WBMX (now V-103, WVAZ) question

[Hamp]

I always hear people talk about the old WBMX-FM 102.7 in Chicago, which is now V-103 WVAZ.
Everyone talks about how good the station was and how they had great mixes.
If WBMX was such a good station, how come it didn't stay on the air??? Not saying that it wasn't, but it looks like it wouldn't have been taken off.
Did the powers that be not try hard enough for the station to live up to its full potential???
Any comments/feedback????

 

[FightingIrish]

According to Wikipedia...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WVAZ

WBMX changed call their call letters to WVAZ in 1988, but apparently kept the same format. This was about the time they were sold to a new owner. Both WVAZ and chief rival WGCI wound up under the Chancellor umbrella in the late 90s (before Chancellor, later AMFM, got swallowed up by Clear Channel). The powers that be decided to take WVAZ in a more Urban AC direction.

Stations flip or alter formats for many reasons. Times change, competition gets too fierce, the owner decides they can do better with something else, or, as was the case in the old days, they don't have the money to compete. Doesn't necessarily reflect on what the station is putting out over the air. Believe me, we've all seen plenty of really crappy stations win out in the ratings wars over much better ones.

And is it just me or were mixes a helluva lot better back in the 80s and 90s than today? Today's mixers seem more adept at making noise than music.

 

[uncamark]

According to Wikipedia...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WVAZ

WBMX changed call their call letters to WVAZ in 1988, but apparently kept the same format. This was about the time they were sold to a new owner. Both WVAZ and chief rival WGCI wound up under the Chancellor umbrella in the late 90s (before Chancellor, later AMFM, got swallowed up by Clear Channel). The powers that be decided to take WVAZ in a more Urban AC direction.

Sonderling was getting out of radio and selling their stations (which included the legendary WWRL in NY and WDIA in Memphis). Barry Mayo felt that WGCI was vulnerable with their upper demo listeners (hip-hop had become by that time the line in the sand for urban stations that pretty much ended their run as broad audience appeal stations) and made the flip to an urban AC sound (and he was correct, although he never hurt GCI completely). Thus WBMX disappeared.

 

[Hamp]

According to Wikipedia...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WVAZ

WBMX changed call their call letters to WVAZ in 1988, but apparently kept the same format. This was about the time they were sold to a new owner. Both WVAZ and chief rival WGCI wound up under the Chancellor umbrella in the late 90s (before Chancellor, later AMFM, got swallowed up by Clear Channel). The powers that be decided to take WVAZ in a more Urban AC direction.

Sonderling was getting out of radio and selling their stations (which included the legendary WWRL in NY and WDIA in Memphis). Barry Mayo felt that WGCI was vulnerable with their upper demo listeners (hip-hop had become by that time the line in the sand for urban stations that pretty much ended their run as broad audience appeal stations) and made the flip to an urban AC sound (and he was correct, although he never hurt GCI completely). Thus WBMX disappeared.

Makes sense. Besides, in terms of broad audience appeal, B-96 took over where WBMX left off. I know B-96 was never totally Urban, but Top 40 Rhythmic stations are pretty much doing the same programming as Urban Contemporary did back in the 80's. So Urban Adult listeners got what they wanted and so did the younger end as well.

 

[Hamp]

According to Wikipedia...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WVAZ

WBMX changed call their call letters to WVAZ in 1988, but apparently kept the same format. This was about the time they were sold to a new owner. Both WVAZ and chief rival WGCI wound up under the Chancellor umbrella in the late 90s (before Chancellor, later AMFM, got swallowed up by Clear Channel). The powers that be decided to take WVAZ in a more Urban AC direction.

Stations flip or alter formats for many reasons. Times change, competition gets too fierce, the owner decides they can do better with something else, or, as was the case in the old days, they don't have the money to compete. Doesn't necessarily reflect on what the station is putting out over the air. Believe me, we've all seen plenty of really crappy stations win out in the ratings wars over much better ones.

And is it just me or were mixes a helluva lot better back in the 80s and 90s than today? Today's mixers seem more adept at making noise than music.

Now that I think about it, towards the late 80's (right before 1989), B-96 was starting to incorporate more House and Freestyle into its playlists. This was BEFORE they had a full-fledged weekend mixshow starting in 1989. I think stations like WBMX as well as WGCI saw the writing on the wall, so they thought they would become more competitive with something else. WBMX, not only went to a more adult format, but eliminated its mixes altogether. WGCI still had a dance mixshow, but in 1989, they cut the hours of it considerably. But I often wonder if WBMX had decided to go more of a Top 40/Urban direction rather than a Urban AC, would that have worked or would it have been a disaster??? Just wondering.

Oh, and concerning the mixes now. You can catch a good mix now and again, but the music doesn't even have any "funk" or "flavor" to it anymore. Even when Techno House was the big music back in 1992, early 1993, that had feeling. Contemporary music overall just needs a makeover.

 

[XMportable]

WBMX has had such an effect on people. It still runs as an online internet station. Try it, sounds good.

 

[Wildstyle K]

And is it just me or were mixes a helluva lot better back in the 80s and 90s than today? Today's mixers seem more adept at making noise than music.

Ha... you guys have those kind of dj's in Chicago?!?
I guess we have it made here in Phoenix, Az, now! Thanks to some new stations surfacing and some changes at other stations that happened here over the past four years! It may have resulted in us having a sea of top 40 leaning rhythmics, but now with the current dj's and the "noise maker" gone, things are much more tolerable! We now have more stations - in addition to more mixing and less noise. 

Sometimes, change is GOOD!