New York Does Not Have An Oldies Station. Period.

[SuperRadioFan]

All I know is that CBS FM belongs on the air in NYC. And that today, this one day its the most listened to station in the country on air and online.

You are very correct, lash. From Orange County CA this NJ native is enjoying what I'm hearing even though I can get KRTH and KOLA. Let's Hear It For The Boy and Footloose both from the same movie heard in the last 20 minutes. Still I'm not complaining.

 

[CTNYRADIO]

Woggle is not on everywhere. That's crap. You need the clue, not me. You visit family members, and your older relatives are listening. So what? I live here and go a lot of places. It's not playing everywhere. And no one on the Philly board raves about Woggle. NO ONE. Don't tell me I need to get a clue when I live here and you don't.
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Wrong again. You have a post over there titled (it happens thursday) and surprise, you are complaining about OGL and the first response under it states that it's the best big market oldies station out there. Also, since you dont live in NYC and I do, maybe you shouldnt be commenting about NYC radio if you think I shouldnt comment about Philly radio...

 

[BRNout]

An "Oldies" station, however you want to call it is supposed to play familiar music that is easily recognizable.

The problem is it is too recognizable. Familiarity breeds contempt. ;D

Yes, that's a challenge. In a market such as New York, CBS-FM's hands are tied when it comes to the depth of playlist. Go too deep and you'll lose listeners and ratings. As much as geeks (like me ) enjoy hearing old vinyl from the basement - it drives the listeners away. On the other hand, too small of a playlist will burn out fast because, unlike other formats, you don't tend to have 'new' music to add.

Though I am an oldies purist, I think that they are doing a masterful job of slipping appropriate 80s songs into the mix. They really do sound natural and good and that is not an easy feat. Clearly, someone has been thinking about this very seriously and it shows. Can they keep it fresh? Time will tell. But WCBS-FM sure sounds great today!

 

[KevinFodor]

Nope, Mike.

"People Got To Be Free" tests in the top 100 of most oldies music tests.

 

[CTNYRADIO]

A disgruntled hobbyist who wouldn't be happy no matter what they put on. Your posts are more incredible by the minute. No, I like Sirius Gold. I would like it if CBS sounded like that. Not that I expect it to because of the fact that that sound IS NOT THE REALITY OF TODAY'S RADIO.
apples and oranges. Sirius is a pay site, WOGL and WCBS are commercial stations. Sirius can have the deeper playlist b/c they dont need to sell to advertisers! Jeez..why do I feel like I'm teaching kindergarten here...?

 

[SirRoxalot]

Three R's

Some people are still having trouble with Readin', Ritin', and 'Rithmatic...

 

[davideduardo]

The problem is it is too recognizable. Familiarity breeds contempt. ;D

Familiarity breeds TSL. And in the PPM world, making no mistakes avoides tune-out.

 

[davideduardo]

Woggle is not on everywhere. That's crap. You need the clue, not me. You visit family members, and your older relatives are listening. So what? I live here and go a lot of places. It's not playing everywhere. And no one on the Philly board raves about Woggle. NO ONE.

I don't think radio board posters are typical of the listener base of any station. And I don't think any board posters are PPM panelists, either.

The fact is that WOGL comes over a million in PPM, and is top 5 in 25-54.

You don't see anyone raving about WBEB over there, either. Or about KYW. They are the ratings and billings leaders in the Philly PPM world. And the PPM is about 70 days away from being the only measurement there is in NY, too.

 

[chuckydoll]

As said earlier, it's Oldies with a taste of Superstars AOR

The 80's music that should be in the format is pop, not album rock.

"Glory Days" is album rock. "Power of Love" is pop.

"Jack and Diane" is album rock. "Don't You Want Me" is pop.

"Pink Cadillac" is album rock. "She Works Hard for the Money" is pop.

For those not in the know, Superstars was the AOR format that FM radio embraced in the 70's and 80's.

 

[CTNYRADIO]

Woggle is not on everywhere. That's crap. You need the clue, not me. You visit family members, and your older relatives are listening. So what? I live here and go a lot of places. It's not playing everywhere. And no one on the Philly board raves about Woggle. NO ONE.

I don't think radio board posters are typical of the listener base of any station. And I don't think any board posters are PPM panelists, either.

The fact is that WOGL comes over a million in PPM, and is top 5 in 25-54.

You don't see anyone raving about WBEB over there, either. Or about KYW. They are the ratings and billings leaders in the Philly PPM world. And the PPM is about 70 days away from being the only measurement there is in NY, too.
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You've hit it right on the head...we who post at the boards are a special breed...we would love a station with a 2000 song playlist...this, however is not realistic for a big city commercial station. It's familiarity like the above poster noted and that leads into longer TSL. Look at Jack--big playlist, no ratings whatsover. Sadly, it's the 250-300 (safe) song stations that pull in the needed ratings to keep the suits and advertisers happy. No extended cuts, nothing off a b side.... that's just the way it works.

 

[Walter Graff]

I
The reason is because people are talking about "Hit The Road Jack" and thinking that The Doo Wop Shop is coming back. When I think of the glory days of CBS-FM, that's what I think of.

And those days are over, even if they do play some 60's. My post was for the benefit of those people. They are expecting "The First Generation" of Rock N Roll. This ain't it.

Does anyone remember CBS before the switch to JACK? The doo wop Sunday show was long canceled and CBS made it clear that they were not playing fifties doo wop style music anymore, so while some may remember the golden oldies of CBS, they hadn't been playing that type of music for a few years.

 

[SuperRadioFan]

Re: As said earlier, it's Oldies with a taste of Superstars AOR

The 80's music that should be in the format is pop, not album rock.

"Glory Days" is album rock. "Power of Love" is pop.

"Jack and Diane" is album rock. "Don't You Want Me" is pop.

"Pink Cadillac" is album rock. "She Works Hard for the Money" is pop.

For those not in the know, Superstars was the AOR format that FM radio embraced in the 70's and 80's.

Agree except about Jack & Diane.. that was a #1 pop hit much more than it could be considered album rock. Did NEW-FM play it??

But a little album rock is OK for most of us because few dined just on pop, right?

 

[KevinFodor]

I said this in another thread here:

There is very little "album rock" being played here. In fact, only 1 song that I could classify as "album rock" has aired:

"Pink Cadillac" by Bruce Springsteen. Played, I'm sure for his local ties. I've also seen music test scores on it. It tests very well with audience CBS-FM is now targeting.

Every other song they've played has been a bonafide pop singles hit. Some people on this board are having a case of selective memories here.

Oh yeah..."Glory Days" hit the top 5 on the singles chart in 1985. I played it on a CHR station. It also was a crossover A/C record. Still considered "pop" enough.

 

[davideduardo]

You've hit it right on the head...we who post at the boards are a special breed...we would love a station with a 2000 song playlist...this, however is not realistic for a big city commercial station. It's familiarity like the above poster noted and that leads into longer TSL. Look at Jack--big playlist, no ratings whatsover. Sadly, it's the 250-300 (safe) song stations that pull in the needed ratings to keep the suits and advertisers happy. No extended cuts, nothing off a b side.... that's just the way it works.

And here are the first hours of music played, starting at 1 PM (in reverse order)

PAYNE, FREDA Band Of Gold 1970
ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA Evil Woman 1975
BOX TOPS Cry Like A Baby 1968
STEELY DAN Rikki Don't Lose That Number 1974
SLY & THE FAMILY STONE Hot Fun In The Summertime 1969
CHICAGO Saturday In The Park 1972
LOGGINS, KENNY Footloose 1984
STRAWBERRY ALARM CLK Incense And Peppermints 1967
EMOTIONS Best Of My Love 1977
DIAMOND, NEIL Sweet Caroline 1969
FOUNDATIONS Build Me Up Buttercup 1969
WILLIAMS, DENIECE Let's Hear It For The Boy 1984
GRASS ROOTS Midnight Confessions 1968
BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE Takin' Care Of Business 1974
JONES, TOM She's A Lady 1971
WONDER, STEVIE Superstition 1972
LEWIS, HUEY & THE NEWS Power Of Love 1985
MORRISON, VAN Brown Eyed Girl 1967
COMMODORES Brick House 1977
BYRDS Mr. Tambourine Man 1965
NEWTON-JOHN/TRAVOLTA You're The One That I Want 1978
COCHRAN, EDDIE Summertime Blues 1958
GAYE, MARVIN I Heard It Thru The Grapevine 1968
STRAY CATS Rock This Town 1982
SPRINGFIELD, DUSTY Son Of A Preacher Man 1968
BENSON, GEORGE On Broadway 1978
SIMON & GARFUNKEL Mrs. Robinson 1968
SPINNERS Rubberband Man 1976
WINWOOD, STEVE Roll With It 1988
TEMPTATIONS My Girl 1965
SCAGGS, BOZ Lowdown 1976
SAM & DAVE Soul Man 1967
MILLER, STEVE Take The Money & Run 1976
RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS You've Lost That Lovin Feelin 1964
BLONDIE Heart Of Glass 1978
JOHN, ELTON Philadelphia Freedom 1975
DOORS Light My Fire 1967
KC & SUNSHINE BAND That's The Way (I Like It) 1975
PRESLEY, ELVIS Suspicious Minds 1969
MUNGO JERRY In The Summertime 1970
EARTH, WIND & FIRE Sing A Song 1975
SPRINGSTEEN, BRUCE Pink Cadillac 1984
SAM THE SHAM/PHAROAH Wooly Bully 1965
SUMMER, DONNA Last Dance 1978
JAMES TOMMY/SHONDELS Mony Mony 1968
ORBISON, ROY Oh! Pretty Woman 1964
BEE GEES You Should Be Dancing 1976
BEATLES Twist And Shout 1964
MELLENCAMP, JOHN C Jack & Diane 1982
CONTOURS Do You Love Me 1962
JOEL, BILLY Only The Good Die Young 1978
ROLLING STONES (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction 1965
NIGHTINGALE, MAXINE Right Back Where We Started... 1976
LOVIN' SPOONFUL Summer In The City 1966
FLEETWOOD MAC Don't Stop 1977
SPRINGSTEEN, BRUCE Glory Days 1985
FRANKLIN, ARETHA Respect 1967
FOUR SEASONS December, 1963 (Oh, What A...) 1975
BEACH BOYS Do It Again 1968

 

[carolinaradio]

Was just listening to a long jingle presentation about CBS-FM being back and they were singing about Chubby Checker, Marvelettes, Ronettes, Sam Cooke, and Jan & Dean as well as tons of others 60s-80s artists. I'm sure there were more but aren't the above pretty much pre-64 material?

 

[CTNYRADIO]

Agree--it's a nice safe playlist, however I expected CBS to start with the most popular (and it can be argued, most burnt out songs) to kick things off...I think we'll get a better idea of the playlist and how deep it is a week from now.
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for argument sake, I do hope it's a bit deeper than what's been played the first 4 hrs!!!

 

[BRNout]

Woggle is not on everywhere. That's crap. You need the clue, not me. You visit family members, and your older relatives are listening. So what? I live here and go a lot of places. It's not playing everywhere. And no one on the Philly board raves about Woggle. NO ONE.

I don't think radio board posters are typical of the listener base of any station. And I don't think any board posters are PPM panelists, either.

The fact is that WOGL comes over a million in PPM, and is top 5 in 25-54.

You don't see anyone raving about WBEB over there, either. Or about KYW. They are the ratings and billings leaders in the Philly PPM world. And the PPM is about 70 days away from being the only measurement there is in NY, too.

Thanks David - you are 100% correct!!!

 

[KevinFodor]

Don't know why you consider these songs "burned out". Music tests prove you wrong.

 

[Walter Graff]

Sure, older people are listening to OGL, but these people have $$$ to spend! The boomers have money and it's really a wonder why advertisers dont want to reach them.

You can blame it on television advertising and marketing people who believe that younger is always what you are working towards. It's a myth that has become universal fact. Yet I can name ten products in the last five years that had a major push to the young that backfired, yet did better due to older people. Two examples are Toyota's Scion and Honda's element. Both designed specifically for the 20 something set. Both with major marketing and ad pushes towards the younger kids via television, colleges, and print, yet the only people that buy them are over 40. But the myth is strong.

 

[CTNYRADIO]

Burned out to you and I, the message board posters...the average joe wants to hear these b/c they are familiar and like you said, test well. I personally hope it's not the 250 songs that some of the cookie cutter oldies stations play--Hell, WKHL in Stamford only played 200-250 songs and believe me, they wore them out! (They dumped the oldies format in March of 2006).