Top 40’s fall book is supposed to be bad. But the average share for the format was down to a 4.2 this fall. And to explain that one, you have to look beyond the usual fall issues and look at the Christmas music juggernaut, a handful of key sounds that all burned out at once, the shift from rhythm to pop at mainstream top 40, and the decision to super-serve a demo that can, increasingly, take or leave radio.
Tom Webster
Critics thought all-Christmas radio might have started too early or reached saturation in 2003. But an Edison Media Research analysis of the numbers to date shows an average half-share gain for stations that went all-Christmas. The numbers are even higher for FM stations and for the AC format.
Tom Webster
The “Alternative Gold” format has galvanized programmers and the consumer press alike. But when does it make sense to switch to an adult modern format? And when are programmers walking away from a bigger position to chase a niche format? And even if PDs didn’t get into the format to play Linkin Park and Trapt, has the audience lost their appetite for that music?
Tom Webster
Every year, I’ve looked back at the records that not only captured the moment, but signaled a sea-change at radio. In 2003, however, with the labels still trying to save their way to prosperity by releasing less product, it was hard to pinpoint more than a handful. Still, radio definitely changed last year. So what songs drove that change?
Tom Webster
Unlike much of the country, the author hadn’t lived with the Christmas format on a full-time basis until this holiday season when WLTW and WNEW both took the plunge (as well as numerous other stations heard on his daily commute). It’s hard to dispute the effectiveness of Christmas music. The effectiveness of Christmas radio, on the other hand, is another story.
Tom Webster
The arrest of Michael Jackson just seemed like more fodder for morning shows and promotion directors—something to tide them over until Britney Spears could get married for a few hours. But why would any morning team try to find the lighter side of this particular tragedy? And are PDs overlooking the topic’s potential to polarize the audience?
Tom Webster
If you grew up with Top 40 in the ‘60s and 70s, chances are that you don’t think of the term “Number One” without that echoed “one, one, one” that always followed. Now, the entertainment world is more focused around Number One than ever, but radio (for a variety of reasons) rarely takes advantage of it. Sean Ross and EMR president Larry Rosin look at the sway that No. 1 still holds over listeners.
Tom Webster
In recent years, the pre-Beatles Oldies format has proliferated on AM as operators look for something new to do with their Adult Standards AMs and as the FM oldies format moves into the ‘70s. Now, Clear Channel’s WRLL (Real Oldies 1690) brings both ‘50s oldies and morning legend Larry Lujack back to Chicago radio. An interview with PD Tommy Edwards.
Tom Webster
After years of pressure from record labels, both major trade magazines made significant cuts in their chart panels last fall. But while working fewer stations may save the labels some money, it won’t solve the big problems on Music Row.
Tom Webster
Canada’s Jack and Bob stations average 1,000 songs in active rotation. They avoid traditional positioning, as does “deep cuts” Classic Rocker KQMT Denver. So why did those stations resonate with an audience when New York’s WNEW (Blink 102.7) try many of the same things unsuccessfully?
Tom Webster
The column that kicked off Ross On Radio’s First Look series. A look at that week’s retooling of WNEW (Blink 102.7) New York and thoughts on why that station didn’t work. This column, written before the station’s subsequent retooling to Mix 102.7, asks whether a station should position itself as “Music Women Love,” a question that has seemingly been answered.
Tom Webster