Remember, this is the same demographic that grew up on "The Sound of Music" and "West Side Story" where they sang about nazis and and gangs.
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Well K-EARTH finally did it
- Thread starter 30james
- Start date
You replied to David's example of how WMMS -- a fiercely progressive Album Oriented Rock station at the time -- broke Rush by playlisting an album cut and playing it like a current.
The Music Director, acting on gut instinct, convinced now-legendary PD John Gorman to play it, not because they held a focus group and did an auditorium music test, not because of some quid pro quo deal they cut with the record label, but because they loved the music they heard and believed in the band.
This is the polar opposite of corporate country radio playing a cut every two hours from the new album by one of their formulaic star artists from the entrenched Nashville music machine because the head office sent them an email advising to do so as part of their top-down P.R. campaign. I would be very surprised if the directive did not involve an agreement to get Kenny to play at their big corporate country festival or some such perk in return.
Today, almost always under the circumstances described above, featured for one day for the sake of corporate P.R. Not playlisting it the way David described in his example.
You completely missed the point.
Nothing in Country radio occurs organically in any way similar to the example cited in the post you replied to.
How much is wrong here?
First, focus groups are not used to research individual songs. Second, new music is not researched at all (if it could be researched, labels would no longer release so many stiffs. Third, "deals" with record labels is an exaggeration; stations that follow the labels releases have a chance to get in on promotions... those that swim upstream get left out. Fourth, stations add songs because they think listeners will like them and not tune out when they hear them.
Quid pro quo works everywhere. In this case, you DON'T get the big artist on your event schedule if you mess up the label's release cuts and schedule. And country stars are indeed not just music but lifestyle icons. If a huge artist is putting out a much anticipated new release, even back 50 years ago I'd consider (and actually did) play one or more songs every hour or two. It's what the listeners want and is exciting to hearr.
We've all, in nearly all formats, done the "we'll play the new...(artist) song every hour today!" when the artist is hot and is core to the station. I can think about doing this even back in the 60's and 70's.
The example happened 50 years ago when FM rock radio was in its progressive phase. Radio listenership was very different then. The pressure on stations to deliver audience to advertisers was different then. Ratings were done with diaries. That era in radio was very short-lived. By the end of the 70s, consultants like Burkhart-Abrams were advising stations to tighten playlists. Record labels had more active promo staffs that recognized the sales value in FM radio airplay. Not long after that Rush was signed to Polygram in the US, and their promo team worked them extensively, as Columbia's team worked another unknown named Bruce Springsteen. Things had changed drastically in just five years.
How would you know? The Kenny Chesney example I gave was not done by ''corporate radio." It was done by individual stations acting independently. Some were corporate, but several are run by small local owners like Saul Levine at KKGO in Los Angeles. He does whatever he wants.
It depends on the station. As I said, there were a handful of FM stations who existed under their own corporate radar. Once their big owners like Metromedia and ABC discovered there was money to be made, the consultants came in.
I'm sorry, is this incorrect? Did the station do any of those things? Or did they playlist Rush as you described and proactively help break one of the biggest bands in classic rock history?
I'm sure WMMS cut deals like that in that era too. But the station was massively influential because the PD had the right musical instinct and was a programming leader, not a follower.
On release day, of course. That's not the same as playlisting an album cut from a new band and proactively playing it like a current because the PD believes in the song and the artist. That is what made WMMS such an influential radio station. It cannot be compared to featuring a track per hour in a coordinated album release PR campaign which radio only does for its top-tier biggest stars today.
It probably happened more in the 60's and 70's when radio still stood for something and programming management wasn't scared stiff of playing ten seconds of something unfamiliar.
Saul Levine is one of the most respectable outliers in radio today for precisely that reason. I wish there were more independent owners like him today.
As for Kenny Chesney, it's so impressive that all those country radio stations decided on their own to play his new record. What a way to take a big chance and play it. Will country music listeners accept it? What a history making moment.
Does anyone know an easy way to wipe sarcasm off my computer screen?
That was just one example I gave that day. Country radio stations are very currents-based. They break new music and new artists every week. Their listeners know it and accept it. Jelly Roll is an example. An overweight former drug dealer with tattoos on his face. That's the image one wants in country radio, right? Why would anyone take a chance on him? He's now had three straight #1s and is working on his 4th. In just 14 months.
Sounds about right.
Is this Jeopardy? Are you answering your own question?
You're of the opinion that radio never takes chances. I gave you one example where they did.
And sometimes country radio takes chances that don't quite pan out. Stations have been trying to break Zach Bryan for the past year or so but continue to run into listener resistance (mainly from women) to his less slick, more rootsy sound, with only a mid-charting song and a couple of stiffs to show for it. So Zach continues to sell out big venues and dominate streaming largely without radio's help, but that's not because radio hasn't been trying. The audience country radio attracts would rather hear other takes on the country genre. Zach's fans are streaming and downloading.
Jelly Roll is an example. An overweight former drug dealer with tattoos on his face. That's the image one wants in country radio, right? I perk up when someone mentions jelly roll. Usually ask how much are they and are there any grape filled ones. As far as Gorman & WMMS goes, he had the sense to listen to his DJs wen they popped up with new bands. Not only did they break Rush, also broke Bruce Springsteen and a number of others. And their ability to obtain and play songs before they were officially released and the "cease & desist" letters" from record companies were legendary [although I think that was a little bit of station puffery.] And if you're interested, you can always get it straight from the horses mouth: https://www.amazon.com/Buzzard-Inside-Cleveland-Radio-Memoir/dp/1886228477
And the person behind those "discoveries" was Donna Halper, the music director at WMMS. Fortunately, Gorman had great faith in her ability to identify songs that would resonate with the WMMS audience and they occasionally went on songs that were not yet released in the US or were pre-release copies that got to them because of the station's reputation as a trend setter.
It was not the DJs that came up with potential playable cuts.... it was the music director.
That's not accurate. I worked at stations where it was a collaborative effort. Jocks who were knowledgeable and passionate about music often had freedom to play Album Tracks. We had good relationships with the PD and often discussed song selections that "fit" the station sound...
You worked at WMMS in the 1970s?
No. I was not referring to WMMS, but other stations. The environment was collaborative in discussing music for the playlist...
Maybe in Cleveland. But in his book, Bruce gives credit to WNEW and WMMR. He talks a lot about the radio in his book.
WMMS was originally part of Metromedia with those two stations, but was sold to Malrite in 1973, just before Bruce's debut album was released.
I became aware of his music because of the Triple A format. That sector seems to embrace him more eagerly than country radio. Perhaps a detour, but vaguely connected to music directors taking risks...it seems to me that country radio hasn't embraced the "specialty" show to the degree rock radio does, or at least used to. I can easily find rock stations with metal shows, local shows, deep tracks shows. But it's rare I find a country station with an Americana or "Alt Country" show.
Yes, I know, specialty shows don't draw much audience, consistency, all that. But I'd think with that sector of music growing and having a cult following, you'd see a bit more of an attempt to cash in and build some cred for an hour or two on the weekend. Audacy could do it across their stations on the weekend, or something along those lines. The last show I remember that attempted it was "Altville" with Buzz Brainerd back in the early 2000s.
As for KRTH, I'm in their demo and I still enjoyed it more when it played the Beatles and the Real Don Steele was a jock there. But I'm an outlier I suppose. For more recent classic hits, I prefer 93.1 Jack FM because of the strong KROQ influence in their catalog.
There are different areas for specialty shows in country. Most stations do a classic country specialty show on the weekend where they play 90s country for a few hours. Some stations do the opposite and do all new country for an hour or two. There are specialty shows for the women of country. The problem for the country format is the amount of current music they have. There's no room, and not much demand for subgenres anymore. Back in the 90s, there were specialty shows for the alt-country, but the people who want it now know where they can get it 24/7. There's no need to break format to get audience reaction. There are better ways to do that.
Steele's been gone 26 years. You must be on the ragged edge of the demo.
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