There was no need to go through six hours of playlists looking for post-1967 music. WKCE calls its format "Mid-Century Music". Duh.
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Where Oldies Music Still Lives
- Thread starter Dr Wayne
- Start date
There was no need to go through six hours of playlists looking for post-1967 music. WKCE calls its format "Mid-Century Music". Duh.
Typo. Should read "Early December 1964" and not 1954. That station, had it survived, would have been 51 this month. But, like many AMs outside the US, it is now gone as the herd continues to be thinned around the world.
Yeah, we get that. But music of that era will mostly appeal to those over 70. I can't see that as being attractive to most advertisers.
Sounds like the kind of thing they've been saying about Donald Trump.
But his biggest success and the gig he was remembered for was the few early 60's years on WLS. Those of us who were listeners can still remember him singing "on top of a pizza, all covered with cheese" to the melody of "Old Smoky".
There is still an audience.................it just left commercial music radio long ago to find other sources for their music. I wish WKCE had been around in 2005 when I left over-the-air music radio. I don't know how radio ratings work, but I hope WKCE gets credit for its internet streaming audience.
No, think Four Preps. They had a #2 hit with "26 Miles" in 1958, the year Biondi started at WKPW in Buffalo, NY.
And who would LISTEN to the spots? Many music sources out there today are commercial-free.
Internet listening is only of value if it is done by people who live in the Knoxville market. The rest has zero value.
But WLS was in Chicago, not small-market Buffalo on a directional signal on the dreadful 1520 frequency.
In any case, we are talking about the ancient music on this Maryvil, TN, station as Biondi is not going to work there. that, music appeals to very 70+ listeners.
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But people PAY for those sources. Such as Sirius. And BTW they also have several oldies channels for those who want such music.
We're talking about an OTA AM radio station that has significant expenses just in terms of physical plant. It's a very expensive hobby.
What audiences do the 24/7 infomercials some AMs are forced to play on weekends appeal to?
Most AMs are dead anyway, so what does it matter?
However, those infomercials are on only as long as they get response from someone. So there are listeners.
landtuna
Walk of Fame Participant
I haven't found the few commercials to be intrusive enough to cause me to go elsewhere. And they don't seem to have those extremely irritating 6-8 spot stopsets.
O.K. Then this thread is pretty much irrelvant. We did get four pages out of it though, on a board that has been dead for the last couple of years.
Well said, TheFonz.
The unfortunate thing is that most people within the industry share the same thoughts as several of you on this thread...the idea that AM is dead is everywhere. That thought process, in my opinion, is what is ACTUALLY making AM radio irrelevant...as the big companies basically stopped caring about their AM signals. Air staffs, promotions, marketing, and contests all moved to the big FMs. The talk formats took over the band, sending the remaining music listeners over to FM. With all of the marketing going to the FMs, the AM side of the dial was no longer top of mind. Eventually, people started to forget about AM entirely, and with no programming targeting younger audiences, AM radio would become an unknown to people that are now in their 30s or younger.
We CAN fix this, people. And it's not that difficult...think about it, how did Netflix go from nothing to dominant in home viewing? Original content. Entertaining content that you can't get anywhere else. With the right content, you actually can get people to push that dusty AM button on their car radio. And you can keep listeners around, even despite the quality difference between AM and FM.
No, WKCE is NOT a typical oldies station...it's one long time radio engineer's attempt to give AM a chance. And what better experiment than a lonely little 1kw daytime AM in Tennessee, long neglected technically and with a history a mile long of fly-by-night managers and formats. So what about the content, you ask? Well, why not play the material that was the foundation of so many modern day genres? Early Rock N' Roll, Country, and Rhythm & Blues...the stuff you can't find anywhere else on the dial. Songs that are simply fun to sing along with and just have a good time. Yes, the people that will remember these songs from their teenage years are aged 65+. But saying those younger than 65 won't enjoy it is a fallacy...that would be akin to saying that today's 30 year olds would never enjoy music from the 80s. And, for those 30 and younger, most of the music on WKCE will be completely unknown...which is a good thing. Mid-Century themes are very popular right now with younger demographics (see Mad Men), and to put it more simply, now more than ever, retro is cool.
So what better opportunity than to take an old, hopeless daytime AM station and turn it into something great...a station that can be fun for every age demographic. And, as far as advertising goes, who wouldn't want to appeal to a wide demographic like that? The cost to operate is much lower than the high power FMs, and therefore advertising can be sold at a much better value than the big FM competitors. And even if you say that the primary audience is 55+, that demographic consistently outspends all others. It is an excellent demographic to target for advertisers.
Will WKCE be successful? Who knows. But I can tell you one thing...we will give it everything we have. It will be worth it, just for that chance that WKCE can be the little AM that overcame the odds and didn't get turned back in to the commission like so many others.
And no, we're not hiring Dick Biondi. Merry Christmas Everyone from WKCE!
The unfortunate thing is that most people within the industry share the same thoughts as several of you on this thread...the idea that AM is dead is everywhere. That thought process, in my opinion, is what is ACTUALLY making AM radio irrelevant...as the big companies basically stopped caring about their AM signals. Air staffs, promotions, marketing, and contests all moved to the big FMs. The talk formats took over the band, sending the remaining music listeners over to FM. With all of the marketing going to the FMs, the AM side of the dial was no longer top of mind. Eventually, people started to forget about AM entirely, and with no programming targeting younger audiences, AM radio would become an unknown to people that are now in their 30s or younger.
We CAN fix this, people. And it's not that difficult...think about it, how did Netflix go from nothing to dominant in home viewing? Original content. Entertaining content that you can't get anywhere else. With the right content, you actually can get people to push that dusty AM button on their car radio. And you can keep listeners around, even despite the quality difference between AM and FM.
No, WKCE is NOT a typical oldies station...it's one long time radio engineer's attempt to give AM a chance. And what better experiment than a lonely little 1kw daytime AM in Tennessee, long neglected technically and with a history a mile long of fly-by-night managers and formats. So what about the content, you ask? Well, why not play the material that was the foundation of so many modern day genres? Early Rock N' Roll, Country, and Rhythm & Blues...the stuff you can't find anywhere else on the dial. Songs that are simply fun to sing along with and just have a good time. Yes, the people that will remember these songs from their teenage years are aged 65+. But saying those younger than 65 won't enjoy it is a fallacy...that would be akin to saying that today's 30 year olds would never enjoy music from the 80s. And, for those 30 and younger, most of the music on WKCE will be completely unknown...which is a good thing. Mid-Century themes are very popular right now with younger demographics (see Mad Men), and to put it more simply, now more than ever, retro is cool.
So what better opportunity than to take an old, hopeless daytime AM station and turn it into something great...a station that can be fun for every age demographic. And, as far as advertising goes, who wouldn't want to appeal to a wide demographic like that? The cost to operate is much lower than the high power FMs, and therefore advertising can be sold at a much better value than the big FM competitors. And even if you say that the primary audience is 55+, that demographic consistently outspends all others. It is an excellent demographic to target for advertisers.
Will WKCE be successful? Who knows. But I can tell you one thing...we will give it everything we have. It will be worth it, just for that chance that WKCE can be the little AM that overcame the odds and didn't get turned back in to the commission like so many others.
And no, we're not hiring Dick Biondi. Merry Christmas Everyone from WKCE!
CTListener
Walk of Fame Participant
Here we go again ... but this time, it's an actual broadcaster saying it!
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