WLTW Goes Super Traditional in its Christmas Format

[EJ204]

It is just amazing how traditional the Christmas format is on WLTW NYC. They're playing very few current artists. It's not uncommon to hear Sinatra, followed by Bing Crosby, followed by a Percy Faith instrumental, and then maybe Hall & Oates doing "Jingle Bell Rock" or Eurythmics doing "Winter Wonderland."

Lite-FM is playing almost no Christmas music released this year. And virtually everything they play from the last several years, Michael Buble, James Taylor, Faith Hill, is an interpretation of a Christmas classic.

Lite-FM plays many instrumentals, with Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride," Vince Guaraldi's "Linus & Lucy," and David Foster's "Carol of The Bells" in fast rotation, every four or five hours. They play almost no novelty songs, no "Grandma Got Run Over by A Reindeer" or "I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas."

They go deep in the Christmas albums put out by Crosby, Nat King Cole, Andy Williams, Sinatra, Carpenters, Johnny Mathis, Dean Martin. They play HARDLY any Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Phil Spector or Motown Christmas music. You're more likely to hear a Percy Faith Christmas song than a John Mellencamp Christmas song.

Here's what WLTW played on Dec. 11 at 1pm, according to www.yes.com

Paul McCartney - Wonderful Christmastime
Frank Sinatra - I'll Be Home for Christmas
Andy Williams - Happy Holiday/It's The Holiday Season
Mannheim Steamroller - Carol of The Bells
Aaron Neville - Let It Snow, Let it Snow
Bing Crosby - It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas
Nat King Cole - Caroling, Caroling
Amy Grant - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Leroy Anderson - Sleigh Ride
Vanessa Williams - Do You Hear What I Hear?
Harry Connick Jr. - Sleigh Ride
Carpenters - Home for The Holidays
Al Jarreau - The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting)
Beach Boys - Frosty The Snowman
Spencer Day - Silver Bells
Percy Faith & His Orchestra - Carol of The Bells
Madonna - Santa Baby

Interesting that "Sleigh Ride" aired twice within a few minutes and there were also two versions of "Carol of The Bells." Also interesting that Spencer Day got in there. But you can see that nearly all these songs are traditional, with no new compositions. And clearly there's no effort to play 60% or 50% or even 33% contemporary artists. Other than the Spenser Day version of "Silver Bells," I don't think any of this music was recorded in this century.

All those stations that feel like they got to play a significant percentage of contemporary artists or original compositions are getting it wrong. I think it just cheapens the format. People listen to All-Christmas formats to trigger their memories. A new Christmas song by Lady Antebellum might be nice. But I think most folks would rather just hear them sing "Let It Snow, Let It Snow."

 

[vchimpanzee]

It is just amazing how traditional the Christmas format is on WLTW NYC. They're playing very few current artists.

Someone in New York City should be doing it this way. In fact, this is not traditional enough.

One thing I have no desire to hear is today's artists unless they are doing a traditional style recording the way Michael Buble does.

And as for any songs first recorded after about 1960, forget it. I have no desire to ever again hear Paul McCartney's reprehensible "Wonderful Christmastime".

 

[new_friends_gr]

There's nothing unusual about WLTW's Christmas playlist at all. The primary AC station in my local market that I listen to (WSRW/105.7 - Grand Rapids, MI) is also owned by Clear Channel and plays all those same songs. It's been like this every holiday season for many years.

 

[radiodog2]

It must be a Clear Channel programming decision companywide because our local Hot AC flipped to All-Christmas in November and has kept it traditional with little to no contemporary artists thrown in. They are using Clear Channel's Premium Choice "The Christmas Channel" feed.

 

[oldies76]

It is just amazing how traditional the Christmas format is on WLTW NYC. They're playing very few current artists. It's not uncommon to hear Sinatra, followed by Bing Crosby, followed by a Percy Faith instrumental, and then maybe Hall & Oates doing "Jingle Bell Rock" or Eurythmics doing "Winter Wonderland."

It's what the listeners in the older demos would prefer to hear.....They dislike most Christmas songs from the 90's through today, with the exception of Buble, Harry Connick Jr. or maybe Clay Aiken and other contemporary artists. But definitely, the classics from the 50's through the 70's is what they prefer. Even a few from the 40's are still desirable. Besides, I believe those traditional classics are more warm, more Christmassy, more memorable and less poppish as the releases from the last 25 years.

 

[vchimpanzee]

It is just amazing how traditional the Christmas format is on WLTW NYC. They're playing very few current artists. It's not uncommon to hear Sinatra, followed by Bing Crosby, followed by a Percy Faith instrumental, and then maybe Hall & Oates doing "Jingle Bell Rock" or Eurythmics doing "Winter Wonderland."

It's what the listeners in the older demos would prefer to hear.....They dislike most Christmas songs from the 90's through today, with the exception of Buble, Harry Connick Jr. or maybe Clay Aiken and other contemporary artists. But definitely, the classics from the 50's through the 70's is what they prefer. Even a few from the 40's are still desirable. Besides, I believe those traditional classics are more warm, more Christmassy, more memorable and less poppish as the releases from the last 25 years.

This doesn't happen on Dial Global standards (though it should) but yesterday while the other station was airing football, I heard maybe five of the traditional songs in a row on the AC station before they did something off-the-wall.

 

[satech]

It's what the listeners in the older demos would prefer to hear.....They dislike most Christmas songs from the 90's through today,

Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" is a notable exception. It's one of the few 1990s or newer Christmas songs to become a classic in its own right.

 

[new_friends_gr]

It's what the listeners in the older demos would prefer to hear.....They dislike most Christmas songs from the 90's through today,

Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" is a notable exception. It's one of the few 1990s or newer Christmas songs to become a classic in its own right.

This makes me wonder... will Newsong's "The Christmas Shoes" become a classic? HAHA!!!

 

[vchimpanzee]

It's what the listeners in the older demos would prefer to hear.....They dislike most Christmas songs from the 90's through today,

Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" is a notable exception. It's one of the few 1990s or newer Christmas songs to become a classic in its own right.

Not to me it's not.

 

[satech]

Not to me it's not.

But you're also probably not in the target demographic for AC.... my 73-year-old dad isn't either, but ironically he refers to anything from the '90s as "old" music.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Not to me it's not.

But you're also probably not in the target demographic for AC.... my 73-year-old dad isn't either, but ironically he refers to anything from the '90s as "old" music.

If you go back to the original post that was quoted, which I in turn quoted, it was about the older demographic. You are correct, though. AC has not appealed to me in years. Even the format as it was defined in the 1980s didn't quite make me happy, and it sure isn't like that now.

 

[Seltzer]

Not to me it's not.

But you're also probably not in the target demographic for AC.... my 73-year-old dad isn't either, but ironically he refers to anything from the '90s as "old" music.

If you go back to the original post that was quoted, which I in turn quoted, it was about the older demographic. You are correct, though. AC has not appealed to me in years. Even the format as it was defined in the 1980s didn't quite make me happy, and it sure isn't like that now.

There was a national music Christmas test done this year. 53 percent of the library were songs from pre 68. Traditional is the way to go. And only a Scrooge could possibly not like the Mariah Carey tune.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Not to me it's not.

But you're also probably not in the target demographic for AC.... my 73-year-old dad isn't either, but ironically he refers to anything from the '90s as "old" music.

If you go back to the original post that was quoted, which I in turn quoted, it was about the older demographic. You are correct, though. AC has not appealed to me in years. Even the format as it was defined in the 1980s didn't quite make me happy, and it sure isn't like that now.

There was a national music Christmas test done this year. 53 percent of the library were songs from pre 68. Traditional is the way to go. And only a Scrooge could possibly not like the Mariah Carey tune.

Then call me Ebenezer.