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What is the future for classic rock stations?

Neanderpaul,

You are brilliant and an out of the box thinker. There never was Classic Rock just like there never was Classic Coke.
It was Rock and Roll all along until it took a turn and was no longer really Rock and Roll, but a "B" side of Rock (Alternative, Grunge, Modern Rock), because what is presently called Rock, or what you are presently hearing on the radio in terms of new Rock music, is not Rock and Roll. It simply doesn't have the same sound as the original AOR Rock and Roll.

On http://classxradio.com in Cincinnati, we have brought back a True Rock and Roll format (AOR). I concur with you. AOR needs to return. A Classic Rock format without NEW music will certainly die. It's the new Rock and Roll that keeps the interest and brings excitement and passion. But there has to be the right mix. At ClassX we think we have it. You have to give it 30 days because what we play is not being played anywhere else. But those who give it a chance, become addicted and their passion for AOR returns. The good news is that many of the kids we talk to (8 years old to 22) are not satisfied with the so called Rock they are being forced to listen to on the radio. But they really like us. When I started ClassX I vowed to innovate. So we refuse to play the cookie cutter game. Anyone else wanna join us?
 
Appreciate the offer. Have my own station to run.

Understand what you're trying though and hope it works out for you.

Good Luck!
 
Neanderpaul said:
.......The sad reality is that radio (as an industry...there are some stations who attempt to kick water uphill) has ceded our position as the epicenter of the music fan's world.

This is partially our own fault. Somewhere down the line, we either forgot why it moves people, or decided that music was a commodity. That we could serve it up as disposable. Now, to a large degree, this is true. Of the millions of songs that have been written, a small percentage have achieved a level of mass acceptance as being "good enough" to be included as the foundation for an industry.

However, we also forgot to keep in mind that, in order to continue to evolve, we must either age with our customer, or develop/shed audience on a regular basis.

Classic Rock & Oldies are both in a weird place right now.

It comes down to your definition of each format. What was Classic Rock is now Oldies and what was Contemporary, now Classic. And so on...

As Oldies stations probably feel uncomfortable having to make the decision to include bands like Led Zeppelin, whose debut was 42 years ago and is absolutely now an "oldie," so too must Classic rock feel weird about playing Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden, and Alice In Chains. All of whom are looking at being around for a generation now.

Back in the day...what defined "Classic Rock?" Was it age? or texture? And what defines it now? I hear "Active Rock" stations playing Hendrix & The Doors.

Reality check time.

There is no Classic Rock anymore. It's all either Rock, or it isn't. And whatever textures can be included in your Rock station, are the textures one should include. If you can play the Rolling Stones & Stone Sour on the same station, you're in a good place. All of these sub-genres of formats were only created in an attempt to secure promotional revenue anyway.

The audience doesn't use terms like "Classic Rock." And even if they do...they don't define it like the industry does. I worked for a station that used to use the (IMHO) stupid term "Killer Classics & Today's Best Rock!" Has anyone ever heard someone tell you they listen to either?
.......Nope. People just want to hear their favorite music on their favorite station. The trick is, being their favorite station. With PPM, we're seeing the rebirth of great AOR Radio. Stations that play the right songs, win. Finding the right songs is the key to unlocking Pandora's Box. Any station that finds the right formula, becomes the nuclear weapon in their market.

As I could go on in great detail...I'll attempt to answer the original question.

There is no future for "Classic Rock" stations. The time has come for the label to be shed. It doesn't apply to the real world.

You are either a Rock station. Or, you are not. It is the song texture and not the artist that defines your station. Simple as that.

If you can play CSN&Y, Gn'R, and NiN on your station, you're extremely lucky. The audience doesn't put your station in a compartment. Neither should you.

Goodbye Classic Rock. Welcome back AOR.
Click to expand...
Welcome back AOR???
As much as I would like to agree with you....ain't never happenin'.
The powers to be are the ones who created Classic Rock....now they are left with the monster they created. The powers that be pigeon holed their audience....you WILL like this or THAT!
Stations like WBCN around the country all adopted this notion.....Alanis Morissette, Counting Crows, Tool, Korn, etc... can't co-mingle with Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, etc....and with more stations within a market owned by the same people....why compete.
Lets face it, times have changed....I don't feel the passion from the people programming/playing the music, and I don't feel any sense of urgency from the audience. As time goes on, less and less today defines a generation....it has all been lost in the shuffle. My son who is 13 going on 14 loves Pink Floyd....my daughter who is 10 listens to KISS 108, and they play Donna Summer to Kate Perry...and she just happens to love The Beatles, as does my son.
Myself...I have totally tuned out, because the industry turned their back on the 40 somethings who tuned into WBCN as almost a religious experience, who waited patiently for the "AOR" nugget.
I will agree with the statment that we are at a weird time right now.....with Grunge/ Alternative at the 20 year mark, and Black Sabbath at 40 years sine the War Pigs days....I just don't see hearing Paranoid on an oldies station, just as I don't see hearing Creed on a classic rock station....maybe it will all come down to the notion: does it rock or does it not.
 
mcamp said:
Stations like WBCN around the country all adopted this notion.....Alanis Morissette, Counting Crows, Tool, Korn, etc... can't co-mingle with Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, etc....and with more stations within a market owned by the same people....why compete.
Click to expand...
This is what I've been saying for years now.

You draw a line between the 80's hair bands & the 90's grunge. That is your "line of demarcation" regarding classic & new rock.

Act accordingly.

Profit.

G
 
There are stations playing all textures of Rock. From the Stones to Stone Sour. Motley Crue, Blur, and The Doors. Talking Heads, Slaughter, Alterbridge, Saving Abel, and Neil Young.

It can, and is being done.
 
Neanderpaul said:
There are stations playing all textures of Rock. From the Stones to Stone Sour. Motley Crue, Blur, and The Doors. Talking Heads, Slaughter, Alterbridge, Saving Abel, and Neil Young.

It can, and is being done.
Click to expand...

That's a trainwreck! Good lord! Or a very badly programmed AAA.

G
 
nope...it's reality. Rock is a melting pot to the new generation.

Rock has molded from a group of sub-genre's much like jazz before it. Rock is a minority in spite of Guitar Hero/Rock Band/etc in the youth mind...it's a game. You want rock, go to the rock channel. It may include Hendrix and may include Disturbed. 10 years ago, The Who didn't belong on the GNR station. The genre has changed and devolved or not, whatever VH1 may call the "100 greatest" makes sense. In a way, Pantera belongs next to ZZ Top.
 
mcamp said:
RockNuts! said:
But what if what sounds good to you, doesn't sound good to me? Good is determined by the listener. It's a personal thing.
Click to expand...
But if certain artists are not played for whatever reason....if an audience never hears it, is it still good, or not?
Program directors decide what is good....they pigeon hole their audience to think that "this is good".
It has been perpetuated for a generation now, so an audience has been brainwashed into what is "good". It is entrenched in all forms of media, from sound bites on talk radio, to advertising, and now being covered by "tween" bands, where it's audience doesn't know any better.
To put it bluntly...I don't think we will be hearing Justin Bieber covering King Crimson anytime soon;)
Click to expand...

mcamp, I know exactly what you're talking about. I was at work one day with my personal collection playing Megadeth, Metallica, etc. A few of the guys came by and gave me a hard time about it, "Why are you listening to Satan's music?". They then proceeded back out into the shop to listen to Black Sabbath and AC/DC. ???
 
I think the term "Classic Rock" is gonna have to be phased out in the next ten years, cause stuff from the 80s and 90s just isn't referred to as "classic"
 
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