Musical selections that seem out of character

[vchimpanzee]

I still can't make sense out of "A Little More Love". Not all of Olivia Newton-John's hits were easy-going songs that would fit perfectly on this type of format. "Physical" certainly would not, and yet I've heard people say it is on Dial Global America's Best Music. Same for "A Little More Love", which I did hear once when the automation did not change to news at the top of the hour. It was on the local morning show yesterday, during the time when all the songs were requested!

I even heard it once on an easy listening station, back when that meant a lot of instrumentals.

To this day, of course, this song reminds me of Olivia getting makeup put on so she would look "Totally Hot" for the commercials for the album of the same name.

 

[vchimpanzee]

"Dueling Banjos" on my Dial Global affiliate's local morning show.

Later in the morning I read online that Arthur Smith died, so of course it makes sense. Or more sense. The owner of the station, also the morning DJ, used to be a country DJ, so he does more country songs than a lot of standards stations.

And when I finally got my Charlotte Observer he was all over the front page.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Something was going on locally yesterday.

"Take It Away" by Paul McCartney was something I had never heard on this type station, though I do like it.

"Lonely Boy" definitely sounds weird.

The morning DJ, who owns the station, said they couldn't air all the baseball playoff games, and not the one that day, and yet it was obvious I was not hearing America's Best Music.

 

[JeffM]

"Music Of Your Life" got the axe at WGEE in Duluth last month. Now they're another sports talker. (Hey, we only had two in this market already...) Of course, WGEE (formerly KXTP, formerly formerly WAKX) has probably flipped formats half a dozen times in the past ten years; M.O.Y.L., then Radio Disney, then hot talk, right wing talk, sports talk, M.O.Y.L. again, now sports talk again. (I predict their next format will involve polkas and pork belly futures...)

One issue I have with the modern MOR revival artists is they don't want to make new records, they want to make new OLD records. You can't out-Sinatra Sinatra. I have no complaints with Rod Stewart, etc. whose takes on classic songs have a modern production style; but all these Mel Torme-wannabees in front of pseudo-Billy May bands...phooey.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I heard Sinatra himself this morning on America's Best Music and while I agree you can't do better, the only way this format will survive is with the young artists, and I think they're doing just fine.

 

[CarolinaFM]

The oldest listeners of standards and easy listening were not as accepting of 50's and 60's oldies and soft ac artists from the 70's. They are dying off.

However, the younger baby boomers are far more accepting of a mix of standards, oldies, newer cover artists of standards and oldies, and soft ac up to about the late 80's. A little variety goes a long way in today's world, as long as the songs are good or at least bring back great memories. Formatics don't have to be so tight anymore, so I'm hoping to see a rise in stations targeting this demo.

Likewise, local advertisers are much more open to reaching this audience. 30 years ago, it was considered somewhat gauche for the medical industry to advertise. Not any more. It's a gold mine for those who know what to do is smaller to medium markets, and there are plenty of opportunities in retirement markets in the south.

 

[Chuck]

The oldest listeners of standards and easy listening were not as accepting of 50's and 60's oldies and soft ac artists from the 70's. They are dying off.

However, the younger baby boomers are far more accepting of a mix of standards, oldies, newer cover artists of standards and oldies, and soft ac up to about the late 80's. A little variety goes a long way in today's world, as long as the songs are good or at least bring back great memories. Formatics don't have to be so tight anymore, so I'm hoping to see a rise in stations targeting this demo.

Likewise, local advertisers are much more open to reaching this audience. 30 years ago, it was considered somewhat gauche for the medical industry to advertise. Not any more. It's a gold mine for those who know what to do is smaller to medium markets, and there are plenty of opportunities in retirement markets in the south.

From my experience, you hit the nail on the head.

 

[vchimpanzee]

My America's Best Music station has lots of commercials for the local hospital, nursing homes and retirement communities, and doctors of all types. And Fran Tarkenton is the spokesman for the conservative alternative to AARP. On my station, conservatives would probably be a large part of the audience, since the area tends to be conservative politically.

 

[JeffM]

I heard Sinatra himself this morning on America's Best Music and while I agree you can't do better, the only way this format will survive is with the young artists, and I think they're doing just fine.

I'm in favor of young and contemporary performers taking on the old standards; my "beef" is that their records are arranged to sound like 50's records. It's synthetic nostalgia, like the New Vaudeville Band singing "Winchester Cathedral" (vo-de-oh-doh) thru a megaphone. I'd like to hear them try the old tunes with a modern-sounding production. Even Pat Boone's jokey take on singing heavy metal as Vegas lounge pop is more inventive than Harry Connick or Diana Krall.

 

[Avid Listener]

However, the younger baby boomers are far more accepting of a mix of standards, oldies, newer cover artists of standards and oldies, and soft ac up to about the late 80's.

As a younger Baby Boomer, I totally agree.

Likewise, local advertisers are much more open to reaching this audience. 30 years ago, it was considered somewhat gauche for the medical industry to advertise. Not any more. It's a gold mine for those who know what to do is smaller to medium markets, and there are plenty of opportunities in retirement markets in the south.

Local advertisers recognize who actually shops in their stores. People in the 60's now are very different people from people who were in their 60's in the 90's.

 

[davideduardo]

Local advertisers recognize who actually shops in their stores. People in the 60's now are very different people from people who were in their 60's in the 90's.

OK, then explain why in Geezer Paradise, the Tampa Bay area, the #1 12+ radio station for about two decades is consistently about 15th in revenue?

Hint: almost 100% of its audience is over 55.

If advertisers in markets with milllions and millions of dollars of senior CSI don't support senior-loaded radio stations, perhaps there are other reasons why advertisers don't prefer advertising to older demos.

 

[Avid Listener]

OK, then explain why in Geezer Paradise, the Tampa Bay area, the #1 12+ radio station for about two decades is consistently about 15th in revenue?

Hint: almost 100% of its audience is over 55.

If advertisers in markets with milllions and millions of dollars of senior CSI don't support senior-loaded radio stations, perhaps there are other reasons why advertisers don't prefer advertising to older demos.

Is that station aggressively selling airtime to local advertisers, or are they sitting back waiting for agency buys? How many salesmen do they have in the field, and how many of them are really good? How many of their salesmen target local business owners? How many local advertisers are there? How many locally owned and operated businesses are there who could be buying radio spots? How many of the local restaurants are parts of nationally franchised chains, and whose owners don't do any local advertising?

How many of the local geezers are native local geezers with ties to the community and how many are snowbirds who moved in permanently when they retired? How many of the local geezers have ties with local merchants, as opposed to simply chasing bargains at national big box stores? How many local business owners who are in a position to make decisions about buying radio spots have actual contact with their customers?

 

[davideduardo]

Is that station aggressively selling airtime to local advertisers, or are they sitting back waiting for agency buys? How many salesmen do they have in the field, and how many of them are really good? How many of their salesmen target local business owners? How many local advertisers are there? How many locally owned and operated businesses are there who could be buying radio spots? How many of the local restaurants are parts of nationally franchised chains, and whose owners don't do any local advertising?

How many of the local geezers are native local geezers with ties to the community and how many are snowbirds who moved in permanently when they retired? How many of the local geezers have ties with local merchants, as opposed to simply chasing bargains at national big box stores? How many local business owners who are in a position to make decisions about buying radio spots have actual contact with their customers?

You are massively overcompensating to find a problem. Use the "hoofbeats" solution.

The station is owned by Cox. It is magnificently run, and skillfully programed as evidenced in the ratings.

Because the station can't sell much transactional business, almost all sales is local direct. They have a very good sales department as witnessed and testified to by the competitors. But since they sell local direct, the rates are lower than on national, regional and local agency buys. Because they don't sell as much to the chain stores and establishments, they are limited to the kind of rates that smaller businesses can afford.

Why do they keep doing it? Because it is profitable, and also likely that nobody will come after them. It's a smaller market advertising-wise, but one they have virtually wrapped up as far as radio is concerned. Since Cox has a significant cluster, this gives them coverage of a sector neither Clear nor CBS can offer, too.

 

[davideduardo]

Is that station aggressively selling airtime to local advertisers, or are they sitting back waiting for agency buys?

I thought that this comment merited a separate response on two levels.

First, it makes your "Avid Listener" ruse seem false and transparent. No "listener" knows the old saw about "sitting back waiting for agency buys". In fact, the average listener does not think about how ad buys are placed. And they don't care.

Second, agency selling is just as difficult as local direct. With increased compression of the numbers in the PPM markets, and increased competition from other media, it is not easy. And agencies don't just call you on a whim... it requires sales skills, negotiating skills and a good product to get agency buys.

I spent many periods of my life as a GM/GSM, NSM, GSM and NSM and can attest to the challenge it represents to get agency dollars. In one top 20 market where I was DoS (amonng other things) we did 95% agency sales and had no local sellers (no local account could pay our rates) and a power ration in excess of 1.2 so I can back up these statements with facts, too.

 

[Avid Listener]

First, it makes your "Avid Listener" ruse seem false and transparent. No "listener" knows the old saw about "sitting back waiting for agency buys". In fact, the average listener does not think about how ad buys are placed. And they don't care.

They know such things if they participate in radio discussion forums and pay attention to what is posted.

 

[davideduardo]

They know such things if they participate in radio discussion forums and pay attention to what is posted.

I'm sorry, my budget for BS for the year is already committed. I'm not buying that.

 

[Avid Listener]

I'm sorry, my budget for BS for the year is already committed. I'm not buying that.

Suit yourself. If I post anything that doesn't conform to your perception of how radio works, you claim I'm an outsider who doesn't pay attention to what "experts" like you post. If I do post something I learned by paying attention to what an "expert" posted, you claim I couldn't have learned it that way. What's your obsession with me? If it suits your purposes, you claim I don't know what I'm talking about, but if I post something that indicates I do know something, you say that also proves a lie.

One of the best descriptions of an advanced, high-level "troll" I ever read described people who consistently attack others by always countering anyone's broad statements with isolated specifics, and countering anyone's specific stations with broad statements. It's a cheap trick for keeping others on the defensive, yet it can be done subtly enough that it's not all that visible. I have to hand it to you. You are a master at giving the false impression of being above the fray while deliberately looking for buttons to push to anger others.

Your mastery of nitpicking is trolling at its most subtle.

 

[davideduardo]

Your mastery of nitpicking is trolling at its most subtle.

Nice attempt at deflection.

Except for calling Holland Cooke "Mr Holland" many of your observations are way to "inside the beltway" for us to assume anything other than that you have at some time been involved in radio. You have been particularly adept at picking up the hackneyed stereotypes, expressions, excuses and complaints that less successful radio peeps tend to spout.

I'd believe any of the following:

1. You were employed briefly but fired because you told the boss what to do when you had less than a year's experience.
2. You were employed but let go for jumping your supervisor to gain favor with a higher up.
3. You were an intern, apprentice or college radio staffer who is bitter because no commercial station would hire you.
4. You worked quite a few years and got, perhaps, a year's experience ten or twelve times over and were "downsized".
5. You told your coworkers when actually working at a station how they should do their jobs in contradiction with their supervisor's orders. The co-workers made sure you did not last.

I could go on and do a full Letterman top 10, but I know the likes of you and have seen you a hundred times during my career. Since I don't suffer fools gladly, I might even have fired you.

And now that I used the "f" word, and before you again say that I (and others here) reject any idea that is not my own, I will say that I reject stupid, foolish and foolhardy ideas. So far, your record on coming up with those qualifies you for the Hall of Fame as you are batting 1.000.

 

[Avid Listener]

Nice attempt at deflection.

Except for calling Holland Cooke "Mr Holland" many of your observations are way to "inside the beltway" for us to assume anything other than that you have at some time been involved in radio. You have been particularly adept at picking up the hackneyed stereotypes, expressions, excuses and complaints that less successful radio peeps tend to spout.

I'd believe any of the following:

1. You were employed briefly but fired because you told the boss what to do when you had less than a year's experience.
2. You were employed but let go for jumping your supervisor to gain favor with a higher up.
3. You were an intern, apprentice or college radio staffer who is bitter because no commercial station would hire you.
4. You worked quite a few years and got, perhaps, a year's experience ten or twelve times over and were "downsized".
5. You told your coworkers when actually working at a station how they should do their jobs in contradiction with their supervisor's orders. The co-workers made sure you did not last.

I could go on and do a full Letterman top 10, but I know the likes of you and have seen you a hundred times during my career. Since I don't suffer fools gladly, I might even have fired you.

And now that I used the "f" word, and before you again say that I (and others here) reject any idea that is not my own, I will say that I reject stupid, foolish and foolhardy ideas. So far, your record on coming up with those qualifies you for the Hall of Fame as you are batting 1.000.

Wrong. Though you are good at fabricating some incredible speculation and personal attacks.

 

[JeffM]

Once again, a thread about a specific topic (music selections) turns into a p!$$ing contest...