I’m writing this article from Sherman Oaks, LA. A great part of a great city.
I’m listening to K-Earth 101, the legendary Classic Hits station and probably the blueprint for Classic Hits stations around the world. Or at least it should be.
K-Earth has a compelling Morning Show…The Gary Bryan Morning Show. The station also has very connected talent throughout the day.
It has the #1 cume in LA over 2.3 million!
But what impresses me most about K-Earth is the music policy. Let’s face it ….” The Greatest Hits on Earth” is a nice twist on the station brand but also bold. You must live up to the brand promise
When was the last time you listened to a Classic Hits station and thought…” mmmm… that doesn’t sound like a classic hit to me?”
Too many stations in the Classic Hits arena dilute their brand and therefore their ratings performance with a universe pumped full of weak testing songs and poor music scheduling.
K-Earth has a playlist tighter than many Hot AC stations. K-Earth is laser focussed and the ratings don’t lie. Remember, #1 cume in the #2 market in the US.
Rotations. Now this is impressive.
Years ago, with Classic Hits formats we were to taught to rotate categories like 70s, 80s and 90s based on their decade of release. Right? The older they are SLOW DOWN the rotation.
But hey this is 2022!
And guess what…. successful Classic Hits stations have evolved by analysing not just the songs the audience LOVES but also how and when listeners actually LISTEN.
K-EARTH embodies this strategy which has paid dividends in the station’s market share and cume (need I remind you… #1 in LA).
You can hear Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”….three times between 6am and 6pm on K-EARTH. Police “Every Breath You Take” two or three times. The chances of the same listener hearing either song on K-Earth more than once in the same day is minimal. Every song the station plays defines the brand promise of “Greatest Hits”.
Chris Ebbott, VP Programming for the five Audacy stations in LA, understands what the K-Earth audience loves and their listening patterns.
Chris Ebbott: “A few years ago I was listening to The Steve Dangle podcast — it’s a Toronto Maple Leafs show that a friend of mine Adam Wylde co-hosts. He said something that has resonated with me ever since — “A brand is a promise kept”. That’s what we always strive to do with K-EARTH — deliver those great musical moments and positive station vibes immediately upon tune in.”
Every SUCCESSFUL programmer needs to understand the listening patterns and music preferences of their audience…. WHEN they listen and WHAT they really want to listen to.
In a competitive environment, a Classic Hits format is all about songs the audience LOVES…. not just the ones they like.
By David Kidd, BPR
Its more 80s, gold format like Gold or WSFM than Classic hits like 2UE,Magic , 4KQ.
Reading playlist on line, its interesting to see there Bon Jovi next to 2Pac, Coldplay A-ha next to TLC. Nirvana vs Coolio.
This site has records of my views on "Classic Hits" format.
It's a hackneyed format of a limited number of songs from a particular era or range of decades in high rotation. In this article, who wants to hear the same song "Every Move You Make" by The Police three times in a day. It's not the only song by The Police. Neither is "Cherry Bomb" by John Cougar the only song nor is "Susudio" by Phil Collins the only song.
You cannot make the assumption that if you like a particular song by one artist that you'll like another song by another artist from the same era. People may prefer Elvis Presley over the Beatles. Some may like both or neither.
On the other hand, "Classic Hits" 2CH (DAB+) when starting on DAB+ rated highly slowly losing listeners during its time on the DAB+ and went off air.
Furthermore, 2UE, 4BH and Magic 1278 (Melbourne) never get ratings above 2.7 (say) in Sydney. With the demise of "Classic Hits" 4KQ, it is unknown whether 4BH's ratings will increase.
Yet "Classic Hits" 4KQ before a change in format to sporting talk rated highly, especially where the belief that music on AM cannot be successful.
I've come to the conclusion that a successful format depends on the music mix and the presentation of the music, not format only or presentation.
If I could infer from the article, not all "Classic Hits" formats are the same, it follows that classic hits type stations 2CH, 4KQ, 4BH, 2UE and Magic 1278 are not all the same and is reflected in the ratings.
On the other hand, why limit songs to a few hits of a particular era and ignore the other songs from that era.
Furthermore, what is wrong with playing "Root Beer Polka" by Billy Joel, a song that many people may not remember with a supposed "classic hit" which a listener may not remember either. Then what is wrong with playing a song that was played in high rotation when the song was released but today gets little airplay, for example "48 Crash" by Suzi Quatro.
Have a station that plays "variety" and be more artful in the way the music is combined in respect of tempo and key signature to name a few factors.
Thank you,
Anthony, be more creative in mixing music with presentation, Belfield in the land of the Wangal and Darug Peoples of the Eora Nation.