Spring ARB for GSP

[Hammer5]

John-

I don't know you, but I would agree with your assessment. No one seems to be given a chance (long-term) on Magic. Best wishes to you in the future.

 

[Scooter Lesley]

Most of the time, when I login/stepin here, I jump strattle of Entercom, and beat them like a rented mule. Whether you like it or
...you don't like it, my posts always crusade for the truth. Some don't like the truth because...it Unearths Resposibility,...it Shedules Servatude,...and it Demands Accountability!!! So, not to disapoint,
Marv, bring on the leather: The Black Hat, the Pointy-toed Boots, and that Cat-of-nine shares. To the controling Boobs at Entercom, who continue to fire the Messengers, when they should fire the Message,
MY 102 was on the ropes, and ain't got enough sense to finish the fight! John & Lauren were your best chance, but you screwed it up!
What you needed was a smart PD, and a revamped playlist. Someone with some local vission, not telephone advise from some pencilneck desk pilot Consultant in Boston. I can list ten PD's, including myself, that could have asisted John & Lauren into the Top 3. You foolishly fire your Morning team, with no one else on deck. Then, you over-work poor Stacie & Lee, while handing Zac & Marnie every Morning listener that you had. John & Lauren needed to talk alot, and when they did stop, the songs needed to be the right ones, not the (punchout)tired ones, and the stop-sets needed to be only 3-minutes max. CUTTING YOUR TROAT WITH A $2 KNIFE!

 

[carolinaradio]

Okey dokey: time for something rare in our business--honesty.

As 1/2 of the morning team that was fired from 98.9, I'd be shocked if you heard the same format this time next year. I can say this: it's a tough situation. We were asked (told) to cut our breaks down, talk almost never, play comedy clips from late night shows, and "get credit for those laughs"....the result, in my opinion, was an instant alienation of our base--a base we worked hard to build early and often. We'd get emails, FB posts, tweets...all asking "where did you guys go?", and "why don't y'all talk about your kids and life anymore?"


Let the record always show that no matter how much/little experience I have as a jock, it was not my decision to take what was an entertaining, effective, clean AMD show for AC (while playing more songs per hour than any other CC/EC station), and scoop the guts and heart out of it. You had two second-gen radio pros, and a golden opportunity to leverage that name recognition. But, that would have come at the risk of losing one "Survivor" song an hour. God forbid.

Yes, my dad is Bill. And while that doesn't qualify me for a Marconi, it has allowed me total access for over 25 years to the GSP media market. I've been around all the great shows and jocks, almost all of whom have been sent packing by way of corporate cuts. I was given 1 full book--in the middle of some reformatting--to show our worth. In the W12 book for F25-54, our TSL was 2:15, with a 9.8 share in that demo for the FEB trend....when we were doing the show as designed by the guy who hired me. Unfortunately, he left, as did our vision.

I may have not been the answer for that station in morning drive. But I can assure you: we were not the problem.

Hi, John. If Magic goes, it will have been totally avoidable. A properly programmed Mainstream AC is gold in a market like this. Magic is so off track that they are not an indication of what the format can do. When Magic (and MY) did Mainstream AC properly, it wasn't uncommon for both to have a 11-12 share combined. Yes, the AC format has slipped a little since then, but remains extremely popular/viable, especially in a conservative southeastern market like this.
I would not be surprised if Entercom already has an idea of what they want on 98.9 and are, on purpose, letting the AC format on there die. IMO, they don't have the smarts or knowledge to turn the station around at this point, and from what I hear, aren't trying.

Under the last PD at Magic, I think the station sounded the best it had in ages for a while (Chase was obviously doing something right, now programming AC Q-101 in San Antonio). Magic has played in the background at work for years, and I remember thinking it really sounded together. Now it's a mess, just musically speaking. Those same, horrible, burned out tracks over and over. The management/PD is either clueless or doesn't care. The situation in mornings just shows that they are the same with the air talent. The station just sounds like a jukebox in the morning now. I agree with everything you said (as well as Scooter Lesley's final paragraph). It's not the talent killing the station...it's the brains, or lack thereof, behind it. You two had potential. Wishing you and Lauren success.

 

[awp69]

I would not be surprised if Entercom already has an idea of what they want on 98.9 and are, on purpose, letting the AC format on there die.  IMO, they don't have the smarts or knowledge to turn the station around at this point, and from what I hear, aren't trying.

I have to wonder if MY thinks this is the case too with some recent "tweaks" again. While they were up a bit in the Spring book having gone pretty much full steam ahead with Hot AC, they've made some strange reversals lately. As I mentioned in one of the other threads, playing things like Madonna again and even Cher (yes, Cher! on the same station that plays Linkin Park!).

MY's made some great strides lately, hopping on things like Fun.'s "Some Nights" (there was a great mostly rock-oriented set this morning that included that, Gotye, U2, Blink 182 and R.E.M. -- but that's getting off track). Yet there's still that nagging feeling like they think they can grab some more of Magic's listeners. Perhaps an attempt at trying to put a nail in the coffin of Magic, even though it doesn't help the younger Hot AC demographic.

It's not like MY has a big "lead" over Magic, but if 98.9 doesn't do something soon, they'll continue the downward spiral.

 

[awp69]

Holy crap. To reiterate my last point, MY's last 5 songs: Neon Trees' "Everybody Talks", Maroon 5's "Harder to Breathe", Grover Washington's "Just the Two of Us", Adele's "Someone Like You", Train's "Drive By".

Talk about a WTF moment. And this was on-air. Even with all the new stuff, MY may just be able to kill even it's own slight lead with things like that.

 

[John Ellis]

First off, thanks for the kind words and well wishes. I'll be back on air soon enough.

And, let the record show that there's no hard feelings between myself and management over there. It happens. Lee and Stacie are great, and I hope they continue to do well in this market.

But, again, just going on what I know.....changes will likely happen. Again.

 

[carolinaradio]

Holy crap. To reiterate my last point, MY's last 5 songs: Neon Trees' "Everybody Talks", Maroon 5's "Harder to Breathe", Grover Washington's "Just the Two of Us", Adele's "Someone Like You", Train's "Drive By".

Talk about a WTF moment. And this was on-air. Even with all the new stuff, MY may just be able to kill even it's own slight lead with things like that.

That's one of the strangest things I've ever heard. I was thinking today about how good they have been sounding for the mostpart. I don't care for the 80s music but I'm sure they have some reason to believe it works. That song, I just don't know.

 

[awp69]

That's one of the strangest things I've ever heard.  I was thinking today about how good they have been sounding for the mostpart.  I don't care for the 80s music but I'm sure they have some reason to believe it works.  That song, I just don't know.

Yeah, aside from some of the 80s backsliding like Madonna (Cher, well, that's even more offbase too), I never in a million years would have thought I'd hear something like "Just the Two of Us" with the way they've been going. This morning I was thinking how good they were sounding overall and even the morning show is getting a little better. But this really was incredibly odd.  Almost like it was a mistake. Maybe it was?

 

[freqdev]

Holy crap. To reiterate my last point, MY's last 5 songs: Neon Trees' "Everybody Talks", Maroon 5's "Harder to Breathe", Grover Washington's "Just the Two of Us", Adele's "Someone Like You", Train's "Drive By".

Talk about a WTF moment. And this was on-air. Even with all the new stuff, MY may just be able to kill even it's own slight lead with things like that.

did some research on mediabase. the songs you show are correct without grover washington. if you are using yes.com as your source they monitor streams and not broadcasts. the grover washington played more than likely as a mistake on the stream during the commercial break that mediabase showed between maroon 5 and adele

 

[awp69]

did some research on mediabase.  the songs you show are correct without grover washington.  if you are using yes.com as your source they monitor streams and not broadcasts.  the grover washington played more than likely as a mistake on the stream during the commercial break that mediabase showed between maroon 5 and adele

I was listening to the stream. However, it showed up on their site's own Last 10 Played, which usually doesn't show things I've heard on the stream during commercial breaks. I've actually have heard songs on those breaks that I didn't recognize and have gone to their site to see if they were listed to see who they were and couldn't find them. The songs hit one after the other without the usual padding I hear on the stream during those breaks. But mainly, it was the fact that after I heard it, I went immediately to MY's own website (not the streaming site) and saw it listed. Maybe for some reason this one did show up. It does seem way too odd to have been played live.

 

[carolinaradio]

Songs listed on the Last 10 Played list most of the time include the songs that went over the stream. That's been my experience. A lot of times there is a glitch and they don't show (I've had this on a lot of ClearChannel sites).

Yes.com (who is far from the poster child for accuracy) didn't list the song either (they don't list the filler songs on the stream). It's not entirely accurate, but more accurate than the Last 10 Played page at wmyi.com most of the time. I agree that even though it was just online, I would think it was still a mistake.

 

[awp69]

Songs listed on the Last 10 Played list most of the time include the songs that went over the stream. That's been my experience. A lot of times there is a glitch and they don't show (I've had this on a lot of ClearChannel sites).

Yes.com (who is far from the poster child for accuracy) didn't list the song either (they don't list the filler songs on the stream). It's not entirely accurate, but more accurate than the Last 10 Played page at wmyi.com most of the time. I agree that even though it was just online, I would think it was still a mistake.

I guess the times I've checked the Last 10 have probably been for Clear Channel's "spotlight" artists, which I don't think I've ever seen on MY's list. Obviously, Grover wasn't in the "spotlight". That he was on the list and that the timing just seemed too perfect between songs duped me into thinking it was live. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[MarkSC]

Why is it ok to play an out-of-place song on the stream? I thought digital was "a priority"?

 

[upstatealert]

The commercial loads are different over the air and in the stream. Filler songs are used to replace commercials that play over the air but not on the stream.

 

[Scooter Lesley]

Without question, there is a good arguement on "both sides of the stream", but at the risk of sounding like a Urologist, a "dishonest" stream is quite common. To me, covering the commerials is just another method of acquiring "Office Listening", and thus, their imatation of Satellite radio. Most Commercial AC's are hell bent on Programming for/after "Office Listening", and it is simply a battle that they can no longer win. Satellite radio has claimed that ground. The product is commercial free, and the subscriber can write the cost off of their taxes, as an "Entertainment Expense". It's these pencilneck Consultants that continue making "a long run for a short slide".
Why they pay these Boobs for their continuously failing advice is beyond all practicality!

 

[upstatealert]

It's not really a "dishonest" stream. Some commercials are not authorized to run on the stream. This means the stream and on-air broadcast cannot be 100% simulcast. Since they are not identical Arbitron does not allow the ratings for each to be reported as a combo (they are each rated in their own and steams only show if they go over the threshold minimun) so broadcasters sell over the air and streams as unique products. Over the air broadcasts are sold using AQH ratings while streams are generally sold on a CPM basis. Since they are sold separately this causes spotloads to be different on streams which is why "filler" songs or PSAs are needed on streams to fill the holes created by on-air commercials that do not air on the stream.

Once commerical copyright issues are resolved and all commercials are authorized to play on streams 100% simulcasts with streams and over the air broadcasting may become more common.

 

[awp69]

I do tend to agree that a mistake on the stream is almost as bad as one made on air. It's not like MY in any way shape or form could serve as "background' music for an office to begin with. Just a few songs before the pretty much easy listening "Just the Two of Us" they were playing Neon Trees.

And the station has really, really been pushing their iHeartRadio app and streaming. So, it's not a place where they can settle for doing something that's clearly wrong for the station on the stream. I doubt many Traditional AC stations even play that song anymore.

 

[MarkSC]

Assuming they did a music test before kicking off the format a year ago, and I'm sure they did, why wouldn't they simply go a little deeper down that list for their stream filler material rather than playing stuff that doesn't fit? Or at least make intelligent choices for the filler songs. Online listeners don't know a stream filler from a regular playlist song, and shouldn't have to care. It's just more of the same: lack of attention to detail.

 

[carolinaradio]

Assuming they did a music test before kicking off the format a year ago, and I'm sure they did, why wouldn't they simply go a little deeper down that list for their stream filler material rather than playing stuff that doesn't fit? Or at least make intelligent choices for the filler songs. Online listeners don't know a stream filler from a regular playlist song, and shouldn't have to care. It's just more of the same: lack of attention to detail.

Whoever did the music test last year should be fired, assuming there was one. The station only started getting its act together early this year.

I remember weird AC songs in the webstream last year as fillers after they made the change. They definitely didn't fit the rest of the station. I know of people that stream (local) stations in their office via computer, so it almost IS like that's going out over the air for some.

Grover Washington, Jr. and Bill Withers belong on Adult Standards, not even AC in 2012.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Grover Washington's "Just the Two of Us"

Seriously? That's a good song. What's a good song doing on My 102.5?

Was it the Caribbean-sounding version that used to air on the smooth jazz station where I live?

No, that one probably wouldn't work either.