New Oldies station coming!

[MikeShannon914]

THE Andy Barber, who emceed my high school prom in 1983??? Yee haw!! Let's bring some known names back to the market, and I don't mean those guys at the Bone. Andy was great at KAFM.

 

[klifhanger]

Pam Johnson?..no ummmm Jim Thomas?.....Monkerhn? shucks I give..Guy Johnson maybe?

 

[johnsummers]

I sure hope its true! We need another oldies station! A good one!


Yeah!!! One with a 3000 song (min) playlist with stuff like..."Isrealites" by Desmond Dekker and "Baby-Sittin' Boogie" by Buzz Clifford and "Jennifer Eccles" by the Hollies or "Little Things" by Bobby Goldsboro, just to name a few. Yeah, THAT'S the ticket (no pun)....! Heck, I'd listen....(LOL) Maybe they'll hire boss jocks and even do 'The 50's At 5'! Oh well, one can only hope, right?

 

[BossJock1947]

Since i started this thread i will add what i have just heard and that is this new "Oldies" station if that's what you want to call it will be 70's and 80's based.

In addition i take issue with John Summers sarcastic "Boss Jock" comment. Many a boss jock was doing what was "In" then. Many of these talents went on to be great "Personalities" with a natural delivery.

I would agree 3000 songs is silly. 1000 songs is about right. Not too tight, not too many. I see so many oldies stations around the country playing 200-300! A decade ago kRTH played 1000 songs, today they play less than 500 and actually rotate less than 300 at any given time.

Here in Los Angeles "Hot" plays over 1000.

WCBS-FM played 1500+ at one time and did very well.

Who on God's green earth would play those songs John mentioned anyway?

 

[johnsummers]

Every so often I hear someone say that the 'Boss Jock' approach would work today on ol...oops, I almost said the 'O' word....on 60's and 70's hits stations. I strongly disagree. This is not to denigrate the era or the jocks who worked it. They were great at something I could not do. But, as The Monkees once said, that was then, this is now. As far as the 1,000 song playlist is concerned.....man, I don't know. I'd hate to have somebody sample my station while I'm playing....I don't know...."Up Up And Away" or "Tracy" instead of "Na Na Hey Hey..." ...just my 2 cents.

 

[SmokeRing]

I'd hate to have somebody sample my station while I'm playing....I don't know...."Up Up And Away"

Hey, that's Rush Limbaugh's condom report theme. Seems to have served him well... : )

 

[pro4aa]

Every so often I hear someone say that the 'Boss Jock' approach would work today on ol...oops, I almost said the 'O' word....on 60's and 70's hits stations. I strongly disagree. This is not to denigrate the era or the jocks who worked it. They were great at something I could not do. But, as The Monkees once said, that was then, this is now. As far as the 1,000 song playlist is concerned.....man, I don't know. I'd hate to have somebody sample my station while I'm playing....I don't know...."Up Up And Away" or "Tracy" instead of "Na Na Hey Hey..." ...just my 2 cents.

_________________________________________________
Okay..other than you strongly disagree, why do you think a bright, quick over the intro delivery wouldn't work today? Do you think listeners would prefer boring phone calls introducing songs instead? And why would you hate to have somebody hear "Up Up and Away"? Did it not win enough Grammy awards? (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up%2C_Up_and_Away#Grammy_awards)
Wasn't it #1 long enough?

 

[AndyBarber]

THE TALENT IN DALLAS TODAY IS RIPE FOR THE PICKING..25 BUSINESS CARDS AND LIVE REMOTES AND APPEARANCES CAN BEAT ANYONE THERE...WEAK MINOR LEAGUE TALENT..

 

[AndyBarber]

THANK YOU MIKE...NOT TALKING HERE YET!!!

 

[johnsummers]

I absolutely do think a bright, quick over the intro delivery is the way to go. I always think of the boss jock era as a bit more than that. In the context of today's radio, a true boss jock delivery would sound dated. I think most folks would agree with that. "Up, Up And Away" is a great song that joins a long line of great and not-so-great songs that were huge hits at one time that are not hits today.
As far as the talent in DFW is concerned, I guess we all have opinions and that's fine. But, in the interest of common courtesy and professionalism, I'll keep mine to myself.

 

[klifhanger]

I couldn't agre with Andy Barber even more. The talent is ripe for picking. The "small playist" is the killer as well. It's pure and simple "burnout" and not just by those in the business but by the listeners as well. Has anyone ever stepped out of these so called research groups,and gone out into the streets and take the pulse of who actually does listen? The results between the two are almost 180 degrees apart. Has anyone ever thought that consolidation,deregulation did not make geographic regional listening desires go away? "Na Na Na Hey Hey Kiss him goodbye" by Steam has been so over used at KLUV,along with the Righteous Bros "Unchained Melody" John is partially correct with "Tracy" etc, BUT the standard reply from the true listener( not the focus group listener)is "WOW I HAVEN'T THAT IN A)"AGES" B)AlONG TIME". They say it with a large smile,not a sigh of disgust. Those that program the music now days have gotten complacent, and when you don't have a true competitor in your format, you can get away with it. When you have a research book handed down by a"regional"Pd you already have ignored the listeners in your area.
Requests,personal appearances,music stores,music charts have worked for many years in testing music along with a PD who has the innovation and the Guts to introduce songs. Now it is the non daring blandness that has engulfed radio,and those who enter it are taught that. This approach carries forward until it is virtually in stoppable until someone is daring enough to say "Let's get back to the basics". Laziness seems to have taken hold in the way of programming ideas and promotions. Competition is lackluster.Some will argue there is competition,but when you look at it side by side with formats,the only competition out there are the country formats,some Urban and some Spanish stations, nothing else.

Andy Barber is right, there is talent out there who can turn this leaking ship of radio around. Talent is the basis for success and the talent's knowledge and use of music. Today it's read this line here, shorten your bit here,no bit at all ,segue your music here,positions here.
It used to be you sold the program and place your ads around the program. Now you have to program around your ads.
Bring the talent in,good talent, not the "barbies"and the "Kens"but solid talent who knows how to inform, entertain and knowshow to adlib and make an on air goof sound like it was a bit. Lastily have your talent know your music,not someone reading a title.

 

[SmokeRing]

The "small playist" is the killer as well. It's pure and simple "burnout" and not just by those in the business but by the listeners as well.

Too true. Don't expect anything out of KLUV, though. They have a 300-song playlist that's programmed to sound like a 50-song playlist. And they are proud of it. Luckily for them, their demo can barely turn on an iPod, much less rip their Oldies libraries into it.

 

[surfdude]

"Tracy" would be 90% unfamiliar to 35-44 year olds. If you don't
attract SOME of that demo, your Oldies station is going away.

Better to have an Oldies station that plays great, universally loved songs (there's only about 400 of 'em) from the 60s and 70s, than NO OLDIES STATION AT ALL.

 

[johnsummers]

Surfdude, I couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[SmokeRing]

"Tracy" would be 90% unfamiliar to 35-44 year olds. If you don't
attract SOME of that demo, your Oldies station is going away.

Better to have an Oldies station that plays great, universally loved songs (there's only about 400 of 'em) from the 60s and 70s, than NO OLDIES STATION AT ALL.

And THAT, my friends, is how you keep your thinking firmly inside the box.

Surfdude, you might consider that 35-44 year olds are listening to an Oldies station in the first place because they dig the genre. Unfamiliar music won't make them go away. It will give them more of what they're looking for. If you've ever been an Oldies jock, think about the number of younger voices who call the request line trying to figure out what that song was and where to find it!

Most 35-44 year olds were introduced to Oldies through their parents' record collections... and movie soundtracks. Twist and Shout's trip to number 1 in the mid-80's is probably one of the best examples of a movie introducing an Oldie to a new generation. Dirty Dancing. The Big Chill. Obviously, The Doors. Movies are usually the catalyst.

And radio stations stay in the background and timidly follow. I see no reason Oldies stations can't step up and start introducing great music to the next generation.

 

[John Lewis]

ANDY BARBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D

Now there's a name I've not heard in a long time. One of my high school heros along with Pamela Steel. I loved 92 1/2 FM!

That group inspired me to go into radio! ;D

Looking WAY forward to this!

John Lewis
www.KXOL1360.com
www.myspace.com/radiojohn

 

[jbhtexas]

I'm with SmokeRing and Klifhanger on this one. As a listener in the afore-mentioned 35-44 age group, I like the 50-70's (and a little bit of 80's) genre along with some jazz. KLUV has become total burnout. KNTU is enjoyable for me, but often has reception issues while driving. Presently, 1160 is great, and often elicits the afore-mentioned "Wow!" response regarding something I haven't heard in a long time, but 1160 will be going to another format soon, and again I have trouble with reception. Otherwise, from a music standpoint, not much else in this market for me, other than 770 once in awhile.

But there are solutions...in the truck, I've got the CD-6 loaded up and I installed a PIE for hooking up an iPod or DVD player (yes, some KLUV listeners can operate an iPod ;D). If the new "oldies" station is going to be a KLUV clone with the 300-programmed-to-sound-like-50 playlist, well, it's kind of hard to get excited about that...

For something interesting, take a look at "the Tube" 24-hr music video channel over on OTA HDTV 33.2. The offering ranges from Jim Morrison and the Doors on Ed Sullivan (not lip-synching!) to the Eurythmics to some modern stuff that I wouldn't buy if it was the last music on Earth, but they've got me tuning in regularly...

 

[ArcherSports]

Note to self.... find old airchecks incase real radio actually returns!

LOL

 

[MikeShannon914]

A pop oldies format is such a tough call. Those of us who liked KODZ, KIXK, KRQX, KLDD, KLUV-AM, the original KAAM-1310 (and even the old KWXI long before those) were crushed when those stations didn't make it. We've argued before on the board that there's just not enough audience to spread around for two pop oldies stations to make it. KLUV must be doing something right, God bless 'em, and sure, they've enjoyed a slow-but-steady progression to the Top 5 over the last, what, 20 years? But there's something attractive, I guess, to some level of predictability and repetition for those listeners, and those listeners have known exactly where to go for oldies for those last 20 years. Brinkman and Cresswell have programmed the station with a lot of consistency over the years, even dating back to the Tenaglia ownership in the 80s. No doubt, the thing works. You have to give them that. But for me, no, I'd program it differently. I like the concept that KVIL tried years ago, called the "Ahhh Song." Just an occasional non-top 10 oldie thrown in that's seldom ever played anywhere, knowing that the listener will likely go "ahhh!" when they hear it. I think there's enough "Ahhh Songs" out there to pad an oldies format with (say, mixed 50/50 with proven, tired oldies) that you'd make a lasting impression on listeners. (That's why I throw some of those in on "The Hi-Fi Club"!) But you do have to know your music AND your region to know what's acceptable vs. what's a tune-out song.

But KLUV is the lone shining star amongst the local CBS stations, and I really doubt they will mess with success. There's a lot of other things in the building that need fixing much worse!

And bringing in a second oldies station...yet AGAIN...will likely result in no more than a 1/3 loss of KLUV's audience. Maybe even not that much. There'll be a channel-surfing factor, and that's where talent can make or break whether those listeners will stick with the new station. Think about when Sunny 97.1 came along. Initial response: Good. Long term? About a third of KVIL's audience was lost, and if that works out to less than a 2.0 rating, is it really worth it? (Now I'd guess that, in the long term, had Sunny not been yanked, it would have eventually pulled up even with KVIL, and KVIL would have retreated to a pop/Christian-mixed format instead to go up against KLTY. I still see that happening eventually anyway.)

And mind you, KLUV's typical audience is no longer a coveted demographic. Splitting the pie that advertisers are not that interested in doesn't accomplish a whole lot. There are many unused formats in this market that, to me, would be more viable: Contemporary Gospel (positive, modern-sounding, current-type stuff, like Kirk Franklin, etc,) Modern Rock (everything else that The Edge DOESN'T play,) Modern Classic Rock (for lack of a better term; mostly 1977-90 rock that only gets infrequently covered on a typical Classic Rock station; try XM49 "Big Tracks" for an example,) and of course, All News.

 

[SmokeRing]

Brinkman and Cresswell have programmed the station with a lot of consistency over the years, even dating back to the Tenaglia ownership in the 80s. No doubt, the thing works. You have to give them that.

The Oldies format on 94.9 FM in the mid-90's was on a trajectory to beat KLUV. But the owner pulled the plug prematurely. I for one liked its music quite a bit better than KLUV's at the time.

And there was nothing steady about KLUV's rise to the top 5. It happened when Chapman arrived, and Jody Dean has kept that momentum and run with it.