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What's The Deal With Q102?

A

AbacoDream

Guest
What's the problem?

With all the good pop "product" out there right now, isn't it relatively easy to program a CHR/Mainstream? Why does Q feel the need to compete with Wired on some songs ("Bounce", comes to mind)

Q should be bangin' the ish out of 3 Doors Down, Natasha Bedingfield, DHT, Green Day etc...(they can still play the Pussycat Dolls, 50 Cent, Fat Joe). And don't give me this crap about how Philly's not a "pop" market.

Far as I'm concerned, if you're a CHR and you have Kasper on your staff...you do everything in your power to hang onto him. You don't let him defect back to CLEVELAND of all places!

Nothing more frustrating than seeing a heritage station with a great brand make one mistake and bad decision after another.
 
In a nutshell? THEY SUCK. THEY HAVE LOST THEIR LUSTRE OVER THE LAST 8 YEARS OR SO.

Their programming stuff is horrible, they have 1 mix show DJthat plays the SAME DAMN SONGS EVERY MIX. They got rid of the 12 Noon Workout, the jocks arent personable like they used to be.

The station is boring and is just horrible!
 
> What's the problem?
>
> With all the good pop "product" out there right now, isn't
> it relatively easy to program a CHR/Mainstream? Why does Q
> feel the need to compete with Wired on some songs ("Bounce",
> comes to mind)
>
> Q should be bangin' the ish out of 3 Doors Down, Natasha
> Bedingfield, DHT, Green Day etc...(they can still play the
> Pussycat Dolls, 50 Cent, Fat Joe). And don't give me this
> crap about how Philly's not a "pop" market.


Actually, I'm hearing songs on Q that definitely show that they've mainstreamed considerably.

OCEAN AVENUE - Yellowcard
MY OWN WORST ENEMY - Lit

They would have never played these songs 3 months ago. DHT and 3 Doors Down actually are getting a lot of airplay as well. Same with Killers, Papa Roach, Gwen Stefani ("Cool"), etc. Haven't heard the Natasha or Green day yet; however, Q is definitely not the same station musically that they were 3-4 months ago. However. CHR IS still somewhat rythmic leaning as a whole anyway; they sound how they should.

Yes, Kasper leaving is a blow to the "personality" of the station as a whole. Hopefully they will find a good replacement.

<P ID="signature">______________
-----------------------
Steve Rodgers
Radio Geek Extraordinaire
Upper Darby, PA
</P><P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by HitThePost on 07/01/05 08:15 PM.</FONT></P>
 
...Their programming stuff is horrible, they have 1 mix show DJ that plays the SAME DAMN SONGS EVERY MIX.

And to think...it's not a live mix anyway! (No wonder he doesn't get a day off!)

Listen to the imaging that goes on in-between songs of the mix. It simultaneously comes in when the new song takes place on exactly the first downbeat.

It's to me the "simply plug in a mix-CD of his Ultramixx tracks-type" DJ.<P ID="signature">______________
Check out DJCrazyTom's dance homepage: www.soundclick.com/crazytom</P>
 
> What's the problem?
>

What bad decisions? The impact decisions are made higher up than at Q102.

How about talking about penis encounters on the morning show. When kids are on their way to school. This is what people are listening to in the car. Bad decision #1.

"All the hits!" - terrible moniker. What grade school english teacher of a radio consultant asked them to sum up the station in three words or less? Bad decision #2. Most of "All the hits" aren't worth hearing anyway.

Their repetitive playlist. 500 times a month? Retire that CD before you scratch it!

Oh yea and that's the other thing. When they retire a CD, where does it go? Not good enough for airtime now? Then it shouldn't have been #1 in 1998!
 
> What bad decisions? The impact decisions are made higher up
> than at Q102.

Obviously...but why are other Clear Channel CHR's (Z-100, KIIS, Kiss 108) succeeding while Q102 (another heritage station) is doing so poorly??
I would imagine the same people that have a say in what goes down at those stations, has a say at what goes on at Q102.

Sounds to me like a morale problem INSIDE the building.
 
With so much wrong at Q102 and the only weakness you can point out is their "mix show"?? Sorry Mr. DJ, but mix show credibility is the least of their troubles.

And sad that the two "mainstream" titles pointed out(Yellowcard & Lit) are two mid charting non-events.

Todd & Marian: get rid of the Frankie J and Natalie songs.
THEY'RE STIFFS!
 
...mix show credibility is the least of their troubles.

I was only pointing out one obvious problem...there are certainly others.

Others are that their playlist is too cut-throat, they get 'new music' only after everyone else in the nation already has their hits, the recurrents are all the same and even some tunes they play that were popular back then (and are played now) weren't even played at the time they were popular (such as those 2 reggae songs that get played all the time from the mid-late 1990's)--plus, the balance of their music is so off...I know Philly is an 'R&B' town, but you have 4 stations already playing pretty much the same stuff!

And another gripe: they're playing the 'sleepy' version of DHT's "Listen To Your Heart" when mostly everyone else, including 94.5 PST, is playing the upbeat dance version. This was a station that used to play some good up-tempo hits such as Lara Fabian's "I Will Love Again", but we don't even hear that anymore. Why does it come across to me that this station hates dance so much?

Maybe changing them back to Solid Gold 102 would bring them better numbers.<P ID="signature">______________
Check out DJCrazyTom's dance homepage: www.soundclick.com/crazytom</P>
 
> Todd & Marian: get rid of the Frankie J and Natalie songs.
> THEY'RE STIFFS!

I beg to differ... Both are doing well on callout, for how new they are.

What station do YOU program, AbacoDream? Where are YOUR ratings? Hmm??
<P ID="signature">______________
Aaron Tyler
Afternoons / MD
WVZA / Marion - Carbondale, IL
www.kissfm927.com

Weekends / Swing
KSLZ / St. Louis
WAKZ / Youngstown, OH
</P>
 
> Far as I'm concerned, if you're a CHR and you have Kasper on
> your staff...you do everything in your power to hang onto
> him. You don't let him defect back to CLEVELAND of all
> places!


Do you KNOW why Kasper wanted to go back to WAKS? It might surprise you. Remember, he was APD / MD there.. Sometimes people get comfortable doing something, like programming, and then when it comes time for them to be "just a jock," they miss it terribly...

Lighten up, dude.<P ID="signature">______________
Aaron Tyler
Afternoons / MD
WVZA / Marion - Carbondale, IL
www.kissfm927.com

Weekends / Swing
KSLZ / St. Louis
WAKZ / Youngstown, OH
</P>
 
> Do you KNOW why Kasper wanted to go back to WAKS? It might
> surprise you. Remember, he was APD / MD there.. Sometimes
> people get comfortable doing something, like programming,
> and then when it comes time for them to be "just a jock,"
> they miss it terribly...
> Lighten up, dude.

I don't doubt Kasper misses programming. What I'm saying is, if you have a Kasper on your staff...instead of just letting him go back to Cleveland, you work him into your programming staff. He's one of the best jocks in the country! If your station is suffering (like Q102) and the one bright spot on your station wants to leave to get back into programming, rather than let him go...if smart, you try to appease him!
 
> > Todd & Marian: get rid of the Frankie J and Natalie songs.
>
> > THEY'RE STIFFS!
>
> I beg to differ... Both are doing well on callout, for how
> new they are.
>
> What station do YOU program, AbacoDream? Where are YOUR
> ratings? Hmm??
>

Just because I don't program a station doesn't mean I don't have an ear on either side of my head or the right to an opinion, Mr. Carbondale.

When the competition (Wired) is playing a total of 15 currents, wouldn't you think it smart to let THEM play the Rhythmic records and, instead, just focus on the more mainstream "hits"? If you honestly think that "How To Deal" or "Energy" are better calls than "You And Me" or "These Words" than maybe YOUR PD should re-evaluate your title.

And do you have to be so condescending? You're an MD in Carbondale IL and I'm not. Does that make you a smarter radio person than I?
 
> Just because I don't program a station doesn't mean I don't
> have an ear on either side of my head or the right to an
> opinion, Mr. Carbondale.
>
> When the competition (Wired) is playing a total of 15
> currents, wouldn't you think it smart to let THEM play the
> Rhythmic records and, instead, just focus on the more
> mainstream "hits"? If you honestly think that "How To Deal"
> or "Energy" are better calls than "You And Me" or "These
> Words" than maybe YOUR PD should re-evaluate your title.
>
> And do you have to be so condescending? You're an MD in
> Carbondale IL and I'm not. Does that make you a smarter
> radio person than I?


Nope, didn't say that. I just think that if you are going to flat out label two records that have been getting airplay a COMBINED 8 weeks as "stiffs," then you might want to make sure that your opinion is backed by research.

Natasha Bedingfield, however, IS a stiff, based on testing. The Lifehouse record is a touch and go sort of record that you have to try to make work around all the 50 Cent, Nelly, G-Unit, etc that is defining mainstream radio right now. But, to be perfectly honest with you, I see Frankie J's record outlasting the Lifehouse one, simply because the whiny pop rock records aren't lasting right now, for the most part. Energy is a hit, period... It's developing slowly, but it is a hit.. hate to burst your bubble of hate on that one.

As far as letting Wired play the rhythmic records and just "focus on the more mainstream hits," doesn't that defeat the purpose of the 'All the Hits' positioner? Your counter argument is going to be that not playing records like These Words (not a hit, IMO) and Lifehouse (hit, but difficult to spin sometimes) also defeats the purpose of the positioner... That's true, to a sense. Once you reach that point, that's where your callout research has to weigh heavily, in addition to a programmer's gut instinct. Todd Shannon has been in this game a long time... I'd trust his opinion LONG before I would trust yours, and do, actually, via Mediabase.

But, all that aside, I suppose my point is this:

Don't be critical of a situation about which you do not have all the available information.

Have a happy holiday.<P ID="signature">______________
Aaron Tyler
Afternoons / MD
WVZA / Marion - Carbondale, IL
www.kissfm927.com

Weekends / Swing
KSLZ / St. Louis
WAKZ / Youngstown, OH
</P>
 
> I don't doubt Kasper misses programming. What I'm saying is,
> if you have a Kasper on your staff...instead of just letting
> him go back to Cleveland, you work him into your programming
> staff. He's one of the best jocks in the country! If your
> station is suffering (like Q102) and the one bright spot on
> your station wants to leave to get back into programming,
> rather than let him go...if smart, you try to appease him!


Again, there are other factors to consider... some of which I'm aware of as someone that talks with Kasper on a fairly regular basis, some of which I'm certain that I am not aware of.
<P ID="signature">______________
Aaron Tyler
Afternoons / MD
WVZA / Marion - Carbondale, IL
www.kissfm927.com

Weekends / Swing
KSLZ / St. Louis
WAKZ / Youngstown, OH
</P>
 
> Nope, didn't say that. I just think that if you are going
> to flat out label two records that have been getting airplay
> a COMBINED 8 weeks as "stiffs," then you might want to make
> sure that your opinion is backed by research.

My ears tell me that both songs are non-priorities and will turn out to be "stiffs". The Lifehouse song is top 10 CHR/Mainstream and a HUGE song with females. There have been HUNDREDS of songs that tested well and didn't become hits (priorities) and HUNDREDS MORE that didn't test at first but became MONSTERS (Gavin Degraw "I Don't Want To Be", for instance). The fact that Q102 is spinning the Natalie and the (new) Frankie J songs MORE than Lifehouse is just poor decision making. If he can't fit it into his flow, then maybe he's just a bad programmer.

> Todd Shannon has been in this game a long time... I'd trust his
> opinion LONG before I would trust yours, and do, actually,
> via Mediabase.

He is also the steward of an underperforming radio station that can't seem to hang on to people. Just because he's had a successful career thus far, doesn't mean every programming call he makes is a smart one. Isn't this the 2nd heritage station he's programmed in the last 5 years that can't seem to get ratings? (Kiss/Dallas being the other...)

>Don't be critical of a situation about which you do not have all the available >information.

ROTFLMAO!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!!
Thank you, Scott Shannon Of Carbondale....
 
> My ears tell me that both songs are non-priorities and will
> turn out to be "stiffs".

YOUR ears say that, but are your ears that of an 18 - 34 year old female? Something tells me they are not..

By the way, what's with the insults? You don't think I know what I'm talking about, fine... But that doesn't mean that you have to insult me when I disagree with your opinion and try to have a (as much as possible) civilized discussion about it.<P ID="signature">______________
Aaron Tyler
Afternoons / MD
WVZA / Marion - Carbondale, IL
www.kissfm927.com

Weekends / Swing
KSLZ / St. Louis
WAKZ / Youngstown, OH
</P>
 
> YOUR ears say that, but are your ears that of an 18 - 34
> year old female? Something tells me they are not..

How do you know I'm not an 18-34 year old female?? Are YOUR ears that of an 18-34 year old female? Just because you're an MD at a CC radio station you think you know EXACTLY how an 18-34 year old female thinks?? Just because you're privy to some "call-out research"?? C'mon, bro! Give me a break! Do you know how ridiculous and cocky that sounds?? It's mindsets like that that're KILLING radio. Know-it-all pontificators like you!

You're the same kinda person that was probably heralding "Lady" by Lenny Kravitz and "She's No You" by Jesse McCartney as the Next Big Things to the trades a fewm months ago because they showed "early growth" and "huge callout potential".

Too many stations let research dictate what their station sounds like, that's my point. The Natalie and Frankie J songs (IN MY OPINION) are not priorities and will turn out to be mid-charting stiffs.

Mark my word...
 
> You're the same kinda person that was probably heralding
> "Lady" by Lenny Kravitz and "She's No You" by Jesse
> McCartney as the Next Big Things to the trades a fewm months
> ago because they showed "early growth" and "huge callout
> potential".


Actually, no. I was not a fan of "Lady" for CHR (Hot AC, sure, but not CHR) and only played the Jesse McCartney for a month or so, in light rotation.


> Too many stations let research dictate what their station
> sounds like, that's my point. The Natalie and Frankie J
> songs (IN MY OPINION) are not priorities and will turn out
> to be mid-charting stiffs.


Audience research is done for a reason... You seem to be saying that we should spend the money and resources on research, and then not use it? Come on, buddy.

As far as the rest, Natalie is a 10 - 15 record and Frankie is an 8 - 12. They're solid records, but obviously you don't agree with that (or know what a "hit" is, for that matter).


<P ID="signature">______________
Aaron Tyler
Afternoons / MD
WVZA / Marion - Carbondale, IL
www.kissfm927.com

Weekends / Swing
KSLZ / St. Louis
WAKZ / Youngstown, OH
</P>
 
> Actually, no. I was not a fan of "Lady" for CHR (Hot AC,
> sure, but not CHR) and only played the Jesse McCartney for a
> month or so, in light rotation.

That's a month's worth of airplay you couldve spent investing in a hit, as opposed to deadweight like Jesse McCartney.

> Audience research is done for a reason... You seem to be
> saying that we should spend the money and resources on
> research, and then not use it? Come on, buddy.

No, sir. That's not what I'm saying. Research shouldnt necessarily dictate what your station sounds like. It should, ideally, tell you what you should already know. Research is just like you...It is merely a tool :)

In all seriousness, though...You obviously played Jesse McCartney because you thought it was a hit, right? But...the song didnt last long enough to warrant a call-out test. Therefore, your ears failed you and a month's worth of airplay was wasted on a poor investment. Every time you played that song, a listener tuned out. Making your ratings suffer and your client's money wasted. My ears told me Jesse McCartney was a stiff and non-priority. That makes me a smarter programmer than you, sir.

Every playlist add is an investment. You pay the consequences for every poor investment you make come ratings time. With that logic...Q102 has made bad one bad investment after another. If they made smart decisions, then their ratings would be better than a 3.0 share.

Would it kill you to admit that I'm right and you're wrong? Surrender already. You're embarassing yourself.
 
> That's a month's worth of airplay you couldve spent
> investing in a hit, as opposed to deadweight like Jesse
> McCartney.


Ah, but it might surprise you to learn that "She's No You" was, while we played it, a top 5 request on our phone lines, right? Thought so. Just because something doesn't do well on a national level, that doesn't mean that it may not do well in a particular market. As a programmer, you have to pay attention to things like that... which I KNOW, but evidently you don't. Now who's the smarter programmer?


> Would it kill you to admit that I'm right and you're wrong?
> Surrender already. You're embarassing yourself.


I admit nothing, particularly when dealing with someone that doesn't get it.
<P ID="signature">______________
Aaron Tyler
Afternoons / MD
WVZA / Marion - Carbondale, IL
www.kissfm927.com

Weekends / Swing
KSLZ / St. Louis
WAKZ / Youngstown, OH
</P>
 
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