AAA on 96.5 HD-2 (KOIT HD-2)

DaveBayArea said:

That's just my personal taste, but when I find something I like I vote with a subscription to that station. It still works. Just differently.

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That's the only way it works. But what happens when people just listen and don't subscribe? The statistics are around 7% of actual listeners become members. That's not good. Unless there's a sugar daddy somewhere (such as a college or rich benefactor, as is the case with KEXP), it will be tough to sustain. My question is why is this seen as a radio problem?

It's gotten to the point where Radio Corporations don't even want to try. AAA could be an option for them in certain cases. Travis is correct. Cumulus helped KFOG into an early grave by inept management.

AAA requires intelligence and effort. Creating compelling local content that connects with an upscale listener is possible...

tbolt909 said:

AAA requires intelligence and effort. Creating compelling local content that connects with an upscale listener is possible...

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This is a music problem, not a radio problem. The compelling content begins with the music, and the marketing that compels people to WANT to listen.

If the music industry isn't willing to get behind it, and they're the ones making the money, then why should radio expend any of its resources?

Would love to have something like KCSN (88.5 in LA) up here in the Bay Area. Great eclectic AAA programming, intelligent playlist (great mix of old and new, deep cuts from the past mixed with stuff from new artists that fit and engagement with the community too! The older stuff is seldom repeated (which was a huge drag at KFOG...playing the same tired stuff over and over). Example--at KCSN it appears the entire Beatles catalog is in play. Also, the station sounds like a professional commercial operation...which is not the case at KALW, KZSU, KFJC etc....where things are all over the map and at times unlistenable. Yes, I can stream it...but it's always a hassle (using up wi-fi data) in the car to deal with that. Maybe there's an angel investor out there willing to buy up a local frequency...and operate a station like this as a community service (similar to how the 'Hardly Strictly Bluegrass' festival is done as a gift from the Hellman family to the city).

adradio said:

Would love to have something like KCSN (88.5 in LA) up here in the Bay Area.

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As I said, you need a sugar daddy who's willing to pay for it. In 88.5's case, some support comes from Cal State. Some comes from devoted listeners. But the money has to come from somewhere. Lately there have been college stations in the bay area that would have been perfect, but the colleges decided to sell them to either religious broadcasters or other outside people. That's what happened to KUSF. When that happens, it kills any possibility for a AAA station. So as the OP says in this thread, it leaves AAA on HD-2 stations rather than conventional FMs.

TheBigA said:

I find it interesting that at a time when there are so many ways for people to consume music, and at a time when there are so many people releasing so much diverse music, that there really is no demand for all of the diverse music being produced. When you look at the streaming charts, when you see what people stream the most, it's a very limited list of artists and songs. I don't blame the people for this. They're just seeking out the music they know. The problem is that the music industry and music artists think all they have to do is release their music to Spotify or Amazon or Apple, and everyone will automatically want to hear them. Thy believe that the music itself will create demand. That's not how things work in popular culture.

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And there is another factor here the artists have to promote themselves and get a Billion viewers on Youtube in some form to get attention by Iheart concert division or other concert promoters to appear on their music festivals or concerts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJOTlE1K90k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Vv-BfVoq4g


I remember 20 years ago when CD sales determined the success of an artist but in 2019 shifted to concert sales, and the number of people listening their song on Youtube (popularity has to be approximately 100 million to 1 billion viewers). I seen parts of this argument on another thread though.

https://www.radiodiscussions.com/sh...fficial-Hip-hop-has-more-hits-as-chr-tightens

RadioPatrol said:

And there is another factor here the artists have to promote themselves and get a Billion viewers on Youtube in some form to get attention by Iheart concert division or other concert promoters to appear on their music festivals or concerts.

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If you're getting millions of YouTube views, you're also making some money from those views. That money is meant to replace the money you once received from CD sales. So any indie musician needs to be thinking in terms of putting music online not only to promote themselves but to make money. Because they probably won't be selling a lot of CDs.

Adding to this discussion, non-comm AAA gets decent ratings in some markets. We're seeing respectable performances for the Current, Colorado Sound and KUTX - "The Austin Music Experience."

I'm not saying it's the place iHeart and Cumulus want to be, but it's not the worst place to be either for a noncomm or independent owner.

Andy Travis said:

Adding to this discussion, non-comm AAA gets decent ratings in some markets. We're seeing respectable performances for the Current, Colorado Sound and KUTX - "The Austin Music Experience."

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They get decent ratings in the 6+, but deeper investigation into the demos shows that the audience is mostly over 55. As I've said, if those boomers are willing to donate money to hear radio, that's great. Typically the figure is 7% of actual listeners will donate. So it's a tough way to make a living.

But yes, there are several colleges willing to own and sustain boomer radio stations on campus. U-Mass is another one with WUMB. There's the aforementioned KCSN. Those are both owned by state schools, so some tax money is involved.

I won't disagree that boomers are the primary financiers of public radio, but I'm not so sure the programming on The Current & KUTX is targeted at boomers. I'll grant you KCSN and Colorado Sound are aimed at upper demos, but a lot of these noncomms are aimed at a younger audience musically. I don't think their parent organizations intend them to reach that audience.

LKellerIII said:

You do know that Bonneville owned KOIT for years, yes? When KOIT was "Light Rock/Less Talk," and at it's most popular. Bonneville also owned 95.7, which they never had success with, and 102.1, which was Classical KDFC for decades. Also 1260 AM, as a KOIT repeater, from the end of it's KYA days until the sale to Immaculate Heart.

IIRC, Entercom owned KOIT for less than 5 years.

Bonneville is not new in Bay Area radio

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Yes, I'm aware of that. I'm surprised they reentered the market.

Bonneville used to hurt their chr stations by adopting a strict content standard on what songs could be played and imaging and jocks having to be more Conservative as well. It doesn't seem like they do this anymore. From what I've heard is that in the past the positives of this company out weighted those negatives. I hope today that they have kept those positives of being Conservative.