Subtle WBEB changes

[DavidEduardo]

Fair. Serious question tho, how exactly can they tell how many listeners a station actually has and exactly when many tune out? Ive always wondered that.

A representative sample of people are selected in each market (or county for non-rated markets) and they register when and how much and to which station or stream they listen if they listen at all. The system is complex, as all good research is.

If you have a spare day or two: https://worldradiohistory.com/Archi...y/2022-Nielsen-Description-of-Methodology.pdf this booklet shows how ratings are done.

As for the corporate greed thing, fine example of what i am talking about is WMMR being voice tracked at night to save money when they were always live 24/7. Thats when 90% of my listening is, at night. Ive been working night shift for years now. Its obvious to me that the die hard music freaks are the minority when it comes to radio, so perhaps thats why in conversation with people i talk to, most would tend to agree.

Very few advertisers buy nighttime radio. And in the last two decades, radio has lost about 60% of its revenue, so there is not enough money to be live when little is to be gained.

it always boggled my mind how the average music listener is okay with hearing only the hit music. But hey, to each their own.

The fact is that you are what is called an "outlier" in research. Look it up. It means someone who has such different tastes that they can not be served by mass media.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

A lot of things could fall into that category.

And if you ask today’s younger people, they might well disagree. Rose-colored glasses and fondness for days gone by doesn’t objectively make them better.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

As for the streaming im sure most of then have that, but i was clearly referring to people who want to listen to radio.

“Radio” doesn’t just mean the thing with certain circuitry. Radio is a means of content delivery, and streaming a traditional radio station is still radio. Just like Netflix is still television.

Im a lot more picky than most. I have a massive music collection (physical medium only) so it just boggles my mind that with all the classic rock out there, how any station can justify playing the same song more than once in a 24 hour period.

You mean justify what the audience clearly tells you they want and don’t want? What a crazy business model.

But i suppose the average joe who listens in small intervals wouldnt really notice. Whereas a music nut that listens frequently, would. I think one thing we would all agree on is that corporate greed has definitely affected the quality of the FM dial overall.

Businesses have always been about making money. Staff needs to be paid. Maintenance, equipment, incidental supplies, rent…all of it needs to be paid for. No different in 2023 than 1973 in that regard.

 

[JH_Radio]

I'm guessing in a markit like WMGH it's Diary?
Or is it unrated.

 

[DavidEduardo]

I'm guessing in a markit like WMGH it's Diary?
Or is it unrated.

Unrated as part of a radio market, but rated once a year in the national circulation study. But in that second case, the sample is very small and small station or ones with very limited formats like WMGH often get zero ratings.

 

[tall_guy1]

This evening, starting at 9:30pm, Sat. March 18, WBEB played...

Alanis Morrisette--Ironic
Avicii--Wake Me Up
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole--Somewhere Over The Rainbow
Boys II Men--I'll Make Love to You
Post Malone--Circles
Queen--Another Bites The Dust
Maroon 5--Girls Like You
Gloria Gaynor--I Will Survive
Harry Styles--As It Was
Earth, Wind & Fire--September
Alicia Keys--Empire State of Mind
Fun.--We Are Young
Cyndi Lauper--Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Gotye--Somebody That I Used to Know
N'Sync--Bye, Bye, Bye
Journey--Don't Stop Believing
Patrick Swayze--She's Like The WInd
Elton John & Dua Lipa--Cold Heart
Michael Jackson--Thriller

That's a pretty good playlist! Interesting that Israel Kamakawiwo'ole is here. Even though Somewhere Over The Rainbow never charted, we all know this recording from numerous commercials and TV shows that used it.

There are also no current songs here. The Elton John-Dua Lipa duet was a hit last year. The oldest songs are September and I Will Survive, both from 1978.

Nope, can't be. They need to get rid of it and "play it safe." That Patrick Swayze song needs to go too!

 

[Miguelito]

The oldest songs are September and I Will Survive, both from 1978.

What jumped out at me is the placement of those two songs. They're both old, they're both disco, and they are separated by just one song--a synth pop, less-than-a-year-old Harry Styles song, no less. Both are completely fine within the format; I would just expect them to be separated from each other a bit more.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

Nope, can't be. They need to get rid of it and "play it safe." That Patrick Swayze song needs to go too!

Is it played in KC?

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

What jumped out at me is the placement of those two songs. They're both old, they're both disco, and they are separated by just one song--a synth pop, less-than-a-year-old Harry Styles song, no less. Both are completely fine within the format; I would just expect them to be separated from each other a bit more.

That is a bit odd for placement like that, but maybe someone really liked disco. (J/K)

 

[TheBigA]

That is a bit odd for placement like that, but maybe someone really liked disco. (J/K)

Look at the day and time the songs were played. Not part of regular rotation, but rather as a Saturday night special.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

Can't recall B101 doing a Saturday night special since...I don't know, when the 80s nights went away? But if that playlist is a special...WTH is it? It looks mostly like a representative cross-sample of the normal playlist, with two disco era classics close together.

 

[Miguelito]

It's a bit like they flipped to a Jammin Gold/AC hybrid for 15 minutes and then thought better of it. ROFL

 

[DavidEduardo]

Nope, can't be. They need to get rid of it and "play it safe." That Patrick Swayze song needs to go too!

How do you know that it did not test very strongly among the WBEB target audience, women with an average age of about 42?

 

[DavidEduardo]

Can't recall B101 doing a Saturday night special since...I don't know, when the 80s nights went away? But if that playlist is a special...WTH is it? It looks mostly like a representative cross-sample of the normal playlist, with two disco era classics close together.

More than likely is that they don't consider those songs as being specifically "disco" but, rather, just "memorable hits" for the target demo.

 

[Miguelito]

More than likely is that they don't consider those songs as being specifically "disco" but, rather, just "memorable hits" for the target demo.

You're right, of course. This is another instance where we are overthinking something because we're radio geeks. No "normal" person listening that night gave it a thought.

We geeks certainly are a special breed. Like, let's say you're in the car. You arrive at your destination and you're about to turn off the engine when the station you're listening to starts playing "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen. Do you...

a.) Turn off the car and go about your very important day?
b.) Wait until the song is over because you just can't shake the feeling that if you don't, the station might be gone by the time you get back in the car? 🤣🤣