WHY IS KAMP STILL ON THE CHR PANEL?

[atlantaboy]

I know I keep beating this drum too, but a playlist alone does not a rhythmic station make. KAMP is mainstream CHR in its presentation, as well. If you heard it on a daily basis, it is unmistakenly mainstream. The presentation does not fit in with the other rhythmic stations in the metro and surrounding markets (KPWR, KGGI, XHTZ, etc)

There are a lot of Hot ACs that are "mainstream CHR" in their presentation too (WKRQ/Cincinnati, Star 94/Atlanta, Q104/Cleveland, etc.) - but they stay on the Hot AC panel...

 

[danikayser84]

WKKF-FM/Albany is another one of those strongly-Rhythmic leaning CHRs... it's much more similar to WAJZ than WFLY (then again, most of the programming is either VTed or syndicated, so...)

 

[Dkampy]

You mentioned that KAMP should be classified as a rhythmic station because there are all kinds of rhythmic stations. Using that logic, isn't it equally fair to classify it as a mainstream CHR because there are variations on what is mainstream in different markets?

To me, KAMP's playlist is similar to half the stations on the Rhythmic panel - it's similar to maybe 10 stations on the mainstream CHR panel

The reason Rhythmic and Hot AC stations were separated from the mainstream CHR panel in the early 90s was because they weren't playing "All The Hits" - they were playing hits based on their sound, and their presence on the pop panel made the charts unfair

KAMP clearly has an issue with a certain "sound" of music - I'm just not seeing any gray area here

I 100% concur with this...I was going to post something similar...The reason the Rhythmic panel; was created was for this very reason.

 

[acesup]

You guys are nitpicking way too much. With 151 stations on the published panel, to nitpick over one is a waste of time.

 

[semoochie]

I have a problem with the following statement: "CHR is supposed to represent the 40 biggest radio airplay hits in the country at the time." To be successful, a CHR needs to play the biggest hits in that market. The national charts are just a guideline.

 

[justpassingthough]

I have a problem with the following statement: "CHR is supposed to represent the 40 biggest radio airplay hits in the country at the time." To be successful, a CHR needs to play the biggest hits in that market. The national charts are just a guideline.

Agreed. It would be foolish to play the 40 biggest hits based solely on the airplay chart alone. Stations should cater to their listeners and their market, even if that means deviating from the chart.

The chart should reflect the concensus of what are the biggest airplay hits- based upon tabluating all of the CHR stations on the panel- not the other way around.

 

[atlantaboy]

I have a problem with the following statement: "CHR is supposed to represent the 40 biggest radio airplay hits in the country at the time." To be successful, a CHR needs to play the biggest hits in that market. The national charts are just a guideline.

Agreed. It would be foolish to play the 40 biggest hits based solely on the airplay chart alone. Stations should cater to their listeners and their market, even if that means deviating from the chart.

I hate to keep bringing this up, but, according to this line of thinking, every Rhythmic station in the country could report to the CHR panel

 

[radiolives]

I have a problem with the following statement: "CHR is supposed to represent the 40 biggest radio airplay hits in the country at the time." To be successful, a CHR needs to play the biggest hits in that market. The national charts are just a guideline.

Agreed. It would be foolish to play the 40 biggest hits based solely on the airplay chart alone. Stations should cater to their listeners and their market, even if that means deviating from the chart.

I hate to keep bringing this up, but, according to this line of thinking, every Rhythmic station in the country could report to the CHR panel

Not the ones that are Rhythmic but go more towards the Urban format. Hot 97 is under Rhythmic but is Urban for example.

 

[justpassingthough]

I have a problem with the following statement: "CHR is supposed to represent the 40 biggest radio airplay hits in the country at the time." To be successful, a CHR needs to play the biggest hits in that market. The national charts are just a guideline.

Agreed. It would be foolish to play the 40 biggest hits based solely on the airplay chart alone. Stations should cater to their listeners and their market, even if that means deviating from the chart.

I hate to keep bringing this up, but, according to this line of thinking, every Rhythmic station in the country could report to the CHR panel

I think we have to agree to disagree on this point.

We are talking about CHR and CHR/Rhythmic. Its not like we are talking about Urban stations reporting to the Country panel. There is going to bleed over between the charts and amongst stations- as no station is entirely "pure" in their format. Given that the majority of songs on the mainstream CHR chart are now by rhythmic artists, it stands to reason that some CHR stations are going to sound like rhythmic stations. If we had this discussion 15 years ago, we would have had to advocate for moving some CHR stations to the Hot AC panel.

 

[anthonydt06]

KAMP is definitely more CHR than KTFM-San Antonio, which leans even heavier rhythmic.
KTFM spins the following, while also ignoring the non-rhythmic tracks:
Lupe Fiasco - The Show Goes On
Jeremih ft. 50 Cent - Down On Me
Wiz Khalifa - Black And Yellow
Waka Flocka Flame - No Hands (w/ Roscoe Dash & Wale)
California Swag District - Teach Me How To Dougie
Kanye West - All Of The Lights

 

[acesup]

KAMP is definitely more CHR than KTFM-San Antonio, which leans even heavier rhythmic.
KTFM spins the following, while also ignoring the non-rhythmic tracks:
Lupe Fiasco - The Show Goes On
Jeremih ft. 50 Cent - Down On Me
Wiz Khalifa - Black And Yellow
Waka Flocka Flame - No Hands (w/ Roscoe Dash & Wale)
California Swag District - Teach Me How To Dougie
Kanye West - All Of The Lights

WIZ KHALIFA - BLACK AND YELLOW #22 +722
WAKA FLOCKA FLAME - NO HANDS #30 +192

I'd be playing them, too, if I were Mark Landis and Stick. By the way, on those two records, KTFM had 54 spins this past week, of which 38 were between 12AM and 6AM.

Of the 23 spins on Kanye, 16 were overnight. Lupe and Jeremih had 32 spins between the two, 23 of them in overnights. They played CSD exactly one time last week and a grand total of 31 spins since August 29th... I wouldn't call that "playing the record" in a sense that it's a part of the playlist. That's called a "mixshow record."

Nitpick, much?

Why do so many of you refuse to recognize that CHR is not the lily-white, skinny boys with guitars, format that it was fifteen years ago? The whole point of CHR is to play what is hot, selling, and testing in YOUR market at a given time, not what the national charts say.

 

[AM FM listener]

For those of you that believe attracting Hispanics is a key difference between Rhythmic and Mainstream CHRs, you may be surprised to know (I was) that KAMP actually has a higher percentage of Hispanic listeners than KPWR. In another thread, David E posted that KAMP's audience is 66% Hispanic whereas KPWR's is 56% Hispanics. I believe KPWR has a higher % of Blacks though. If you combine the two stations' % of Hispanics and % Blacks, I think KAMP and KPWR are about even, but I'm guessing KIIS is lower. So...maybe KAMP and KPWR belong on the same panel after all...Rhythmic CHR.

 

[atlantaboy]

For me, this is what it comes down to

The Los Angeles market is 40% Hispanic - KAMP's audience is 66% Hispanic, so they are clearly targeting an Ethnic audience that is not representative of the market in general

They aren't just choosing songs that "test well in their market" - they're choosing songs that test well with a Rhythmic-oriented, ethnic audience

 

[acesup]

For me, this is what it comes down to

The Los Angeles market is 40% Hispanic - KAMP's audience is 66% Hispanic, so they are clearly targeting an Ethnic audience that is not representative of the market in general

They aren't just choosing songs that "test well in their market" - they're choosing songs that test well with a Rhythmic-oriented, ethnic audience

They're not "clearly" doing anything of the sort. They're programming to the market, as any smart station is going to do. Do they have any control over how much of any particular audience segment CHOOSES to listen to them? No, they don't.

 

[atlantaboy]

For me, this is what it comes down to

The Los Angeles market is 40% Hispanic - KAMP's audience is 66% Hispanic, so they are clearly targeting an Ethnic audience that is not representative of the market in general

They aren't just choosing songs that "test well in their market" - they're choosing songs that test well with a Rhythmic-oriented, ethnic audience

They're not "clearly" doing anything of the sort. They're programming to the market, as any smart station is going to do. Do they have any control over how much of any particular audience segment CHOOSES to listen to them? No, they don't.

Sorry, but that's ridiculous - if they were programming to the market, their audience would be about 40% Hispanic, not 66%

And lol of course they have control over who chooses to listen to them, just like Hot AC stations have control over who chooses to listen to them - they test their songs with that particular population group

 

[CHRles]

For me, this is what it comes down to

The Los Angeles market is 40% Hispanic - KAMP's audience is 66% Hispanic, so they are clearly targeting an Ethnic audience that is not representative of the market in general

They aren't just choosing songs that "test well in their market" - they're choosing songs that test well with a Rhythmic-oriented, ethnic audience

The 18-34 year old market in L.A., which is Amp's target demo, is more like 50 percent Hispanic. Don't forget to add another 10-15% percent for the Asian population (Amp helped break Far East Movement for a reason), the black population, and an additional foreign population that is neither Hispanic nor Asian (Europeans, Middle Eastern, etc.).

Again, if the national Pop charts had a lot of Pop/Rock titles in the Top 20 it'd be one thing, but the biggest records in the major and big markets, whether it's Atlanta, St. Louis, Chicago, Tampa, San Francisco, Boston, Denver, or Dallas, are almost all Rhythmic, Dance, and Rhythmic/Pop hits...which is exactly the music lean at Amp Radio.
I do love the more balanced sounding CHRs, but the charts right now are anything but balanced, and Pop audience tastes have been gravitating for quite a while now towards the type of music Amp is famous for.
As such, Amp Radio \not only belongs on the CHR/Pop panel, but is also seen by many as one of the most influential CHRs in the country.

 

[AM FM listener]

I find this debate interesting because it is not always clear where the lines are drawn between format labels. This is especially true when it comes to Hot AC vs. CHR, CHR vs. Rhythmic, and Rhythmic vs. Urban. On air, KAMP bills itself as playing "All The Hits," which is truly a CHR-type imager, but it does not actually do that and the audience it attracts reflects that, even after adjusting for the large Hispanic composition in LA. I had always assumed that KAMP was more CHR than Rhythmic but now I am not so sure, thanks to this debate.

 

[Marv-L.A.]

All you need to know about KAMP's influence in this market is that KIIS immediately replaced all of their billboards to include pictures of Taylor Swift after KAMP's spectacular debut; their arrival has grown the CHR/Pop share here in LA to 10.1 this past September.

The last time KIIS's ratings were that high would be the 10.0 share it reached in September 1984, when the format was white-hot and downright huge; KIIS remained #1 until KPWR replaced them at #1 in early 1987.

KIIS's 6.0 in that September 2010 book (their rating might have been a little higher prior to that) marked their highest share since January of 1991, when Ms. Swift was thirteen months old!!!

Their PD John Ivey mentioned that numerous record label reps have been 'blowing up his phone lines' for years complaining that KIIS (and tons of other top 40 stations) plays very little rock product.

Those record label reps are certainly furious that KAMP play little rock product, but KAMP PD Kevin Wetherly is merely doing what the market dictates, and since he also programs JACK-FM (KCBS & KROQ, he knows this market inside & out, just like John Ivey does.

In a three-part story on KIIS which R&R published three years ago, their MD (Charese Fruge, now PD at KYSR) mentioned that the #1 song on the rhythmic & urban charts were also in power rotation at KIIS, given that the market is 45% Hispanic; consequently it makes perfect sense for KAMP to also lean heavily towards the pop/rhythmic stuff which dominates the format.

 

[justpassingthough]

For me, this is what it comes down to

The Los Angeles market is 40% Hispanic - KAMP's audience is 66% Hispanic, so they are clearly targeting an Ethnic audience that is not representative of the market in general

They aren't just choosing songs that "test well in their market" - they're choosing songs that test well with a Rhythmic-oriented, ethnic audience

They're not "clearly" doing anything of the sort. They're programming to the market, as any smart station is going to do. Do they have any control over how much of any particular audience segment CHOOSES to listen to them? No, they don't.

Sorry, but that's ridiculous - if they were programming to the market, their audience would be about 40% Hispanic, not 66%

And lol of course they have control over who chooses to listen to them, just like Hot AC stations have control over who chooses to listen to them - they test their songs with that particular population group

On the younger side of the demographic, LA is close to 85% non-white, so KAMP is definitely serving their audience by playing more of the rhythmic product than most mainstream CHRs. Simply playing rhythmic artists on a CHR does not make you a rhythmic CHR, though. Everything else about the station screams mainstream CHR from the imaging to the jocks. They are set apart from KPWR in this sense in a way that just sharing songs would not indicate.

 

[Megacycler]

The last time KIIS's ratings were that high would be the 10.0 share it reached in September 1984, when the format was white-hot and downright huge; KIIS remained #1 until KPWR replaced them at #1 in early 1987.

In September 1984, KIIS was also giving away $5000 every day and a Porsche a week (with $10,000 stuffed in the glovebox). Nobody else even came close to KIIS's promotional budget and they blew away three competitors in the CHR format over a couple years' time.