What follows is just one radio listener's two cents worth. I stumbled upon these forums trying to find out who was broadcasting on 98.1, and this led to my browsing some of the other discussions going on. This topic about classic rock on FM raises my own feelings of frustration as a local radio listener.
I wonder if the idea of a classic rock station that only plays album rock from the 60s and 70s really makes sense. Is the thinking that this kind of station is suppose to pull in the listeners who are part of some baby boomer cohort? I would identify myself with this kind of population, if that's the case, but I can say that this kind of format isn't going to work for me. I'm much more likely to be listening to WUTK, WFIV, or WUOT than I am WIMZ, for example. And, even slightly shifting this kind of play list from what WIMZ is drawing from isn't likely to win me over for very long. The root of the problem is found by looking at what drew me into listening to FM radio music to begin with.
Forty some years ago, FM radio was a means to be introduced to new and exciting music, which was outside the realm of the pop music that was being played on AM radio. Early FM radio, like I listened to, depended on having a DJ who was into this music and could draw together selections that they liked and share them with their listeners.
While I still enjoy listening to music from the heyday of album rock and roll, my interest in being exposed to new and different music didn't ossify when I turned 30 years old.
What is missing in the current, predominant format of FM radio, which appears to be built around pre-selected and limited libraries of music, is any sort of human element. Particularly, there's no musical taste involved. This would require getting back to DJs who know music and can build a playlist from their own exposure to music, which hopefully goes beyond what my own music experience is.
It's remarkable how difficult it is to find anything like that these days. The closest I can come up with, locally, is what WUOT does in the way of classical and jazz programming, what WUTK does to some extent with some of their programming, and what WDVX does in the way of Blue Grass/Americana music. I guess some of the commercial stations may bring in some syndicated programs that explore a range of music beyond the typical, cookie-cutter playlists, but I can't say that I've really tried to figure out the schedules for them. Actually, the closest thing to what I'm describing, which I've been able to find, seems to be on the internet (for example, Radio Paradise). Does Radio Paradise, as an example, offer everything in the way of music that I could want? Far from it, but their taste in music is close enough to mine that I find most of what they offer interesting, whether it be a "classic" rock selection or something more contemporary.
I think FM radio is missing an opportunity to better craft programming that really appeals to my age group. We grew up on FM radio as our gateway to music, and in the meanwhile, we probably haven't all gone the way of downloadable content and iPods (yet). As others have expressed, if all you want to do is listen to a limited slice of the music scene, satellite radio does a better job than commercial FM radio (and for the internet radio scene, there's Pandora, as well). Personally, I find these music-only options of limited appeal, since they lack personality or soul.
(Sorry for the rant.)
