Star 94/Atlanta pulls ahead of Rhythmic

[atlantaboy]

Sorry hope this thread isn't just of local interest...

But WSTR/Atlanta is a pretty unique CHR that's gotten some flack for sticking to CHR (although completely leaving out rap, but playin about 1/3 R&B...maybe 1/4 during the daytime, 1/3 during the later afternoon and evenings) and not flipping to Hot AC (basically meaning it doesn't play Hot AC-only tracks until they go for adds at CHR)

Anyhow, it's just passed WBTS (ATL's rhythmic station) in ratings, so it must be doin somethin right - and it's way ahead of ATL's other CHR Q100 (which is about 2/3 pop/rock and 1/3 rap/R&B)

Just to be fair though (to WBTS) ATL has 2 Urban stations and 2 Urban ACs...

[dth1971]

Star 94 in Atlanta even airs Ryan Seacrest's AT40 on weekends but uses the CHR/Pop version replacing rap songs with other Hot AC leaning songs! Just like a Top 40 radio station in Birmingham, Alabama used to do when it carried AT40 with Casey Kasem and Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 in their CHR/Pop versions.

[atlantaboy]

dth1971 said:

Star 94 in Atlanta even airs Ryan Seacrest's AT40 on weekends but uses the CHR/Pop version replacing rap songs with other Hot AC leaning songs! Just like a Top 40 radio station used to do when it carried AT40 with Casey Kasem and Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 in their CHR/Pop versions.

Yeah I noticed that...Star 94 plays both AT40 and Rick Dees (CHR/Top 40 versions), and replaces almost all rap with either "safer" rhythmic recurrents like "What Goes Around Comes Around" and "Say It Right" or HAC-leaning songs that are on the CHR chart but not on AT40 or Rick Dees yet

But still it doesn't touch Hot AC songs that aren't on Mediabase CHR chart

[keyslawton]

I don't like this station, I find it wrong that they do cut out rap parts on songs. I don't understand their reason and never will.

[atlantaboy]

keyslawton said:

I don't like this station, I find it wrong that they do cut out rap parts on songs. I don't understand their reason and never will.

I think it's that ATL has two HUGE Urban stations in the market both with huge ratings...and ATL has another Hot AC-leaning CHR (that's not doin as well) that does play rap

But if KIIS, WKSC, WKQI, etc. are gonna completely leave out rock and still be on the CHR panel, I have no problem with WSTR leavin out rap and stayin on the CHR panel

[JCMF3]

atlantaboy said:

I think it's that ATL has two HUGE Urban stations in the market both with huge ratings...and ATL has another Hot AC-leaning CHR (that's not doin as well) that does play rap

Sometimes though it is ridiculous. For example, they played "Give It To Me", yet NEVER credited Timbaland (it was always "here's Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake"). Second, to leave out the rap at the end of "The Way I Are" is just dumb. The verses are rap. Why can't they play the last verse?

And their edit of "Promiscuous" is beyond dumb. I HATE HATE HATE the beginning of that edit.

[tico]

Five years ago, a lot of the rhythm-leaning songs Star 94 plays now wouldn't have seen the light of day on that station.

Whether you like Star or not, you have to give them credit for pretty much sticking to what they have done over the last 18 years. With that said, with Steve & Vicki leaving the station at the end of the year (being replaced with the morning show from the former Radio Now in Indianapolis), I am interested to see if they will do any tweaking with the music. Something tells me they won't, given that Star is such a brand in Atlanta.

[atlantaboy]

jcmf3 said:

atlantaboy said:

I think it's that ATL has two HUGE Urban stations in the market both with huge ratings...and ATL has another Hot AC-leaning CHR (that's not doin as well) that does play rap

Sometimes though it is ridiculous. For example, they played "Give It To Me", yet NEVER credited Timbaland (it was always "here's Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake"). Second, to leave out the rap at the end of "The Way I Are" is just dumb. The verses are rap. Why can't they play the last verse?

And their edit of "Promiscuous" is beyond dumb. I HATE HATE HATE the beginning of that edit.

Wait...just remembered that Star 94 edits the length of a lot of its pop/rock songs - not just R&B songs...it often cuts out instrumentals (that other CHR stations all play) and even verses (that other CHRs all play) - I remember hearin shortened versions of Daniel Powter's "Bad Day", Gavin DeGraw"s "I Don't Want To Be", and a slightly shortened "Dani California" by RHCP - so it's not just a rap/R&B thing - I guess it's a technique so listeners who don't like that particular song know they don't have to sit through it as long...for "Bad Day" and "I Don't Want To Be" that actually worked for me cause I don't mind those songs but would rather hear somethin else...and knownin that they're gonna be shorter in length actually does make me decide to keep in on Star 94 instead of changin over to Q100, WNNX, WZGC, etc.

[atlantaboy]

tico said:

Five years ago, a lot of the rhythm-leaning songs Star 94 plays now wouldn't have seen the light of day on that station.

Yeah it usually takes them a long time to add rhytmic-leaning songs, but when they add somethin, they play it forever (i. e. "Yeah", almost all songs by Destiny's Child and Beyonce, "The Way You Move", "Fergalicious", songs from J. T.'s new CD, etc.)

[threedollafoaholla]

I do find Star 94's editing of records to be beyond annoying, but I have to respect them for sticking to their guns and doing what they feel is best for the radio station. I believe that I read somewhere once that they are consistently one of the highest billing stations in the Southeast, so that's all that really matters.

[tico]

atlantaboy said:

jcmf3 said:

Sometimes though it is ridiculous. For example, they played "Give It To Me", yet NEVER credited Timbaland (it was always "here's Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake"). Second, to leave out the rap at the end of "The Way I Are" is just dumb. The verses are rap. Why can't they play the last verse?

And their edit of "Promiscuous" is beyond dumb. I HATE HATE HATE the beginning of that edit.

Wait...just remembered that Star 94 edits the length of a lot of its pop/rock songs - not just R&B songs...it often cuts out instrumentals (that other CHR stations all play) and even verses (that other CHRs all play) - I remember hearin shortened versions of Daniel Powter's "Bad Day", Gavin DeGraw"s "I Don't Want To Be", and a slightly shortened "Dani California" by RHCP - so it's not just a rap/R&B thing - I guess it's a technique so listeners who don't like that particular song know they don't have to sit through it as long...for "Bad Day" and "I Don't Want To Be" that actually worked for me cause I don't mind those songs but would rather hear somethin else...and knownin that they're gonna be shorter in length actually does make me decide to keep in on Star 94 instead of changin over to Q100, WNNX, WZGC, etc.

The former Star 100.7 in San Diego was really bad at editing songs. The way they edited songs were almost like a trainwreck.

[keyslawton]

I don't like that too. The editing is horrible on Star. I remembering to "The Way I Are" and "Give It To Me". Also "Yeah!" and list go on.

[mst3k]

atlantaboy said:

jcmf3 said:

Sometimes though it is ridiculous. For example, they played "Give It To Me", yet NEVER credited Timbaland (it was always "here's Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake"). Second, to leave out the rap at the end of "The Way I Are" is just dumb. The verses are rap. Why can't they play the last verse?

And their edit of "Promiscuous" is beyond dumb. I HATE HATE HATE the beginning of that edit.

Wait...just remembered that Star 94 edits the length of a lot of its pop/rock songs - not just R&B songs...it often cuts out instrumentals (that other CHR stations all play) and even verses (that other CHRs all play) - I remember hearin shortened versions of Daniel Powter's "Bad Day", Gavin DeGraw"s "I Don't Want To Be", and a slightly shortened "Dani California" by RHCP - so it's not just a rap/R&B thing - I guess it's a technique so listeners who don't like that particular song know they don't have to sit through it as long...for "Bad Day" and "I Don't Want To Be" that actually worked for me cause I don't mind those songs but would rather hear somethin else...and knownin that they're gonna be shorter in length actually does make me decide to keep in on Star 94 instead of changin over to Q100, WNNX, WZGC, etc.

Well if they're gonna do that, why not just go all the way and play only 10-second callout hooks. That way nobody gets burned out on any song. It could be the wave of the future!

[atlantaboy]

mst3k1 said:

atlantaboy said:

Wait...just remembered that Star 94 edits the length of a lot of its pop/rock songs - not just R&B songs...it often cuts out instrumentals (that other CHR stations all play) and even verses (that other CHRs all play) - I remember hearin shortened versions of Daniel Powter's "Bad Day", Gavin DeGraw"s "I Don't Want To Be", and a slightly shortened "Dani California" by RHCP - so it's not just a rap/R&B thing - I guess it's a technique so listeners who don't like that particular song know they don't have to sit through it as long...for "Bad Day" and "I Don't Want To Be" that actually worked for me cause I don't mind those songs but would rather hear somethin else...and knownin that they're gonna be shorter in length actually does make me decide to keep in on Star 94 instead of changin over to Q100, WNNX, WZGC, etc.

Well if they're gonna do that, why not just go all the way and play only 10-second callout hooks. That way nobody gets burned out on any song. It could be the wave of the future!

The point is though it's working! (It's pretty rare to see a Hot AC-leaning CHR beat out a rhythmic station in a major market)

[Marv]

There is no such thing as a 'Hot AC-leaning CHR station'; that term makes no sense.

How and where did you come up with terminology like that?????

[atlantaboy]

marv said:

There is no such thing as a 'Hot AC-leaning CHR station'; that term makes no sense.

How and where did you come up with terminology like that?????

People have been talkin about CHRs that "lean Hot AC" or "lean rhythmic" or "lean Alternative" for years! Where have you been? The post you just wrote makes no sense ???

Marv - you need to get out of the early 90s and into the 00s!!

[threedollafoaholla]

mst3k1 said:

atlantaboy said:

Wait...just remembered that Star 94 edits the length of a lot of its pop/rock songs - not just R&B songs...it often cuts out instrumentals (that other CHR stations all play) and even verses (that other CHRs all play) - I remember hearin shortened versions of Daniel Powter's "Bad Day", Gavin DeGraw"s "I Don't Want To Be", and a slightly shortened "Dani California" by RHCP - so it's not just a rap/R&B thing - I guess it's a technique so listeners who don't like that particular song know they don't have to sit through it as long...for "Bad Day" and "I Don't Want To Be" that actually worked for me cause I don't mind those songs but would rather hear somethin else...and knownin that they're gonna be shorter in length actually does make me decide to keep in on Star 94 instead of changin over to Q100, WNNX, WZGC, etc.

Well if they're gonna do that, why not just go all the way and play only 10-second callout hooks. That way nobody gets burned out on any song. It could be the wave of the future!

I've known of a few stations that have stunted just before signing on or a format flip with just that very thing. At one time, I think, Clear Channel had a preset "flip package" called "QuickFM" that was nothing but hooks.