KYSR AND KROQ

[noneofyourbeeswax]

Nice to see KROQ changing to meet the competition from KYSR. Should be interesting. I guess we'll see.

 

[Bianco500]

Well, KROQ needed competiton from someone besides that awful Indie. I remember when Indie came on, KROQ started playing a bunch of Indie artists and I hated it because it didn't have that active rock sound. Now KYSR is actually giving KROQ a reason to start playing that stuff again. I just wish 987 would have gone full blown Active and added Ozzy and Metallica and such.

 

[hotpatrick2004]

How dare you insult my indie 1031 For a true alternative format it is the best in the country. Kroq has nothing to worry about!!! And some of those indie artists still get played today ever heard of the shins and the postal service and the kooks and not just on indie.
One mans pleasure is another mans torture my friend. The ozzy and metallica would be my torture

 

[briancraig]

Indie 103.1 is by far the best commercial rock station in the country. Too bad they don't have a full market signal.

Ozzy, Metallica? I guess some people still live in 1987 when it comes to music.

 

[pbf1]

I just wish 987 would have gone full blown Active and added Ozzy and Metallica and such.

Gee...THAT'S what their target demo wants! (cough)

 

[emailfailed]

Well, KROQ needed competiton from someone besides that awful Indie. I remember when Indie came on, KROQ started playing a bunch of Indie artists and I hated it because it didn't have that active rock sound. Now KYSR is actually giving KROQ a reason to start playing that stuff again. I just wish 987 would have gone full blown Active and added Ozzy and Metallica and such.

I hate to break it to you (for somebody who's first concert was Black Sabbath I really do), but for a lot people, that is to say the key demo, Ozzy and Metallica are seen as glib acts from high school among L.A. hipsters. The key listening demo, males 18-34 aren't going to want to listen to what they may as well think of as dinosaur rock. For a lot of high school kids, they dig metal, but we know how much money high school kids have to spend. For your typical L.A. male 18-34 listener, metal, new or old, no longer speaks to them.

The other side of the spectrum (some of this may be stereotyping, but MANY studies shows it's true) there is Joe Sixpack working on his car in his garage with Ozzy turned up waking up half the neighborhood. More times than not Joe Sixpack is a white male working at an warehouse or some other type job. As well often times such listeners to an active rock station is either a former or current member of the military, which explains partly why 105.3 in San Diego, home of a large military contingency, does well.

As most of us may know L.A. no longer has the majority white male blue collar worker to support such a station like KNAC or the IE's KCAL, which is what you're suggesting KYSR morph into suddenly.

The IE still has a large white male blue collar work force, which is why KCAL survives.

We did have a revival of neo-metal from 1998/99-2003/04, and KROQ played plenty of it, new and old. After it died down it killed off a lot of alternative rock stations across the country, and frankly did damage to the alternative rock format. The success of early and mid-90s alt rock is that it didn't sound like metal, and that's one reason people tuned in. Alt stations that played metal during that period lost loyal listeners who tuned in to hear alternative rock, not metal, and this included a lot of listeners to KROQ. Of course KROQ being KROQ survived, but suffered damage.

Going back to demo studies lets face it... a good many of alternative rock listeners have some college or graduated college, and more times than not hold some kind of white collar job.

That's the thing with alternative rock vs. active rock; alternative rock listeners are going to have a little more money to spend.

Furthermore the harsh fact is L.A. has not been a blue collar town since the massive aerospace layoffs of the 1990s.

I know some of what I said may come off harsh or even elitist, and that is not my position. Rather I am attempting to show if you want active rock back in L.A., these studies of who listens to what (read: what's going to be more profitable) are what you're up against. Yes, I don't like it, I wish we could go back to a time when small companies and families owned radio stations who care about the music... and G-d knows I wish we could have real diversity (a sincere tough decision on what to listen to) on the L.A. airwaves, but it's not going to happen. Now maybe if the radio industry collapses on itself, perhaps we'll see change, but it's more likely to snow in L.A. the next ten years before that may happen.

In this Clear Channel world of thinking, if you can prove active rock would make money and have decent ratings in L.A., you can bet you rear it would've been tried, but regrettably, many studies show otherwise.

 

[shirleyschmidt]

One word in that post JUMPS out at me, and that is the word "CARE." Like you, I wish more people cared about the music than population numbers. We all know it's a business but music stirs the soul and will always be more to the listeners. More indies that cared and have the money to do it right is a great dream we once had. ;D Wolfman Jack... there was some fun.

 

[david]

Well, KROQ needed competition from someone besides that awful Indie.

How ironic that you blast Indie when they are the only station in town servicing this audience. Check out: Chaos The Metal Show w/ Full Metal Jackie, Sundays 10 - Midnight.
I am not a metal fan, and do not listen to this show, but thank goodness LA has Indie, and that it has survived for as long as it has. Many a folk on RI.com have predicted its demise, so appreciate it for as long as it remains with us - and yes metal fans (Bianco500 included), Indie services you too.

 

[hamNcheese]

Well, KROQ needed competition from someone besides that awful Indie.

How ironic that you blast Indie when they are the only station in town servicing this audience. Check out: Chaos The Metal Show w/ Full Metal Jackie, Sundays 10 - Midnight.
I am not a metal fan, and do not listen to this show, but thank goodness LA has Indie, and that it has survived for as long as it has. Many a folk on RI.com have predicted its demise, so appreciate it for as long as it remains with us - and yes metal fans (Bianco500 included), Indie services you too.

Jackie covers ever jagged edge of metal on her show. Its pretty effin' amazing.

 

[mrbazuka]

What you guys need is some satellite radios.....

 

[noneofyourbeeswax]

Yesterday I heard KROQ play Death Cab For Cutie after star has been playing it into the ground

 

[CHRles]

I hate to break it to you (for somebody who's first concert was Black Sabbath I really do), but for a lot people, that is to say the key demo, Ozzy and Metallica are seen as glib acts from high school among L.A. hipsters. The key listening demo, males 18-34 aren't going to want to listen to what they may as well think of as dinosaur rock. For a lot of high school kids, they dig metal, but we know how much money high school kids have to spend. For your typical L.A. male 18-34 listener, metal, new or old, no longer speaks to them.

The other side of the spectrum (some of this may be stereotyping, but MANY studies shows it's true) there is Joe Sixpack working on his car in his garage with Ozzy turned up waking up half the neighborhood. More times than not Joe Sixpack is a white male working at an warehouse or some other type job. As well often times such listeners to an active rock station is either a former or current member of the military, which explains partly why 105.3 in San Diego, home of a large military contingency, does well.

As most of us may know L.A. no longer has the majority white male blue collar worker to support such a station like KNAC or the IE's KCAL, which is what you're suggesting KYSR morph into suddenly.

The IE still has a large white male blue collar work force, which is why KCAL survives.

We did have a revival of neo-metal from 1998/99-2003/04, and KROQ played plenty of it, new and old. After it died down it killed off a lot of alternative rock stations across the country, and frankly did damage to the alternative rock format. The success of early and mid-90s alt rock is that it didn't sound like metal, and that's one reason people tuned in. Alt stations that played metal during that period lost loyal listeners who tuned in to hear alternative rock, not metal, and this included a lot of listeners to KROQ. Of course KROQ being KROQ survived, but suffered damage.

Going back to demo studies lets face it... a good many of alternative rock listeners have some college or graduated college, and more times than not hold some kind of white collar job.

That's the thing with alternative rock vs. active rock; alternative rock listeners are going to have a little more money to spend.

Furthermore the harsh fact is L.A. has not been a blue collar town since the massive aerospace layoffs of the 1990s.

I know some of what I said may come off harsh or even elitist, and that is not my position. Rather I am attempting to show if you want active rock back in L.A., these studies of who listens to what (read: what's going to be more profitable) are what you're up against. Yes, I don't like it, I wish we could go back to a time when small companies and families owned radio stations who care about the music... and G-d knows I wish we could have real diversity (a sincere tough decision on what to listen to) on the L.A. airwaves, but it's not going to happen. Now maybe if the radio industry collapses on itself, perhaps we'll see change, but it's more likely to snow in L.A. the next ten years before that may happen.

In this Clear Channel world of thinking, if you can prove active rock would make money and have decent ratings in L.A., you can bet you rear it would've been tried, but regrettably, many studies show otherwise.

Excellent analysis and right on the mark.