This is MUST reading for those wishing to gain more insight into the world of radio today.
Hello Kent -
It's Greg Easterling from The Drive.
I can tell how much you love the music ... it's a real passion for you obviously. Me, too, as evidenced from my long resume of stations ... almost all of them have featured the music over all else.
Believe it or not, I share many of your frustrations but my most recent experience here at the Drive has given me a different perspective.
The history of this station since 2001 has shown me plainly that it is most often the audience and not the often vilified corporations and individual programmers who determine what we get in media, music, movies, politics and government here in 2019. Look in the mirror is what I often say when people complain about the current state of media and music, although I believe there are many good things still going on and strive to promote them in my work on 97.1 FM The Drive, the American Backroads show on WDCB, and my reviews at ChicagoBluesGuide.com.
At the Drive, we have utilized many music intensive features and programs since the beginning: The Drive A-Z, The Classics, Rock and Roll Roots, The Deep End, The Long One at 9, 10 at 10, Stairway to Seven, Two Fer Tuesday and others. We used to track vinyl album sides and occasionally still do on special occasions. All of these features present songs that are seldom heard elsewhere.
The music and the production crafted by Nick Michaels have helped define The Drive as one of the leading rock stations of our time. But here is the truth it seems ... the Chicago area and parts of Wisconsin want a classic rock station that plays top songs more often and has more personality oriented morning and afternoon shows with contests that feature money giveaways. We know this because our ratings and thus our earnings are much, much better now than previously.
While the Loop was already sinking long before they finally went under last year, many of your neighbors were unaware of us, despite a huge billboard campaign over the years featuring some of the coolest images I've ever seen. We have been around almost 20 years, Kent and yet many chose not to try us. Yes, these are people of our age who run to the restroom or to get another beer at concerts when a classic rock artist plays a song they don't recognize. When the Rolling Stones, Bob Seger, the Eagles, Boz Scaggs, etc. put out worthwhile new albums, there is little interest in hearing them. And we know that judging from sales.
Radio stations are businesses and must make a profit and more to survive. Your business would not make it without keeping an eye on the financial bottom line.
People often have one standard for their own jobs and another for their media choices. The history of Chicago media is littered with the ashes of good stations that did not make it, bested in the ratings by others that are repetitive and redundant. I recall there are many on your board who yearn for the long gone days of Uncle Lar and Lil Tommy, Chickenman, WLS AM, WCFL and other remnants of the past that are never coming back.
When we have featured more music intensive features, we have sometimes gotten feedback such as "Why are you playing that, it wasn't a hit!! Or complaints about Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and AC/DC, some of the top grossing acts of all time.
It is easy to throw stones, especially when you don't have all the facts or an insider perspective. But sometimes worthwhile things are successful even now, like the recent movies Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocket Man. Many of the classic rock bands still touring and sounding good are doing so with the near constant soundtrack radio has provided over the years to keep their music alive and relevant.
Since I like what you do, I wanted to take the time to respond to you personally, more so as a means to help you to gain a better understanding and give you some background info about something you care about it.
Keep rockin' Kent,
Greg
Greg had originally requested that his comments not be published ... but I feel that he offers some insight that many readers may not be aware of or appreciate.
Truth is, I get it ... I really do. (I may not LIKE it ... but I get it!!! lol)
But that being said, I will never apologize for our efforts to make radio better and more interesting ... for pushing radio to raise the bar a bit so that one station can stand apart from the others. In this respect, I firmly believe that The Drive successfully accomplishes this goal.
I have been a Drive listener since Day One ... I remember setting my alarm to make sure I was there in front of the radio to listen to Bob Stroud usher in the new station. I have been to numerous Drive Birthday Parties in the past and consider myself to be a VERY loyal listener and supporter of the station.
But I also remember when The Drive's motto was "The Station That's All About The Music" ... and I have to admit that I miss that philosophy and the standard that was set. I've never been much of one for the whole "game show" atmosphere that has become such a big part of the station these days ... but I also can't argue with success, as The Drive's ratings continue to climb, especially since the collapse of The Loop.
It is still, hands down, my first choice for listening to Classic Rock in Chicago (and that even includes streaming the station at work.)
And I agree that The Drive's approach to special features such as A to Z, Rock And Roll Roots, one 45 at 1:45, classic album sides, That '70's Song, etc., contribute to making the station stand head and shoulders above all the rest in town in this respect. And I sincerely believe that MOST of the jocks are just as committed to the love of the music as I am ... and that shared bond comes across to the listener.
Thank you for you candor and your insight. It is much appreciated and THIS is why I wanted to share it with our readers. (kk)
[But seriously ... did they have to take the A to Z feature ... probably my favorite radio feature EVER ... and turn it into a game?!?!?!]
And then this from Rick O'Dell, Program Director for Me-TV-FM ...
Hi Kent:
I couldn’t help noticing this paragraph in your recent post regarding the current state of Classic Rock Radio today:
>>>Whatever the reason, VARIETY is virtually non-existent. BOTH stations (The Drive and The River) have been tracked as playing the exact same song two, three and even FOUR times in a 24-hour period (kk)
>>>Whatever the reason, VARIETY is virtually non-existent. BOTH stations (The Drive and The River) have been tracked as playing the exact same song two, three and even FOUR times in a 24-hour period (kk)
You’ve
touched on exactly why we shy away from doing countdowns here. And
it’s the reason why most stations that used to do countdowns have
abandoned that
feature.
Why are these stations playing the same song that often?
Because currently ratings methodology demands it. Listener behavior
forces stations to repeat their highest testing Power songs that
often — “two, three, even four times in a 24 hours period.”
Think
of it this way ...
If the Cubs were allowed to bat Rizzo and Bryant more than once each time through the lineup, don’t you think they would? Of course! They’d want to bat their best hitters as often as they could. When it comes to radio, Nielsen’s PPM forces stations to turn around their best songs as often as they can. Stations no longer can afford to make listeners wait around to hear their favorite songs, because listeners absolutely won’t wait around.
If the Cubs were allowed to bat Rizzo and Bryant more than once each time through the lineup, don’t you think they would? Of course! They’d want to bat their best hitters as often as they could. When it comes to radio, Nielsen’s PPM forces stations to turn around their best songs as often as they can. Stations no longer can afford to make listeners wait around to hear their favorite songs, because listeners absolutely won’t wait around.
Countdowns
don’t let a station play their Power songs often enough. By the very
nature of a countdown, all the best songs (even on a “classic rock”
station)
get pushed to the final hour, so you end up playing nothing but library
cuts and secondary cuts for the first 6-7 hours, then having to
backload all your Powers into the final hour of the countdown. That’s
extremely disadvantageous in PPM. You want your
best songs to distribute frequently and evenly through the day, not all
clustered in one hour.
So
much research data is available to stations now. When it comes to
programming, there are no accidents. Everything is done for a reason.
Rick
What makes Me-TV-FM stand apart from all of the other stations on the dial ... pretty much ANYWHERE in the world of terrestrial radio today ... is the variety ...
You offer a vast playlist that encompasses the hits right along with those "Wow Factor" songs we keep talking about, sprinkled in with a few choice (and, let's be honest, NOT so choice) album tracks.
Regardless, it makes for a nice listening mix ... something you actually CAN listen to all day long without being bombarded by repeats. And, even nicer, odds are you won't hear the exact same songs tomorrow. Sure, you'll hear SOME of them ... but they'll be mixed in with some NEW surprises that keep the listening experience interesting and exciting. (I can't tell you how many times I've sat in the car an extra 15-20 minutes because I just HAD to hear what song was coming up next ... only to be so pleased with the answer to that question othat I had to wait around again to hear the next one ... and the one after that!!!)
I have mixed emotions about the countdown theory ...
My experience has always been that EVERYBODY loves a good countdown.
Now ours is pretty extreme ... counting down the Top 3333 Classic Rock Tracks is going to leave some "undesirables" near the bottom of the list, no doubt about it. But there is also an audience out there that craves the unexpected ... you'd be amazed how many emails we've received from folks chomping at the bit to see the final results of this nationwide poll.
I will agree with you that this is NOT your mainstream, average listener ... but I still maintain that, much like The Drive's A to Z feature, the excitement and intrigue of trying to figure out what's coming up next ... trying to "outguess" the radio ... makes for a very interesting listening experience. (And I will allow that OUR reader base is much more focused on the obscure than your average radio listener, tuning in only for the 20 minute drive to and from work. I remember years ago running a Top Ten game in the AOL Oldies Room ... the seasoned players didn't want to guess the names of the artists for The Top Ten songs ... they could do that in their sleep ... they wanted me to list the BOTTOM ten songs from that week's Billboard Hot 100 Chart ... and see who the REAL pros were there in the room and weed out all the amateurs!)
I will agree with you that this is NOT your mainstream, average listener ... but I still maintain that, much like The Drive's A to Z feature, the excitement and intrigue of trying to figure out what's coming up next ... trying to "outguess" the radio ... makes for a very interesting listening experience. (And I will allow that OUR reader base is much more focused on the obscure than your average radio listener, tuning in only for the 20 minute drive to and from work. I remember years ago running a Top Ten game in the AOL Oldies Room ... the seasoned players didn't want to guess the names of the artists for The Top Ten songs ... they could do that in their sleep ... they wanted me to list the BOTTOM ten songs from that week's Billboard Hot 100 Chart ... and see who the REAL pros were there in the room and weed out all the amateurs!)
Still, I think the final outcome of our research is going to provide a very interesting list of candidates for future "Wow Factor Songs" for those stations willing to pay attention. Let's face it ... there's a reason a lot of these songs aren't in heavy rotation ... you don't need to hear them every day or every week or every month ... but I firmly believe that nice little surprises sprinkled throughout the day will keep listeners coming back ... and tuning in longer ... to see just what else you might have up your sleeve.
Will anybody out there want to count down the whole list of 3333? Of course not ... it would take at least two weeks of playing nothing else but the countdown and I don't think we could ever get anybody to commit to that. But somebody interested in counting down only The Top 100 ... or 500 ... or even 1000 defeats the whole purpose of our research ... because THOSE songs are the ones everybody already plays every day anyway! While the excitement still exists to see who finishes where, it diminishes the overall scope of how truly valuable a list like this can be. (kk)
