Party

[radiolover78]

Would another dance station like Party do well in South Florida?

This would seem like the area that can have a successful dance format.

How about "Party 97.3"?

Actually, from what I've heard, Cox ran it into the ground.

 

[radiolover78]

(never mind)

 

[The-Major]

Would another dance station like Party do well in South Florida?
This would seem like the area that can have a successful dance format.
How about "Party 97.3"?
Actually, from what I've heard, Cox ran it into the ground.

I know this post was quickly 'never-minded'; however, I'm not one to walk away from an interesting topic of discussion on here - especially one that has to do with a dance station aqui en Miami.

YES - a dance station would do well here if it were programmed properly. The proof in the Jello Pudding Pops is the excellent ratings that 'PARTY-93.1' got during much of its first year on the air (2002). Those of us who were fans of that first year of innovative dance music on the South Florida radio airwaves know why it eventually failed.

NO - As much as I dislike the long-running format and sound of '97.3-THE-COAST' it's not going anywhere anytime soon. It's a solid A.C. station, and it's got lots of fans. I'm not one of them.

OK - I feel better now !

THE MAJOR

 

[top4odj]

YES - a dance station would do well here if it were programmed properly. The proof in the Jello Pudding Pops is the excellent ratings that 'PARTY-93.1' got during much of its first year on the air (2002). Those of us who were fans of that first year of innovative dance music on the South Florida radio airwaves know why it eventually failed.


THE MAJOR

I see your point & even some love for the station mixed in, but I have to strongly disagree. 96X Tried in the 70's with Disco96 during the strong days of Disco. They tried to be a club on the air...in the same way Party 93.1 tried. It may have done well the first year, but as I see it, the "New" factor wore off. You could have some of the best Club DJ's mixing for you, but the amount of hard core clubbers vs the average listener who would tune in, would not keep it a viable format. WTMI was a classical station for years, but the numbers weren't there. When they dumped the format, alot of listeners were up in arms, but the $$ figures & ratings showed there weren't enough hard core listeners and just like that...gone.

You could say the same for Love94. It's not a true Jazz station, it hasn't been for years. Even they modified the format of what they play. For being the only "Jazz" station in this market & all the jazz fans in South Florida, they've really never had powerhouse ratings....mediocre at best.

And 99.9 Kiss FM...The only Country station (Yea Sun Country WQAM tried it and well....I need to stop laughing..) and they've never had stellar ratings either. Specific formats really need to do something that has their signature on it....not be a hybrid or copy cat....and their isn't enough corprate brain power to allow that to happen.

 

[radiolover78]

How long has WFLC been an AC station?

 

[top4odj]

First it was WAIA till Sept 1986 when it changed to WGTR, finally becoming WFLC in late May 1990. The first few years they were a train wreck. No personality, bland, liner card readers. Then they woke up and smelled the radio coffee.

 

[954]

First it was WAIA till Sept 1986 when it changed to WGTR, finally becoming WFLC in late May 1990. The first few years they were a train wreck. No personality, bland, liner card readers. Then they woke up and smelled the radio coffee.

And before that, WIOD-FM.

I always thought it funny that WIOD was 610 and 97.3 while WGBS was 710 and 96.3.
Switched positions.

73s!

73s

 

[jcolletta275]

Stuart, that was one of the problems that 93.1 faced: they treated the station as a "club of the airwaves". I think one of the things we proponents of the format have pointed out time and time again is that the station has to have personality and not just be a never-ending mix show. No, Disco96 didn't work... but South Florida (and I may get slammed for this) wasn't as young and vibrant then as it is now. The club scene wasn't as big... the format didn't have that strong of a base in the area at the time. Today... heck, there are more dance clubs in South Florida than I can count. Miami is the home of the Winter Music Conference, one of the most prominant dance music events in the world (and there's a reason why it's hosted here). We have, quite possibly, the largest potential audience for a dance station outside of New York... and maybe Los Angeles. There's a big difference between then and now. It's a niche format, yes... but one that could continually pull in respectable numbers if done properly.

 

[The-Major]

First it was WAIA till Sept 1986 when it changed to WGTR, finally becoming WFLC in late May 1990. The first few years they were a train wreck. No personality, bland, liner card readers. Then they woke up and smelled the radio coffee.

Rock fans all over South Florida - all 300 of them (just kidding) - were in an uproar when '97-GTR' flipped to '97.3-THE-COAST'. Why they were tied-up, dragged, and forced to listen to that other rock station '103-SHE'. I personally also 'flipped' over to '103-SHE' during the Summer Of 1990 (or as I refer to it 'The Summer Of Fun') when Y-100 stopped playing rock music and went in a more HOT-A.C. direction. Those were known as the annoying 'Y-100 Without All Of That Hard Rock And Rap' days. After about 5 months of 'SHE' it got even more annoying than the bland Y-100, so I went back home to the 'Y'.

THE MAJOR

 

[radiolover78]

Rock fans all over South Florida - all 300 of them (just kidding) - were in an uproar when '97-GTR' flipped to '97.3-THE-COAST'. Why they were tied-up, dragged, and forced to listen to that other rock station '103-SHE'. I personally also 'flipped' over to '103-SHE' during the Summer Of 1990 (or as I refer to it 'The Summer Of Fun') when Y-100 stopped playing rock music and went in a more HOT-A.C. direction. Those were known as the annoying 'Y-100 Without All Of That Hard Rock And Rap' days. After about 5 months of 'SHE' it got even more annoying than the bland Y-100, so I went back home to the 'Y'.

THE MAJOR
[/quote]

Seems like Miami radio was a bit rocky and interesting in 1990.

 

[djeddy]

i think the only way you can achieve a successful run as a dance music station is if that demographic is really listening. yes, miami is a hot bed for dance music, but its an underground thing. it always was an underground thing. dance heads never really listened to it on the radio, they listened to it in clubs, on mix cd's their friends made, and on the internet. and yes you can blame the lack of direction cox had with party...but you can also blame Power for establishing the 'wrong' selection of music and sticking to it. there was so much more out there than 'george acosta'.

groove radio 103.1 in LA lasted only a couple of years (they took power mixer mohammed moretta) and that too started off pretty awesome. they had an open ended playlist that ranged from techno to house to trance to massive attack...but it never garnered the ratings..and then went off to the safety songs..repeating them over and over and eventually killed it. the swedish eagle was pretty disappointed.

i think if there were more groundbreaking stations that were willing to take risks and not be bullied by these conglomerate corporate pinheads. it would've established a different sound, and perhaps create a new and different genre..something that's more meaningful than lil jon.

 

[The-Major]

Seems like Miami radio was a bit rocky and interesting in 1990.

To say the least. The late-1980s and early-1990s were a very turbulent time for Miami radio and television. Radio stations were flipping formats and being bought out by various companies, and then there was also the big channel and network switcheroo involving WTVJ (CBS to NBC), WCIX (FOX to CBS), and WSVN (NBC to FOX). It was a fun time on the airwaves. It was a 'Party' (hence the leftover Subject title of this thread).

THE MAJOR

 

[radiolover78]

I don't recall any major format flips happening as of the past few years other than Party and didn't Zeta change?

 

[The-Major]

I don't recall any major format flips happening as of the past few years other than Party and didn't Zeta change?

EXACTLY - 'PARTY' flipped to '93-ROCK' during the great St. Valentine's Day Massacre Of 2005. That was just a few days after 'ZETA' (94.9) became WMGE (Hispanic Urban or 'HURBAN'). Some of us on here think that 94.9 will soon flip again to become WIOD-FM or WINZ-FM - 'South Florida's New Source For FM News, Talk, & Information'.

THE MAJOR

 

[jcolletta275]

i think the only way you can achieve a successful run as a dance music station is if that demographic is really listening. yes, miami is a hot bed for dance music, but its an underground thing. it always was an underground thing. dance heads never really listened to it on the radio, they listened to it in clubs, on mix cd's their friends made, and on the internet. and yes you can blame the lack of direction cox had with party...but you can also blame Power for establishing the 'wrong' selection of music and sticking to it. there was so much more out there than 'george acosta'.

Actually, Power had been doing things right originally... and for quite some time, no less. They had a wide library and delved into every corner of it when they were at their peak. It was between '96 and '99 that they really started to get repetitious and dull. You can't really say that dance has always been underground, either... just by your comments about trading CDs and listening online (especially when we had no OTA dance outlets or the ones we had were on their last legs of existence), you've proven it's a popular genre that isn't underground and hasn't been so in the market for well over a decade. The problem is that the outlets that have done dance in Miami have either screwed it up royally or have just decided to drop it for some unfounded reason.

i think if there were more groundbreaking stations that were willing to take risks and not be bullied by these conglomerate corporate pinheads. it would've established a different sound, and perhaps create a new and different genre..something that's more meaningful than lil jon.

You're absolutely right on that note. You take the risk out of radio (which is exactly what companies like Clear Channel, Cox, etc. have done), you take the originality (and fun, no less) out right along with it. What's on our dials right now isn't exactly what I would call adventuresome radio.

 

[djeddy]

Some of us on here think that 94.9 will soon flip again to become WIOD-FM or WINZ-FM - 'South Florida's New Source For FM News, Talk, & Information'.

THE MAJOR
[/quote]

i'm pretty certain 94.9 will flip..probably in two years time. that hurban format doesn't have legs..especially when 99% of that genre's beat is exactly the same.

what could it flip to? well i heard there is this new format that's becoming popular in the bigger markets...they call it the jack format..modeled after 93.1 Jack FM in los angeles. basically it plays new and old from every genre..from easy listening to rock to dance to reggae. think of it as shuffling around your 6,000 piece collection.

this can be a refreshing idea for miami

 

[davideduardo]

Gee, I think all rock songs sound the same. That is because I dislike rock. To me, reggaetón has vastly more variety, because I like it.

Mega Houston just broke into the top 10. Don't count on Mega Miami going away.

 

[954]

Jack on 93.1? I sure hope not.

what could it flip to? well i heard there is this new format that's becoming popular in the bigger markets...they call it the jack format..modeled after 93.1 Jack FM in los angeles. basically it plays new and old from every genre..from easy listening to rock to dance to reggae. think of it as shuffling around your 6,000 piece collection.
this can be a refreshing idea for miami

Hi Eddy... welcome to R-I...

This has been discussed at length on R-I before.

There's even a board for it, I think. At least there
was one under the old management.

I hope they don't flip to Jack or any of its imitators.

Here's what's wrong and right with Jack, IMHO.

The fact that the Jack format is popular is
basically a testament to the gullability of the
American public and its innate need to be popular.

The way I understand it, Jack is for people who
don't care what genre of music is played, as long
as it was a hit. In other words, they have no
taste, no personal preferences, no favorite genre,
no experience. They just want to listen to songs
that are popular with everyone else, according
to the word of testers and consultants.

There's nothing wrong with a mix of different
genres, if that's what you want. I've transferred
all my CDs to my PC so I can listen to a random
mix of oldies, classical, jazz, country, folk, reggae,
opera, ska, klezmer, bluegrass, ragtime, western swing,
big band, parodies, and comedy, with no effort.
I also have Irish, Chinese, Jewish, and Indian music
in my mix. But they're all songs I personally picked
before uploading them. OTOH, Jack is someone
else's choices.

I once had a girlfriend who probably would have
loved the Jack format. We'd go to a restaurant and
she's ask the waitress what's popular. She
wouldn't look for something she liked on the menu.
She'd defer to public opinion to choose what she
would eat. I kid you not!

That's the type of consumer who likes Jack. Maybe
that's ultimately good for advertisers, because
listeners with no minds of their own will be
especially receptive to their messages. Just
remember to stress how much everybody likes
your product or service! "Use xxxx because it's #1"
would be all you need to say!

Hey, if you're making money in the jack business,
good for you. Congratulations!! But if I meet
someone on the street and she says her favorite
station is Jack, you know my first impression
would be "airhead!"

73s from 954

 

[954]

Gee, I think all rock songs sound the same. That is because I dislike rock. To me, reggaetón has vastly more variety, because I like it.

Mega Houston just broke into the top 10. Don't count on Mega Miami going away.

Hi David.... Haven't seen you post in a while. welcome back.

Very interesting. Yeah, I can't picture any hurban format going away in this market either.

73s

 

[The-Major]

what could it flip to? well i heard there is this new format that's becoming popular in the bigger markets...they call it the jack format..modeled after 93.1 Jack FM in los angeles. basically it plays new and old from every genre..from easy listening to rock to dance to reggae. think of it as shuffling around your 6,000 piece collection.
this can be a refreshing idea for miami

I don't think so. Jack, Bob, Ken, Dave, Mike, Dick, and all of his other cloning buddies is a fad that has already run its course. It's only been successful in a few pockets of the country. I don't think that it would do well at all here in our extremely competitive market.

Aside from the whole WIOD-FM / WINZ-FM idea I'd personally like to see a traditional HOT-A.C. station (or even an 'Adult Hits' station) sprout up from the ashes of MEGA. How about 'MIX-94.9' ?

On the complete opposite end of the musical spectrum maybe it's time to return classical music to the South Florida FM radio airwaves ? What do you think about that 954 ? Maybe Clear Channel could do a better job with it than Cox did ?

THE MAJOR