It's official, can't figure out when the last one left, but it's gone, lasted about 4 years. Yes there are some pretty good stations still out there, KMGL, WSPA, KOSI, and a few others that escape me at the moment. However, all the greats are gone. Maybe KMGL and WSPA are still what I'm looking for, and may they still have a long life ahead of them. However, KZAL had a unique blend of music not heard anywhere else. They were the oldest-leaning AC I had ever heard, yet at the same time they were the fastest AC on new music I had ever heard. It would not surprise me if they played something by Rod Stewart into Call Me Maybe, that's just the kind of station they were, and with there automated presentation. I tuned in today while flipping through my presets on TuneIn and they are now Z Country. Is this where AC is headed? That market, Wenachee WA has another AC so those listeners have another choice, but this is really sad. Yes, AC isn't really my format, but I know a good station in just about any format when I hear one, and this station was better than any AC I had heard in a long time. Other good stations long gone include KAST in Long Beach WA now KLMY using similar immaging to local Hot AC KPLZ, and KLSY here in Seattle, although I don't miss this one as much anymore because the CHR that now occupies 92.5 is awesome! Is this where AC is headed? I can't speak for Wenachee as there other AC doesn't stream and both have very small signals, but here in Seattle KLSY was the better AC now long gone, Yakima, just south of Wenachee does not have an AC station though I don't know what KYXE will do after Christmas, and the Twin Cities, a top 20 market, does not have an AC, unless you count the 105.1/3/7 trimulcast that does not reach the southern part of the metro at all. Any thoughts?
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There are no good AC stations left
- Thread starter bobdavcav
- Start date
E
EJ204
Guest
May I make a couple of suggestions bobdavcav?
First, paragraphs are helpful. But getting back to your post, it's hard for one station to cover too many decades. There are a few Very Soft AC stations around (WFEZ Miami, WDUV Tampa) that do great in the ratings by playing AC from the 70s and 80s with a few 60s thrown in. But their audiences are 40+, likely not interested in hearing too many titles from this century, except for an occassional song like "Bubbly" that's very soft.
Most AC stations have to keep updating their playlists so they're always targeted at women in their 30s and 40s. So every year, they've got to delete older songs that don't appeal to that age group, while adding newer songs that do. Over the last few years, they've also updated their presentations. They used to NEVER talk over song intros, now they do. They used to ALWAYS list every artist they played, now they don't.
That's not something I understand. Do listeners today WANT their DJs to talk over the music but we didn't? Don't listeners today care about what the song titles are and who the performers are, but we did? (Don't say most stations post that info on line. Who's going to go to that trouble?)
Those of us who listen to AC radio have the thought process reversed. We figure a certain sound will be popular, and therefore get ratings and make money. But General Managers have a different thought process. They decide what demographic to serve, namely women in their 30s and 40s, and then they ask a consultant or a program director to design a format that will capture that audience. Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? In this case, the demo comes first, then the station that captures that demo. That's why AC stations keep updating their sound and throwing out songs and artists we might still like.
First, paragraphs are helpful. But getting back to your post, it's hard for one station to cover too many decades. There are a few Very Soft AC stations around (WFEZ Miami, WDUV Tampa) that do great in the ratings by playing AC from the 70s and 80s with a few 60s thrown in. But their audiences are 40+, likely not interested in hearing too many titles from this century, except for an occassional song like "Bubbly" that's very soft.
Most AC stations have to keep updating their playlists so they're always targeted at women in their 30s and 40s. So every year, they've got to delete older songs that don't appeal to that age group, while adding newer songs that do. Over the last few years, they've also updated their presentations. They used to NEVER talk over song intros, now they do. They used to ALWAYS list every artist they played, now they don't.
That's not something I understand. Do listeners today WANT their DJs to talk over the music but we didn't? Don't listeners today care about what the song titles are and who the performers are, but we did? (Don't say most stations post that info on line. Who's going to go to that trouble?)
Those of us who listen to AC radio have the thought process reversed. We figure a certain sound will be popular, and therefore get ratings and make money. But General Managers have a different thought process. They decide what demographic to serve, namely women in their 30s and 40s, and then they ask a consultant or a program director to design a format that will capture that audience. Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? In this case, the demo comes first, then the station that captures that demo. That's why AC stations keep updating their sound and throwing out songs and artists we might still like.
Those are all very good points, so I guess Smooth 94.7 was kind of a nitch format. However, the other stations I remember were quite a bit different. KLSY played a lot of pop-rock like the Rembrants and Savage Garden that most ACs have forgotten, and I couldn't pinpoint what KAST did that was so good right now, but I knew they were a good station. What about those markets that don't have a mainstream AC anymore? My issue with a lot of the CC ACs is they use awesome jingles, but the music is average, and they don't use the jingles and other immaging often enough.
C
cd637299
Guest
As to not listing title/artist anymore, that used to be a complaint of mine.....but now that almost all stations have websites featuring "Last Played," it's a moot point in 2012.
As long as they have a reminder every now and then to refer to the site ("Wanna know the name of a song you heard? Check us out at blahblahblah.com"), I can live with that.....
Folks who are in the car will just have to wait until they get home, or check their app, off the road, of course.
cd
As long as they have a reminder every now and then to refer to the site ("Wanna know the name of a song you heard? Check us out at blahblahblah.com"), I can live with that.....
Folks who are in the car will just have to wait until they get home, or check their app, off the road, of course.
cd
I still like Dial Global's AC format. KSWW 102.1 in Aberdeen airs this format, as well as KRVY 97.3 in Starbuck, MN. It plays some RARE soft rock songs you would very rarely hear on other stations.
I think that's the only AC I've found that still has George Harrison's "Got My Mind Set On You" in their playlist. Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf" gets lots of airplay there too. But they also add the new songs WAY earlier than KRWM. "Payphone" Maroon 5 was added several weeks before KRWM started airing it.
-crainbebo
I think that's the only AC I've found that still has George Harrison's "Got My Mind Set On You" in their playlist. Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf" gets lots of airplay there too. But they also add the new songs WAY earlier than KRWM. "Payphone" Maroon 5 was added several weeks before KRWM started airing it.
-crainbebo
Thanks Crane, the other station you mentioned does stream, and yes I still do like KSWW but the only way to get it at my grandparents is the static-filled audio on the 101.1 translator, and I don't really listen to that much because KJET is clear as a local and also a very good station.
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