Q100 and WILD

[Wildstyle K]

Weekend's over, and premium choice is back.

 

[mike7586]

For all the people who say dance hits like David Guetta don't work in the South or Atlanta, I think you're wrong.

Just watch this:

http://www.atlnightlife.com/tv/view/811/811-David-Guetta-at-Opera.html

If David Guetta can come here multiple times to packed out crowds that should be enough for radio stations like Q100 and WILD to play his songs (other than "Sexy Chick" and I'm sure his other songs would be well received by audiences on both stations).

I know a lot of people who think top 40 radio in Atlanta sucks - I actually haven't met one person that likes it but they'll listen from time to time because there isn't anything else other than iPod or satellite radio. Now I personally think Q100 has gotten a lot better and WILD still has a lot of work to do (and they really need some better sweepers), I just wish they would be more open to music other major market top 40 stations play. WILD would be a great station if they mixed their overnight playlist with their daytime one. It's just missing *something* right now.

 

[Wildstyle K]

Well, two things I'd say are missing from WWVA for sure are "rocketeer" by Far East Movement and "hey baby (drop it to the floor)" by Pitbull in REGULAR rotation. I have 100% faith that those songs would work for WWVA. As a matter of fact, I'm beginning to notice that most, if not all of the (specific) songs I make the most hoopla about here end up working wonders once finally added to a station! I talk about quite a bit of songs, but there are only a very few solid ones I've strongly, heavily, and seriously "suggested", (Like "Grenade" - Bruno Mars,...etc). on WWVA. Can't remember them all, but... it's not that many songs I've felt strongly about WWVA or anyone else adding outside of mixshow play. They say "a station never got hurt by a song they didn't play". Well, I can bet that it also wouldn't do any harm if Pitbull - "Hey baby" and FM - "rocketeer" were added full time to day time play on WWVA (within a certain period of time, of course).

I would've also "hoopla'd" about Jeremih's "down on me", but I see that got added to WWVA quick. I've been holding back on saying this, but I'm sure Tinie Tempah "written in the stars" will blow up as well... lets see if I'm wrong on this one. I am glad that WWVA did add PINK, since they were already using Katy Perry and La Roux (which I remember mentioning this concept before). Lastly, probably just my opinion, but I strongly believe that WWVA should really just use the regular version of "raise your glass" by P!NK. Out of all songs, that's the one song I'd assume most stations would want to use the original of in regular rotation for mass appeal.

Out of all things, I do believe it's the playlist and signal (in addition to lack of proper promotion / people being aware of its existence) that has been "keeping WiLD back" the most. Not the people on air...etc. This is why I'm speaking primarily on playlist issues and musical selection. Most kids on the street aren't keen on what any station / format "should" sound like, but they surely do know when "something isn't exactly right" or when a certain station theme style is not keeping them from wandering off or scanning the dial.

 

[mike7586]

Does anyone else think it's weird WILD plays the Enrique - Tonight version without Ludacris?

 

[kilamanjero]

I personally prefer the "real" CHR/rhythmic sound to the "ATL regional sound", but I agree in that they could be fused together. But I don't even think WILD does the best it could of representing ATL/Southeast and actually some other stations do a better job that aren't even in the south. Where is Usher - More? Gorilla Zoe - Echo? Cee Lo Green? More FloRida songs? More Akon songs? Where is Pitbull? I mean, I know stations in Los Angeles that play Lloyd - You, Trick Daddy - Sugar, 112 - Peaches & Cream, DJ Felli Fel - Get Buck In Here, Lil Jon/Youngbloodz - Damn!

Anyways, I don't see how meshing the two together wouldn't work. Your basically playing songs the rest of the country hears/established hits while mixing in more "regional/local" songs. Other stations do it and so can WILD... and who knows, maybe they are going to go in that direction. I've noticed that they usually play songs in the middle of the night for a little bit before moving them into the daytime playlist.

And they really need to get a single, better signal.

That's very true. It is a form of "song testing" which V-103 does as well on late nights and weekends with songs. WPGC 95.5 in DC used to do this as well when it was considered the CBS Radio flagship station for the rhythmic & urban divisions.

 

[mike7586]

Something is going on at WILD today and it sounds great! Their playlist is killing it - now it sounds like a party station. I hope they keep it up.

 

[Wildstyle K]

Interesting.. In the back of my mind, I figured this would happen - that they'd eventually switch to make the day match night programming, but I didn't mention it because I also figured that there was just as high a chance that... something else... could've also happened... and I didn't want to pick and "deliver the wrong prediction" here. I'm glad that (so far) the more mainstream approach all day and night was actually what happened instead of the other thing I somewhat feared. I'll wait to see what happens next before saying too much more, even though I somewhat have my thoughts on what all this tweakage might mean "long term" for the station..... Really, I have no solid idea of what's going on, but.. I feel both great and uneasy about the longevity of the station format at the same time.

The playlist isn't as "fresh" as it was when they first officially flipped to a rhythmic chr, and they no longer sound as heavily Atlanta hip hop regional (although you can still tell it has been designed for the more mainstream Atl sound), but it still seems like a good step back towards the right direction with more of a "positive-promising feel" for now. There are, once again, some big and upcoming national hits missing from the playlist (from what I've seen so far TODAY.. ..Jeremih - down on me, Far East Movement - Rocketeer, new Black Eyed Peas.. S&M.. etc.), but maybe they'll eventually be added (or re-added) back in. At least it's much less lacking than what it was before. It will be interesting to see how this all goes and how long it'll last.

 

[mike7586]

I also noticed they got rid of Maverick.. he's not on the website anymore and DJ Thomas was on today instead of him. I wonder if they got a new program director which might explain the changes? Does anyone know?

 

[Wildstyle K]

I notice the night and day are still different. I think the 24 hour programming structure is still the same as it was last week, but just with a newly tweaked day time format that sounds more similar to the overnight format.

 

[Wildstyle K]

Ok, I like the more mainstream flow on WWVA, but I'll admit that I don't see the overall current day time playlist, as it is now, doing too much to help ratings too quickly, or even at all. I could get more specific, but I'll just leave it at that for now. Two years from now... or even in 2012, will this format still exist at WWVA? That is the question in my mind right now. I strongly hope that this time, what I'm thinking is wrong.

 

[mike7586]

Ok, I like the more mainstream flow on WWVA, but I'll admit that I don't see the overall current day time playlist, as it is now, doing too much to help ratings too quickly, or even at all. I could get more specific, but I'll just leave it at that for now. Two years from now... or even in 2012, will this format still exist at WWVA? That is the question in my mind right now. I strongly hope that this time, what I'm thinking is wrong.

It's only been 2-3 days... how can you expect a change in ratings?

 

[Wildstyle K]

What I meant was if they keep things up - as they are right now, playlist-wise, for an extensive amount of time... I don't see it helping ratings. I heard that they may be "testing", but it seems like they are "starting over and testing" new things too much. Then, it seems like every time a new strategy is tried, for some reason, it causes a few fully established hit songs to always end up lacking from the new tweaked playlist. In addition to that, something about the musical arrangement during the morning & noon portion of the day just doesn't "feel right". Take all this and put a challenging signal on top of all of that. The fact that things seem unstable - and have been for a while - is what worries me about the long term of the format.

I remember back during the ice/snow storm, when there were no mixes during their scheduled times for a few days and Ashton Martin Music was played three times in one hour and thirty minutes. I mentioned it and remember being told it was probably due to the ice storm. I'm not sure how factual this may be, but my thought ever since was if the weather outside can be allowed to, somehow, cause things to go array with a playlist and mixshow schedule, then... how solid is the overall desire to make this format be all that it can be?

Also, after all the things I've heard about how the rhythmic format could never work in Atl. and all the "anti-rhythmic" talk - tied in with everything that WWVA has been through so far, I must admit I'm losing some hope. WBTS was a bit "safer" to "get by" with on a full powered signal, but when you put something on a weak signal, you cannot "fool around" as much and get away with it - especially in a town where people already grew up with the tradition of listening to a different sound and will easily be tempted to touch the dial..

My main worry here is that things wont go right for too long, then someone will say "well, it's not working" then kill the format before giving it a full, proper chance. | After all, think about who owns WWVA... that company doesn't seem to joke around - with revenue & ratings.. (I remember back when KZON first went rhythmic and I was bashed for saying they'll some day make it to the top... of course until 2 years later when ratings popped out, and BAM! KZON finally beat all the competition. There was once a time I also believed in WWVA that much, but.... as much as I'm trying, I cannot force myself to keep believe in WWVA that much anymore. I hope I'm proven 102% wrong this time, and I hope I'm someday made to look foolish for ever thinking WWVA wouldn't maintain the format for over two years...) I know to some of you, it's just a radio station you don't care for, and you couldn't care less if it mysteriously vanished from the face of the earth. As for me, I love the format, and strongly hope that it's a format that still exists when I step off the plane at Heartsfield... whenever I finally get to packing and move there like I am / was "supposed to" a WHILE ago, now.

 

[mike7586]

^I understand your concerns as I'd also hate to see the station go, but I think they are on the right track now. I mean, this sound works EVERYWHERE. The only issue I see is the signal in the long run. 95.5 The Beat might have played it safe, but the ratings weren't good for awhile... I mean, the station did get pulled for talk radio which is doing a lot better ratings wise.

I personally think Maverick was a mistake and they realized that. Now they need to start over and be consistent this time. Then get a better signal.

 

[Wildstyle K]

Actually, when I said "WBTS was a bit "safer" to "get by" with on a full powered signal", I meant that it was safer to "slack" a little bit and still get by than it is now on WWVA, on a lesser signal. People are more willing to be lazy and just sit through certain songs / commercials / programming...etc. on a clear signal than they are on a signal with any type of static or challenge. When I said "when you put something on a weak signal, you cannot "fool around" as much and get away with it", I meant that you can't mess around on a signal that already requires effort from the listener just to pick up in some places, because the fact that the signal is weak is already a factor when it comes to giving people a reason to want to flip around. I'm still not exactly sure how big of a signal WWVA has, but I'm sure that if it is as bad as people have been saying it is in Atlanta, a lot of people wont settle for "mediocre" or "musical instability" on a station where you must put some effort into just getting the signal clearly.

I also don't understand how my family in Atlanta had no idea that WWVA even exists, and when I asked them to search for it, they couldn't find / get it. But then again, the 105.7 signal couldn't be that bad - especially if Groove gained some popularity with it alone. I also remember the past WiLD 96.7 being known (and loved) by many folks when I came to Atlanta in late 2001, so both signals must not be as bad as I'm imagining. I wonder if WWVA's total coverage is stronger or weaker than WHTA was when they first debuted on 97.5? After all, WHTA remained successful after all these years.. but then again, they were moved to a stronger signal.

I don't know much about maverick, so I can't talk bad or good about him.. after all, he did keep WBTS at at least an acceptable level in ratings. BUT, I will say that whoever was in charge of the current WWVA format playlist prior to October 2010 but after mid September, they probably should've just left them alone.

All the on-air people are great, especially more-so during the noon and evening hours and weekends. Elvis Duran mornings are pretty cool as well. I get to hear them on our heavy pop rock lean hit music station, KMVA.

 

[Wildstyle K]

I guess I'll just erase all memories of the past few months that have caused me to lose some hope in WWVA and see them as they are today & forward. The only problem with this, however, is that this is easy for me to say as an WWVA/ClearChannel outsider, who doesn't have the revenue and business aspect to worry about. I'm sure ClearChannel isn't "erasing their format performance history" and "giving them a clean slate". I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the future holds...

 

[mike7586]

I guess I'll just erase all memories of the past few months that have caused me to lose some hope in WWVA and see them as they are today & forward. The only problem with this, however, is that this is easy for me to say as an WWVA/ClearChannel outsider, who doesn't have the revenue and business aspect to worry about. I'm sure ClearChannel isn't "erasing their format performance history" and "giving them a clean slate". I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the future holds...

Well it was Clear Channel's fault for hiring Maverick or whoever the program director was and trying to turn the station into The Beat 2.0. The fact they let him go shows that they know they made a mistake and that is what I think messed things up. There is clearly a gap in the market for this type of station and nobody does it better than Clear Channel (their top 40 and rhythmic stations are the best I think).

Also, I see what you are saying about the signal. It's not bad in Atlanta and in the north metro area, but south, east and west is where it doesn't reach far enough. That's why they have 96.7 but that signal really only serves the southern part of the metro. They need ONE SIGNAL and need to upgrade the signal strength for more coverage or switch signals somehow. Does anyone know if 105.7 can even be upgraded to cover the entire area?

Like I said, this sound works everywhere - big, medium, small markets - it doesn't matter. There is no reason why this cannot work here in Atlanta - the #7 radio market in the country.

 

[ShawtyBlack_ATL]

The 1st WiLD 96.7 had more of a Hip-Hop party station feel to it. Back then, Hip-Hop was huge and Pop material wasn't so much. Remember, WiLD went from Rhthymic to Urban switching positioners from "Atlanta's Party Station" to "Atlanta's Little Station" (V103 was "Atlanta's Big Station"). I remember they had live club broadcast from Club Kaya on Peachtree St and the mixshows were intesne!!! I thought thats the direction the newer WiLD was heading in, but the current format seems to be the exact product from 95.5 THE BEAT. I remember seeing commercials and billboards for GROOVE, but Clear Channel refuses to do any advertising for WiLD.

 

[mike7586]

The 1st WiLD 96.7 had more of a Hip-Hop party station feel to it. Back then, Hip-Hop was huge and Pop material wasn't so much. Remember, WiLD went from Rhthymic to Urban switching positioners from "Atlanta's Party Station" to "Atlanta's Little Station" (V103 was "Atlanta's Big Station"). I remember they had live club broadcast from Club Kaya on Peachtree St and the mixshows were intesne!!! I thought thats the direction the newer WiLD was heading in, but the current format seems to be the exact product from 95.5 THE BEAT. I remember seeing commercials and billboards for GROOVE, but Clear Channel refuses to do any advertising for WiLD.

The current format now is nothing like 95.5 The Beat. And they have put up numerous WILD billboards around the metro area replacing the Groove ones...

 

[Wildstyle K]

The station seems to be musically "more on point" for the format. Despite the fact that there are certain songs that only play during five nights a week, it still sounds better. It's still shocking to see some of these songs being played in Atl., but I'll eventually "get used to" it. I'm extremely bewildered with the amount of plays "down on me" by Jeremih is receiving during the day time. I really thought the song would be hotter than that on rhythmic / top 40 stations in Atl.

I'm also very surprised that Lady Gaga's "born this way" is passing successfully there. As a matter of fact, I'm just surprised that that song was successful, period.

 

[ShawtyBlack_ATL]

i like dj thomas in middays