106.7 Lite FM sure loves the '80s... but not the '90s

Because I had nothing better to do, I analyzed WLTW's playlist from 10/23/2015.

They had a total of 261 plays that day: 208 unique songs, plus 53 repeats. The old rule of thumb about AC stations having a 200-song playlist seems to be holding true.

Breaking it down by decade:

1970s: 16 plays (15 songs + 1 repeat)
1980s: 113 plays (97 songs + 16 repeats)
1990s: 16 plays (15 songs + 1 repeat)
2000s: 33 plays (31 songs + 2 repeats)
2010s: 83 plays (50 songs + 33 repeats)

It's surprising how little '90s music they're playing. Even WCBS-FM seems to playing more '90s music now than Lite; about one song per hour. The amont of '70s music Lite is now playing is also a sharp increase compared to the late 2000s, when they had completely eliminated it from their playlist, in response to competition from Fresh 102.7.

Lite FM loves to promote their "Best of the '80s weekends", but since this playlist was from a weekday, you could say "every day is a Best of the '80s day" on Lite!

The song with the most repeats was Taylor Swift's "Blank Space", with 6 plays in the 24-hour period.

The oldest songs they played were John Lennon's "Imagine" and Elton John's "Your Song", from 1971.

"Songs I didn't expect to hear on Lite FM" included Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On", Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me", and the original album version of the Eagles' "Hotel California" (instead of the 1994 live version, which most AC stations play).

I rarely hear the 1994 live "Hotel California" anymore. Used to be widely common. I've heard Pour Some Sugar on Me a couple of times on AC stations. 80s song, but not soft rock at all. Surprised they are still playing 1971 songs on Lite.
As for stations with 200-song playlists, that is why I love small-town radio. Case in point - KKRB 106.9 in Oregon. I still don't know how many songs are in their playlist, and I've heard their soft rock format and taped it many times. Gotta love that! Excellent mix of rarities and not-so-rarities.

Maybe they count friday as the weekend already.

Wonder what a wednesday would look like.

The 90s is the weakest decade of music in the rock and roll era. There was very good, the best by far hip hop from that decade, but that does nothing for wltw. The path to getting the best ratings for lite fm is to cherry pick only the best known by everyone few gems from the 70s, all the fantastic 80s songs, the very few viable 90s songs, and then all the best songs from 2k on that are not too heavy and are very mass appeal.

I would say that lite fm is musically about the best that it can be. No other NYC station can lay claim to that, maybe wwpr. Look at their sister stations, you got a very well done power 1051, and then ktu an z100 who are not as good as they once were. Z100 is lucky to have Elvis, they are down in all the key demos over the last 6 months as the music is just not programmed as good as it was before. Z100 is not that special listen that it was, ktu doesn't take advantage of all the incredible nyc loved and adored rhythmic pop and dance songs from the late 80s till now. I know, ktu is used as a flanker against 923 so it has been modified from its original purpose. 6 months ago it was clear that z100 was doing their music programming better than 923 but you really can't say that anymore. Sure, 923 is younger and more rhythmic as they should be, but for what each does 923 has gotten better and z100 has deteriorated a bit. Obviously compared to the mess that all these chr's in this country sound like outside of a few who do their thing correctly like kiis in la, Z100 rules.

Take a listen to the Australian chrs fox out of Melbourne, kiis and Nova in Sydney, nothing in this country comes close.

We went thru this before - im just not getting the z100 is off music thing.

They play all the hits & past hits just like they always did.

i actually just looked up the last 10 songs that kiis (that you so say is sooo great) played & z100 plays them all too:

Wake Me Up
Avicii

Wildest Dreams
Taylor Swift

Rather Be (feat. Jess Glynne)
Clean Bandit

Worth It
Fifth Harmony feat. Kid Ink

Hold Me Up
Conrad Sewell

Stitches
Shawn Mendes

Bad Blood
Taylor Swift

The Hills
The Weeknd

What Do You Mean?
Justin Bieber

Same Old Love
Selena Gomez

The suburban AC stations a good amount of '90s music -- Ace of Base, Goo Goo Dolls, Mariah Carey, Hootie & The Blowfish, Sheryl Crow, Backstreet Boys, etc. -- but for some reason Lite doesn't want to touch it.

dcowboy7 said:

i actually just looked up the last 10 songs that kiis (that you so say is sooo great) played & z100 plays them all too:

Wake Me Up
Avicii

Wildest Dreams
Taylor Swift

Rather Be (feat. Jess Glynne)
Clean Bandit

Worth It
Fifth Harmony feat. Kid Ink

Hold Me Up
Conrad Sewell

Stitches
Shawn Mendes

Bad Blood
Taylor Swift

The Hills
The Weeknd

What Do You Mean?
Justin Bieber

Same Old Love
Selena Gomez

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First off it's not only what you play but how it is played. A good log hits all the goals perfectly in each quarter hour. All of the Iheart chrs especially those in the larger markets are virtually free from any jarring mistakes, your response seems to imply I'm talking it there, which obviously not, just to be clear.
For me I liked the way the music logs were over an hour for z100 better 6 months ago than what they are now, that's it. There's nothing major, just overall I felt they were a bit stronger before.

Ok, I caught them a few weeks back playing the Pantetonix(sp?) song in the noon hour, and I think it was the noon or 1p hour today or yesterday I heard the Shaggy-Pitbul song. I'm not real big on those songs, I don't see them as hits. I guess for me being it z100 the hit music brand for nyc radio over the last 30 years, I'm all about a fairly strict? Conservative is not the word....safe playlist between 6a to 7p. New music choices are unquestionable, like the new Adele and Bieber no brainers, the new ariana grande in a day or so.

KIIS is different, totally different market so different goals there, they are more rhythmic, but I like the way the music is on that station for its situation. The noon hour is a mix show that is brilliant, it just is blended with the perfect amount of hits, best remixes, cool songs for the transitions in a mix show...it's very well done. Then around that it is just not too safe and dull for younger demos and the more attentive type listener, but still is so focused on being familiar, obviously getting the major hits on that everyone should and for the most part do right, and not too jarring for the older or less attentive listener. It's a market where you can play more new music but kiis is safer(for what they are) than z100 is.

My opinions, how I see it. You are free to disagree but you know playing the hits part of it is a given, there's more to it than just that one element otherwise anyone could program the music log for a chr. I don't know maybe you think being a tad more adventurous is a good move in midday as there are less but more tsl listeners, however you see it.

I just realized I kinda hijacked this thread with this comment..... I just was asked so I responded, hey the market history z100 has paved must be a part of today's lite fm, what fits.

WLTW playing the regular version of Hotel California. I think that the older audience might be a slight majority that would appreciate hearing the live version over the original they have heard so much, because it is a very strong well done cover that in its own way is cooler than the original. However with the younger audience this is one of the very few older songs that they really like and expect from lite fm. They know the original and I can just hear a younger girl saying to herself, subconsciously, this doesn't sound right...and switch.

They tried to do away with lite fm as their name, new york's 1067, as the music now doesn't fit the name lite. but that is what they are known by in New York, it's a strong brand you can't throw that away. Pour some sugar on me certainly isn't a lite song neither are the Bon Jovi songs, Rihanna we found love and the others lol, yeah not lite. The songs do sound all new again to me with that processing to tone down the harshness. I think it was you give love maybe prayer but that processing brought out parts of the song and muted others, it was a different listen for me. If you stick real hard on the branding and the past and ignore what your target audience wants you will fair, hence we get a not so lite lite fm. One of my favorite segues on lite fm was a few years back now, Cat's in the cradle into rihanna only girl in the world, no imaging song to song(I'm sure Harry has been retired by now).

It is only a guess, by It may be that they are going "lite" on 90s now because that will be their next decade of emphasis in a few years and they don't want to burn out those tracks before then.

They may also find less pickings in the latter half of that decade due to the rise of hip-hop, so they may choose tracks from the first 6 years to represent that decade.

LCG

WLTW HD2 recently started carrying iHeart 80's Radio. Perhaps 80's music is the "oldies" for Lite's primary demo.

iHeart 80's Radio: http://www.iheart.com/live/iheart80s-radio-5060/

Barry said:

WLTW HD2 recently started carrying iHeart 80's Radio. Perhaps 80's music is the "oldies" for Lite's primary demo.

iHeart 80's Radio: http://www.iheart.com/live/iheart80s-radio-5060/

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Pretty sure that's what iHeart's WHCN Hartford HD2 recently started carrying, replacing a classic rock stream. I've listened a little and it seems the playlist is tiny compared to the classic country stream aired on WWYZ HD2. I got bored quickly, but I realize that tight playlists of big hits that still test well resonate with most folks in that big wide world that doesn't post to radio or music forums.

No they are not saving 90s music for their next decade of emphasis it is the simple fact that the 90s doesn't offer much music that would fit on wltw that tests well.

The decade was good for hip hop and alt rock, which does no good for lite fm. Younger demos would rather hear 70s and early 80s Elton John than the stuff he did in the 90s, even if they were kids then and not alive when the 70s and early 80s stuff was new. The younger end of lite fm would rather hear Don't stop believing form 1981, than roll to me from 1996.

A sampling of the '90s music WHUD is playing:

AARON NEVILLE Everybody Plays The Fool
ACE OF BASE Don't Turn Around
ACE OF BASE The Sign
AEROSMITH I Don't Want To Miss A Thing
ALANIS MORISSETTE Ironic
ANNIE LENNOX Walking On Broken Glass
BLUES TRAVELER Run-Around
BONNIE RAITT Something To Talk About
BRYAN ADAMS (Everything I Do) I Do It...
BRYAN ADAMS Please Forgive Me
CHER Believe
CREED With Arms Wide Open
DEEP BLUE SOMETHING Breakfast At Tiffany's
DEL AMITRI Roll To Me
DONNA LEWIS I Love You Always Forever
DUNCAN SHEIK Barely Breathing
EDWIN MCCAIN I'll Be
FLEETWOOD MAC Landslide (Live '97)
FOUR SEASONS December, 1963 (Oh, What A...) [probably the 1994 remix]
GOO GOO DOLLS Iris
GOO GOO DOLLS Name
GOO GOO DOLLS Slide
GREEN DAY Good Riddance (Time Of Your..
HADDAWAY What Is Love
HEIGHTS How Do You Talk To An Angel
HOOTIE AND THE BLOWFISH Only Wanna Be With You
JENNIFER LOPEZ Waiting For Tonight
JIMMY CLIFF I Can See Clearly Now
JON SECADA Just Another Day
LISA LOEB/NINE STORIES Stay (I Missed You)
MARC COHN Walking In Memphis
MARIAH CAREY Always Be My Baby
MARIAH CAREY Dreamlover
MARIAH CAREY Hero
MARIAH CAREY I'll Be There
MATCHBOX 20 3 AM
MATCHBOX TWENTY Unwell
MELISSA ETHERIDGE Come To My Window
NATALIE IMBRUGLIA Torn
NO DOUBT Don't Speak
ROD STEWART Have I Told You...(Unplugged)
SANTANA Smooth f/Rob Thomas
SEAL Kiss From A Rose
SHERYL CROW All I Wanna Do
SIXPENCE NONE THE RICHER Kiss Me
SMASH MOUTH All Star
SOPHIE B. HAWKINS As I Lay Me Down
SPIN DOCTORS Two Princes
STING Fields Of Gold
TAL BACHMAN She's So High
TLC Waterfalls
VERVE Bitter Sweet Symphony
WILSON PHILLIPS Hold On

DOB said:

No they are not saving 90s music for their next decade of emphasis it is the simple fact that the 90s doesn't offer much music that would fit on wltw that tests well.

The decade was good for hip hop and alt rock, which does no good for lite fm. Younger demos would rather hear 70s and early 80s Elton John than the stuff he did in the 90s, even if they were kids then and not alive when the 70s and early 80s stuff was new. The younger end of lite fm would rather hear Don't stop believing form 1981, than roll to me from 1996.

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Elton John is a major AC staple. And so is Billy Joel. Both artists made albums in the 70's and 80's and are very common on most AC stations.

And you're forgetting the R&B part of the format! It's common to hear Earth Wind and Fire, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Donna Summer, Tina Turner mixing with today's artists. Some of the stuff you hear on WBLS gets played on Lite.

About the younger demos, they will turn away if they hear any of the sleepy songs, mostly from the 70's. Both Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" and Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" are considered "soft" ballads as they were recorded in the early 70's. Personally, I do not take Barry White's "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" seriously because it is one the most sleepiest songs than the two aforementioned. This will turn away younger listeners, unless they listen to either WBLS or CBS-FM.

CurtisNEPA said:

Elton John is a major AC staple. And so is Billy Joel. Both artists made albums in the 70's and 80's and are very common on most AC stations.

And you're forgetting the R&B part of the format! It's common to hear Earth Wind and Fire, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Donna Summer, Tina Turner mixing with today's artists. Some of the stuff you hear on WBLS gets played on Lite.

About the younger demos, they will turn away if they hear any of the sleepy songs, mostly from the 70's. Both Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" and Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" are considered "soft" ballads as they were recorded in the early 70's. Personally, I do not take Barry White's "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" seriously because it is one the most sleepiest songs than the two aforementioned. This will turn away younger listeners, unless they listen to either WBLS or CBS-FM.

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Ah yeah they are lol. Having seen both artists in concert multiple times i'm well aware they made albums in the 70s and 70s in fact the post you responded to from me even states that.

"Younger demos would rather hear <b>70s and early 80s Elton John</b> than the stuff he did in the 90s, even if they were kids then and not alive when the 70s and early 80s stuff was new. The younger end of lite fm would rather hear Don't stop believing form 1981, than roll to me from 1996."

I made no mention of the r and b part of the format, I responded to a post here about the Eagles song. The only Marvin Gaye song an ac today should play is "Sexual Healing". The only song from Barry White I could see them think about playing is "My Everything", that one has more appeal with the younger end that "Never gonna give you up" which most probably don't even know. I think at this point the biggest hit "Can't get enough..." is not a wise play either. The 70s are tricky, I'd really cut the list down to a few mass appeal gems. I guess you could spike a few of the best known rhythmic material like I will survive. No way would I play more than 2 70s an hour, probably just 1.

If I was to include in my post my entire philosophy on how the music should be programmed on an adult contemporary radio station it would be an extremely long read, in short there is just no way I could including everything in one post.

The point I was making, solely, was about the fact that when it comes to artists like Elton John and Billy Joel there is more appeal even with the younger listeners to play their 70s and 80s staples than the stuff they put out in the 90s and later. You need to not be sleepy today, gotta have the mix fairly upbeat and fun, but there are a few songs that are so mass appeal that you must play them, then obviously it becomes about how you play them, how you layer them around newer more upbeat material.

That list here of 90s songs, many of those are turn offs, they don't test, no one wants to hear them. Not all, about half maybe are ok, but today especially in a big market you need to be playing nothing but strong testing favorites. Tight is right. WHUD has heritage in their market, I don't think the NYCs get building penetration up there either, so they can get away with playing some duds I guess.

All I know is that if I could get a dollar every time I heard an adult contemporary jock complain about playing Hotel (I guess I have to say yes I know its a 70s song and the remake was from the 90s so I don't get corrected on what I didnt say lol) I'd have myself a pretty plush retirement.

...this could be a fun debate!

AARON NEVILLE Everybody Plays The Fool NO
ACE OF BASE Don't Turn Around SPIKE
ACE OF BASE The Sign YES
AEROSMITH I Don't Want To Miss A Thing YES
ALANIS MORISSETTE Ironic YES
ANNIE LENNOX Walking On Broken Glass NO
BLUES TRAVELER Run-Around YES
BONNIE RAITT Something To Talk About SPIKE
BRYAN ADAMS (Everything I Do) I Do It... YES
BRYAN ADAMS Please Forgive Me NO
CHER Believe NO
CREED With Arms Wide Open SPIKE
DEEP BLUE SOMETHING Breakfast At Tiffany's NO
DEL AMITRI Roll To Me NO
DONNA LEWIS I Love You Always Forever NO
DUNCAN SHEIK Barely Breathing NO
EDWIN MCCAIN I'll Be YES
FLEETWOOD MAC Landslide (Live '97) YES
FOUR SEASONS December, 1963 (Oh, What A...) [probably the 1994 remix] YES
GOO GOO DOLLS Iris YES
GOO GOO DOLLS Name YES
GOO GOO DOLLS Slide YES
GREEN DAY Good Riddance (Time Of Your.. YES
HADDAWAY What Is Love NO
HEIGHTS How Do You Talk To An Angel NO
HOOTIE AND THE BLOWFISH Only Wanna Be With You SPIKE
JENNIFER LOPEZ Waiting For Tonight YES
JIMMY CLIFF I Can See Clearly Now NO
JON SECADA Just Another Day NO
LISA LOEB/NINE STORIES Stay (I Missed You) SPIKE
MARC COHN Walking In Memphis SPIKE
MARIAH CAREY Always Be My Baby YES
MARIAH CAREY Dreamlover SPIKE
MARIAH CAREY Hero NO
MARIAH CAREY I'll Be There SPIKE
MATCHBOX 20 3 AM YES
MATCHBOX TWENTY Unwell NO
MELISSA ETHERIDGE Come To My Window YES
NATALIE IMBRUGLIA Torn YES
NO DOUBT Don't Speak YES
ROD STEWART Have I Told You...(Unplugged) NO
SANTANA Smooth f/Rob Thomas YES
SEAL Kiss From A Rose SPIKE
SHERYL CROW All I Wanna Do YES
SIXPENCE NONE THE RICHER Kiss Me YES
SMASH MOUTH All Star NO
SOPHIE B. HAWKINS As I Lay Me Down NO
SPIN DOCTORS Two Princes YES
STING Fields Of Gold NO
TAL BACHMAN She's So High NO
TLC Waterfalls YES
VERVE Bitter Sweet Symphony NO
WILSON PHILLIPS Hold On NO

Lite probably plays a few I say no to and vice versa, but that's how I see it off the top of my head, which is trumped completely by a correctly executed music test.

CurtisNEPA said:

Personally, I do not take Barry White's "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" seriously because it is one the most sleepiest songs than the two aforementioned. This will turn away younger listeners, unless they listen to either WBLS or CBS-FM.

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As for Barry White, WLTW does play "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe".

And Elton John did have two #1 hits in 1997, "Candle In The Wind '97" and "Something About The Way You Look Tonight", another #1 in 1992 with his live duet with George Michael "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me", as well as a #4 hit in 1994 with "Can You Feel The Love Tonight", #9 in 1992 with "The One", and he is also very well known among younger listeners for the Lion King song "Circle Of Life" (#18, 1994). So it's not like he stopped having major hits after the '80s; younger listeners can and will recognize his voice and music.

And for comparison, some of the '90s (and newer!) music WCBS-FM is playing:

BONNIE RAITT Something To Talk About
BRYAN ADAMS (Everything I Do) I Do It...
BRYAN ADAMS Have You Ever Really Loved...
GEORGE MICHAEL/ELTON JOHN Don't Let The Sun Go Down...
GO WEST King Of Wishful Thinking
HOOTIE AND THE BLOWFISH Only Wanna Be With You
JASON MRAZ Remedy (I Won't Worry) [from 2003! ]
JON SECADA Just Another Day
KNACK My Sharona [re-charted in 1994 ]
LONDONBEAT I've Been Thinking About You
MADONNA Vogue
MICHAEL JACKSON Black Or White
ROD STEWART Downtown Train
SANTANA Smooth f/Rob Thomas
SHERYL CROW All I Wanna Do

WLTW is a pretty interesting AC. WLTW still plays 5-8 80s an hour, 1 70s an hour or every other hour, and 1 90s an hour or every other hour. While most other AC like KMGL from my hometown Oklahoma City and KODA from Houston only plays 4 80s an hour and 1 90s every other hour.

WBEB/Philly, KRWM/Seattle, and KOIT/San Francisco had took similar approaches as KMGL and KODA did. KMGL still promote their "Awesome 80s Weekend". They still play only 4 80s an hour on their Awesome 80s Weekend. Rarely on occasion they ever would play 6-7 80s in an hour. Five years ago KMGL used to play 6-9 80s an hour and 1-3 70s an hour. WLTW is like one of the few AC that I know that are still heavy on 80s and that are still playing a few 70s tracks as of 2016 besides WRVR/Memphis, WEAT/West Palm Beach, and WLYF/Miami. Very few AC focus heavily on 90s. Most AC focus heavily on 2k, recurrents, and currents with some 80s and few 90s. Some AC focus very little on 80s and 90s like WBEB and KOIT with 1-2 80s an hour and 1-2 90s an hour. Almost all the AC focus on 00s, recurrents, and currents as of now.