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WARM 103

M

Magnum

Guest
Does it appear this week that Warm 103 has softened its playlist? I've also noticed that they've added 70s music back into their normal playlist. For awhile, they were sounding very similar to The Rose.
 
Listening today that appears to be the case.

Someone at Cumulus Corporate must be finally paying attention.

After the current PD did all he could to destroy the station in the fall with his idiotic music choices, it's about time there was some intervention.
 
Here's Friday 3/19/10's 2 and 4 PM hours:
3 PM
WARM-FM 3:00 PM CROWDED HOUSE Don't Dream It's Over 1987 G
WARM-FM 3:04 PM LIFEHOUSE You And Me 2005 R
WARM-FM 3:08 PM BUBLE, MICHAEL Haven't Met You Yet 2009 C
WARM-FM 3:12 PM POLICE Every Little Thing She Does... 1981 G
WARM-FM 3:16 PM DEEP BLUE SOMETHING Breakfast At Tiffany's 1994 G
WARM-FM 3:25 PM SEGER, BOB Old Time Rock & Roll 1979 G
WARM-FM 3:28 PM CAILLAT, COLBIE Bubbly 2007 R
WARM-FM 3:31 PM HOOBASTANK The Reason 2003 G
WARM-FM 3:35 PM TURNER, TINA What's Love Got To Do With It 1984 G
WARM-FM 3:38 PM STEFANI, GWEN The Sweet Escape 2006 R
WARM-FM 3:42 PM THOMAS, ROB Someday 2009 C
WARM-FM 3:53 PM CROW, SHERYL All I Wanna Do 1994 G
WARM-FM 3:57 PM SAVAGE GARDEN I Knew I Loved You 2000 G
4 PM
WARM-FM 4:00 PM BON JOVI Who Says You Can't Go Home 2005 R
WARM-FM 4:04 PM TWAIN, SHANIA From This Moment On 1998 G
WARM-FM 4:09 PM TAYLOR, JAMES Your Smiling Face 1977 G
WARM-FM 4:12 PM DAUGHTRY No Surprise 2009 R
WARM-FM 4:16 PM ACE OF BASE The Sign 1993 G
WARM-FM 4:24 PM MELLENCAMP, JOHN C Hurts So Good 1982 G
WARM-FM 4:27 PM BEDINGFIELD, NATASHA Unwritten 2005 R
WARM-FM 4:31 PM NICKELBACK Far Away 2005 G
WARM-FM 4:35 PM MCLACHLAN, SARAH I Will Remember You (Live) 1999 G
WARM-FM 4:39 PM EAGLES One Of These Nights 1976 G
WARM-FM 4:42 PM CAREY, MARIAH Hero 1993 G
WARM-FM 4:53 PM PINK Please Don't Leave Me 2009 C
WARM-FM 4:57 PM HALL & OATES Maneater 1982
 
Based on those two hours, it doesn't look softer to me. It looks like a standard AC station although James Taylor, "Your Smiling Face" is a little odd.
 
I'm not sure what you guys are really talking about...while I would actually pay money to bring back the "campy" and "sissy" and "wimpy" WARM 103 from the 1990s and early 2000s, I have to say that I don't notice anything tremendously different about the current playlist, compared to a year or two ago. They do seem to be playing a teeny tiny bit more songs from the 70s, and it looks like they realized that "The Best Repetition of Today's Soft Rock" isn't exactly the most appealing format in the world, since they seemed to have added more songs to their playlist...thank god. Also, they have gotten rid of the horrible attempts at being cool, such as Saturday Night Retro 80s or whatever, and I should given them credit for all 3 of these changes: I think these are all steps in the right direction.

However, I think it is an exaggeration to say that their playlist has gotten softer at all...I'm not sure why you guys are saying this. And they still play a very very small fraction of 70s music, probably less than 5% of their playlist is from the 70s. That is almost nothing, even compared to the "rimshot" station WQLV located NW of Harrisburg. WQLV plays several 70s songs as part of their regular programming, usually about one every hour. And WQLV has an exclusively 70s program on Saturday nights, as well as the "Classic Countdown" show with Dick Bartley on Sunday morning, which consists of 70s music with a few 60s songs mixed in. For these reasons, I consider WARM's playlist to be a bit on the "hot" side for a "soft rock" station, especially when I remember (nostalgically) what they were like 10 years ago...when they were the #1 rated station I should add...
 
This play list is reminisent of a station I worked at in 1986, WASA, out of Harve De Grace, Md, that was doing the "variety"/bi-polar thing. I.E. Adam Ant, Conway Twitty, Judas Priest (actual play list). Someone please get the medication and give it to the PD at Warm 103.
 
I used to listen to WARM 103 daily in the early 2000s. Not by choice but by force as that was the station the store I worked at played all day. I remember actually enjoying the very "campy," "sissy," and "wimpy" tunes that the other poster called them. I remember hearing Eric Carmen "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" about every other day. That's about the most sissy 70s pop song ever but I got a kick outta hearing it so often on WARM. Also "Steal Away" by Robbie Dupree, a forgotten little soft AC song from 1980. I also remember the hourly newscasts. Do they still do that? I would be surprised if they do. Hourly news on a large FM music signal is almost unheard of.
 
Interstate 78 said:
I used to listen to WARM 103 daily in the early 2000s. Not by choice but by force as that was the station the store I worked at played all day. I remember actually enjoying the very "campy," "sissy," and "wimpy" tunes that the other poster called them. I remember hearing Eric Carmen "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" about every other day. That's about the most sissy 70s pop song ever but I got a kick outta hearing it so often on WARM. Also "Steal Away" by Robbie Dupree, a forgotten little soft AC song from 1980. I also remember the hourly newscasts. Do they still do that? I would be surprised if they do. Hourly news on a large FM music signal is almost unheard of.
Click to expand...

Dude, this is great news...someone else actually admits to liking the "sissy" music that WARM used to play. I'm always amused by the fact that WARM was consistently the #1 Arbitron rated station when they used to play this campy/sissy/wimpy music (look at 1998 AND 2000 in the article http://www.animaux.net/stern/york.html), and now...how are they doing in ratings :p ? Yet, everyone cringes the moment Stephen Bishop, Neil Diamond, or the Carpenters are mentioned. My favorite is when they say "things have changed so much in the last 10 years. The old WARM could not survive with today's audience." Of course, things have changed, I will be the first to admit that...but things haven't changed SO much that a music format which was NUMBER ONE ten years ago would be a total flop today.??? Let's be honest here: even back in 2000, the music that WARM used to play was every bit as "sissy" and "uncool" as it is today. Even I would never tell my friends that I liked WARM's music. Nevertheless, WARM was the #1 station because their sissy music was GOOD music, it had a certain listenability and timelessness that you can't find in what stations play today. And believe it or not: "sissies" such as the Carpenters, Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, etc. all scored MULTIPLE number one hits less than 40 years ago. The people who drove these artists to the number one spots can't be more than 50-60 years old today; therefore, most of them are still alive, and they need something to listen to on the radio, right? Anyway, not everything WARM played was sissy...they played plenty of artists with mass appeal such as Chicago, America, Santana, Jimmy Buffett, etc...artists that are still very popular today. I can't be sure, but I think that if WARM were to bring back their old format, their ratings would actually improve, particularly because there isn't a single oldies station in the area. Not one! Now what about advertising? I have to be honest...I can't promise anything in that department, although no one can prove that WARM is better off with their current format, considering their low ratings. But I'm not even asking for WARM to return to their old format...I just wish they would play a few of the songs that they were known for back in the day, a few sissy songs can't hurt, dammit! Plus, I don't think artists like Savage Garden, Snow Patrol, or even Coldplay are at the top of the "cool" spectrum either...soft rock isn't supposed to be cool anyway! Heck, they could even have a 4 hour show like "Sissy Sunday Supper" or something that is exclusively devoted to songs from their old format, I'd be happy with that. That way, they still have 164 hours in the week to play their repetitive crap.

By the way, I think "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" by Eric Carmen is a great song as well: very catchy tune, great vocals, excellent instrumental accompaniments...all of these attributes are LACKING in about 90% of what WARM plays today. It's a shame that today's WARM would rather go off the air than play that song...they seem to think that they are too cool now or something ::)...now they only play that tremendously inferior song "Hungry Eyes" by Carmen.

Oh by the way, I am 27 years old, and male.
 
I have a suggestion for you----------there's a show called "Magic Of The 80s." It's on WHUD on Sunday mornings. HUD is a suburban NY station with a huge signal and they stream.

I suggest you go there to get your fix of "wimpiness" every week.


Some of the artists from this weeks show----Air Supply, Bette Midler, Streisand, Anita Baker, Ambrosia, and the Honeydrippers.

It airs 9a-11a on Sunday morning.
 
Oh by the way, I am 27 years old, and male.

You are very rare 27-year-old male. I agree WARM had very big ratings in the 80's and 90's playing "uncool" soft AC music. And I agree with you, I think their ratings would come up if they went back to it, especially with women. But forget the ratings for a second. The only "numbers" that actually count are number of dollars billed. Unfortunately such a format would attract a heavily 50-plus audience. And just as unfortunately, there are very few agency ad buys for older demos. A smaller station such as mine, WIOO, can do fine with almost all local-direct advertising, and our mainly age 40-plus listeners are very loyal. But the big 50-KW FM's have to go after the agency dollars, and the key is 25-54, or even better 18-49. This IMHO, is why MIX flipped to a 90's format. Their audience was getting too old. Their 12-plus numbers will probably drop, but they might do very well 18-34, a very sellable demo.
 
I have to come to the defense of vinyltapecd. I am also in that age range. 33 and male. And still wish WARM sounded like it did 10 years ago. So I guess that makes TWO "very rare" males in this age range. :)
 
Time marches on! I would imagine there were those 25 years ago (in 1985) who pined for beautiful music instrumentals of WSBA-FM and couldn't understand why WARM had to come on the scene.
 
One more thing.......WARM is probably not as successful today for two reasons. 1) The inconsistencies of music and air talent over the past 5 years. They've messed with both too much. 2) More importantly, they still have the "sissy" name while no longer playing "sissy" music. You can't hang a sign that says "McDonalds" and expect to sell pizza! They could go back to being the old warm, but that would be a death march. Mainstream ACs need to be focused on a 35 old woman.
 
Rock, wisdom would say you are right about the "sissy" name holding 103.3 back from evolving, at least in the minds of the public, but there is an exception: the Rose is still the Rose, and they have evolved to something 'way beyond what they were when they adopted that name, but keeping the name hasn't hurt them. There are probably some people who still have that old Rose image in their minds, but no matter what you call it you could never change those people. It's also possible that WARM is more locked into peoples' minds as a "sissy" name because they were the first in this market to do soft rock.
 
Seltzer, no need to go to WHUD in NY for your dose of "wimpy" music. May I suggest vinyltapecd and anyone with similar tastes try Nice 960 WHYL from Carlisle. Yes, we dip back a little farther than WARM ever did, with occasional Sinatra, etc, but the bulk of our format is the "soft oldies" of the 60's, 70's, and 80's that made up the WARM playlist. Available 24/7 at whylradio.com.
 
John-Summers said:
Rock, wisdom would say you are right about the "sissy" name holding 103.3 back from evolving, at least in the minds of the public, but there is an exception: the Rose is still the Rose, and they have evolved to something 'way beyond what they were when they adopted that name, but keeping the name hasn't hurt them. There are probably some people who still have that old Rose image in their minds, but no matter what you call it you could never change those people. It's also possible that WARM is more locked into peoples' minds as a "sissy" name because they were the first in this market to do soft rock.
Click to expand...

John. a couple of more thoughts on this. A brand can evolve. WARM could still be successful today, but they should've been meticulously evolving all along, not all this knee-jerk stuff. I knew when I heard "You Give Love A Bad Name" by Bon Jovi it didn't belong on a station named WARM. Look at WLTW in New York or WLIF in Baltimore, both very different stations today than a decade ago and both very, very successful. I doubt either is still playing "Never Gonna Fall In Love Again" by Eric Clapton.These stations have dumped the 60s and most 70s and are living in the 80s and forward. WWMX in Baltimore is another great example. Perhaps the longest users of the "MIX" brand, they started in 1986 as a 60s, 70s, and 80s AC and now have slowly become virtually a CHR and still very successful. As far as the ROSE, they've evolved somewhat, but I contend their name keeps away many of the very people who might sample them and become fans. I feel a station with the Rose's format and signal should CONSISTENTLY be #1 or 2 persons 25-54, but they are very inconsistent and many times they are beaten by WLAN.... a CHR. A different name might just match perception with reality. Remember when NICE became The Rose. Smart move. Might be time for a change of name.
 
Ok, I shall take one last shot at this and then give up...

I have a question for all of you who defend WARM in its current state: do you actually believe that the current music choices are the best they could be? In other words, do you think that soft rock is rather doomed as a format, and that it must be relegated to low ratings such as what WARM has experiencing recently? I personally don't think so at all, and I think careful utilization of older music could be one key to improving WARM. Before we even argue about the "wimpy" music...there is very little danger in playing artists like Chicago, America, Fleetwood Mac, Jimmy Buffett, ABBA, etc. But whenever these artists do get played, it is always the one overplayed song like "Margaritaville" or "Dancing Queen" and nothing else. Variety never hurts. And now for the artists who may be considered "campy": To use Neil Diamond as an example, I think songs like "Cracklin' Rosie" and "Sweet Caroline" could be safely played on WARM and I honestly believe they would actually IMPROVE the playlist in the minds of most listeners...I know plenty of women around my age (27) who love those songs, and I can't think of any who don't like them! On the other hand, perhaps songs like "Play Me" or "Hello Again" by Diamond should be handled with care and played only once in a while since they don't have the mass appeal that the 2 other songs have. What I am saying is...considering the "march of time", it makes perfect sense to play less songs like "Play Me" (no pun intended), but there is no reason to throw them out altogether...and it makes NO SENSE to throw out "Sweet Caroline" etc. And Neil Diamond is just one example out of hundreds of artists from the 70s that could positively contribute to a soft rock playlist.

Instead, WARM has abandoned all this good music in a quest to be "cool." I place "cool" in quotation marks because IMHO, many popular songs by artists like Snow Patrol, Savage Garden, Matt Nathanson, Leona Lewis, etc. are JUST AS SISSY as music by Neil Diamond, James Taylor, Stephen Bishop, or even the Carpenters. Sure, WARM's music is modern...but lots of it is equally wimpy as the old stuff...just compare the lyrics from an unbiased standpoint. The only real difference is that modern soft rock tends to lack the catchy tunes, impeccable vocals, and rich instrumentation that are almost guaranteed in 60s/70s/80s "easy listening" or soft rock songs. On top of this, there are only so many modern soft rock songs out there...which forces stations like WARM to play the same songs over and over, since they aren't willing to expand their horizons.

People may disagree, but I will continue to blame those two factors (mediocre music and lack of variety) as what make stations like WARM boring, causing their ratings to plummet. You can't blame things like their image or air talent, because let's face it...if a station plays a WINNING format which attracts listeners, they will be a success. If you are bringing image into the picture, then you should look back at the 1990s and early 2000s when WARM was the #1 rated station...and the sissiest station on the planet! Dan Fogelberg or the Carpenters sure weren't cool back in 2000 or even 1980 for that matter...were they??? The fact is...the average listener just doesn't care...good music is good music. The problem with the current WARM is that the music just isn't very good...and it's also unusually repetitive. Ever notice how they changed their slogan from "The Best Variety of Soft Rock", because there is just no variety anymore, and not even WARM can live such a lie...
 
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