Ten minute stop sets on Oldies 103

[RadioJay]

At 7:30 tonight I heard a ten minute stop set on Oldies 103. How can anyone wait through a ten minute stop set and stay tuned? Usually the stop sets on 103 are seven to ten minutes. That's a lot of commercials to have to sit through just to hear more of the 100 most burned out hits of the 60's and 70's. B101 in Providence limits the stop sets to just two minutes and they have more variety (60's, 70's, 80's). <P ID="signature">______________
Moe: (Sees a microphone in a radio studio) Ooh, a microphonie!

Curly: Or a phoney at the mike!

Moe: Quiet numbskulls I'm broadcastin'!

From The Three Stooges episode "Micro-Phoneys"</P>

 

[Power91]

Ten minutes seems awfully long...did you clock it, or did it just seem like that (and I'm only talking about the commercials)...not the dj banter in and out of the stop set...I've rarely seen any, anywhere, that are longer than the 5-7 minute range...

~RM

 

[RadioJay]

> Ten minutes seems awfully long...did you clock it, or did it
> just seem like that (and I'm only talking about the
> commercials)...not the dj banter in and out of the stop
> set...I've rarely seen any, anywhere, that are longer than
> the 5-7 minute range...
>
> ~RM
>
I timed it from 7:30pm to 7:40pm and it was non-stop commercials. I have noticed lately that thier stop sets are very long. Oldies 103 is getting harder and harder to listen to with very little variety and so many commercials. <P ID="signature">______________
Moe: (Sees a microphone in a radio studio) Ooh, a microphonie!

Curly: Or a phoney at the mike!

Moe: Quiet numbskulls I'm broadcastin'!

From The Three Stooges episode "Micro-Phoneys"</P>

 

[Radio-active]

> At 7:30 tonight I heard a ten minute stop set on Oldies 103.
> How can anyone wait through a ten minute stop set and stay
> tuned? Usually the stop sets on 103 are seven to ten
> minutes. That's a lot of commercials to have to sit through
> just to hear more of the 100 most burned out hits of the
> 60's and 70's. B101 in Providence limits the stop sets to
> just two minutes and they have more variety (60's, 70's,
> 80's).
>
Actually, B101's stop-set limit is 4 minutes, not 2. And it's not really more variety..just a different group of "burned songs."

 

[raccoonradio]

> At 7:30 tonight I heard a ten minute stop set on Oldies 103.

I mentioned this a couple years ago--"Commercials 103.3" Well they're making money all right but it can drive people away, sure.

You'll be listening to something like the Thu Night Countdown (which, I'll
admit, manages to drag up some interesting tunes that normally you wouldn't
hear on WODS!) and Patrick Callahan will say, at 8:20 pm, "we're sponsored by
(sponsor)" and 10 minutes of ads follows.

 

[Oldbones]

> At 7:30 tonight I heard a ten minute stop set on Oldies 103.
> How can anyone wait through a ten minute stop set and stay
> tuned? Usually the stop sets on 103 are seven to ten
> minutes. That's a lot of commercials to have to sit through
> just to hear more of the 100 most burned out hits of the
> 60's and 70's.

Burned out to who? Are you saying that just because you're sick of certain songs everybody else must be too?

 

[Fab4]

> > At 7:30 tonight I heard a ten minute stop set on Oldies
> 103.
> > How can anyone wait through a ten minute stop set and
> stay
> > tuned? Usually the stop sets on 103 are seven to ten
> > minutes. That's a lot of commercials to have to sit
> through
> > just to hear more of the 100 most burned out hits of the
> > 60's and 70's.
>
> Burned out to who? Are you saying that just because you're
> sick of certain songs everybody else must be too?

Ten minutes seems excessive but I don't find them to sound all that burned out. Maybe in certain dayparts they rotate the same songs more frequently but they still go back to 1964. B101 on the other hand has become a mainly 70s/80s classic rock format with some 60s and like most classic hits stations they just seem to lumber along. Oldies 103 moves at a good pace and still generates excistment when it comes to the personalities.

 

[RadioJay]

> > At 7:30 tonight I heard a ten minute stop set on Oldies
> 103.
> > How can anyone wait through a ten minute stop set and
> stay
> > tuned? Usually the stop sets on 103 are seven to ten
> > minutes. That's a lot of commercials to have to sit
> through
> > just to hear more of the 100 most burned out hits of the
> > 60's and 70's.
>
> Burned out to who? Are you saying that just because you're
> sick of certain songs everybody else must be too?
>
Burned out, overplayed, whatever you call it, the music selection just plain sucks. I don't know how people can listen to the same songs over and over and over. Gets sickening very quickly. I don't listen to Oldies 103 regularly simply because I know what I am going to hear-the same crap, nothing out of the ordinary and nothing interesting as far as music. The only thing that actually sounds different and interesting is Barry Scotts' Lost 45's. <P ID="signature">______________
Moe: (Sees a microphone in a radio studio) Ooh, a microphonie!

Curly: Or a phoney at the mike!

Moe: Quiet numbskulls I'm broadcastin'!

From The Three Stooges episode "Micro-Phoneys"</P>

 

[Garrett]

Music is subjective!

Some people have trouble remembering that. I always roll my eyes at classic rock radio fans who complain about Top 40, or Vice versa.

Music is subjective. I hate the music that WAAF plays, but that does not make it bad music, or WAAF a bad station. I just don't like Heavy Metal.

And, this guy just ruined a perfectly good point, too!
You have to wonder about the intentions about people who throw stuff in like that. It's a dirty trick, makes me feel like I need a shower...



> > just to hear more of the 100 most burned out hits of the
> > 60's and 70's.
>
> Burned

 

[RadioJay]

Re: Music is subjective!

> Some people have trouble remembering that. I always roll my
> eyes at classic rock radio fans who complain about Top 40,
> or Vice versa.
>
> Music is subjective. I hate the music that WAAF plays, but
> that does not make it bad music, or WAAF a bad station. I
> just don't like Heavy Metal.
>
> And, this guy just ruined a perfectly good point, too!
> You have to wonder about the intentions about people who
> throw stuff in like that. It's a dirty trick, makes me feel
> like I need a shower...
>
>
>
> > > just to hear more of the 100 most burned out hits of the
>
> > > 60's and 70's.
> >
> > Burned
>
I actually love oldies. I just don't like hearing the same really popular songs played over and over. I like to hear stuff that I don't hear that often or anywhere else. Not everyone likes just the hits. I'm one of those people that likes ALL oldies, whether they were popular or not. Oldies 103 assumes that everyone likes only the popular hits and nothing else. Why can't they play ALL the 60's and 70's oldies? <P ID="signature">______________
Moe: (Sees a microphone in a radio studio) Ooh, a microphonie!

Curly: Or a phoney at the mike!

Moe: Quiet numbskulls I'm broadcastin'!

From The Three Stooges episode "Micro-Phoneys"</P>

 

[Eli Polonsky]

> Burned out, overplayed, whatever you call it, the music
> selection just plain sucks. I don't know how people can
> listen to the same songs over and over and over. Gets
> sickening very quickly. I don't listen to Oldies 103
> regularly simply because I know what I am going to hear-the
> same crap, nothing out of the ordinary and nothing
> interesting as far as music.

Believe it or not, that's what most people, the "silent majority" of listeners who make the ratings, want to hear. And 103 does consistently fairly well in the ratings because of it (as well as their talented personality jocks).

I feel the same way you do about their music, but you and I (and many others on this board) are a "vocal minority" of music and radio affficionados. We live with radios practically glued to our ears, some of us for many decades. We've heard it all, many times over and over again, and some of us delve as deeply into learning about the music and the artists as about the radio stations.

We are not the mainstream majority of listeners who just use radio for the background to their workday, their commute, or their lunchtime jog. They really want to hear the same short list of hits over and over again, and they will turn the dial if something comes on that they don't know all the lyrics to sing along to, or every lick to play air guitar to.

Very wide playlists (and even "free-form") worked on commercial radio between 30 to 40 years ago, but the times were very different then. Nowadays if a major market commercial station tried programming the musical variety and depth that most of us on this board would find interesting and intriguing, they'd attract a small "cult following" of us afficionado types, but among the mainstream majority, their ratings would tank miserably.

 

[Garrett]

It's not assumption

Oldies 103 runs music surveys. The songs they put on the playlist are the ones that those surveys indicated that listeners wish to hear. So your beef is with Oldies 103's audience, not Oldies 103.

> > Some people have trouble remembering that. I always roll
> my
> > eyes at classic rock radio fans who complain about Top 40,
>
> > or Vice versa.
> >
> > Music is subjective. I hate the music that WAAF plays, but
>
> > that does not make it bad music, or WAAF a bad station. I
> > just don't like Heavy Metal.
> >
> > And, this guy just ruined a perfectly good point, too!
> > You have to wonder about the intentions about people who
> > throw stuff in like that. It's a dirty trick, makes me
> feel
> > like I need a shower...
> >
> >
> >
> > > > just to hear more of the 100 most burned out hits of
> the
> >
> > > > 60's and 70's.
> > >
> > > Burned
> >
> I actually love oldies. I just don't like hearing the same
> really popular songs played over and over. I like to hear
> stuff that I don't hear that often or anywhere else. Not
> everyone likes just the hits. I'm one of those people that
> likes ALL oldies, whether they were popular or not. Oldies
> 103 assumes that everyone likes only the popular hits and
> nothing else. Why can't they play ALL the 60's and 70's
> oldies?
>

 

[keyjock]

Re: It's not assumption

Right you are sir, they are called "Music Tests" and sometimes "Perceptuals" and just about "EVERY" station does them, some even twice a year. It is a sampling of the stations P-1's, hot zipcodes and more. Usually, the stations core playlist and hundereds of other songs are put before those called for the test, and if a song doesn't test well, it is pulled from the current rotation. And vice-versa, if it test well, it is added. Pure and simple. If a station is not playing tested songs, then it is not giving ITS listeners what THEY want, musically.


> Oldies 103 runs music surveys. The songs they put on the
> playlist are the ones that those surveys indicated that
> listeners wish to hear. So your beef is with Oldies 103's
> audience, not Oldies 103.
>
> > > Some people have trouble remembering that. I always roll
>
> > my
> > > eyes at classic rock radio fans who complain about Top
> 40,
> >
> > > or Vice versa.
> > >
> > > Music is subjective. I hate the music that WAAF plays,
> but
> >
> > > that does not make it bad music, or WAAF a bad station.
> I
> > > just don't like Heavy Metal.
> > >
> > > And, this guy just ruined a perfectly good point, too!
> > > You have to wonder about the intentions about people who
>
> > > throw stuff in like that. It's a dirty trick, makes me
> > feel
> > > like I need a shower...
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > > > just to hear more of the 100 most burned out hits of
>
> > the
> > >
> > > > > 60's and 70's.
> > > >
> > > > Burned
> > >
> > I actually love oldies. I just don't like hearing the
> same
> > really popular songs played over and over. I like to hear
>
> > stuff that I don't hear that often or anywhere else. Not
> > everyone likes just the hits. I'm one of those people
> that
> > likes ALL oldies, whether they were popular or not.
> Oldies
> > 103 assumes that everyone likes only the popular hits and
> > nothing else. Why can't they play ALL the 60's and 70's
> > oldies?
> >
>

 

[RadioJay]

Now I understand

> Right you are sir, they are called "Music Tests" and
> sometimes "Perceptuals" and just about "EVERY" station does
> them, some even twice a year. It is a sampling of the
> stations P-1's, hot zipcodes and more. Usually, the stations
> core playlist and hundereds of other songs are put before
> those called for the test, and if a song doesn't test well,
> it is pulled from the current rotation. And vice-versa, if
> it test well, it is added. Pure and simple. If a station is
> not playing tested songs, then it is not giving ITS
> listeners what THEY want, musically.
>
>
> > Oldies 103 runs music surveys. The songs they put on the
> > playlist are the ones that those surveys indicated that
> > listeners wish to hear. So your beef is with Oldies 103's
> > audience, not Oldies 103.
> >
Thanks for filling me in on how this all works as far as what music gets played on stations. I guess Oldies 103's listeners want to hear only the really popular hits. Now that I understand more about this, would a Real Oldies (50's and early 60's) station also work in Boston? Just curious what you think.<P ID="signature">______________
Moe: (Sees a microphone in a radio studio) Ooh, a microphonie!

Curly: Or a phoney at the mike!

Moe: Quiet numbskulls I'm broadcastin'!

From The Three Stooges episode "Micro-Phoneys"</P>

 

[Mickey37]

Doesn't Howard Stern take long breaks like that, at least on 'BCN? I've been in Bourne on the Cape, listening to the clean feed of him on some station down there, then flipping back to 'BCN and they've been a good 5-10 minutes behind.

> > Ten minutes seems awfully long...did you clock it, or did
> it
> > just seem like that (and I'm only talking about the
> > commercials)...not the dj banter in and out of the stop
> > set...I've rarely seen any, anywhere, that are longer than
>
> > the 5-7 minute range...
> >
> > ~RM
> >
> I timed it from 7:30pm to 7:40pm and it was non-stop
> commercials. I have noticed lately that thier stop sets are
> very long. Oldies 103 is getting harder and harder to
> listen to with very little variety and so many commercials.
>

 

[Eli Polonsky]

Re: Now I understand

> Thanks for filling me in on how this all works as far as
> what music gets played on stations. I guess Oldies 103's
> listeners want to hear only the really popular hits. Now
> that I understand more about this, would a Real Oldies (50's
> and early 60's) station also work in Boston? Just curious
> what you think.

I think it would get some listeners, but probably not enough to keep a major market station alive financially.

I'd love to hear it myself, but I don't think it will happen. I doubt if such a station, even if given a good signal, would barely crack a 1 share in the Boston ratings, if that.

None of the FM's would do it, it would not do as well as any of their current formats. The only place it could possibly go would be on a dog-rated AM (1510??) and it would probably have to be run as bare-bones as possible, meaning automation and/or satellite at least most of the time.

WCRN 830 AM Worcester, with a "True Oldies" format (mid-50's through very early 70's), is actually showing up in the Worcester ratings (near the bottom), and they're satellite after morning drive. Worcester's FM mid-60's through 70's oldies station WORC-FM didn't even show, WODS is the dominant rated oldies station in Worcester.

 

[Garrett]

Re: Now I understand

> > > Oldies 103 runs music surveys. The songs they put on the
>
> > > playlist are the ones that those surveys indicated that
> > > listeners wish to hear. So your beef is with Oldies
> 103's
> > > audience, not Oldies 103.
> > >
> Thanks for filling me in on how this all works as far as
> what music gets played on stations. I guess Oldies 103's
> listeners want to hear only the really popular hits. Now
> that I understand more about this, would a Real Oldies (50's
> and early 60's) station also work in Boston? Just curious
> what you think.
>
No.
The trouble is, since there is already a station playing some of that music (103) then you would need divide up the audience more. And, advertisers are really not all that excited about the Demographic right now, since many of the people who listen to 50s and 60s are themselves, in their 50s and 60s, and the revenue stream is just too small.

IMHO, Boston is lucky to even have Oldies103.