105.7 THE GROOVE - OFFICIALLY MAINSTREAM CHR

Talk_Dude said:

I'm confused, too. I thought you weren't going to microanalyze Atlanta radio any more.
Don't they have radio stations in Arizona that you can listen to?

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Wow....how many weeks are people gonna bash my'boy KDM?! Seriously, I have not got involved with the most recent CHR/Groove/Q100 discussions on here lately cuz lord knows I get bashed here for sharing my thoughts on these subjects here as well.

Also, my defending KDM is certainly NOT necessary as I am sure that he, like myself couldn't care less what others think of his opinions. But, several times (just in one week), comments have come back in regards to his opinions suggesting that he "lives in Arizona" so, he should stop "littering" up the Atlanta boards with how the stations there compare to ones here....(and so on).

What is this....5TH PERIOD LUNCH back in High School? Are the ARIZONA-cliques not allowed to mingle with the ATLANTA-cliques? Really....(NO, SERIOUSLY).....what?!  :

These types of comments, story sharing, radio-station comparing are from people who, like KDM ...(MYSELF included) are actually PASSIONATE ABOUT RADIO! And that IS (I believe), why these boards were created. (by people...AND FOR people) that are "PASSIONATE", frustrated or excited about some of the RIDICULOUS decisions or half-assed attempts....(or better yet), NO attempts to bring back an exciting CHR format or rhythmic-CHR format to a once exciting, (TOP 10) radio market.

So, while some of the comments from others about this subject are saying to virtually "get over it", "Atlanta radio is what it is", and "if you don't like Atlanta radio, then stay on your own Arizona boards...like it's now like "turff" thing! Those comments are certainly welcome as much as ours are but, at least we are (albeit, at times) OVERLY-PASSIONATE about radio.....It seems that some of you, on these boards are apparently more passionate about someone from a different city/state messaging over here on the Atlanta boards. (just so totally unnecessary). Okay, I'm done.  ;D

KDM 7000 said:

I just say what I say and trust that whoever feels or chooses to feel uneasy about it must be the ones who should feel "guilty" for whatever "mess" I'm discussing. On-air personalities, dj's, or anyone not in control of the overall station sound should ignore all radio-board criticism that's not in regards to them specifically because of course we know they can't do anything about the formatting sound.

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That's awesome....I couldn't agree more! I totally get you dude. Like the market out there as well!

Musically, I too love (electro, trance, breaks, rhythmic, pop, euro:classic-cheese and the good stuff and so much more) And of course with Radio: the whole, WTF?-factor about Atlanta radio especially the Rhythmic/CHR and the ups and downs of (whoever) The Groove is this week! All I'm saying is, I get you.
And you know, some of the peeps on here (lov'em or hate'em), still feel like my virtual family sometimes. Even tho, some in fact DO need a chill-pill. But....being that the 90's are truly over in so many ways, I guess those "chill-pills" just aren't what they used to be....(hahahaha!)

Peace, my' brotha.

And to all who have read this....ONE LOVE, always!

(stop me KDM...I now just threw on that first PM DAWN record, And I think I still dig it)!

.....thanks. 

electroboy73 said:

Talk_Dude said:

I'm confused, too. I thought you weren't going to microanalyze Atlanta radio any more.
Don't they have radio stations in Arizona that you can listen to?

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Wow....how many weeks are people gonna bash my'boy KDM?! Seriously, I have not got involved with the most recent CHR/Groove/Q100 discussions on here lately cuz lord knows I get bashed here for sharing my thoughts on these subjects here as well.

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Possibly as long as he keeps spamming the Altanta boards with his one-note song, but no longer than that.

Checked out THE GROOVE over the weekend and the transition continues. The music is upbeat and thats what ATL was missing, a "party type" station. However, there is quite a bit of repetition. I wish some more upbeat hip-hop was thrown in considering STAR doen't touch it and Q barely does too. "Atlanta's Feel Good Station"....well imo that positioner is quite corny and was fit for the previous Rhy AC format. CC should bring back the "Atlanta's Party Station" positioner from former WiLD 96.7.

* As far as I know, the "Feel good" positioner is gone.

* Thanks for your words Electroboy

* ALSO (for those of you interested); I've mentioned something in regards to baltimore club music and urban dance on URBAN station mixshows on this forum before. Well, I've found out that V103 does play some along with booty bass while doing their Friday live club broadcast. LISTEN: http://v103.radio.com/2010/06/07/velvet-room-on-friday/#more-17382 (go to last 20 minutes or so)

* MY CURRENT THOUGHTS: I do wish Groove would drop this thing where it seems like there's an incomplete playlist of certain select hits from today and back in the day being played, also drop the heavy recurrents, and develop more of an established & proper rhythmic format sound. I question whether or not they would've lost more listeners if they simply flipped on Sept. 4 and went straight for The Beat listeners right away instead of trying to slowly transition and "sneak current listeners" into the pure rhythmic sound that's allegedly coming as many of the former Beat listeners settle somewhere else.

lovejamminoldies said:

I wouldn't change the name because The Groove doesn't sound too old school and if you change it, you risk the chance of losing your core adult 25+ listeners. More than likely, most listeners of The Groove hasn't noticed the change and if you make the change obvious, you risk the chance of them going back to the Adult CHR stations.

Regarding the simulcast, I think it's so they can reach different parts of the city... as they said now they're LOUDER. lol.

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Ha! You're funny!

*I should also add that it's interesting how many stations may change or remove their slogan / positioner over the airwaves, but it remains on their online site(s) for a while afterwards. Not sure if people notice this, but just thought I'd mention / clarify this.

Still needs to drop the Groove name. Just doesn't fit. Some good names if not already used in Atlanta; Jammin, Jamz, Power, WiLD

Ken said:

Still needs to drop the Groove name. Just doesn't fit. Some good names if not already used in Atlanta; Jammin, Jamz, Power, WiLD

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All of those names have been used except JAMMIN which is more Rhythmic AC or Urban AC.

KDM 7000 said:

*I should also add that it's interesting how many stations may change or remove their slogan / positioner over the airwaves, but it remains on their online site(s) for a while afterwards. Not sure if people notice this, but just thought I'd mention / clarify this.

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You have to tell the station's web person to change it. The webmaster can be in another city or state and never listens to the station.

Ken said:

Still needs to drop the Groove name. Just doesn't fit. Some good names if not already used in Atlanta; Jammin, Jamz, Power, WiLD

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With PPM station slogans, nick names, and call letters (except ID for FCC) are irrelevant. A huge percentage of audience (now and in the past) only knows the dial position or freq. readout on the radio. If the content (music) is “right” hopefully your station gets a preset. No one will listen to a station with a “cool” name if it does not deliver the music. You could even call the station F*RT 105.7 and 96.7 and huge percent of the listeners could not tell your station name in a survey. In the days of diaries station slogans were used because people have trouble remembering the calls and or the name “reinforced” what ever the station was programming. IMHO the best slogan in the last 20 years was the JACK brand which for me has the mental reference that we do not give jacksh*t. If the music is on target “Groove” will work. BTW “Groove” would not have been my first choice but this is CC Atlanta.

F*RT 1057 and 967. That sound coming out of your speakers is not silent but certainly deadly.

secondchoice said:

Ken said:

Still needs to drop the Groove name. Just doesn't fit. Some good names if not already used in Atlanta; Jammin, Jamz, Power, WiLD

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With PPM station slogans, nick names, and call letters (except ID for FCC) are irrelevant. A huge percentage of audience (now and in the past) only knows the dial position or freq. readout on the radio. If the content (music) is “right” hopefully your station gets a preset. No one will listen to a station with a “cool” name if it does not deliver the music. You could even call the station F*RT 105.7 and 96.7 and huge percent of the listeners could not tell your station name in a survey. In the days of diaries station slogans were used because people have trouble remembering the calls and or the name “reinforced” what ever the station was programming. IMHO the best slogan in the last 20 years was the JACK brand which for me has the mental reference that we do not give jacksh*t. If the music is on target “Groove” will work. BTW “Groove” would not have been my first choice but this is CC Atlanta.

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I'm not sure I agree they're irrelevant. True, there's no longer a need for people to write down the station in a diary. But you still need to build the brand so listeners will return. CHR's such as Y100 and Kiss 108 are saying their monikers less but are still saying them.

RoddyFreeman said:

secondchoice said:

Ken said:

Still needs to drop the Groove name. Just doesn't fit. Some good names if not already used in Atlanta; Jammin, Jamz, Power, WiLD

Click to expand...

With PPM station slogans, nick names, and call letters (except ID for FCC) are irrelevant. A huge percentage of audience (now and in the past) only knows the dial position or freq. readout on the radio. If the content (music) is “right” hopefully your station gets a preset. No one will listen to a station with a “cool” name if it does not deliver the music. You could even call the station F*RT 105.7 and 96.7 and huge percent of the listeners could not tell your station name in a survey. In the days of diaries station slogans were used because people have trouble remembering the calls and or the name “reinforced” what ever the station was programming. IMHO the best slogan in the last 20 years was the JACK brand which for me has the mental reference that we do not give jacksh*t. If the music is on target “Groove” will work. BTW “Groove” would not have been my first choice but this is CC Atlanta.

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I'm not sure I agree they're irrelevant. True, there's no longer a need for people to write down the station in a diary. But you still need to build the brand so listeners will return. CHR's such as Y100 and Kiss 108 are saying their monikers less but are still saying them.

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Do you think that we'll see fewer monikers that combine a letter from the calls with the approximate frequency (Z93, 94Q, Y106, V-103, etc.), and more that use one or more words that suggest the format (plus possibly the exact frequency)?

I'm not sure if a catchy "T-94" or "K101" would be better than Star 94.1 or Kicks 101.5 in this day and age (ignoring the heritage and brand equity of the current formats and branding for sake of argument).

Or, to look at it the other way, would Groove be more attention-getting than "V106" (ignoring V-103 for a moment)?

I'm sure everyone can figure out how this would affect Q100.

WEBMASTERS

secondchoice said:

KDM 7000 said:

*I should also add that it's interesting how many stations may change or remove their slogan / positioner over the airwaves, but it remains on their online site(s) for a while afterwards. Not sure if people notice this, but just thought I'd mention / clarify this.

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You have to tell the station's web person to change it. The webmaster can be in another city or state and never listens to the station.

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Does this also count for Facebook and MySpace? I remember Power 98.3 was Az's #1 hit music station for many many months more on MySpace when over the air they had dropped that slogan a "long" time ago... Now The Groove facebook also has "Atlanta's Feel Good Music" or something similar in their facebook name.

WHAT'S IN A NAME
I'm so glad other people are bringing up the moniker / station names topic! For a while now, I've been thinking of opening a new thread entitled "What's in a name?" in one of the format sections of these boards, talking about how station names seem to no longer be important anymore. There was once a time when a station name would indicate what the format was most likely to be, but now it seems like people who design the monikers place less importance on that now. We not only obviously have "The Groove" which in itself is not too too bad, but KMVA MOViN kept their name, even after dropping rhythmic AC and going top 40 with a heavy pop rock lean. Hearing Kings Of Leon and Daughtry and other similar things or even Leona Lewis doesn't sound like "MOViN" music to me, regardless of whether or not you sprinkle in some upbeat hits. Then we have "The Vibe" in Las Vegas. Yes, the name sounds cool, but most people are not expecting "dance format" when they hear the name "The Vibe". "Amp" just sounds silly, and I've noticed "The Beat", amongst many other things, being used for a variety of different sounds since many formats have changed but decided not to change the name along with their musical changes.

LISTENER STATION IDENTIFICATION
I do agree with the fact that regardless of name, most (or many) listeners will fail to remember the name correctly if asked to to so, and especially more so if there are multiple stations with similar formats within the same city. Once, I had a market research job that required me to call various places around the U.S. and ask people about their radio listening and was told specifically by my manager to type in PRECISELY what the person said, regardless of whether or not I knew they were wrong. Most people could only identify either the main numbers before the point, or describe the station sound format-wise (ex: the one that plays hip hop / the one that plays eeerythang..etc). Few were able to give correct names, and even fewer were able to provide call letters or even knew what call letters were.

HERITAGE
I'm guessing if your station has heritage like Power 106 or V103 or Hot 97, or something that quickly grew to be memorable in your town like "The Beat" or "MOViN", then keeping the name would be a brilliant idea. However, if you're fairly new, have a weak name, or have been unstable, I don't think it would make much difference if you used a full, traditional name, used a simple letter, or just the frequency number and some of the call letters.

Re: Dance Station

Talk_Dude said:

BJ Steigner said:

How about adding a dance station to Atlanta's lineup of stations or are they scared to add one?

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"They" are scared that they'll lose their shirts attempting to sell advertising on a dance format station.

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More support + More ad revenues = More dance stations that WILL work.

musicman3355 said:

only1moore said:

I'm starting to like WWVA/WWLG and its presentation, plus its great to see a Rhythmic that didn't lean Hip-Hop/R&B. However, I would like to see The Groove start adding some Dance tracks and in a way distinguish themselves from WSTR, WWWQ, WVEE, and WHTA.

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I wonder if The Groove is going to start playing Far East Movement's "Like a G6",...

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ADDED!!!

Also, they will always be easily distinguished from all the others because

*they wont be touching nearly as much r&b material that urbans tend to utilize
*they will not be playing the pop rock hits that CHR top 40 stations add
*Star*94 has now moved on to a sound they are experts in


B98.5 is really the only thing left that needs some moderate to serious upgrade work. The Adult Contemporary (or even light rock) music sound has changed within the past ten years and it's about time they stop trying to sound, in 2010, like they are in 1996. Add a little more adult variety to the work week instead of trying to be rock / alternative oriented all the time.

KDM 7000 said:

B98.5 is really the only thing left that needs some moderate to serious upgrade work. The Adult Contemporary (or even light rock) music sound has changed within the past ten years and it's about time they stop trying to sound, in 2010, like they are in 1996. Add a little more adult variety to the work week instead of trying to be rock / alternative oriented all the time.

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I've often wondered if B98.5 aims more for the AAA market than the AC market, albeit with a less "alternative" playlist. A more comfortable alternative to alternative? Less Jan Wenner cog-rock and more lowbrow stuff?

And I have to give Cox credit for putting what amounts to their "Point" 80s format (compare WPOI 101.5 Tampa) on on the weekends. Not a bad strategy--traditional AC listeners don't listen on the weekends, and only playing all-80s 2.5 days/week keeps it somewhat fresh. Plus, and I have mentioned this before, "traditional" oldies stations often turn their noses up at much of the 80s--leaving a gap that B98.5 can fill.

No, Caller10 did not hack my account. 8)

In any case, ATL still has a big hole with soft AC. And I am surprised nobody has gone for it since the demise of WJZZ's smooth jazz. B98.5 is Number One for Listening At Work, but only by default.

jabba17 said:

In any case, ATL still has a big hole with soft AC. And I am surprised nobody has gone for it since the demise of WJZZ's smooth jazz. B98.5 is Number One for Listening At Work, but only by default.

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Perfectly said. It's more about the fact that a Soft AC is needed and less about criticizing B98.5 and their music, although B98.5 would be the station you'd think would be the Soft AC. I can see B98.5 doing well with the AAA format and someone else doing the Soft AC (The same way I see / saw Star 94 being better off as Hot AC and leaving the mainstream Top 40 sound to someone else).

It's not that any of these stations are bad, but just that some are not the best at traditionally being and sounding like what they are labeled. I guess a label doesn't always make everything specific and precise. Look at Hot 97 in New York. They are RHYTHMIC.... And although they may not play all the rhythmic hits they are "supposed" to, no complaints in the N.Y. board - because they found a formula that works while still programming their station with a fun and enjoyable feel and deliver a sound worthy of making their station even more popular than urban stations, nationwide! I guess it also helps that they are flooded with other options as well, so anyone not satisfied can simply just go elsewhere.