This isn’t criticism…just an observation. I looked at their playlist on onlineradiobox. All the songs were the same old same old except for two: “Lovefool” by The Cardigans and “Hey Ya” by Outcast. Otherwise, all 70’s and 80’s with more 80’s than 70’s. Again, not complaining…just thought they might add in a little more 90’s.
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
WLS-FM playlist adjustments
- Thread starter jt99
- Start date
Many stations do more 80s than any decade in this format. Some do more 90s than others though.
I looked at their playlist…. It’s very white. In the past 12 hours they only played two songs by black artists… Prince and Michael Jackson. And the same less than a handful of 90’s songs. “Lovefool” by The Cardigans every single day practically. If it brings in the bucks, fine, but how about a little more variety. Like Janet Jackson, Jody Watley, maybe The Jets. Pull a K-Earth and play “Uptown Funk” … “Shut up and Dance” would fit in fine. Maybe they could have an Adult Hits HD2/online channel that has more variety.
That's very common. Similar comments about WROR in Boston. They don't play the songs based on race, but on what the core demo wants to hear. Those are the two artists who consistently test well.
Because the CHR stations teens and 20-somethings of the '80s listened to played few black artists other than Prince and Jackson and, maybe, Ray Parker Jr. and boy bands like New Edition. New Wave wasn't black, nor was grunge, or the Lilith Fair subgenre. It wasn't until the late '80s that the early rappers found their way onto CHR again.
This likely will evolve as they evolve out of the 80s. Chicago did not have Mainstream CHR for several years in the 90s. B96 was Rhythmic, heavy on the dance although they did mix in some pop and rock.
Last edited:
I grew up listening to WLS am 89 and 94.7/Z-95 in my teens and 20’s. Loved Susan Platt, Brant Miller, Peter B and so many others. I am glad they play to what they do now …basically an 80’s pop/rock station. They finally found something that works instead of all those other formats they tried and there were several. Could stand a little more variety but overall not a bad station.
(Emphasis mine).
A station like WLS-FM does research. They play songs that nearly all their audience likes or loves... while very few say they neither like nor dislike the song and statistically "nobody" gave a failing grade.
I'll betcha' a dinner at Morton's or Ruth's Chris that those songs you named have been tested and did not pass.
As to "variety" the listener's behaviour in this respect is simple: "variety" means "they play only songs I like and none that I don't like". That may be 100 songs or less for many individual listeners. People who truly like or love more than 200 or so songs are what in research we call "outliers" and most stations remove data from such people when analyzing their playlist.
Last edited:
I just looked at Mediabase and saw that WLS played several Earth Wind & Fire songs as well as Rick James. Also Fine Young Cannibals. It's a pretty broad range of music.
If you want more variety, you can always change the station to another format. That's a quick and easy way to hear some different songs.
WLS-FM Playlist pages:
TuneGenie (goes back up to 30 days): 94.7 WLS On Air Playlist
OnlineRadioBox (goes back up to 7 days): WLS-FM
TuneGenie "Top Hits": 94.7 WLS Top Hits
TuneGenie (goes back up to 30 days): 94.7 WLS On Air Playlist
OnlineRadioBox (goes back up to 7 days): WLS-FM
TuneGenie "Top Hits": 94.7 WLS Top Hits
They took an uptempo rock lean after The Loop went to EMF. Not unlike 94.7 and 96.3 were for periods in the 80s. Many but not all of the 90s songs have something in common. They were non rhythmic songs that B96 played.
- Status