What is kroq gonna do?

[TheBigA]

There wasn't a big send off when Bean left, there was a single show.

How long did you want it to go? He announced his retirement in May, and left in November. When TV series end, they have one farewell episode. That's what happened there.

This decision was made a year ago. Kevin Ryder has a new job. He's doing just fine.

MSN

The station is doing what all of the other Audacy stations are doing as far as music policy. It's going to take a while to build a new audience. Nobody expects the old audience to come back. They left a long time ago and everyone (except you) has moved on.

 

[davideduardo]

It was two and a half months. They launched the new show in January and pulled it in early March. It still had a solid fan base.

No, it did not. There was huge erosion in the sales demo part of the audience, and they were left with "loyalists" who had been with the show since it started. The numbers and the decline, in particular, in 25-44, must have scared them and forced a move.

Why anger a huge chunk of your listening audience, and also then put your replacement show in that awkward position? Come up with a transition plan, and do it right. This was sloppy, horribly executed and as we can see from the past year of ratings, a disaster.

KROQ had been powered by the two morning show hosts. The rest of the day showed them being beaten by Alt in all the other dayparts. When KROQ saw that the morning "magnet" was not working, they moved fast to get rid of the problems: the morning show was fading, and in music dayparts the audience had left years ago.

 

[Doctah]

I still stand by this: Had they stuck with Kevin Ryder until his contract ended in November, given him a proper sendoff and trumpeted the handoff to Stryker and Klein in the fall, they would be in a much better position in 2021 than they are now. Showing KROQ listeners a little respect would have gone a lot farther. They had to make all those changes, yes. But what did it get them, doing it the way they did it? It just means they had to start at zero. Fine, if that's the challenge they wanted to give themselves. But it seems foolhardy when they could have made these changes with the support of their dwindling fan base, as opposed to alienating the loyal listeners who had stuck around and still supported a dying KROQ.

 

[Doctah]

Plus, this is how you launch your new morning show? Throwing them to the wolves at the start of a pandemic and forcing them to do clean up for months and try to win over an angry listener base? I feel bad for Stryker and Klein too, this must have been demoralizing for them, especially those first few months of dealing with the anger and hate for something they didn't do.

 

[MarkW]

I agree with David, BigA and others.

The old "KROQ" had mediocre ratings for an extended period. The old sound of the station actually should've been put out of its misery much sooner.

I am unsure if the current sound is the right direction for the station, but there was no reason to keep the old KROQ around any longer.

 

[TheBigA]

The old sound of the station actually should've been put out of its misery much sooner.

The problem was "the old sound of the station" wasn't what they were doing any more. And it gets back to what I was saying about the music and the community. The same thing happened to rock radio in the 80s. The old KMET was a wonderful radio station for people who loved that music. "New & exciting" only lasts a short time. Then it comes old & stale. You have to enjoy it while it's new & exciting, because after that, it becomes a job.

 

[Doctah]

I think we're talking about two different things. I agree the sound of the station needed to change. I'm questioning the way they handled firing the "Kevin in the Morning Show" at the start of the pandemic, and the public relations debacle that they decided to add to their challenges.

Choice (A), you wait until Kevin Ryder's contract expires in November, and trumpet a transition that gets loads of free, great press. End of a 30 year legacy stories that also celebrate KROQ as an institution. At the same time, you're changing the music mix, and winning over your listeners to the new sound because they feel even more connected to KROQ during these uncertain times. November comes, you introduce Stryker & Klein to mornings, and you've already started the building blocks of both changing the music and talent, with the support of the listeners and glowing press.

Choice (B), fire the morning show just two months in, right when you're also changing the music mix. Blowing up the station, which leads to several stories about the death of KROQ. A perception with listeners and in the industry that this station can't be saved. Horrible PR. Months of angry listeners posting diatribes on your Facebook page. A morning show that has to deal with listeners angry about the change and not willing to give them a shot.

In both scenarios, by March 2020, the music is fresh, and the changes are starting. But in choice A, it was done with PR, image and listeners in mind. Maybe the ratings don't improve, but they don't collapse. Choice B, you've lost everyone, the ratings have collapsed, and people are writing posts on radio message boards with topics like "What is KROQ gonna do?"

 

[TheBigA]

people are writing posts on radio message boards with topics like "What is KROQ gonna do?"

Why are we relitigating something that happened over a year ago? That is not the way to answer the question posed here. As I said, Kevin Ryder has a new job. He's not relitigating what happened last year. The station management has rebudgeted based on the current ratings and revenue. They're not relitigating what happened last year. Audacy has three stations in the Top 5, so they have lots of money coming in and see no reason to relitigate what happened last year. That leaves you.

They won't be going back to the past. They are moving forward. It will take time to build a new audience. That's what happens when you change staff and presentation. This was going to happen regardless of when or how they did it. They knew they had to do it. When they dropped smooth jazz on The Wave, it took two years. Now it's a Top 5 station. They did it and moved on. Too bad you're still stuck in the past.

 

[Doctah]

Because this thread is about KROQ, and the very first comments were about whether the way last year was handled led to the station's further slump? Aren't we having a discussion here of how Entercom-now-Audacy bungled this and made a bad situation even worse?

 

[TheBigA]

Aren't we having a discussion here of how Entercom-now-Audacy bungled this and made a bad situation even worse?

That's what you're saying. Over and over and over again. I don't see any discussion taking place.

The discussion may have happened a year ago when it was current. The question here is about moving forward.

 

[davideduardo]

Because this thread is about KROQ, and the very first comments were about whether the way last year was handled led to the station's further slump? Aren't we having a discussion here of how Entercom-now-Audacy bungled this and made a bad situation even worse?

The owners thought that there was a chance for half of the former morning team to be successful. Since that show was based on long-term tradition-based listeners, they found that the immediate erosion of the show's listening was an indication that those listeners were not happy with jut half the show.

They pulled the plug and had to immediately do something fresh.

The underlying issue, which was losing in music dayparts to Amp, was considered a work in progress and handled by taking a different direction in the music blend. However, this does not answer the broader question of the future of Alt in LA as the market becomes more and more ethnic and first generation immigrant based, where Alt highly under-indexes.

 

[TheBigA]

However, this does not answer the broader question of the future of Alt in LA as the market becomes more and more ethnic and first generation immigrant based, where Alt highly under-indexes.

The reality is that LA can really only support one station in this format. For a long time, they had an exclusive on the format. KYSR was known as "Star." They dropped the ball a long time ago.

 

[davideduardo]

Choice (A), you wait until Kevin Ryder's contract expires in November, and trumpet a transition that gets loads of free, great press. End of a 30 year legacy stories that also celebrate KROQ as an institution. At the same time, you're changing the music mix, and winning over your listeners to the new sound because they feel even more connected to KROQ during these uncertain times. November comes, you introduce Stryker & Klein to mornings, and you've already started the building blocks of both changing the music and talent, with the support of the listeners and glowing press.

They saw immediately the loss of sales demos when Kevin went "on his own" without his partner. They knew that letting that continue would destroy the station, since the only place KROQ was winning was in mornings.

The "press" does not write about radio much any more. Alt rock music is at a low point in most of the country, so any changes in a morning show in a market with 20 higher rated stations and where close to 70% of the population is ethnic or first generation will go totally unnoticed.

Choice (B), fire the morning show just two months in, right when you're also changing the music mix. Blowing up the station, which leads to several stories about the death of KROQ.

It was already dead musically, losing to Amp everywhere but mornings. And with Kevin alone, they lost the better sales demo audience and began losing in mornings too. They needed to wipe the slate clean and recreate the station because it was d-e-a-d.

A perception with listeners and in the industry that this station can't be saved. Horrible PR. Months of angry listeners posting diatribes on your Facebook page. A morning show that has to deal with listeners angry about the change and not willing to give them a shot.

Most of the listener comments had to do with two things: no more Kevin WITH Bean and bad music. These were traditional listeners; the problem was that they could not live off traditional listeners because there were no longer enough of them.

I have done a number of format changes where there were loud listener complaints. But we had already decided that we could not survive, ever, on the old format or blend. So we ignored the comments and let them die down.

In both scenarios, by March 2020, the music is fresh, and the changes are starting. But in choice A, it was done with PR, image and listeners in mind. Maybe the ratings don't improve, but they don't collapse. Choice B, you've lost everyone, the ratings have collapsed, and people are writing posts on radio message boards with topics like "What is KROQ gonna do?"

With the loss of a morning win over Amp and horrible ratings the rest of the day, there was nothing worth rescuing. They could not get on any buy with those numbers. So it was better to get it over with, dismiss the small number of traditional listeners and start over.

 

[MarkW]

The reality is that LA can really only support one station in this format. For a long time, they had an exclusive on the format. KYSR was known as "Star." They dropped the ball a long time ago.

Bingo.

I completely agree with this.

 

[leethalweapon]

I agree with David, BigA and others.

The old "KROQ" had mediocre ratings for an extended period. The old sound of the station actually should've been put out of its misery much sooner.

KROQ, like most corporate Alt stations was slowly dying because their playlist was generally aging them out of existence. To my mind, the Alternative format needed to evolve with the audience similar to the way CHR does, but through a variety of factors was stuck with something akin to a classic rock station for 20 somethings.

 

[davideduardo]

KROQ, like most corporate Alt stations was slowly dying because their playlist was generally aging them out of existence. To my mind, the Alternative format needed to evolve with the audience similar to the way CHR does, but through a variety of factors was stuck with something akin to a classic rock station for 20 somethings.

KROQ was left to be pretty independent and autonomous. It was like no other same-format-different-city stations in its group, both under CBS and whatever they are called today.

The problem is not ownership. The problem is that the older music is broadly accepted, while newer music has split polarization groups, each of which absolutely hates some of the muse another of them just loves. Seeing an Alt music test is interesting and frustrating and confusing. There is no consensus with current and recent music... at least n ot enough to build a higher rated station.

 

[davideduardo]

The reality is that LA can really only support one station in this format. For a long time, they had an exclusive on the format. KYSR was known as "Star." They dropped the ball a long time ago.

And, with changing demographics, it is questionable whether, in the future, even one such station can remain sustainable.

 

[TheBigA]

To my mind, the Alternative format needed to evolve with the audience similar to the way CHR does, but through a variety of factors was stuck with something akin to a classic rock station for 20 somethings.

I agree, and the reason has its foundation in the music. Alternative rock was a reaction to what rock music had become in the 80s. So a new generation of artists created something different. Just as rock of the late 60s and 70s was in response to what preceded it. After 20 or so years, that alternative sound became as stale as the rock music that preceded it. Something new & fresh has to come along that doesn't sound so derivative. It's probably there right now, but it hasn't attracted enough of an audience because music is so splintered. I wonder if we will ever see a group of new rock musicians attract that kind of following that alternative did in the early 90s. There's so little investment coming from the major labels these days, and that's really the only place where it can come from. So many of the artists who might have gone to alternative have instead released their music in other formats because that's where the money is. What's interesting to me is how many of those 20-somethings also love older classic rock.

 

[macattack]

KROQ was left to be pretty independent and autonomous. It was like no other same-format-different-city stations in its group, both under CBS and whatever they are called today.

The problem is not ownership. The problem is that the older music is broadly accepted, while newer music has split polarization groups, each of which absolutely hates some of the muse another of them just loves. Seeing an Alt music test is interesting and frustrating and confusing. There is no consensus with current and recent music... at least n ot enough to build a higher rated station.

As someone who participates in RateTheMusic I've noticed this polarization. Men and women agree on very few of the songs right now. All Time Low and Twenty One Pilots are the consensus picks right now. That's why TOP has been a dominant #1 so consistently. That's why "Monsters" has hung around for over a year, and why "Once In A Lifetime" looks ready to pick up where "Monsters" left off. Those consensus artists are rare and have to be embraced once they're identified.

I agree, and the reason has its foundation in the music. Alternative rock was a reaction to what rock music had become in the 80s. So a new generation of artists created something different. Just as rock of the late 60s and 70s was in response to what preceded it. After 20 or so years, that alternative sound became as stale as the rock music that preceded it. Something new & fresh has to come along that doesn't sound so derivative. It's probably there right now, but it hasn't attracted enough of an audience because music is so splintered. I wonder if we will ever see a group of new rock musicians attract that kind of following that alternative did in the early 90s. There's so little investment coming from the major labels these days, and that's really the only place where it can come from. So many of the artists who might have gone to alternative have instead released their music in other formats because that's where the money is. What's interesting to me is how many of those 20-somethings also love older classic rock.

But then we have some of those artists playing around with the rock genre. Taylor Swift dropped two folk-rock albums last year. Machine Gun Kelly switched genres to pop-punk, as did fellow rapper MOD SUN. Will Smith's daughter Willow dropped a pop-punk lead single a couple of weeks ago too. Other artists are apparently considering a switch to rock or at least something resembling an alternative sound (whether rock or pop). I don't think alternative or rock is dead yet but it depends on whether the celeb pop artists playing with the rock sound are accepted or not I think.

 

[TheBigA]

But then we have some of those artists playing around with the rock genre. Taylor Swift dropped two folk-rock albums last year.

That reminded me of the discussion two years ago about Billie Eilish. Will alternative music fans accept music from Taylor Swift, or have they already formed their opinions about her as a pop star who represents music they don't like. And where does that put her in terms of radio? Taylor's record label released a couple songs to country radio to see if she could recreate her past success, and they seem to have fallen on mostly deaf ears. Can she float among genres and achieve the same success?