I am noticing more and more in the morning that Star 94 is playing more random hits from the 90s and 2000s while playing mostly hits from the Hot AC charts all day. I heard "Drops of Jupiter" from Train yesterday and "Torn" from Natalie Imbruglia (#1 1998 song and of the 90s) a couple of days ago. Their playlist is also leaning heavily towards the Hot AC chart lately and Q100 seems to be slightly leaning towards a more mainstream CHR approach with less recurrents these days especially at night. I have noticed two different types of Hot AC stations across the country...ones that play the current Hot AC chart with a few 80s/90s/recurrents and the ones that play mostly 80s/90s/recurrents and very little off the Hot AC chart. I think Star is becoming the latter of the two. I believe this is what the two stations should be doing...showing two different personalities. Star going completely Hot AC and Q going completely CHR/mainstream. Because for the last two years there has been little difference between the two. Any thoughts?
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Star 94 Sounding More Hot ACish These Days
- Thread starter RadioDoogie
- Start date
You're exactly right. It appears to have been a concious decision to go Hot AC. I guess they figure they can't win in the morning so why go directly against Q100? Specialize in one thing, and maybe Q100 listeners who don't like the rhythmic stuff will come.
Personally, I don't think this will have much of an effect on ratings. There's so little room between B98.5 and Q100. Also, Star has still continued with its "hit music" positioning.
Q100 is perceived as the hip station right now. But that image would go away quickly if the market had a real CHR. Perception notwithstanding, there's more of a hole between Q100 and The Beat than between B98.5 and Q100. But to do that at this point, Star would probably have to blow up some things including the Star 94 moniker.
Personally, I don't think this will have much of an effect on ratings. There's so little room between B98.5 and Q100. Also, Star has still continued with its "hit music" positioning.
Q100 is perceived as the hip station right now. But that image would go away quickly if the market had a real CHR. Perception notwithstanding, there's more of a hole between Q100 and The Beat than between B98.5 and Q100. But to do that at this point, Star would probably have to blow up some things including the Star 94 moniker.
Roddy, "hit music" is a somewhat vague positioner. Of course, it screams "CHR" to us, but technically 94.9 The Bull could say they're playing "hit music" if they're playing country hits. That having been said, I wouldn't be surprised either way if Star kept or trashed that tagline after the New Year.
I agree that this is probably the best move for Star at this point in time. My hope is that they maintain a certain musical edge by staying active on new Hot AC-exclusive stuff (Lifehouse, David Cook) AND borderline Pop material while also delving into some of the abandoned 90's and 00's golds and recurrents - i.e., not just playing the burned-to-a-crisp "I'm Yours" and "This Love" every few hours. Throw in some old school Star records like Tonic and The Wallflowers to give the station some character. If they establish a distinctive, upbeat Hot AC sound (see WPLJ or KALC for examples), they could a) sound awesome and b) occupy a unique niche in the Atlanta market. The airstaff is already in place - Cindy & Ray have an uphill battle with Bert in the market, but I think they'll fit nicely into the HAC sound, and Heather and Darik are both superb talents.
As far as Q100 is concerned, congrats on being the only self-proclaimed CHR in the market, but I can't say I'm thrilled. The station has potential after 10am, but like whitfm suggested, I don't think Cumulus cares much. The personalities (Brittany and Johnny, who I think are both talented) are obviously restricted and the music is stale. Nevertheless, they're top-of-mind in the market now and have cross-generational appeal, so their ratings aren't going south anytime soon. It's sad, however, that CHRs in smaller Southern markets put Q100 to shame - see Kiss 95.1/Charlotte, 107.5 The River/Nashville, and XL106.7/Orlando for prime examples.
I agree that this is probably the best move for Star at this point in time. My hope is that they maintain a certain musical edge by staying active on new Hot AC-exclusive stuff (Lifehouse, David Cook) AND borderline Pop material while also delving into some of the abandoned 90's and 00's golds and recurrents - i.e., not just playing the burned-to-a-crisp "I'm Yours" and "This Love" every few hours. Throw in some old school Star records like Tonic and The Wallflowers to give the station some character. If they establish a distinctive, upbeat Hot AC sound (see WPLJ or KALC for examples), they could a) sound awesome and b) occupy a unique niche in the Atlanta market. The airstaff is already in place - Cindy & Ray have an uphill battle with Bert in the market, but I think they'll fit nicely into the HAC sound, and Heather and Darik are both superb talents.
As far as Q100 is concerned, congrats on being the only self-proclaimed CHR in the market, but I can't say I'm thrilled. The station has potential after 10am, but like whitfm suggested, I don't think Cumulus cares much. The personalities (Brittany and Johnny, who I think are both talented) are obviously restricted and the music is stale. Nevertheless, they're top-of-mind in the market now and have cross-generational appeal, so their ratings aren't going south anytime soon. It's sad, however, that CHRs in smaller Southern markets put Q100 to shame - see Kiss 95.1/Charlotte, 107.5 The River/Nashville, and XL106.7/Orlando for prime examples.
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