WTWR/Toledo and WRDW/Philadelphia: Dance-friendly Rhythmics???

[RobertMoore]

I don't think this is a indication of the changing taste in the format, but for one reason or another it must be.

Over at the Philadelphia board there was a thread about WRDW(Wired 96.5) playing Kelly Osbourne's "One Word" in rotation, which comes just nearly two months after it played Kelly Clarkson's remix of "Since You Been Gone," which in turn might lead one to speculate that the Beasley outlet might be tweaking its direction a lot more than expected.

Then there's longtime Mainstream Top40 WTWR(Tower 98)/Toledo, which recently shifted over to the Rhythmic Top40 side and for one reason or another they seem to be imitating sister station WWKL(Hot 92)/Harrisburg as of late, spiking in occasional Dance tracks alongside the R&B/Hip-Hop and Rhythmic Pop product.

Although this does look encouraging, one can hope that these recent moves at those two stations will open the door a little at Rhythmic for Dance tracks in the future.

 

[Slinky]

> Over at the Philadelphia board there was a thread about
> WRDW(Wired 96.5) playing Kelly Osbourne's "One Word" in
> rotation, which comes just nearly two months after it played
> Kelly Clarkson's remix of "Since You Been Gone," which in
> turn might lead one to speculate that the Beasley outlet
> might be tweaking its direction a lot more than expected.

"One Word" is getting 5 spins a week... mostly or all overnight. Sounds like the PD was doing a label a favor. I would NOT call WRDW dance-friendly one bit.

As for Wired tweaking, it might be necessary in over-hip-hopped Philadelphia, but I still don't see them going to dance. If anything, they'll move to more Pop.

 

[Partyhead]

> "One Word" is getting 5 spins a week... mostly or all
> overnight. Sounds like the PD was doing a label a favor. I
> would NOT call WRDW dance-friendly one bit.

While yes, the amount of spins is not impressive, I believe there is more to it than doing a label a favor. They could have went with any number of artist/songs on the same label that would be more of a complement for their sound- they decided to go with a dance genre staple (and one that isn't really even as popular chart-wise as DHT, but one that will LIKELY chart well later down the road). When looking at historical patterns of the station, and Clifton in general, Wired tests the water for new product during the overnights. Generally the overnights represent a night and day difference- its almost as if you're turning the clock ahead 3 months in terms of the rotations of Wired.

> As for Wired tweaking, it might be necessary in
> over-hip-hopped Philadelphia, but I still don't see them
> going to dance. If anything, they'll move to more Pop.

What is your rationale for this? I think that with a) clifton, who also programs sister Power 96 in Miami, and b) Power 96's history with dance music, there is a strong probability that Wired would become a traditional rhythmic/chr in the future. Power 96 also spinned the biggest pop hits at certain points while maintaining a true rhythm/chr persona. The only reason they eliminated dance altogether was because a pure dance station signed on in the market. Power 96 was a heritage dancer, and I would not be surprised to see it flirt with the genre again once the hip hop product starts to fall. Beasely has the experience running a true Rhythmic/CHR and I do think that would skew the station slightly older to their economic advantage. Capitalize on the still disenfranchised Q listeners, and the moderate amount of latinos/italians. Eliminate direct head to head competition with Q, who could then skew into more of a rock/alternative direction. It would be advantageous to all players.

 

[Slinky]

> > As for Wired tweaking, it might be necessary in
> > over-hip-hopped Philadelphia, but I still don't see them
> > going to dance. If anything, they'll move to more Pop.
>
> What is your rationale for this? I think that with a)
> clifton, who also programs sister Power 96 in Miami, and b)
> Power 96's history with dance music, there is a strong
> probability that Wired would become a traditional
> rhythmic/chr in the future.

When was the last time Clifton consulted a "traditional" Rhythmic CHR?

With Party 93.1 gone, Power 96 is still playing all hip-hop. Wild in Tampa is all hip-hop as well. I'd be surprised if all of a sudden the Clifton stations just decided to reverse that trend.

The Wired-Q war will have to shake out sometime soon, but I don't think the result will be a dance-friendly CHR in Philadelphia. I just see Wired adding more Pop, a la Kelly Clarkson, Backstreet Boys, and Will Smith, before taking a chance on dance.

 

[eGillCVI]

I don't think I ever heard WRDW play a remix of "Since U Been Gone." They played the single version an awful lot though.

Beasley's WRDW, in my opinion, is gonna capitalize on whatever is hottest with their target demo. They have reported as a Rhythmic CHR since their inception but if the most popular stuff with their target suddenly shifted to Avril-type stuff, I am of the opinion that they'd morph immediately toward that direction.

"Since U Been Gone" and Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" apparently tested too well with their target to be ignored. "One Word" must be doing the same--or they're taking a chance that it will.

Interestingly, Philly's WPHI (owned by Urban specialists Radio One) ended up playing "Hollaback Girl" as well. They report as a Rhythmic CHR too but they are much more active on the Urban Contemporary stuff.

If Dance tracks become popular enough with their audience, WRDW will be playing them. I have no doubt about that. But...the same can be said of any Rock tracks.




> I don't think this is a indication of the changing taste in
> the format, but for one reason or another it must be.
>
> Over at the Philadelphia board there was a thread about
> WRDW(Wired 96.5) playing Kelly Osbourne's "One Word" in
> rotation, which comes just nearly two months after it played
> Kelly Clarkson's remix of "Since You Been Gone," which in
> turn might lead one to speculate that the Beasley outlet
> might be tweaking its direction a lot more than expected.
>
> Then there's longtime Mainstream Top40 WTWR(Tower
> 98)/Toledo, which recently shifted over to the Rhythmic
> Top40 side and for one reason or another they seem to be
> imitating sister station WWKL(Hot 92)/Harrisburg as of late,
> spiking in occasional Dance tracks alongside the R&B/Hip-Hop
> and Rhythmic Pop product.
>
> Although this does look encouraging, one can hope that these
> recent moves at those two stations will open the door a
> little at Rhythmic for Dance tracks in the future.
>

 

[Partyhead]

> > > As for Wired tweaking, it might be necessary in
> > > over-hip-hopped Philadelphia, but I still don't see them
>
> > > going to dance. If anything, they'll move to more Pop.
> >
> > What is your rationale for this? I think that with a)
> > clifton, who also programs sister Power 96 in Miami, and
> b)
> > Power 96's history with dance music, there is a strong
> > probability that Wired would become a traditional
> > rhythmic/chr in the future.
>
> When was the last time Clifton consulted a "traditional"
> Rhythmic CHR?

Power was straight ahead rhythmic 3 years ago (ATC "Around the World" was huge)-- and while they dropped the dance they still spun pop up till about 2 and 1/2 years ago. Clifton consulted 953 Party as a rythmic/chr 1.5 years ago (2 years this january). Clifton consulted straight ahead rhythmic/chrs for over a decade, it is nothing new for him.

> With Party 93.1 gone, Power 96 is still playing all hip-hop.
> Wild in Tampa is all hip-hop as well. I'd be surprised if
> all of a sudden the Clifton stations just decided to reverse
> that trend.

Right, and I'm sure part of the reasoning is that with Mega recently debuting, Power wants to see what happens in the market before they try anything new. Party just RECENTLY flipped. I'm not saying even a multitude of Clifton stations would try to add Dance, however, with Beasley's experience running rhythmic/chr (they only had ONE R/CHR up till Wired signed on, now they have two) it would not be entirely unlikely for Wired to give it a chance.

> The Wired-Q war will have to shake out sometime soon, but I
> don't think the result will be a dance-friendly CHR in
> Philadelphia. I just see Wired adding more Pop, a la Kelly
> Clarkson, Backstreet Boys, and Will Smith, before taking a
> chance on dance.

Why? Adding Kelly Clarkson brought lower ratings for the station (although in fairness I am sure there are more factors involved than just that one song). Backstreet, Will Smith, etc could still be appropriate for a straight ahead Rhythmic CHR. The Wired/Q war has been ongoing for some time now.

Interesting discussion