> > the playlist needs serious adjusting. They should take a
> > lesson from the CC Punta Gorda cluster's 1070 because it's
>
> > programmed much better.
>
> The 1070 in Punta Gorda takes its' "lessons" from the
> excellent Westwood One satellite service..
>
> Westwood One's Standards format has always been my favorite
> Nostalgia format. The jocks keep their breaks brief (unlike
> ABC's "Stardust" where there tends to be incessant DJ
> rambling), and this allows WW1 affiliates to instert plenty
> of 'localizing' bits....
Westwood One's Standards format is the best because it's also
the most contemporary of them all (and Music of Your Life is
the least contemporary). The former "AM Only" rarely goes
back before 1960 and it plays mostly the non-rock hits of
the last 40 years... Carpenters, Streisand, Beatles, Johnny
Mathis, Neil Diamond, Sinatra, Elvis, Bread... all artists
who've had hits on Top 40 radio since 1960. No Andrew Sisters
no Bing Crosby, no Duke Ellington... they don't even play
Ella Fitzgereld. I'm sure that was a tough decision but
unlike Sinatra, Dean Martin, Andy Williams, etc., she
never had any Top 40 hits in the rock era.
Stardust plays mostly contemporary standards but Ella and
some other earlier artists make it onto Stardust's playlist.
And Music of Your Life is hopeless. Its playlist is all
over the place, from Diane Krall and Norah Jones to Big
Bands. And its DJs are NEVER live. Imagine having a
satellite service and yet all the DJs are voice tracked.
The night Sinatra died, the service didn't start playing
any additional Sinatra records till around 10am the next
day. But because Music of Your Life is the cheapest for
a station to run, they've got the most affiliates and
every year WWI and ABC stations switch over to MOYL to
save a few bucks. (That's if they don't leave the format
entirely to become the third talk station or second
sports station in their market.)
Gregg
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