Re: Things I've Noticed On WODS

[Mike Thomas <nostatic@earthlink.net>]

Of COURSE DRC-FM is tinkering with their oldies format.  They want to stay
relevant and competitive in the 25-54 money demo.  Playing only 50's and 60's
material would relegate them to 55+ land in no time flat.  Keep in mind that
when oldies stations were first designed, the plan was to play music that was 15
to 30 years old.  Many oldies stations that haven't changed their lists in 15 to
20 years find themselves playing a lot of 30 to 45 year old songs.  That sounds
like a nostalgia format to me.  Many oldies stations around the country have
already dropped most of the songs from 1956-1964 from their lists, and have
relegated these titles to specialty weekend programming.  It seems that DRC-FM
is finally starting to update their sound.  The station has done better in the
ratings recently, so obviously these changes are working.

You mention WCBS-FM.  They have been playing 70's music in their mix for quite
some time, and they've recently added 80's material to the mix.   That station
has always evolved the music to stay competitive 25-54, while not alienating
their upper demos.  It looks like Big D 103 is starting to figure that out.
Next up, WODS.

Someone also complained about the Beach Boys "Kokomo" being added to oldies
station playlists.  Back in the fall, at a family event attended by a lot of 40
and 50 somethings, I put on WODS and Kokomo came on.  EVERY person in that room
knew every word of that song and many even started singing along.  The song is
by a core oldies artist and it's extremely recognizable and likeable.  Oldies
stations have to and should play this song, despite it's vintage.

The oldies format should take a page out of the Soft/Mainstream AC handbook.
Stations like WRCH and WMJX continue to do well because they constantly update
their sound.  Periodically, they cull out a few old titles and add in a few
newer ones, so that the sound of the station evolves, but at the same time these
changes are indistinguishable to the average listener.   Soft AC sounded much
different several years ago, but these stations have been able to keep their
listening base while staying relevant in the money demos by simply making minor
changes every now and then.  Oldies stations can remain healthy if they
implement change gradually, instead of having to make major changes at one time
that tend to scare off older demos.

Mike Thomas
WXLO & Mediabase 24/7


Mike Fitzpatrick wrote:

> The same thing happened to WDRC-FM (102.9 in Hartford) where they have
> tinkered so much with their format they just don't seem like an oldies
> station. They barely even cover the 1956-1965 era... the only songs they
> seem to play are the ones that did the absolute best in that time period.
> The rest seem to be from 1965-1976. For fans of oldies music (like myself)
> it makes you yearn for WCBS-FM (101.1 New York) and WTRY-FM (98.3) out in
> Albany. "BIG D 103" now has different sweepers which claim all their songs
> are "hot oldies".
>
> And also, another note to pass out, WZMX 93.7 seems to be playing more
> contemporary urban music than before... makes me wonder if a switch to
> modern urban, like WBOT or WJMN, might be on the near horizon for the
> "Dancin' Z". The Hartford-Springfield market is one of the few which doesn't
> have this format in it.
>
> >
> > Over the past few days on WODS,I've noticed they have added some more
> > titles to their "short" list rotation.A few of the titles that
> > come to mind
> > include"Funky Street" by Arthur Conley from 1968,"Just You & Me" by
> > Chicago(1973),"Do It Again" by Steely Dan,the album version,no
> > less!!!.Also,'Diamond Girl" and "Summer Breeze" both from Seals &
> > Crofts,and "Kokomo" from the Beach Boys,a #1 hit from 1988.A 12 year old
> > song on Oldies 103.3??? Sounds like they're definitely tinkering with the
> > music.
> >
> >