My 1039 Music tweaks

[azfmfan]

Just noticed My 1039 has dropped most of its 70's songs in favor of a bunch of 90's songs and some post 2000's music. Sounds more like it is geared towards females now than before. Saw Madonna, Natasha Beddingfield, Katy Perry, The Fray and several others on yes.com. At its launch the station reminded me of the Peak when it first launched and now it reminds me of how the Peak sounds right now.

 

[Saladressing]

A station on a frequency such as 103.9 would presumably do well to fill a niche and not go mainstream with a format such as Adult Hits, especially since there is already an Adult Hits station in the market on a 97kw signal. For instance, 101.1, 98.3, 104.3 are all serving narrow niches. Since there are so many FM signals in the market, there are just a few seemingly viable niche format holes in the Phoenix market in genres including AAA, Alt. Rock, Dance CHR (although 97.5 has been honing in on this format recently).

For instance, the alt. rock format is doing well in markets throughout the country. If it returned to 103.9 it wouldn't be the first time a format left and returned after finding out the grass wasn't as green as was originally speculated.

As has been posted here by others ad nauseum, the way 103.9 was executing the alt. format for the last few years of its existence was not at all in line with the alt. stations in other markets; instead it was a very gold-based presentation with literally the same exact tracks burnt into the ground day after day year after year. No station can sustain this in any format, not even classic rock.

 

[EricStein]

What's going on at 103.9 is an example of station management listening to know-it-all consultants over their own listeners. If they know any better, they'll right the ship. If not, look for another format change on the frequency soon.

 

[johndavis]

Consultants aren't evil if they understand the format and the market. For example, everyone I knew who worked with Rusty Walker is personally and professionally richer for the experience.

But if you hire someone who doesn't understand the format and market, you might as well schedule your music by flinging feces to the wall.

 

[EricStein]

In this case, someone is telling them to play the same music as a station with a signal that reaches more human ears (98.7). With a signal like 103.9's, you need to try something somewhat different than what other stations play. It seems like they're being told to tweak the format on a weekly basis (one month, they're doing '70s/80s rock, the next month they focused on mostly '80s, and now they're a clone of the Peak). Not the best move by any programmer or consultant.

I forgot to mention that there's some good people working at The Peak. But their ratings certainly aren't taking the Phoenix market by storm. Would it be smarter for 103.9 to skew male and grab some KSLX listeners?

 

[johndavis]

It seems like they're being told to tweak the format on a weekly basis (one month, they're doing '70s/80s rock, the next month they focused on mostly '80s, and now they're a clone of the Peak). Not the best move by any programmer or consultant.

Ah, memories of the first Coyote, where you could never schedule more than a day at a time because every morning there was a "new direction" handed down from on high.

I forgot to mention that there's some good people working at The Peak. But their ratings certainly aren't taking the Phoenix market by storm. Would it be smarter for 103.9 to skew male and grab some KSLX listeners?

Again, if you're going up against a full market signal, you'd better have something different. But KSLX is ripe for the picking. If they still want to play Tubular Bells into Neil Young, someone else can jam the 70's and 80's down their throat and steal all the guys under 45.

 

[azfmfan]

I agree with all the posters above. Going directly after one of the big sticks is probably not the best move. I never thought of going directly after KSLX though. Might not be a bad idea, I am 39 and will not listen to them because of the boring classic hits type songs they play, Browned Eyed Girl, James Taylor type stuff etc. If your going to go after a big signal I think they should go after Mix. But you still have to carve a bit of your own niche when doing so. I would try a Modern AC/Alternative hybrid. Like Salad Dressing said, the former alternative format was a mess the last few years on that signal, but I still believe its a desired format if done right.

What do you guys think of a station with a playlist similar to this? Would anyone listen?

Sample Hours:
Cough Syrup-Young The Giant
Train-Drive By
Collective Soul-World I Know
Fun-We Are Young
Florence and The Machine-Dog Days Are Over
Foo Fighters-Big Me
Katy Perry-Part Of Me
Len-Steal My Sunshine
Bush-Baby Come Home
Scars On 45- Heart On Fire
The Shins-Simple Song
Nickelback-How You Remind Me
Carolina Liar-Not Over You
Gotye-Somebody That I Used To Know
Foster The People-Pumped Up Kicks
The Fray-Heartbeat
Pearl Jam-Daughter
Black Keys-Gold On The Ceiling
Grouplove-Tongue Tied
Cardigans-Love Fool
Adele-Rumor Has It
Death Cab For Cutie-Soul Meets Body
Linkin Park-Burn It Down
Keane-Somewhere Only We Know
Neon Trees-Everybody Talks
Nirvana-All Apologies
Morning Parade-Headlights
Coldplay-Paradise
Pink-Sober
The Red Hot Chili Peppers-Look Around
Matchbox 20-Long Day

 

[Saladressing]

Interesting format in the previous post that sort of takes Mix's ever-so-slight nod to alt. music and expands on it.

Personal preference is for the straight up alt. approach as opposed those taken by Mix or 96.3 KTWN/Minneapolis which only play that type of music sparingly. The straight up approach such as in this sample from 96.5 The Buzz in Kansas City, a station currently 7th in the 6+ ratings with a 4.7 share...

: ALABAMA SHAKES - Hold On
29.5.2012 3:29pm
Buy from: iTunes | Amazon.com

: CLASH - Should I Stay Or Should I Go
29.5.2012 3:32pm
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: SOUNDGARDEN - Live To Rise
29.5.2012 3:41pm
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: BUSH - Comedown
29.5.2012 4:04pm
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: DEAD SARA - Weatherman
29.5.2012 4:08pm
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: BEASTIE BOYS - Intergalactic
29.5.2012 4:12pm
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: FOSTER THE PEOPLE - Don't Stop (Color On The Walls
29.5.2012 4:23pm
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: BLACK KEYS - Gold On The Ceiling
29.5.2012 4:36pm
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: RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - Give It Away
29.5.2012 4:40pm
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: INCUBUS - Wish You Were Here
29.5.2012 4:45pm
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: IMAGINE DRAGONS - It's Time
29.5.2012 4:55pm
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: FOO FIGHTERS - Best Of You
29.5.2012 4:59pm
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: GOTYE - Somebody That I Used To Know
29.5.2012 5:04pm
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: U2 - Beautiful Day
29.5.2012 5:08pm
Buy from: iTunes | Amazon.com

: AWOLNATION - Not Your Fault
29.5.2012 5:11pm
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: KIMBRA - Settle Down
29.5.2012 5:21pm
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: CRASH KINGS - Mountain Man
29.5.2012 5:33pm
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: STONE TEMPLE PILOTS - Creep
29.5.2012 5:39pm
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: JACK WHITE - Love Interruption
29.5.2012 5:41pm
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: GREEN DAY - Holiday
29.5.2012 5:45pm
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: M83 - Midnight City
29.5.2012 5:55pm
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: BLACK KEYS - Lonely Boy
29.5.2012 6:11pm
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: SHINS - Australia
29.5.2012 6:21pm
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: CAKE - Never There
29.5.2012 6:23pm
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: KINGS OF LEON - Notion
29.5.2012 6:26pm
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: BEASTIE BOYS - Brass Monkey
29.5.2012 6:29pm
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: GOTYE - Eyes Wide Open
29.5.2012 6:40pm
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: SYSTEM OF A DOWN - Aerials
29.5.2012 6:53pm
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: ELECTRIC GUEST - This Head I Hold
29.5.2012 6:56pm
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: PEARL JAM - Daughter
29.5.2012 6:59pm
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: WOLF GANG - King And All Of His Men
29.5.2012 7:10pm
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: THE ROYAL CONCEPT - Gimme Twice
29.5.2012 7:13pm
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: FOSTER THE PEOPLE - Houdini
29.5.2012 7:16pm
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: PASSION PIT - Take A Walk
29.5.2012 7:26pm
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: GASLIGHT ANTHEM - 45
29.5.2012 7:30pm
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: JACK WHITE - Sixteen Saltines
29.5.2012 7:32pm
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: HIVES - Go Right Ahead
29.5.2012 7:36pm
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: GROUPLOVE - Tongue Tied
29.5.2012 7:45pm
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: OBERHOFER - Away Frm U
29.5.2012 7:49pm
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: GARBAGE - Blood For Poppies
29.5.2012 7:53pm
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: FUN. - Some Nights
29.5.2012 7:57pm
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: ATLAS GENIUS - Trojans
29.5.2012 8:01pm
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: NIRVANA - About A Girl
29.5.2012 8:03pm
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: WALK THE MOON - Anna Sun
29.5.2012 8:07pm
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: RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - Snow (Hey Oh)
29.5.2012 8:12pm
Buy from: iTunes | Amazon.com

: FLORENCE + THE MACHINE - Shake It Out
29.5.2012 8:17pm
Buy from: iTunes | Amazon.com

: LIVE - I Alone
29.5.2012 8:27pm
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: GOTYE - Somebody That I Used To Know
29.5.2012 8:31pm
Buy from: iTunes | Amazon.com

: PEARL JAM - The Fixer
29.5.2012 8:34pm
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: SILVERSUN PICKUPS - Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings)
29.5.2012 8:38pm
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: BOB MARLEY n THE WAILERS - Stir It Up
29.5.2012 8:41pm
Buy from: iTunes | Amazon.com

 

[azfmfan]

I also would prefer a straight alternative format but assuming they wouldn't flip it back, I would be OK with a hybrid format and it would be interesting to see what kind of ratings it would get. Mix has a nice chunk of the audience and someone needs to go after them, but as I stated before I think with their signal they need to do something just different enough so they are not a clone.

 

[radioresearcher]

What's going on at 103.9 is an example of station management listening to know-it-all consultants over their own listeners. If they know any better, they'll right the ship. If not, look for another format change on the frequency soon.

Source? Might want to stop talking out of your rear...

 

[Saladressing]

I also would prefer a straight alternative format but assuming they wouldn't flip it back, I would be OK with a hybrid format and it would be interesting to see what kind of ratings it would get. Mix has a nice chunk of the audience and someone needs to go after them, but as I stated before I think with their signal they need to do something just different enough so they are not a clone.

Yeah definitely, a Modern AC/Modern Rock hybrid was done at 101.5 The Zone for a few years with success.

 

[EricStein]

Source? Might want to stop talking out of your rear...

No one -- I mean NO ONE -- asked for a sixth station in Phoenix that plays female-skewing pop songs ad nauseum like Mix, Peak, Kiss, Jamz, Hot. Keep talking down to the listeners and you won't have any.

 

[EricStein]

One other thing...I was enjoying and defending My 103.9 until they decided to become the umpteenth station to play "Raise Your Glass" in heavy rotation.

 

[DJ_Perry]

Yeah definitely, a Modern AC/Modern Rock hybrid was done at 101.5 The Zone for a few years with success.

I would say that only worked because they had Stern. Which is also the reason The Edge lasted as long as they did on 106.3. When The Zone grabbed him, folks lost interest in the station. The format was a very small part of those stations success.

 

[azfmfan]

I think the Modern AC/Modern Rock hybrid Salad Dressing was reffering too was in the late 90's, Pre-Stern era. 96-99ish.

 

[johndavis]

Keep talking down to the listeners and you won't have any.

THIS.

What you have now is akin to the early 90's where radio turned against CHR and everyone went AC to chase 25-54 females. Phoenix had 5 AC stations: KKLT, KESZ, KPSN, KMXX, and KVRY.

If there's one thing all of those stations did that drove me crazy was they loved to talk down to the audience while trying to differentiate themselves between the other 4 stations playing the same music. "We know you like _____. That's why we play the best ______ blah blah blah blah..."

I worked for a PD who loved to quote Marketing Warfare, but he didn't understand what he had read. He thought that the key to success was crafting the perfect positioning statement. He obsessed over this until the positioner he wrote was so long that the top of hour jingle bed ran out before you could finish reading it.

The position you take in the market isn't what you say it is. It's a culmination of everything you do.

Great radio stations understand this.

There aren't many great radio stations.

 

[radioresearcher]

One other thing...I was enjoying and defending My 103.9 until they decided to become the umpteenth station to play "Raise Your Glass" in heavy rotation.

Persons 25-54 and Women 25-54 are the largest demographic buys in radio. There are also some moderate dollars Persons and Women 18-49. Men buys are so marginal now, they are hard to make work unless they are dominant and help the Persons number.

The problem with this board is no one on it is in the target of Women 25-54 and they want the station programmed for them.

 

[Ford]

Persons 25-54 and Women 25-54 are the largest demographic buys in radio.

True, but are agencies going to go deep enough for that money to reach a station like 103.9?

 

[johndavis]

Persons 25-54 and Women 25-54 are the largest demographic buys in radio. There are also some moderate dollars Persons and Women 18-49. Men buys are so marginal now, they are hard to make work unless they are dominant and help the Persons number.

The problem with this board is no one on it is in the target of Women 25-54 and they want the station programmed for them.

The problem isn't that I'm male, the problem is the titles are so crispy that the station is everyone's third or fourth choice to punch to and not their first. I worked for a station that used to play almost this exact same library (Sugar Ray/Talking Heads/Tom Petty/Matchbox 20) and rode it all the way down to a 1.5 before we put it out of its misery. The core library is filled with all the songs that KPKX and KMXP chewed up and spit out a few years ago. Sure, it's familiar, but it's the wrong kind of familiar.

Find some songs that people are passionate about, and play them. There's a reason the big sticks have put these titles to rest.

 

[Wildstyle K]

Just noticed My 1039 has dropped most of its 70's songs in favor of a bunch of 90's songs and some post 2000's music. Sounds more like it is geared towards females now than before. Saw Madonna, Natasha Beddingfield, Katy Perry, The Fray and several others on yes.com. At its launch the station reminded me of the Peak when it first launched and now it reminds me of how the Peak sounds right now.

Ah hah. See? Exactly. I told everyone a few months ago that this was eventually going to happen. That, and the fact that HOT 97.5 was going to get better and become friendlier to dance.