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WLKK an alternative to the ALT format

The point is that the current Alternative format on WLKK is moribund. It delivers nothing. It's certainly possible that AAA would find a larger audience and make money. Big A and David want you to believe that advertisers don't want to reach educated affluent demos. It's too hard to find clients or advertisers won't like the format. Advertisers don't want to reach Doctors, Lawyers and other professional people? That defies logic...

What? You think doctors and lawyers don't listen to Pearl Jam, RHCP and NIN? Pheh! There are people with three degrees who think Metallica and GnR rules. They also like Drake and Lizzy. Upper demo men and women "educated" still listen to Zep, the Who and the Doors. The ad agencies that might have turned away from black shirt 97 Rock 40 years ago are more than eager to sell to the station's Classic Rock listeners now.

The "educated listener" argument reminds me of the Smooth Jazz and Wave "pitches," which were often along the lines of "we have all the hip, moneyed listeners." No sir, they didn't. It was a fabrication to sell week numbers. Oh, sure, some listeners might lived in the ritzy zips of East Amherst, OP and EA, but there weren't many of those, at least not enough to buoy the claims of the stations. And there were plenty of ritzy zip listeners who preferred WYRK, 97, Star and Kiss over Smooth Jazz. The "educated, moneyed listener" pitch worked for a while, but there's a reason Smooth Jazz washed out. It's a similar reason for AAA.

As it applies to what's on 107.7. The music isn't compelling, the jocks (what jocks there are) are bland at best ... the target demo is diverse and listens to WBLK, WYRK, 97, 103, Kiss and WGR-AM. You could buy a saturation TV ad campaign for 107.7 ; invest in the best social media targets... and the station still wouldn't break a 3 share. Plus, the return on the ad investment would be cringeworthy. But there's nowhere to turn and Entercom knows this. They'll ride this format to the grave. They might combo sell some of it with Star and Kiss, maybe even WGR; but it's not much of a stand-alone sale.
 
Classic Rock and AAA can share some songs, but they are not the same. Rusty missed the point. It's not just about doctors or lawyers. It's possible that Blue Collar folks also think Classic Rock formats are stale and obnoxious. People do have diverse tastes. I could list hundreds of successful artists that don't show up on radio playlists. AAA is a different presentation and vibe.

Rusty's comment about "riding it to the grave" is a phrase well chosen. It literally is coming to that...
 
It's possible that Blue Collar folks also think Classic Rock formats are stale and obnoxious. People do have diverse tastes.

When you have some facts, let us know. I'd like to see documented evidence on those opinions.

The facts I see show that the classic rock format is consistently one of the highest rated formats across the country.
 
The "educated listener" argument reminds me of the Smooth Jazz and Wave "pitches," which were often along the lines of "we have all the hip, moneyed listeners." No sir, they didn't. It was a fabrication to sell week numbers. Oh, sure, some listeners might lived in the ritzy zips of East Amherst, OP and EA, but there weren't many of those, at least not enough to buoy the claims of the stations. And there were plenty of ritzy zip listeners who preferred WYRK, 97, Star and Kiss over Smooth Jazz. The "educated, moneyed listener" pitch worked for a while, but there's a reason Smooth Jazz washed out. It's a similar reason for AAA.

That is a very sage observation.

Smooth Jazz formats tended to do better in markets with a larger African American population because the format had a considerable influence from modern jazz and nice acceptance among a rather large segment of that audience.

Not only was there a cross-ethnicity component to the format, there was considerable listening in all varieties of ZIP Code areas.

Those stations tried to use "snob appeal" to add value to buys. It failed because it just was not necessary as they did pretty well on their own.
 
I could list hundreds of successful artists that don't show up on radio playlists. AAA is a different presentation and vibe.

Good point.

Historically there have been an overwhelming number of artists who can fill smaller venues but who have not had significant radio airplay. They range from lesser hit creators from a few decades back to current artists in genres that are not mass appeal yet who have what is often called "cult following".

A whole genre that gets practically no airplay is real jazz. Artists fill smaller venues, and their recordings sell to a passionate albeit small group of followers.

And within the US, there are many artists that appeal to specific ethnic groups that attract people to shows. These range from Latin American rock groups to Korean pop to Indian sub-continent music that can be found appearing under normal conditions all over my area of SoCal.
 
Historically there have been an overwhelming number of artists who can fill smaller venues but who have not had significant radio airplay.

Absolutely, and actually I've been to a lot of music conferences that advise artists how to make a living without hits or airplay. It's a popular topic among alt, rock, and Americana artists. They don't have hits, they don't sell a lot of product, but they live off touring and streaming revenues. I'm sure they're starving without touring right now. The streaming pays a fraction of what they'd make from BMI or ASCAP with radio hits. But the record label shares in streaming royalties, and they don't from FM airplay.

A whole genre that gets practically no airplay is real jazz. Artists fill smaller venues, and their recordings sell to a passionate albeit small group of followers.

It's primarily a public radio format now, restricted to a handful of cities. It gets relegated to secondary NPR affiliates, in the same way as classical.
 
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