How many different songs does WCSX play?

[AMFMTV]

There's so much more out there...it drives me nuts that WRIF and WCSX, being sister stations, practically share a playlist these days. I understand why to a degree. If you missed "Sweet child o' mine" on WRIF, just flip to their sister station WCSX and hear it again in five minutes.

There's a question I've asked several times here on Buzzboard. None of you seem to know. But I think is something every program director and advertiser should know. How many listen to broadcast radio on a shelf radio that stays on one station, and how many are listening in a vehicle to a radio with buttons on it.

If anyone is like me, the radio in my car gets changed as soon as a commercial or chatting starts. I just want to hear tunes. No yakety yak. No traffic reports.

So getting back to the topic of this thread. Do stations intentionally play just popular tunes to catch channel changers like me? Yeah their playing Addicted To Love for the 3rd time today. But for the folks that are only in their car for an hour or two like me, we're only going to hear it once. And we're not going to hit the button again until it's over.

So like I said, just what percentage of the listening audience is like me? Apparently no one knows.

Something I don't hear anymore is announcing a song or two that will be playing after the commercial break, to encourage the listener not to change the station.

Yes, it's called "vertical promotion". And, yes, Quarter Hour Maintenance works with PPM. Years ago at a country station we used to promote 2-3 songs coming up after the TOH. We'd do this going into the 50ish break. We'd promote an "A", "B", and "C" song. A being a power, etc. Always should be promoting what's on the way. Is there a risk of someone not liking what's coming up? Sure. But, so what? Of the three they don't like one, which means the other two are good to go. And, if they're a P1 chances are they'll stay with you anyway.

[n8fnr]

Thanks to everyone who replied. It was an interesting discussion.

[craigrussell100]

Round Six:
"At the top of this page I asked the question about percentages. What percent of listeners are in a vehicle with preset buttons. Let's say it's 50 percent. And let's say of those 50 percent, half do what I do. Hit the preset as soon as a crummy commercial comes on. Now if you were an ad exec paying out so much based on a station's ratings, isn't it sorta part of your livelihood to know just what that percentage is? Why do I think this ratio should be something everyone involved in radio should know? Isn't that how many people you thought were listening, but are not?"

Heres the thing with that. No matter the ratings source (PPM or diary) its impossible to know that. The meters just track when the unit digitally picks up a radio station signal. Could they put GPS in the PPM? Probably, but it would possibly be a big invasion of privacy. So they know when the meter picks up the signal. But the meters dont even know if the person with the meter is actually hearing the station being picked up. If you are in the store, or on the phone, the meter still registers "listening" but in all reality it has no idea. And diary markets are even worse.

Unlike internet listening, which can be tracked by how many connections there are to a stream, radio ratings are such an inexact science. But its really the only game in town. You can guess how many are listening in cars, and how many flip around when commercials come on (its possible its way less then you think) but no one really knows for sure. 70 years of an inexact science.

[lidoshuffle]

I too spend $$$ for Sirius/XM in my car, home, on my phone, but I think I will take a moment to renegotiate my rates I pay them...
As for WCSX, I loathe Bon Jovi, cannot stand hearing him scream like a 14 year old girl at a Taylor Swift concert, "Hair Jovi" might be top 10 most over played and overrated rock band of all time...
Huey Lewis & The News is NOT Classic Rock...
Cheap Trick has more than one song...
I can go on and on about overplayed, overrated acts on WCSX, but as previous posts mentioned, my point has been made....

[dial-it-in]

"play more variety.... but don't play songs I don't like (or don't know)".

Thats pretty close. People SAY they want variety, but they really dont. Most, unlike the musicoligists who hang out here, want to hear their favorite songs They dont want to hear unfamiliar music. Hence why music tests dont usually include new songs, or "great rock and roll" songs. Those get tested, and come back bad.

What it really boils down to, is COMMERCIAL radio is not for music discovery, or "Because they don't love or care about music". COMMERCIAL radio is an advertiser delivery method. Like TV, and Newspapers used to be, and websites. None of it about "playing great songs" or "a station could still maximize ad revenue by playing great rock and roll tunes that are not worn out. There are tons of recognizable and well liked songs that stations like WCSX and WLLZ ignore." Ratings, in a market like Detroit, are EVERYTHING. A Rating point loss can mean millions in lost revenue. Remember who dictates what radio stations do, and the audience they go after. Advertisers. And in Detroit, thats Ad Agencies.

Wanna know who doesnt care about great music? Or who doesnt love music? People buying time at ad agencies. Its all a numbers game. They look at the ratings in the demo their client wants to reach, then they pick the top 3 stations, cut checks to buy ads, and go to lunch. It really isnt much more than that.

And the big players need to satisfy stock holders and the bottom line so much that they will do ANYTHING to keep their grip on the money. So if its a choice between playing a safe well tested crispy Areosmith song, or some great jam from 11 years ago that radio ignores but has never been tested, guess what gets played. Sweet Emotion. Too much $$$ is riding every quarter hour, and every ratings point.

I get all that. The point is that you can go to a different city and hear their "classic rock" station and hear songs WCSX or WLLZ wont play. Arent those songs just as "focus tested"? Why are we stuck with the same handful of worn our songs that get played endlessly when clearly other stations in other markets have no problem playing different songs (yes, there is some overlap)?
If its truly only about playing the top tested songs then wouldnt every single "classic rock" station in the country have the exact same playlist?
Our "classic rock" stations (corporations) have made the conscious decision to keep playing the same worn out shit over and over. Fuck them. You cant tell me the same people who are a P1 or P2 for either of those two are going to change the station if, for example, "Runaround" or "Poundcake" by Van Halen is played instead of "Back in Black" for the one millionth time. There are those, among many others by other bands, that are popular and well known hits that could be added.

[craigrussell100]

Dial it in:
"The point is that you can go to a different city and hear their "classic rock" station and hear songs WCSX or WLLZ wont play. Arent those songs just as "focus tested"? Why are we stuck with the same handful of worn our songs that get played endlessly when clearly other stations in other markets have no problem playing different songs (yes, there is some overlap)?"

This is the truth. Since most big companies (Audacy, Beasley) do research, they do it in specific markets. What tests well in Detroit, probably doesnt test as well in Philadelphia, or in Phoenix. Music is pretty regional. Michigan stations play way more Bob Seger than Texas stations. Indiana? Mellencamp. Texas? ZZ Top. So what tests well here is somewhat different from "other markets". (And like you'd expect, people in those cities complain about the music THEIR stations play too.)

But like I said, theres just too much money to play stuff that isnt safe and ultra familiar. Even a 1/2 point rating drop can mean 100's of thousand's of dollars in lost revenue. With shareholders wanting more and more return for their investment dollars, the price is just too high. Want real music variety? Get satellite radio or Spotify (even that doesnt really dive deep) or an old fashioned MP3 player....

[Mega Hertz]

Dial it in:
"The point is that you can go to a different city and hear their "classic rock" station and hear songs WCSX or WLLZ wont play. Arent those songs just as "focus tested"? Why are we stuck with the same handful of worn our songs that get played endlessly when clearly other stations in other markets have no problem playing different songs (yes, there is some overlap)?"

This is the truth. Since most big companies (Audacy, Beasley) do research, they do it in specific markets. What tests well in Detroit, probably doesnt test as well in Philadelphia, or in Phoenix. Music is pretty regional. Michigan stations play way more Bob Seger than Texas stations. Indiana? Mellencamp. Texas? ZZ Top. So what tests well here is somewhat different from "other markets". (And like you'd expect, people in those cities complain about the music THEIR stations play too.)

But like I said, theres just too much money to play stuff that isnt safe and ultra familiar. Even a 1/2 point rating drop can mean 100's of thousand's of dollars in lost revenue. With shareholders wanting more and more return for their investment dollars, the price is just too high. Want real music variety? Get satellite radio or Spotify (even that doesnt really dive deep) or an old fashioned MP3 player....

You aren't lying about Mellencamp in Indiana. I also found that WABX in Evansville has a boner for Skynyrd, too.

[dial-it-in]

Dial it in:
"The point is that you can go to a different city and hear their "classic rock" station and hear songs WCSX or WLLZ wont play. Arent those songs just as "focus tested"? Why are we stuck with the same handful of worn our songs that get played endlessly when clearly other stations in other markets have no problem playing different songs (yes, there is some overlap)?"

This is the truth. Since most big companies (Audacy, Beasley) do research, they do it in specific markets. What tests well in Detroit, probably doesnt test as well in Philadelphia, or in Phoenix. Music is pretty regional. Michigan stations play way more Bob Seger than Texas stations. Indiana? Mellencamp. Texas? ZZ Top. So what tests well here is somewhat different from "other markets". (And like you'd expect, people in those cities complain about the music THEIR stations play too.)

But like I said, theres just too much money to play stuff that isnt safe and ultra familiar. Even a 1/2 point rating drop can mean 100's of thousand's of dollars in lost revenue. With shareholders wanting more and more return for their investment dollars, the price is just too high. Want real music variety? Get satellite radio or Spotify (even that doesnt really dive deep) or an old fashioned MP3 player....

My point is that if you swapped out "Back in Black" or "Wanted Dead or Alive" with a hit like "Runaround" every third time, no one listening to WLLZ or WCSX is going to change the station because of that and no ratings would be lost.