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WHY CORPORATE RADIO IS KILLING OLDIES

michael hagerty said:
Chuck Blore is a genius if ever there was one. But KFWB lost its dominance to a much less creative, not as freewheeling KRLA in just five years. And KRLA, in turn, had the crown taken by the machine-like precision of KHJ in just two years.

Since stations started finding out what the typical listener the advertiser wants most wants to hear, and delivering on expectations, stations have had longer, more successful runs. KIIS-FM is at 32 years and counting.

It's a shame David's posts bore you, because they're an accurate reflection of how people use radio. If he hadn't written a single one of them, oldies radio wouldn't be any healthier.
Click to expand...

There is one thing that even David the Magnificent (and I use that term in admiration) hasn't covered (to my knowledge) and that is that an audience, no matter what type or age, sooner or later tires of the same old stuff and moves on to a different presentation. The sole exception to that, AFAIK, was Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. No one ever seemed to tire of him personally or his schtick. Many of the top DJ's of the day came very close.

I lived in SoCal during the early 60's and remember KRLA, KFRC and KHJ but today I couldn't tell you the difference between them. They were all Top-40 and played pretty much the same music and their DJ's sounded a lot alike. I lived in the Long Beach area and didn't travel around the metro area much so don't know about their station's coverage having anything to do with their popularity. All three were pre-set and pretty much selected by the like/dislike of specific songs.
 
http://www.al.com/entertainment/ind...er_pulling_the_plug.html#incart_river_default

WZNN-FM in Gardendale, Alabama, just north of Birmingham, is now playing "the best of the 40s, 50s, 60, 70, 80, 90s, 2000s, 2010s." Here's what I heard just after midnight Monday, July 22:

Jerry Reed-East Bound And Down
Britney Spears-Oops!...I Did It Again
"93.7 Y'all. Playing the best of the 40s, 50s, 60, 70, 80, 90s, 2000s, 2010s."
Backstreet Boys- I Want It That Way
The Byrds-Mr. Tambourine Man
Katy Perry-California Gurls
"Broadcasting from the bottom strand of yer memaw's barbed wire fence, 93.7 Y'all WZNN."
Was (Not Was)-Walk The Dinosaur
Fergie-Fergalicious
The Supremes-Baby Love
"It's nice and fun, y'all"
Rose Royce-Car Wash
Rebecca Black-Friday
The Beatles-Twist And Shout
97.3 Y'all-come here and let me give you some sugar"
Rob Base-It Takes Two
Johnny Rivers-Secret Agent Man
The Shocking Blue-Venus
Arrested Development-Tennessee
"97.3, Y'all"
Devo-Whip It
Blood, Sweat and Tears-Spinning Wheel
Rihanna-Shine Bright Like A Diamond
Marvin Gaye-Heard It Through the Grapevine
Hank Williams-Your Cheatin' Heart.

Some of you will say this is the way it should be (you can listen online) and some of you will say this will never work. Just throwin' this out there.
 
landtuna said:
There is one thing that even David the Magnificent (and I use that term in admiration) hasn't covered (to my knowledge) and that is that an audience, no matter what type or age, sooner or later tires of the same old stuff and moves on to a different presentation.
Click to expand...

That's a point that troubles every station, particularly those that have enjoyed years of success.

Generally, the way stations stay fresh is by keeping the same demo target (let's say "women 18-34" such as the case of long-time winner KIIS in LA) and knowing that each year a bunch of listeners mature out of the target and a bunch of new ones come into it. So, for much of the audience, the station is fresh. Add the fact that, for a CHR, the music is always refreshing itself, and there is not much "getting old" to worry about.

Even more gold based stations... the morph from oldies to classic hits being the best case study... the library rolls over to accommodate listeners who age into the target while the oldest songs are retired. Those stations also keep a comparable target and are, in a sense, fresh.

In the PPM world, where the average listener is seen to "consume" 5 or 6 stations in a 7-day period, you get "freshness" from the fact that any individual station is only averaging 4 or so hours a week usage, and even core listeners average about an hour a day.
 
PirateJohnny said:
http://www.al.com/entertainment/ind...er_pulling_the_plug.html#incart_river_default

WZNN-FM in Gardendale, Alabama, just north of Birmingham, is now playing "the best of the 40s, 50s, 60, 70, 80, 90s, 2000s, 2010s." Here's what I heard just after midnight Monday, July 22:

Jerry Reed-East Bound And Down
Britney Spears-Oops!...I Did It Again
"93.7 Y'all. Playing the best of the 40s, 50s, 60, 70, 80, 90s, 2000s, 2010s."
Backstreet Boys- I Want It That Way
The Byrds-Mr. Tambourine Man
Katy Perry-California Gurls
"Broadcasting from the bottom strand of yer memaw's barbed wire fence, 93.7 Y'all WZNN."
Was (Not Was)-Walk The Dinosaur
Fergie-Fergalicious
The Supremes-Baby Love
"It's nice and fun, y'all"
Rose Royce-Car Wash
Rebecca Black-Friday
The Beatles-Twist And Shout
97.3 Y'all-come here and let me give you some sugar"
Rob Base-It Takes Two
Johnny Rivers-Secret Agent Man
The Shocking Blue-Venus
Arrested Development-Tennessee
"97.3, Y'all"
Devo-Whip It
Blood, Sweat and Tears-Spinning Wheel
Rihanna-Shine Bright Like A Diamond
Marvin Gaye-Heard It Through the Grapevine
Hank Williams-Your Cheatin' Heart.

Some of you will say this is the way it should be (you can listen online) and some of you will say this will never work. Just throwin' this out there.
Click to expand...

Is this some sort of joke? Who in the world is going to listen to that music mix? There isn't even an "oh wow" factor to it; just about every song was burnt to a crisp as a current, and the '60s/'70s titles met the same fate in the oldies/classic hits format.
 
CTListener said:
PirateJohnny said:
http://www.al.com/entertainment/ind...er_pulling_the_plug.html#incart_river_default

WZNN-FM in Gardendale, Alabama, just north of Birmingham, is now playing "the best of the 40s, 50s, 60, 70, 80, 90s, 2000s, 2010s." Here's what I heard just after midnight Monday, July 22:

Jerry Reed-East Bound And Down
Britney Spears-Oops!...I Did It Again
"93.7 Y'all. Playing the best of the 40s, 50s, 60, 70, 80, 90s, 2000s, 2010s."
Backstreet Boys- I Want It That Way
The Byrds-Mr. Tambourine Man
Katy Perry-California Gurls
"Broadcasting from the bottom strand of yer memaw's barbed wire fence, 93.7 Y'all WZNN."
Was (Not Was)-Walk The Dinosaur
Fergie-Fergalicious
The Supremes-Baby Love
"It's nice and fun, y'all"
Rose Royce-Car Wash
Rebecca Black-Friday
The Beatles-Twist And Shout
97.3 Y'all-come here and let me give you some sugar"
Rob Base-It Takes Two
Johnny Rivers-Secret Agent Man
The Shocking Blue-Venus
Arrested Development-Tennessee
"97.3, Y'all"
Devo-Whip It
Blood, Sweat and Tears-Spinning Wheel
Rihanna-Shine Bright Like A Diamond
Marvin Gaye-Heard It Through the Grapevine
Hank Williams-Your Cheatin' Heart.

Some of you will say this is the way it should be (you can listen online) and some of you will say this will never work. Just throwin' this out there.
Click to expand...

Is this some sort of joke? Who in the world is going to listen to that music mix? There isn't even an "oh wow" factor to it; just about every song was burnt to a crisp as a current, and the '60s/'70s titles met the same fate in the oldies/classic hits format.
Click to expand...

It appears to be a stunt while a permanent format is being put in place. It's been going on since they dropped sports talk in late June...Hawaiian music for a few days, patriotic music on the Fourth and then this for the past 18 days. Apparently, it's a two hour loop of the same songs in the same order.....over and over.

http://mediaconfidential.blogspot.com/2013/07/bham-radio-wznn-flips-to-973-yall-fm.html
 
PirateJohnny said:
http://www.al.com/entertainment/ind...er_pulling_the_plug.html#incart_river_default

WZNN-FM in Gardendale, Alabama, just north of Birmingham, is now playing "the best of the 40s, 50s, 60, 70, 80, 90s, 2000s, 2010s." Here's what I heard just after midnight Monday, July 22:

Jerry Reed-East Bound And Down
Britney Spears-Oops!...I Did It Again
"93.7 Y'all. Playing the best of the 40s, 50s, 60, 70, 80, 90s, 2000s, 2010s."
Backstreet Boys- I Want It That Way
The Byrds-Mr. Tambourine Man
Katy Perry-California Gurls
"Broadcasting from the bottom strand of yer memaw's barbed wire fence, 93.7 Y'all WZNN."
Was (Not Was)-Walk The Dinosaur
Fergie-Fergalicious
The Supremes-Baby Love
"It's nice and fun, y'all"
Rose Royce-Car Wash
Rebecca Black-Friday
The Beatles-Twist And Shout
97.3 Y'all-come here and let me give you some sugar"
Rob Base-It Takes Two
Johnny Rivers-Secret Agent Man
The Shocking Blue-Venus
Arrested Development-Tennessee
"97.3, Y'all"
Devo-Whip It
Blood, Sweat and Tears-Spinning Wheel
Rihanna-Shine Bright Like A Diamond
Marvin Gaye-Heard It Through the Grapevine
Hank Williams-Your Cheatin' Heart.

Some of you will say this is the way it should be (you can listen online) and some of you will say this will never work. Just throwin' this out there.
Click to expand...

I never heard 50% of those songs. So looking at the playlist, I wouldn't tune in.
 
Wow what a trainwreck of a playlist. AM and the internet are and can still be the home of oldies. But why do part time broadcasters, and some full time, think they can reinvent the format? Play the hits, do it well and still get ratings.
 
PirateJohnny said:
WZNN-FM in Gardendale, Alabama, just north of Birmingham, is now playing "the best of the 40s, 50s, 60, 70, 80, 90s, 2000s, 2010s." Here's what I heard just after midnight Monday, July 22:

Jerry Reed-East Bound And Down
Britney Spears-Oops!...I Did It Again
"93.7 Y'all. Playing the best of the 40s, 50s, 60, 70, 80, 90s, 2000s, 2010s."
Backstreet Boys- I Want It That Way
The Byrds-Mr. Tambourine Man
Katy Perry-California Gurls
"Broadcasting from the bottom strand of yer memaw's barbed wire fence, 93.7 Y'all WZNN."
Was (Not Was)-Walk The Dinosaur
Fergie-Fergalicious
The Supremes-Baby Love
"It's nice and fun, y'all"
Rose Royce-Car Wash
Rebecca Black-Friday
The Beatles-Twist And Shout
97.3 Y'all-come here and let me give you some sugar"
Rob Base-It Takes Two
Johnny Rivers-Secret Agent Man
The Shocking Blue-Venus
Arrested Development-Tennessee
"97.3, Y'all"
Devo-Whip It
Blood, Sweat and Tears-Spinning Wheel
Rihanna-Shine Bright Like A Diamond
Marvin Gaye-Heard It Through the Grapevine
Hank Williams-Your Cheatin' Heart.
Click to expand...

As much as I like oldies and the fact that they should all be played, even this list is too much. 40's music should not be mixed with this....two seperate music eras. Too many recent songs (late 80's and up) mixed with the real oldies. It has to be more spread out. Too many decades being presented here at once. You can have a heavy playlist of just the 60's 70's and early 80's, with a few late 50's sprinkled in. And the country songs have to be eliminated....or just played once in every 100 songs or so. Too many trainwrecks here.
 
oldies76 said:
As much as I like oldies and the fact that they should all be played, even this list is too much.... Too many trainwrecks here.
Click to expand...

Please read the part of the thread that says this is a stunt related to the format change from sports... it's classic Bill Tanner stuff; in this case a goof on the AC "Your favorites from the 80's, 90's and Today" type positioning.
 
DavidEduardo said:
oldies76 said:
As much as I like oldies and the fact that they should all be played, even this list is too much.... Too many trainwrecks here.
Click to expand...

Please read the part of the thread that says this is a stunt related to the format change from sports... it's classic Bill Tanner stuff; in this case a goof on the AC "Your favorites from the 80's, 90's and Today" type positioning.
Click to expand...

I gather they want to chase away the sports talk demo, but this stunt -- more than two weeks old now -- might just chase everyone away from the frequency by the time the new format is ready to go.
 
CTListener said:
I gather they want to chase away the sports talk demo, but this stunt -- more than two weeks old now -- might just chase everyone away from the frequency by the time the new format is ready to go.
Click to expand...

I don´t think they are chasing anyone away. They are just holding until whatever they are going to do is ready, and cutting the costs of the undesired sports format in the meantime.
 
Sounds good to me. I see no trainwreck here.
How come no 20s or 30s?
 
Tom Wells said:
Sounds good to me. I see no trainwreck here.
How come no 20s or 30s?
Click to expand...

It's a stunt. The trainwrecks are intentional and frequent. They know that maybe 2 people in the Birmingham MSA will actually like it, and that is the point.
 
DavidEduardo said:
Tom Wells said:
Sounds good to me. I see no trainwreck here.
How come no 20s or 30s?
Click to expand...

It's a stunt. The trainwrecks are intentional and frequent. They know that maybe 2 people in the Birmingham MSA will actually like it, and that is the point.
Click to expand...

I should have read deeper into the story. Looks like the new format is going to be a jockless "Jack" knockoff with a "massive" 1,000-song playlist. I'm guessing that all of the head-scratching song choices will be weeded out of the format when it launches full-time and the station will sound like someone actually did some research. The "Jack"s that I've heard, while they boast "We play everything," always wind up pretty focused.
 
Maybe you can pull up on net WIRL in Peoria IL on 1290 AM or 101.1 LPFM. Their playlist of genuine oldies is amazing, it will remind you of how an Oldies station should sound. They shifted to that format from CWO not long ago.
 
DavidEduardo said:
Please read the part of the thread that says this is a stunt related to the format change from sports... it's classic Bill Tanner stuff; in this case a goof on the AC "Your favorites from the 80's, 90's and Today" type positioning.
Click to expand...

Thanks for clarifying...

Listening this afternoon:

"Friday" - Rebecca Black (2011)
"Afternoon Delight" - Starland Vocal Band (1976)
"Limbo Rock" - Chubby Checker (1962)
"Firework" - Katy Perry (2010)
"Try a Little Tenderness" - Otis Redding (1967)
"Respect" - Aretha Franklin (1967)
"U Can't Touch This" - MC Hammer (1990)
"Lovely Day" - Bill Withers (1978)
"Summertime" - DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince (1991)
"Who Can it Be Now" - Men at Work (1982)
"Barbara Ann" - Beach Boys (1966)
"Clocks" - Coldplay (2003)
"Louie Louie" - Kingsmen (1963)
"God Bless the USA" - Lee Greenwood (2001)
"Genie in a Bottle" - Christina Aguilera (1999)
"Unbelievable" - EMF (1991)
"Jingle Jangle" - Penguins (1955)....Yes, a Christmas song was played in July!
"Bad Day" - Daniel Powter (2006)
"Good Foot" - James Brown (1972)
"Save Tonight" - Eagle Eye Cherry (1999)
 
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