Re: even more format changes...

[Mike Thomas <nostatic@earthlink.net>]

Keep in mind that pop/alternative was popular in many major cities such as New
York, LA, Boston, San Diego and others.  Many people that went to college
during the 80's were exposed to and enjoyed this music.  Now these students are
well-educated 30-somethings with a lot of discretionary income that agencies
want to tap into.  There were so many different styles of music during the
80's, and the ones that test the best are the rock, pop and alternative
titles.  That's why they are all being included in the "all 80's" format.
Obviously, markets that had alternative stations in the 80's will probably play
more alternative gold than those that did not.

This new format is not sex specific.  It's designed to attract both males and
females.  So far, Hot AC's have been the most affected, but these stations are
also looking at getting the older end from today's Alternative stations.  Many
older alternative listeners are turned off by today's hard-edged rap/rock
artists that are marketed to teens and college aged people.  These listeners
have had nowhere to go and this format gives them a station of their own.  I
think the alternative leaning 80's titles are an important part of this formats
growth and must be included.

Mike Thomas



SteveOrdinetz wrote:

> But Modern Rock/Alternative radio was hardly mainstream in the 80s.  In all
> likelihood, a song that was top 10 on the Alternative chart, but only
> peaked at #78 on the Hot 100 is not likely to be familiar to anyone who
> didn't listen mainly to that format.  Until the very late 80s/early 90s
> that Alternative was pretty much confined to the WFNX's of the world (ie
> Class A rimshots with iffy-at-best signals).