What B/EZ formats are next in the bullseye?

[ixnay]

IIRC there was one still existing in Myrtle Beach, SC when I was there in March 2003.

This Delaware Valley native remembers the days of WCAU-FM (pre oldies), WPBS (now urban WUSL), WFIL-FM (now CHR WIOQ), WDVR (now CHR WBEB), also Wilmington DE's WJBR-FM (now a soft AC) and WSTW (now a CHR).

And to that you can throw in IIRC WQQQ(?) Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton from my days at Kutztown University (early '80s) and WLIF Baltimore. Now keep in mind I was not a 100% devoted listener to any of these (except 'CAU during my middle school days) but I was aware of their existence and heard them all (deliberately or not) at one time or another.

Driving through Hagerstown, MD 6 years ago I heard that town's B/EZ station (not then aware that it was about to flip to C&W)

What's the next B/EZ to go?

ixnay

 

[elevator_opratr]

Fortunately, B/EZ lives on in Hagerstown, MD, but no longer on that massive FM signal. When the owner sold the FM, he moved the B/EZ to sister station WJEJ-AM, which still plays B/EZ to this day, but with a very limited signal.

 

[Jim_Hicks]

Sadly, that probably will not work for long. We remember the EZ-101 move of B/Ez to 560. Never quite worked, but it sounded good if your car was equiped with AM Stereo. You really could tell little difference between AM & FM stereo, even with a cheap receiver.

When WJBR dropped B/Ez from both AM and FM, we got much of their music library at WRNK and tried it for about 18 months. I was OM then and felt we had to evolve more to a MOR Oldies format. Men liked the format. Women hated it.
I found that to be true in offices I worked in over the years. Men would enjoy the format. Women in general did not dilike it, they HATED it. That ehlped lead to the loss of the format as FM's learned they could not keep the format and the 25-54 female audience.

> Fortunately, B/EZ lives on in Hagerstown, MD, but no longer
> on that massive FM signal. When the owner sold the FM, he
> moved the B/EZ to sister station WJEJ-AM, which still plays
> B/EZ to this day, but with a very limited signal.
>

 

[elevator_opratr]

I've noticed that! Why do you think that is? There seems to be a higher tolerance and appreciation for b/ez among males instead of females. You'd swear it'd be the other way around. Why do you think that is?

 

[Jim_Hicks]

I have no idea. But B/Ez programers seem to picked up on it early on.

Back in the late 60's or early 70's, WDVR aired a tv ad showing two drivers at a stop light, windows down in man's car. The man, in a Jag type vehicle was listening to 101.1. Young, attractive female lowered her window, smiled at the man, an obvious flirt. But the music coming from her car was the hard rock of the day. Light changes, he rolls up window and drives off basically telling her to bug off.

I can't figure it out. Like a Danny DiVito line in "Other People's Money". "I read her poetry, (refering to the football player she loved more) she wanted touchdowns." Most classical music was written by men (back in the day) New Age was mostly written by men, with key exceptions like Enya.

Ah, the eternal battle of the sexes goes on, even in radio!

> I've noticed that! Why do you think that is? There seems to
> be a higher tolerance and appreciation for b/ez among males
> instead of females. You'd swear it'd be the other way
> around. Why do you think that is?
>

 

[BlueHen]

Well, Men Are From Mars...

> Ah, the eternal battle of the sexes goes on, even in radio!

I have yet to meet a female who doesn't like Barry Manilow... or a male who doesn't find his music sappy and boring. On the other hand, these same women will sing along to a '70s disco tune which causes most men to cringe.

Must be something inherent in our nature... the same reason males tend to favor the sciences moreso than women. Perhaps the nurturing trait in females invokes a sentimentality for song lyrics to which most men pay no attention. This, of course, would not be present in instrumental beautiful music. Men, by nature, can focus on the instrumentation, or the "harder" element of the music (while the music itself isn't necessarily hard). Women could be attracted to the "softer" aspect of music - the words, or singer's voice, which often elicits their own life experiences.

This may also be a reason for hard metal rock or true jazz having a far greater appeal to males than females. Men could be attracted to the drums, percussion, and guitar riffs (the harder elements). Women, however, would favor the softer elements of AC where the singer or lyrics are the dominant factor.

 

[klutch00]

Sadly, that probably will not work for long. We remember the EZ-101 move of B/Ez to 560. Never quite worked, but it sounded good if your car was equiped with AM Stereo. You really could tell little difference between AM & FM stereo, even with a cheap receiver.

When WJBR dropped B/Ez from both AM and FM, we got much of their music library at WRNK and tried it for about 18 months. I was OM then and felt we had to evolve more to a MOR Oldies format. Men liked the format. Women hated it.
I found that to be true in offices I worked in over the years. Men would enjoy the format. Women in general did not dilike it, they HATED it. That ehlped lead to the loss of the format as FM's learned they could not keep the format and the 25-54 female audience.

> Fortunately, B/EZ lives on in Hagerstown, MD, but no longer
> on that massive FM signal. When the owner sold the FM, he
> moved the B/EZ to sister station WJEJ-AM, which still plays
> B/EZ to this day, but with a very limited signal.
>

It's been just about ten years since Hagerstown Broadcasting Company sold WWMD and brought much of that station's material to WJEJ. The format is still there, the station still features live and local programming most of the time, John Staub and his family still own and operate the station and it has usually ranked from 5th to 10th place, although in the spring of '09, it reached 3rd place. No other AM station in that market even comes close. For a locally-owned stand-alone (class C or Class IV) AM station in a small-to-medium sized market, this says volumes.
The station's website is: http://www.wjejradio.com/

 

[vchimpanzee]

Re: Well, Men Are From Mars...

> Ah, the eternal battle of the sexes goes on, even in radio!

I have yet to meet a female who doesn't like Barry Manilow... or a male who doesn't find his music sappy and boring. On the other hand, these same women will sing along to a '70s disco tune which causes most men to cringe.

Must be something inherent in our nature... the same reason males tend to favor the sciences moreso than women. Perhaps the nurturing trait in females invokes a sentimentality for song lyrics to which most men pay no attention. This, of course, would not be present in instrumental beautiful music. Men, by nature, can focus on the instrumentation, or the "harder" element of the music (while the music itself isn't necessarily hard). Women could be attracted to the "softer" aspect of music - the words, or singer's voice, which often elicits their own life experiences.

This may also be a reason for hard metal rock or true jazz having a far greater appeal to males than females. Men could be attracted to the drums, percussion, and guitar riffs (the harder elements). Women, however, would favor the softer elements of AC where the singer or lyrics are the dominant factor.

I like Barry Manilow. I've always liked Barry Manilow. And now he's doing "real music", not the sappy stuff he didn't like that made him a star (sappy is good, for me, if it's the right style).

I have little interest in lyrics unless they're funny. with funny lyrics I can enjoy any kind of music, but in general, I like the music and might happen to hear the lyrics. It's not the lyrics, then, that I like, but the fact they are part of the good music.

 

[vchimpanzee]

IIRC there was one still existing in Myrtle Beach, SC when I was there in March 2003.

If there are any instrumentals at all on WEZV, they are hits like "Nadia's Theme". Arbitron, which is wrong, lists the station as soft AC. I spent several minutes talking to the general manager the last time I was in Myrtle Beach and he wouldn't back down. There's nothing AC about the station, though. It's standards (the way radio these days defines it, anyway) with numerous AC classics and even some new material.

I don't know where I saw it mentioned, but someone on this board claimed Jones was still distributing easy listening formats. I know from the Yahoo group Beautiful Instrumentals and Vocals that this is not true. WEZV, according to this board, was a Jones station. But here is what someone in the Yahoo group says you should go to find out more about Jones.

http://www.thenewbp.com/

Incidentally, since I mentioned WEZV was standards, but not what would have been called standards years ago, I updated Wikipedia. It still claimed that "adult standards" consisted entirely of standards, though in a brief sentence at the end of the paragraph it was mentioned some stations were now leaning AC to get more listeners. I changed that to say it used to be a standards format, but most stations now add AC and oldies. The one sentence about attracting more listeners is also there.

 

[EZway2go]

If there are any instrumentals at all on WEZV, they are hits like "Nadia's Theme".

I never hear instrumentals on WEZV. Three or four years ago they had some kind of online survey for listeners. It's hard to say if this had any influence, but instrumental music is the kind of thing that wouldn't score very high with focus groups.

KMGR ("Classy Radio") in Utah has essentially the same playlist as WEZV with a few instrumentals here and there. Some of the new discoveries ["disc-carded disc-coveries" 8) ] I mentioned in the "Off The Beaten Track" thread are from KMGR. Check out John Barry's "John Dunbar Theme" from Dances With Wolves and "We Have All The Time In The World."

http://midutahradio.com/kmgr

 

[bturner]

Why do men favor B/EZ but women hate it? I wonder if social expectations play in the factor. Women strive to retain their youth as long as they can (as expected by society) and men are favored for their life experience and knowledge. Thus, B/EZ is considered to be 'older' or 'less hip' music. Age on men is okay but not for women. Thus, a mature format vibes well for men but is too mature for the woman. Am I nuts?

My mom always listened to what I was listening to while growing up. Dad was irritated by top 40 and wanted beautiful music. I pondered that Mom listened to my music to feel young and Dad just didn't care if he was considered young or old.

Just a thought, if too simplified.

 

[EZway2go]

Thus, a mature format vibes well for men but is too mature for the woman. Am I nuts?

No, you are absolutely correct. During Beautiful Music's peak years of the '60s thru the mid '80s, its prime target seemed to be the mature executive type with high discretionary incomes. Think Ward Cleaver at the office all day while mom June is home with Wally and Beaver. She'd be more likely to hear Chubby Checker than she would Percy Faith. So maybe it's because women spent more time with their kids.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, a similar question might be why Barry Manilow or John Denver appeal more to women than men. Yet, loud heavy metal music appeals more to men, drawn by the long instrumental guitar riffs. Men seem to favor the extremes in music while women are more in the center.

 

[MsMusicRadio]

I think the white collar thing is it. Car dealerships used to play B/EZ, but not the mechanics. Older white guys like to regiment their offices. B/EZ goes with button-down shirts and Brooks Brothers. It goes with golfing into a plastic cup. It goes with falling over on your little green employee.

 

[klutch00]

Why do men favor B/EZ but women hate it? I wonder if social expectations play in the factor. Women strive to retain their youth as long as they can (as expected by society) and men are favored for their life experience and knowledge. Thus, B/EZ is considered to be 'older' or 'less hip' music. Age on men is okay but not for women. Thus, a mature format vibes well for men but is too mature for the woman. Am I nuts?

My mom always listened to what I was listening to while growing up. Dad was irritated by top 40 and wanted beautiful music. I pondered that Mom listened to my music to feel young and Dad just didn't care if he was considered young or old.

Just a thought, if too simplified.

I will have to differ with you here in that I knew plenty of women who'd listen to a B/EZ back in the day. Granted, most were about my folks age (they were both born in '41) or older, but yes they did exist. My mother and a number of ladies I know listened to that material. And of course, I knew of guys who'd listen as well. I think many of the guys that went for it tended to be more high-strung. I think many older folks (guys primarily but women, too) were mainly attracted to the full-service MORs of back in the day.

As far as car dealers were concerned, I think it would depend on which makes you sold. The higher lines might go for the B/EZ while the lower lines might go for something a little more contemporary (maybe an A/C). Something to keep in mind is that many establishments were in buildings where AM had a hard time penetrating, so FM may have been the only thing available to listen to and many of those stations were B/EZ.

I think it all boils down to what someone can relate to. Something else to keep in mind is that when many of these B/EZs went away, mostly to soft A/C, while some of the older audience was turned off, others stayed on - at least until the format evolved into mainstream A/C.

 

[semoochie]

This is a little mystifying because one of the demos that did well with Beautiful Music was 18-34 Women.

 

[klutch00]

This is a little mystifying because one of the demos that did well with Beautiful Music was 18-34 Women.

REALLY?!?! I can believe 25+ in the format's infancy and maybe 35+ by 1980, but I find it hard to believe that many young women under the age of 25 even in the 1960s would be interested in this format! I figured about 90% of this format's audience consisted of 'pre-boomers'.

 

[davideduardo]

Arbitron, which is wrong, lists the station as soft AC.

Arbitron takes station formats from the form each station fills in regularly. Unless some other station objects, the description stays until changed by the station itself.

 

[jh]

This is a little mystifying because one of the demos that did well with Beautiful Music was 18-34 Women.

REALLY?!?! I can believe 25+ in the format's infancy and maybe 35+ by 1980, but I find it hard to believe that many young women under the age of 25 even in the 1960s would be interested in this format! I figured about 90% of this format's audience consisted of 'pre-boomers'.

I wonder if at least some of that was 18-34 women being "forced" to listen to it all day in the office.

 

[davideduardo]

I wonder if at least some of that was 18-34 women being "forced" to listen to it all day in the office.

Obviously, with many formats there is a degree of forced listening in family, commute and work environments. But in the diary, much if not most, of this listening did not get written in. Looking at Arbitron ratings for the format in its late 60's to mid-80's "glory years" I see no large 18-34 components to the format. 25-34 did have some numbers, but we need to remember that the 60's were full of hits like Theme From A Summer Place and Love is Blue so liking instrumentals is not unusual for the era.

Similarly, early in this 5-year-old thread it was said that the format had less female appeal when, in fact, it ranked comparably in 25-54 men and 25-54 women in most markets in the several periods I looked at in Duncan's Amercian Radio.

 

[klutch00]

It's been just about ten years since Hagerstown Broadcasting Company sold WWMD and brought much of that station's material to WJEJ. The format is still there, the station still features live and local programming most of the time, John Staub and his family still own and operate the station and it has usually ranked from 5th to 10th place, although in the spring of '09, it reached 3rd place. No other AM station in that market even comes close. For a locally-owned stand-alone (class C or Class IV) AM station in a small-to-medium sized market, this says volumes.
The station's website is: http://www.wjejradio.com/

FWIW WJEJ now streams live. http://www.wjejradio.com/Click on the 'listen live' link on the upper left-hand corner of the page.