popman said:
Hey Ben!
I'm reading your posts and you seem to have a real passion for radio, and that's great, I really hope that you get into the business, but just my observations:
1) You're coming across as whining now with your countless questions as to when will another CHR come to Bangor or Portland. Trust me, if a company thought they could make money with it, they would swap formats, to make money!
2) You don't like sports, but many people do, and that's what makes the world interesting, people have diverse interests. As business owners, who are trying to make profits, succesful businesses will look to the largest pool of potential clients, listeners, advertisers etc. and attempt to meet their demands.
3) Rather than railing about the lack of a second CHR on these boards, have you ever called Blueberry and tried to talk to someone about their decision to change WWBX to WAEI?
4) In one of your earlier posts, and I'm paraphrasing because I didn't want to go looking through all your posts, but you said that radio was great when you didn't have your ipod with you. That may be true, and as radio professionals, it's something we have to deal with, how to make sure that the 12-24 audience still see radio as relevant, but it sure smacked me the wrong way. You love to post on a radio board, and want your views expressed, but you 'dis radio.
5) And in keeping with the subject of this thread, a suggestion as to why more stations don't pitch their music, is that the music then comes off as different from what ipod aficionados are downloading, and therefore not as recognizeable to them when they turn to radio because they forgot their ipod!
popman-
Yes, I do like radio, I'm just tired of people kind of not thinking about the listeners first before that change formats.
1) I do resent someone saying that I am whiny. I hope my "whining" will get other people to say "yeah, we DO need another CHR, it couldn't work". Plus, it's still early, Blueberry just switched a month ago.
2) I would listen to sports if there wasn't anything else, but to replace other formats with a canned sports satellite from Boston, it's just doesn't seem fair. These were local station GONE.
3) I have thought about doing that, and I just might, but what will one person complaining do? Ha i wish they would change because of me (and hopefully other people), but I know that won't happen. But I will still try
4) I don't "'dis" radio. It's true, when I turn on the radio in Northern Maine, I can barely find anything that would appeal to my bracket, the 12-24. In Bangor, you would think you would have more choices, you have maybe one more station. In Portland, you have 2 at best (depending on your radio). I still love radio, even if it/was clogged with oldies or opera or whatever. I just wish they would do something more to accomodate that 12-24 bracket
5) I thinking pitching music, at least for CHR's, is a great idea. Yes, your iPod may have the original, un-pitched song, but it makes the listener like the station even more because it's new and hotter. Maybe probably ask right now from the station that DO pitch their music, how come it sounds different than my iPod. And the come and listen more. Its not the worst thing in the world not to pitch the station, but it does sound better, agreed? Some formats do not work in pitching, I wouldn't pitch Oldies/rock, we've known these songs un-pitched and it wouldn't be great to pitch them. But CHR and country, WHY NOT? I thank Q97.9 in Portland for pitching their music, it's really nice. Wish the Z in Bangor would get going, but I still liked them. I've heard stories about WXXX in Burlington pitching, too bad they don't stream!
Might as well put these here, since I wanted to put these on a post anyway:
MY (new) IDEAL CHR:
-Bangor: I would think 98.1 would be a great place to put the new station, why not, again, call it "B98". The B works, i mean, yeah, it could be any other letter of the alphabet besides Z but the B sounds like a hot CHR to me. I would ideally put the signal again on Peaked Mountain in Dixmont because it did have a good range and it covers southern Maine better than downeast maine woods and all. Play all of the CHR (some from a few years ago), but have a few tracks to be more hip-hop/urban type. Pitch the music (more than 2%), and give it RDS. Plus a website like where we can access "last played"
-Portland: I think Portland needs a hip-hop station again, but this time play a few more CHR tracks (less old hip-hop). Would 93.5 work? Come up with some name, (hot 93? Power 93?), signal come from northwest of portland and biddeford, no more than 15 kw, target the Portland/Biddeford/Sanford area good. Pitch music and mostly likely RDS since every station in Portland has it almost. Plus a website.
I think these ideas aren't really that unrealistic, it's almost what they had already (WRED, WWBX). Why not do it? If money and adveritising is the issue, try finding advertisers that are exactly to that 12-24 crowd.
