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Why Is "Lite-FM" Doesn't Play 70's Music Anymore?
- Thread starter disney fanatic
- Start date
The reason these stations are dropping older music is because they HATE the older demographic. It's another form of age discrimination. Plain and simple.
Too bad that radio is ignoring 33% of the population. Very, very stupid indeed.
Too bad that radio is ignoring 33% of the population. Very, very stupid indeed.
radiowizard101 said:
Radio does not "hate" older demos. Simply, they don't program to 55+ specifically because there is essentially no revenue to be gotten programming to seniors. That's because in larger markets, so much of the revenue comes from local, regional and national ad agencies... who deal with clients using sophisticated research who specify targets that seldom, if ever, include 55+ for radio.
No revenue, no programming.
If there is no money, how do you expect stations to succeed were they to program for 55 and over?
In any case, many older leaning 25-54 stations get loads of spillage into 55+, so, except for not having a standards station or a 50's oldies station, most 55 and over listeners have plenty to choose from.
atlantaboy said:
Retirement communities in LA? New to me. LA is one of the most expensive places in the US to live, like New York City. While some people who have paid-up homes and lots of family ties stick around, anyone who can leaves LA for either lower cost areas, places with less pollution or places that are easier to get around in... unlike much of the NY market, LA has essentially no useful public transportation.
Agree. With us being 2 years in to a new decade, I think it's time for AC to move away from the 70s, just like it did the 60s (although the 70s have had more longevity). Leave it to classic hits (who focuses on 70s), classic rock, adult hits...heck, even standards. The AC format has to continue to evolve, and removing the 70s music is just part of it.Seltzer said:
They dont like MEN either,so older demos and MEN are not "catered to" in NYC anymore.
No alternative rock,no any other rock except Q104.3...(same 10 songs as last year)
Teeny boppers,WOMEN and everyone else get to hear their type of music.
Dead to NYC radio:
1.Country classic or new
2.Big Band
3.easy Listening
4.Alternative rock
5.Freeform formats
6.Jack FM style formats
7.Classic Hip hop
8.80s Freestyle (remember 97.1 back in the 80s?....)
No alternative rock,no any other rock except Q104.3...(same 10 songs as last year)
Teeny boppers,WOMEN and everyone else get to hear their type of music.
Dead to NYC radio:
1.Country classic or new
2.Big Band
3.easy Listening
4.Alternative rock
5.Freeform formats
6.Jack FM style formats
7.Classic Hip hop
8.80s Freestyle (remember 97.1 back in the 80s?....)
Wouldn't try Jack in NYC, or anywhere? I definitely agree that it's not viable in NYC, but quite a few of the Jack-FM type stations still do well.Seltzer said:
magicjellybeans said:
"Older demos" to a radio person means 55+. Going back decades, there has never been much, if any, 55+ money available in larger markets. A much smaller one, where direct accounts predominate, can still sustain some forms of programming that appeal mostly to seniors.
55% of adult radio listening is male. So stations don't ignore men. But they don't automatically consider that males only like rock, because they don't.
What you are saying is that there is no rock station made for your taste. Have you considered that there may be too few people with your variety of taste to sustain a station?
There are no teen targeted stations, either. Teens are the spillage for CHR stations, which target 18-34 and 18-44 females.
THis has been researched by many owners. Just not enough core country, and no country lifestyle in most parts of the metro.
Big band appeals to pre-boomers, meaning most listeners would be 65+ and even 70+. I was born in the first week of the Boomer generation, and nothing will make me change stations faster than big band.
But, mostly, there is zero revenue for 65+.
If you mean Beautiful Music, that format died in the 80's. Old, old demos and loss of interest, no music production, and no revenue. If you mean soft gold based AC, that is also a very old format. The #1 12+ station in Tampa is 14th in billings because it has very few listeners under 55.
Like country, a close-but-no-cigar contender. Remember, stations do lots of research to determine music formats... and even then, they are not always right. But nobody is going to do a format that has limited core appeal.
Most were killed by Abrams' Superstars AOR format in the 70's. The PPM is not at all tolerant of formats that play unknown songs or stiffs. Most freeform music fits both categories.
Asked and answered in NY. Working some other places, gone in others.
All this would get is that one of the CHUrban or Urbans would add some gold cuts and take the position. Because of population concentration, this requires a Manhattan based signal, and probably can't generate the revenue to justify the cost.
And where in all the world is there a station with ratings doing this? The "B---ch and a Band" music is not coming back.
I'm not being argumentative (yeah, right...) but trying to present a thumbnail of the reasoning that station owners with $100 million dollar stations go through. Radio can only please people if it makes money... the formats you listed either can never make money or would be marginal at best.
I think JACK may have worked in NYC, if they blew up another station that "wasn't" WCBS FM. That was the big mistake.
DavidEduardo said:
Many folks over 55 do listen to the radio though. Why radio supposedly does not count them in, is really beyond me. Obviously if CBS-FM continues to play some late 50's, 60's and early 70's, there must be an audience of some sort. There has to be.
Who does AM oldies formats target?? 35-54?? no, it's 55+
carolinaradio said:
And who the heck listens to cheesy 1990's music (most of it anyways, there were a few good songs that decade). Losing the 70's, especially the late 70's is a bad idea. Many young listeners have enjoyed a ressurgance of the dance/ disco music of the 70's and prefer that over more recent music.
Keep the 80's, but for gosh sake's, expand the choices!! Seems like radio programmers have forgotton many timeless and important songs from the first 5 years of the 80's, which is the signature period of the 80's! Ever heard of new wave?? And I'm not mentioning "What I Like About You" either.
oldies76 said:
Radio "ignores" 55+ because taking them into account produces no revenue. So they focus on ages that do produce income.
Remember, even in the mid 60's programmers like Bill Drake started featuring gold in the Top 40 format. So listeners who grew up in the 60's heard a smattering of 60's hits that were played on CHR stations... and some became part of that younger group's musical background.
However, since stations in the 70's only played the biggest gold songs, the secondary songs were not exposed to the younger listeners. The stuff CBS plays, for the most part, is the stuff that did get played.
Actually, based on ratings, it's close to "Nobody +"
As in "nobody listens to music on AM any more."
Lee Anderson said:
Good point. But when the CBS folks saw how WODL was doing in the early PPMs in Philly, they were afraid they would lose the franchise of decades of CBS Fm history and reverted to an updated oldies format, abandoning Jack... which was not doing terribly itself.
DavidEduardo said:
Common now, you know that's not true....AM 690, AM 950 in Colorado's front range cities (just an example) 950's been on for a few years...Someone must be listening..........
They may not rate well, but they're still broadcasting. 50's thru the 70's are still popular among the older folks.....you know that.
AC typically plays new music from the current decade, and last 3. I wasn't a fan of the idea of AC dropping 70s music on 1/1/10 (which didn't happen), but I think that it's about time for that decade to be minimized. If there are 70s songs that still test well with the AC target audience, by all means, play them. I'm just saying it shouldn't be a staple decade anymore. Some AC's still played a handful of well-testing 60s songs in the late 00s.
The switch to more contemporary music on Lite-FM and B101 has not been good. Lite used to be the solid #1 station among 25-54 demos. Today, it's not only dropped to #2 but KTU now has a full share lead over Lite in this demo.
And B101 used to be a solid #1 in Philly, book after book after book. It now competes with KYW for that honor. I don't know how it's doing 25-54, where the money is, but in 6+ numbers, the move to more conteporary, harder edged music has clearly blown off the upper demos on these two stations.
Does that make any sense? To save the village, we've got to burn the village? Or at least those villagers above 45?
And as for David Eduardo's statement that there's no money to be made in the 55+ demo, that seems illogical to me as well. Yes, I understand that as we age we are less inclinded to allow advertising influence us. I'm not going to rush out to get the latest sneaker from Foot Locker or burrito from Taco Bell just because they advertise it. But on the other hand, in my decision making, advertising plays SOME role in how I decide what to buy.
You're a valued person to a radio station at age 54. In fact, you're among the most valued, the 25-54 demographic. Then on your 55th birthday, you're dead to advertising. In one day you fall off a cliff. That doesn't make much sense. Maybe two 55+ listeners should count the same as one young listener? If a Soft AC station gets a 6 share, shouldn't that be as valuable to an advertiser as a 3 share for a Hip Hop station?
Is there really no place anymore on AC stations for Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Elton John or Chicago music because much of it dates from the 70s? And anyone who likes these artists are of no use to advertisers?
Gregg
[email protected]
And B101 used to be a solid #1 in Philly, book after book after book. It now competes with KYW for that honor. I don't know how it's doing 25-54, where the money is, but in 6+ numbers, the move to more conteporary, harder edged music has clearly blown off the upper demos on these two stations.
Does that make any sense? To save the village, we've got to burn the village? Or at least those villagers above 45?
And as for David Eduardo's statement that there's no money to be made in the 55+ demo, that seems illogical to me as well. Yes, I understand that as we age we are less inclinded to allow advertising influence us. I'm not going to rush out to get the latest sneaker from Foot Locker or burrito from Taco Bell just because they advertise it. But on the other hand, in my decision making, advertising plays SOME role in how I decide what to buy.
You're a valued person to a radio station at age 54. In fact, you're among the most valued, the 25-54 demographic. Then on your 55th birthday, you're dead to advertising. In one day you fall off a cliff. That doesn't make much sense. Maybe two 55+ listeners should count the same as one young listener? If a Soft AC station gets a 6 share, shouldn't that be as valuable to an advertiser as a 3 share for a Hip Hop station?
Is there really no place anymore on AC stations for Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Elton John or Chicago music because much of it dates from the 70s? And anyone who likes these artists are of no use to advertisers?
Gregg
[email protected]
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