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The Safeness of FM Radio

A

AM/FMRAINMAN

Can someone please explain on this board explain why FM radio is soo safe. For example, there are radio stations all over the dial for example in Philly WOGL, that does not touch 80s Hard Rock(Hair Bands minus Bon Jovi) and also will not touch 80s Pop Rap. If you youtube these artists, such as Cinderella, Motley Crue, Whitesnake, Warrant, Poison, Europe, MC Hammer, Young MC, Candyman, Fresh Prince, Tone Loc, Run DMC...they have soo many more views than the artists they are playing. Do they not even give listeners the option of saying whether or not they are worthy to be played on the station?
Its almost like they still will not touch these 80s artists and I believe there still is an audience for this. Any ideas? Thank you in advance. Btw, I love this website as I read this daily.
 
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AM/FMRAINMAN said:
Can someone preferably David Eduardo or anyone on the board explain why FM radio is soo safe. For example, there are radio stations all over the dial for example in Philly WOGL, that does not touch 80s Hard Rock(Hair Bands minus Bon Jovi) and also will not touch 80s Pop Rap. If you youtube these artists, such as Cinderella, Motley Crue, Whitesnake, Warrant, Poison, Europe, MC Hammer, Young MC, Candyman, Fresh Prince, Tone Loc, Run DMC...they have soo many more views than the artists they are playing. Do they not even give listeners the option of saying whether or not they are worthy to be played on the station?
Its almost like they still will not touch these 80s artists and I believe there still is an audience for this. Any ideas? Thank you in advance. Btw, I love this website as I read this daily.
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If there were a sizable and salable audience for it, someone would be playing it. Sure there's still people who seek that stuff out but they're relegated to YouTube (instead of radio) because they're likely not a group advertisers are trying to reach in any great numbers. Just about any song will get at least some positive responses during testing, but if those respondents aren't part of a lucrative demo, it won't matter.
 
Oh good heavens....this again?

If the audience—not YouTube view counts—tells them through verifiable research that certain songs (or types) should be getting airplay, they’ll get airplay.

Rather than lamentations about safety, it’s really about smart business.
 
AM/FMRAINMAN said:
Can someone please explain on this board explain why FM radio is soo safe.
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Because it works. Because based on the ratings that's what people want. The artists you list don't fit the format. Most of them get played on other stations.

These stations are not on-demand music services. Instead they provide curated music lists based on the format they have and the audience they seek. You want an on-demand music service that plays what you want. There are lots of them around, and they typically require a subscription. If you want an option for what they play, simply change the station.
 
Can't a lot of these artists be found on WMMR and/or Ben FM?

If you want an all-encompassing '80s format, the iHeart80s channel is a good free option. With retro JAM jingles to boot!
 
The fact of the matter is that all FM stations are NOT uniformly and unilaterally safe. There are stations that play new music and new artists. There are lots of non-commercial stations that play all kinds of music. The topic of this thread is false. The OP is making a generalization based on his opinion about one station.
 
I agree with Miguelito's response: If it were profitable, it'd be done.
SiriusXM is a viable alternative. There's the 80s on 8 which plays a broader list of 80s songs than WOGL and its similar FM classic hits stations in other cities. There's Hair Nation which would play some of the bands you mention. There's First Wave which plays 80s Alternative. There's Classic Rewind which, again, would play some of the rock oriented songs listed.
Then there's Pandora, etc.
Just like network TV became "safe," and innovation was on cable and then streaming, FM has become (with the exceptions noted above) the place to find safe playlists.
 
Thank you. I am going to try out the iheart 80s channel. Btw, love those old school jam jingles lol. do they play a wide variety or only pop 80s?? What I mean are there some 80s rock and old school in there as well?
 
They'll play pretty much anything that was popular then, including hair metal and pop-rap hits. It's definitely a more well-rounded representation of what the '80s had to offer than WOGL and similar stations.
 
mjb1124 said:
They'll play pretty much anything that was popular then, including hair metal and pop-rap hits. It's definitely a more well-rounded representation of what the '80s had to offer than WOGL and similar stations.
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What WOGL plays is based on what was being played on CHR in that time. The fact is that a lot of what the OP wants was rock, not pop.
 
TheBigA said:
What WOGL plays is based on what was being played on CHR in that time. The fact is that a lot of what the OP wants was rock, not pop.
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Is it though? I'm under the impression that they choose songs from a certain time span and play whatever tests well, regardless of what format they played at upon their release dates. I don't pretend to know all the hits from CHR/Top 40 radio 35 or 40 years back but were Journey, Lionel Richie, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pink Floyd, Stevie Wonder, .38 Special, and Kansas staples?
 
Miguelito said:
Is it though? I'm under the impression that they choose songs from a certain time span and play whatever tests well, regardless of what format they played at upon their release dates. I don't pretend to know all the hits from CHR/Top 40 radio 35 or 40 years back but were Journey, Lionel Richie, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pink Floyd, Stevie Wonder, .38 Special, and Kansas staples?
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I think it’s more general than literal. Some songs from WCAU days aren’t being played, and some things that were played elsewhere make it in. But on the whole, today’s WOGL, at least the 80s portion of the playlist, does a pretty solid job representing 98’s run as a CHR. Or 106’s runs, if that was your taste.
 
AbrahamJSimpson said:
I think it’s more general than literal. Some songs from WCAU days aren’t being played, and some things that were played elsewhere make it in. But on the whole, today’s WOGL, at least the 80s portion of the playlist, does a pretty solid job representing 98’s run as a CHR. Or 106’s runs, if that was your taste.
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I suppose I was just entering my teenage years when 98 WCAU was my jam. All the kids loved it, though we loved to complain about how they played the same songs over and over again. And then shortly thereafter, I became a staunch Eagle 106 fan and got angry when someone even mentioned the "dayunce stayshun" Q102.
 
I was a huge Eagle 106 as well Miguelito. I think they def played more variety of hits. They played pop, 80s hair, pop rap, dance, where Q102 only seemed to play dance, pop and rap and it also seemed like they sped up the music...which I did not like lol.
 
AM/FMRAINMAN said:
I was a huge Eagle 106 as well Miguelito. I think they def played more variety of hits. They played pop, 80s hair, pop rap, dance, where Q102 only seemed to play dance, pop and rap and it also seemed like they sped up the music...which I did not like lol.
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I recall very clearly that the music on Q102 was pitched up. The made it sound like Paula Abdul was the cartoon cat! And yes, at the time they were strictly Rhythmic CHR and I was more interested in all the popular genres. Q102 was even playing Freestyle! Can you even imagine? Freestyle on the air in Philly!
 
I certainly listened to 98, but preferred Z 106 and then Eagle basically up to the Lander era. Less of a fan of the changes that came with that move, but still never cared for Q. Instant fan of the early days of Z...er, Y 100, pre modern rock.
 
AbrahamJSimpson said:
I certainly listened to 98, but preferred Z 106 and then Eagle basically up to the Lander era. Less of a fan of the changes that came with that move, but still never cared for Q. Instant fan of the early days of Z...er, Y 100, pre modern rock.
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I've always preferred having a variety of genres and I always felt that's what Top 40 "should be." I of course like Rhythmic music--quite a lot actually--but there was always an option on the dial to find it. Regardless of how old I was, whenever a CHR mainstreamed and aimed for a slightly more mature audience, I always preferred it.
 
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