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Radio 104.5's playlist

radiodx10

radiodx10

I was mentioning this in a post recently. I figured it could use its own post, though.

Radio 104.5 is a favourite station of mine here in Philly. I like that it is a one of a kind almost. What I hate is it seems to have the smallest playlist I have heard from a station. We make jokes how the Top 40 has like 10 songs in its playlist. With Radio 104.5, that could reign true.

Okay Radio 104.5, I've heard "Dani California" a million times already. No, I don't want to hear "Unsteady" by X Ambassadors again. Not "Riptide" by Vance Joy either. Oh for god's sake what's this the billionth time you've played "Smells like teen spirit"?

That's usually how it goes with Radio 104.5 and myself. And their bumpers! My friends always say I do the best impression of that guy who does the 104.5 bumpers (you can probably hear it in your head if you've heard it enough) "radio 104.5, Philadelphia's alternative".

I gotta hand it to them. They've become more than just a radio station to people my age (20-26 year olds). EVERYONE knows that station, know's how it sounds and what it plays. It's our generations WDRE 103.9. Good for them. Now just for crying out loud, expand your library a bit more! How about some meat puppets, local bands like Petal, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, NOFX, Catch 22, some more tracks from weezer besides "say it aint so", you could play "pink triangle, "el scorcho" those are some good lesser played weezer tracks. you could also play some stuff by norah jones, mellisa ethridge, garbage, the psychedelic furs. It's easy Radio 104.5- HIRE ME lol.
 
I don't know if it's just the standard iHeart "McRadio" approach to Alternative, or just the fact that what they really want to be is simply "a CHR approach to Alternative". Whatever the case may be, the repetition and lack of variety makes Radio 104.5 a chore to listen to. I get it - I'm not the typical listener. I listen to radio all day at the office and during my commute. I drive a lot to visit friends and family. The average person ... is driving for 10 minutes to the store or to their jobs. That's the listener they're going for: someone who either listens for very short periods of time (most), or those who don't mind hearing the same songs a hell of a lot (fewer). That's just how it is in this day and age. That's how Radio 104.5 has always been, and I don't see them changing. If you want more eclecticism, go left of the dial or toward online radio.
 
The issues from a corporate standpoint is the fact that 104.5 is an iheart station. They take mass appeal seriously with the narrow Playlist. The McRadio comment that the other guy said makes great sense.

I would like to see some active rock added and to play more songs that they introduce on the new music show on rotation. I occasionally listen to 104.5, but I listen to my ipod more often. Instead of playing the 90's staples and new songs, add those forgotten songs from 2002-2017.
 
radiodx10 said:
Okay Radio 104.5, I've heard "Dani California" a million times already.
Click to expand...

I agree with your post wholeheartedly. I was in my car one day with my wife with the radio turned off. I said to her, "Wanna bet 104.5 is playing the Chili Peppers?" I hit the ON button and there it was, "Dani California" or "Scar Tissue", I forget which one but we were blown away. I'm wondering, does ihateradio own any record labels? Don't get me wrong, when the Chili Peppers came out I bought the Blood Sugar Sex Magik CD and enjoyed it, but they get overplayed SO MUCH NOW!

In a previous post similar to this one about WDRE, I mentioned several bands that could be added to 104.5's playlist such as: Soul Coughing, Fun Lovin' Criminals, G Love, Fiona Apple, Pixies, Beck, Cake, Morphine, etc. The next few posts were by members who immediately shot down my band suggestions because young people won't know them. To those members I respectfully disagree. 104.5 is the only alternative rock station in Philly. The bands I suggested DEFINE alternative rock. Where else should they be heard? And please don't reply with some internet only "radio" station, I don't own a smart phone and the CD player in my car is broken. In an interview with Dave Grohl of Nirvana, he said they almost didn't release "Smells Like Teen Spirit" because it sounded to much like the Pixies song "Gouge Away".

I can't imagine the average 104.5 listener tuning out simply because they heard Soul Coughing's "Super Bon Bon", Fun Lovin' Criminals' "Scooby Snacks", G Love's "Cold Beverage", Fiona Apple's "Sleep To Dream", The Pixies' "Monkey Gone To Heaven", Beck's "New Pollution", Cake's "The Distance" or Morphine's "Buena". If someone is a fan of alternative rock, I defy them to listen to those songs and tell me they are not worthy of being part of an alternative rock station's playlist.

By the way, I'm 49 years old and I've worked in radio for many years.
 
When they launched almost ten years ago I loved them, a refreshing choice in this city's radio wasteland.. tunes like Got you where I want you the flys, Hole Celebrity skin, Marcy playground sex and candy, better than Ezra good, god save the queen pistols, breeders cannonball, our lady peace innocent, gin blossoms found out about you, crash test dummies mmm, Radiohead creep, verticle horizon everything you want, tonic if you can only see, space hog in the meantime, butthole surfers pepper, toadies possum kingdom, filter take a picture, screaming trees nearly lost you and many, many, more from these bands and other groups, what the heck happened ??
 
Gunsmoke said:
When they launched almost ten years ago I loved them, a refreshing choice in this city's radio wasteland.. tunes like Got you where I want you the flys, Hole Celebrity skin, Marcy playground sex and candy, better than Ezra good, god save the queen pistols, breeders cannonball, our lady peace innocent, gin blossoms found out about you, crash test dummies mmm, Radiohead creep, verticle horizon everything you want, tonic if you can only see, space hog in the meantime, butthole surfers pepper, toadies possum kingdom, filter take a picture, screaming trees nearly lost you and many, many, more from these bands and other groups, what the heck happened ??
Click to expand...

A decade went by and the demographic shifted. The top end of the demographic (34 year olds) grew up with some of that music on Y100, but that demographic is getting aged out.

The younger end of the demographic (18) wasn't even born when some of those songs came out, and many could care less about them, because to them, it's "classic rock." They want to hear the music they've grown up listening to, and that's what Radio 104.5 is playing. And judging by the 18-34 ratings (minus the way off Holiday book), they have a good feel on what 18-34's want to hear.
 
If core music for a format is 20-25 years old, you've got a music problem. Lack of artist development. Lack of artist promotion. That's alternative rock.
 
atthestars said:
Not trying to sound rude, but that right there is your problem. You're out of the demographic and not a regular radio listener.
Click to expand...

But someone who's in radio should know that the demographic that music formats chase is always a moving target, right? Even as a listener, I said "huh?" when that poster suggested all those 20-year-old songs for a current-focused, 18-34-targeted station. Would he suggest the same for a CHR?
 
My point is that their playlist is too small. You guys keep pointing out that the songs I suggested are 20 years old. If you check 104.5's playlist on their website, they do play songs that are 20-25 years old, just the same ones, over and over and over.

Trust me, I love to hear new music. 104.5 should also be playing Car Seat Headrest "Vincent" and Nick Waterhouse's "This Is A Game" but they don't. If it wasn't for Dan Reed on XPN I would have never heard those songs and they're new(ish).
 
How many times a day does Radio 104.5 play the Red Hot Chili Peppers?

Wednesday February 15th, 2017 12:01 am – 11:59 pm From Radio 104.5's Playlist

12:46 am Red Hot Chili Peppers - Snow (Hey Oh)
1:00 am Red Hot Chili Peppers - Snow (Hey Oh)
2:08 am Red Hot Chili Peppers - Tell Me Baby
3:10 am Red Hot Chili Peppers - Dani California
4:19 am Red Hot Chili Peppers - Scar Tissue
6:03 am Red Hot Chili Peppers - Breaking The Girl
6:56 am Red Hot Chili Peppers - Aeroplane
8:43 am Red Hot Chili Peppers - Tell Me Baby
10:08 am Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication
12:57 pm Red Hot Chili Peppers - Scar Tissue
2:14 pm Red Hot Chili Peppers - Suck My Kiss
2:58 pm Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under The Bridge
5:07 pm Red Hot Chili Peppers - Around The World
6:48 pm Red Hot Chili Peppers - Breaking The Girl
8:45 pm Red Hot Chili Peppers - Aeroplane
9:13 pm Red Hot Chili Peppers - Dani California
 
RandyDascher said:
How many times a day does Radio 104.5 play the Red Hot Chili Peppers?

Wednesday February 15th, 2017 12:01 am – 11:59 pm From Radio 104.5's Playlist

12:46 am Red Hot Chili Peppers - Snow (Hey Oh)
1:00 am Red Hot Chili Peppers - Snow (Hey Oh)
2:08 am Red Hot Chili Peppers - Tell Me Baby
3:10 am Red Hot Chili Peppers - Dani California
4:19 am Red Hot Chili Peppers - Scar Tissue
6:03 am Red Hot Chili Peppers - Breaking The Girl
6:56 am Red Hot Chili Peppers - Aeroplane
8:43 am Red Hot Chili Peppers - Tell Me Baby
10:08 am Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication
12:57 pm Red Hot Chili Peppers - Scar Tissue
2:14 pm Red Hot Chili Peppers - Suck My Kiss
2:58 pm Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under The Bridge
5:07 pm Red Hot Chili Peppers - Around The World
6:48 pm Red Hot Chili Peppers - Breaking The Girl
8:45 pm Red Hot Chili Peppers - Aeroplane
9:13 pm Red Hot Chili Peppers - Dani California
Click to expand...

So the average P1 listener who uses the station around 8 to 10 hours a week is likely to hear 7 to 8 Chili Peppers songs each week, with likely none of them being a repeat. That would seem to be quite reasonable.
 
Here's the thing. Yes they're targeted more towards people my age (I am 20). But almost everyone I know who listens to them and are my same age also agree with me. They need a bigger playlist. There is no getting around that. More indie stuff from today, more classics from yesterday. I do not see a problem with that.
 
radiodx10 said:
They need a bigger playlist. There is no getting around that. More indie stuff from today, more classics from yesterday. I do not see a problem with that.
Click to expand...


Unfortunately "more" doesn't equal "better." It means more time between the songs that people want to hear. The problem with indie stuff is there's no consensus about it. Everyone has their own personal favorites list. That makes it tough to add songs to a format that will get repeated in a standard rotation. We know that by looking at streaming charts. We see where the indie stuff shows up. Very low on the list. Adding more classics will shift the focus of the station from a currents-based station to more of a gold station, alienating the younger base. The current playlist says to me that they want a younger listener base who will typically listen for shorter periods of time than older listeners. The size of the playlist isn't a problem for someone who listens 20 minutes a day, on their way to work or the grocery store.
 
RandyDascher said:
Maybe that could be their new slogan. Radio 104.5 - Now with less variety, 'cause who listens to the same radio station 24 hours a day?
Click to expand...

But you didn't answer the question. What difference does it make how often a station plays a particular artist if the average person listens for an hour a day?
 
TheBigA said:
But you didn't answer the question. What difference does it make how often a station plays a particular artist if the average person listens for an hour a day?
Click to expand...

When I worked in a body shop from 1986 through 1991 we listened to WYSP from 7 am to 7 pm every weekday. For that reason, to this day I despise the format known as "classic rock".

Do you work at 104.5? I bet if they played Red Hot Chili Peppers "Scar Tissue" on a loop 24 hours a day you would come to their defense.
 
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