Alas, 84 posts and Scott hasn't chimed in. And that's four times his listening audience.
Looks like I guessed incorrectly as to when Scott would return...
Well…….I guess it’s time for me to return for a minute! My ole buddy Chris, you missed the date by 6 days. Too bad, you missed out on winning a key to the Playboy Mansion!
All these comments now have varied off on the topic, “If it was my station”, I would program this or that. I get a big kick out of Pat Julian’s (Deltas69) comments & my Q & A’s are directed towards Pat Julian (nothing personal). First Pat, your ideas will not work on today’s AM radio. Wishful thinking Pat, and Bill Buntin too!
Pat, you know that masses in your age group may like your ideas, but consultants could careless, and what you have described has been done 15 years ago in other markets, and that kind of stuff has been flushed down the toilet! It has been pointed out to you by Buddy Sadler you don’t want to work for today’s corporate radio. It’s plain awful! When the numbers start to slide downward, so does the format, and you fear each day if you will have a job. Unfortunately, it seems like it turned into a CUMULUS world!
People like Jeff Wix at 1090 WTNK in Hartsville can not understand why he can make it in radio in medium and larger markets. Well, like the former owner of WYXE (1130), Richard Deck told me, he is too “programmish” and not concerned about revenue. My thoughts are specialty music formats (not put together by regional consultant companies) really don’t make money anymore and are ignored.
Now bear in mind, I’m not knocking your ideas and I know you’re a 60’s/70’s hits fan, & your personal feelings about you wanting to program to your “age group or demo” but much research must be done that cost money before any station would use your ideas, because it must be proven it will draw numbers to generate revenue. It would nice if you were given the opportunity to demonstrate your programming ideas to consultants used by Dial Global, Jones Satellite, ABC, etc, just to see what they say.
You mention that some songs sound better on AM. Pat, most AM radios these days are narrowband, thanks to the NRSC forcing us AM broadcast to reduce our audio bandwidth. Car radio manufactures are making the receivers worse these days (example: Delco/GM), and they are the most terrible AM radios I’ve ever heard. They have taken the high end down to 4.5 Khz, and that’s as bad as analog phone audio, thus music sounds terrible on AM. The masses are not going to run out and buy GE Super Radios to hear decent AM audio. Only DX’ers, and people like me and you would spend the money to buy that kind of receiver, but not the average man & wife with 2 kids, living in the suburbs of Gallatin would not. Besides, with IBOC/HD on 24/7 now, the AM band is turning into nothing but hash on the co-channels of the big 50 KW stations running IBOC 24/7.
The only AM station that’s making mega money on AM in the Nashville Market is 1360 WNAH. Hoyt Carter sells every minute of the broadcast day to some religious group that’s on some ego trip and wants their message heard on the air. He puts the sizzle to their nose so they will buy the steak, and it works. I do the same thing all day on Sundays.
My little 250 watt facility is paid for, so during the week, it just floats on. I tried 60’s/70’s Oldies on my station and in the last 4 years it was Oldies, I found nobody cares and NOBODY was listening to the station, except on Sundays. I tried other Oldies type formats besides Westwood One’s Oldies Format, none of it works to bring in revenue, nor listeners. This is a FM/XM world! My station got an occasional listener or two, but that’s it. The only listeners 1560 had when it was Oldies are you, Buntin, Charlie Goad, etc. People who had or still working in this business, stuck working for corporate.
As you know, WHIN makes more money than my station. Why? Well, it’s been in Gallatin/Nashville icon for many years, and with it’s decent 5 KW signal into the metro, WHIN makes more money on sports (i.e. Local Sports, NASCAR) than they do when it’s just playing music. Times have changed for AM radio and WHIN, as well as WMRO. On AM, Sports & Religion is what makes the money. Now, Sports is moving to FM stations and another bullet being shot at AM.
Small, independent stations like mine are fading away. Pat, look at the business end. Our country is at a point that the IRS wants to audit you all the time, especially if you have employees, which I don’t, and I never will, and I don’t take a salary out on my business. Corporate Operations like CC, Cumulus, Saga, South Central, etc, are the one’s that have the cash and are big enough to hold out.
Here’s my thought: To all who want to play radio for now, set you up a studio at your house, and you can buy a Rangemaster 1000 transmitter. Check out this site:
www.am1000rangemaster.com The signal can go 3-4 miles, under Part 15 of the FCC’s Rules, no license required.
Read the testimonials from users. Your signal will go 3-5 miles, LEGALLY, under FCC rules, Part 15. Broadcast on the net as well as the AM. I know people who have set up these “mircostations” in small towns and they work well.
I still say who cares about what Cumulus does with 97.1. They are not looking at this list for ideas from all of us “want to be” PD’s! That’s why they hire consultants for.
Well, I’m gone for now, if you want to cuss me out, go to my website, were you will find my email address, and send me your comments in private. I will not be monitoring this list. Oh Tibbs, it’s getting tight in this little AM tin can! At least I’m not eating pork-n-beans for dinner every night like some small station owners!
