Remember When Radio Was Interesting?

[skyrocker]

Hear the Boss-93 Count Down All Day Sunday only on: http://www.reelradio.com/aircheckchannel/acplayer.php

 

[DavidKaye]

Hear the Boss-93 Count Down All Day Sunday only on: http://www.reelradio.com/aircheckchannel/acplayer.php

What makes you think playing oldies that have been played to death for 40 years qualifies as "interesting"? Not even Baby Boomers listen to oldies anymore.

 

[skyrocker]

What makes you think playing oldies that have been played to death for 40 years qualifies

What give you the idea I was thinking, sir?
But now that you have me in that arena-
What gives you the authority to decree what is or is not interesting?
Who gave you permission to publicly take a stance against baby boomers?
Pop Hits that stand through the time of four decades plus, as first presented by broadcasting's pioneers, seem much MORE interesting than the dependably negative text pecked out from one of this site's loudest members.
Those hits have not only been played for over 40 years (you even play them at your sock hops) but across the globe and are recognized as having "here" power, something that you do not.
I spend much more time KNOWING than limited THINKING. I know you would enjoy yourself much more if you spent more time away from your tiny imagined self.
The big picture includes your small POV, the hits counted down, the entire year of memories, listeners pro, con and indifferent, the WAY they are presented, where, the technology involved and the spaces in between. The big picture is inclusive and swallows up your cramped resume, even finds itself kind of fond of you, little screamer than you may sometimes be.
You'll see the magic right in front of your nose (and ears) one day, Mister Got-All-The Answers. You're not wrong, just looking through a peephole too small for your opinions.

 

[landtuna]

Not even Baby Boomers listen to oldies anymore.

Speak for yourself.

 

[LKellerIII]

Hear the Boss-93 Count Down All Day Sunday only on: http://www.reelradio.com/aircheckchannel/acplayer.php

What makes you think playing oldies that have been played to death for 40 years qualifies as "interesting"? Not even Baby Boomers listen to oldies anymore.

Actually, if it's really a KHJ Boss 30 Countdown from back-in-the-day, you'll probably hear a lot of songs you haven't heard in many years - even some you've forgotten that you might enjoy hearing again, as well as some that will make you groan because they're so awful.

There are thousands of old hits that have never been played - much less over-played, on Oldies and Classic Hits radio.

 

[RadioStarOne]

Gee David ever get the idea that not everyone agree's with your opinion on what the boomer's like when it comes to oldies radio? Skyrocker has lived through nearly a lifetime of radio history and you should show a little respect for his having been a large part of that history! Rock On Skyrocker!

 

[DavidKaye]

Gee David ever get the idea that not everyone agree's with your opinion on what the boomer's like when it comes to oldies radio? Skyrocker has lived through nearly a lifetime of radio history and you should show a little respect for his having been a large part of that history! Rock On Skyrocker!

Calling David Eduardo, the man with the ratings books. Oldies aren't being played much on the radio because oldies don't have listeners, even though the Bay Boom (people born between 1946 and 1964) are the dominant population. They're just not listening.

 

[DavidKaye]

I spend much more time KNOWING than limited THINKING. I know you would enjoy yourself much more if you spent more time away from your tiny imagined self.

I personally don't care because I'm not promoting a website, a stream, a radio station, or a music collection. I don't have a horse in this race. My personal musical tastes go all over the map, but few people enjoy the kinds of music I like and I know for certain that a format based on MY musical tastes wouldn't work.

If you knew so much about programming, you'd know that country music gets nearly DOUBLE the ratings of oldies (aka classic hits), according to Arbitron.

Here are the Baby Boom (ages 48 to 64, or people born between 1946 and 1964) listening habits:

Persons 45-54
Country 13.4%
News/Talk/Information 12.5%
Adult Contemporary 11.4%
Classic Rock 7.9%
Classic Hits 7.0%
Urban AC 5.0%
Hot AC 4.0%
All Sports 3.6%
Pop CHR 3.5%

Persons 55-64
News/Talk/Information 19.3%
Country 14.3%
Adult Contemporary 11.4%
Classic Hits 7.8%
Urban AC 4.7%
Classic Rock 4.5%
All Sports 3.4%
Hot AC 2.3%
Contemporary Christian 2.1%

Don't believe me? Here's an Arbitron PDF that talks all about it: http://www.arbitron.com/downloads/RadioToday_2010.pdf

 

[landtuna]

Your own numbers (actually Arby-tron) shows Oldies and Classic Hits both have a significant number of listeners.

You've just proved yourself wrong.

 

[LKellerIII]

WCBS-FM is the second highest rated radio station in New York right now (12+). K-Earth is generally in the Top 10 in Los Angeles. Despite the fact that 40 years have past since many of the Classic Hits being played were new hits - there is some life in the format left.

But to harken back to the title of this thread - these are two 'interesting' radio stations, not jut voice-tracked juke boxes. Even our dull-as-dirt 103.7 is doing better than its predecessor formats on that frequency.

This would seem to disprove the notion that "nobody" - not even baby boomers - are listening.

 

[RadioJunkieMike]

Per the Urban dictionary:

"Queen: (noun). A gay man who can be effeminate or masculine, but always has an air of bitchiness, haughtiness and condescension about him."

 

[davideduardo]

Gee David ever get the idea that not everyone agree's with your opinion on what the boomer's like when it comes to oldies radio? Skyrocker has lived through nearly a lifetime of radio history and you should show a little respect for his having been a large part of that history! Rock On Skyrocker!

Calling David Eduardo, the man with the ratings books. Oldies aren't being played much on the radio because oldies don't have listeners, even though the Bay Boom (people born between 1946 and 1964) are the dominant population. They're just not listening.

I see your point. "Oldies" as opposed to "Classic Hits" appeal to people over 55... mostly over 60. To have been in the music taste formation years (about 13 to 14) in, let's say, 1958, you would be 66 or 67 today. And if you like a diet (not a few superhit songs) of late 50s and early 60's, you are likely over 60.

So much for oldies and boomers.

As far as boomers go, a person born in '64 would be nearly 50 now, meaning that only about 1/3 of the boomers are under 55... the other 2/3 are 55 and older. And out of sales demos.

Boomers are more likely to go for classic hits as your Arbitron data says. But not everyone in the 55 age "zone" wants to hear those songs. Some never liked them. Some are tired of them. Some now prefer other formats... talk being a big one. Some have kept up with current pop music to some extent and like AC.

The fact is that even in the demos that would like classic hits (there are really no pure oldies formats on major signals in major markets to compare) the format is nowhere close to being a majority choice.

Take NY. On a daily basis, only about 11% of 50-66 population uses WCBS FM. The rest use news, talk, Z-100. Lite, Fresh, KTU, etc. In LA, on the same ages KRTH gets around 9% of them daily, and the same sort of stations get the other tune-in... KOST, KIIS, KBIG, KCBS Fm, KFI, etc.

Here is the real test:

If you go to people who listened to KRTH in that 50 to 66 group over an hour a week, only 15% (12/2011) of the 50-66 population listened in an average week. If you go to 4 hours a week, it is just over 6%. On 48-66, the usage drops by another half-point

So, boomers make many choices. Some listen to classic hits, some a lot. But most listen a little, and listen to lots of more contemporary things or to talk. And many, many, never listen at all.

 

[davideduardo]

Here are the Baby Boom (ages 48 to 64, or people born between 1946 and 1964) listening habits:

First boomers were born 1/1/46, making them 66 years, 1 month, 13 days as of right now. So boomers would be, given the definition of |946 to 1964, from 48 to 66 years of age.

 

[davideduardo]

So, boomers make many choices. Some listen to classic hits, some a lot. But most listen a little, and listen to lots of more contemporary things or to talk. And many, many, never listen at all.

Clarification. I should have said "most of those who even listen at all listen an average amount of time (in PPM, maybe 3:30) and listen to lots... "

The point is that classic hits listeners are nowhere near being even 10% of the over-1-hour-a-week listeners in LA, and the format is just one component of a highly fragmented segment that only has commonality in the wide diversity of choices it makes. Listening to 40 to 50 year old songs is an option, but not a pluralistic one.

 

[DavidKaye]

The point is that classic hits listeners are nowhere near being even 10% of the over-1-hour-a-week listeners in LA, and the format is just one component of a highly fragmented segment that only has commonality in the wide diversity of choices it makes. Listening to 40 to 50 year old songs is an option, but not a pluralistic one.

THANK YOU for setting the record straight here. I think that hardcore radio aficionados can be a lot like religious zealots; they have their beliefs, and facts won't change their thinking.

For the record, I like to listen to oldies/classic hits from time to time myself, so I'm not against them. I just think that building a music format on them isn't going to bring in large numbers of listeners.

 

[landtuna]

The point is that classic hits listeners are nowhere near being even 10% of the over-1-hour-a-week listeners in LA, and the format is just one component of a highly fragmented segment that only has commonality in the wide diversity of choices it makes.

I don't need to remind you David that El A has a Latino population that is unlike virtually any other major metro area (with maybe the exception of the Cuban population of urban Miami). It hardly represents the average listening audience found in most other major markets. Even though the Boomer listening habits were once overwhelming in SoCal I would not expect El A to be representative of current trends.

My point with Mr. Kaye was simply that he made a statement that "nobody" listens to Oldies and we all know that isn't true. Whether the Oldies listeners in any one market is sufficient to support a station of that genre is a slightly different topic. I am an online listener of KODS in Reno. I realize it isn't a major market but Americom seems to make a living airing mostly local spots and doing it with live bodies behind the mic.

 

[DavidKaye]

I don't need to remind you David that El A
My point with Mr. Kaye was simply that he made a statement that "nobody" listens to Oldies and we all know that isn't true.

I NEVER said such a thing. Look back over the thread and you'll find that "Lkeller" talked about "nobody" listening. I didn't say it.

My critique was about the comment "Remember when radio was interesting?" I said "What makes you think playing oldies that have been played to death for 40 years qualifies as "interesting"? Not even Baby Boomers listen to oldies anymore." I'd say that when oldies/classic hits comes in a distant 3rd or 4th then that means Baby Boomers are not listening to oldies anymore. They're listen to news/talk and even country music, which accounts for nearly double the listenership of classic hits/oldies.

 

[landtuna]

I NEVER said such a thing. Look back over the thread and you'll find that "Lkeller" talked about "nobody" listening. I didn't say it.

The following is your direct quote: "Not even Baby Boomers listen to oldies anymore."

The fact is, they do, in significant numbers. And so do a lot of non-Boomers.

 

[Tom Wells]

Radio was ( and IS ) at its best when the right hand ( brain) is not dictated to by the left hand (brain).

Let not your right hand know what your left hand is doing. ( Gosh, who said that ? )

If the only thing that matters is money, the result is predictable and uninteresting.

It's much more fun to indulge the listeners than the advertisers.

Openly admitting it's all about $$ is the kiss of nihilism.

I've always liked many, many types of music.

And always rejected terse format definitions.

Yes I'm 50, but I've never felt "my age" at any age.

I've always felt I was a more of a spectrum of things than any definitions I've had imposed upon me.

 

[RADIO TRUTH]

WCBS-FM is the second highest rated radio station in New York right now (12+). K-Earth is generally in the Top 10 in Los Angeles. Despite the fact that 40 years have past since many of the Classic Hits being played were new hits - there is some life in the format left.

But to harken back to the title of this thread - these are two 'interesting' radio stations, not jut voice-tracked juke boxes. Even our dull-as-dirt 103.7 is doing better than its predecessor formats on that frequency.

This would seem to disprove the notion that "nobody" - not even baby boomers - are listening.

WCBS-FM is an extremely bad example as the median year of their music is 1976 and they play almost nothing pre 1968.