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Does anyone besides me think AC today is a joke?

J

Jasonthegreat

Frequent Participant
If any of you listened to Adult Contemporary in the 90s, 80s, or even 70s (when the format was easy listening), I'm sure you've noticed that the format has changed dramatically over the last ten years or so. Really, Adult Contemporary has become friendly with almost exclusively titles from the late 2000s/2010s. I mean, it's really sad that music with cursing or sexual language is now acceptable on AC stations.

In other words, I'm saying that what used to be Michael Bolton, Whitney Houston, Bryan Adams, and Celine Dion has now become Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, One Direction, and Katy Perry. Why is it that AC today seemingly embraces titles from the mid-2000s onward more than any other era? In some instances, AC seems to be leaning more and more toward CHR/Adult CHR these days.
 
My office plays B101 here in Philly. I notice alot of repetitiveness during the afternoon. Hearing a female robot backsell the songs. They play" All about that bass" alot.
One day it was 3 country crossovers in a row ..I thought a country station had been tuned in. There is a song I like ...which has a male voice that reminds me of Eric Burdon of the Animals and I have yet to hear the title. It could be older as I only listen to AC or top 40 when forced to as I prefer less plastic air talent. I heard the back sell to the song I liked but it was drowned out for some reason.. Oh well.. you guys know which song I am hearing?
 
Jasonthegreat said:
If any of you listened to Adult Contemporary in the 90s, 80s, or even 70s (when the format was easy listening), I'm sure you've noticed that the format has changed dramatically over the last ten years or so. I mean, it's really sad that music with cursing or sexual language is now acceptable on AC stations.
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That's precisely why I hate today's AC. When I was growing up during the 80s and 90s, AC was the spot on the radio dial for parents to turn to to get away from all the nasty stuff that was so common on CHR. But, like you said, back then, AC was equated by many people with easy listening because their playlists were ballad-oriented: http://easyhits.purestream.net:9070/played.html. I never heard any upbeat AC's until the 2000s.
 
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Major market AC is an absolute waste of my time. The same 200 songs over and over, "Roar," "All About That Bass," "I've Had the Time of My Life," "What Makes You Beautiful," "Perfect," "Just the Way You Are" (Bruno Mars), etc etc etc.
Small market AC still works. Listen to KKRB-106.9 Klamath Falls, OR; or KSRW-92.5 Bishop CA (during non-specialty, non-morning show programming) and you'll hear the real AC that I enjoy. Both stations are chock full of 80s and 90s stuff - KKRB more in the way of rare singles and love songs; and KSRW more album cuts and smooth jazz cuts. Both are great nevertheless.

-crainbebo
 
TheBigA said:
Maybe you can give some examples. The FCC rules haven't changed.
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Sexyback by Justin Timberlake is an example that I heard on AC recently while channel surfing during a car trip. A song like Sexyback would have been a no-no on the AC's I listened to when I was a kid. Of course, as I explained above, the most common type I heard back then was the WLIX type (www.wlix.fm).
 
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Jasonthegreat said:
In other words, I'm saying that what used to be Michael Bolton, Whitney Houston, Bryan Adams, and Celine Dion has now become Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, One Direction, and Katy Perry. Why is it that AC today seemingly embraces titles from the mid-2000s onward more than any other era? In some instances, AC seems to be leaning more and more toward CHR/Adult CHR these days.
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Your example is proof as to why I do not listen to these types of stations anymore. I'll stick with our local CHR for some currents and of course, classic hits for the others.
 
oldies76 said:
Your example is proof as to why I do not listen to these types of stations anymore. I'll stick with our local CHR for some currents and of course, classic hits for the others.
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The problem with classic hits is that they don't play much of the softer, slower oldies from the 70's/80's/90's. It's mostly mid-tempo and upbeat tunes.
 
oldies76 said:
Your example is proof as to why I do not listen to these types of stations anymore.
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I have the issue of A) most artists I'm into are easy listening and B) most of those easy listening artists are foreign and very rarely heard in the US. I have to rely on Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, YouTube, etc. to keep up with their new releases.
 
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Music Lover said:
The problem with classic hits is that they don't play much of the softer, slower oldies from the 70's/80's/90's. It's mostly mid-tempo and upbeat tunes.
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Perhaps because that's what the plurality of the audience wants. "AC" isn't a joke; its delivering what listeners want to hear. In many cases, quite profitably. And if the vast majority are doing the same thing, that speaks to the audience's taste...nothing more.

There always have been and will be outliers. Fortunately, today there are more options than ever to satisfy niche tastes.
 
Music Lover said:
That's precisely why I hate today's AC. When I was growing up during the 80s and 90s, AC was the spot on the radio dial for parents to turn to to get away from all the nasty stuff that was so common on CHR.
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Nothing said AC's have to be anti-CHR. As a matter of fact there are a lot of crossovers.

AC's generally play the CONTEMPORARY songs that ADULTS enjoy. And yes, if you go thru the Z100 playlist...you will find songs that adults like!

AC is CHR without the "teen appeal" songs that turn off adults

Remember...adults are 25-35-45 years old.... AC doesn't necessarily mean "lite".

Find a 30 year old (adult) woman...and ask her what new songs she likes and there you have the Adult Contemporary format.
 
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Music Lover said:
The problem with classic hits is that they don't play much of the softer, slower oldies from the 70's/80's/90's. It's mostly mid-tempo and upbeat tunes.
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I know, one of my bigger complaints about classic hits is just that, the lack of softer AC titles. Although that can't be said of our local KWRP 690 station, heard "Just the Two of Us" from 1981 today! So, not is all lost....yet!

Many softer titles are just not aired anymore. I would not expect to hear 1974's "Having My Baby" by Paul Anka & Odia Coates, but I do expect to hear some of the late 70's and 80's softer tunes. By classic hits not playing them, they are just becoming lost in time, a slow death.
 
TheBigA said:
Yet those stations are among the most listened-to stations in town. So while it's a turn-off to you, it's not to the majority of the people, as evidenced by the ratings.
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200 titles is a turn-off to many, but they deal with it and it shows in the ratings. They have no other choice for AC type programming, besides the internet. It's just the way it is.
 
oldies76 said:
200 titles is a turn-off to many, but they deal with it and it shows in the ratings. They have no other choice for AC type programming, besides the internet. It's just the way it is.
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I guess they don't make CD players any more. No satellite? Nope.

No other choice? It's really no choice BY choice.
 
oldies76 said:
200 titles is a turn-off to many, but they deal with it and it shows in the ratings. They have no other choice for AC type programming, besides the internet. It's just the way it is.
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Most AC stations have libraries in the 300 song range, not 200.

It's also a fact that when AC's expand beyond the range that most stations employ, they lose ratings. I've cited numerous cases where this has occured.
 
Wimmmex said:
AC is CHR without the "teen appeal" songs that turn off adults.
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Since CHR's do not program for teens, it might be better to say that AC's are CHR stations without the harder rock leaning songs or the harder rhythmic / hip hop songs.

Hot AC is a derivative of Top 40. Traditional AC has more gold and fewer, slower rotating currents.
 
DavidEduardo said:


Since CHR's do not program for teens, it might be better to say that AC's are CHR stations without the harder rock leaning songs or the harder rhythmic / hip hop songs.

Hot AC is a derivative of Top 40. Traditional AC has more gold and fewer, slower rotating currents.
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I don't know if "avoiding harder rock" applies anymore. I can't think of anything even semi-current and our local AC plays Joan Jett and Bon Jovi. Anything much harder than that never made it to CHR in the first place. I would say that "Hot AC" is really "AC" and AC became something else when it followed the baby boomers to the next step. It's pulled away from that but it's still something other than AC. We just don't have another name for it.
 
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