Today's Classic Hits target demo was listening to Current Hits at what age?

[PirateJohnny]

And what was the target demo of those Current Hit stations back then? Was today's Classic Hits target demo in the target demo of yesterday's Current Hits stations?

Several discussions of today's Classic Hits audience mentioned they were exposed to the songs as currents while in high school. As mentioned in several threads here, today the Classic Hits stations target audiences are centered on the 40 years olds. At what age did they stop listening to Current Hits and switch over to Classic Hits? Was it an overnight switch? On the day after that magic birthday did they re-program all the buttons on their car radio? Today's 40 year old graduated high school around 1991.

Is that high school age the correct age for targeting a Classic Hits station?

I think there is quite a bit of overlap in the two target demos. I mean, offices that have a Current Hits station on in the background today aren't full of 19 year olds are they?

What age groups are called in for focus groups and do they know (or like) songs that are older than they should know (or like)? Do they generally dis-like songs from "before their time" or "after their time"??

 

[michael hagerty]

And what was the target demo of those Current Hit stations back then? Was today's Classic Hits target demo in the target demo of yesterday's Current Hits stations?

Several discussions of today's Classic Hits audience mentioned they were exposed to the songs as currents while in high school. As mentioned in several threads here, today the Classic Hits stations target audiences are centered on the 40 years olds. At what age did they stop listening to Current Hits and switch over to Classic Hits? Was it an overnight switch? On the day after that magic birthday did they re-program all the buttons on their car radio? Today's 40 year old graduated high school around 1991.

Is that high school age the correct age for targeting a Classic Hits station?

I think there is quite a bit of overlap in the two target demos. I mean, offices that have a Current Hits station on in the background today aren't full of 19 year olds are they?

What age groups are called in for focus groups and do they know (or like) songs that are older than they should know (or like)? Do they generally dis-like songs from "before their time" or "after their time"??

CHR stations have tended to target 18-34, having rolled off appealing directly to teens years ago when the huge amounts of ad dollars targeting them in the 60s and 70s went away.

They still get teens, because apart from Radio Disney, they're the youngest-aiming stations on the dial.

People are different, so there's no one answer about when people stop listening to CHR. And it varies depending on what CHR is playing. Right now, it's very melodic, very pop and is doing well enough with adult women that it's forced AC to add Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Pink and Robin Thicke just to survive.

As we've said before, the typical listener has 6 to 9 stations (s)he spends time listening to. Very few people in the demo listen only to Classic Hits.

Music tests recruit people in the core of the demo who either are listeners or are willing to listen.

Interestingly, given that today's 40 year old was born in 1973, graduated high school in 1991 and college in 1995, most of the music played on Classic Hits today is from before their time. They know the songs from TV, movies, commercials and social situations. What's important is whether they like it now.

 

[PirateJohnny]

...
Interestingly, given that today's 40 year old was born in 1973, graduated high school in 1991 and college in 1995, most of the music played on Classic Hits today is from before their time. They know the songs from TV, movies, commercials and social situations. What's important is whether they like it now.

So why are some Classic Hits programmers so quick to remove older songs using the "age" argument? There aren't ANY listeners who vote favorably for early 60s Beatles tunes, for example?

It sounds like you're saying, for the most part, that Classic Hits libraries should not be based on if the target demo first heard the songs as currents but if they like them today. By that reasoning 60s songs should still be played, if enough focus group members vote for them (if given the chance).

 

[michael hagerty]

So why are some Classic Hits programmers so quick to remove older songs using the "age" argument? There aren't ANY listeners who vote favorably for early 60s Beatles tunes, for example?

It sounds like you're saying, for the most part, that Classic Hits libraries should not be based on if the target demo first heard the songs as currents but if they like them today. By that reasoning 60s songs should still be played, if enough focus group members vote for them (if given the chance).

They are given the chance, and the 60s songs still being played are the ones that have a following among the 40-year-olds. Programmers aren't in a hurry to ditch anything that works with the core demo. But that's a moving target.

That list of 60s songs 40 year olds like will only grow smaller over time. I'm 57. I only was into pop music for the final three years of the 60s, when I was 11, 12 and 13. There are way more 70s and 80s songs that I'd prefer to hear than 60s songs. So we can't be too surprised if people 17 years younger have an even shorter list of 60s songs they want to hear.

 

[semoochie]

I don't understand this whole thing. Why is it different from nine years ago, with the Oldies format? The 62-66 core is better known to the next generation than the 70s non-AOR titles. What changed that makes today's 40 year old want to hear any of this music, since yesterday's didn't?

 

[michael hagerty]

I don't understand this whole thing. Why is it different from nine years ago, with the Oldies format? The 62-66 core is better known to the next generation than the 70s non-AOR titles. What changed that makes today's 40 year old want to hear any of this music, since yesterday's didn't?

Very little '62-'66 in there now. I think what's happening is that ten years ago, 40 year olds had trouble relating to then-current music. Today, that's not the case, and nostalgia isn't strong enough among them yet for music from their teen years, so they go back a bit further. Again, most of this is music they were exposed to years after its release. They don't know if "Black Magic Woman" was 1970, 1975 or 1980...and they don't care. It's just a non-current song that there's a consensus on.

 

[johndavis]

It's going to be years before I will want to hear some of what was popular in the 90's, if ever. Modern AC just burned me out. But songs on either side of that era I'm okay with.

 

[radiophiler]

I'm not sure a 40 year old is the prime demo for a classic hits station. Wouldn't it really be the 45-54 age group, with the center being a 50 year old?
In that case, the person was born in 1963. The person became a teenager in 1976, graduated high school in 1981, and turned 21 in 1984. This group was probably into the early years of MTV. It would seem the core music years for this group would be 1976-1985.
I've also wondered why/how classic hits stations today can afford to play any music from the 1960s, given the truism that advertisers/agencies don't care about people age 55+.
For whatever reason, the stations haven't been able to leave the 60s behind, for the most part.

 

[michael hagerty]

I'm not sure a 40 year old is the prime demo for a classic hits station. Wouldn't it really be the 45-54 age group, with the center being a 50 year old?
In that case, the person was born in 1963. The person became a teenager in 1976, graduated high school in 1981, and turned 21 in 1984. This group was probably into the early years of MTV. It would seem the core music years for this group would be 1976-1985.
I've also wondered why/how classic hits stations today can afford to play any music from the 1960s, given the truism that advertisers/agencies don't care about people age 55+.
For whatever reason, the stations haven't been able to leave the 60s behind, for the most part.

Trouble with setting the center that high is that then, you're spending a lot of time on people that are going to age out of your demo in four years.

The super cell is 35-45, you figure you'll get listeners five years either side (fewer on the younger end because they haven't totally bought into the format and more on the older end because there aren't many other choices for older music).

As we've discussed before, the music that still gets played from the 1960s is played because it tests well with 40-year-olds.

 

[semoochie]

Very little '62-'66 in there now. I think what's happening is that ten years ago, 40 year olds had trouble relating to then-current music. Today, that's not the case, and nostalgia isn't strong enough among them yet for music from their teen years, so they go back a bit further. Again, most of this is music they were exposed to years after its release. They don't know if "Black Magic Woman" was 1970, 1975 or 1980...and they don't care. It's just a non-current song that there's a consensus on.

It sounds like you're answering my question backward! If 40 year olds can appreciate current music now, you'd think they'd be less, not more likely to go for a series of songs that predate them, as compared to the 40 year old of ten years ago..

 

[johndavis]

It sounds like you're answering my question backward! If 40 year olds can appreciate current music now, you'd think they'd be less, not more likely to go for a series of songs that predate them, as compared to the 40 year old of ten years ago..

Well, there's a reason the classic hits station in my town sounds more like a classic rock station. You can count the pre 1970 songs on one hand. Everything else is 1970 - 1989. I'm 42, and for me, "Oh, Pretty Woman" was recorded by Van Halen.

More classic hits stations will eventually own the 80's, as long as there isn't a Variety Hits (Jack, etc.) station in the market who already owns the musical position. It's what WCBS has been doing to WLTW: they've aggressively taken the 80's music position away from Lite before Lite was able to completely transition from Bee Gees and disco to Huey Lewis. Yes, CBS still has the token Beatles record in there, but you're more likely to hear Bon Jovi.

 

[michael hagerty]

It sounds like you're answering my question backward! If 40 year olds can appreciate current music now, you'd think they'd be less, not more likely to go for a series of songs that predate them, as compared to the 40 year old of ten years ago..

Sorry, Semoochie...I didn't get what you were saying first time around.

It's the current music that has changed. And it's done so recently enough that today's 40-somethings had already added Classic Hits to the formats they listen to. They're adults, not fickle kids...they're not going to stop listening to other formats just because they like the last 18-24 months worth of CHR.

If the music had broader appeal 10 years ago, you would have seen the same willingness to listen to CHR from 40-somethings then.

 

[johndavis]

Well, I am more apt to spend a little time on CHR now than I was while everyone was getting crunk 10 years ago... but only for a song or two.

 

[michael hagerty]

Well, I am more apt to spend a little time on CHR now than I was while everyone was getting crunk 10 years ago... but only for a song or two.

I think it's more applicable to women, John.

 

[johndavis]

I think it's more applicable to women, John.

True, true. CHR has always been female oriented. Classic hits can swing either way. Classic Rock is, in the words of Reid Reiker, A Radio Station For Men.

 

[CTListener]

It sounds like you're answering my question backward! If 40 year olds can appreciate current music now, you'd think they'd be less, not more likely to go for a series of songs that predate them, as compared to the 40 year old of ten years ago..

Ten years ago, CHR was dominated by hip-hop. The pendulum has swung back to more melodic music (even if much of it is AutoTune studio magic rather than pure vocal talent), which means that a catchy tune from the late '60s/early '70s has a better chance of resonating with the current CHR listener than it would have to the 2003 CHR listener, who enjoyed rap and other more simplistic rhythmic/chanting-based music. At least that's how I interpret what Michael is saying.

 

[michael hagerty]

Ten years ago, CHR was dominated by hip-hop. The pendulum has swung back to more melodic music (even if much of it is AutoTune studio magic rather than pure vocal talent), which means that a catchy tune from the late '60s/early '70s has a better chance of resonating with the current CHR listener than it would have to the 2003 CHR listener, who enjoyed rap and other more simplistic rhythmic/chanting-based music. At least that's how I interpret what Michael is saying.

Partly, but more that a 40-something who's been sampling Classic Hits for let's say 5 years, has been able to listen to CHR the last 2, which would have been less likely 10 years ago.

 

[firepoint525]

duplicate, disregard.

 

[firepoint525]

Johnny asked a LOT of questions to kick off this thread. For me, then-current music began to lose its luster around 1991. I was 27 at the time. It was the year of grunge, and Soundscan took over Billboard, causing mediocre songs to stay seemingly forever at #1.

But my tastes began to run a bit more AC as early as 1983, the year of "*** On Feel the Noize" by Quiet Riot. There had certainly been songs that I had disliked before then, but suddenly, Quiet Riot made me feel "old" at the ripe old age of 19. Granted, their music (if we could even call it that) probably appealed to kids younger than me, as evidenced by the fact that my sister (14 at the time, I think) used to play the crap out of that song, just to annoy me! I never really cared for any of the hair band stuff of the mid-to-late '80s, but then again, I always assumed that it was aimed at the teens, anyway.

 

[oldies76]

Johnny asked a LOT of questions to kick off this thread. For me, then-current music began to lose its luster around 1991. I was 27 at the time. It was the year of grunge, and Soundscan took over Billboard, causing mediocre songs to stay seemingly forever at #1.

Yeah, I still use the pre-Soundscan rankings for rock and roll songs, most weeks at #1. And trust me, it's not "One Sweet Day!" 16 weeks at #1....good grief!