Guy starts a LP station in Concord.

[A. Joseph Ross]

On 4 Feb 2007 at 1:08, Don A wrote:

> Well, the sucess of the present incarnation of WCRB has yet to be seen.
> 
> However, WCRB (102.5) was considered one of the most sucessful Clasical 
> stations in the country.

Then why does the present management want to tamper with that 
success?
 
> The same factors that work for pop radio brought WCRB it's highest ratings 
> ever.

And as I've observed before, when I'm in my car and want classical 
music, I check WGBH, WHRB, and WCRB, and invariably WCRB is the 
station playing something I want to listen to.  But that's not 
because they limit their playlist to playing the same ten items 
repeatedly, it's because they don't include a number of things that 
are unlistenable.  WHRB apparently believes that it's their mission 
to play what nobody else does, which is fine, but there's a reason 
nobody else plays a lot of what they play.  WGBH is somewhere in 
between and I seem to recall was greatly criticized a few years ago 
when they restricted their playlist to more listenable music.
 
> 102.5 enjoyed it's most sucessful years when it increased it's repetition 
> and started playing shorter peices.

And it also got a lot of listener complaints.  They had a promo a few 
years ago touting their "listener line," in which they said that 
"you've told us you want to hear less repetition and whole 
symphonies, rather than excerpts."  And they moderated the repetion 
and short pieces format a bit.  
 
> 99.5 seems to be following the same recipe, albeit a little more "clunkily".
 
But nowadays there are alternatives to classical radio.  I like 
Beethoven's 6th Symphony, but I've been hearing it EVERY DAY, and I'm 
tired of it.  So instead I can turn my computer to any number of 
online channels which play something else.

WCRB seems to obsess on certain pieces as if they're the current 
Number One Song, and play them until people get thoroughly sick of 
tiem.  Then they finally take them out of rotation and turn to some 
other obsession.  A number of years ago it was Beethoven's 8th that 
got the obsession treatment.  Or the first movement, anyway.  

What I worry about is, if they drive away listeners with their pop 
format, will they decide to moderate the format or will they decide 
that there is no longer an audience for classical radio in Boston?

-- 
A. Joseph Ross, J.D.                           617.367.0468
 15 Court Square, Suite 210                 Fax 617.742.7581
Boston, MA 02108-2503           	         http://www.attorneyross.com