starter AceBiscuits
- Start date
I agree with this, of course.
That said, one could certainly argue Mr. Kaplan does not have good sense of what NYC listeners want, either.
That's what I mean by chipping away.
I don't know why so many people disrespect Mike Kaplan by calling him a "show killer." He's not entirely a bad programmer. When he programmed KYSR, he brought in "The Woody Show" for mornings and shifted 98.7 musically with an alternative pop lean that ultimately overtook KROQ in music day parts. He was a part of the crew that helped rebrand "98-7" to "Alt 98.7."
When Audacy hired Kaplan, they were hoping he could replicate the success of KYSR in New York City. When Weatherly stepped down, he came in, started the national programming initiative and proposed a decent strategy: The alternative rock format is dying out. There are fewer listeners and the demos are aging out. We need to make our audience younger by playing less rock and more indie pop and hip-hop, and maybe even a few songs that are trending on TikTok. We need a younger, fresher sounding morning show. We also have some revenue flexibility because we're cutting expenses by dropping DJs in most non-LA and NY markets. All national syndicated talent.
The proposal ultimately did not yield positive results. But it wasn't an entirely terrible one. I would also add that Kaplan couldn't have imaged a pandemic coming in the way. No station events. No Coachella. No street team promotion. A morning show change right before a pandemic that reduced morning listening to a fraction of where it previously was. But also listening was already declining at the end of the Weatherly era.
When Audacy hired Kaplan, they were hoping he could replicate the success of KYSR in New York City. When Weatherly stepped down, he came in, started the national programming initiative and proposed a decent strategy: The alternative rock format is dying out. There are fewer listeners and the demos are aging out. We need to make our audience younger by playing less rock and more indie pop and hip-hop, and maybe even a few songs that are trending on TikTok. We need a younger, fresher sounding morning show. We also have some revenue flexibility because we're cutting expenses by dropping DJs in most non-LA and NY markets. All national syndicated talent.
The proposal ultimately did not yield positive results. But it wasn't an entirely terrible one. I would also add that Kaplan couldn't have imaged a pandemic coming in the way. No station events. No Coachella. No street team promotion. A morning show change right before a pandemic that reduced morning listening to a fraction of where it previously was. But also listening was already declining at the end of the Weatherly era.
The problem was that the traditional alternative rock audience was not compatible with the TikTok one. Playing TikTok pop and emo rap alongside Nirvana and The Killers just didn't work. It proved to be too much change too soon for the latter audience, yet they were still clinging too much to the heritage bands to fully attract the former audience. If you're going to chase the TikTok audience, it needs to be with a totally new format and branding.
The TikTok demo is not compatible with FM radio, period.
In the United States, alternative = alternative rock (in most places). Folks, like me, who grew up during the golden era of the format are in their early 40s. Still a desirable advertising demo. Classic rock still performs well playing loads of music from the 80s and some 70s. I'm not sure why a 90s and early 00s centered Alternative station that also plays a limited set of currents and recurrents sounds like such a bad idea.
Most of the multi-market air talent I've heard on Kaplan's stations is simply OK, the audience engagement is weak, and for close to a year, the automation implementation was a complete trainwreck. His implementation of the "Two Minute Promise" was also bungled badly.
Brady and Nicole Alvarez are the only two air talents worth a darn. Bryce is boring, Scott Lowe is boring, the WNYL based morning show was rotten, and Kevan Kenney needs to stop comparing ho-hum songs from the Lumineers to Pearl Jam.
In the United States, alternative = alternative rock (in most places). Folks, like me, who grew up during the golden era of the format are in their early 40s. Still a desirable advertising demo. Classic rock still performs well playing loads of music from the 80s and some 70s. I'm not sure why a 90s and early 00s centered Alternative station that also plays a limited set of currents and recurrents sounds like such a bad idea.
Most of the multi-market air talent I've heard on Kaplan's stations is simply OK, the audience engagement is weak, and for close to a year, the automation implementation was a complete trainwreck. His implementation of the "Two Minute Promise" was also bungled badly.
Brady and Nicole Alvarez are the only two air talents worth a darn. Bryce is boring, Scott Lowe is boring, the WNYL based morning show was rotten, and Kevan Kenney needs to stop comparing ho-hum songs from the Lumineers to Pearl Jam.
That's what they did, but the currents they chose were different from the classics. As we've said, alternative isn't the consensus format it once was. They tried to grab on the part of it that was creating some excitement. Finneas and the music he was making was seen as very exciting and different from a lot of the other music that was coming out.
But the bigger problem was he wasn't able to keep the talent he had, and then wasn't able to replace them once they left. That's the part of the job that he can control (as opposed to the music part). That's why they need someone full time to focus on fixing the talent situation and giving people a reason to listen. The only thing they seemed to have was the 2 minute promise, and that's not enough.
...and the two minute promise was promoted with 3 to 4 minutes of redundant imaging inventory, each hour, each day for months on end, which made for a dreadful listening experience, in my opinion. Completely agree that value proposition - and I'm using that term very loosely - was not nearly enough to induce listening.
He wasn't able to pick the music OR keep the talent. When the world changed and NTR events were not a viable source of revenue or station promotion, he was not able to adjust where others did.
It is relatively rare for on-air talent to badmouth management, even of former employers (bridges and all) but for him to have earned the name The Show Killer and have the talent talk about him consistently like that speaks volumes. I kept hearing the phrase "nice guy, just really horrible at his job".
I don't see where the controversy is; he had his time, he failed to turn the station around, it is time to move on. Audacy cannot keep waiting for his straegy that has proven to be failure to start working.
In fairness, some if not all of the on air jabs, especially from morning talent, were likely for entertainment value.
Not much different than how Howard Stern used to rib former WXRK general manager, Tom Chiusano (Howard actually admired Tom a lot, and on one of his Sirius anniversary shows, profusely stated that.)
Not much different than how Howard Stern used to rib former WXRK general manager, Tom Chiusano (Howard actually admired Tom a lot, and on one of his Sirius anniversary shows, profusely stated that.)
Maybe in your line of work, but not in radio. Consider Dan Bongino's attacks on Cumulus a few months ago.
He famously referred to his PD at WNBC as "Pig Vomit."
No, in radio too. You are struggling with the difference between the exception vs. the rule. You have highlighted some specific exceptions (and I will spot you another one, when the Regular Guys left KLSX, they blasted management on-air on the way out).
Everyone has issues with management, BUT the vast majority of air talent (well over 99%) both in SoCal and around the country are absolute professionals and don't air their grievances.
It's not unknown for a morning show to target another staff member in their humor. In Puerto Rico even pretended to be a gringo who spoke terrible Spanish (often saying, unintentionally, something off color or very stupid) on the Island's top rated morning show. The whole thing was theatrics, and since I was always at the station early they'd call me in several times a week to do a little segment.
When I'd call on agencies, of course I would get a lot of kidding. But it created a lot of bonding with clients who listened... and with nearly a 25 share a lot of them listened.
When the woody show once did a live remote I asked them about all the smack they gave Kaplan onair...I asked is that just an act or is it real they said oh it's real alright. Mike Kaplan they said very nice guy great to hang with but not a good PD.
They were all very happy it seems when the station got a new PD. I like both Kroq and alt 98.7. Even when Mike programmed alt 98.7 I liked it. The only thing I question him on is when he was at Kroq and added post Malone.
They were all very happy it seems when the station got a new PD. I like both Kroq and alt 98.7. Even when Mike programmed alt 98.7 I liked it. The only thing I question him on is when he was at Kroq and added post Malone.
After Kaplan's longtime, seemingly unwavering determination to totally eschew rock and redefine "Alt" as a pop-tiktok format, one has to wonder if he was ordered to go back to the familiar alternative rock format playing all the major stars when the NY and L.A. stations made that sudden shift a few weeks ago. Given all that we've heard, it's hard to imagine he proactively decided to make that change himself.
I think you might be right. KROQ and WNYL are both playing a watered down version of the Allers playlists heard on stations like KVIL at the moment. They both feel passionless and perfunctory, without the random surprise track or two that KVIL, KKDO, KNDD, and such are doing that enrich the sets. The currents KROQ and WNYL are playing are mirroring the Allers playlists as well, but aren't being spun at the frequency that they are on the Allers stations.
I feel like someone sent Kaplan a 300-song log to base the playlists on and he just simply implemented it without doing any tinkering, research, or experimentation. The currents could also be being forced upon KROQ and WNYL by Allers and Christy Taylor (who, judging by their Hot Picks, definitely seem to be controlling the adds), and there seems to be no effort to integrate the currents into the playlists in a natural or enthusiastic way. I am not saying this is the truth, but that's the perception I get when I compare KROQ and WNYL to the likes of KKDO or KVIL where a random gem from the past gets unearthed every now and then and there seems to be genuine enthusiasm for the currents.
The DJ on the air right now is literally celebrating the resignation of Mike Kaplan as KROQ OM/PD on the air as we speak.
She just announced the station will be playing Tool, System of a Down, and Rage Against the Machine again, all artists "we were banned from playing when our old boss was still here."
This proclamation was made following the playing of "Freedom" by RATM at exactly 5PM. Two more Rage Against the Machine songs then followed.
Looks like the transition to an Active / Alt hybrid is now officially in full swing.
She just announced the station will be playing Tool, System of a Down, and Rage Against the Machine again, all artists "we were banned from playing when our old boss was still here."
This proclamation was made following the playing of "Freedom" by RATM at exactly 5PM. Two more Rage Against the Machine songs then followed.
Looks like the transition to an Active / Alt hybrid is now officially in full swing.
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Wow. There is no love lost whatsoever.
They’re running a block party weekend right now. Ostensibly it’s because of the NCAA basketball tournament but I am almost 100% certain that it’s the transition point to the Active/Alt hybrid that KROQ is all but confirmed to be transforming into. And perhaps celebrating the departure of The Show Killer too.
Monday is going to be an interesting day for the station.
They’re running a block party weekend right now. Ostensibly it’s because of the NCAA basketball tournament but I am almost 100% certain that it’s the transition point to the Active/Alt hybrid that KROQ is all but confirmed to be transforming into. And perhaps celebrating the departure of The Show Killer too.
Monday is going to be an interesting day for the station.
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Blaming the boss is a subject that's very popular with the demo. Great idea. Some songs even deal with the subject.
"We've taken over the radio station and playing what we want."
A big song from KROQ's early days was "We Want The Airwaves" by The Ramones, it was basically the station's theme song for a good number of years. The strategy works whether it's sincere or not.
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