Beating KMEL and KYLD. Impressive, best numbers ever on the 95.7 frequency.
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WOLF SAILS INTO 7TH IN PPMS
- Thread starter wirelessfugu
- Start date
1069_KIFR said:
Note that KBWF gained 61,000 cume listeners since April. Note also that KDFC gained 64,000 listeners in those 2 months, and KBLX gained 54,000. KOIT gained a whopping 88,000 cume listeners. And there are also some oddities. According to the listings, KVTO has more than doubled its audience since April. More non-English listeners or is Mojib back from the old country?
So, who lost? Looks like KMVQ ("Movin'"), KFOG, KIOI, KISQ, KMEL, KSAN. I'm taking June and applying it against the 3 month average to try to get a trend.
Interesting. Maybe people are tired of the old music and want something more?
How many times did many on radio-info say that country could not be a successful format in a market as "sophisticated" as San Francisco?
briancraig said:
Did anybody say that?
The problem with calling a format "country" is the same as calling a format "Spanish". There are at least 10 distinct genres of "country" music:
(1) Nashville sound, aka Countrypolitan (the crap most people think of as "country")
(2) Bakersfield sound (Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, etc)
(3) Western Swing (Maddox Brothers & Rose, Bob Wills, Hot Club of Cowtown, Spade Cooley, Tex Williams, etc)
(4) Bluegrass (Ralph Stanley, Flatt & Scruggs, etc)
(5) Honky-tonk (Ernest Tubb, Webb Pierce, etc)
(6) Country Gospel
(7) Oldtime (The Wilders, Old Crow Medicine Show, Bruce Molsky, etc)
(8) Jug band (David Grisman, Even Dozen Jug Band, Devine's Jug Band, etc)
(9) Rockabilly aka Hillbilly boogie (Everly Brothers, Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, etc)
(10) Outlaw country aka Texas country (Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Charlie Daniels, etc)
And that's not even getting into subgenres such as newgrass, country-rock, alt-country (Steve Earle, Drive-by Truckers, etc)
So, you mix and match and maybe you get a format that works, or you get one that doesn't. I happen to love Western swing, rockabilly, honky-tonk, and Bakersfield sound. But they couldn't pay me to listen to Nashville sound, Texas, or outlaw country.
David, when you are talking radio formats most people understand that you mean #1 from your list.
DavidKaye said:
I can't help but wonder if this isn't just another sampling artifact, like the hypothetical gal at the convenience store in Fairfield causing KUIC or KKDV or whatever show up high. A certain percentage of the "Panel" gets rotated on and off each month, after a certain time of PPM carry...
jprg said:
Just as "rock" can be alternative, acoustic, rock and roll, garage rock, grunge, metal, Eurotrash, etc., "country" music is also a bunch of distinct genres that are very different. Different instruments, tempos, chords, and styles are used. Rather than describe the differences, I've included links to various genres of what are all lumped together as "country".
Give a listen and a view to these kinds of "country" music. You will be blown away by the differences:
Bluegrass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJqULQpGTQ0
Banjo and mandolin
Western swing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbTJ8gDAvn8
Fiddle, piano, closer to swing than to country -- note the piano about 1:40 into it, and trumpet at 2:30
Outlaw: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPPNNIe4xUY
Dave Dudley -- all guitars
Country gospel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuLXRHZFAio
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Newgrass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3Tr2PliEXw
Bela Fleck, closer to jazz than bluegrass
Honky-Tonk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ai0XZ4Dca4
Webb Pierce -- heavy rhythm and lots of twangy vocal style
Rockabilly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diH71kQNna8
Ricky Nelson, note rockier edge and rock solo
Oldtime: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHlGlFPlAVI
Crooked Jades -- local band on KQED Spark -- fascinating clip!
Jug band: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNPhNdbqjFI
Devine's Jug Band @ Freight & Salvage, Berkeley
Now tell me that I'm nitpicking!
Also, note that I did not include any Nashville sound, which is the country genre heard on most "country" radio stations. I happen to think Nashville sound is an abomination and totally wrecks the reputation of country music for people unfamiliar with the depth of real country music.
weav said:
The cume numbers changes are substantial, however. So it seems like it's more than just a couple PPM panelists I think.
What I find interesting about all this is how many people seem to prefer the former diary method, even though it's known to be really bogus -- people reporting non-existent stations, wrong stations, filling in stuff at the end of the week, etc. I remember quite a few years ago when I demonstrated that Arbitron's count of KALW was off by about 25% because 25% more people said they heard the BBC during morning drive than reported listening to KALW. They had reported they were listening to KQED. (KQED doesn't carry BBC in morning drive, only KALW.) A 25% reporting difference!
It seems that the only solution to the Fairfield convenience store clerk is to make the PPM panel far larger or to intercept IF frequencies at toll plazas and other roadside places. That would only account for cars, tho...
wirelessfugu said:
I hadn't listened to 95.7 at all because I felt I was going to be disappointed. Well, I just spent an hour or so listening to the station and I've concluded that the format isn't country but "rock with a twang". Heavy guitar licks, heavy rhythms, it's rock through and through, except that they're talking about mama, trucks, and stuff like that.
Personally, I think this style, "Nashville sound" is an abomination. I could barely get through the hour without turning it off. But I can see why it works: the big bass lines, rhythms, and sexy male singers appeal heavily to women, I'd bet, especially when they lyrics tend toward romance, love, girlfriends, etc., as many of these songs do.
Personally, I got through the hour not disappointed but annoyed. The sound was harsh to my ears. But then I'm not a lovesick female, either.
My take on the format, anyway.
B
Bowler Bob in Brisbane
Guest
DavidKaye said:
It's funny that I should read your synopsis of 95.7 The Wolf at this moment, because currently I'm listening online to KMAG 99.1 FM, a "country" station in Ft. Smith, Arkansas, a Clear Channel Station, that sounds exactly like what you just described.
The reason that I'm even listening to this station is because I was curious as to what passes for country music on the radio these days.
Why this particular radio station and not The Wolf, from right here in our own back yard?
Well, it's because a good friend of mine over at Signatures Network, the merchandising branch of Live Nation, was dubbed "Kmag" by myself many years ago, and often sends me emails that she signs off with as KMAG.
So just as a goof, I responded to her latest email by pasting the KMAG 99.1 FM logo at the end of it.
I figured as long as I was on their website I'd might as well take a listen just to see what's goin' on in the world of country music these days.
And surprisingly enough... I like it, and I could see how others would like it too.
But then again, it is in Ft. Smith Arkansas....
But your so right, David, all it is rock with a twang, cowboy hats, honky tonks, pick up trucks, and a host of the other stereotypical country related images.
It tkes all types I reckon.
It is just what Country music sounds like in 2009. WOLF reflects that.
Geek-O-Rama said:
I don't know enough about current country songs to say for sure, but I'm wondering if all that crossover country-pop (or whatever its called) is getting more popular with mainstream listeners.
In the 60s and early 70s, a lot of country songs hit the Top 40. And there was always a lot of cross-polination between rock and country. Putting groups like the Eagles aside - a lot of what we consider "traditional" rock songs had a country sound. Whenever I hear "It's All Over Now" by the Rolling Stones, I think 'country.'
Traditional Top 40 is long gone, but I've noticed that KOIT plays a lot of songs from female country artists - Faith Hill, Shania Twain, LeeAnn Rimes, etc. The songs are as much "lite rock" as they are country.
Maybe this accounts for The Wolf's strong showing in the PPMs.
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