I like something from all the satellite networks, they have good and bad moments. I do feel like a better approach is rolling your own and getting some custom liners. I am thinking 1950's-1990's music with good blends of vocals and instrumentals with the right feel. Well programmed with taste and from good source material.
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Honest opinions on standards networks
- Thread starter Whiplash
- Start date
Kent T said:
It seems odd to me that very few stations use that approach. I have, and it is working on my own radio station. My money is where my mouth is. We are doing well, sponsors like us because our loyal listeners actually patronize their businesses (and tell them about it), and our listeners like us because we don't have 6-7 minute stop-sets. It seems simple, really….
It just isn't that hard to program it yourself and add a lot of local color and information.
So why do most stations just take a feed from a network? Good question. The best thing I can figure out is, they think it is easier. Maybe they simply don’t understand the music.
Hands down, Dial Global's "America's Best" is really the best of the bunch. The DJs are very good and the songs are well-chosen, adult music from the 50s to today. I worked at MOYL stations twice and the music mix was a) too old, b) not hit-oriented enough and c) inconsistant in that one quarter hour you might hear almost all pre-Beatles music and another quarter hour you might hear all post-Beatles music. I haven't heard Timeless Cool yet but I fear it violates Rule B: I don't think you can have a format aimed at older listeners with more than an occasional unfamiliar song.
When I read others on this thread saying "Oh, go ahead and program it yourself" I shuddered. I have heard MANY more poorly programmed local operations than well-done ones. I just can't see playing any song recorded before 1950. There just aren't enough people alive who want to hear a song that's more than 60 years old. I'm sorry but we really can't serve listeners over 75 because they're not reliably going to patronize your sponsors. (Yes, I know you have a 90 year old who shows up at all your live remotes but you can't build a radio station on that.) Most of your playlist should sound like what a Soft AC station sounded like 20 years ago: Kenny Rogers, Barry Manilow, Dionne Warwick, Carpenters, Beatles, Fifth Dimention, Sinatra, Streisand, Neil Diamond. As the Soft AC station in your town plays Pink and Daughtry to keep up with their demographic changes, you really can't play more than a couple of pre-Beatles songs per hour either.
What's the worst problem with locally programmed formats? NOBODY ANNOUNCES THE ARTISTS AND SONGS! I get very upset when I hear a locally-programmed station running on automation where nobody bothered to tag each song with "That's Frank Sinatra with The Way You Look Tonight" or "Haven't Met You Yet by Michael Buble." Ideally the automation system should have one tagged version and one non-tagged version of each song so when there is a live DJ, he can do the announcing. However, AC stations like B101 Philadelphia always played a tagged version and the DJs simply don't announce the songs even when they're on duty. Remember, one of the primary complaints of listeners is "They don't tell me the artists or song titles." So please
TAG YOUR SONGS WITH ARTISTS AND TITLES!
Gregg
[email protected]
When I read others on this thread saying "Oh, go ahead and program it yourself" I shuddered. I have heard MANY more poorly programmed local operations than well-done ones. I just can't see playing any song recorded before 1950. There just aren't enough people alive who want to hear a song that's more than 60 years old. I'm sorry but we really can't serve listeners over 75 because they're not reliably going to patronize your sponsors. (Yes, I know you have a 90 year old who shows up at all your live remotes but you can't build a radio station on that.) Most of your playlist should sound like what a Soft AC station sounded like 20 years ago: Kenny Rogers, Barry Manilow, Dionne Warwick, Carpenters, Beatles, Fifth Dimention, Sinatra, Streisand, Neil Diamond. As the Soft AC station in your town plays Pink and Daughtry to keep up with their demographic changes, you really can't play more than a couple of pre-Beatles songs per hour either.
What's the worst problem with locally programmed formats? NOBODY ANNOUNCES THE ARTISTS AND SONGS! I get very upset when I hear a locally-programmed station running on automation where nobody bothered to tag each song with "That's Frank Sinatra with The Way You Look Tonight" or "Haven't Met You Yet by Michael Buble." Ideally the automation system should have one tagged version and one non-tagged version of each song so when there is a live DJ, he can do the announcing. However, AC stations like B101 Philadelphia always played a tagged version and the DJs simply don't announce the songs even when they're on duty. Remember, one of the primary complaints of listeners is "They don't tell me the artists or song titles." So please
TAG YOUR SONGS WITH ARTISTS AND TITLES!
Gregg
[email protected]
Gregg said:
It is true, that is the number one complaint, but be careful what you wish for.... You'd better be prepared to change those tags on a very regular basis. Otherwise, it gets very boring, very quickly. The same intro all the time actually emphasizes the "canned" aspect of it all. Unless you have two versions of the same song - one tagged and one not tagged – (as you suggest) then it becomes impossible to build sets of songs that go together smoothly with no interruption. The only solution for that problem is to voice track each and every day’s program, which is more trouble and expense than most small stations care to go to. Given that this format has been relegated to the lower tier of stations, the budget just isn’t there to do that. I suppose that is why the satellite formats are so prevalent.
Admittedly, I've only been doing this format for the last 8 years, so I'm hardly a life-long devotee, but I've discovered that most listeners quickly get over the lack of song titles. A working RDS display also helps. Of course, RDS doesn’t help any AM stations.
Not long ago, we experimented with a live program, featuring a very experienced host who had an incredible depth of knowledge about the music he was playing. He'd come to us from a top 5 market station. You simply couldn't have asked for much better talent. He certainly did have a following, but oddly, I actually got some complaints about having a DJ. It seems that not everyone is as enamored with live announcers as those of us who yearn for the return of radio's "good old days."
I am in a market with no adult standards stations. I know if I could get my hands on running and programming a station again I would go with as much local as the budget allows and use Dial Global to supplement it.
There are so many things you can do with an adut standards station today that can attrach a wider appeal and revenue streams than many stations are doing. There are so many great songs we just not heard on the radio anymore and that is really a shame.
There are so many things you can do with an adut standards station today that can attrach a wider appeal and revenue streams than many stations are doing. There are so many great songs we just not heard on the radio anymore and that is really a shame.
You will never get big numbers, but you certainly can generate a very loyal fan base. The ratings don't usually reflect it, but the audience is much more diversified than you would think. Not everyone is over 70. You many need to "go out in the field" to find that out by attending outdoor fairs, street festivals and the like. Every time I do, I'm always surprised at who comes up to us and tells us that they love the station.pioneer71 said:
While those folks may be an exception to the rule, they tend to support the stations sponsors, which in turn, makes our advertisers very happy. You won't get rich, but you can make money by providing cost-effective advertising to local businesses. I think that is the bottom line.
I think lots of radio station operators just don't understand the format well enough to be confident in producing a local version. There is the problem of gathering the music library that would seem a bit mind boggling to a station operator since lots of material you could play would have never made it to CD.
Any REAL beautiful music stations out there? Is this still viable?
Any REAL beautiful music stations out there? Is this still viable?
bturner said:
Maybe so, but it shouldn't be that hard. Maybe they shouldn't even own radio stations, if they aren't willing to do a litle work.
We publish our weekly play list on our web site (www.kzqx.com or www.qx-fm.com ) as do several other stations. You could also just purchase a package from TM Century or several other vendors. For that matter, you can just download a hard copy of their suggested songs for free. I'm not a big fan of those play lists, but they are a good starting point. In fact, those companies may know more about it than I do.
You could simply start there and spend about $500 - $1000 on Amazon.com or itunes. It is true that a lot of the stuff we play isn't available any way but off of vinyl, but what is commonly available would certainly be a very good start. When in doubt, play the hits.
Excellent points Chuck.
Maybe it is more of a "I don't have time for this" more than lack of knowledge. We both know most GMs come from sales and what they know about programming is usually pretty simplistic.
As for me, I started putting albums on mini discs back when a few gigs was a 'latest and greatest hard drive'.
To add a twist to the topic, I picked up a bunch of reels of Beautiful Country to transfer a number of years ago...a format based on beautiful music and MOR covers of country hits.
Maybe it is more of a "I don't have time for this" more than lack of knowledge. We both know most GMs come from sales and what they know about programming is usually pretty simplistic.
As for me, I started putting albums on mini discs back when a few gigs was a 'latest and greatest hard drive'.
To add a twist to the topic, I picked up a bunch of reels of Beautiful Country to transfer a number of years ago...a format based on beautiful music and MOR covers of country hits.
H
hornet61
Guest
I'll take swing1270 over any satellite station or syndicated shows..... more artists, more library. more creative programming, a listeners dream. There are alot of good stations on Live365...just can't get to them anymore without the VIP pass......plus, I don't pay for radio.
playing Tammy as we speak...it don't get any better than that
earlier
bing and ella
roger whitaker
Dean Martin - Imagination
jorgan ingman - apache
sinatra - send in thge clowns
billy williams - sit right down
Chuck Miller - house of blue lights.....wow great programmimg
playing Tammy as we speak...it don't get any better than that
earlier
bing and ella
roger whitaker
Dean Martin - Imagination
jorgan ingman - apache
sinatra - send in thge clowns
billy williams - sit right down
Chuck Miller - house of blue lights.....wow great programmimg
My playlist (on my Internet only stream) runs from the mid-1950s up to 1972-ish. While there's about a thousand more tracks I'd like to get I probably won't be able to do so. While I have a lot of down tempo songs I have quite a few up tempo songs and the automation software slips one in every once in awhile. In other words, it's good for EZ listening, but a brighter tune comes along to liven things up.
Also, there are country artists were picked because the song, that had been done by an MOR singer, wasn't available. I'm trying to replace some of the scratchier vinyl copies with pristine mp3 recordings, but that process is going slowly.
Some might say my mix is not that great, but that's my take on the MOR/Adult Standards format.
(A song just came up in my playlist that is usually only played during winter. I play this and another winter song all the time because it's fun to hear them during those hot summer days.)
Also, there are country artists were picked because the song, that had been done by an MOR singer, wasn't available. I'm trying to replace some of the scratchier vinyl copies with pristine mp3 recordings, but that process is going slowly.
Some might say my mix is not that great, but that's my take on the MOR/Adult Standards format.
(A song just came up in my playlist that is usually only played during winter. I play this and another winter song all the time because it's fun to hear them during those hot summer days.)
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