starting a classic 50-60's format...any ideas

[Prais]

I would also caution against throwing out the "over-played" titles. they are "overplayed" for a good reason. Also, don't play songs "too low" on the chart. Few people remember or care to hear "stiffs.".

Do local research, yourself. Run "music battles" on the air, maybe daily (we did and people realize you care about the music).
Play 2 "competing" songs, take votes for 5 minutes, Play the winner.
do a commercial set, play "the challenger, announce the 2 songs, take calls, commercial set, play the winner. Repeat.

We called it the "Music Battle" and after a year, had a day where we pitted the winners against each other - ti; we had a CHAMPION. (we produced it like a ""Championship fight" with "in this corner,..." etc.

I got this from Bob Moomey at WIND, Chicago about 30 some years ago.

Then we sold it to a supermarket "fighting against high prices",....

TREMENDOUS. It's a great way to get people INVOLVED in your place,
and RING your phones, and also wondetrful listener music research.

You're welcome!!!

 

[hornet61]

No matter what music you play on AM, you'll need to get your hands on an FM translator and stream on-line. Otherwise, you'll be throwing good money after bad. I would caution against throwing out the "over-played" titles. Try to grab the playlists of successful Oldies station during the Oldies heyday (the 90's) and use them as a template. Best of luck to you!

what successful oldies Stations

 

[Prais]

Are you saying, yours will be the first one successful?

 

[hornet61]

Are you saying, yours will be the first one successful?

I asking, what successful oldies stations are there to model after ....they have all sold out to the Classic Hits format....actually i also misread your post, I didn't notice you refering to the 90's...I thought you mean't Oldies Station today. actually I agree with you.

 

[LibertyNT]

successful oldies stations are supposed to move on to classic hits.
Oldies progressed to keep up. just like Top 40 Radio.
soon the Nostalgia stations will play 50's/60's
Oldies will be 70's 80's
and Classic hits will be 90's & 00's.

If they progress like they do.

 

[hornet61]

progress I hope not...
1958
hot 100
top Lps
R&b Charts
country charts
easy listening charts

today:
rhythmic AC
ac
soft ac
hot ac
adult hits
county
classic country
Rock
classic rock
alternative

there are about 30 more categories....heaven help us if we have more progress

 

[Prais]

NOTHING EVER stays the same.

I'm age 61.

Though I enjoy 40's and 50's music, the MAIN audience for it is dead/dying. The 50's and 60's music attracts people who (advertisers say) are too old. They (we) ARE OVER 60.

Successful radio cannot exclusively play that music and thrive. If you love it as I do, you'll buy an i-pod, or use Pandora or something similar.

Twenty years ago, both of those formats could thrive. Today, not so much. You need KILLER LOCAL salespeople, who approach the same age, so they "understand" the music, and the people they must sell.

A 25 year old salesperson wants to sell Lady Gaga, not Glenn Miller, not Elvis, not even the Beatles. WHY isn't Amos and Andy on the radio any more? It WAS very successful - my dad said, you could walk down the street and hear Amos and Andy on the radio in this house, then the next house, then the one after that

...and so were oldies stations - around the mid-70's. Today, not so
much.

This format would work on the internet. "Pretend radio."

 

[TheFonz]

The 50's and 60's music attracts people who (advertisers say) are too old. They (we) ARE OVER 60.

But these are people who actually have money in their pockets...................they're not in hock up to their eyeballs!

 

[Prais]

The "David Eduardo" argument begins. There are 75 threads on RI with this theme. His thesis here, is correct.

In short,
You are correct, but the advertising community thinks otherwise, and that community is who puts national ads into media. ALLL of the national ads go to stations attracting younger demographics. Theree are NO buys for (say) people 35+, the age group that this type station would attract.

Unless you have tremendous experienced local salespeople, you may have a large, loyal audience, without any national advertising support. The same station, attracting a younger demographic, would be an "easier" place to sell ads for, as the ad reps are more familiar with the product. Lady Gaga vs. Connie Francis or Ella Fitzgerald.

Please, spare me any arguing about this. Just "search" David Eduardo, and the good explanations and the rebuttals are ALL there, in depth.

 

[TheFonz]

The "David Eduardo" argument begins. There are 75 threads on RI with this theme. His thesis here, is correct.


Please, spare me any arguing about this. Just "search" David Eduardo, and the good explanations and the rebuttals are ALL there, in depth.

O.K., I will. I'm just surprised that YOU brought it up (again). The answer to all of this, of course, is for all music radio stations to program the same music (for those under 35 who still listen to commercial radio), or program infomercials 24/7, or close the station doors.

 

[Silkie]

The "David Eduardo" argument begins. There are 75 threads on RI with this theme. His thesis here, is correct.


Please, spare me any arguing about this. Just "search" David Eduardo, and the good explanations and the rebuttals are ALL there, in depth.

O.K., I will. I'm just surprised that YOU brought it up (again). The answer to all of this, of course, is for all music radio stations to program the same music (for those under 35 who still listen to commercial radio), or program infomercials 24/7, or close the station doors.

The old stuff just doesn't wear out. I grew up listening to the new music, and then the next generation grew up loving what I listened to, and now a new generation has "discovered" it while rummaging around in my collection looking for the junk they have heard here and there. All of a sudden they decide there is no time for the bling junk they have been getting fed, and when there is an oldies concert on PBS they love it! Tiny fingers trying to snap along and itty bitty feet in itty bitty flip flops busting moves. It is fabulous.

 

[Prais]

With respect, Fonz, NO!

The answer is, you'd best have a BUSINESS PLAN ON PAPER so you can figure out WHO is your audience, HOW to serve them, and WHERE will the money come from. Don't be "trapped" into playing them, just because you love oldies. I love oldies, too, but my WALLET and my mortgage, and my wife, and my 2 college age daughters are VERY fond of MONEY.

Maybe you can figure a way that something ELSE makes money/gets listeners and the music is just there?

WMAQ, Chicago gave away ZILLIONS of dollars ("WMAQ is gonna make me rich!") and was a COUNTRY station. The music WAS secondary to the great "top 40 sound" of the country station and the giveaways (and great jocks and nbc news, and 50kw blowtorch signal). The day the format changed TO country, the audience was SMALL, as time passed, it became very clever, and with the giveaways, (thanks to GM Bert Sherwood who is on Facebook and is a cordial old guy and PD Bob Pittman*) was stealing audience from everybody.

*Google "wmaq" and Pittman's name is in the first entry - some 30+ years after he was there).

In the small Indiana town where we owned our first (of 4 stations), I sold Sunday religion back to back all day. It made the station break even, early in its history, and took the big pressure off getting local advertisers (on a station that the previoius owner ruined). It was one of the smartest things I ever did (except marry the right girl).

What else will you do BESIDE the music? Farm? Sports? Remotes? The music can be "another reason" if you give the audience something ELSE.

Following Silkie's logic, you should go "classical" if "the old music just doesn't wear out." Some of that is 300 years old. FAMILIAR is more important that OLD. You need a demographic study of the area population and run "music battles" to get local favoriites. Really, SALES is alot more important, anyway.

What sort of experienced SALESPEOPLE do you have?

Capice?

 

[Silkie]

Following Silkie's logic, you should go "classical" if "the old music just doesn't wear out." Some of that is 300 years old. FAMILIAR is more important that OLD. You need a demographic study of the area population and run "music battles" to get local favoriites. Really, SALES is alot more important, anyway.

Um...I grew up listening to Wolfman Jack, watching Dick Clark and Soul Train, buying 45 RPMs. I only mentioned three generations of people, not going back even farther than 300 years, but as long as you mention classical music, it never hurts to watch some of the better cartoons instead of some of the ugly garbage that is on television today. There was a lot of classical music in those.

It is the long in the tooth people who understood the importance of saving a little bit when they could, and it is they who are spending the money.

 

[Prais]

Yes, you are correct, Silkie.

Good luck tying to find sales people who can SELL "oldies" format radio to business people in their 20's/30's.

Attractive women in their 40's/50's can do it, people who sell real estate or cars can do it. To get good ones you'll need 25/30% commission and a draw, for the first few months I'd throw in a bonus for annuals and meeting high goals.

AFTER there is some good billing =THEN you can play radio station and fool around with the music. TIL THEN it really doesn't mater.

 

[billyg]

I'm curious about the station missammusic is trying to get. 1K, 5K, 10K or more wattage and the size of the market?

From what I've read about WDJO, Crusin' 950 in Denver, and Real Oldies 1600 in Albuquerque these AM oldies formats can be a modest success, but you'll have to work your butt off to make it successful. Good Luck!

 

[Silkie]

I cannot recall a decent oldies station without enough advertising, although I can think of a couple of jocks at local stations who just didn't get the commercials. Maybe advertisers pay extra to tell where the ads go.

 

[Tom Wells]

In the last week or two I've distributed 10 or so CDs recorded from my home pt 15 AM 1620, that has lots of deep oldies and oh-wow songs. So far everyone has enjoyed them and likes the obscure stuff.
Some had a hard time believing it was an automated station I have at home.
All expressed the opinion that they liked hearing oldies that are mostly overlooked.


This means nothing in terms of how you'd sell it, only that there are people receptive to formats that advertisers won't buy.

At 100mw, I can afford to donate the electricity.

 

[Al Timiter]

hornet 61: what successful oldies Stations

Assuming you meant to place a question mark after that, try WWSW Pittsburgh, Kool in Denver, WCBS-FM New York, WJMK-Chicago, K-Earth-Los Angeles, WQSR-Baltimore, WGRR-Cincinnati, WFOX-Atlanta, WMGI (not sure if those are the right calls)-Cleveland,
and scores more. All highly successful Oldies stations in the 90's.

 

[oldies76]

Crusin' 950 in Denver

Cruisin' Oldies AM 950 Denver, is a very good, thorough radio station that plays, not just the usual favorites, but will go somewhat deep in the charts and play many obscurities, not heard on most other oldies stations.

They specialize in mainly 60's, including pre-64's, but will play 1954-59 as well....(heard Sh-Boom by the Crew Cuts two days ago). Occasionally a song from 1970 or 71 may be played.

Plenty of advertising and some contests on this station. Check them out online!

 

[drt]

Two stations that might give you some ideas of songs as well as the type of sponsers are WVLG in central Florida........... they (Senior Broadcasting) are owned and operated by The Villages (the largest retirement development in the U.S.; currently about 75,000 people live in the Villages. They have their radio station WVLG 640, as well as their daily newspaper, hospital, theaters, churches etc and cover Lake, Sumter and Marion counties.

The main sponsors seem to be furniture stores , restaurants and car dealers along with home sales in the Villages.

They play music from the mid 1950's through the mid 1980's during the day during the week, but on weekends concentrate on hits from the 50's and 60's and overnight they play softer music. They are live and local 24/7.

Unfortunately they do not stream. The Villages is about 38 miles n.n.w. of Orlando.

A station that does stream is Magic 590 out of Albany,NY, they stream in stereo and maybe listening to them could give you an idea of what kinds of sponsors an agressive sales team can sell to.

http://player.streamtheworld.com/_players/pamal/?callsign=WROWAM

drt