The softer side of AC

[westlife]

If your AC playlist is getting too filled up with hard-edged rock songs (Goo Goo Dolls, Kelly Clarkson, et al), here's a much softer tune to balance it out with: "Again" by BBMak, found on their 2000 debut album. It's a pleasant song with excellent vocal harmonies and unique instrumentation that creates an ethereal kind of sound. Had their pop hit "Back Here" been released as a 45 RPM single, I'm sure "Again" would've been the flip side.

Another song which makes you feel like you're floating in the clouds is Madonna's "The Power of Good-Bye", from her 1998 "Ray of Light" album. This song got good airplay on CHR/Top 40 stations at the time, but I don't think I've ever heard it on AC radio, which is a shame. An even softer song from this album is "Frozen", which also has superb instrumentation.

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[whyhellothere]

Too unfamiliar.

Over the last year or so many AC stations have been giving the boot to most of the boy-band catalog that was huge in the late 90's early 2000's. With exception to a few songs, you'll see things are thinning out for the most part. (Yes, I am aware the Backstreet Boys song "Incomplete" is gaining momentum but I'm not buying it)

Not only that, but those other songs are more unfamiliar and unlikely to perform as well in research.



> If your AC playlist is getting too filled up with hard-edged
> rock songs (Goo Goo Dolls, Kelly Clarkson, et al), here's a
> much softer tune to balance it out with: "Again" by BBMak,
> found on their 2000 debut album. It's a pleasant song with
> excellent vocal harmonies and unique instrumentation that
> creates an ethereal kind of sound. Had their pop hit "Back
> Here" been released as a 45 RPM single, I'm sure "Again"
> would've been the flip side.
>
> Another song which makes you feel like you're floating in
> the clouds is Madonna's "The Power of Good-Bye", from her
> 1998 "Ray of Light" album. This song got good airplay on
> CHR/Top 40 stations at the time, but I don't think I've ever
> heard it on AC radio, which is a shame. An even softer song
> from this album is "Frozen", which also has superb
> instrumentation.
>

 

[westlife]

> Too unfamiliar.

If AC stations can have such things as Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man" in regular rotation, I don't see the harm in throwing in a few "unfamiliar" songs as well.

And if you consider two of Madonna's substantial hit singles to be "unfamiliar", then I don't know what kind of hole you've been living in....

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[whyhellothere]

Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man" is only being played on 2 AC stations on the MMR panel. One of those is WMJX in Boston which plays a pretty hefty dose of oldies. 1 station plays "Power of Goodbye" and 0 play "Ray Of Light".

Considering that "The Power of Goodbye" peaked at #11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and "Ray Of Light" peaked at #5 I wouldn't go so far as to say they were substantial hits. (The Billboard Hot 100 gave both songs the highest peak...others were considerably lower)





> > Too unfamiliar.
>
> If AC stations can have such things as Dusty Springfield's
> "Son of a Preacher Man" in regular rotation, I don't see the
> harm in throwing in a few "unfamiliar" songs as well.
>
> And if you consider two of Madonna's substantial hit singles
> to be "unfamiliar", then I don't know what kind of hole
> you've been living in....
>

 

[westlife]

> Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man" is only being
> played on 2 AC stations on the MMR panel. One of those is
> WMJX in Boston which plays a pretty hefty dose of oldies. 1
> station plays "Power of Goodbye" and 0 play "Ray Of Light".

I mentioned the songs "Power of Goodbye" and "Frozen", from the Ray Of Light album -- not the title track itself.

And even the nation's #1 AC station -- WLTW in New York City -- will occasionally choose a song based upon its sound and texture, rather than based upon its chart success and familiarity. For example, a few months ago WLTW added Elton John's "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" to their playlist, and still plays it fairly consistently, even though it's a rather obscure album track (or perhaps a single "B-side") which definitely cannot be found on any of Elton's "Greatest Hits" compilations.

Of course, at the extreme of that approach are the Muzak-like background music systems, which base their entire playlist on sound and texture. A few days ago in a shopping mall I heard Jason Mraz's "You and I Both" come on the background music and I thought to myself "Why isn't AC radio playing this song?" But I think I know the answer already: either "it wasn't a big enough hit" or "it doesn't test well". Hmmph!

And if I was the music director at an AC station, I'd be scouting new album releases for new songs to play, rather than waiting months or even years for the record companies to finally pitch some of these songs at AC stations. For example, I would've been playing Keane/"Somewhere Only We Know" even before it hit the U.S. CHR stations, and I'd be playing Ben Lee/"Catch My Disease" right now. Same thing with the mainstream-sounding Country hits which the record companies never thought to cross over to AC/Pop, such as Pat Green/"Wave On Wave".

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[whyhellothere]

>
> Of course, at the extreme of that approach are the
> Muzak-like background music systems, which base their entire
> playlist on sound and texture. A few days ago in a shopping
> mall I heard Jason Mraz's "You and I Both" come on the
> background music and I thought to myself "Why isn't AC radio
> playing this song?" But I think I know the answer already:
> either "it wasn't a big enough hit" or "it doesn't test
> well". Hmmph!

There is a dramatic difference between how Muzak and traditional radio stations are programmed. With radio it is a competition, you are trying to draw the attention of the general public and get them to listen to your station by playing the best music. You do that by testing songs, or using MMR and relying on the research of other stations. Testing songs is in other words, a way of asking people how much they like songs. More popular music=More people listening=higher ratings=more revenue

For Muzak, you've got a captive audience. Sure it's a small competition have clients choose you vs. someone else, but people are listening to you while they are in a restaurant or the mall and they can't change the dial. Plus Muzak isn't going for Arbitron ratings like traditional radio stations so you have more freedom in what you can do. (Yes I am aware that in-store formats are designed to also make you buy stuff but I didn't that was relevant to this post)


>
> And if I was the music director at an AC station, I'd be
> scouting new album releases for new songs to play, rather
> than waiting months or even years for the record companies
> to finally pitch some of these songs at AC stations. For
> example, I would've been playing Keane/"Somewhere Only We
> Know" even before it hit the U.S. CHR stations, and I'd be
> playing Ben Lee/"Catch My Disease" right now. Same thing
> with the mainstream-sounding Country hits which the record
> companies never thought to cross over to AC/Pop, such as Pat
> Green/"Wave On Wave".

To each their own, but I wouldn't hire you. AC is not a format intended to break songs. You get too unfamiliar, especially with new stuff, and people will tune out. That's why most AC stations are very gold heavy, the songs are more familiar and test better than the new songs.



>

 

[westlife]

> To each their own, but I wouldn't hire you. AC is not a
> format intended to break songs. You get too unfamiliar,
> especially with new stuff, and people will tune out. That's
> why most AC stations are very gold heavy, the songs are more
> familiar and test better than the new songs.

When lots of new material is "AC-friendly", AC stations can and do break it almost as quickly as the CHR stations. Just look at how the AC charts were back around 1998-2001. During this great pop music boom, AC stations were playing several new songs every hour, and often had special liners announcing "New Music!". Now that pop music is showing some slight signs of revival, maybe it's time for AC radio to not lag behind the CHR stations so much when it comes to playing new material.<P ID="signature">______________

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[whyhellothere]

Not sure where you were hearing these "New Music!" sweepers but all of the stations I worked for during that time never did that, nor did any I listened to or followed.

While it's somewhat true that good new material has dwindled in the last few years I still can't see a valid reason to seek out, and play, tons of new music before its time. AC chooses to not break songs for a reason, because there is no reason for it. Very few 40 year old women are dying to hear the new Backstreet Boys song, and my phone lines certainly aren't burning up to hear "I'll Be Around" by Hall and Oates. I'll let the top-40 station in town "scoop" my new songs because they can play the unfamiliar tracks and when the songs are good and certified hits I'll start spinning them. I honestly can't think of any good reason to break a song on an AC station, and I program one. I might if it is topical, for instance, Carrie Underwood's "Inside Your Heaven" but that song tanked quick...so I'm glad I didn't play it.

My bottom line is that the AC format is designed to a familiar one. A format that plays all of the songs that a 25-54 year old female remembers and likes, and a few new songs that are the biggest hits in the land. New music is very tricky because when you start playing too many and from unfamiliar artists, your listeners will change to another station that plays a song they know. If you're busy playing some Westlife song no one has ever heard of, and your competition is playing Don Henley's "Boys of Summer", the listener is probably going to pick "Boys of Summer".

Take a look at the playlists of some of the largest AC stations and generally you'll find a pretty tight list. The newest of the new music is usually done as a "courtesy add" for the record companies and is played overnights. Take a look at the R&R AC chart, in the top 10 only 1 song (yes #1) is an AC only hit, and that's mostly because of Delilah and Tesh.

A good rule of thumb when it comes to programming an AC station: It ain't what you play, it's what you don't play.




>
> When lots of new material is "AC-friendly", AC stations can
> and do break it almost as quickly as the CHR stations. Just
> look at how the AC charts were back around 1998-2001.
> During this great pop music boom, AC stations were playing
> several new songs every hour, and often had special liners
> announcing "New Music!". Now that pop music is showing some
> slight signs of revival, maybe it's time for AC radio to not
> lag behind the CHR stations so much when it comes to playing
> new material.
>

 

[westlife]

> Not sure where you were hearing these "New Music!" sweepers
> but all of the stations I worked for during that time never
> did that, nor did any I listened to or followed.

Here's the "New Music" liner/jingle which was used by Greater Media's "Magic 98.3" (WMGQ New Brunswick, NJ). This was recorded in May 2001, when it was used to introduce BBMak's "Ghost of You and Me" (they also had a "fast" version of this jingle to introduce uptempo songs):

http://www.amstereo.audio-stream.net/amstereo/files/stations/Pacific/Australia/Victoria/3mp1.mp3

For better or worse, most of the songs in that sweeper have never been played on any U.S. radio stations -- except my own, that is.

> I might if it is topical, for instance, Carrie Underwood's "Inside Your
> Heaven" but that song tanked quick...so I'm glad I didn't play it.

Of course it's ironic that excellent songs get ignored (although not necessarily that one, as I've never heard it), while complete duds get put into regular rotation on AC stations (like Stevie Nicks' "Sorcerer" or those God-awful 2001 'comeback' songs by Barry Manilow and the Bee Gees). And remember Destiny Child's "Emotion"? I'd rather listen to "Woo Hoo" by The 5.6.7.8's (the Vonage TV commercial song) on repeat play for half an hour than hear those incessantly warbling voices again.
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[whyhellothere]

Fair enough. Regardless, there aren't many stations that emphasize new music today. Saying "Today's Hits and Yesterday's Favorites" (which my station uses as a secondary postioner) for many stations means that you play today's HITS. The biggest ones.

Excellent pop tunes are up to interpretation. You may think they're great, but someone else doesn't. All of those songs you mentioned weren't around very long for a reason. They didn't test well and as soon as they were added, research said it was a dud, and they were dropped. My theory has always been why go through the hassle and just stick to the songs that are the proven hits. That means you may wait a while to add it, but I've never heard anyone complain that I'm behind the top-40 station in town on adds. Plus the songs I play are hits, and have a greater chance at being familiar and being liked by the audience.


> > Not sure where you were hearing these "New Music!"
> sweepers
> > but all of the stations I worked for during that time
> never
> > did that, nor did any I listened to or followed.
>
> Here's the "New Music" liner/jingle which was used by
> Greater Media's "Magic 98.3" (WMGQ New Brunswick, NJ). This
> was recorded in May 2001, when it was used to introduce
> BBMak's "Ghost of You and Me" (they also had a "fast"
> version of this jingle to introduce uptempo songs):
>
> http://www.geocities.com/rontimod/newmusic.mp3
>
> During this time, WMGQ's tag line was "Today's Hits and
> Yesterday's Favorites". When the "Today's Hits" part of
> that equation began to quickly dry up in late 2001, they
> changed their tag line to "The Best Continuous Soft Rock".
> However, numerous AC stations still use the TH&YF tag line,
> or its opposite, the rather awkward-sounding "Yesterday's
> Favorites and Today's Hits" (as I've heard on 100.7 WHUD).
>
> And here's a sweeper illustrating another take on an AC
> format, this time from Melbourne, Australia in 1999:
>
http://www.amstereo.audio-stream.net> /amstereo/files/stations/Pacific/Australia/Victoria/3mp1.mp3
>
>
> For better or worse, most of the songs in that sweeper have
> never been played on any U.S. radio stations -- except my
> own, that is.
>
> > I might if it is topical, for instance, Carrie Underwood's
> "Inside Your
> > Heaven" but that song tanked quick...so I'm glad I didn't
> play it.
>
> Of course it's ironic that excellent songs get ignored
> (although not necessarily that one, as I've never heard it),
> while complete duds get put into regular rotation on AC
> stations (like Stevie Nicks' "Sorcerer" or those God-awful
> 2001 'comeback' songs by Barry Manilow and the Bee Gees).
> And remember Destiny Child's "Emotion"? I'd rather listen
> to "Woo Hoo" by The 5.6.7.8's (the Vonage TV commercial
> song) on repeat play for half an hour than hear those
> incessantly warbling voices again.
>

 

[mistermicrophone]

> And if I was the music director at an AC station, I'd be
> scouting new album releases for new songs to play, rather
> than waiting months or even years for the record companies
> to finally pitch some of these songs at AC stations.

Maybe this is why you are NOT an AC MD...just a thought.

 

[westlife]

> Maybe this is why you are NOT an AC MD...just a thought.

It seems like Adult Contemporary has never really been both Adult AND Contemporary. At times it has been Adult (like now), or it has been Contemporary (like the late '90s, when it played a lot of current Top 40 hits from artists which were aimed a 20-something or even teenage audience), but not really both at the same time.

So basically what I'd really like is for AC to truly be Adult Contemporary. Yes, that involves taking some chances and pissing off some AC "purists", such as some AC stations did in '99 when they started playing "Livin' La Vida Loca", but overall I think the benefits of this approach outweight the risks.

And it's really quite simple. Just keep an eye on the new stuff that's being played on good AAA stations (like WXPN in Philadelphia), and if it would appeal to an audience that's mostly 25-54 women, then play it on AC as well. AC radio shouldn't be beholden to receiving a watered-down selection of months-old CHR/Pop hits -- nor should it be beholden to playing only the most "familiar" hits from every artist and group. For example, if you want to fill your James Taylor quota, instead of playing "Fire and Rain" over and over again, why not give a few spins to something like "Everyday"? Or instead of playing Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" incessantly, how about throwing in something like "Little Lies"?
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[mistermicrophone]

> So basically what I'd really like is for AC to truly be
> Adult Contemporary.

Well, it's not what YOU want...it's what the LISTENER wants.

Are you male or female? How old are you?

 

[Michael1973]

I'd like to chime in on this discussion, just as a casual observer who understands both points of view being expressed. I understand the reasoning behind sticking with the familiar hits. Makes sense to me to a certain degree. However, I see a slight problem arising down the road.

Today's AC stations play a small handful of "recent" hits and a large chunk of older music from the 60's through 90's (depending on the station). You've already discussed the reasons for this focus. But let's not forget that up until the mid 1990's, there was a lot more music being released to pick from, hence there's a lot more "familiar" music from that era.

Which brings me to my point. What happens years down the road when 70's and/or 80's music no longer appeals to the target audience (think of how 50's music was dropped from the Oldies format)? Suddenly, you're trying to modify your AC playlist to pick "familiar" songs from the 90's and 00's and there's just not going to be very much available. A lot of the music released during this time frame was dropped as soon as it got old, and nobody will remember it. What will be left when the majority of today's "high testing" AC favorites are no longer appealing to the listeners?

I'm sure I sound clueless, but I'd like to hear your thoughts...

 

[whyhellothere]

An excellent question.

In the last several years AC has moved away from having AC only "hits". Now AC is a blend of the lighter songs in the pop, rock, and country categories. Over time AC radio has replaced songs that may have been big AC hits with songs that were top-40 hits. The theory is, in 2005 a 35 year-old female was 18 in 1988. The songs that are most familiar to them and are more generally their favorites are the songs that were the top-40 hits. So the center of our demographic window keeps changing over time and adapting to the songs that may be more recognizable.

In other words, in 2008 we'll pick up top-40 songs that we may not have played new in 1999. So over time we'll pick up more songs that were big from that era, not just exclusively songs that were played on our format.



> I'd like to chime in on this discussion, just as a casual
> observer who understands both points of view being
> expressed. I understand the reasoning behind sticking with
> the familiar hits. Makes sense to me to a certain degree.
> However, I see a slight problem arising down the road.
>
> Today's AC stations play a small handful of "recent" hits
> and a large chunk of older music from the 60's through 90's
> (depending on the station). You've already discussed the
> reasons for this focus. But let's not forget that up until
> the mid 1990's, there was a lot more music being released to
> pick from, hence there's a lot more "familiar" music from
> that era.
>
> Which brings me to my point. What happens years down the
> road when 70's and/or 80's music no longer appeals to the
> target audience (think of how 50's music was dropped from
> the Oldies format)? Suddenly, you're trying to modify your
> AC playlist to pick "familiar" songs from the 90's and 00's
> and there's just not going to be very much available. A lot
> of the music released during this time frame was dropped as
> soon as it got old, and nobody will remember it. What will
> be left when the majority of today's "high testing" AC
> favorites are no longer appealing to the listeners?
>
> I'm sure I sound clueless, but I'd like to hear your
> thoughts...
>

 

[westlife]

> Well, it's not what YOU want...it's what the LISTENER wants.

Exactly! And listeners are calling out for better variety and less repetition... so why not give it to them?

> Are you male or female? How old are you?

I'm a human being in the age 18 to Death demographic. That's all that you need to know.


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[whyhellothere]

Then why do some of the most successful AC stations have tight playlists?




> > Well, it's not what YOU want...it's what the LISTENER
> wants.
>
> Exactly! And listeners are calling out for better variety
> and less repetition... so why not give it to them?
>
> > Are you male or female? How old are you?
>
> I'm a human being in the age 18 to Death demographic.
> That's all that you need to know.
>

 

[Jeffster]

It seems to me the attitude of the AC powers that be creates an unfortunate situation, where new soft rock has no place to go. The "CHR" stations and the "hot AC" stations say "it's too soft" and the "AC" stations say "it's too unfamiliar." Amazingly, a song like Michael Buble's "Home" actually manages to bust through the cobwebs covering the corpse of a formerly fresh format and hit #1. But it only shows how rare it is. Maybe a few hit the smooth jazz chart, but is that where a new Carly Simon or Anita Baker song really belongs? I recently listened to a Countdown America with Dick Clark show from July 1986. Shockingly, none of the songs were 8 months old, and they actually moved up and down the chart. And this show used...surprise, the Adult Contemporary chart!! I'm glad the AC programmers had a different attitude then, and didn't say "Steve Winwood? Nah. Too unfamiliar." How I miss the days of radio with personality and fun.