Maybe There's Another Breath Or Two In Her

[Those RRRRs]

That figurative dead horse, that is.

I was going to post this on the Standards board (and it may end up there) but we need a new topic. (Even if it's a recycled topic with a slightly different spin) I realize there is nothing left to talk about since the demise of YSP, Y100, Oldies 950, Standards 950, Hy Lit's Hall of Fame (with or without Tommy McCarthy substituting) and Sunny. And since WJJZ is back (sort of, depending on where you are located) we can't complain for weeks on end about the lack of smooth jazz.

We now rely on Julius almost exclusively for our topics. That might not be so bad, except that immediately following his introductory lines, someone almost always takes a whack at him. So I'll cut him a break this time and whack my dead horse. (Careful, Mr. HomerJay)

OK, here it is. Standards. 950 AM. Not enough advertising $$ potential. Than how is it that 740 in Canada comes through like a local every night playing Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald, etc?

What is this station and who owns it? Is it a mom and pop operation? If so, if there weren't enough advertising dollars to support that electric bill, than I would think that grandpa and grandma would be forced to throw in the towel. I would assume that with that signal, 740 must be expensive to operate.

Maybe it's not a mom and pop shop. Maybe a big company owns the station. Well surely such a big company would want a healthy return on its investment. Is it cheaper to run a radio station in Canada? Is the over 55 crowd in Canada the preferred demographic? Are the old folks in Canada more hip than American old folks? Do they listen to advertisements and say, "I gotta have that" like our American yutes?

Or is is that Canadian corporations aren't as greedy as American companies and will settle for less profit in exchange for the love of a traditional format? Hmmm. Maybe that's it. Even if love of this format is the determining factor for such a corporation, running the station would have to be economically viable especially for a big business. I already understand the fact that an oldies format must be broadcast on AM in Canada, but that is a moot point in this discussion.

There has to be an explanation for this obvious format inconsistency concerning Canada vs. The United States. Where in America does such a format with that kind of signal exist? I would hope that someone here could explain why 740 can support itself but we can't even have a 5kw daytimer playing Glenn Miller and Duke Ellington in the Philly burbs.

Any thoughts?

 

[Wil]

This may help a little -

http://am740.ca/welcome/

 

[PaulBWalkerJr]

CHWO 740 Toronto is locally owned and the folks(It's a family, I think) who have 740 also own 1320, I think,.......

It used to be the CBC Raido 1 Servicein English...

 

[cyber]

No one in charge of what laughingly passes for radio has even the slightest clue how to do a Big Band/Nostalgia format. Anyone approaching them would face a blank stare because those in charge wouldn't understand for a second any concept, let alone Standards. face it. Years ago the Broadcasters headed for the hills and the accounting and sales departments took over programming. It's not a question of library. Anything needed for this format is out there. Face it. Creative radio is dead and buried.

Move up some years. Is what passes for Classic Rock any different? What made the original AOR format doesn't exist anymore.

Look at your record collection and ask yourself how much of it won't be heard on the radio.

Face it. Years ago the fork was stuck in radio and it ain't comin' back out.

 

[Stuart]

This may be some good news to some... I was reading the Dallas-FT. Worth Board, and found the topic "Worst Radio Station". It is 770 KAAM They play songs from 1940-2000. The station is great. Every Thursday is "Theme Day", todays is "Best of Broadway". There are also other shows, the only kind of odd thing is that on Weekend Days they have talk shows! Listen at www.kaamradio.com

If you listen, would you please leave comments on the Dallas-Ft. Worth Board?

My Parents always listened to WPEN (after WIP changed formats) R.I.P. WPEN- "The Station Of The Stars" :'(

Thanks,
Stuart
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

 

[fredflintstone]

Once again, somebody fantasizes about a mythical golden age when radio was "creative" and not about money. It's always been about money. During it's first three decades, sponsors and their ad agencies actually did the "programming." Radio was (in today's terms) all brokered (except when they could not sell the time). Radio stations have always been about sales. Most station managers have always come from sales. Radio has always been a sales business.

740 AM looks, sounds, feels, smells and tastes like a "hobby station." The CBC (Radio One) abandoned the frequency and moved Radio One to FM. In this the CBC shows it's smarter than Clear Channel, CBS Radio and ABC Radio (Citadel) and the others who operate news and talk flame throwers in the US. Their website makes it clear they are targeting older age groups and that - like Oldies and Standards stations in general - they are selling to time to local retail advertisers who don't buy through ad agencies and who do buy what they listen to themselves ("our advertisers are also our listeners"). The current featured advertiser is a Scottish kilt store. (Not interested: I prefer Irish kilts.)

Bottom line: I have listened to the station. I don't hear a lot of spots. A similar station in Windsor-Detroit has dropped Oldies. Standards has been dropped in most large Canadian markets. Don't assume the station is profitable. Family-owned stations (often "hobby stations") really do "play what we want." Let's see how long this one lasts. The median age of Adult Standards audiences is 67. For Oldies it's 51. If they don't flip outright, Elvis will ease out Sinatra so they can sell kilts to baby boomers.

For the record: I never much liked WPEN, their personalities (both inane and long-winded) or their playlists (narrow and predictable). When I could get it, I much preferred Westwood One's AM Only format (also gone) despite inferior signals in my area, or WNEW 11-30, New York.

Remember, Standards and "Original Hits" of that era are available on satellite radio.

 

[cyber]

No debate that radio is and always will be about money. BUT..To say there wasn't a creative era of radio is dead wrong. When music went through a renaissance from roughly 1964-1975, jocks, programmers etc. in all formats were given leeway to present their sound to their audience without focus groups, consultants and other useless tactics. They also made money doing it. Check out the figures since all the garbage took over...Look at radio corporations quarterly reports and see how they continue to lose(or claim) to lose revenue..TSL down...overall listenership down....

Rather than continue with what's wrong now, let's get back to the creative era issue. You raise a great issue for a board like this. Needless to say I'm disappointed that no one has picked up on that and added their thoughts. I'll start a new thread about who the creative people are/were and see what happens.