Why can't the 70's RIP?

[Radio Wreck]

The music of the 50's and 60's has never lasted very long on any particular outlet here in Philadelphia. WOGL only played that music for approximately 5 years or less before introducing 70's music into its format. The old "95 PEN" didn't last very long in the 1970's.

Ten years ago everyone said that 40 year old music was too old for WOGL, and that's why there were harldy any 50's and early 60's tunes on the radio.

Well here we are ten years later in 2011 and 70's music isn't showing any signs of dying off. Isn't it logical that its time for the 70's music to start disappearing as well? It seems that the opposite is happening with all of the following stations playing 70's tunes:

92.1
93.3
94.1
95.7
101.5
102.9
105.3
106.1

Why isn't the age old "age demo" argument applying to this repetitive and boring format?

 

[uncamark]

The music of the 50's and 60's has never lasted very long on any particular outlet here in Philadelphia. WOGL only played that music for approximately 5 years or less before introducing 70's music into its format. The old "95 PEN" didn't last very long in the 1970's.

Ten years ago everyone said that 40 year old music was too old for WOGL, and that's why there were harldy any 50's and early 60's tunes on the radio.

Well here we are ten years later in 2011 and 70's music isn't showing any signs of dying off. Isn't it logical that its time for the 70's music to start disappearing as well? It seems that the opposite is happening with all of the following stations playing 70's tunes:

92.1
93.3
94.1
95.7
101.5
102.9
105.3
106.1

Why isn't the age old "age demo" argument applying to this repetitive and boring format?

On the other hand, most ACs have been cutting back on 70s music and are playing only one cut an hour now, if that much. You hear 70s music on oldies/classic hits and classic rock formats because it is the key decade for those formats’ target audiences, not the 60s nor the 80s.

And please tell us why 70s music is “boring and repetitive.” To me, it’s the last decade before the balkanization of music tastes that ended that glorious period that allowed for Barry Manilow, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Gloria Gaynor to peacefully co-exist on the same Top 40 station. For radio jocks who had to work during the decade where playlists got cut to the bone and heard certain songs more of ten than they wanted to, I can understand the hatred of 70s music a little bit. Could it be that your hatred of a certain genre of music that came of age in the 70s and was created and popularized by African-Americans, Latinos and gays is coloring your view of the music of the decade?

 

[imhomerjay]

OGL added '70s, but when they did, it didn't displace the older tunes immediately...it broadened the playlist. Over the ensuing years, they've moved up to where '70s went from the newest decade to the middle decade. Ditto AC stations, that once included '60s in the mix. Those are largely gone, and '70s are fading to a minimal position. Even without a crystal ball, one can guess how it will evolve over the years to come.

 

[Radio Wreck]

Could it be that your hatred of a certain genre of music that came of age in the 70s and was created and popularized by African-Americans, Latinos and gays is coloring your view of the music of the decade?

No. Don't stereotype me as a manipulated, bitter, and aging boomer. I'm none of the above. I don't have a hatred for the music. But I wish it would RIP because I've heard the same songs on the radio at work today that I heard last Friday. And come to think of it, last Thursday, Wednesday, Tuesday, and Monday.

And the week before that
And the week before that
And the week before that
And the week before that
And the week before that
And the week before that
And the week before that
And the week before that
And the week before that
And the week before that


How do these people at the job not get sick of these tunes?

 

[Radio Wreck]

One more thing. Where the hell do you get off asking about African Americans, Latinos, and gays of the 70's? Last time I checked there were plenty of the above recording music in the 50's and 60's.

Seriously. You have a hell of a lot of nerve making a statement like that. Grow up. It's a real shame how university education has destroyed otherwise good and free-thinking people.

 

[Starbucks]

Mr. Marxist Jeffries. I was appalled by your post as well . If you would've replied to me like that in person, I would've popped you just like that. Please go back to your trans-gendered professor with the courdory jacket, bald with the ponytail and powerbook in his hand, and asked for your overcost tuition back. Critical Thinking?

 

[flashback]

i do not see the trouble as the music being from the 70`s.it is the limited playlist.the same problem radio has no matter what kind of music or what time period the music came from.

 

[Radio Wreck]

Insert Quote
i do not see the trouble as the music being from the 70`s.it is the limited playlist.the same problem radio has no matter what kind of music or what time period the music came from

I agree about the limited playlists. But I don't think anyone here remembers a time in which 8 to 10 stations in this market all played 50's and 60's. But 8 to 10 stations are playing 70's. And even with all those stations, there is little variety. It's uncanny.

If its true that advertisers haven't wanted the 50's and 60's audience for about the last 15 years, then shouldn't the 70's music be disappearing shortly? Instead of it disappearing, it seems more prominant on the air now more than ever.

 

[Starbucks]

You have to understand....when the 50's became nostalgic...there weren't many music channels around. Even AM top 40 WFIL had to carry the nostalgic moment on their million Dollar Weekends. Then CAU' FM took over the roll, and other special segments like WIP and 'PEN came to feature heavily on that era. You didn't have many FM stations like what's available now that can be available to market the 50's as well today for the 70's and 80's. What I meant to say, is you didn't have the content and format varieties like today. That's why the 70's will stick around for quite awhile.

 

[BRUSSTAR]

The music of the 50's and 60's has never lasted very long on any particular outlet here in Philadelphia. WOGL only played that music for approximately 5 years or less before introducing 70's music into its format. The old "95 PEN" didn't last very long in the 1970's.

Ten years ago everyone said that 40 year old music was too old for WOGL, and that's why there were harldy any 50's and early 60's tunes on the radio.

I'm having a hard time trying to understand this. The music of no particular decade lasts more than five or so years on the typical gold-based station. Hits of the '50s were regularly heard on mainstream terrestrial radio from the decade itself through the 1990s. Forty years ain't a bad run. Hits of the '60s were regularly heard until very recently-- and in some places still are. When the 2020s roll around, the '70s music will fade away once and for all as well.

What difference does it make whether or not the music of a particular decade stays on one specific station forever?

The majority of the music from any of these decades disappears shortly after its initial chart run anyway. We're left with, what, 15-20% at most-- then beaten to death with those tunes over, and over, and over again? The other 80-85% lives on only online, on XM, on Time-Life late-night infomercials, and when I'm waiting in line at Wawa.

The fact-starved, race-baiting comments from a likely very pathetic person elsewhere in this thread deserve no further attention from my genius.

 

[BRUSSTAR]

The music of no particular decade lasts more than five or so years on the typical gold-based station.

I just re-read my post from a few minutes ago and now have no idea what I was trying to say with this sentence. Please disregard it.

 

[sdh483]

You're really worried about the 70s? Why can't the 80s RIP?

 

[Starbucks]

If we let everything rest in peace, will have nothing but Karaoke , Cover Bands, and flipsides.

 

[ixnay]

The majority of the music from any of these decades disappears shortly after its initial chart run anyway. We're left with, what, 15-20% at most-- then beaten to death with those tunes over, and over, and over again? The other 80-85% lives on only online, on XM, on Time-Life late-night infomercials, and when I'm waiting in line at Wawa.

And when *I'm* spending 37.5 hrs/wk stocking shelves at Walgreens.

ixnay

 

[RyanHoward]

If we let everything rest in peace, will have nothing but Karaoke , Cover Bands, and flipsides.

And MP3 downloads, too!

 

[mook]

Someone who is 54 now was 13 in 1970. His/her most memorable and exciting time in life was happening when they were 13-23 years old. Ten years ago, WOGL barely touched songs from the seventies, and when they did the cut off was 1974. The vast majority of songs they played were from 1961-1971. Ten years later, why is it a shock to you that the formula remains similar? And as far as repetition, radio ratings ARE a popularity contest, so stations research and do tests, then have a limited playlist based on those findings. Again...not a shocker....as it's been this way for an eternity.

TV-Land doesn't play Mr. Ed anymore either. Get over it.

 

[craigbaker]

mook,
You're the first person I've come across who really understands how it all works. I explain it this way. People are making lifelong memories and forming relationships when they are young adults, perhaps somewhere around 20 years of age. Everyone knows that music is a huge part of all of that. The formula that works so well for me is this: If you want to reach people who are 50, play hits that were popular somewhere around 30 years ago. If you want 60 year-olds, reach back somewhere around 40 years. Best regards, Craig Baker, WKVQ / WYTH

 

[Radio Wreck]

TV-Land doesn't play Mr. Ed anymore either. Get over it.

I'm not talking about Mr. Ed. Who mentioned anything about television? I'm talking about the saturation of 70's music in this market. I don't remember any other decade getting as much exposure (with so little variety) on the radio. I believe it was a legitimate question and I've seen legitimate responses.

You too, mook, or whatever you call yourself raised a couple of good points, but your demeanor is condescending, and there isn't any need for it. The inferiority complex in your own life has caused you to attempt to elevate yourself by bringing others down. Over time you'll see that your defense mechanism is ineffective.

 

[imhomerjay]

The '60s were once heavily featured, when AC played them in the mix, plus oldies, classic rock, etc. Now it's the '70s (and, realistically, the '80s) in that zone. It'll keep on moving up over time. It may be hard to remember how it used to be, and someday it will be hard to remember what it's like today. On and on time marches.....

Whether or not something is saturated is somewhat in the ear of the beholder. B101, for one example, plays '70s music, but less than they once did. Just lumping together any station with a format that happens to include '70s music doesn't really present a quantifiable look at how much it's really being played, just that elements of it fit different playlists.

 

[fmradio1]

If anything, the 60's and early 70's overstayed their welcome because of the huge number of baby boomers in the money demos in the late 80's through the early 2000's. Now that about half of them are in 55+ land, agencies aren't interested anymore so it's on to Generation X. That means the next few years the 70's will be rushed along and more 80s get added.

It's the classic 40 year music formula. In the 80's, big band music (40's) disappeared from the radio. In the 90's it was adult standards & early pop (50's). It took awhile, but 60's music began to be cycled out toward the end of the 2000's. The seventies are next, and that will include the classic rock stuff as well as the pop. The question is, will it happen in the earlier or later part of this decade. Make no mistake though, it WILL happen!