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WAXQ

CassChopper96 said:
I just found out that New York dosent have an active rock station should WAXQ become active rock
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Should a top rated radio station blow itself up so it can become a low rated station?

And what happens to the millions of fans who love Q104? Just forget about them?
 
CassChopper96 said:
I just found out that New York dosent have an active rock station should WAXQ become active rock
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They tried it about 20 years ago. When they switched from classical WNCN, Q104-3 was a pretty low-key active rock station. No real wacky drive time DJs (I think their wackiest get was they tried Darian O'Toole in mornings and it failed miserably in about a year) K-Rock switched to a harder-based alternative rock format in '96, and they shuffled to classic rock.

Question I'd wager is why would they abandon a sellable format they basically have to themselves in market #1?
 
CassChopper96 said:
No the station will still be a rock station just they will add newer rock songs to their playlist
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I have to believe that WAXQ does considerable music testing. One of their concerns with each test is how much music of more recent years they can add so that they don't end up with an aging demo while simultaneously alienating current listeners.

WAXQ has been scoring in the range of 3rd to 5th in 25-54 men in recent books, and they certainly do not want to put that audience in jeopardy. At the same time, all gold based stations have to keep trying to introduce newer songs that their listeners like. However, with this format, classic rock, "new" means "90s" and that is not going to change. The stations that beat it in 25-54 men are, generally, WBLS, WFAN and WLTW... none of which are remotely close in format; WAXQ has a nice, sizable market mostly to itself and averages about 2.1 million weekly listeners.
 
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CassChopper96 said:
I just found out that New York dosent have an active rock station should WAXQ become active rock
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Most markets do not have an active rock station. That should tell you something.

New York is about 55% African American, Asian and Hispanic, with another 10% or so of first generation immigrants from places like Persia, Russia, etc. Those are groups that severely under-index in rock station listening. So the market is not a favorable one for any kind of rock that appeals to those under 35.
 
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The formula they're using at Q works well. As a younger guy who prefers classic rock (especially the 70s, 80s, and the 90s titles that Q plays), I do really like the station and know a lot of people around my age that prefer it over stations like Hot 97, Z100, KTU, etc. I don't see it going anywhere/changing any time soon.

As the old adage says, if it ain't broke, don't fix it... or in this case, blow it up.
 
AceBiscuits said:
The formula they're using at Q works well. As a younger guy who prefers classic rock (especially the 70s, 80s, and the 90s titles that Q plays), I do really like the station and know a lot of people around my age that prefer it over stations like Hot 97, Z100, KTU, etc. I don't see it going anywhere/changing any time soon.

As the old adage says, if it ain't broke, don't fix it... or in this case, blow it up.
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AceBiscuits - Well said. You get "it." So, what are some of your favorite songs being played on Q? It's nice to see what you and your friends are enjoying.
 
CassChopper96 said:
Do rock stations do worse in majority Hispanic areas
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I think Boston would be a good example of a city that has a low percentage of Hispanics, and its main rock station, WAAF, gets about a 1 share, way down at the bottom, while the classic rock station, WZLX is among the highest rated stations in town. Pittsburgh is another similar market, where the heritage rock station, WDVE, transitioned to classic rock, and remains among the highest rated stations in town.
 
CassChopper96 said:
Do rock stations do worse in majority Hispanic areas
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Yes. But it is a bad-to-worse comparison as Big A points out. Rock stations generally under-index among Hispanics; active rock stations just don't do very well anywhere.
 
Most markets today have either an Alternative Rock station or an Active Rock station. For a long time, NYC had neither, but a couple of years ago, a former CBS Top 40 station switched, and now is Alternative 92.3 WNYL.

In some markets, Rock does very well. San Diego, right on the Mexican border, has two Alternative Rock stations, one Active Rock station, a Classic Rock station and now a second-generation Classic Rock station. Denver, with a sizable Latino population, has two Classic Rock stations, an Alternative station and an Adult Album Alternative station. Till last year, it also had a full-power Active Rock station but that is now on a translator. I think San Diego and Denver attract a lot of college-educated young adults from all over, who help support all those rock stations.

Contrast that with Miami. For a long time it only had a Classic Rock station. Last year, Entercom put Alternative Rock on 104.3 WSFS, but it's having trouble getting out of the one-point-something ratings. El Paso had a Classic Rock station licensed to Mexico but I don't think that's around anymore. So KLAQ must serve all rock audiences. It calls itself "El Paso's Best Rock" and is among the city's top rated stations, even though it's all by itself in the rock genre.

No market is so Latin, Black or Ethnic that it won't support any rock stations. Even Honolulu has a couple of Alternative stations. But trying to divide the available rock audience too many ways can be difficult in more diverse cities.
 
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DavidEduardo said:


Yes. But it is a bad-to-worse comparison as Big A points out. Rock stations generally under-index among Hispanics; active rock stations just don't do very well anywhere.
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Huh? I think WMMR, WRIF, KISW, KXXR, KUPD, and KEGL are just a few Active rock stations that disagree with this.
 
chrocket87 said:
Huh? I think WMMR, WRIF, KISW, KXXR, KUPD, and KEGL are just a few Active rock stations that disagree with this.
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Those are heritage rock stations that have created their own audiences over, in some cases, decades and decades.

The problem is that, other than those, out of 15,000 US radio stations, it is hard to find more than a tiny handful of successful active rockers.
 
Philadelphia is not that diverse. Over 20% black but only 9% Hispanic. It cannot support an FM station in Spanish. iHeart tried a few years ago but it lasted less than a year.

And nobody said there were no Active Rock stations. But most markets don't have them. It seems Alternative is the preferred format for contemporary rock.
 
Gregg. said:
San Diego, right on the Mexican border, has two Alternative Rock stations, one Active Rock station, a Classic Rock station and now a second-generation Classic Rock station.
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The problem is the lack of current commercial rock music to fill a format. Even in San Diego, the rock station plays about 50% classic rock & alternative. I see AC/DC and Nirvana in their music list. That's the same thing with WMMR in Philadelphia. When that kind of combination is tried in NYC, it alienates both audiences. The currents audience doesn't like the old stuff, and the people attracted to the older stuff don't like the new music. Bottom line is there's no upside for iHeart to change the music mix at Q104 at this point.
 
Tibbs4 said:
AceBiscuits - Well said. You get "it." So, what are some of your favorite songs being played on Q? It's nice to see what you and your friends are enjoying.
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Thanks :)

It's always hard for me name favorites when it comes to music, but some of my favorite artists that Q plays include Led Zeppelin, Eagles, Van Halen, Genesis, Tom Petty, Billy Joel, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, The Police, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, etc. Same thing with songs, I don't really have a favorite song but here are some of my favorites that Q plays:

- Runnin' With The Devil - Van Halen
- Hotel California - Eagles
- You May Be Right - Billy Joel
- What Is And What Should Never Be - Led Zeppelin
- The Chain - Fleetwood Mac
- Creep - Stone Temple Pilots
- Layla - Derek & The Dominos

I'd probably be here all day if I was gonna list them all.
 
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