The problem with classic rock is basically the same problem with oldies. Somebody back in the 50s or 60s somewhere on Madison Avenue wrote the constitution of advertising which has never been updated even though a lot of it is not applicable anymore except that no one has designated in agreement the person with the power to rewrite it which would create chaos. It's like poor Arbitron just came up with new and improved ratings technology and instead of being able to implement it, threatened broadcasters started lawsuits and got the attorney general of New York involved because they were so scared that their status quo ratings and advertising rates might not score as well costing them money and sponsors. Basically, 25-54, is the issue and classic rock and oldies attract mostly the high end of those demos and every year, those 50-year olds get older and older and new listeners are not being replenished on the lower end. Record companies hate oldies and classic rock, too, because so many of the acts are dead or disbanded and can't be part of promotion, etc. This is part of why a movement tried to push oldies radio out as a mainstream format. It is an amazing story how the people spoke and many of the stations that abandoned oldies actually shot themselves in the foot. In the last year or two, oldies has made a great comeback in many markets. CBS-FM in New York dropped oldies and slid from the top 10 in overrall listeners in the market to way out of the mix into 20-something which is unbelievable. CEO's never admit mistakes, but, when they had to explain what they did, people were fired and the new decisionmakers came up with a radical idea; let's bring back the format. It's now called "Classic Hits" and with a little tweaking in the music depending on the market, is pulling #3 and is doing fantastic in big markets when it is done right. Infinity does it with 24/7 live and local and high quality jocks and promotion in New York, Los Angeles and Philaadelphia and presto! It's around #3 in these markets, overrall. This is amazing because to be the 3rd most listened to station in a market like that, you have to be pulling in listener demos that go beyond the core high end of 25-54 and they are. Why? Because they're fun personality jock radio stations with promotions and fun things always going on. As an example of doing it the wrong way, Chicago uses a partially canned stiff approach using "True Oldies" which is a syndicated service. Most of the jocks are not big name personalities and the promotions are not as enthusiastic and guess what? Classic Hits/Oldies doesn't even show up in the Top 10 of stations in overrall listening in Chicago. Note it is basically the same songs. But, the key is the presentation. It sucks. It's cheap and not as creative and uninspired and somehow people may not understand why they listen or what it is they like or dislike, but, they still know crap when they hear it and they don't listen in the numbers that they do in NY, LA or Philadelphia. Tune into Broadway Bill Lee from 3pm to 7pm on WCBS-FM on the internet or Shotgun Tom Kelly on KRTH in Los Angeles on the internet from 3pm to 7pm in Los Angeles time and see the difference and note that these stations don't air all the content 100% that you'd hear if you were listening live in the market.
Referencing Classic Rock again from the question ala Big. Down in Miami, they got it designed cookie cutter for Clear Channel. A great Classic Rock station that digs deeper and is arguably the best classic rocker
in the nation is KZOK/Seattle. Listen middays on the internet to "Crow" or to "Slayton" in the afternoon. That's middays and afternoons with a 3-hour time difference from the east coast. Crowe even has his own website. These guys are the real deal. They've worked together in that format and on that station for years. They know the music inside out. When Crowe takes noontime requests and interacts with callers, you can tell from the interaction that he lives and breathes the music. He can answer a question about the music. He knows the song you want if you just give him a hint from a lyric. Listening to Crowe is like going
into a hobby store or an antique shop or a car shop and the sales guy or person you speak with really knows his stuff as opposed to going into the late Circuit City and finding a minimum wage sales clerk who is an order taker and knows nothing about the computer you want to buy and the questions you have about the computer specs before you buy it. GATOR, by the way, is a pretty good AOR/classic rock station. Don't know the politics there, but, they probably don't have corporate in some other part of the country playing control freak as much in telling them every last detail on how to present the format. To really see a return to the kind of traditional classic rock station it sounds like you crave will probably take some new artists breaking through to revive the format in some way. The traditional oldies format/classic hits seems to have
partially revived itself by adding in more recent pop. While not an 80s format, you will see classic hits/oldies stations tap into pop hits of the 80s. Classic album rockers don't really have as much quality material to blend in. They are sort of stuck in the 60s and 70s with mostly an older white male audience that keeps getting older that advertisers aren't as enthusiastic about as other demographics. On the other hand,
older white males usually have more disposable income than 25-year olds, so, for now, at least, there is still a desireable audience out there. As for the repetition that drives you nuts in radio which is not just
a complaint about classic rockers, the reasoning is that most people don't listen to the radio for more than 20-minutes at a clip. They get dressed, drive to the store, pick up milk and go home. They leave their job and get home in a half hour. Mom fires up the minivan to shuttle the kids to soccer practice or picks them up from school which takes 20-minutes, etc. In that 20-minute stretch, they want to keep familiar power songs on the radio. The feeling is that if you dig deep into a song that isn't as familiar, the person getting their radio fix is going to spin the dial, but, if they find that sing-a-long song they recognize, they will stay put and not change stations. The consensus is that the audience is constantly turning over instead of staying in one place. Like using the remote control constantly when the commercials start if you watch television. So, they feel if they recycle the most popular songs over and over, they will have a better chance of preventing station flipping as the new listener turns on. As for you, who has listened for 20-minutes already, they feel you are finished browsing and are about to arrive at your destination or you are home and will be interrupted by a phone call or other distraction and will be done with your radio fix and leave the station, anyway. So, it is constantly about snagging that new listener tuning in. On the other hand, lengthy listening is important in talk radio and it is why compelling personalities that have diehard fans that listen all the time are so important. This also was the way it was for music radio stations at one time, until the game changed and it became cheaper to eliminate the personalities. Of course, AM stations can't play music effectively and get away with it anymore, but, they still rely on compelling personalities and longer listening as much as they did, a couple of decades ago, while music listeners want CD quality music from FM. But, imagine a time when music stations on AM radio had compelling personalities and presentations between the songs. People suffered through poor quality music technology, but, they heard a "real entertaining
show." What a concept. Aaah, but, what a budget. When WCBS-FM dropped oldies on FM for the JACK format which had no air talent, I believe, "don't quote me on the figure," but, they were saving a few million dollars. They had highly paid quality talent in a union AFTRA market where even part-timers earn substantial paychecks as opposed to non-union markets like Miami where some part-timers earn $10 to $15 per hour instead. Final point. What WCBS-FM/Infinity learned was those great air personalities were not excess overhead. They were good business. With a 1-point drop in advertising in a market like New York costing thousands to millions in ad revenue, seeing a drop in ratings like they did was a nightmare. Thus, they fixed the mistake and brought back an action packed 24/7 real radio station and now they have climbed
to 3rd in overrall listeners in the market. Amazing. Amazing that so many people outside their core demographic are listening. Why? It has a lot more to do with the "real radio" presentation than it does with just a bunch of old music. People subconsciously feel the pulse of a real breathing live radio station. They hear a guy throw in a one-liner or make a comment on how the stock market did that day or they talk about the music. It's real. It's alive. And me? I'm dead. I'm done. I'm outta here. I'm gettin' a life. But it's been fun to drop in with everyone. It seems that this thread got pretty interesting, but, whatever it is, it's beyond
WMXJ now. Thanks for puttin' up with me. It made the time pass while I've had to be in front of the computer non-stop for a couple of weeks. Good Luck to Everyone!!
