60's Music Gone From WCBS-FM

JeffM said:

Point well taken! I remember a few years ago when (what was then) a full-service oldie/MOR format played the song "It's Just a Matter Of Time" and asked listeners to call in and guess the artist. Lotsa calls from people who loved the song, but not one of them guessed it was Brook Benton.

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If you asked most people under 35 who Brook Benton is, they wouldn't know. If you asked them to name two of his songs, the won't be able to. In most cases, you can play a (any) song to someone (such as Benton) and they will say yeah I remember that (but with not much enthusiasm).

Your are not going to get the same enthusiasm for "Rainy Night In Georgia" as you would with "Respect" (Aretha Franklin). If you played them back to back today.



It is the song that creates enthusiasm that you will hear on the radio. Much to the dismay of the record collector who owns (or knows) every 45 single ever made.

I actually love the direction WCBS 101 FM is going in...but it might be because the 80s and early 90s were my decade. I am pushing 40 years old. Don't get me wrong, I like a few 60s...but they are on the classic rock side and the not pop side. If you look at their ratings, you cannot dispute they are doing the right thing. I wish WOGL, would follow suit like themselves and KRTH. They are dragging their feet regarding 80s music.

AM/FMRAINMAN said:

I actually love the direction WCBS 101 FM is going in...but it might be because the 80s and early 90s were my decade. I am pushing 40 years old. Don't get me wrong, I like a few 60s...but they are on the classic rock side and the not pop side.

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You've nailed down the dichotomy perfectly. "Classic rock," considered serious music, and "pop," considered disposable junk by those who consider classic rock serious music, parted company in the 70's. Oldies really are divided into two classifications, and (almost) never the twain shall meet. Is your idea of musical "comfort food" going to be the Four Seasons and Supremes (what I call Fat Elvis oldies) or Procol Harum and Emerson, Lake & Palmer? (what I call Old Hippie oldies.)

There's an oldies station here that is struggling with this; sometimes they play a softer format (what's disparagingly and incorrectly called housewife rock), while at other times it's all hair-band metal, trying to compete with the heavy stations. They pretty much have the oldies market to themselves though; so if you're going to listen to oldies at all, you'll be tuning in to them.

The Real Deal here IMO is that Other Consultants/Programmers of Smaller Stations are going to seriously need to weed out some Music in their playlists that are becoming Tune-Out Factors. As mentioned here by others where songs like "RESPECT" by Aretha have a huge favorable rating and "SATISFACTION" by The Stones has a huge favorable rating even going into the 70's where "WHAT'S GOING ON" "GO ALL THE WAY","25 or 6 to 4" or "MY SHERONA" are OK What about the Stations playing Helen Reddy,The Paridge Family Barbara Streisand or Bobby Sherman There is probably more Pop Teeny-Bopper Bubble Gum Crap from the 70's that is a Tune-Out Factor than there are 60's that is a Tune Out Factor then there is some DISCO that may or may not get a PASSING GRADE. Smaller Mom & Pop stations need to be more selective just because it was TOP 5 in Billboard does not mean people want to hear this in 2014.

I would love to hear some of those fun "bubblegum" songs again. Of course I'm probably in the minority. I also subscribe to satellite radio so I can hear all the 1950s-60s hits that have become anathema to FM radio. Hey, Rainman, be careful about wishing for WOGL to drop '60s and play '90s. Did you see or hear their July 4th countdown? It was infinitely better than the countdowns of all the other "classic hits" stations.

For those who insist that the 1950s-60s music appeals only to older listeners, I will teach you about Art Laboe. Please be seated. You're encouraged to take notes. Art Laboe has worked in Los Angeles radio ever since radio was invented. At least it seems that way. He's been on KGFJ, KPOP. KRLA, KFWB, KFI, KPPC, KDAY, KRTH KCMG, KHHT and XEPRS. In 1959 his Original Sound record label released the first in what would be a long line of Oldies But Goodies albums. He continues to host two radio programs, Connection and Sunday Special. which are heard on 14 stations in California, Arizona and Nevada and on iHeart Radio. A high percentage of his listeners are in their 20s and 30s. They request songs such as Angel Baby, It's In His Kiss, Just One Look, You're No Good, Quarter To Three and Over The Mountain Across The Sea. This shows me that an all-'50s-60s format would be successful on FM radio today. It also shows me that such a format does not appeal just to people in their 60s and 70s. But will any FM manager be willing to take a chance with the format? I'm thinkin' "Nah."

http://www.artlaboe.com/Radio.html

LARadioRewind said:

This shows me that an all-'50s-60s format would be successful on FM radio today. It also shows me that such a format does not appeal just to people in their 60s and 70s. But will any FM manager be willing to take a chance with the format? I'm thinkin' "Nah."

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Once again, as we've all said many times before, no one in radio is opposed to 50s-60s music. This isn't about music, or the age of the music, or any personal issues at all. Most FM managers are old enough to have enjoyed music from the 50s and 60s as currents. If they were programming a station with the music THEY liked, it would probably be closer to what you like. But that's not what we're talking about. Your enemy isn't people in radio. It's the people who PAY for the radio you enjoy for free. When someone else pays, they get to pick what they want. If OTA radio was more like Sirius (and it may go in that direction at some point), then you'll see more stations playing older music. Especially if the record labels win their lawsuit against digital airplay of pre-1972 music.

At least you still have some 60s and the 70s
In Boston non rock tunes from the 70s have disappeared

chitchatjf said:

At least you still have some 60s and the 70s
In Boston non rock tunes from the 70s have disappeared

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As of July 7, they've been gone from Hartford, too.

I'm 55, out of the target audience that CBS-FM is after. I'm happy listening to CHR as I am listening to a classic hits format. There just comes a point where the music is just old anymore. We've lost any kind of emotional connection to an era or particular songs.

I spent almost 25 years in radio and became a full-time wedding and event entertainer almost 20 years ago. I've seen the shift at my events in the last 5 or 10 years alone. There's only a handful of 1960s/50's songs people favorably react to. Guess what, Brown Eyed Girl, The Twist, Mustang Sally to name a few. And, guess what, those are the songs that those stations that still air the music of the 60s play. They want to play the titles that people enjoy.

For years, there have been a multitude of online options that connect you with stations that play music of the 1960s and before. TuneIn is a wonderful thing if you feel lost.

eriedj said:

For years, there have been a multitude of online options that connect you with stations that play music of the 1960s and before.

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I hate to keep repeating this, but lovers of the 60s need to know that the record labels and several artists are suing Pandora and Sirius over their airplay of pre-1972 music. If the lawsuit is successful, it's possible 60s music will disappear from online and satellite radio, or there will be a paywall attached to it. It may also apply to YouTube, although they're not included in the specific suits.

TheBigA said:

I hate to keep repeating this, but lovers of the 60s need to know that the record labels and several artists are suing Pandora and Sirius over their airplay of pre-1972 music. If the lawsuit is successful, it's possible 60s music will disappear from online and satellite radio, or there will be a paywall attached to it. It may also apply to YouTube, although they're not included in the specific suits.

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When does the trial start? What's your read on the probable outcome? I remember hearing a lot about this when the suit was first brought, but little since. Could an out-of-court settlement (read: shakedown) be in the works?

CTListener said:

When does the trial start? What's your read on the probable outcome? I remember hearing a lot about this when the suit was first brought, but little since. Could an out-of-court settlement (read: shakedown) be in the works?

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I haven't seen anything since the suit was filed in April.

There is a story today about the Copyright Office extending a music study to September 12:

http://www.broadcastlawblog.com/201...comment-deadline-on-webcasting-recordkeeping/

It's possible they'll wait until the Copyright Office issues its conclusions on their study.

My view is that it will take an Act of Congress to amend the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and I don't see them getting it done. They can get Aretha Franklin to testify, but it won't make any difference.

Who knows how the courts will view this. I've read a lot of opinions, and it could go either way, depending on where they try it.

The record labels aren't in the compromising mood. They feel they're entitled, and they want their money.

A couple yrs ago CBS' WODS 103.3 Boston announced it would be flipping to CHR from "oldies" (though they avoided that word for awhile; "greatest hits of the 60s, 70s, 80s". At one point they'd played the 50s but eventually dropped it. On the last day they were on, I heard them play I Wanna Hold Your Hand and I thought, that song was from 64 and if you were 12 years old when it came out, you were born in '52 and at that point-- 2012-- were now 60 years old. They probably started their library of music with the Beatles debut (maybe a few pre 64 cuts, who knows) and the focus was on 64 through the 80s. They wanted to appeal to younger listeners and, again, anyone born in '52 (I was born in 62 myself) was a golden oldie themselves at 60...

I knew eventually they would drop 60s music. As it turns out, they zoomed up to current hits instead. Though true, many younger people (including the kids of the moms who were driving them to soccer practice) might have enjoyed some of the old stuff. But that's the thinking of the corporate folks.

>>At least you still have some 60s and the 70s
In Boston non rock tunes from the 70s have disappeared

Other than WJIB 740 perhaps.

Saw a couple titles pop up on the CBS-FM online playlist that I hadn't seen in a while or even before:

John Stewart - Gold
Bob Seger - Shakedown

TheBigA said:

The record labels aren't in the compromising mood. They feel they're entitled, and they want their money.

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so does the mob. so glad I haven't bought a single CD that wasn't a movie soundtrack in the last 15 years. modern music just doesn't appeal to me.

Regarding CBS:

I was one of those rare birds that got into older music far more than modern music. Favorites are 50s and 70s and 80s, but I like 60's and 40s as well. Basically, I like anything that is memorable, easy to hear what the artist is singing, and danceable.

My guess is that if you think music is 'too old', basically that person might not listen no matter what you play. Good music works, and stands the test of time, no matter what decade it's from. The only people who think it won't, are people more concerned about surveys and numbers and dollar signs and what they WANT people to think is popular.
I think that kids today could very easily get into older music, if they knew it was out there and you could reach the right audience. most of the stuff I hear on the radio all blends together, and I pretty much stopped paying attention to music sometime during the mid to late 90s.

Shredder said:

so does the mob. so glad I haven't bought a single CD that wasn't a movie soundtrack in the last 15 years. modern music just doesn't appeal to me.

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However keep in mind that they also own and control old music too, and they will have a lot to say about the digital airplay of 50s and 60s music. So as it goes away from broadcast, it may ALSO go away from any digital outlets, such as Pandora, Spotify, and Sirius. Not because of aging demos, but because of money.

What station would pick up the slack when WCBS FM drops all 60s music?? WHLI or another oldies outlet??

WCBS FM isn't WCBS FM without "oldies"....<WDRC Hartford dropped the same thing as well.

New York needs an oldies station such as the "doo-wop to disco" format.

"I hate to keep repeating this, but lovers of the 60s need to know that the record labels and several artists are suing Pandora and Sirius over their airplay of pre-1972 music. If the lawsuit is successful, it's possible 60s music will disappear from online and satellite radio, or there will be a paywall attached to it. It may also apply to YouTube, although they're not included in the specific suits."

Better start buying old 45s and LPs of your favorite 60s music! Or what will they do - recall all 1960-1969 records? Disgusting. I remember just less than 10 years ago hearing many early 1960s songs on oldies stations. Now it's 80s and even as close as 1999 in some areas. What are they thinking!? Will we start hearing Usher's "Yeah" in 2019...or even earlier?

-crainbebo

BJSteigner said:

New York needs an oldies station such as the "doo-wop to disco" format.

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It doesn't have a Broadway music station or a station devoted to the Tin Pan Alley tunes of the '30s and '40s ... and that music was MADE in New York. Why in the world does it -- or any city -- "need" a radio station playing 1955-1973 pop hits?