50s-60s? It's been ages since someone suggested (on radio-info.com?) that WOGL have "Oh Wow Wednesdays" and "Fab Four Fridays".
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WOGL Rebrands at Big 98.1
- Thread starter Route 222
- Start date
To me, the classic hits seem to lean heavily on the rock.
So this is what I was saying earlier, where the classic rock and classic hits are somewhat similar.
The difference being that classic rock can lean a bit older still.
But the '80s and '90s rock are somewhat on both.
What I'm not understanding is, ok so WOGL changed the branding.
They then got rid of the VT jocks and I'm going to assume will hire local again.
The music is the same, for the most part.
What , to a normal listener (which I am definitely not), will make them tune in more than they already were?
I know , its not been a week yet.
But if literally nothing else changes other then the branding, unless the jocks are super personality?
But listeners aren't paying attention to the DJ's right?
So again I ask, what ? How do you sell this thing as a brand? And how do you sell it better t then it already was?
How is it suppose to be any different than it was?
Does dropping "98.1 WOGL: Philly's Greatest Hits" and changing it to "Big 98.1" make that much of a difference?
Thanks,
John
So this is what I was saying earlier, where the classic rock and classic hits are somewhat similar.
The difference being that classic rock can lean a bit older still.
But the '80s and '90s rock are somewhat on both.
What I'm not understanding is, ok so WOGL changed the branding.
They then got rid of the VT jocks and I'm going to assume will hire local again.
The music is the same, for the most part.
What , to a normal listener (which I am definitely not), will make them tune in more than they already were?
I know , its not been a week yet.
But if literally nothing else changes other then the branding, unless the jocks are super personality?
But listeners aren't paying attention to the DJ's right?
So again I ask, what ? How do you sell this thing as a brand? And how do you sell it better t then it already was?
How is it suppose to be any different than it was?
Does dropping "98.1 WOGL: Philly's Greatest Hits" and changing it to "Big 98.1" make that much of a difference?
Thanks,
John
Ultimately, I think the rebrand was an unnecessary expense. Giving the station a name, in and of itself, will not attract enough curious new listeners to make any difference. But if they really focus on dropping whatever songs they found problematic...and if they add the right songs that the demo wants to hear...and if they shell out to advertise that "there's now a station called Big 98.1 and it plays songs like {snippet}, {snippet}, {snippet}, and {snippet}," that might move the needle some. It pays to advertise, as they say, but the other side of that is that one must pay to advertise. It's only been a few days but a rebrand is planned well in advance and a marketing push should have been part of that planning. I haven't seen or heard any advertising at all about Big 98.1. Unless they thought getting stories in the trades and Inquirer will do the trick. (It won't.)
Or using this discussion board regularly, or even aware of its existence. All of us here are either radio professionals or outsiders with a much deeper interest in radio and/or music than the "normal" listener.
This actually started about 20 years ago as "oldies" stations started transitioning into "classic hits". That's because they felt the need to transition from 60's and 70's music into more 80's titles. The 60's and early 70's were a time of mass appeal music and even if our musical tastes differed, everyone still knew the same hit music. It was also a time of great variety (which is why it's still my favorite musical time period and no I'm not elderly). Compared with the period from 1964-1975, the 80's were already fragmented musically. Sadly, most classic hits programmers dealt with this by skewing more toward rock titles. This results in (to me) a very bland and repetitive sound that features music that I'd call "common". How often can you hear the same songs by Bon Jovi or Journey in a week? Heck, I was sick of both by 1985!
As you're saying, this problem gets worse for programmers as they force the musical time dial up into the 90s, naturally assuming that musical tastes are based solely on the calendar age of someone rather than by popular culture. A myopic view to be sure, but this could get interesting because hardly anyone is clamoring to hear tons of 90's music. And, which way do we go? Will it be Whitney, Janet, Milli Vanilli, or do we go Kurt Kobain, STP and Weezer? The one format centered on that time period that's worth my time is classic hip hop - which means that the likes of Audacy and IHM won't be going that way. This will be interesting and I don't see it boding well over time.
Exactly. The 80s had significant fragmentation, and there still is some. But some of those boundaries soften over time. See what tests. The audience is going to point you where you need to go if you’re doing your research well.
It’s essentially going to be more of a line blurrring between a lot of adult hits and classic hits stations. I suspect we will see some classic hits stations go in to a more classic hip hop/rhythmic direction, and others will go in to a more classic alternative direction.
Even if they have trouble coming up with songs, many of these stations are already moving in to the 2000s (and in a few cases the 2010s) so they can supplement as needed. I do believe it’s inevitable that classic hits becomes more and more like adult hits in terms of the music. A lot of adult hits stations haven’t really evolved since they came on the air except for removing the few 60s songs they may have played and most of the earlier 70s. Many are still 80s and early 90s heavy like they were when they signed on.
Even if they have trouble coming up with songs, many of these stations are already moving in to the 2000s (and in a few cases the 2010s) so they can supplement as needed. I do believe it’s inevitable that classic hits becomes more and more like adult hits in terms of the music. A lot of adult hits stations haven’t really evolved since they came on the air except for removing the few 60s songs they may have played and most of the earlier 70s. Many are still 80s and early 90s heavy like they were when they signed on.
I feel like the decline of the CHR/Pop format in 1992-96 had a lot to do with gangsta rap and grunge not being able to make inroads on the format due to being polarizing amongst 25-34s, along with not much "pure pop" getting popular at the time to give people a reason to tune in, leaving those who did like gangsta rap and grunge to just listen to the Rhythmic or Alternative station and those who didn't to listen to other formats (AC, Country, Hot AC, Oldies etc.) instead of CHR/Pop. It will be interesting to see which gangsta rap and grunge songs make their way to the Classic Hits format in the coming years once the last of the 25-34s of that time age out of the money demo.
Many classic hits starions could follow the formula being used by 99.9 KOLA in Riverside-San Bernardino, CA. They evolved in to the 90s, but they went ahead and moved on in to the 2000s and often times they play more 00’s hits an hour than 90’s. We are already seeing some 00’s songs pop up on some classic hits stations - I’m thinking it’s going to be a faster shift so the 90s can be supplemented with 00s and well testing 80s tracks, and maybe still some 70s left over (case in point: “Brown Eyed Girl”….) and continue their evolution from there. When classic hits added the 80s, it was easy to phase in the first then latter part of the decade with their existing material, but 90s is more across the board and also you didn’t have many big acts like Chicago, Billy Joel, Journey, Heart, Elton John, etc did with carrying over from the 70s in to the 80s with big hits. But I’m pretty sure we’re never going to hear “nobody plays more ‘90s”.
I like the KOLA formula. I’m not sure how it does for them 25-54.
I like the KOLA formula. I’m not sure how it does for them 25-54.
It's certainly an interesting mix of '80s, '90s and '00s-and-later hits. Speaking as a 65+ who was still listening to a lot of CHR until the mid-'90s, I'd probably make KOLA a preset, though not one I'd listen to more than once or twice a week. To me, Wilson Phillips, Usher, Green Day and U2 on the same station seems fraught with tune-out possibilities for the younger half of 25-54, but that's strictly a gut feeling backed up by nothing more.Many classic hits starions could follow the formula being used by 99.9 KOLA in Riverside-San Bernardino, CA. They evolved in to the 90s, but they went ahead and moved on in to the 2000s and often times they play more 00’s hits an hour than 90’s. We are already seeing some 00’s songs pop up on some classic hits stations - I’m thinking it’s going to be a faster shift so the 90s can be supplemented with 00s and well testing 80s tracks, and maybe still some 70s left over (case in point: “Brown Eyed Girl”….) and continue their evolution from there. When classic hits added the 80s, it was easy to phase in the first then latter part of the decade with their existing material, but 90s is more across the board and also you didn’t have many big acts like Chicago, Billy Joel, Journey, Heart, Elton John, etc did with carrying over from the 70s in to the 80s with big hits. But I’m pretty sure we’re never going to hear “nobody plays more ‘90s”.
I like the KOLA formula. I’m not sure how it does for them 25-54.
Based on a three month average, KOLA is #1 in 12+, 12-17, 18-24, 18-34, 18-49, 25-54, and 35-64. It does do better with women, but it is pretty muvh a must-buy for any client. It also does just as well with Hispanics, too.
The new name is Big 98.1. But maybe it should be White 98.1. I'm listening to WOGL and looking at the playlist. Not a single minority artist has been played from 10pm to 12am on Tuesday May 3.
Lynyrd Skynyrd--Sweet Home Alabama
Joan Jett--I Love Rock and Roll
Stevie Nicks--Edge of 17
Billy Joel--We Didn't Start The Fire
Human League--Don't You Want Me?
Paul McCartney--Maybe I'm Amazed
AC/DC--You Shook Me All Night Long
Billy Idol--Mony, Mony
Def Leppard--Pour Some Sugar on Me
Eurythmics--Sweet Dreams
Pink Floyd--Another Brick in The Wall
Pat Benatar--Love Is A Battlefield
A-Ha--Take on Me
Red Hot Chili Peppers--Under The Bridge
Guns n Roses--Sweet Child o' Mine
Taylor Dayne--Tell It to My Heart
Queen--We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions
Poison--Every Rose Has Its Thorns
Whitesnake--Here I Go Again
Tommy Tutone--Jenny 867-5309
Aerosmith--Sweet Emotion
Bryan Adams--Summer of 69
Journey--Don't Stop Believing
Madonna--Material Girl
Can you image, in Philadelphia, the home of "The Philly Sound," that this is the playlist for the Classic Hits station? Not a single artist of color in more than 2 hours of music?
Lynyrd Skynyrd--Sweet Home Alabama
Joan Jett--I Love Rock and Roll
Stevie Nicks--Edge of 17
Billy Joel--We Didn't Start The Fire
Human League--Don't You Want Me?
Paul McCartney--Maybe I'm Amazed
AC/DC--You Shook Me All Night Long
Billy Idol--Mony, Mony
Def Leppard--Pour Some Sugar on Me
Eurythmics--Sweet Dreams
Pink Floyd--Another Brick in The Wall
Pat Benatar--Love Is A Battlefield
A-Ha--Take on Me
Red Hot Chili Peppers--Under The Bridge
Guns n Roses--Sweet Child o' Mine
Taylor Dayne--Tell It to My Heart
Queen--We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions
Poison--Every Rose Has Its Thorns
Whitesnake--Here I Go Again
Tommy Tutone--Jenny 867-5309
Aerosmith--Sweet Emotion
Bryan Adams--Summer of 69
Journey--Don't Stop Believing
Madonna--Material Girl
Can you image, in Philadelphia, the home of "The Philly Sound," that this is the playlist for the Classic Hits station? Not a single artist of color in more than 2 hours of music?
That is very typical of Classic Hits stations, at least in the rural areas, however to see this on a Philadelphia station suprises me. Also, sometimes people (especially the, uh, older generations) know exactly what they like, even if it seems off to us. Also, wasn't Freddy Mercury effectively Parsi-Indian, despite living in a British protectorate?
Not just rural areas. I recall a similar post not long ago about WROR in Boston. But realistically, it reflects the divisions in radio formats that took place in the 70s, when black music was heard on black stations, such as WDAS. There were some exceptions, such as Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder. But that was about it.
The music these stations play is based on testing with the station's audience. So who listens to classic hits radio? A recent poll (MRI Simmons) says the audience for classic hits is 85% white. Less than 4% is black. Classic rock is 90% white and 2% black. Three times as many Hispanics listen to classic hits and rock as do blacks.
So if you poll that audience about music, what results do you expect?
But both whites and Hispanics have a long history of enjoying music from Black artists. If you look at any era of Top 40 and CHR, you will find plenty of Black music, although there were definitely specific years or clusters of years where there were either more of less than the average for any particular decade.
Well, if the period they are playing from had many Black hits, I'd expect a Black presence. However, with some classic hits stations leaning in a rock direction, we might see fewer Black artists there. The core likes what the core likes... if they research based on a sample that like the overall rock-leaning blend, they will not find many high scoring rhythmic songs, by Black artists or not.
But the testing on that music (as you know) isn't based on response when the songs were popular, but how listeners react now. So perhaps musical taste changes as people get older. So people who might have been fans of Whitney or Michael in the 80s are less interested now.
Obviously, the research revealed that the biggest audience target group leaned towards rock.
In fact, that list is so rock leaning that there are several songs I am not familiar with. My life experience includes little rock of that type and lots of rhythmic material, so a person with my musical taste would not even have been invited to their music test.
I definitely would not expect that blend to have more than a few songs by Black artists. We have to remember that even within a broad format type, there are subsets.
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