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THE ULTIMATE VENT ABOUT PARTY FM

It seems that a segment of the dance population in NY is still sore over what happened with Hot 97 what 17 years ago now. That even a dance heavy (and compared to the rest of the countries rhythmic's they play a lot of dance) play's any hip-hop get's crucified. I wish I had a rhythmic that play's some of my favorite dance music on the radio where I live.
 
Sorry, I'm usually just a reader of these boards but I had to put my two cents in on this one...

I think a lot of you are missing the point about what the real problem is with Party FM.  And it has little to do with all this bickering over this song vs. that song or this % dance to that % hip hop.

Pulse 87 listeners were passionate about the station- a station that was executed very well from top to bottom- music, imaging, personalities, mixshows.  Everything about the station (with the exception of the business model) clicked.  People sought it out.  They couldn't get this anywhere else on the dial.  Did Pulse play 100% dance music all the time?  No, they didn't, but you didn't hear too many people complaining, because the station was programmed in such a way that the balance worked for everyone.  Joel Salkowitz did it the same way with Hot 97 back in the day.  Notice how 20+ years later you hear people swearing up and down saying how Hot 97 was 100% freestyle and club music?  Go back and listen, that totally was not the case, but perception is everything.

Vic Latino seems to lack this ability.  Everything about his station screams small market.  The bigger problem, however, is Vic's notorious ego, which has been referred to more than once in other posts.  Apparently, he didn't get the memo that its not 2002 and he's not on KTU anymore.  Listening to Party FM is like listening to the Vic Latino's cronies hour.  Everything is an in-joke.  Some club promoter named Brian talks for what seems like hours on end on Monday nights about God knows what.  The same 5 people call in all the time.  Vic hits on 18 year old girls.  DJ Serg is suddenly an on-air personality, when it's painfully clear he's better off staying behind the turntables.  The whole vibe of the station is too cool for the room, not inviting at all to the average listener, with little to no music or presentation to back it up. It feels less about the listener and more about Vic & company having fun amongst themselves.

In closing, I don't understand for a second how anyone thinks this station is going to fly.  I think some people in the "dance music community" and industry are so desperate to have something, anything that they're trying to defend this station.  But let's be real.  The presentation is lame, and I can hear 80% of what Party plays on Z100, KTU, Now 92.3.  Am I really going to bother going all the way down the dial to a staticky signal in the hopes that maybe if I stick around for 15 minutes I'll hear Annagrace "Let The Feelings Go"?

There were over a million people passionate about Pulse 87.  Find me ten people who are actually passionate about this station.
 
italianstallion said:
In closing, I don't understand for a second how anyone thinks this station is going to fly. I think some people in the "dance music community" and industry are so desperate to have something, anything that they're trying to defend this station. But let's be real. The presentation is lame, and I can hear 80% of what Party plays on Z100, KTU, Now 92.3. Am I really going to bother going all the way down the dial to a staticky signal in the hopes that maybe if I stick around for 15 minutes I'll hear Annagrace "Let The Feelings Go"?

There were over a million people passionate about Pulse 87. Find me ten people who are actually passionate about this station.

And for me stallion, this is where I have said it before about being in a "rock and a hard place".

At the time, I thought, let's give the station a chance. It is painfully obvious that everyone is upset and as a dance music fan I totally understand it. I'm not going to go into character attacks on anyone but if things continue to go downhill (which is why I'm waiting it out for the next full PPM books as proof) then something HAS to be done.
 
Mega Media Enters Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Of all the Party/Pulse posts on this forum (though, I will admit, it has cleared up a bit of late ;) ), I'm surprised this hasn't been posted yet:

DCRTV.com reports: "Mega Media, which was planning to launch a dance-oriented radio station, as Pulse 87.7, in the DC area last summer, has entered Chapter 7 (from the less severe Chapter 11) bankruptcy liquidation..."

More at http://dcrtv.com.
 
IMO the station's already done. It's got zero buzz. I haven't heard one person listening to or talking about this station since it took over from Pulse. I'm sure Vic's intention in the beginning was to hold onto as many of those million or so people who had 87.7 as a preset on their dial and hoped they'd stick around. Again, I'll be surprised if 20% of those million even stayed for the next Arbitron book.

At this point, I don't even think giving the playlist a complete overhaul will do anything. Like I said before, perception is everything. Stick a fork in this turkey, it's done.
 
I wouldn't count Party out just yet. It took Pulse over a year before it got near a million cume. Yet,the best advertisement Pulse seem to generate were male enhancement pills and tanning salons. I do remember Pulse listeners complaining about that as well (what else is new).Let's be objective somewhat.
 
Hey everyone is entitled to their opinion. But once again, you can't compare this station to the Pulse as they are radically different. It would be like comparing Lite FM to WPLJ. They might play some of the same records but everything else is very different.

Would they like to keep the Pulse listeners? It would be a great starting point but if they don't like what they are hearing they will move on. I'm sure that Party is very well aware of this. But they have their own vision and they will execute it their way.

I like the station and know plenty of other that like it as well. Will they soar past the Million mark in the PPM's right away? I have no idea. But like most other stations the first book will only be a starting point for them. Not the end. ;)

jp
 
Dumb question, but since Pulse got the plug pulled, and a new station comes in the same frequency, doesn't arbitron/PPM data resets itself for that new station? I know this was done for NOW, X and Hit 106 in the Jersey Shore.
 
italianstallion said:
IMO the station's already done. It's got zero buzz. I haven't heard one person listening to or talking about this station since it took over from Pulse. I'm sure Vic's intention in the beginning was to hold onto as many of those million or so people who had 87.7 as a preset on their dial and hoped they'd stick around. Again, I'll be surprised if 20% of those million even stayed for the next Arbitron book.

At this point, I don't even think giving the playlist a complete overhaul will do anything. Like I said before, perception is everything. Stick a fork in this turkey, it's done.

As I've said I removed Party from my presets and this is coming from a long time Party listener. It's clear Vic is running the station into the ground. I doubt he will be able to make money with this model, and the real shame in JVC failing is that 105.3 will probably get sold and may completely change to a format that plays zero dance music. Back when Andre was running the show Party was sounding much better, then Vic came along, and had hostile takeover of Party and got rid of everything that was great about the station.
 
Here's the one thing that I just thought about.

When the next books come out, I would think that JVC would compare the PartyFM ratings to what they had in the past as 105.3 with Pulse NOT being taken into consideration. If their numbers happen to improve from what they've done prior; gaining listenership in comparison to when Party was on 105.3 and 101.5, then the perception would be in that mindset that things are good. And technically if the numbers did go up on WPTY/WNYZ without considering the Pulse factor, they would be.

Keep that in mind in the event that they think the station did good, because in terms of that technicality the numbers and cumes did go "up", then in effect they DID do good. Though in the minds and hearts of the dance music aspect of fans, that would not be the case.

Just food for thought.
 
d21ofnj said:
Dumb question, but since Pulse got the plug pulled, and a new station comes in the same frequency, doesn't arbitron/PPM data resets itself for that new station? I know this was done for NOW, X and Hit 106 in the Jersey Shore.

Only if the new station owner becomes an Arbitron client. In this case, they did become a client but it wasn't as soon as the switch happened. If it was me, I wouldn't have become a client for at least 2-3 months until the station was up and running the way i wanted it to. Nothing positive is going to come from the PPM numbers for at least a few months since it was a format change.

jp
 
Tony Santiago said:
Here's the one thing that I just thought about.

When the next books come out, I would think that JVC would compare the PartyFM ratings to what they had in the past as 105.3 with Pulse NOT being taken into consideration. If their numbers happen to improve from what they've done prior; gaining listenership in comparison to when Party was on 105.3 and 101.5, then the perception would be in that mindset that things are good. And technically if the numbers did go up on WPTY/WNYZ without considering the Pulse factor, they would be.

Keep that in mind in the event that they think the station did good, because in terms of that technicality the numbers and cumes did go "up", then in effect they DID do good. Though in the minds and hearts of the dance music aspect of fans, that would not be the case.

Just food for thought.

You are correct. But the main focus will be to make money ratings or not. As WPLJ has proven every book for the past 20 years, stations don't need high ratings to make money. That can be done without high ratings especially if you cater to a "niche" market. Vic is a very smart business person and knows how to turn a profit. ;)

jp
 
I've listened to Party FM recently and the station sounds great IMO. They did a great job with the new schedule, and plus the mixshows are awesome. I like it a bit more than Pulse actually, not saying Pulse was bad, I liked that station, but I started listen this new station. Like I said before, you should be happy you got the station, its better than nothing.
 
Re: Mega Media Enters Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

It's been in chapter 7 status since December.

The Pulse 87 fire sale will be happening soon ;) In fact, they got rid of a lot of their "assets" (t-shirts and hats) during their last 2 club appearances.
 
Why so much hate for Party FM?

Is it because they play hip hop and the station whose frequency they took over played very little hip hop?

Party 105 has been playing hip hop since its launch in 1998, and has alternated between periods of a lot of hip hop and periods of little hip hop that seemed to change seasonally. And we won't forget the best sound it ever had was when Andre was in charge, but even then they did play hip hop. I remember seeing so much love for Party 105 even as recent as this summer. But since they took over 87.7, I have seen people hating that station. Remind us what America's longest running dance station is, oh that's right, Party 105. It's kept playing dance with 4 different owners, Jarad, TMO, JVC, and even BusinessTalkRadio.net kept the dance format on 105.3.

I bet people would not hate Party FM so much if they didn't play hip hop. Pulse 87 never played "gangsta" rap, the hip hop they played had a beat that flowed well with the dance. Party's hip hop sounds like a trainwreck when played along with dance.
 
Re: Mega Media Enters Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

How could they sell a bunch of stations that don't even exist?
 
Re: Why so much hate for Party FM?

I've always accepted Hip Hop has been part of the format at Party. I've listened to them since they've signed on the air. Why so many complaints after they took over 87.7? It's because their once cutting edge format, that played new dance AND hip hop tracks first, has lost its luster and sounds more like a typical rhythmic CHR. Party is missing most new dance tracks, instead of breaking them. The station has leaned much farther in the hip hop direction than they ever had, and the repitition is so heavy I cant bear listening anymore.
I really do not understand why Vic Latino has taken away the sound that has made Party a success for all these years. He's also given the station a much more urban hispanic feel to it, with all the Pit Bull,etc. Which baffles me since there's 98.5 for that. ???
Trust me if Andre was running things Party would've been a huge success on 87.7.
 
Re: Mega Media Enters Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

musicfan101 said:
How could they sell a bunch of stations that don't even exist?
At the auction, they will be selling the Pulse 87 equipment like the board, mixers, furniture, and maybe even the Pulse 87 van for pennies on the dollar.
 
Re: Why so much hate for Party FM?

Nick, I'm going to correct you ALL over the place for the sake of putting up proper information:

1. The LONGEST running dance station is KNHC (C-89.5) out of Seattle and has been doing the format for about 27 years or so.
2. Hip-hop was NOT around during the launch of Party in 1998. It was more CHR leaning at the time with the dance.
3. While BusinessTalkRadio.net was in the plans to purchase the 3 stations, that fell through so they NEVER owned Party 105.3 at any given time.
4. For the sake of "poster angst" on this board with all of these dance posts lately, let's just stick to the threads that are currently up for now. Just until things settle down.

Thank you,
TS
 
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