Lost format in Houston?

[ericspin]

While doing some work at home, I was listening to channel 794 on TW cable, and a great new song from The Shins came on. On my way home, I was flipping through channels on XM (Ethel, Lucy, XM Cafe, Hear Music) and heard some great music there, too (new Killers, Pete Yorn, Damien Rice, Keane, etc., along with some great recurrents.

It made me think -- am I the only one in Houston who thinks there's a HUGE hole on radio around here, musically? Yes, I know that not all of the music is mass appeal, but I also know that these artists have good-to-great followings, sell alot of music and concerts, AND their listeners are usually 20-45 year olds, many of them making nice livings -- great for advertisers. Am I wrong about this?

No, a station as niche as KGSR in Austin wouldn't work here, but a well programmed AAA (which seems to be a dirty word in the radio business these days, for some reason) would still do better then many of the stations bringing in less than a 1.5 rating, plus have nice advertising potential.

Help me out here!

 

[dsadof]

You're not the only one who sees the hole. That hole has been my home since 1982. You should look at the High Fidelity playlists I've posted here on this board or you can go to http://myspace.com/thelastdj.

 

[petertrip]

You are correct. I've noticed that you hear about bands on MTV, satellite radio, mainstream music magazines, or just popular media in general, (I'm talking about the houston chronicle here for example) but you NEVER hear this stuff on The Buzz or anywhere else in town.

I used to come on this board and get mad about this topic, but that was so 2002-3. As the years go by and we get satellite radio, iPods, Internet radio, Zunes...etc, I find myself not really caring if new music isn't on the radio anymore.

I doubt I am the only one either.

 

[ericspin]

I hope my post didn't come off sounding like "whining," I meant for it to be more of a discussion piece. As a business decision, I would think filling in this musical gap in radio would be a smart move. Grant it, me and countless of others that I know can continue to listen to our satellite radio, iPods and CDs and continue down the road of tuning terrestial radio out, but you would think that the radio execs wouldn't want that to happen and would program a station that fit those musical tastes.

The Hi Fidelity shows are great -- they show what "alternative" radio is really supposed to be like (while our "alternative" station is basically a "rock" station, there's no variety on there at all anymore). The station I'm thinking of would be a mixture of what The Buzz should be (or what they were 10-12 years ago), what Mix would be if it threw away all of the teenage-leaning artists, and what The Planet was for a short time in the late 90's.

 

[bobbybooey]

Pretty sure 93.7 has a AAA on their HD-2... I'll be sure to check it out in 5 years when I get an HD radio.

 

[ericspin]

Yes, 93.7 has AAA on their H@ channel. I've listened to it on their website, and it's poorly programmed. Most of the songs are from artists who've already had mainstream hits (Sheryl Crow, U2, etc.), which is fine, but they don't play half of what you would see on national AAA chart. It's a start, I guess, but like you said, is anyone really listening to H2?

 

[stan]

If I want to listen to an AAA station on the internet, I'll listen to KGSR.

 

[ericspin]

Thanks for your replies. Honestly, I still don't have any answers on my original question (maybe this baord is the wrong forum for music programming questions?). I still believe that it could be a profitable station if done right. The closest example playlist idea that I can think of on top of my head would be similar to KINK in Portland, OR -- here's their playlist for this past Monday(http://playlist.kink.fm/playday.asp?date=12042006). Awesome mix, with just the right balance between old and new, familiar and not-so-familiar, etc. (side note: I wish every station would list their full playlist on line like KINK)

 

[purplejay]

Thanks for your replies. Honestly, I still don't have any answers on my original question (maybe this baord is the wrong forum for music programming questions?). I still believe that it could be a profitable station if done right. The closest example playlist idea that I can think of on top of my head would be similar to KINK in Portland, OR -- here's their playlist for this past Monday(http://playlist.kink.fm/playday.asp?date=12042006). Awesome mix, with just the right balance between old and new, familiar and not-so-familiar, etc. (side note: I wish every station would list their full playlist on line like KINK)

thats almost a Triple AAA/alternative format. good luck getting that in Houston.
a playlist with Beatles, Goo Goo Dolls, Dido, Roxy Music and Red Hot Chill Peppers in Houston??? never!

have you listened to KBZT??? to me, that is how an alternative station should be run.
http://fm949sd.com/home/index.cfm

 

[bobbybooey]

Thanks for your replies. Honestly, I still don't have any answers on my original question (maybe this baord is the wrong forum for music programming questions?). I still believe that it could be a profitable station if done right. The closest example playlist idea that I can think of on top of my head would be similar to KINK in Portland, OR -- here's their playlist for this past Monday(http://playlist.kink.fm/playday.asp?date=12042006). Awesome mix, with just the right balance between old and new, familiar and not-so-familiar, etc. (side note: I wish every station would list their full playlist on line like KINK)

thats almost a Triple AAA/alternative format. good luck getting that in Houston.
a playlist with Beatles, Goo Goo Dolls, Dido, Roxy Music and Red Hot Chill Peppers in Houston??? never!

have you listened to KBZT??? to me, that is how an alternative station should be run.
http://fm949sd.com/home/index.cfm

A playlist that looks like the bastard child of my iPod, sister's iPod and my Dad's LP collection... sounds like a sure ratings winner to me.