WBOS

[Least]

And many of the record industry metrics, whether they be physical or download or stream, do not include information on who was buying or streaming the product. So a "huge" song might be a total negative among a specific station's listeners.

That was the reason why Gavin created his tip sheet back in the later 50's: to allow one format to track the play and response for songs within that format's listeners.

It's why, back in the early 70's I started watching store sales by sending a station rep into a few stores on peak sales days to see who was buying the songs. We did not care how much a song sold; we cared whether our own listeners were buying it.

The 70's spawned many more "tip sheets"* that were specific to certain formats; the use of trades like Billboard and Cash Box were not really used for charts (if stations got them at all) but, instead, for industry and artist news, concert information and other related information. By the end of the 70's we had Radio & Records, later shortened to R&R, which was radio based with industry news for both radio and music.

Today, the source of airplay info is the combination of current "callout" (which is mostly online now) for a short list of songs, and AMT's for library. That tells us what our own format (us and any direct competitor) listeners like, dislike, are tired or burnt out on, are unfamiliar with, etc.

And dissection of test results, such as cluster/factor analysis, shows us how subsets of our own listeners react to songs. We can thus find the songs that have cross specrum commonality, which are the only ones one-to-many media can play.

Are you still doing phone research? I used to participate monthly back when I was in college.

Actually, thanks for this info as I did not know fully what it research included currently.

 

[TheBigA]

Therefore, by having the stations that play "new rock" playing more of it, gives a distinction to WBOS and other classic rock stations playing 90s songs.

Once again, you're assuming anyone wants to hear more new rock. I don't see that happening. WBOS says they're "The Next Generation of Classic Rock." Looking at their playlist, it's a lot of classic alternative, with Weezer, Green Day, Nirvana, Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, etc. combined with 80s classic rock with Aerosmith, Zepplin, Motley, and Van Halen.

My alternative rock friends would say that combination is oil and water. Those audiences don't mix. You're suggesting going in the other direction with more new music, and I don't see that being any better. WZLX is getting better ratings and younger demos with pure classic rock. If I was WBOS, I'd increase the 80s rock and decrease the alternative, and that mix will still be distinctive from WZLX.

 

[Least]

Once again, you're assuming anyone wants to hear more new rock. I don't see that happening. WBOS says they're "The Next Generation of Classic Rock." Looking at their playlist, it's a lot of classic alternative, with Weezer, Green Day, Nirvana, Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, etc. combined with 80s classic rock with Aerosmith, Zepplin, Motley, and Van Halen.

My alternative rock friends would say that combination is oil and water. Those audiences don't mix. You're suggesting going in the other direction, and I don't see that being any better. WZLX is getting better ratings with pure classic rock. If I was WBOS, I'd increase the 80s rock and decrease the alternative, and that mix will still be distinctive from WZLX.

Just to be clear, I'm not saying that WBOS or WZLX would go in that direction. I'm saying that stations claiming to be new rock should either be new rock or move on to something else.

I'm not assuming that younger audiences want new rock. I'm saying for the genre to survive, current songs need to be pushed. If it fails, then it fails. This is not just with radio. All around it needs to be pushed, if people supporting the genre wants it to progress forward. Again, this site focuses on radio, so I bring up where I see radio's involvement in the current status quo.

As for alternative, That's what was viable in rock in 90s. Trust me, my rock playlists are not those songs. The 90s rock I listened to was more harder/metal songs. Outside of WAXQ when it first launched, we didn't see much of Fear Factory and Type O Negative on commercial radio. I agree with your friends' observation. Alternative today is much like it was in the 80s (electronic and rhythmic) with grunge being the true outlier. My theory still holds true to me. If there is any chance for this to move forward, new acts need to rise to prevalence. As for WBOS, stations aiming at an audience for "new" play much of what WBOS plays. Unless WBOS gets air-staff that draw in an audience for their personality, the music isn't going to cut it for the fore mentioned reasons. And I'm a longtime fan of Adam 12. I find him through his on air persona and his social media presence to be a down to earth and respectful person.

In other words we agree here, just that I'm not saying WBOS needs to play new music. I'm saying the stations claiming to play new music are syphoning away from WBOS for relying too much on the music that I observe as being more relevant to WBOS than a station claiming to be current.

 

[TheBigA]

Just to be clear, I'm not saying that WBOS or WZLX would go in that direction. I'm saying that stations claiming to be new rock should either be new rock or move on to something else.

OK I think I see what you're saying.

Who in Boston is claiming to be new rock? I don't see anyone in town.

 

[Least]

OK I think I see what you're saying.

Who in Boston is claiming to be new rock? I don't see anyone in town.

Nobody in Boston proper. Im.not sure about Worcester and South. North, WGIR-FM and WHEB (both iheart) do mix a bunch together, which works for Manchester and Portsmouth. But for people like me who are in the northern Massachusetts/Southern NH area, I can get what WBOS plays, along with new songs from WGIR and WHEB. Before being sold, I saw WAAF as doing the same thing.

What I was doing is what I do in my professional writing, which is detailing all my thoughts. That makes things long for readers, and does result with people misinterpreting my actual statements.

Regarding 80s songs, I see that as an overlap between WZLX and WBOS and was guessing that to be why WBOS chose to be more prevalent with 90s songs. 80s songs are what introduced me to rock. My father pulled my mother's Lionel Ritchie casset out of the deck when I was listening to Dancing on the Ceiling and made me listen Welcome to the Jungle.

 

[TheBigA]

I can get what WBOS plays, along with new songs from. WGIR and WHEB.

If iHeart thought they could make inroads in Boston with their of those stations, they'd have put that format on WKAF.

Song overlaps are not a problem. There are lots of overlaps between WKLB, The Bull, and Cat Country. Nobody cares.

 

[Least]

If iHeart thought they could make inroads in Boston with their of those stations, they'd have put that format on WKAF.

Song overlaps are not a problem. There are lots of overlaps between WKLB and The Bull. Nobody cares.

I think iHeart's move with Rumba on WKAF was the smarter move. It's unique. An iHeart station would be much like WGIR and WHEB, and would take from WZLX. As for the country stations, they aim towards the same songs. Stations claiming to be current rock have (in my opinion) and identify crisis. They aren't current, yet aren't fully classic rock either. I see what WBOS is trying to create, what was prominent on FM in the 90s. I see the problem as current stations draining all the life out of that playlist from 20 years of continuous airplay.

 

[davideduardo]

Are you still doing phone research? I used to participate monthly back when I was in college.

Actually, thanks for this info as I did not know fully what it research included currently.

No, it is done in it most accurate (non-distorted) fashion via live recruitment by phone or using email from a verified list, and then the test is done online with verification codes.

Music tests of the whole library are similarly done, with in-person having pretty much disappeared during the pandemic.

 

[davideduardo]

I think iHeart's move with Rumba on WKAF was the smarter move. It's unique.

I don't think it will do much over a mid-1 share, but that will be salable.

60% or more o f the Hispanic market is later generation, and does not listen to Spanish radio. And then half of the market that does speak Spanish is too old to like the format.

 

[TheBigA]

I see the problem as current stations draining all the life out of that playlist from 20 years of continuous airplay.

And yet WZLX isn't hurt by playing 50- and in some cases 60-year old songs that have been played even more frequently.

They may be burned out to you, but not to the audience who listens.

 

[inorm99]

Nobody in Boston proper. Im.not sure about Worcester and South. North, WGIR-FM and WHEB (both iheart) do mix a bunch together, which works for Manchester and Portsmouth. But for people like me who are in the northern Massachusetts/Southern NH area, I can get what WBOS plays, along with new songs from WGIR and WHEB. Before being sold, I saw WAAF as doing the same thing.

What I was doing is what I do in my professional writing, which is detailing all my thoughts. That makes things long for readers, and does result with people misinterpreting my actual statements.

Regarding 80s songs, I see that as an overlap between WZLX and WBOS and was guessing that to be why WBOS chose to be more prevalent with 90s songs. 80s songs are what introduced me to rock. My father pulled my mother's Lionel Ritchie casset out of the deck when I was listening to Dancing on the Ceiling and made me listen Welcome to the Jungle.

Boston's deserved reputation as a hotbed of alternative music, has long since disappeared
It's like an entire city has lost half its IQ

 

[MarkW]

I agree completely with BigA's oil and water comment above.

The station has indeed scaled back on 90s alternative/pop product in recent months, but that means it's now leaning on the same worn out 80s butt rock tunes even more heavily.

 

[Retro]

I agree completely with BigA's oil and water comment above.

The station has indeed scaled back on 90s alternative/pop product in recent months, but that means it's now leaning on the same worn out 80s butt rock tunes even more heavily.

Perhaps they could do better by scrapping the current format entirely, and try something such as Yacht Rock instead?

 

[TheBigA]

Perhaps they could do better by scrapping the current format entirely, and try something such as Yacht Rock instead?

For all the yachts out on Nantucket.

What do you do after the first week? Those songs are fine for a specialty weekend and that's about it.

 

[MarkW]

Before WAAF went away, they plus Rock 92.9 comprised about 4 shares of combined listening. WHJY and WGIR add about 1.5 more shares.

Rock 92.9 just needs to find the musical sweet spot. David Eduardo is right; comprehensive new research should be performed. I think 92.9 is leaving a lot of potential listening on the table.

 

[CTListener]

For all the yachts out on Nantucket.

What do you do after the first week? Those songs are fine for a specialty weekend and that's about it.

Every year, SiriusXM ditches its love songs channel for the entire summer in favor of Yacht Rock, which has a playlist of about 250 songs -- half of which seem to be by the Doobie Brothers or Michael MacDonald, half by Steely Dan, with an occasional interruption for "Baby Come Back" or "I Go Crazy."

Of course, that channel exists in a universe of hundreds of channels, and there's no expectation that anyone is going to be listening to it day after day from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

 

[Least]

And yet WZLX isn't hurt by playing 50- and in some cases 60-year old songs that have been played even more frequently.

They may be burned out to you, but not to the audience who listens.

I was away for the weekend.

I see the difference with WZLX is that other than WBOS, much of their playlist gets less play on stations that call themselves "current." It gives the audience a reason to go to WZLX. In the 90s, when the music on WZLX was at the stage of where the music on WBOS is now, current rock stations of then would use those older songs; but there was a long list of new/current rock hits being played. It allowed the distancing to exist for WZLX. For WBOS today, I think it's harder because there is a greater reliance on current rock stations to play the same songs WBOS is using to create it's next generation of classic rock format.

 

[Least]

I don't think it will do much over a mid-1 share, but that will be salable.

60% or more o f the Hispanic market is later generation, and does not listen to Spanish radio. And then half of the market that does speak Spanish is too old to like the format.

With the culture of today, would you see the younger generation possibly grafting back to it, as a means of connecting with their heritage?

Boston's deserved reputation as a hotbed of alternative music, has long since disappeared
It's like an entire city has lost half its IQ

I would make the same statement about avid Top 40 listeners. That's all taste in the end.

 

[TheBigA]

For WBOS today, I think it's harder because there is a greater reliance on current rock stations to play the same songs WBOS is using to create it's next generation of classic rock format.

But there are no current rock stations in Boston, so it isn't an issue.

 

[davideduardo]

With the culture of today, would you see the younger generation possibly grafting back to it, as a means of connecting with their heritage?

No. Spanish language music for Latinos is much more stratified than English language music in the U.S. Not only are there generational differences, there are national origin differences.

The equivalent of U.S. Country Music in Mexico is what is properly called "grupera" and which in the U.S. is named "Regional Mexican". But that music is not attractive to a Costa Rican or a Colombian or a Puerto Rican (to name just three). And the same "kind" of music in the Dominican Republic, called Bachata, is rarely liked outside of that nation... and so on.