What WMMO should do to improve

[gamefreak]

I personally like WMMO. One of my favorite stations. However I have some ideas on how to make the station even better. For one start playing more Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Put some good acoustic 60's songs back in place. Start playing Bob Dylan, Mamas and the Papas and so on. The softer acoustic rock from the later 60's will mix in well. Want to hear Peter, Paul and Mary, Simon and Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell, The Allman Brothers and such. Even add some some country artists with songs that can crossover into AAA and AC. Johnny Cash comes to name as well as various Country crossovers from the late 70's.

Then add more 90's songs that embrace the format. Stuff like REM(Not just the popular songs) Crash Test Dummies. Dave Matthews and the Band and so forth. Nothing too hard or soft is the key.

For modern music fully embrace the AAA charts Play at least one new song an hour along with a good recurrent. Stay current so in the end the music won't become stale.

Oh and if everything is VT'ed at least add some people that show some enthusiasm in the music. The station once had a good air-staff. Cox needs to quit being a cheapskate and fully embrace what WMMO was under Cary Pall. Lots will be spent at 1st but increased revenue will pay off in the end.

 

[FrankF]

I like your idea. I miss the WMMO of the mid 1990's when they were AAA with live DJ's. But that all changed with the telcom act.

>> Cox needs to quit being a cheapskate and fully embrace what WMMO was under Cary Pall. <<

There in lies your problem. cox won't do that, it would cost money. I couldn't help but notice that they also picked up a few songs WHTQ dropped.

 

[jmtillery]

I believe the overall objective behind WMMO programming is the focus is, and always has been, on the music and not the personalities which is why there is very little talk outside of morning drive. On the other hand, I do very much like the idea of adding more music to mix from the various artist suggested. I don't like the idea of creating another classic rock station out of WMMO; However, for my personal taste, adding more acoustic and folk sounds of the 1960s along with select classic country artist will be most welcomed. I believe the reason Cox has not taken this route is because any 60s artist additions would increase the listening demo to a median age past 55. Cox doesn't want those demos although Cox owned WDUV Tampa performs quite well in the higher demos. WMMO is targeting the 25 - 54 adult which is why the current playlist is being used.

 

[gamefreak]

WMMO is an Adult Hits station. Meaning that the station plays a wide range of artists new and old. Jmtillery you know a heck of a lot more than I do in terms of radio. What would be so bad about Cox attracting the 55+ demo while still attracting the 25- 54 demo. Can't a station attract more than one demo. Or would it result in the same problem than many Jammin' Oldies outlets had. Isn't there a way Cox or other media companies can pull off an Umbrella approach with the demos.

The numbers are probably not as high in the 55+ bracket as with WDUV. However I am pretty (but not completely) sure that WMMO at least attracts some of the 55+ demo. Although WMMO is Adult Hits they play a good deal of 70's rock and even select 60's hits already. Not to mention AC (Participially Soft AC) and heavily acoustic formats do well in that demo already.

Not to get off topic but doesn't WOCL (Sunny FM) attracts a middle-aged demographic while also attracting younger people who are interested in older Rock N Roll and Classic Top 40.

I do know however attracting too many demographics will be a disaster though. You can't please everyone!!

 

[gamefreak]

Oh and WMMO becoming another Classic Rocker wasn't in mind. As long as WMMO plays music that stays out of WHTQ territory that would be good. Otherwise you would create a problem with cluster programming. Which has already turned radio into a zombie. You don't want to mix in harder-edged rock into the format. It wouldn't fit or sound good.

 

[jmtillery]

WMMO is an Adult Hits station. Meaning that the station plays a wide range of artists new and old. Jmtillery you know a heck of a lot more than I do in terms of radio. What would be so bad about Cox attracting the 55+ demo while still attracting the 25- 54 demo. Can't a station attract more than one demo. Or would it result in the same problem than many Jammin' Oldies outlets had. Isn't there a way Cox or other media companies can pull off an Umbrella approach with the demos.

The numbers are probably not as high in the 55+ bracket as with WDUV. However I am pretty (but not completely) sure that WMMO at least attracts some of the 55+ demo. Although WMMO is Adult Hits they play a good deal of 70's rock and even select 60's hits already. Not to mention AC (Participially Soft AC) and heavily acoustic formats do well in that demo already.

Not to get off topic but doesn't WOCL (Sunny FM) attracts a middle-aged demographic while also attracting younger people who are interested in older Rock N Roll and Classic Top 40.

I do know however attracting too many demographics will be a disaster though. You can't please everyone!!

Actually a 55+ demo can be successful in terms of ratings. It can also be profitable if the sales staff actually knows how to sell it locally. The problem or biggest challenge with this demo is this demo is a very hard sell. Most agencies will not even consider anything outside of the adult 25 - 54 target demo. A great many of those agencies prefer the 25 - 54 female, so there lies the biggest challenge with a 55+ target demo on any radio station. The same holds true, with some exceptions, with television, cable and print.

As for targeting a wider age range such as 25 - 65 + demographic, the challenge with this type formatting is to avoid culture shock while appealing to a 25 year old and simultaneously appealing to a 65 year old. It can be done with proper programming by an actual person (as opposed to a random computer selection) who understands and knows the music. The main thing to be cognitive of is to remember that not all 65 year olds will like the same music a 25 year old will enjoy. Likewise, not all 25 year olds will find enjoyment in the same music appealing to a 65 year old, so the actual target age in this example is 45 as there has to be a careful balance to make it work.

 

[radiobum]

are there any stations like WMMO anywhere else in the country? haven't heard them for 12 years but i was impressed. i've always theorized if the tempo was 'right' AC stations could add some great music instead of playing the same old crap over and over. then again someone at an AC station told me once that r.e.o. speedwagon tested better than anita baker-a sad commentary !

 

[gamefreak]

are there any stations like WMMO anywhere else in the country? haven't heard them for 12 years but i was impressed. i've always theorized if the tempo was 'right' AC stations could add some great music instead of playing the same old crap over and over. then again someone at an AC station told me once that r.e.o. speedwagon tested better than anita baker-a sad commentary !

That is so true. I'd rather have a station that plays stuff like R.E.O mixed in with newer music any day. I can gladly say that mixing new and old music isn't bad. As long as all the music is good and the station has great variety. WMMO is lacking in certain ways but is still better than quite a few of these Hot AC Stations. I'm sorry but I want music. Not Billy Bush, John Tesh, Ryan Seacrest, and Delilah to name a few. Hot AC is a good format but if programed sloppily can sound very bad.

As for WMMO as long as they play all that good R&R Music mixed with some currents they will be good.

 

[Parttimer]

Cox needs to quit being a cheapskate and fully embrace what WMMO was under Cary Pall.

When Cary was there they played 2,000 songs, all of them researched. Cox will never do that.

 

[Just Me]

COX is big on research and on their more Current Oriented Stations like WWKA (K-92FM) it becomes even more obvious of how "SAFE" they play it as most of their Power Currents & Mediums are everyone else's ReCurrents & Power ReCurrents. They'll sit on WMMO as long as they sat on WHTQ-as long as their making a PROFIT...they don't care about being FIRST to play the new Taylor Swift or whoever.

 

[gamefreak]

COX is big on research and on their more Current Oriented Stations like WWKA (K-92FM) it becomes even more obvious of how "SAFE" they play it as most of their Power Currents & Mediums are everyone else's ReCurrents & Power ReCurrents. They'll sit on WMMO as long as they sat on WHTQ-as long as their making a PROFIT...they don't care about being FIRST to play the new Taylor Swift or whoever.

I've noticed that too with Tampas WWRM (Magic 94.9). However on an interesting note Alternative Rocker WSUN (97X) does better with new music than Clear Channel rival WXTB (98 Rock.) How many times must I hear a Recurrent like "Its just another way to die" by Disturbed. I'll hand Cox credit they do good with Alternative Rock stations. However it doesn't take much to take down C.C on terms of Rock Stations.

 

[wondorlandohits]

WMMO is fine for the music, but it has the personality of a sterile and dead fish.

 

[vadar]

2000 Songs? wow, yeah Cox will play maybe 200...

 

[Troublemaan]

Couple of things:

WMMO had 2000 in the library back in the day, but 85% of what was played was from the top 500 in research. The other 15% were currents and deep tracks. Spice, for sure, and they all went through the research cycle, but the ones that didn't test huge weren't necessarily banished forever. That's the difference between then and now, musically. Cox's culture, dictated by guys like consultant E. Karl over the years, refuses to step out of their very shallow, narrow box musically, at least in adult formats. Karl was the guy who put KRVK Kansas City on the air about a year before MMO. It did well for about six months, then withered and died because of, you guessed it, massive burnout of the 200 song library. And, it sounded like automated radio long before that became the norm rather than a cheap operator's way out.

The original WMMO had live talents. They didn't talk a lot, but they did give music information, they said hi to listeners who had called five minutes ago, one jock even went so far as to send thank-you notes and window stickers to folks who called in. WMMO took a lot of cues from Disney University when it came to customer/listener service. How many stations in any format can boast that today? Today's "big brother broadcasters" view "product" as what plays during the stop sets.

Cox has done well to keep WMMO at a high level of success given the natural oil-and-water-ness of the WMMO brand and Cox's corporate culture. But it's a far cry from its original intentions, and it speaks well of the strong foundation that the original owners, manager Bob Poe, PD Cary Pall, marketing guru Jim Stout, researchers Ted Bolton and Larry Rosin and all the rest of that team laid down. Fifteen years of corporate cookie-cutter radio hasn't killed it...yet.

My question for today is, now that WLOQ is gone, how does WMMO react?

 

[radiobum]

i've always wonder why more stations don't go the route of WMMO instead of sticking to losing formats. anyone know of any?

when i used to travel to orlando in early 90's i always thought how lucky listeners were to have WMMO and WLOQ and a university station playing jazz !

 

[johnsummers]

When I was hired to do afternoons at WMMO in 1990, I was told by Cary Pall to think of it as 'un-radio'. In other words, he said, forget everything you thought was right, up until now. So, we talked conversationally, waited for the songs to fade out, all the way, and had little or no production value or contesting. The music was, at times, eclectic, but there was a method to it. And, very importantly, the marketing and on-air stationality was consistant with this approach. We were 'true to the music', as our slogan said. We played Jellyfish, Rembrandts, Indigo Girls and many other artists not considered 'mainstream' at the time. No hard rock or rap, and lots of tasty album cuts from vintage artists. We were the station for people who usually listened to CD's in the car. Mixed in with the deeper stuff, was a fair amount of songs that DID test. After all, whatever you do, even in this type of radio, there comes a time when we must play some hits. It was a balancing act and Cary did it very well. The proof was ratings out the wazoo....

 

[Troublemaan]

WMMO was also a predictor of hits and superstar artists to come. Gin Blossoms? On WMMO two years before they hit mainstream radio. Blur, who cracked alternative radio in 1994, were on WMMO in '92. Sara MacLachlan, Barenaked Ladies, The Sundays all had big Hot AC/CHR hits years after they made their first appearance in WMMO's "New Music File" (a slogan stolen by stations all over the country from NYC to LA). You can bet that hasn't happened for a while on WMMO.

 

[FrankF]

WMMO was also a predictor of hits and superstar artists to come. Gin Blossoms? On WMMO two years before they hit mainstream radio. Blur, who cracked alternative radio in 1994, were on WMMO in '92. Sara MacLachlan, Barenaked Ladies, The Sundays all had big Hot AC/CHR hits years after they made their first appearance in WMMO's "New Music File" (a slogan stolen by stations all over the country from NYC to LA). You can bet that hasn't happened for a while on WMMO.

AAA stations have a tendency of doing that. That's what makes them so unique. And I distinctly remember WMMO doing that once upon a time. Sirius Satellite Radios The Spectrum channel was (and still is) playing stuff by artists like Adele and K.T Tunstall months before AC & CHR found them.

 

[johnsummers]

@ Troubleman: I guess you could say that 'MMO had 'musical street cred'. We were listened to by the cognoscenti AND the unwashed masses. That's a difficult balancing act. Again, props to Cary Pall. I remember the Barenaked Ladies doing a show at the Junkyard in Casselberry circa....'91-ish, way before their meteoric rise to fame. If I remember correctly, their opening act was Mare Winningham, the actress, who sounded really good that night.

 

[gamefreak]

Good questions, other than 107.3 in Tampa why hasn't Cox tried the Soft Rock/ Semi-AAA in other markets. Wouldn't that do better than their current crop of Classic Rock (Eagle) Stations. Play new music but also mix it in with Oldies everybody loves.

However I do wish that WMMO will bring back the "New Music File" and start playing newer music acts again. Instead of re-currents.