The Fresh B98.5 has arrived (I Think)

[jal41]

B98.5 has launched its Fall playlist moments ago.

They are playing Michael McDonald's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" from 2004. This marks the first time B98.5 has played an artist's music has been played when it was recorded when the artist was over 50 and recorded after 2000. I say this because they usually don't touch artists after they get older (and it goes through the top 40 - which usually means the artists are under 30). Other AC's have played Mr. McDonald's later work, but not B98.5 (until now).

Sara Barellies' "Love Song" was a new "current" they played about 12:15.

Again, I don't think there is anything "Fresh" going on with the playlist, just the occasional couple of shocks that come with every new playlist. I anticipate the status quo until new competiton begins.

 

[jal41]

Update: 5 "Currents" have been added - first time ever (Generally - only one or two get added at a time)
Sara Barellies "Love Song"
Timbaland/OneRepublic "Apologize"
Pink "Who Knew"
Nelly Furtado "Say It Right"
Daughtry "Feels Like Tonight"

It looks like B98.5 has gone somewhat "Fresh".

 

[whit979]

I also heard "Bleeding Love" a week or two ago...I don't know if they were already spinning that one but I thought I'd throw that in as well.

 

[LasVegasRadioJunky]

Update: 5 "Currents" have been added - first time ever (Generally - only one or two get added at a time)
Sara Barellies "Love Song"
Timbaland/OneRepublic "Apologize"
Pink "Who Knew"
Nelly Furtado "Say It Right"
Daughtry "Feels Like Tonight"

It looks like B98.5 has gone somewhat "Fresh".

WBEB has been playing "Love Song" since March and "Feels Like Tonight" since it's release in April. Nothing is going on.

 

[BIGSTICK]

Sounds the same to me as well. ???

 

[thefirstgenesis]

From yes.com, more songs that they haven't played that they play now.

1. Doobie Brothers - What A Fool Believes
2. Eddie Money - Baby Hold On
3. Eric Carmen - Hungry Eyes
4. Stephanie Mills - Never Knew Love Like This Before
5. Manfred Mann - Blinded By The Light
6. Mr. Mister - Broken Wings
7. Bryan Adams - Everything I Do I Do It For You

along with Pink's "Who Knew" and Sara Bareilles's "Love Song" as mentioned in other posts.

The fact that they are changing songs and adding some new ones in has kept B98.5 afloat added with the fact that they have a monopoly in AC in Atlanta. To be honest, it won't take long until this "new" playlist becomes old, and folks have to stream online from a better AC radio station somewhere else.

As far as 94.9 changing formats, there has been no news of that happening anywhere, and we don't know if that is every going to happen. 94.9 during the past two years has been a deplorable waste of signal, and it would be quite helpful if 94.9 was soft AC again or some other format. Its amazing how our neighbors in Chattanooga and Columbia SC have two AC stations or more with a population that is at least 15 times fewer than ours while we have just one so-called "soft AC" station with a pop. of over 5.5 million. The smaller cities get a choice while we are left in the dust with one.

 

[LasVegasRadioJunky]

From yes.com, more songs that they haven't played that they play now.

1. Doobie Brothers - What A Fool Believes
2. Eddie Money - Baby Hold On
3. Eric Carmen - Hungry Eyes
4. Stephanie Mills - Never Knew Love Like This Before
5. Manfred Mann - Blinded By The Light
6. Mr. Mister - Broken Wings
7. Bryan Adams - Everything I Do I Do It For You

along with Pink's "Who Knew" and Sara Bareilles's "Love Song" as mentioned in other posts.

The fact that they are changing songs and adding some new ones in has kept B98.5 afloat added with the fact that they have a monopoly in AC in Atlanta. To be honest, it won't take long until this "new" playlist becomes old, and folks have to stream online from a better AC radio station somewhere else.

As far as 94.9 changing formats, there has been no news of that happening anywhere, and we don't know if that is every going to happen. 94.9 during the past two years has been a deplorable waste of signal, and it would be quite helpful if 94.9 was soft AC again or some other format. Its amazing how our neighbors in Chattanooga and Columbia SC have two AC stations or more with a population that is at least 15 times fewer than ours while we have just one so-called "soft AC" station with a pop. of over 5.5 million. The smaller cities get a choice while we are left in the dust with one.

The Doobie Bros., Eddie Money and Eric Carmen songs you say are new to the format are not. I just checked your top 3, but all of them had airplay in every month of this year. SOURCE: a subscription site mmr247.com that electronically monitors radio station song airplay.

 

[carolinaradio]

Its amazing how our neighbors in Chattanooga and Columbia SC have two AC stations or more with a population that is at least 15 times fewer than ours while we have just one so-called "soft AC" station with a pop. of over 5.5 million. The smaller cities get a choice while we are left in the dust with one.

Columbia has one AC. B106.7 WTCB - great AC station, locally oriented. 96.7 WLTY flipped a few years ago to variety hits.

Wow...WSPA and WMYI in Greenville, SC have been spinning these for months:

Sara Barellies "Love Song"
Timbaland/OneRepublic "Apologize"
Pink "Who Knew"
Nelly Furtado "Say It Right"
Daughtry "Feels Like Tonight"

They sound good, IMO.

 

[thefirstgenesis]

Its amazing how our neighbors in Chattanooga and Columbia SC have two AC stations or more with a population that is at least 15 times fewer than ours while we have just one so-called "soft AC" station with a pop. of over 5.5 million. The smaller cities get a choice while we are left in the dust with one.

Columbia has one AC. B106.7 WTCB - great AC station, locally oriented. 96.7 WLTY flipped a few years ago to variety hits.

Wow...WSPA and WMYI in Greenville, SC have been spinning these for months:

Sara Barellies "Love Song"
Timbaland/OneRepublic "Apologize"
Pink "Who Knew"
Nelly Furtado "Say It Right"
Daughtry "Feels Like Tonight"

They sound good, IMO.

You're right, it's not Columbia SC but Greenville SC (even smaller in population than Columbia). Forgot to check on WLTY, but WLTY plays variety but not soft AC. WYMI is owned by Clear Channel while WSPA is owned by a non-Atlanta affiliated radio company. Although many despise CC including myself, I see that CC can redeem itself a little bit in Atlanta by switching 94.9 to AC.

 

[Wildstyle K]

Well good job for Atlanta. There are a lot of things that need to improve when it comes to Atlanta radio in general. I don't know how their stations came out to be the way they are. At least they are getting there. They got more stations than we have hear in Phoenix, but what they CHOOSE to play and not play on certain ones kind of doesn't make sense sometimes. It took forever for them to at least get a rhythmic and top 40 station (real top 40, not Star*94 top 40) and a spanish top 40 station. I could imagine that our AC stations beat whatever they have in Atlanta now. I remember Peach 94.9 and B98.5 when I was there. Our 98.7 The Peak beats both of them alone, and 99.9 KEZ here is even beating 98.7. Atlanta can improve tremendously with their stations, and 95.5 The Beat should be "Hits & Hip Hop", not "Atlanta's #1 for hip hop"

And I wonder if they even have a classic hip hop station in Atlanta yet? No reason for us in Phoenix to beat Atlanta in that! We have a brand new station playing classic hip hop. I will miss the dance, house, and trance, but at least they changed today to something that was sensible. We don't need anymore country, spanish, or rhythmic urban stations that don't play dance. Our top 40 station is already mostly hip hop, then we have a rhythmic urban and "hip hop" station that are both really sounding alike. As far as I'm concerned, we have two urban rhythmic stations, and a rhythmic top 40 station that's almost urban. For the first time in the history I can see, we have LESS dance music on the radio than Atlanta, which is REALLY sad.

 

[Sgeirk]

Fresh has not arrived in Atlanta. The Fresh concept is basically, a millenial AC format. Until their library is 95% 1999-today, it just ain't so.

 

[Tibbs4]

From yes.com, more songs that they haven't played that they play now.

1. Doobie Brothers - What A Fool Believes
2. Eddie Money - Baby Hold On
3. Eric Carmen - Hungry Eyes
4. Stephanie Mills - Never Knew Love Like This Before

Mills "Never Knew Love" was released in late 1980, soon after Steve McCoy ('81) came to Atlanta and it was a big hit on the Z-93.
Maybe it's a sign of Steve getting his favorites played on B from radio stations of his past on his way home from his show. Beware ---
if Jim Croce's "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" or Gladys Knight's "Midnight Train to Georgia" starts playing you're in for a musical
rebirth so big that even arbitron can't fit those numbers into their books! Like good humor, when it comes to good music, Steve
is a master. If the music gets more and more current, Star is heading for a collision it cannot stop...

 

[LasVegasRadioJunky]

I believe I am correct when I write that WBEB has licensed the "fresh" format name, etc., an effort to prempt the fresh format from entering the marketplace. They use the word "fresh" in their imaging and it appears on their website.

 

[RoddyFreeman]

I believe I am correct when I write that WBEB has licensed the "fresh" format name, etc., an effort to prempt the fresh format from entering the marketplace. They use the word "fresh" in their imaging and it appears on their website.

A number of AC stations are using "fresh," such as Fresh 102.7 in New York.

 

[jabba17]

I believe I am correct when I write that WBEB has licensed the "fresh" format name, etc., an effort to prempt the fresh format from entering the marketplace. They use the word "fresh" in their imaging and it appears on their website.

So, does Cox likewise own the rights to "new"? As in "The New 97.1 The River"?

 

[TheMusicMan]

I believe I am correct when I write that WBEB has licensed the "fresh" format name, etc., an effort to prempt the fresh format from entering the marketplace. They use the word "fresh" in their imaging and it appears on their website.

So, does Cox likewise own the rights to "new"? As in "The New 97.1 The River"?

PERFECT post!

 

[tcsnrayp]

Every one of the titles mentioned here are high testing and high played on mainstream AC.