Star 94's New Positioner

[RoddyFreeman]

Star 94 is now using "Today's hits without the rap" as its positioner.

I loved the "Hit music from 2K through today" one that they've been using. "Today's hits without the rap" is used by a lot of stations, but I guess there's a reason why it's so widely used.

In any case, the execution of both of them on Star 94 sounds great. I believe Rachel McGrath is the voice.

 

[ShawtyBlack_ATL]

I never cared for this poistioner ot Pop stations that block out rap lyrics.

 

[chrocket87]

That positioner couldn't sound more Hot AC if it tried and that's exactly what the audience thinks it's format is in many markets. Ask a few people in the Hot AC demo if they've ever listened to Hot AC and watch all the deer in the headlights looks you'll get!

 

[JVR]

There's only one problem with "Today's Hits without the rap"...most Top 40 or "Pop" hits today DON'T have rap. Top 40 has moved into the Neon Trees/Mumford & Sons/Taylor Swift adult direction, with songs that don't contain rap.

To Roddy's point- whatever slogan Star is using, it'll always sound great through the direction of Scott Lindy and the talents of the Voiceover artists.

 

[jabba17]

Reminds me of 96 Rock's mid-80s "cool it with the heavy metal" switch to classic rock...groan...

 

[atlantaboy]

Slogan sounds really outdated to me - Don't You Worry Child, Sweet Nothing, Titanium, etc. don't have "rap" in them

Should be "Today's Hits Without The Dance"

 

[AJ JAM]

Anyone remember cowboy from the orginal radio info click?? I would love to hear his opinion of this...considering he loved Star. Is this WSTR's first time using that liner. I thought I have heard it on Star before..

 

[AJ JAM]

Also how does this position them apart from Q and Power because neither of them play rap either

 

[Wildstyle K]

Hey, Power does play the big hit by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and I'm also sure they play big hits by Pitbull, Flo Rida, and stuff with people like Ludacris and Lil Wayne or Black Eyed Peas or Nicki Minaj in it.

 

[AJ JAM]

Lol....ok....u mean fake rap....boy I miss Wild already

 

[atlantaboy]

The new tagline might have more to do with dropping the 2000s Alt/Rock tracks during the evenings, probably in response to 105.7 flipping

It's a weird tagline to use against Q100, since they play so little rap over there...

 

[RoddyFreeman]

The new tagline might have more to do with dropping the 2000s Alt/Rock tracks during the evenings, probably in response to 105.7 flipping

It's a weird tagline to use against Q100, since they play so little rap over there...

I think the positioner should work really well for Star. My only "complaint" was that a lot of stations use it. But of course, people in Atlanta don't know that.

They could have said, "Today's hits without rhythmic." But rhythmic sounds like something good. Rap sounds like something bad, or something their listeners wouldn't like. (Even rap stations don't say rap; they say hip-hop.) Remember, just as in politics, part of the objective is to make the competition look bad in addition to making yourself look good.

I think the liner differentiates Star from Power 96-1 and Q100, both of which play more rhythmic product (and not really rap). And really, "today's hits" separates Star 94 from B98.5, whose positioner is "80s, 90s and today."

 

[Wildstyle K]

Lol....ok....u mean fake rap....boy I miss Wild already

It's not fake rap. They're still rapping. Just because it has a certain type of beat behind it or the person who sang on it is a different race doesn't make it fake. Listen to the rap / word & sentence arrangement structure of each of these artist's lyrics and notice how they use the exact same writing / rapping formulas that other rappers do in traditional rap songs. The only difference with these artists is that the instrumental style or the race of the artist is different from the norm so it's automatically put into certain categories and rejected by others. Same thing happened to Eminem... Calling them fake rappers is like calling Justin Timberlake or Ne-yo a fake r&b artist.

 

[Wildstyle K]

They could have said, "Today's hits without rhythmic."

Probably only 1 percent of their listeners (or people in general) would know what they were talking about.

 

[AJ JAM]

Lol....ok....u mean fake rap....boy I miss Wild already

It's not fake rap. They're still rapping. Just because it has a certain type of beat behind it or the person who sang on it is a different race doesn't make it fake. Listen to the rap / word & sentence arrangement structure of each of these artist's lyrics and notice how they use the exact same writing / rapping formulas that other rappers do in traditional rap songs. The only difference with these artists is that the instrumental style or the race of the artist is different from the norm so it's automatically put into certain categories and rejected by others. Same thing happened to Eminem... Calling them fake rappers is like calling Justin Timberlake or Ne-yo a fake r&b artist.

Jeez u took my post a little too seriously.... I thought the "lol" indicated a light hearted tone....guess not

 

[atlantaboy]

I feel like a lot of the jocks sound awkward saying this tagline, because it's too negative - Star has always been an upbeat station, and when they get to the "without the rap" part, they're not sure whether to be upbeat or not

I think they should change it to something like "Today's Quality Hit Music"

 

[amos]

a positioning statement is only to plant an idea in your listener's heads.

a station that turns over the powers every hour can still have a liner that says "playing a better variety of music," because TO THEIR LISTENERS they play the variety they enjoy.

to listeners outside of a mainstream chr or rhythmic chr demographic, a main turn-off is any music they PERCEIVE as rap. that's usually not actually rap, but more like hip-hop. and, as i'm sure you've noticed, the latest "thing" in chr music is having the hip-hop artist do a breakstrain verse in the middle of an otherwise non-urban sounding song. payphone - maroon 5 has a verse by wiz khalifa. as long as you love me - justin bieber has a verse by big sean. songs like that typically have "no rap" edits.

so, if a station's target demographic says that they don't like something they call "rap," a station would be smart to have a positioning statement saying "we don't play rap."

chr's strength is also it's weakness. it plays whatever is hot in the moment. a few years ago the positioning statements were things like "all the hits without all the teeny bopper music." one station i know of said things like "we're not your little sister's radio station." of course that was when n'sync and backstreet boys and all the other boy bands were so big.

what star is really trying to say is "all of the music you like. without that stuff that makes you tune-out."

 

[RadioPro65]

The good news for Hot Adult (Hot AC/Adult Top 40) stations -- or as "someone" used to call them "25+" -- is that songs like "Payphone" and "As Long As You Love Me" are offered to them WITHOUT the "rap" inserts (and for others, they may edit out such a bridge). So, the song that their listeners want them to play can be aired "without the rap" -- which to those familiar with the station means just that -- but NOT without the songs they like that contain "rap" ("real" or "fake" -- I'll leave that to my friends who program Hip Hop, Urban, Rhythmic CHR). As a "popular music" programmer and consultant, I tend to stick with such "rap-free" versions for "Hot Adult" or AC, but wouldn't think of doing so for Mainstream CHR/Top 40 -- but I still wouldn't promote "rap" on a pop music station as a term that's used in liners, sweepers, positioners, etc. After all, everyone knows that Top 40 Radio, now reaching more older demos, doesn't play "rap" (*wink wink*) -- even if their Rhythmic CHR cousins do!

"Star 94" is one of the best programmed stations in the U.S. today for reaching the "25+" audience!

[By the way, that "someone" to whom I referred is, of course, Mr. "Ross On Radio" who STILL offers some of the best insights into radio music programming of anyone currently going. And he's still going strong at http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/radio/! I don't always agree with him 100% -- but I ALWAYS respect his thoughts, ideas and insights 100%!]

 

[atlantaboy]

The good news for Hot Adult (Hot AC/Adult Top 40) stations -- or as "someone" used to call them "25+" -- is that songs like "Payphone" and "As Long As You Love Me" are offered to them WITHOUT the "rap" inserts

Wow! Hot ACs can play "As Long As You Love Me" without the rap insert!!! That's such good news!

 

[RadioPro65]

The good news for Hot Adult (Hot AC/Adult Top 40) stations -- or as "someone" used to call them "25+" -- is that songs like "Payphone" and "As Long As You Love Me" are offered to them WITHOUT the "rap" inserts

Wow! Hot ACs can play "As Long As You Love Me" without the rap insert!!! That's such good news!

Hmmm ... a bit of sarcasm -- but I agree with your point! It's not good news for/to you. I only mentioned "As Long As You Love Me" because the person posting before me mentioned it. More important to "conservative" (musically, not politically) stations was "Payphone." But if you check airplay charts for Hot AC/Adult Top 40, you likely noticed that "As Long As You Love Me" charted fairly high within that niche when it was a CHR current -- and I've yet to personally hear a Hot AC play the version with the rap bridge! It's not important to you (or on a personal level, to me) -- but it is important to the adult-targeting station that wants to "remain relevant" without losing some of its demo that would change the station for 30-seconds of rap (or, if one prefers, "a rap-like" insert). That's why such a station might want to promo "Today's Hit Music ... without the rap".