My Opinion on K-104.7 and Lite 102.9

[wmgcbs]

I just returned from my trip across the Carolinas, and I gave both WKQC and WLYT quite a listen during my days in Charlotte. A few weeks ago, I asked for some local opinion on the two stations and now I can finally formulate my own, since before this weekend, I have only been able to listen to WLYT online.

For WKQC:

-Nice JAM jingles (package?), but not enough of them
-Music mix a bit repetitive: More, I found, than Lite's. However, I enjoyed more 60's music on the K.
-Jocks aren't bad. I enjoyed Holly Haze the most, but the rest of the staff, in my opinion isn't quite comparable to Lite's, although they all sound great on-air.
-Only 2 commercial breaks an hour, but they are LONG--kept me tuning away during commercials.
-Overall very warm sounding, especially jocks and jingles.

For WLYT:

-GREAT jingles! WJXA Nashville from ReelWorld! Sounded great on the air!
-Music mix better than K's, but I would like to hear some more 60's music like K has.
-All (except Ann Martin of overnights) of the jocks are great--even Delilah. I enjoyed listening to Jim Shafer, Ron Riley, and Samantha Stone, all who I enjoyed at Magic 96.1. The overnight woman sounds horrible! I couldn't stand her voice.
-Commercial breaks aren't bad--got to love the night times with barely any commercials.
-The Lite Flashback weekend!!! Wonderful, although the playlist got repetitive---they could stand to add more songs to that 70's collection, but still a great treat!


Overall:

Although K-104.7 plays more '60's and '70's music, which I prefer, something kept bringing me back to Lite 102.9. I don't know what it was, but I enjoyed it more. The jocks, jingles, music... everything. Nothing against K, but Lite takes the cake for me.

 

[mike704]

What I would like to hear

I'm dreaming here but here is what I would like to hear an A/C station do.

3 or 4 commercial breaks an hour with no more than 3 units in a break.

A 60 second news update every hour. This could be hard news or lifestyle news just give me something I can't get on my iPod. Enough information to make me feel connected to what's going on in the world.

New music! Core artists like James Taylor, Carly Simon, Hall & Oates, etc are not dead yet but for some reason nobody plays their new stuff. There are also other artists like Ben Taylor, Josh Groban, and more who would fit. Some of the new artists are okay but some really don't fit. I'd also like to hear an oh wow catagory, an oldie that doesn't get played to death and comes up once in a blue moon rather than every other day, just one an hour to make things interesting and unpredictible.

Allow, demand and teach the jocks to sell the music, talk about the music, it should sound like someone sitting at home playing their CD collection for you and telling you why the songs they picked are so great or maybe a little fact behind the song once in awhile.

Have fun! If the listener hears you having a good time they'll want to join the party.

Please stop telling me how great your station is on the air. That doesn't interest me, besides I'll make up my own mind about that.

Just my 2 cents!

Mike

 

[eacalhoun]

Re: What I would like to hear

> I'm dreaming here but here is what I would like to hear an
> A/C station do.

Again, Mike we are dreaming here(as I so often do myself!!), so knock me over with a feather if a commercial radio station has an ideal playlist.
When an AC station plays older stuff from the 70s or 80s, what's the criteria?
Did it have to be a number 1 song...for 1 week, 2 weeks? Or, a top 10...top 20...and for how long? Why can't stations dig even a little deeper, and play a song that was released as a single but never made it above #30? A song to make the listener say, "I forgot about THAT song...I haven't heard that in___years", but yet it does jog the listener's memory. There are more, but a couple of songs come to mind: Olivia Newton-John's "Soul Kiss" from about 1985; Hall & Oates "Family Man" from 1982--thought that one may be more Hot AC. You get the picture...it's the music(songs)I hear on Muzak when I eat at Wendy's!

Eric

 

[mike704]

Music Tests

A couple of times a year most stations will do a music test. In that test they take a group of listeners put them in a room and play about 20 seconds of the hooks (the chorus) of the songs for them. The listeners are then asked what songs they like, don't like or are unfimillar with. The more people who like or at least know the song the more likely it will be added or stay in the library. Obviously they can't test every song and how they come up with the list of songs to test I don't know.

106.5 The End is doing call out research and playing hooks over the phone from Clear Channel Cincinnati.

A P.D. at Lite once told me there were times when the Beatles tested really well and other times they didn't test well at all, go figure!

I suspect that you and I know more songs than the people in these music tests. Then too maybe a lot of good songs may not make it to the test in the first place. By the way I like both of your examples which are good examples of songs that have not been overplayed and I could stand to hear once in awhile.

Good post!

Mike

> > I'm dreaming here but here is what I would like to hear an
>
> > A/C station do.
>
> Again, Mike we are dreaming here(as I so often do myself!!),
> so knock me over with a feather if a commercial radio
> station has an ideal playlist.
> When an AC station plays older stuff from the 70s or 80s,
> what's the criteria?
> Did it have to be a number 1 song...for 1 week, 2 weeks? Or,
> a top 10...top 20...and for how long? Why can't stations dig
> even a little deeper, and play a song that was released as a
> single but never made it above #30? A song to make the
> listener say, "I forgot about THAT song...I haven't heard
> that in___years", but yet it does jog the listener's memory.
> There are more, but a couple of songs come to mind: Olivia
> Newton-John's "Soul Kiss" from about 1985; Hall & Oates
> "Family Man" from 1982--thought that one may be more Hot AC.
> You get the picture...it's the music(songs)I hear on Muzak
> when I eat at Wendy's!
>
> Eric
>

 

[Jay_F]

Re: What I would like to hear

> > I'm dreaming here but here is what I would like to hear an
>
> > A/C station do.
>
> Again, Mike we are dreaming here(as I so often do myself!!),
> so knock me over with a feather if a commercial radio
> station has an ideal playlist.
> When an AC station plays older stuff from the 70s or 80s,
> what's the criteria?
> Did it have to be a number 1 song...for 1 week, 2 weeks? Or,
> a top 10...top 20...and for how long? Why can't stations dig
> even a little deeper, and play a song that was released as a
> single but never made it above #30? A song to make the
> listener say, "I forgot about THAT song...I haven't heard
> that in___years", but yet it does jog the listener's memory.
> There are more, but a couple of songs come to mind: Olivia
> Newton-John's "Soul Kiss" from about 1985; Hall & Oates
> "Family Man" from 1982--thought that one may be more Hot AC.
> You get the picture...it's the music(songs)I hear on Muzak
> when I eat at Wendy's!
>
> Eric
>


You would love Jack-FM if it ever came to Charlotte. Jack plays tons of 70s and 80s songs that haven't been played at all since they were currents. Since Infinity loves flipping stations to Jack, perhaps they should switch WBAV to Jack, especially after this last book.

 

[tk]

Re: What I would like to hear

> You would love Jack-FM if it ever came to Charlotte. Jack
> plays tons of 70s and 80s songs that haven't been played at
> all since they were currents. Since Infinity loves flipping
> stations to Jack, perhaps they should switch WBAV to Jack,
> especially after this last book.

You've got to be kidding....everybody hates Jack!
(He's just not a likable guy cause he trys to be everything to everybody)

 

[Jay_F]

Re: What I would like to hear

> > You would love Jack-FM if it ever came to Charlotte. Jack
> > plays tons of 70s and 80s songs that haven't been played
> at
> > all since they were currents. Since Infinity loves
> flipping
> > stations to Jack, perhaps they should switch WBAV to Jack,
>
> > especially after this last book.
>
> You've got to be kidding....everybody hates Jack!
> (He's just not a likable guy cause he trys to be everything
> to everybody)
>


The people who hate Jack the most are the displaced oldies listeners in NYC and Chicago. I can understand their pain. But not everybody hates Jack. For example the Jack in Los Angeles is the #1 English language 25-54 station in that market.

What I like best about Jack is the "Oh Wow" factor. Three recent examples from the Jack where I live are: "Undercover Angel" by Alan O'Day (?), "I'm in You" by Peter Frampton (the song that ruined his career but it sure sounds good now after being rested for 28 years) and "Buffalo Stance" by Neenah Cherry.

 

[mike704]

Re: What I would like to hear

> You would love Jack-FM if it ever came to Charlotte. Jack
> plays tons of 70s and 80s songs that haven't been played at
> all since they were currents. Since Infinity loves flipping
> stations to Jack, perhaps they should switch WBAV to Jack,
> especially after this last book.


I think it might be a little early to give up on WBAV. The station fills a niche with more power than it's competition. I can't recall an Urban station making such an abrupt change. I'm sure they will do some fine tuning before trying anything as radical as Jack.

Where it used to be station against station in format competition now it's radio group against radio group. I'm not sure if this is better or worse for radio, time will tell.

 

[tk]

Re: What I would like to hear

> > > You would love Jack-FM if it ever came to Charlotte.
> Jack
> > > plays tons of 70s and 80s songs that haven't been played
>
> > at
> > > all since they were currents. Since Infinity loves
> > flipping
> > > stations to Jack, perhaps they should switch WBAV to
> Jack,
> >
> > > especially after this last book.
> >
> > You've got to be kidding....everybody hates Jack!
> > (He's just not a likable guy cause he trys to be
> everything
> > to everybody)
> >
>
>
> The people who hate Jack the most are the displaced oldies
> listeners in NYC and Chicago. I can understand their pain.
> But not everybody hates Jack. For example the Jack in Los
> Angeles is the #1 English language 25-54 station in that
> market.
>
> What I like best about Jack is the "Oh Wow" factor. Three
> recent examples from the Jack where I live are: "Undercover
> Angel" by Alan O'Day (?), "I'm in You" by Peter Frampton
> (the song that ruined his career but it sure sounds good now
> after being rested for 28 years) and "Buffalo Stance" by
> Neenah Cherry.
>

Flavor of the week format...talk to me about Jack in a year...

 

[radiolover78]

Re: What I would like to hear

> > > > You would love Jack-FM if it ever came to Charlotte.
> > Jack
> > > > plays tons of 70s and 80s songs that haven't been
> played
> >
> > > at
> > > > all since they were currents. Since Infinity loves
> > > flipping
> > > > stations to Jack, perhaps they should switch WBAV to
> > Jack,
> > >
> > > > especially after this last book.
> > >
> > > You've got to be kidding....everybody hates Jack!
> > > (He's just not a likable guy cause he trys to be
> > everything
> > > to everybody)
> > >
> >
> >
> > The people who hate Jack the most are the displaced oldies
>
> > listeners in NYC and Chicago. I can understand their pain.
>
> > But not everybody hates Jack. For example the Jack in Los
> > Angeles is the #1 English language 25-54 station in that
> > market.
> >
> > What I like best about Jack is the "Oh Wow" factor. Three
> > recent examples from the Jack where I live are:
> "Undercover
> > Angel" by Alan O'Day (?), "I'm in You" by Peter Frampton
> > (the song that ruined his career but it sure sounds good
> now
> > after being rested for 28 years) and "Buffalo Stance" by
> > Neenah Cherry.
> >
>
> Flavor of the week format...talk to me about Jack in a
> year...
>

The whole 6-12 months prediction was wrong. Jack will be around longer than that. Make your predictions in 2 years.
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