M
Music Lover
Guest
Never heard the cover version but Christopher Cross's version gets played on most Soft AC's I know of.
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Obscure hits within a soft AC format
- Thread starter passtheword
- Start date
Never heard the cover version but Christopher Cross's version gets played on most Soft AC's I know of.
M
Music Lover
Guest
Put stuff like testing, etc. in a separate thread
Steering away from off-topic stuff such as testing, etc., which should be in a separate thread...
Sarah McLachlan - Ordinary Miracle
It's a soundtrack song. Not sure if it charted but it would fit on a Soft AC format.
Steering away from off-topic stuff such as testing, etc., which should be in a separate thread...
Sarah McLachlan - Ordinary Miracle
It's a soundtrack song. Not sure if it charted but it would fit on a Soft AC format.
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M
Music Lover
Guest
Some Soft AC's I've heard have played:
Eva Cassidy:
Over The Rainbow
Fields of Gold
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Over The Rainbow
Only terrestrial Soft AC stream I've heard playing Eva Cassidy has been WEZW in New Jersey.
Eva Cassidy:
Over The Rainbow
Fields of Gold
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Over The Rainbow
Only terrestrial Soft AC stream I've heard playing Eva Cassidy has been WEZW in New Jersey.
M
Music Lover
Guest
Alison Krauss and John Waite did a duet of his hit, "Missing You" in 2007 that would fit in nicely with the contemporary country crossover that Soft AC's play.
Back when I was in the radio business, I would send airchecks to a a prospective employer. I knew my best, ear catching material had to be in the first 30 secs to minute or the PD would toss my air check in the garbage.
Music hooks have been a part of the industry for decades. It's what was used to test a song.
Now, as a LISTENER these days, I listen to stations that play the music I like and appeals to me. I listen to A/C, CHR, Classic Rock, all types of formats. I didn't like Uptown Funk the first few times I heard it. Then, I loved it. And look, #1 song for several weeks.
A/C stations vary from market to market. Take a look at WDUV's playlist. They play Honesty by Billy Joel. That song appeals to their audience yet may be obscure to others.
WFEZ plays Fool If You Think It's Over from Chris Rea. Obscure to some, appealing to others.
Music hooks have been a part of the industry for decades. It's what was used to test a song.
Now, as a LISTENER these days, I listen to stations that play the music I like and appeals to me. I listen to A/C, CHR, Classic Rock, all types of formats. I didn't like Uptown Funk the first few times I heard it. Then, I loved it. And look, #1 song for several weeks.
A/C stations vary from market to market. Take a look at WDUV's playlist. They play Honesty by Billy Joel. That song appeals to their audience yet may be obscure to others.
WFEZ plays Fool If You Think It's Over from Chris Rea. Obscure to some, appealing to others.
If "Honesty" and "Fool (If You Think It's Over)" are obscure, it's only for a handful of people. Both those tracks aired regularly on soft AC's during the 80's and now as well.
M
Music Lover
Guest
I second that. Those were popular hits on soft AC's during the 80's and the few soft AC's that are still out there now.
M
Music Lover
Guest
Hooks have always been an important part of pop songs.
Rod McKuen - Pastures Green
Bobby Goldsboro - Summer (The First Time)
Danny Hamilton - Don't Wait Up for Me Tonight
Climax - Life and Breath
Engelbert Humperdinck - I Never Said Goodbye
Mac Davis - Whoever Finds This, I Love You
Peter Skellern - You're A Lady
Cliff DeYoung - My Sweet Lady
Jim Weatherly - The Need to Be
Kermit the Frog - Rainbow Connection
Bobby Goldsboro - Summer (The First Time)
Danny Hamilton - Don't Wait Up for Me Tonight
Climax - Life and Breath
Engelbert Humperdinck - I Never Said Goodbye
Mac Davis - Whoever Finds This, I Love You
Peter Skellern - You're A Lady
Cliff DeYoung - My Sweet Lady
Jim Weatherly - The Need to Be
Kermit the Frog - Rainbow Connection
M
Music Lover
Guest
Thanks about the name. I like it.
If you don't mind, tell me how many of those songs should a soft AC be playing?
If you don't mind, tell me how many of those songs should a soft AC be playing?
This thread is really tiring. You have people who know nothing of radio and those that do going at it. Being in radio, I take offense to comments like 'stupid' and 'suits' are words tossed out by people unable to present a cohesive stand on their opinion.
The person mad at radio not playing songs by artists radio's research cannot prove mass appeal is akin to the being ticked off because Walmart sells the merchandise it does or because a clothing store sells what it does. It seems we get lumped in to the user column as if the CEO at Walmart would be slammed for not shopping at Walmart for everything. I really doubt that CEO does. The reason is radio programmers are not programming for themselves but to create a profit potential for their station so they can keep their jobs. In radio we exercise no control over what advertising agencies and business advertisers do but we are stuck with their criteria they set. Radio reacts, not creates, instead reflecting what is already there. So, what would you have us do, put our careers in jeopardy? Shall we tell stockholders where to go? Would you?
Now that you may be ready to burn me at the stake, I will tell you I love music, like exploring new music and typically like much, much more than is heard on radio. But I realize I am an exception. I know a station reflecting my tastes would not be financially successful. I recognize music plays a differing importance in people's lives. You might love movies and follow actors, going to see everything they do. Not me. I could care less. I'm not a movie buff and as a result I only go to see the biggest and most popular movies I know I will like. A fairly big percentage of the population is like I am with movies when it comes to music.
Obscure songs...
how about Chevy Van by Sammy Johns...Carry On 'Til Tomorrow by Badfinger. Sunday Will Never Be The Same by Spanky & Our Gang...remember that one? Remember Barbra Steisand's more contemporary Stoney End?
Unknowns...Sailing by Kim Carnes (not the Rod Stewart song), Remember Me by Sweetlightnin', Borrowed Time by If, Midnight Man by The James Gang and many many more. Then there are more current artists.
I should also state that the research spoken of is normally limited to major markets. The top music station in my market bills a bit over $25 million a year. You can bet that they are constantly researching what they do. It is easy to reach the top compared to staying there which requires out-thinking all of your competition's good ideas. In smaller markets we grab the research we can and do our best with what the budget allows. We also know we can test unproven things in markets where competition and number of signals is minimal enough. In such markets, more listeners tolerate a song or programming element more than in places where there are so many over the air choices. We tend to have wider playlists because time spent listening is usually higher.
Another fact about radio programming that sounds like the opposite of what is intended: We want to be simply the best choice for as many as possible and the perfect station to a select few. For us, it is not so much about being the favorite but amassing the largest audience that chooses us as their best choice. For radio it is the numbers because the numbers sell advertising and some of those numbers will shop with that advertiser so the advertiser continues to advertise. In the largest markets if you don't have the right ratings in the right demographics, it is the difference between the buy and never making a dime. We could be playing Mongolian Throat Singing around the clock and they don't care, it's all about ratings.
I'll admit, all the researching and tests are not perfect but we now know more than we ever did and less than we will know tomorrow. The coming years will be challenging, I suspect, and I only hope the investors have vision and allow radio to evolve as things change.
There have been great experiments. With such pioneers, the first attempts are usually failures, but we don't stop there. We try again with more knowledge. Clear Channel, as they were known, no matter what you might think of them, tried and failed with a format they branded as Lone Star 92.5 in Dallas/Fort Worth. They even limited things to one commercial an hour...lots of music not heard on radio these days but wound up going back to a small playlist and the typical commercial load. I blame it more than anything on the advertising end and their inability to think outside the box. I'm not blaming the agency but the business that didn't likely have a good handle on what Lone Star's concept meant to them or their budgets did not make the station a great option. Maybe others will try new concepts.
I've always been somewhat of a rebel in that regard but realize I cannot be loose and free with other's money and hold my job. As I pointed out before, we are somewhat like the interior designer that has these wonderful ideas but the client doesn't want that, so you do what is needed to keep the money coming in and the designer's idea rarely if ever get beyond the thought process. In short, we are not a reflection of the radio station personally but just a person doing their job per the directives of those holding the purse strings. I'm sure a Chef at McDonald's flipping burgers would find it tiring, boring and uninteresting but he has that position because people keep buying them. To the people buying them, they might not be their favorite, but they are the preferred option at that moment in time considering their options and obligations.
The person mad at radio not playing songs by artists radio's research cannot prove mass appeal is akin to the being ticked off because Walmart sells the merchandise it does or because a clothing store sells what it does. It seems we get lumped in to the user column as if the CEO at Walmart would be slammed for not shopping at Walmart for everything. I really doubt that CEO does. The reason is radio programmers are not programming for themselves but to create a profit potential for their station so they can keep their jobs. In radio we exercise no control over what advertising agencies and business advertisers do but we are stuck with their criteria they set. Radio reacts, not creates, instead reflecting what is already there. So, what would you have us do, put our careers in jeopardy? Shall we tell stockholders where to go? Would you?
Now that you may be ready to burn me at the stake, I will tell you I love music, like exploring new music and typically like much, much more than is heard on radio. But I realize I am an exception. I know a station reflecting my tastes would not be financially successful. I recognize music plays a differing importance in people's lives. You might love movies and follow actors, going to see everything they do. Not me. I could care less. I'm not a movie buff and as a result I only go to see the biggest and most popular movies I know I will like. A fairly big percentage of the population is like I am with movies when it comes to music.
Obscure songs...
how about Chevy Van by Sammy Johns...Carry On 'Til Tomorrow by Badfinger. Sunday Will Never Be The Same by Spanky & Our Gang...remember that one? Remember Barbra Steisand's more contemporary Stoney End?
Unknowns...Sailing by Kim Carnes (not the Rod Stewart song), Remember Me by Sweetlightnin', Borrowed Time by If, Midnight Man by The James Gang and many many more. Then there are more current artists.
I should also state that the research spoken of is normally limited to major markets. The top music station in my market bills a bit over $25 million a year. You can bet that they are constantly researching what they do. It is easy to reach the top compared to staying there which requires out-thinking all of your competition's good ideas. In smaller markets we grab the research we can and do our best with what the budget allows. We also know we can test unproven things in markets where competition and number of signals is minimal enough. In such markets, more listeners tolerate a song or programming element more than in places where there are so many over the air choices. We tend to have wider playlists because time spent listening is usually higher.
Another fact about radio programming that sounds like the opposite of what is intended: We want to be simply the best choice for as many as possible and the perfect station to a select few. For us, it is not so much about being the favorite but amassing the largest audience that chooses us as their best choice. For radio it is the numbers because the numbers sell advertising and some of those numbers will shop with that advertiser so the advertiser continues to advertise. In the largest markets if you don't have the right ratings in the right demographics, it is the difference between the buy and never making a dime. We could be playing Mongolian Throat Singing around the clock and they don't care, it's all about ratings.
I'll admit, all the researching and tests are not perfect but we now know more than we ever did and less than we will know tomorrow. The coming years will be challenging, I suspect, and I only hope the investors have vision and allow radio to evolve as things change.
There have been great experiments. With such pioneers, the first attempts are usually failures, but we don't stop there. We try again with more knowledge. Clear Channel, as they were known, no matter what you might think of them, tried and failed with a format they branded as Lone Star 92.5 in Dallas/Fort Worth. They even limited things to one commercial an hour...lots of music not heard on radio these days but wound up going back to a small playlist and the typical commercial load. I blame it more than anything on the advertising end and their inability to think outside the box. I'm not blaming the agency but the business that didn't likely have a good handle on what Lone Star's concept meant to them or their budgets did not make the station a great option. Maybe others will try new concepts.
I've always been somewhat of a rebel in that regard but realize I cannot be loose and free with other's money and hold my job. As I pointed out before, we are somewhat like the interior designer that has these wonderful ideas but the client doesn't want that, so you do what is needed to keep the money coming in and the designer's idea rarely if ever get beyond the thought process. In short, we are not a reflection of the radio station personally but just a person doing their job per the directives of those holding the purse strings. I'm sure a Chef at McDonald's flipping burgers would find it tiring, boring and uninteresting but he has that position because people keep buying them. To the people buying them, they might not be their favorite, but they are the preferred option at that moment in time considering their options and obligations.
Chevy Van still gets occasional spins but not very often.
Sunday Will Never Be The Same gets spins at Adult Standards.
Sunday Will Never Be The Same gets spins at Adult Standards.
M
Music Lover
Guest
I'll have to check them out on YouTube when I get a chance.
M
Music Lover
Guest
On the few small handful of soft AC's that are still out there on terrestrial radio, I've heard:
Chevy Van
Sunday Will Never Be The Same
Stoney End (although I don't consider that contemporary)
We have both "Chevy Van" and "Sunday Will Never Be The Same". I remember hearing both those songs on soft AC stations during the 80's, although not all of them.
M
Music Lover
Guest
My music tastes are mainstream yet a bit conservative. That's simply an influence from my parents and other older family members. They made sure that what music I heard on radio didn't go beyond PG. I'm trying to do the same for my child. With AC being more risque' than it was when I was a kid, the only option I have to turn to on my car's FM dial is Christian AC. I can tolerate that but I'm much more into secular music.
At home, I can play kid-friendly AC on the computer. But, I don't have anything capable of streaming Internet in the car. I don't carry around a bunch of CD's unless someone else is driving because I'm just not very skilled with that.
At home, I can play kid-friendly AC on the computer. But, I don't have anything capable of streaming Internet in the car. I don't carry around a bunch of CD's unless someone else is driving because I'm just not very skilled with that.
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At one time, I had a link to the Mediabase What Song Was That for the WW1 Good Time Oldies format. I was able to view the GTO daily playlist. I know they occasionally spun Stoney End and I believe played Chevy Van.
One day a few weeks ago, my link said I needed to subscribe to Mediabase. I don't have the 400.00 a month or so to subscribe to Mediabase since I'm not a radio insider.
One day a few weeks ago, my link said I needed to subscribe to Mediabase. I don't have the 400.00 a month or so to subscribe to Mediabase since I'm not a radio insider.
The poster may have meant it was more contemporary for Barbra Streisand, compared to "People" or "On A Clear Day, You Can See Forever!".
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