beejus
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Post by beejus on Sept 5, 2007 7:53:21 GMT -5
So I'm scrolling through the boards, looking at all the threads about which new songs are doing well and which aren't... but it made me wonder... what about the gold tracks?
A lot of stations really don't do much with their gold libraries, spinning the same what... 200-400 songs over and over again. Sure most of them were big hits, but what about having "The Best Variety" like most station slogans claim? What tracks should Hot AC stations be playing in their gold libraries that most aren't?
Looking through my station's library... I've noticed I've made a LOT of fans in the 18-35 crowd by adding some tunes like:
Cake- The Distance Presidents of the USA- Peaches Toadies- Possum Kingdom Foo Fighters- Everlong Radiohead- Karma Police Big Audio Dynamite- Rush AC/DC- You Shook Me All Night Long (sadly was missing from my station)
Some stations are shying away from 80s, in my area, the 80s live on stronger than ever, and opening up the old 80s library has proven beneficial as well. Digging up some "not quite huge hit songs" for the oh-wow factor.
Now RebelSweetheart can tell you, I'm a 90s rock fan...but that's not why I added them. It opened up the playlist, made the station sound MUCH fresher, and actually bumped requests up after I added them.
What is everyone else's opinion? Should stations throw their playlist wide open... or is a tight playlist of a couple hundred songs the better way to go?
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Slinky
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Post by Slinky on Sept 5, 2007 9:55:49 GMT -5
If I were a Hot AC PD, I'd definitely have an "oh-wow" or "lunar" category for lost hits, but I'd use it sparingly. I think the right way to do it is to balance. Stay to the tried-and-true most of the time, but throw in an "oh-wow" track once an hour. That'll keep the variety-seekers (your P1s if you're a Hot AC) happy without turning off casual listeners. Also program a specialty show where you go deeper into the music of the 80's or 90's. If some of those oh-wow tracks start getting good reaction, put them in a music test, if your station does those, and see if they come back playable.
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Post by mrclimbfall20 on Sept 5, 2007 12:30:58 GMT -5
I love this idea. Like beejus, I love 90's rock and would probably focus a lot on that era if I were a PD. I wouldn't over do it like PD's do now, as I would focus much more on newer music. A perfect example of what my station would sound like is KYSR in LA. Also, I wouldn't want to target women as much.
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beejus
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Post by beejus on Sept 5, 2007 12:40:50 GMT -5
I love this idea. Like beejus, I love 90's rock and would probably focus a lot on that era if I were a PD. I wouldn't over do it like PD's do now, as I would focus much more on newer music. A perfect example of what my station would sound like is KYSR in LA. Also, I wouldn't want to target women as much. I mainly opened up the library for two reasons... A.) To keep it from getting stale and B.) As a minor response to my Hot AC competition flipping to Adult Hits. I expanded the 80s, 90s, and even 00's titles and have about 1000 in regular rotation, along with about 400 in the "Oh Wow" category. The listeners seem to like it. Ratings spiked this book. Although since we're small market, they jump around. In the Fall we were very heavy in Female listeners, this past spring, we leveled out and actually leaned more Male. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Star is a great sounding station now. I'll always look at their playlist to see what they have going spin-wise.
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Post by mrclimbfall20 on Sept 5, 2007 16:42:59 GMT -5
I love this idea. Like beejus, I love 90's rock and would probably focus a lot on that era if I were a PD. I wouldn't over do it like PD's do now, as I would focus much more on newer music. A perfect example of what my station would sound like is KYSR in LA. Also, I wouldn't want to target women as much. I mainly opened up the library for two reasons... A.) To keep it from getting stale and B.) As a minor response to my Hot AC competition flipping to Adult Hits. I expanded the 80s, 90s, and even 00's titles and have about 1000 in regular rotation, along with about 400 in the "Oh Wow" category. The listeners seem to like it. Ratings spiked this book. Although since we're small market, they jump around. In the Fall we were very heavy in Female listeners, this past spring, we leveled out and actually leaned more Male. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Star is a great sounding station now. I'll always look at their playlist to see what they have going spin-wise. That's weird! You should check out KMYI in San Diego. Their playlist pretty much sux, but I wanna know what you think of it. You should should totally take over the PD place because he is doing both the hot ac AND the pop stations.
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atlantaboy
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Post by atlantaboy on Sept 16, 2007 15:10:11 GMT -5
Beejus - ur really lucky b/c u don't have an Alternative station in your small market and u can play all those 90s alternative songs
Seems like typical Hot AC gold songs on most stations are (from memory): "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds "If You Leave" by O. M. D. (never understood why) "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper "Missing You" by John Waite "The Boys Of Summer" by Don Henley "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel "Tubthumping" by Chumbawumba Bon Jovi hits from late 80s Alanis Morissete songs from "Jagged Little Pill" Sugar Ray hits from late 90s Goo Goo Dolls songs from late 90s - early 00s Matchbox Twenty songs from late 90s - early 00s Counting Crows songs from 90s and "Accidentally In Love" Smash Mouth songs from late 90s - early 00s (On stations with more male listeners) "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC "Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard
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beejus
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Post by beejus on Sept 16, 2007 15:53:17 GMT -5
(On stations with more male listeners) "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC "Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard Don't peg those songs just to male listeners. Sure they win the males over... but the females LOVE those titles. Play them at any wedding, and the floor will be packed. Seriously. Bon Jovi too
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Pipa
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Post by Pipa on Sept 16, 2007 16:10:16 GMT -5
If you don't mind me asking, beejus, what station do you work for exactly? Is it on Mediabase? I'd love to see the playlist.
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beejus
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Post by beejus on Sept 16, 2007 16:39:13 GMT -5
Sadly, not on Mediabase. I wish I was. I work for B100.7 in Pittsburg, Kansas. KBZI. I have the Top 25 and New Music pretty up to date on our website- www.kbzi.comEnjoy!
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Pipa
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Post by Pipa on Sept 16, 2007 16:49:42 GMT -5
Cool, thanks.
It sort of reminds me of CKLM/Lloydminster, Canada (not on Mediabase)...they're a rock station, but like yours they always delve into lesser played, more obscure songs.
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shocker
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Post by shocker on Sept 17, 2007 2:38:08 GMT -5
Looking through my station's library... I've noticed I've made a LOT of fans in the 18-35 crowd by adding some tunes like: Cake- The Distance Presidents of the USA- Peaches Toadies- Possum Kingdom Foo Fighters- Everlong Radiohead- Karma Police Big Audio Dynamite- Rush AC/DC- You Shook Me All Night Long (sadly was missing from my station) If there's not an alternative station in your market, or within listening distance, then those songs would be all right every now and then at nights, or even once in a while on weekends. Ordinarily, songs like that are not Hot AC material. I suggest doing an hour-long '90s show at night, or even an all-request '80s/'90s lunch hour where you can freely spin those songs. "Block party weekends" would be suitable for that too. Also if you're going to promote '90s-hits in a special request hour or block party, then you need to include the well-known pop artists of that decade in the mix - Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Hootie and the Blowfish, Ace of Base, et al.
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shocker
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Post by shocker on Sept 17, 2007 2:45:55 GMT -5
I love this idea. Like beejus, I love 90's rock and would probably focus a lot on that era if I were a PD. I wouldn't over do it like PD's do now, as I would focus much more on newer music. A perfect example of what my station would sound like is KYSR in LA. Also, I wouldn't want to target women as much. Why wouldn't you target women? Females 25+ are a large chunk of the Hot AC listening audience. Even the modern AC stations appeal to a large female base, even though they get a good share of male listeners too. In a very small market like Pittsburg, Kansas you can't really be too choosy. It doesn't have the benefit of a KBIG and a KYSR in the same market. If it did, then he could choose the more modern AC sound like KYSR did; but he really needs to have his station appeal to his core audience.
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beejus
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Post by beejus on Sept 17, 2007 6:52:45 GMT -5
If there's not an alternative station in your market, or within listening distance, then those songs would be all right every now and then at nights, or even once in a while on weekends. Ordinarily, songs like that are not Hot AC material. I suggest doing an hour-long '90s show at night, or even an all-request '80s/'90s lunch hour where you can freely spin those songs. "Block party weekends" would be suitable for that too. Also if you're going to promote '90s-hits in a special request hour or block party, then you need to include the well-known pop artists of that decade in the mix - Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Hootie and the Blowfish, Ace of Base, et al. Why limit these tracks to just weekends and special events? Here's how I view it. Let's say I'm targeting a 35 year old woman. 10-15 years ago when she was in college and in her 20's... Alternative and Modern Rock were big, with titles crossing over to CHR all the time. Presidents of the USA, Radiohead, Foo Fighters and artists like that were on MTV, this is the music she listened to during that time. Ignoring it now isn't smart. All of the songs can fit in well with a Hot AC station in-between Nickelback and Daughtry and the like, and believe it or not, they don't scare away the upper end of the listenership.
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Kid Pulse
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Post by Kid Pulse on Sept 17, 2007 7:26:12 GMT -5
I like the "Iris" and "How You Remind me" type songs being played, but it's cool when more obscure songs are mixed in there.
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BillboardBoy
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Post by BillboardBoy on Sept 17, 2007 8:12:30 GMT -5
I love the idea of having 90s rock songs in there! I don't have anything against the 80s, it's just that many of these songs have been play to death over the past 20+ years. Like you mentioned, putting something in there like "Peaches" is kind of fun. I'd also have "Amnesia" by Chumbawumba, "Standing Outside..." by Primitive Radio Gods, "Theme to Mission Impossible" by Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen, "Zoot Suit Riot" by Cherry Poppin' Daddies," and other 90s songs that stand out because they're different.
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Post by mrclimbfall20 on Sept 17, 2007 12:23:04 GMT -5
I love this idea. Like beejus, I love 90's rock and would probably focus a lot on that era if I were a PD. I wouldn't over do it like PD's do now, as I would focus much more on newer music. A perfect example of what my station would sound like is KYSR in LA. Also, I wouldn't want to target women as much. Why wouldn't you target women? Females 25+ are a large chunk of the Hot AC listening audience. Even the modern AC stations appeal to a large female base, even though they get a good share of male listeners too. In a very small market like Pittsburg, Kansas you can't really be too choosy. It doesn't have the benefit of a KBIG and a KYSR in the same market. If it did, then he could choose the more modern AC sound like KYSR did; but he really needs to have his station appeal to his core audience. Well, I wouldn't target specifically towards women is what I meant. In the promos, I'd have a balance between both males and females because it wouldn't shun guys away from listening to it. Of course, the music selection would have to be balanced too...meaning I'd play some "hard" music (ie Three Days Grace, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, 30 Seconds to Mars, or whatever else that might be Hot AC-friendly) and then also play Matchbox 20, Lifehouse, Daughtry, No Doubt, Nickelback, and Maroon 5. It would basically be a softer version of Alternative radio. Who knows how it would do ratings-wise haha
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Pipa
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Post by Pipa on Sept 17, 2007 14:06:28 GMT -5
Well, I wouldn't target specifically towards women is what I meant. In the promos, I'd have a balance between both males and females because it wouldn't shun guys away from listening to it. Of course, the music selection would have to be balanced too...meaning I'd play some "hard" music (ie Three Days Grace, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, 30 Seconds to Mars, or whatever else that might be Hot AC-friendly) and then also play Matchbox 20, Lifehouse, Daughtry, No Doubt, Nickelback, and Maroon 5. It would basically be a softer version of Alternative radio. Who knows how it would do ratings-wise haha I'd listen to it! That's how my rock station used to be until they dropped songs from Goo Goo Dolls, Third Eye Blind, Train and the like. They still play Lifehouse and Matchbox 20 though.
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Post by mrclimbfall20 on Sept 17, 2007 15:09:00 GMT -5
Well, I wouldn't target specifically towards women is what I meant. In the promos, I'd have a balance between both males and females because it wouldn't shun guys away from listening to it. Of course, the music selection would have to be balanced too...meaning I'd play some "hard" music (ie Three Days Grace, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, 30 Seconds to Mars, or whatever else that might be Hot AC-friendly) and then also play Matchbox 20, Lifehouse, Daughtry, No Doubt, Nickelback, and Maroon 5. It would basically be a softer version of Alternative radio. Who knows how it would do ratings-wise haha I'd listen to it! That's how my rock station used to be until they dropped songs from Goo Goo Dolls, Third Eye Blind, Train and the like. They still play Lifehouse and Matchbox 20 though. Nice! Where do you live?
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Pipa
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Post by Pipa on Sept 17, 2007 15:38:23 GMT -5
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atlantaboy
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Post by atlantaboy on Sept 17, 2007 16:38:18 GMT -5
Looking through my station's library... I've noticed I've made a LOT of fans in the 18-35 crowd by adding some tunes like: Cake- The Distance Presidents of the USA- Peaches Toadies- Possum Kingdom Foo Fighters- Everlong Radiohead- Karma Police Big Audio Dynamite- Rush AC/DC- You Shook Me All Night Long (sadly was missing from my station) (Sorry I messed up the quoting...beejus---) There must be somethin really unique about your market...is it a college town? Songs like that usually work only in markets with a really high # of university graduates and really high incomes - those songs would bomb if they were played on WPLJ or WRQX/Washington (except for "You Shook Me All Night Long") - that's awesome that u can play them though The only other thing I can think of is maybe your market never had an Alternative station (even in the 90s) and you have a huge audience that never heard those songs...still, a lot of them like "Everlong" "The Distance" and "Rush" have really high dislike ratings among women (in general) - maybe your station is targeting males more than females which is pretty rare for Hot AC
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Post by mrclimbfall20 on Sept 17, 2007 17:15:25 GMT -5
LOL sorry. That conversation was pretty funny actually.
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shocker
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Post by shocker on Sept 18, 2007 6:07:15 GMT -5
I love the idea of having 90s rock songs in there! I don't have anything against the 80s, it's just that many of these songs have been play to death over the past 20+ years. Like you mentioned, putting something in there like "Peaches" is kind of fun. I'd also have "Amnesia" by Chumbawumba, "Standing Outside..." by Primitive Radio Gods, "Theme to Mission Impossible" by Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen, "Zoot Suit Riot" by Cherry Poppin' Daddies," and other 90s songs that stand out because they're different. Those '90s songs you mentioned - except "Peaches" - had some impact at Hot AC when they were new; so those titles would be perfect as retro tracks or recurrents. I still say that if you're going to promote more of the '90s, you should include the well-known pop artists of the decade too, such as Mariah, Hootie, and Ace of Base. Even the occasional TLC or Boyz II Men song would be all right. Otherwise, if you just spin the likes of Radiohead, Pearl Jam, Toadies, and Bush, you're catering to a more alternative audience. Therefore, you can't really call your station a Hot AC unless you play those poppier artists I mentioned along with the occasional Foo Fighters type of song.
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beejus
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Post by beejus on Sept 18, 2007 9:21:17 GMT -5
(Sorry I messed up the quoting...beejus---) There must be somethin really unique about your market...is it a college town? Songs like that usually work only in markets with a really high # of university graduates and really high incomes - those songs would bomb if they were played on WPLJ or WRQX/Washington (except for "You Shook Me All Night Long") - that's awesome that u can play them though The only other thing I can think of is maybe your market never had an Alternative station (even in the 90s) and you have a huge audience that never heard those songs...still, a lot of them like "Everlong" "The Distance" and "Rush" have really high dislike ratings among women (in general) - maybe your station is targeting males more than females which is pretty rare for Hot AC My market is weird in a way that it's sort of two markets, but not really... let me explain. My station is in the Pittsburg, Kanas market, and covers only half of the counties that make up the market. Right next to our market is the Joplin, Missouri market. The bigger 50,000 and 100,000 watt signals cover both markets pretty well... my station's 25,000 watt signal... not so much. Between the two markets, there isn't a true Alternative station... there is a mostly Active Rocker, a mainstream rocker, a bunch of classic rockers, a CHR/Top 40, and a CHR/Sorta Rhythmic, an Adult Hits, and a mainstream AC. Oh... and a shitload of Country stations too. I found my place in the middle of all of that catering to the females in their 30s and 40s, and their kids. Throwing in Foo Fighters or Presidents of the USA, Kulsa Shaker and more brought in many listeners from the increased variety of your cookie cutter Hot AC, plus we do have some smaller colleges in the area (3000-6000 students), and even though they aren't included in the Arb ratings, we've gathered a bunch of them in as well. Now I don't abandon the Hot AC side of things. Ace of Bace, Hootie (with more than just the Cracked Rear View tracks), and the like are still in the playlist too, co-mingling nicely. Plus new music wise, we're a Hot AC with some fun. Right now, I don't think WPLJ would be hurt at all by spinning the likes of some of the Foos and Presidents. There's a void of rock in NYC, and they could fit in nicely with some of the tracks. I know PLJ gets good ratings in Jersey, so it might take a hit there though. I dunno.. I just believe there's more to be done with Hot AC than your usual 300 song library, and so far I've proven it :)
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Kid Pulse
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Post by Kid Pulse on Sept 18, 2007 12:10:28 GMT -5
^ That's really cool, man. I wish my Hot AC stations did that.
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Post by mrclimbfall20 on Sept 18, 2007 12:34:19 GMT -5
^ That's really cool, man. I wish my Hot AC stations did that. That makes two of us.
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beejus
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Post by beejus on Sept 18, 2007 13:04:04 GMT -5
^ That's really cool, man. I wish my Hot AC stations did that. That makes two of us. You guys wanna e-mail my boss and tell him that my station should be streaming online? :) I've been begging for it for two years now.
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Post by mrclimbfall20 on Sept 18, 2007 13:19:10 GMT -5
Yeah what's his e-mail?
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atlantaboy
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Post by atlantaboy on Sept 18, 2007 17:07:22 GMT -5
(Sorry I messed up the quoting...beejus---) There must be somethin really unique about your market...is it a college town? Songs like that usually work only in markets with a really high # of university graduates and really high incomes - those songs would bomb if they were played on WPLJ or WRQX/Washington (except for "You Shook Me All Night Long") - that's awesome that u can play them though The only other thing I can think of is maybe your market never had an Alternative station (even in the 90s) and you have a huge audience that never heard those songs...still, a lot of them like "Everlong" "The Distance" and "Rush" have really high dislike ratings among women (in general) - maybe your station is targeting males more than females which is pretty rare for Hot AC Right now, I don't think WPLJ would be hurt at all by spinning the likes of some of the Foos and Presidents. There's a void of rock in NYC WPLJ tried leanin Alternative for a bit I think a couple years ago and tried playin "Flagpole Sitta" and songs like that, but I think it was unsuccessful Does your CHR lean Hot AC, or is it really mainstream, and that's why your station ends up filling in the Alternative "hole"? Foo Fighters doesn't surprise me if you played "Learn To Fly" or even "Big Me" or "Best Of Me", but "Everlong" really surprises me cause that's a really hard rock-oriented hit that didn't do anything at Hot AC or CHR
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beejus
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Post by beejus on Sept 19, 2007 8:16:58 GMT -5
Does your CHR lean Hot AC, or is it really mainstream, and that's why your station ends up filling in the Alternative "hole"? Foo Fighters doesn't surprise me if you played "Learn To Fly" or even "Big Me" or "Best Of Me", but "Everlong" really surprises me cause that's a really hard rock-oriented hit that didn't do anything at Hot AC or CHR One of the CHRs is an insanely bad Hot AC & Rap blend. Transitions are horrible, and so are their ratings. The other station is a very good sounding, well balanced CHR. They'll spin Lifehouse and Shop Boyz, A Bay Bay and Before He Cheats. "Everlong" by the Foo Fighters fits in very well to the station believe it or not. It's not TOO rocking to drive people away. We don't play "Monkey Wrench" or "Stacked Actors" mind you... but Everlong, Learn to Fly, Times Like These, Next Year... they all fit in well.
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Post by mrclimbfall20 on Sept 19, 2007 11:17:47 GMT -5
Does your CHR lean Hot AC, or is it really mainstream, and that's why your station ends up filling in the Alternative "hole"? Foo Fighters doesn't surprise me if you played "Learn To Fly" or even "Big Me" or "Best Of Me", but "Everlong" really surprises me cause that's a really hard rock-oriented hit that didn't do anything at Hot AC or CHR One of the CHRs is an insanely bad Hot AC & Rap blend. Transitions are horrible, and so are their ratings. The other station is a very good sounding, well balanced CHR. They'll spin Lifehouse and Shop Boyz, A Bay Bay and Before He Cheats. "Everlong" by the Foo Fighters fits in very well to the station believe it or not. It's not TOO rocking to drive people away. We don't play "Monkey Wrench" or "Stacked Actors" mind you... but Everlong, Learn to Fly, Times Like These, Next Year... they all fit in well. Yeah, Star 94.1 does the same thing. They'll play something like "Lips Of An Angel" then Cyndi Lauper or Madonna. I hate it because they'll play harder rock songs then go to like really cheesey girly pop songs and it does NOT blend well.
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