A Music Format on an AM Station -- Is 2012 Too Late to Launch This?

There's a fairly large media market I've discovered with a few format "holes" not being heard on the local radio stations.

Which if any of these music formats that are not heard on any FM (or AM) station in the market might get enough listeners and ad support to be worth the effort to lease (LMA) an AM station that can cover the entire market day and night?

I know we won't get big ratings with an AM, but can we get enough listeners to attract some mom and pop advertisers and possibly some little bit of local ad agency business? Will a niche audience listen to music on an AM?

The format holes are:
* 60s-70s/Top 40 Oldies?
* Adult Standards?
* Urban A/C?
* Urban Oldies?
* Classic Country ('60s-'70s-'80s)?
* A format I haven't thought about?

In your experience which if any of these formats might work? Or better yet, should I just avoid AM all together?

The market already has FM stations targeting Christians, Spanish-speakers and Asians, plus various types of AC, CHR, Comedy, Classical, Sports, Rap-Hip Hop, Country, Classic Rock and all kinds of talk -- All these formats except the five I've listed above.

I'm not looking to get significant ratings with an AM station but I would like to be able to bill enough to pay the overhead and make some profit.

Fire away!

My pt 15 AM is built on all the format holes you mention, plus a few more.

I'd say it depends on whether on not your "neighborhood" is open minded enough to embrace one or more of the "holes".

Any one of these by itself is a bit limiting.

In combination they can be awesome.
It's great to hear Neu segue into Loretta Lynn ( etc.)

Really wonder what market this might be....

Here in Albany, AM 590 WROW has been somewhat successful with a Soft AC/Standards format since 2010 (before then, it was on 100.9 FM as Magic, often in the top 5 ratings believe it or not)... even I listen to it sometimes

If you have a full power AM station then it is possible for you to get ratings in an Arbitron rated market with a music format.

You really need to research your market & research the demographics of your area. Bestplaces.net is a good place to start.

Nothing is etched in stone so you can start with one format and if it doesn't pan out switch to another. My recommendation would be oldies or Adult Standards as older people desiring oldies remember listening to them on AM.

If your station is a Part 15 then you can pick and flip formats daily as its hobby radio and income is not a concern.

danikayser84 said:

Here in Albany, AM 590 WROW has been somewhat successful with a Soft AC/Standards format since 2010 (before then, it was on 100.9 FM as Magic, often in the top 5 ratings believe it or not)... even I listen to it sometimes

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... but, the station is 17th in the market in revenue and bills less than $50 k a month. If the station does not carry debt, and the operational costs are held down, it could make a bit of money.

Since WROW is in a sizable cluster is sharing a lot of costs. A stand alone AM can't minimize individual station costs by splitting up expenses like a cluster member can.

I'd say that a stand alone station with a start up music format on AM is not going to be successful 95% of the time; even less if it is financed.

josh said:

Nothing is etched in stone so you can start with one format and if it doesn't pan out switch to another. My recommendation would be oldies or Adult Standards as older people desiring oldies remember listening to them on AM.

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If you want to do this in a competitive market, you need a decent signal. i can't see buying a significant AM and doing either of those geezer-demo formats and being able to make money.

Even most stations doing that kind of format on AMs that "had to be bought as part of the package" during consolidation... and which are subsidized by the bigger cluster members... don't make much money, if any at all.

And an LMA, as was suggested, is even worse as you are guaranteeing the licensee a profit, even if you don't make one.

I myself hope to take over a local 1000 watt non directional with a 50-60's format but the station has no listeners, no one even knows it is in town because previous and current owners bartered the heck out of it and they aren't even local so to purchase, it is hard to figure a price because no revenue to base it on. Wish me luck, please!

everydayguy,

I've successfully turned a couple of dog AMs around in a horrible market. It's tough..
Sent you a PM with a couple of ideas.

I myself hope to take over a local 1000 watt non directional with a 50-60's format but the station has no listeners, no one even knows it is in town

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Spend time with the community, get to know the listeners, get involved with every event, from bake sales, to blood drives, work with the chamber, have local studio guests. It will be tough, but not impossible.

If you have the opportunity, pick up a translator too.

missammusic said:

I myself hope to take over a local 1000 watt non directional with a 50-60's format but the station has no listeners, no one even knows it is in town because previous and current owners bartered the heck out of it and they aren't even local so to purchase, it is hard to figure a price because no revenue to base it on. Wish me luck, please!

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Be sure to pick up a AM station in San Antonio and Austin, Texas too! If you can! LOL.

But seriously, your format should include 50s, 60s, and 70s. Or better yet, do 1958-1982 that is a huge music library without repetition. You will have to aggressively advertise it, since people listen to FM first. Print out flyers, give them to record shops, city hall, chamber of commerce, etc. Throw in a live remote from a local church on Sundays to further gain your audience. A lot of Urban ACs would go that route, like now defunct KSJL-AM/FM every Sunday morning they were at a Baptist church doing a live Gospel session.

everydayguy said:

I'm not looking to get significant ratings with an AM station but I would like to be able to bill enough to pay the overhead and make some profit.

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That's an interesting sentence right there that caught my eye. If you're not looking to get significant ratings, what is your pitch to advertisers? If there was a way to cover expenses without significant ratings, there would be more Americana or jazz stations in this country. Radio stations don't go for the middle because they want to...it's because they HAVE to in order to pay the bills. At least that's been my experience.

You don't need ratings to make money. Truth is, unless you pay Arbitron's astronomical subscription costs you will never see your ratings anyway. That money would be better spent hiring an additional employee.

If you're out and about in the communities you serve, then will have more impact than any ratings service can provide and Arbitron is a badly flawed service anyway.

Go to the local car shows and make your presence known. Always know where the oldies artists are playing and get the promoters advertising on your station.

You may not make a fortune but you can realize a decent salary and be able to pay your bills... and you'll be doing something you love!

It's always exciting to see people invest in radio. You'll get the naysayers that will tell you, you can't make it .. blah, blah ,blah but if you examine these same people's lives you will find that is their personality to put people down. Usually it's someone that has his/her own insecurities about taking chances in life. You can live a life like that person and never accomplish anything or you can be someone that is making a positive difference in the world.

Josh -

Every post you make attacks Arbitron. The service is not "flawed" as you state - if it is why do the top ad agencies use it like it is the gospel? Because it is accurate and insures the ad campaign works and is repeated. You are correct that a small town station would do better with another employee, but anyone who has agency business needs Arbitron.

Quote: "Truth is, unless you pay Arbitron's astronomical subscription costs you will never see your ratings anyway." Really? And the ratings should be free why? So you can use them without paying for them? Amazing.

This just in: if you don't pay McDonalds they won't give you a hamburger.

That's an interesting sentence right there that caught my eye. If you're not looking to get significant ratings, what is your pitch to advertisers?

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I have always been in non rated markets or those rated twice a year. Never had a subscription or thought about selling with #'s.

Had some very successful stations, and we had some agency buys.

If you are part of the community, and the community can always count on you.... you will do well.

That is what makes small market radio great.

musiconradio.com, thank you!

musiconradio.com said:

That's an interesting sentence right there that caught my eye. If you're not looking to get significant ratings, what is your pitch to advertisers?

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I have always been in non rated markets or those rated twice a year. Never had a subscription or thought about selling with #'s.

Had some very successful stations, and we had some agency buys.

If you are part of the community, and the community can always count on you.... you will do well.

That is what makes small market radio great.

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It seems to have worked for me despite any Arbitron ratings. Our sponsors don't seem to care. They listen to the station and want like minded customers. As someone once said to me, "Do you want shoppers, or shoplifters?"

Chuck said:

It seems to have worked for me despite any Arbitron ratings.

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I don't think my point was about Arbitron. It's about getting ratings. If very few people listen, what's your pitch to advertisers?

At least in my case, most of our sponsors actually listen to the station. It seems they want to attract like-minded customers. They don’t seem very concerned about ratings, and not being an Arbitron subscriber, I couldn’t tell them if I wanted to.

Perhaps it is an anomaly because of the format of the station, which is a hybrid Standards and Oldies format. There is little else in the market that addresses an older (but not geezer) audience. The Geezer Group listens too, but I get calls all the time from people who are definitely in a younger demo, asking intelligent questions about the music we play. Maybe it is merely an intellectual thing, we don't "dumb down" just because everyone else has. Everyone on staff has been in the non-commercial end of broadcasting at some part of their career. Whatever it is, it seems to work. Nobody is getting rich, but we aren't wondering where our next meal is coming from either.

If an advertiser gets RESULTS, they don't care about ratings. And results can mean having people come into the business and say they heard the commercial. Nothing more discouraging than spending money and/or co-op dollars and having no one mention they heard your spot. Thankfully most small market advertisers are happy that people acknowledge the advertising. Heaven forbid if they expect to increase their sales too!

I don't think my point was about Arbitron. It's about getting ratings.

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"A" and ratings (was and for me) is not a option in many small markets across America. The connection with your Crowd, Clients, and Community is very important.

CCC - Patent pending ;D

Many medium markets have dropped or don't subscribe to "A" because the ROI or value isn't there. Those stations are doing just fine.