Just when you think it made a comeback in 2011....

[RBRadioWaves]

It's March 2012, and 1 supersoft AC is down. WIOP charleston decided to smash it's "Lite's" and go to Hot AC as MIX 95.9.

Then again, a supersoft AC can survive if it has high numbers despite lower-then-average billing. This station hit a record high of........ 1.7!!!!

Well, no wonder the station was canned.

 

[passtheword]

I knew something was up and a format change might be on hand when I wasn't able to pull up the Lite 95.9 stream for several days. I was hoping, though, that the format would have been given more time before having the plug pulled on it. To my knowledge, WIOP was the only traditional soft AC station that was airing any kind of current material within the playlist. To me, the mixture of primarily older material along with a few currents thrown in here and there was more representative of how the format sounded in its original form. I know WDUV and WFEZ aren't airing any type of current fare, so applying the term "soft adult contemporary" seems really out of place on those stations. Not only is their format very different than today's definition of soft AC, but it also lacks anything contemporary to speak of within the format.

I wouldn't say it's a complete setback for the format's resurrgence; it is, after all, just one station. I really didn't expect hundreds of stations to change to traditional soft AC format, anyway. I think a large part of that is due to demographics. Both WDUV and WFEZ are in areas witha higher 35+ demographic than in other places and that could explain why those formats do so well in those areas. When WIOP came on the air with the new soft AC format, I was wondering how well the format would be received there. I don't know a whole lot about the age demographics for Charleston, but it doesn't seem to me there would be a large 35+ demographic in that area to support a traditional soft AC...at least not nearly the numbers one would expect to find in Tampa or Miami.

I guess it's back to listening to WDUV, WFEZ and other online streams...

 

[fmradio1]

While I liked the music on WIOP, it wasn't formatted/scheduled correctly. It wanted to be an adult standard type station with a few recent songs thrown in. It just didn't flow well.

I programmed a full service soft AC about 20 years ago. I based it on the 70's and 80's with a lesser emphasis on the 60's (though we did play a couple of 60's tracks per hour) along with a recurrent (early 90's) and a current each hour. It flowed well, and didn't sound too old. If I was to do the format again, I would use equal parts of the 80's, 90's and 2000's (again, with one recurrent and current per hour.) My playlist would be smaller, but it would be an updated version of a true Soft AC. I'm sure purists wouldn't like the fact that there would be no 60's or 70's stuff, but that's what gold based stations like WDUV and WFEZ are for. Here's a sample hour....

Bryan Adams "Have You Really Ever Loved A Woman"
Madonna "Live To Tell"
The Fray "How To Save A Life"
Adele "Someone Like You" (current)
Eagles "Love Will Keep Us Alive"
Double "Captain Of Her Heart"
Dido "White Flag"
Simply Red "If You Don't Know Me By Now"
Plain White T's "Rhythm Of Love" (recurrent)
Tony Braxton "Un-Break My Heart"
Elton John "Little Jeannie"
Daniel Powter "Bad Day"
Celine Dion "Power Of Love"
Toto "I'll Be Over You"

 

[DudeFan]

FMRADIO, that is about where WWNU should be, but isn't. Now it's too late since they've already had people sample them and go away.

 

[vchimpanzee]

FMRADIO, that is about where WWNU should be, but isn't. Now it's too late since they've already had people sample them and go away.

I did sample WWNU and I did go away. Actually, WWNU did. More often than not all I get is Star 92.1 in Myrtle Beach, which is said to be hot AC, though the way AC sounds now, I'm not so sure.

That list would not appeal to me one bit. Even WFEZ and WDUV are not good enough. I can only say I might like some of their songs but I would be bnothered by others and also by the lack of certain musical styles I don't feel I can do without.

I had a list of songs played by so-called "Lite" stations I was going to post here, but I don't know what happened to it. I thought I emailed it to myself. The web site was Last FM and there were several genres to choose from. All but one of the stations under "Lite sounds" was AC, and none were Lite. One was smooth jazz, sort of. But it had "Ain't Nobody" by Chaka Khan and something by Timbaland.

 

[fmradio1]

Sounds like you want a standards station, not a soft AC. You probably aren't in my target demo, which would be 35-54 female, with a minor percentage of men. I'd make it accessible for 55+ since they always help cume numbers, but I wouldn't cater to them. It's about being the next generation Soft AC station, not the one that plays Neil, Barry, Barbara and a bunch of 40+ year old music.

I think a big reason that supersoft AC hasn't taken hold in most markets is that it's not contemporary enough. A lot of traditional AC programmers seem to be embracing tempo, but I think that a Soft AC can work in the right market and circumstances if it plays mostly songs from the last 20 years or so. As we've found out with the Adele phenomenom and Whitney's passing, ballads and mid-tempo pop records still work...they just have to be the right ones. With the lines between CHR and Hot AC blurring, AC trying to keep up, and all three formats sharing too many artists, the door is open for a Soft AC resurgence. It just won't be the "Soft AC" we grew up with 30 years ago.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Sounds like you want a standards station, not a soft AC. You probably aren't in my target demo, which would be 35-54 female, with a minor percentage of men. I'd make it accessible for 55+ since they always help cume numbers, but I wouldn't cater to them. It's about being the next generation Soft AC station, not the one that plays Neil, Barry, Barbara and a bunch of 40+ year old music.

I think a big reason that supersoft AC hasn't taken hold in most markets is that it's not contemporary enough. A lot of traditional AC programmers seem to be embracing tempo, but I think that a Soft AC can work in the right market and circumstances if it plays mostly songs from the last 20 years or so. As we've found out with the Adele phenomenom and Whitney's passing, ballads and mid-tempo pop records still work...they just have to be the right ones. With the lines between CHR and Hot AC blurring, AC trying to keep up, and all three formats sharing too many artists, the door is open for a Soft AC resurgence. It just won't be the "Soft AC" we grew up with 30 years ago.

Yeah, well, I support the new format as something to play in businesses that force it on us, but it wouldn't be a substitute for what I like.

I found that list of what radio stations are calling "Lite". Now I need to go back to the AC board and post it.