stevie nicks on dial global!

[RBW]

Today at 5:06 (DST) the first song of the hour was "Dreams" - Fleetwood Mac. This song has always been one of my 70's "evergreens" -- but on Dial Global? I had to change the station to another DG affiliate to see if the same song was playing. Yep it was. So, unless I've just never heard them play it before, this seems like a new addition to their playlist.

Off the top........... I think this may be the only "Mac" song they're playing.

 

[EZway2go]

Not sure about Dial Global, but I've definitely heard "Sara," "Gypsy," and "Over My Head" on similarly formatted stations.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Not sure about Dial Global, but I've definitely heard "Sara," "Gypsy," and "Over My Head" on similarly formatted stations.

I hope I don't hear any of these. "Over My Head" was on Timeless Favorites.

 

[rjoc]

Today at 5:06 (DST) the first song of the hour was "Dreams" - Fleetwood Mac. This song has always been one of my 70's "evergreens" -- but on Dial Global? I had to change the station to another DG affiliate to see if the same song was playing. Yep it was. So, unless I've just never heard them play it before, this seems like a new addition to their playlist.

Off the top........... I think this may be the only "Mac" song they're playing.

It was on this past Sunday morning at 7:30 EDT on local WDEA-1370, as I was headed home from work. Stevie was followed by Frank Sinatra!!!!

 

[listner1]

You are correct, although it was not the 5pm hour unless you are East of the Eastern time zone, but yes. The library list I have from about 6 months ago dosen't have it, so it must have been just recently added.

2-3 MOUNTAIN/3-4 CENTRAL/4-5 EASTERN
DIAL-GLOBAL DIGITAL 24/7 FORMATS

Music Sheet For: Thursday June 17, 2010 ADULT STANDARDS

CARL HAMPTON 2PM - 3PM

45270 CARLY SIMON MY ONE AND ONLY LOVE 07 / 3:23/ F

45345 BOBBY DARIN THINGS 06 / 2:29/ C

JINGLE AA

45667 FLEETWOOD MAC DREAMS 17 / 4:13/ C

41052 ANDY WILLIAMS BUTTERFLY 07 / 2:19/ C

95126 B LINER

 

[RBW]

You are correct, although it was not the 5pm hour unless you are East of the Eastern time zone, but yes. The library list I have from about 6 months ago dosen't have it, so it must have been just recently added.

2-3 MOUNTAIN/3-4 CENTRAL/4-5 EASTERN
DIAL-GLOBAL DIGITAL 24/7 FORMATS

Music Sheet For: Thursday June 17, 2010 ADULT STANDARDS

CARL HAMPTON 2PM - 3PM

45270 CARLY SIMON MY ONE AND ONLY LOVE 07 / 3:23/ F

45345 BOBBY DARIN THINGS 06 / 2:29/ C

JINGLE AA

45667 FLEETWOOD MAC DREAMS 17 / 4:13/ C

41052 ANDY WILLIAMS BUTTERFLY 07 / 2:19/ C

95126 B LINER

Well, I AM in the east... and remember I'd just left work, so it was definitely right after 5pm.

 

[ChrisInMI]

The first time I heard "Dreams" on a DG station I thought they had changed format and had to tune to another one to be sure they were playing the same thing, and sure enough they were. I suppose "Dreams" isn't so out there, but let's hope "Go Your Own Way," "You Make Lovin' Fun" and "The Chain" aren't next.... I listen to Adult Standards to get AWAY from overplayed songs like those that you hear on virtually every other station on earth.

IIRC, I think Timeless Favorites may have played "Sara" from 1979, from the TUSK album. I've always liked that one.

 

[radiotower40]

I'm not to be rude when I say this, so please don't take this in a way I don't mean it.

I am hearing you complain about Fleetwood Mac, and other bands and singers played on DG,
or played on the now defunct Timeless favorites. I do understand your frustration with songs
being added that don't exactly "fit" the format.

When you say you have to check another station to see if it is indeed DG playing said song,
that means you have more than one station that you can at least here some of the great songs
that no other stations will touch.

I live in Chicago were we have ZERO DG or MOYL stations. We had a few Timeless stations in the
far western suburbs of Chicago, until Timeless folded. They are now running Citadels classic hits
feed. The other Timeless station we had went silent last April, in order to increase the power on
an adjacent station.

So to sum it up, We have no station that plays anything remotely close to a standards format.
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. As much as I complained about what they did to Timeless,
I wish it was back on here. There were songs on there, that I never hear anymore else.

I can't tell you how happy I'd be to have a DG affiliate here. We have an abundance of brokered
foreign language stations, sports, talk, religious etc.

With all due respect, you may not like everything played on DG, but be happy you have something!

Have a great day,
TR1992

 

[EZway2go]

Standards and the City

I live in Chicago were we have ZERO DG or MOYL stations. We had a few Timeless stations in the
far western suburbs of Chicago, until Timeless folded. They are now running Citadels classic hits
feed. The other Timeless station we had went silent last April, in order to increase the power on
an adjacent station.

So to sum it up, We have no station that plays anything remotely close to a standards format.
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. As much as I complained about what they did to Timeless,
I wish it was back on here. There were songs on there, that I never hear anymore else.

I can't tell you how happy I'd be to have a DG affiliate here. We have an abundance of brokered
foreign language stations, sports, talk, religious etc.

With all due respect, you may not like everything played on DG, but be happy you have something!

TR1992, you are completely correct. Chicago sounds like Philadelphia... never had a DG or a MOYL station. Come to think of it, I've never heard one in any big city... only smaller cities and towns when traveling. I keep a copy of William Hutchings' book "Radio On The Road" in my car and know where to tune. The book doesn't list DG or MOYL stations per se, but it does show formats... and 90% of the time a station listed as Adult Standards or AC/Soft turns out to be either DG or MOYL.

All of my radio listening during the day is internet... not internet stations, but over-the-air EZ stations that stream. Most of my favorite stations are blocked by a firewall for some reason, but I've been able to "sneak" some through. The point is, not one station I listen to is local... so I am not a victim of the lousy programming where I live. They don't give me what I want, so I've looked elsewhere.

 

[Prais]

Sara WAS certainly on DG around the year 2000. I believe I heard it on the moring Jeff Rollins announced the death of Sinatra.

 

[Chuck]

Re: Standards and the City

TR1992, you are completely correct. Chicago sounds like Philadelphia... never had a DG or a MOYL station. Come to think of it, I've never heard one in any big city... only smaller cities and towns when traveling. I keep a copy of William Hutchings' book "Radio On The Road" in my car and know where to tune. The book doesn't list DG or MOYL stations per se, but it does show formats... and 90% of the time a station listed as Adult Standards or AC/Soft turns out to be either DG or MOYL.

I think you will find that this format is missing in big markets because of the very high cost of buying a station in those markets. Traditionally, Standards stations are not 'big billers" even though they can (and do) attract a very loyal audience. It doesn't make a lot of sense to buy a station for tens of millions of dollars and have a gross annual income of maybe a million dollars. Other formats in larger markets seem to generate gross billings that are many times that. One station that I’m familiar with (that’s not a Standards station) cost about $8,500,000 to buy and grosses about $450,000 per month. Using that example, you can understand why the people who own these big stations would rather gross nearly $5,500,000 per year than $1,000,000. Who wouldn’t?

In smaller markets where stations can be purchased for a few hundred thousand dollars, rather than millions, the disparity between the cost of ownership and the income generated is not as great, so you are more likely to hear this format on those “second tier” stations. Further, these small stations tend to be owned by people who actually live there and are an active part of their community. They may simply run it because they personally like the format and as long as it is paying its bills and not driving them into bankruptcy, they are OK with it.

In the case of these satellite formats, they can be pretty much "set it and forget it" radio stations. For a small station owner, that can be quite attractive. I’d be fairly surprised to hear of many AM Standards station that gross much over $100,000 per year, so doing it on the cheap can make sense.

 

[EZway2go]

Re: Standards and the City

Hey Chuck, thanks for the explanation. That certainly makes sense. It's just mind boggling how advertisers in big city markets think nothing of this format when everything else on the dial sounds maddeningly alike. With the ease of seek & scan (particularly in the car), this homogeneity contributes to having your station turned to the next one up the dial playing music every time a commercial comes on. For my money. I'd want to go with a format that stands out from the crowd.

 

[Prais]

EZ said; For my money. I'd want to go with a format that stands out from the crowd.

I LOVE this kind of music, but the one that stands out may not attract the easy ad sales - or the largest audience. WJJD, CHICAGO really tried; live and local, Clark Weber and other "names", good news staff, 50kw, but it was too difficult a sell.

 

[Seltzer]

I think Sara is ok, Leather & Lace and the Christine McVie voiced Over My Head work on a Soft station format like DG. But really that's about it. Dreams to me is borderline....

 

[radiotower40]

Chuck, I really wish I could disagree with you, but...... I can't. You are exactly right.

Like Prais said, I love the music as well, and WJJD really did try hard with the format.
After WJJD. AM 850 picked up the DG standards format(or what name it was called at that
time), and even though that 2,500 watt station, far north of the city scored in the top 10
several times, it was still a tough sell and eventually went talk.

It is so tough for stations in big cities to sell it and make money off it. The format can
work in smaller areas, not an easy sell but much different than Chicago.

If I owned a small AM in Chicago, I would love to say that I would put this kind of format
on. Then there is reality, the price of the station and the fact that I could make a lot more
money brokering out the station. If I had to make money off the station to make a living
I would probably have to go the brokered route, to survive and not lose money, or break
even.

Now in my dream world where I was a wealthy and did not care about the station really
turning a profit, I'd be doing standards yesterday .

To point out once again what you said Chuck, there's a big difference between a small
market station doing it, and one in a large market. I sell a station with an EZ-Hits, standards
in a small market, and it's a lot of work, but, most of my clients are mom and pops that know
the owner and listen to us. In Chicago unfortunately it would be a different story, not impossible
but very tough. Certainly much tougher than a small small market.

The biggest reason is the fact that a city has so many people from around the world,
that selling airtime for groups like Polish, Spanish, Russian etc. makes more money.
A 20 year old immigrant who just came from Poland will listen to AM radio for news
and entertainment, if they don't speak English. It would be hard to get a 20 year old
in Chicago to tune in to standards. I wish it wasn't, yet, that's reality :'(

 

[vchimpanzee]

Re: Standards and the City

TR1992, you are completely correct. Chicago sounds like Philadelphia... never had a DG or a MOYL station. Come to think of it, I've never heard one in any big city... only smaller cities and towns when traveling. I keep a copy of William Hutchings' book "Radio On The Road" in my car and know where to tune. The book doesn't list DG or MOYL stations per se, but it does show formats... and 90% of the time a station listed as Adult Standards or AC/Soft turns out to be either DG or MOYL.

I think you will find that this format is missing in big markets because of the very high cost of buying a station in those markets. Traditionally, Standards stations are not 'big billers" even though they can (and do) attract a very loyal audience. It doesn't make a lot of sense to buy a station for tens of millions of dollars and have a gross annual income of maybe a million dollars. Other formats in larger markets seem to generate gross billings that are many times that. One station that I’m familiar with (that’s not a Standards station) cost about $8,500,000 to buy and grosses about $450,000 per month. Using that example, you can understand why the people who own these big stations would rather gross nearly $5,500,000 per year than $1,000,000. Who wouldn’t?

In smaller markets where stations can be purchased for a few hundred thousand dollars, rather than millions, the disparity between the cost of ownership and the income generated is not as great, so you are more likely to hear this format on those “second tier” stations. Further, these small stations tend to be owned by people who actually live there and are an active part of their community. They may simply run it because they personally like the format and as long as it is paying its bills and not driving them into bankruptcy, they are OK with it.

In the case of these satellite formats, they can be pretty much "set it and forget it" radio stations. For a small station owner, that can be quite attractive. I’d be fairly surprised to hear of many AM Standards station that gross much over $100,000 per year, so doing it on the cheap can make sense.

This is a lot like my situation. There is a local morning show which a little livelier than just "standards" and the owner is the DJ.

 

[vchimpanzee]

The first time I heard "Dreams" on a DG station I thought they had changed format and had to tune to another one to be sure they were playing the same thing, and sure enough they were. I suppose "Dreams" isn't so out there, but let's hope "Go Your Own Way," "You Make Lovin' Fun" and "The Chain" aren't next.... I listen to Adult Standards to get AWAY from overplayed songs like those that you hear on virtually every other station on earth.

IIRC, I think Timeless Favorites may have played "Sara" from 1979, from the TUSK album. I've always liked that one.

Memories played most if not all of these Fleetwood Mac songs, but it's not that they're overplayed. It's that they're loud.

 

[Chuck]

To point out once again what you said Chuck, there's a big difference between a small
market station doing it, and one in a large market. I sell a station with an EZ-Hits, standards
in a small market, and it's a lot of work, but, most of my clients are mom and pops that know
the owner and listen to us. In Chicago unfortunately it would be a different story, not impossible
but very tough. Certainly much tougher than a small small market.

As many who frequent this site know, I own a small FM that does our own version of "Standards." It is licensed to a town that is hard to find on some maps, although it's primary listenership in market 145. The station pays its own way, and has reasonable popularity. Most of the advertisers are "Mom & Pops" who happen to listen to the station. I know most of them on a first name basis. I think that is fairly typical of small market radio, regardless of the format. Still, it is not an easy sell.

Our operating expenses are low, and I didn't pay a huge amount for the station. That makes it work. I frequently get solicitations from people who would like to purchase time for infomercials, brokered programming and per-inquiry schemes. That would be easy money, but it would be at the expense of the sound of the station. I really don't want to do that. On the other hand, if I were in debt up to my ears, it would be an easy fix. I'm sure the station would be much more profitable if we just sold time to the hundreds of preachers who want to be on the radio.

When I started this venture, my vision was to have a place to spin my old Frank Sinatra records and not go broke in the process. That is exactly what I have, but I understand that may not be the goal of a lot of folks.

 

[RBW]

I listen to Adult Standards to get AWAY from overplayed songs like those that you hear on virtually every other station on earth.

That is PRECISELY the reason I got hooked on standards as well ;D

 

[RBW]

Re: Standards and the City

Come to think of it, I've never heard one in any big city... only smaller cities and towns when traveling.

Yes, I've noticed that as well. I had always thought that with the diverse tastes that exist in "the city" that a format like that would mesh quite well. But on my last visit to NYC, I was surprised that NO DG or Timeless was to be found. Then just 2 weeks ago I was in Boston. Same thing there too! Some years ago, their 1430 was standards. But that changed a few years back. On my recent seacoast trip, I realized 1380 in Portsmouth, NH (which used to be MOYL) is NOW DG. Then to my amazement, just to the west, in Manchester, NH... DG is also on 1370!! Those two signals overlap half-way between! But within the Boston area??? -- zilch. Same thing goes for San Francisco when I was there 1 year ago.

Where I presently live, in the medium-size city area, all my DG stations (3 of them) come from smaller "fringe area" towns. Daytime reception is good to very good, but sadly, I can't receive ANY of them after dark.

No MOYL `round here. :-[