What an oldies station should be like...

[romer979fm]

and boy if you read the posts on the East Tenn. board you will see how people really liked WLSQ and were upset that it went away only after 5 months of it's existance.

and just WHY would they dump the format it it was working? looks like those of us that still want that kind of radio
are the exception...not the rule. this post courtesy of "cliche-mart"...green hills

 

[OldiesCat]

The coolest radio I ever heard was in 1987 to 1988 on the now defunct 66 WNBC in NYC (now The Fan WFAN). They did a weekend show that kicked off Friday overnight at midnight and ran til 12 midnight on Sunday. It was called "The Time Machine" the station was primarily an AC sounding station until the weekend. They basically re-created 77 WABC during their glory years, a tinge of late 50's all the 60's & 70's Top 40. With heavy reverb and recreated PAMS jingle packages. Jocks included Big Jay Sorenson, Dan Taylor ( Dan Ingram soundalike), who's now morning man on WCBS FM. The Real Bob James, and a few more guys. I have a 10 year 66 WNBC Time Machine tribute cd that came out in 1998 it is the story on how it got started. I've never heard anyone since 1988 do it as well as them. There was a station in Crossville that also served into Knoxville area called Music Radio WLSQ 105.7. They copied the style that Chicago's Music Radio 89 WLS had 30 years ago, even had the jingle package from mid 70's. Knoxville loved them because there was no Oldies outlet in that city until just a couple weeks ago when WOKI flipped from it's failing 0.5 EARL style format to the 24 hr Scott Shannon "True Oldies Channel". Music Radio WLSQ was more of a 70's T-40 style format with some 60's and even early 80's Top 40 as well. They changed to Classic Rock two months ago, and boy if you read the posts on the East Tenn. board you will see how people really liked WLSQ and were upset that it went away only after 5 months of it's existance. Especially to a format that like country is all over the dial, Classic Rock. But if I had a shot at programing a Classic Top 40 format I would recreate the Top 40 style from the 60's & 70's, I'd use reverb on the air chain, order the vintage JAM/PAMS jingles, have heavy jock personality while still keeping the music flowing, not be afraid to go deep every now and then with the music, be out and about around town. Give aways, and other contests. Just make it a fun sounding station. When is the last time you could say terrestrial radio is FUN to listen to??? Even when Oldies 97.1 was on it played the same 200 songs over and over, the jocks weren't bad but the playlist was weak. I think a nostalgic angle could be refreshing. The boomers would have flashbacks and the younger generation that seems to like oldies, well it would be a new sounding presentation with a retro flavour to them. Alass I'm just a dreamer. Radio's major companies are run now by Wallstreet & stockholders and we all know Wallstreet doesn't like to take risks, it would be a risk for a major to try that. That's why an independant owner would be more likely to try a format like that because an independant owner has some room to take risks, they don't have consultants and corporate to tell them no. That's my take on what I'd like to do.

The music supplies the nostalgia.

This whole thing has nothing to do with Wall Street or corporate radio- it has to do with listeners who aren't 16 anymore and they have virtually no appetite for screamin' pukin' DJs, gimmicky features and thick reverb. The main reason they will or won't listen to a radio station is if the music fits their tastes.

 

[ARDONAVINDA]

I dis agree with that because the younger listeners have never heard that style of radio. It was very interactive very hands on much personality. It wouldn't be for 16 year olds anyway it would be for 35 - 65 year olds, boomers still buy things they are out spending quite a bit of $. They are retired or planning on, and they are having their last shot at fun, they would love it. As for the young current top 40 listeners, The River 107.5 still uses reverb on their audio chain and has jingles, not to mention fast talking fun sounding jocks. There is no reason Classic Top 40 couldn't be presented like current top 40. If It's just the music that makes a station then it's no different than an i-pod or internet radio. Radio was based on entertainment, and personality. Yes the music is a major part of what makes a station, but you have to have all of the right elements. Personality is also important, it's what makes the difference in the ratings.

 

[ARDONAVINDA]

and boy if you read the posts on the East Tenn. board you will see how people really liked WLSQ and were upset that it went away only after 5 months of it's existance.

and just WHY would they dump the format it it was working? looks like those of us that still want that kind of radio
are the exception...not the rule. this post courtesy of "cliche-mart"...green hills

The individual owner himself had two FM freq's, 92.7 & 105.7. He had a Classic Rock station The Hog on 92.7 and MusicRadio WLSQ on 105.7. He sold the 92.7 frequency to a church group, so time was limited for him to keep 92.7. He had heard from a few advertisers in the Crossville mkt saying they will only advertise on 92.7 The Hog seems they didn't like some of the 70's music that they were playing on Music Radio like Carpenters, Barry Manilow, Bee Gees, and some of the disco cuts. It was just two car dealerships, and a Yamaha/Kawasaki dealer that happened to like Classic Rock is all it was. And during the last month of 92.7's existence the owner ran a on-air campaign to "Save The Hog" saying to fax in or e-mail us why you want to save the hog, apperantly they got quite a few faxes in. However the owner din't run a "Save Music Radio" campaign. Who knows he may have gotten the same if not more responses, but he never tried. So when 92.7 went off the air he decided to put The Hog on 105.7 and kill the Music Radio WLSQ format. One month later spring ratings came out Aug 8th. And guess what? Music Radio WLSQ showed up in the Knoxville book! It was low but it showed up! it just about tied with 98.7 WOKI a Citadel owend station. But it was too late 105.7 was and is now The Hog WIHG. Because it showed up on the radar the next day WOKI flipped to Oldies! I wonder how that owner must have felt? So it was basically a couple of advertisers who influenced him to make the flip from oldies to Classic Rock, a format that can be heard anywhere. He went for the quicker buck, but if he would have waited he could've used the Knoxville ratings as a sales tool to get some of Knoxvilles advertising dollars. WOKI took the ball and ran with it. If you want to get caught up in the saga, go to E.TN board and type in "Save The Hog" or just Music Radio or WLSQ and you'll find some good reading.

 

[qtpieislit]

Let me direct your attention to a genuine heritage oldies station, with radio legend Hy Lit, at www.HyLitRadio.com. Just click the '57 Chevy, and hear what a complete oldies catalogue sounds like, in high fidelity. . . .

 

[scottwmro]

As I sit and read all the comments of what "Oldies Music" should be, nobody has yet stopped and thought that different age groups has thier own definition of "Oldies"

Example: 75 plus: 40 and back (like WAMB)

65-75: 50's and early 60's

50-65: 60's to early 70's

35-49 70's and 80's

30 and under: late 80's and 90's

This is just what I see:

Folks: This country is MORE populated than it was 30 years ago. There is just not enough spectrum in the FM band to satisfy everyone's taste. It was believed that XM would solve that problem, but we as humans (especially the Nashville Area) are so stuck on terrestrial radio, I'm afraid that this is a train wreck for consultants and group owners, as they are confused of what demo to reach, and it causes problems for other industries as well.

All the FM's in my opionion in this and markets this size just dup each other, and this has been a major problem for the past 25 years, why? because if your ratings are not up, your butt is out the door! So we have to play it safe so we won't loose the masses, and it's believed we are just clones of each other.

This board is turned into a joke because we have some people that think he/she is "PD GOD", and only is interested in his/hers target demo, while I've seen some of the younger ones jump out at the 80's as being Oldies, with lots of the 80's Pop stuff being now 25 years and getting older. Some of the major programming consultants probably read some of this and either laugh or just ignor us all.

Turning to AM stations, that have low power (250 watts to 1 KW), outside the metro is NOT the answer. In a few weeks, the Government is allowing HD/IBOC to be full time, 24/7, and thier weak analog signals will be stomped on, in addition, the majority of the public still uses analog receivers. All AM will be is HISSSSSSS! Go to either side of 1510 or 1430 and you'll hear what I'm talking about.

With that said, AM is out, what do we do with FM-HD? Maybe it might be the answer, as we can have multiple streams to one channel, and just maybe, we can educate the public to understand HD and there will be many formats for all age groups.

 

[romer979fm]

It was believed that XM would solve that problem, but we as humans (especially the Nashville Area) are so stuck on terrestrial radio, I'm afraid that this is a train wreck for consultants and group owners, as they are confused of what demo to reach, and it causes problems for other industries as well.

I can only speak for me...but XM is the answer. I've had XM for three years...and I'm not tired of it yet.
Sure, I listen to local radio...a lot of it...but about half the time I use the XM to find something I'm in the mood for.
My first bank of XM pre-sets shows the variety:
01 smooth jazz
02 WSIX-XM (what did you expect)
03 chill
04 top tracks (classic rock)
05 air america
06 60's oldies (with jocks-jingles-reverb-themes)
07 deep cuts (aor)
08 80's oldies
09 comedy (uncensored: rough but funny)
10 audio visions

there's always a choice...lots of network news/musical choices/sports (including MLB)...$13 a month seems fair
and a lot of the channels have no commercials

 

[RMarino]

As I sit and read all the comments of what "Oldies Music" should be, nobody has yet stopped and thought that different age groups has thier own definition of "Oldies"

Example: 75 plus: 40 and back (like WAMB)

65-75: 50's and early 60's

50-65: 60's to early 70's

35-49 70's and 80's

30 and under: late 80's and 90's

It's not always that cut and dry. My mother is in her 60s and only listens to '70s & '80s music. For that matter, I'm in my 30s and prefer '70s & '80s but I like '50s & '60s too. My wife is under 30 and likes '80s much more than '90s. Just because someone is a specific age, it doesn't mean that they are tied to a specific decade. It also seems like a lot of teenagers today like '80s music better than '90s.

 

[scottwmro]

It was believed that XM would solve that problem, but we as humans (especially the Nashville Area) are so stuck on terrestrial radio, I'm afraid that this is a train wreck for consultants and group owners, as they are confused of what demo to reach, and it causes problems for other industries as well.

I can only speak for me...but XM is the answer. I've had XM for three years...and I'm not tired of it yet.
Sure, I listen to local radio...a lot of it...but about half the time I use the XM to find something I'm in the mood for.
My first bank of XM pre-sets shows the variety:
01 smooth jazz
02 WSIX-XM (what did you expect)
03 chill
04 top tracks (classic rock)
05 air america
06 60's oldies (with jocks-jingles-reverb-themes)
07 deep cuts (aor)
08 80's oldies
09 comedy (uncensored: rough but funny)
10 audio visions

there's always a choice...lots of network news/musical choices/sports (including MLB)...$13 a month seems fair
and a lot of the channels have no commercials

Paying the fee is like in the late 70-early 80's as cable TV got big. People were will to pay to get those extra TV channels. XM works the same way, but some don't see it that way.

 

[romer979fm]

thanks Mr O...I never made the connection.
you're a lifesaver.
copyright Bob & Tom Productions

 

[Evangelist]

Let me direct your attention to a genuine heritage oldies station, with radio legend Hy Lit, at www.HyLitRadio.com. Just click the '57 Chevy, and hear what a complete oldies catalogue sounds like, in high fidelity. . . .

Hy Lit rules!!!

 

[Tibbs4]

Rome ---for various and/or unobvious reasons, I never get to listen to B & T. Are they doing fresh Mr. Obvious bits? Seems like the
last year or so, I have not heard of anything new. That IS one of the funniest damn things (and addictive) on radio. Mr. 0, that
is. Who cares about genres of old peoples music when you could have volumes of that!!!!

 

[deltas69]

i've listened to B&T since they hit nashville..couldn't believe they could get away with what they USED to do, and really enjoyed the suff the guys did...but in the last 12 months or so, seems it's pretty stale, since the fear of FCC fines on stations nationwide. here's a typical 15 minute segment..tom will say "i'm sorry" at least 10 times, kristy will say "WOW" an equal amount of times..when not stumbling over "news" and words a 9th grader could pronounce, bob sounds like he would rather be playing golf,drinking beer, and watching xxx movies..which he probably would...and chick is without doubt the only funny one on there.(not counting some of the guests)..course could be at age 56...i've finally matured a little bit..which is a sad scenerio as maturity begats responsibility..as for old people's music...look at the numbers..more old people listened to the pathetic 200 song "oldies" playlist prior to B&T,than listen now, but they are two completely different demographics, so comparing B&T to an oldies format is not fair comparison....nashville radio as a whole is FUBAR...same old s**t every day, no matter the dial position....but hey if you make a double ton of money for the bean counters, that's the bottom line....so as it is written...so shall it be..

 

[romer979fm]

Rome ---for various and/or unobvious reasons, I never get to listen to B & T. Are they doing fresh Mr. Obvious bits? Seems like the
last year or so, I have not heard of anything new. That IS one of the funniest damn things (and addictive) on radio. Mr. 0, that
is. Who cares about genres of old peoples music when you could have volumes of that!!!!

I haven't heard 'em in quite a while either...but I still quote "Mr O" in these situations.
"The Love Brothers" are also a rave fave...

 

[deltas69]

yea, mr. O , and several of their "usual suspect" bits are great..pretty much the in studio yak that seems to be the same on a day to day basis..chick is the only reason i tune in as a rule..