You have found stations that play what you want. Listen to them while they're still around before they too go away.
Don't expect others to cater to you. It's not going to happen. You are "waiting for Godot."
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Radio changed for the old folks
- Thread starter wibgradio99
- Start date
You have found stations that play what you want. Listen to them while they're still around before they too go away.
Don't expect others to cater to you. It's not going to happen. You are "waiting for Godot."
Oh, I'm not in that target demo...not quite yet, but know people that are, that's all.
...and, how those people's brain work seems to be a lot like our OP in this discussion, nothing more than that.
They (those people) lament the change, never kept up with the change, and are not going to move on. They get their kicks with bitching about how it used to be.
*I* recognize the industry has changed, since I was sawing apart 1/4" tape recorded at 15ips way back in the early(er) days of the medium.
The thing "old folks" need to know is that the artists who make the music hate the fact that their music can be heard on free radio. They've gone to congress complaining about it. Here's a story about Dionne Warwick:
Dionne Warwick: No radio royalties for performers due to 'flat-out procrastination' by Congress
Pop music legend wants Congress to pass the bipartisan American Music Fairness Act to require FM radio stations to pay royalties to recording artists and musicians.justthenews.com
Here's another article with Sam & Dave's Sam Moore:
Dionne Warwick, Sam Moore & Industry Leaders Join Legislators Issa and Deutch to In-troduce Bipartisan Bill for Fair Pay to Musicians | Law Commentary
A bipartisan effort supported by legendary musicians is underway, led by Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Darrell Issa (R-CA). Deutch and Issa were joined by celebrities including Dionne Warwick, Sam Moore, Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphys and others as Deutch and Issa introduced new legislation to...www.lawcommentary.com
Artists don't get paid when their music is played on broadcast radio. Only streaming. The broadcasters say if this royalty is forced on them, they will stop playing music. So this is another thing that's changed from 30 years ago. Today, you have artists demanding to get paid.
I had to do a double-take when I saw Sam Moore's name attached to that second article. He died in January of 2025. I wonder now if he's making ghostly visits to Congressmen from beyond the grave. You know, like Jacob Marley did with Mr. Scrooge in that Charles Dickens novel...
If they know enough to participate in online message boards, they aren't technologically challenged. They own cell phones and computers. They're lazy. They want others to cater to them. They want to enjoy modern conveniences while demanding radio stations operate like it's the 70s.
Boomers grew up with the world catering to them. There's a thread here about how the rise of boomers listening to FM killed Beautiful Music and classical music on the radio. They got used to having it "your way," as the burger commercials say.
At one time, Philadelphia had a commercial classical station: WFLN
Now that station is WBEN.
The date on the article is 2021. He was opposed to his music being played on free radio. Lots of 60s musicians joined him. Unfortunately the clock ran out for a lot of them. Nancy Sinatra has taken up the fight her father started in the 50s:
This article is from 2008, but she's still alive and active in the fight. The point is the artists who made the music from the 60s don't want it to be played on free broadcast radio. They will tell you they benefited from airplay when it was new, but not anymore.
One of the sad things about us humans is that, with relatively few exceptions, we don't have enough money and have to go out and earn more. I've even noticed this among the very wealthy (I have met a few of these people because of my educational background) and it has made me, and a few others, wonder if the greed and ambitions of humanity can be fully realized given the constraint that resources are limited by the resources available on this planet. Our never-ending ambition and greed are both the greatest asset and the greatest liability in the free market distribution system. I can't say any more than this as it would be both off-topic and political.
I've talked to Nancy and a lot of these musicians. It's not about greed. Nancy has all the money she and her family will ever need. It's about respect. She feels the music her father created is being stolen. In their view, the people making money playing their music are stealing from them. Their view is that the fans of older music should be willing to pay for it in ways that respects the music and the artists who made it.
The people who listen to oldies radio don't do anything for the artists they claim to love. They just feed the bank accounts of the radio stations. I'm not saying I agree with that view. I'm usually on the other side of this discussion. But I don't disagree with their right to have that view. I think oldies fans should hear both sides of the discussion.
I think a respectful way to handle older music is the way it's being done at WXPN. It's being presented with context. Newer music by older artists isn't ignored. Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney are still making new music, and it should be heard.
My musical tastes run mostly to eclectic rock and Americana (old and new). Back in the day, unless you lived somewhere with a free-form formatted station (unusual after the early 70's), it was hard to hear anything outside the mainstream. The listener-supported model, and the advent of streaming, have been a godsend for those of us who want a broader format. There are lots of them around now, WXPN, KUTX Austin, Colorado Sound in Denver, etc that are available to stream. There's never been a better time for those with eclectic tastes to hear what they like.
I don't know about pre-70 oldies, standards, and the like, but surely there are options. When I lived in Perth Australia there was a community station licensed to serve the "senior community" that played lots of older stuff, big band, traditional jazz, MOR. They're still there... Capital Community Radio
I remember years ago hearing my Dad complain that radio no longer played his big band favorites (Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey etc) Life goes on!
Because no one wants to go broke doing something so dumb.
And there it is. Right on cue.
Life’s unfair to you. Eat a cookie.
And get off my lawn.
Too darn bad. It’s not profitable.
Radio locator lists 100 stations in the US/Canada under Nostalgia format.
This may be of interest. They appear to have multiple translators around Philadelphia
WRDV - Radio Delaware Valley - Public Radio in the Delaware Valley
Public Radio in the Philadelphia area
www.wrdv.org
There is no such thing as a station "costing nothing to operate".
Most ARE profitable and that is why every month there are more of them.
Advertisers, generally, don't want to spend money to reach older "seniors" for sound marketing reasons. But they desperately want to reach young Hispanics with larger families.
Comprehensive List Of Stations Still Airing the Soft AC/Easy Listening Format?
Stations that I know of that play some mixture of Easy Listening, Soft AC or Standards: WHLC 104.5 Highlands, NC (they air a beautiful music-like format with some Soft AC and a ton of ads) KAHM 102.1 Prescott, AZ (similar to WHLC, but with a somewhat more traditional EZ Listening playlist)...
radiodiscussions.com
What are some good station recommendations that still broadcast primarily Standards like KLBB?
Are there some good recommendations for stations that mostly still play "Adult Standards", in the US? Like KLBB 1220 used to? KLBB Used to be a Loved One's fav. station, Rest Their Soul. I think of them whenever I hear this kind of music. (EDIT: I know of Uptown 1010 WMIN, but they make it...
radiodiscussions.com
Some stations listed might have changed since these threads were created.
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I've mentioned this on another thread--If there are those that long for 60s/70s style Top 40 radio. Just stream 940 KYNO. It will bring you right back - no matter what market you grew up in...
Zenith Classic Rock
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Zenith Classic Rock out of Waterford, Ireland plays primarily 70s prog rock, reminds me of stations from back in those days, WEBN (Cincinnati), WMMS (Cleveland), KZEW (DFW), etc. No commercials, limited announcements.
Look...
For 100+ years, AM was there for 99.6% [± a few folks...Amish, Mennonites, Ultra-Orthodox Jews & others who abstain and/or are technology-averse] and everyone knew where to find it.
So, here we are, fully three to four generations advanced from the start of all of that nonsense, and so there's still folks out there that like using their buggy-whips on their Model T's.
Maybe we can trade them - a set of points and condenser instead of the buggy whip?
Dedicated internet radios should be out there and available. 📻
Buy one for grandpa & set it up for him.
Hey, there's a Father's Day gift idea!
For 100+ years, AM was there for 99.6% [± a few folks...Amish, Mennonites, Ultra-Orthodox Jews & others who abstain and/or are technology-averse] and everyone knew where to find it.
So, here we are, fully three to four generations advanced from the start of all of that nonsense, and so there's still folks out there that like using their buggy-whips on their Model T's.
Maybe we can trade them - a set of points and condenser instead of the buggy whip?
Dedicated internet radios should be out there and available. 📻
Buy one for grandpa & set it up for him.
Hey, there's a Father's Day gift idea!
Good point. I was referring to standalone internet radios, like Grace Digital.