KRTH has finally added more 90's

[fordranger797]

Take a look at the playlist at KTWV. That is a station co-owned with KRTH. KRTH can't really get too urban because it will compete with co-owned kTWV.

That makes sense. What do you see happening ten years from now, when testing indicates that listeners may want to hear the same songs on both KRTH and KTWV? Does KRTH still keep some 80’s around, and add 90’s tracks (perhaps some that I’ve listed) to differentiate, or do they program much of the same music?

 

[TheBigA]

That makes sense. What do you see happening ten years from now, when testing indicates that listeners may want to hear the same songs on both KRTH and KTWV? Does KRTH still keep some 80’s around, and add 90’s tracks (perhaps some that I’ve listed) to differentiate, or do they program much of the same music?

Ten years from now is too long to predict. Programming a radio station is a daily process. Songs are added and dropped all the time. So the station will evolve over time, based on the tastes of the listeners.

 

[davideduardo]

While I see what you’re saying, I think this is a totally valid question. If you’re going to start shifting into more 90’s programming, it seems like it would make sense to include more of it. Perhaps they don’t want to stretch the playlist too far or throw in anything that would miss the mark with their listeners.

While it may seem to be a snarky comeback, "your target audience only ages one year at a time. None of it ages any faster".

So the issue with any station that plays music from a window in time is whether to age with the listeners or to maintain the target, bringing in "new" listeners and ceasing to care about the oldest ones, one year at a time.

The way that is done is measuring the appeal of every played song and every reasonable potential song among the target listeners, which ever philosophy as to the target age group is employed.

Example: "Music of Your Life" done by Al Ham formatted many radio stations with Big Band era tunes, and gradually introduced remakes of songs originating in that era by newer (read "younger" or "not deceased") artists. But it maintained one foot and most of the toes of the other in the original era.

• Music of Your Life has been broadcasting hit records from the Great American Songbook non-stop for 40 years, making it the longest running syndicated music radio network in the world. Founder Al Ham introduced his “Matched Flow Sequencing” in 1978, combining standards with contemporary hits to compliment his unique sound.

That policy resulted in a format that was jokingly called, "Music of the Remaining Years of Your Life". It aged out, so far out that it's now mostly a streaming proposition as no radio station can successfully target people in their 80's and beyond. f

With that being said, when the shift inevitably happens, they’re naturally going to need other stuff to play, and therefore, I was wondering why they haven’t tried to throw at least some of them in to prepare listeners for that transition. I think that’s a fair question, as it seems like it would paint KRTH into a corner.

The purpose of radio is not to "create tastes" but to reflect them. We don't "train" listeners to like songs; we play songs they like already.

There is no need to "prepare" listeners for anything. Just play the songs that today's target audience likes, and don't play the ones that no longer appeal to everyone within that target.

So, each time KRTH tests its library and all the songs it might play (I say this because many seem to believe radio does not test songs that they don't play... we do... lots of them.) they are looking for songs that have entered the target age range window and also trying to identify any that impede the younger end from listening.

Add in the fact that there are also some songs that just get tired... they either get rested and tried again or they are eliminated.

There are no fast spinning gears in this mechanism. A few songs age out, a few burn out, a few become acceptable to the entire age range and are added.

 

[davideduardo]

That makes sense. What do you see happening ten years from now, when testing indicates that listeners may want to hear the same songs on both KRTH and KTWV? Does KRTH still keep some 80’s around, and add 90’s tracks (perhaps some that I’ve listed) to differentiate, or do they program much of the same music?

Ten years from now, they will have likely done 20 or so more music tests and numerous perceptual projects. Each station will have found specific targets to appeal to.

The ethnic composition of the market will have continued to change, and that is important as those characteristics create the overall "mood" of a radio (and streaming) market. Stations will modify the kinds of people they invite to music tests to optimize their appeal. We can't predict today the age of songs or the kind of songs that will be played on stations and curated streams but we can, regularly, continue to ask listeners to tell us where they are.

 

[davideduardo]

Ten years from now is too long to predict. Programming a radio station is a daily process. Songs are added and dropped all the time. So the station will evolve over time, based on the tastes of the listeners.

Not only can't we predict the songs people will like "tomorrow", we can't predict things like the ethnic composition of a market that far in the future.

It looks like LA is rather significantly replacing non-Hispanic whites with immigrants; those immigrants are in two groups with Hispanics arriving as non-users of English language media and new residents from places like the Middle East, Persia and Central Europe having very different musical tastes.

Radio stations and "new media" will have to take into account the demographic and societal implications of this ongoing change, which appears to be accelerating.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

Preparing the audience? No. The business needs to prepare, with all caveats in place, for where the listeners may take the station, not the other way around. All those tests may give you hints. (Though as noted above, a decade out is a bit like throwing darts blindfolded, trying to make that prediction). And who knows, the hints may change in time.

 

[davideduardo]

(Though as noted above, a decade out is a bit like throwing darts blindfolded, trying to make that prediction). And who knows, the hints may change in time.

Yes! We can make projections based on current trends, but we can not make predictions because so many variables are in play. In LA, everything from changes in immigration, the southwestern drought, other climate change issues as well as the national economy, international politics, a possible WW III and an alien invasion can all affect the kind of music people want to hear in 2033.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

Seems like the alien invasion has started in the US and Canada. 🤣🤣

 

[davideduardo]

Seems like the alien invasion has started in the US and Canada. 🤣🤣

And last week threatened the world power, Costa Rica.

 

[ChannelFlipper]

Yes! We can make projections based on current trends, but we can not make predictions because so many variables are in play. In LA, everything from changes in immigration, the southwestern drought, other climate change issues as well as the national economy, international politics, a possible WW III and an alien invasion can all affect the kind of music people want to hear in 2033.

It's always so hard to predict just exactly when these alien invasions will take place, even more so the formats to whch they will be attracted.

 

[davideduardo]

It's always so hard to predict just exactly when these alien invasions will take place, even more so the formats to whch they will be attracted.

And then we have to figure out how to program for the key sales demographic of "Aliens 118 to 149" which is the key age group for most of the known extraterrestrials.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

 

[davideduardo]

Continuing this nonsense, where do the ETs wear a PPM device?

 

[fordranger797]

You guys are all missing the point and need to take this issue more seriously. So let me ask once more: would ET listen to KRTH 101.1 when he arrived in Los Angeles and would he make it his number one preset? Would he say “what is this crap?” when a song he doesn’t like comes on?

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

More optimistically, he might think it’s out of this world.

 

[michael hagerty]

You guys are all missing the point and need to take this issue more seriously. So let me ask once more: would ET listen to KRTH 101.1 when he arrived in Los Angeles and would he make it his number one preset? Would he say “what is this crap?” when a song he doesn’t like comes on?

No. ET only likes one song. Neil Diamond’s “Heartlight.”

 

[semoochie]

It's always so hard to predict just exactly when these alien invasions will take place, even more so the formats to whch they will be attracted.

In a somewhat related area, did anyone happen to catch the news about a large solar sun flare that floated off into space and created a vortex? Scientists don't know what caused it and have never seen it before!

 

[Signal Geek]

In LA, everything from changes in immigration, the southwestern drought, other climate change issues as well as the national economy, international politics, a possible WW III and an alien invasion can all affect the kind of music people want to hear in 2033

I found the solution. Just tell KRTH's A.I. Playlist Computer to base future song choices on changes stated in the Zagar & Evans song "In The Year 2525" 🤣

 

[Signal Geek]

In a somewhat related area, did anyone happen to catch the news about a large solar sun flare that floated off into space and created a vortex? Scientists don't know what caused it and have never seen it before!

No wonder my DX'ing was bending the space/time continum yesterday. I even picked up K-101's All Disco Month from January 1979 😄

 

[michael hagerty]

I found the solution. Just tell KRTH's A.I. Playlist Computer to base future song choices on changes stated in the Zagar & Evans song "In The Year 2525" 🤣

"If man is still alive, play Coolio. It'll tick a big segment of man off."