Well...Mediabase has them listed as "Classic Hits" instead of "Oldies"
They avoid Zeppelin, whose last "new" song was recorded 31 years ago. Yet, they play "Jump" from Van Halen.
It's the same mentality that Classic Rock stations have to soon adopt.
The music of the target demo is no longer the Beach Boys, Beatles, and Boz Scaggs.
Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Bad Co. Thin Lizzy and the Doors are now oldies, and Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, & Poison are Classic Rock.
Shedding/growing new audience is one of the major mistakes we make as an industry. At some point, you have to accept that audience tastes change, and the things we never want to accept as being "old" have been so for a decade.
It is completely possible that your child, who graduates BC next Spring, was conceived while listening to "Sweet Child O' Mine" & their little sibling High School Senior is the product of a drunken evening spent after seeing Pearl Jam @ Axis.
We're old. So is the audience. At some point, "RubberBand Man" & "Devil With The Blue Dress" have to be replaced with "War Pigs" & "Shout @ The Devil."
It should not surprise anyone. Look at the target audience. Find their center point musically. And tailor the station accordingly. Is it really this tough?
If you're a "Rock Station" targeting P 35-54 and playing Elvis, or Mary Hopkin, IMHO you're missing. People make their musical choices beginning around age 10, and really solidify them between 15-22. For a 54 year-old, that would be 1966 at the earliest, and more than likely 1971-1978.
That's the top of the demo. If you're targeting 45 year olds, this might be somewhat shocking, but their musical center, is about 1984. That means the music of their youth, includes Sex Pistols, Clash, Quiet Riot, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Tom Petty, Judas Priest, Scorpions, U2, The Police.
It's no longer about Wings, Badfinger, America, CCR, or KC & The Sunshine Band. The 45 year old "Rocker" thinks that stuff is moldy.
It will be interesting to see which stations choose to adapt, and which stations remain stagnant. It appears as if WODS at least sees they need to evolve. It's a gradual (but unavoidable) process.
We're finding PPM is about "listening occasions" TSL is minute bursts. To increase those "occasions," We have to meet audience expectations. If we miss, they don't tune in. What you don't play..now CAN hurt you.
If you're perceived as "too old," they won't tune in. And for a 45-year old, the Four Tops....are WAY too old.
Just one man's opinion.
They avoid Zeppelin, whose last "new" song was recorded 31 years ago. Yet, they play "Jump" from Van Halen.
It's the same mentality that Classic Rock stations have to soon adopt.
The music of the target demo is no longer the Beach Boys, Beatles, and Boz Scaggs.
Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Bad Co. Thin Lizzy and the Doors are now oldies, and Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, & Poison are Classic Rock.
Shedding/growing new audience is one of the major mistakes we make as an industry. At some point, you have to accept that audience tastes change, and the things we never want to accept as being "old" have been so for a decade.
It is completely possible that your child, who graduates BC next Spring, was conceived while listening to "Sweet Child O' Mine" & their little sibling High School Senior is the product of a drunken evening spent after seeing Pearl Jam @ Axis.
We're old. So is the audience. At some point, "RubberBand Man" & "Devil With The Blue Dress" have to be replaced with "War Pigs" & "Shout @ The Devil."
It should not surprise anyone. Look at the target audience. Find their center point musically. And tailor the station accordingly. Is it really this tough?
If you're a "Rock Station" targeting P 35-54 and playing Elvis, or Mary Hopkin, IMHO you're missing. People make their musical choices beginning around age 10, and really solidify them between 15-22. For a 54 year-old, that would be 1966 at the earliest, and more than likely 1971-1978.
That's the top of the demo. If you're targeting 45 year olds, this might be somewhat shocking, but their musical center, is about 1984. That means the music of their youth, includes Sex Pistols, Clash, Quiet Riot, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Tom Petty, Judas Priest, Scorpions, U2, The Police.
It's no longer about Wings, Badfinger, America, CCR, or KC & The Sunshine Band. The 45 year old "Rocker" thinks that stuff is moldy.
It will be interesting to see which stations choose to adapt, and which stations remain stagnant. It appears as if WODS at least sees they need to evolve. It's a gradual (but unavoidable) process.
We're finding PPM is about "listening occasions" TSL is minute bursts. To increase those "occasions," We have to meet audience expectations. If we miss, they don't tune in. What you don't play..now CAN hurt you.
If you're perceived as "too old," they won't tune in. And for a 45-year old, the Four Tops....are WAY too old.
Just one man's opinion.
