WMVX new format

[johnbasalla]

I thought we should start a new thread since WMVX is no longer stunting. Here's a question. Why do corporations insist on branding some formats as "we play anything", or "whatever", when they clearly don't and you don't have to be a radio scholar to know this. If you simply explain "formats" to the vast majority of people, they will understand that any station that tries to please everybody will please almost nobody.

 

[nightfly61]

I want them to be like this:
That Same Old Feeling-Pickettywitch
Through The Wire-Kanye West
It Doesn't Matter Anymore-Linda Ronstadt
Throb-Janet Jackson
Tiny Meat-Ruby
We R Who We R-Ke$ha
House of Love-Amy Grany & Vince Gill
The Wreck of the Edmonfitzgerald-Gordon Lightfoot
What About Love-Til Tuesday
Roxy Roller-Nick Gilder
Shake For the Sheik- Escape Club
Things We Said Today-Beatles.
That would be the start of MY "We Play Anything" format. ;D

 

[Capulet]

I thought we should start a new thread since WMVX is no longer stunting. Here's a question. Why do corporations insist on branding some formats as "we play anything", or "whatever", when they clearly don't and you don't have to be a radio scholar to know this. If you simply explain "formats" to the vast majority of people, they will understand that any station that tries to please everybody will please almost nobody.

Same reason they say " most music " !

These groupos do a research project.Then try to boil down the findings to one or two key issues.Then they hammer a few " postioning statements " that address these issues.

Cox is famous for this and it is the way radio has been since the 90s.
In the case of the Mix, it seems like the research said " they don't believe this promise of variety " So the clever programmers came up with " we play anything ". Has a bit of rebel in it. We'll see if it works.

 

[Rusty Muck]

I thought we should start a new thread since WMVX is no longer stunting.  Here's a question.  Why do corporations insist on branding some formats as "we play anything", or "whatever", when they clearly don't and you don't have to be a radio scholar to know this.  If you simply explain "formats" to the vast majority of people, they will understand that any station that tries to please everybody will please almost nobody. 

Same reason they say " most music " !

These groupos do a research project.Then try to boil down the findings to one or two key issues.Then they hammer a few " postioning statements " that address these issues.

Cox is famous for this and it is the way radio has been since the 90s.
In the case of the Mix, it seems like the research said " they don't believe this promise of variety "  So the clever programmers came up with " we play anything ". Has a bit of rebel in it. We'll see if it works.

"We play anything." Sounds way too much like, "No rules. Just great music." :

If these stations didn't spend time on silly slogans like that, and hammering them down the listeners throats, that would be an improvement. Please don't spend time trying to sound like a rebel when it clearly hasn't changed much from the previous version...

 

[dannykewl]

I don't see that much of a difference either in the actual playlist between old MIX and The Lake, pretty much the same tunes available, but seems to me they cut back on playing current stuff in favor of 80's and 90's.

I was listening to them a little yesterday and today, and I could palate them better than their first hour Monday morning, which I just couldn't digest for some reason.

Even though a totally different format, my car radio will be set to V1073 more than The Lake at this point.

 

[almaniac27]

If these stations didn't spend time on silly slogans like that, and hammering them down the listeners throats, that would be an improvement. Please don't spend time trying to sound like a rebel when it clearly hasn't changed much from the previous version...

I find it strange that the station goes from actually playing anything during their stunt, to a typical corporate mainstream playlist. Doesn't that highlight to the listener that they really don't play everything?

 

[AllMightyVoice]

Lots of great points brought up in this thread. Bottom line is 106.5 still sounds like an mp3 player hooked into a transmitter. 107.3 sounds like a station with some personality and soul behind it. 107.3 is by far the better station out of the two in my opinion....and has really continued to sound better and better since their change a year ago. Some hipper sounding DJs would make them sound even better...but heck, give them credit for even having DJs at this point.

 

[Capulet]

I find it strange that the station goes from actually playing anything during their stunt, to a typical corporate mainstream playlist. Doesn't that highlight to the listener that they really don't play everything?
[/quote]

for sure on this observation

 

[musicman44]

most people 30 to 50 are not intersted in new music any longer. they want to hear the songs that they grew up with in the 70 and 80's on the great 90's and and the top 40 stations that were in the cleveland area in the 90's. all 106.5 the lake has to do is add more r&b and hiphop from the 90's, alternative from the 90's and a disco hit maybe once every 2 hours. for me i love ohio radio. it is alot better than tennessee radio which i am at right now. thank you internet.

 

[HHH]

So far, to me anyway, the new "Lake" format on 106.5 seems pretty close to the old "Mix" format. A bunch of pop-leaning recurrent hits.

None of the titles that I have heard are things that I can't hear on any other Cleveland radio station.

Sounds pretty much like the "Jack" format, which is strange because that format's track record is spotty at best.

This whole "we play anything" business is pretty funny. They've been down that road before. I laughed when they used to say "no rules, just great music" and then went into "More Than A Feeling" by Boston! Wow. Haven't heard that song in...what...the last 20 minutes on WNCX and WONE? And if the station has no rules, then why do they keep repeating the same slogan every 5 minutes? Too funny.

Some people compare this to V107.3, but their format is more rock-blues leaning, with brand new stuff thrown in, and some oddball tracks.
107.3 is far more refreshing to me, but--as evidenced by some posters over on Cleveland.com -- bewildering to those who can't deal with a song that they never heard before (kind of makes you wonder how these people ever found ANY music this way!).

The Lake is a more commercial station than 107.3, but--to me--far less interesting. Oh wow. Now the Lake is playing "Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac. That's another song that I haven't heard somewhere on the dial at least three times today.

Bottom line: The Lake is the Jack format. All hits. Everything they play is already on the dial. Just not all at the same station.

 

[Buckeyes2001]

This whole "we play anything" business is pretty funny. They've been down that road before. I laughed when they used to say "no rules, just great music" and then went into "More Than A Feeling" by Boston! Wow. Haven't heard that song in...what...the last 20 minutes on WNCX and WONE? And if the station has no rules, then why do they keep repeating the same slogan every 5 minutes? Too funny.

WNCX, WONE, WXKR (Toledo), and WMJI lol

 

[nightfly61]

Earlier today I gave them another chance & tuned in on line. They went from "Carry On Wayward Son" to "Gonna Make You Sweat". Really? : Heard it all before a ba-zillion times. I don't believe I'll be,"Jumping in the Lake" again anytime soon. Would have grabbed my interest & kept me if those two tunes would have been "Play the Game Tonight" by Kansas & "Things That Make You Go Hmmm". It's gotta be the 'ole same safe tester tracks. :

 

[johnbasalla]

What happens if a station decides: "Well, we've found the tracks that test well, let's not focus on them so we can be different"?

 

[dannykewl]

It seems to me that 106.5 has a weaker signal since they flipped. Anyone else notice? I was listening on my car radio yesterday and today and noticed several places on Brookpark Rd. between Broadview Rd and W 150 that the signal pretty much turned to hash. They were always stronger than that. Did they do something with their stick?

 

[Rusty Muck]

So far, to me anyway, the new "Lake" format on 106.5 seems pretty close to the old "Mix" format. A bunch of pop-leaning recurrent hits.

None of the titles that I have heard are things that I can't hear on any other Cleveland radio station.

Sounds pretty much like the "Jack" format, which is strange because that format's track record is spotty at best.

This whole "we play anything" business is pretty funny. They've been down that road before. I laughed when they used to say "no rules, just great music" and then went into "More Than A Feeling" by Boston! Wow. Haven't heard that song in...what...the last 20 minutes on WNCX and WONE? And if the station has no rules, then why do they keep repeating the same slogan every 5 minutes? Too funny.

Some people compare this to V107.3, but their format is more rock-blues leaning, with brand new stuff thrown in, and some oddball tracks.
107.3 is far more refreshing to me, but--as evidenced by some posters over on Cleveland.com -- bewildering to those who can't deal with a song that they never heard before (kind of makes you wonder how these people ever found ANY music this way!).

The Lake is a more commercial station than 107.3, but--to me--far less interesting. Oh wow. Now the Lake is playing "Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac. That's another song that I haven't heard somewhere on the dial at least three times today.

Bottom line: The Lake is the Jack format. All hits. Everything they play is already on the dial. Just not all at the same station.

It also be default has adapted the Randy James formula of a minimum of DJ chatter that WMVX successfully used back in 1997 (which arguably HAD to have been an influence in the development of "Jack"). It's actually not a bad adaptation, but it's not terribly unique. ( Then again, I miss the polkas and TV themes... )

WNWV is a far more ambitious station. Like AllMightyVoice, it would be great to eventually hear younger hosts on the station. But at least they are live and local throughout the entire weekday (Saturdays, as far as I know, is mostly VTed, but that's the case for most radio stations nowadays).

 

[Capulet]

What happens if a station decides: "Well, we've found the tracks that test well, let's not focus on them so we can be different"?

You can be sure every title on that list now on Mix tests somewhere for some demo.

The chance of them playing a tigher ( top testing ) list always exists. Its just a proven method of doing a radio station.

While so many on this and other boards profess that loading up a station with adventurous ( by adventurous I mean large list , marginal interest, low testing, programmers favorites, " spice " )
makes for good radio, it doesn't. Its interesting to those in the business who are tired of the hits.
Tight list's mean good ratings.
Knowing CC like I do, they will tighten the list on Mix , Lake, whatever, once the cume building cycles expires. How much? Your guess is as good as anybodys.

 

[HHH]

What happens if a station decides: "Well, we've found the tracks that test well, let's not focus on them so we can be different"?

The key is test more songs! They seem to test the same limited batch.

Also, why does everything they play have to be a ball-busting, 100% 5-star, billion selling hit? A little title spice here and there makes a station interesting. Certainly focus on the high testers (I am not advocating to not do that!)....but what's wrong with some spice?

And please don't parrot the old corporate radio mantra that the tighter the list, the bigger the ratings. WMMS blew away tight-list M105 in the 70s and 80s. WMJI in the 90s won big with a "lots of hits/bit of spice" blend.

 

[dannykewl]

I hope 1065 is prepared - The Lake freezes over in Cleveland!

 

[Capulet]

I may be wrong but seem to recall a " tight listed " station called G-98 ( was that WGCL? ) beat the pants off " large playlist " WMMS once upon a time.

 

[CleveFan]

I've been listening to the station now for the past few days, and now...I'm really starting to enjoy it. The music really is great, even through they still repeat some songs here and there (i.e. The Outfield's "Your Love" and Kansas' "Carry On My Wayward Son"), though the repeats I don't mind for the most part since a lot of them are stuff I like.

Right now, as I'm typing, I'm hearing "Funkytown" by Lipps, Inc. after "Sister Christian" by Night Ranger, which came on after "Hard to Handle" by The Black Crowes. That's quite electic for a commercial station like The Lake. So they may play stuff other stations already play, but I think the goal of the new WMVX is to play all those songs so that they hope listeners won't have to go to the other stations to hear those songs.

I know its early, but I think WMVX will likely surpass WNWV in overall ratings and some demos. WNCX, WDOK, WQAL, WKRK, and maybe WZAK might see some of their audience switch to The Lake, so those stations might have to do some adjusting on their playlists. WQAL might focus more and more on currents to concentrate on beating out WAKS, but may also have to add more rhythmic tunes to sort of battle WENZ. WNCX would probably have to expand their playlist, and so would WDOK and WKRK. WZAK might also have to change up their playlist a bit. WNWV will still focus on being way different than other stations, but I won't be surprise if they end up playing more of the hits to keep up with The Lake.

So far, The Lake has been a great surprise to me. I never know what they're going to play next. Personally, I think going Adult Hits is a much better move than Gen X or all-talk. Cleveland seems like they're not the type of town to embrace formats that are potentially flavor-of-the-month, and talk would've not helped with WTAM around.

I'm interested to see where WMVX is going next with their new format.