This is what 106.1 should do or 94.1

[In_Tulsa]

http://90sbuzz.com/


"its "Totally 90's" like Nirvana and 2pac..Will Smith, Pearl Jam, Candyman...gonna be fun:)"

This would go over so good in Tulsa.

[ionosphere]

http://90sbuzz.com/


"its "Totally 90's" like Nirvana and 2pac..Will Smith, Pearl Jam, Candyman...gonna be fun:)"

This would go over so good in Tulsa.

This might go well for a couple of years, but it will eventually fall by the wayside, like the all 80's format did for a lot of stations 4 or 5 years ago. Too risky (in my opinion) for KOOL. KTSO has a little bit more wiggle room, because Shamrock seems willing to stay behind their Classic Hits format for a while.

Besides, with The Edge, Mix, KBEZ, etc, there's too much 90's music on the radio as it is.

[In_Tulsa]

This is the press release



America's First Totally 90's FM Music Station Debuts
Sacramento, May 22, 2009: Entercom Communications announced today that it will unveil America’s first FM radio station dedicated totally to the wide variety of music produced in the 1990s. The station will be called 106.5 The Buzz and will debut today, May 22, 2009, at 10 a.m. PT.

Entercom Communications Sacramento Vice President and Market Manager John Geary stated, “106.5 The Buzz has been specifically engineered to appeal to listeners who came of age during one of the most remarkable periods of the 20th Century: The 90’s. The Buzz evokes memories and excitement, and it isn’t afraid to have a little fun with music and events that made their marks on America and history.”

Program Director Dan Mason is impressed with the wide range of sounds, textures and lifestyles that the music of the 90s represents.

“As a child of the 90s myself” Mason notes, “I remember how closely the music of the 90s reflects what was going on then, and influences today’s music. Buzz listeners will share a common life experience by visiting their pasts while they use today’s technologies, like online streaming, social networking, to interact with The Buzz.” Mason also guarantees that The Buzz will feature top quality on air personalities who he will announce soon.

106.5 The Buzz will play unmatched music variety from artists like Nirvana, Madonna, Green Day, TLC, and Pearl Jam. In addition to its FM frequency, 106.5 will also be offered in high definition digital sound on 106.5 HD-1 in the Sacramento area, and it will be available online at www.90sbuzz.com.

[OKCRadioGuy]

There are few similarites between that station's market vs Tulsa. Why would we make the assumption that it work work in Tulsa?

[Kent]

You know, early last week, I briefly wondered why there were no 90's oldies stations.  Then, I realized it was because 90's music, in general, sucked.  It was really a bad decade for pop music.  For about the first third of the 90's, CHR saw an average of 2 defections a week.  A few CHR's that lost their only competitors found their ratings still dropped after the competition left the air.  Even when the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was signed, several industry analysts wondered if it would mean the end of CHR.  The format didn't really see a resurgence until the end of the decade.

In other words, I can't see all 90's working very long in Sacramento, or much of anywhere else.

[ionosphere]

You know, early last week, I briefly wondered why there were no 90's oldies stations.  Then, I realized it was because 90's music, in general, sucked.  It was really a bad decade for pop music.  For about the first third of the 90's, CHR saw an average of 2 defections a week.  A few CHR's that lost their only competitors found their ratings still dropped after the competition left the air.  Even when the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was signed, several industry analysts wondered if it would mean the end of CHR.  The format didn't really see a resurgence until the end of the decade.

In other words, I can't see all 90's working very long in Sacramento, or much of anywhere else.

"Radio-friendly" music has sucked for a very, very long time. I listened to K-Hits the other day for the first time in years, and it was hard to tell when one song ended and another began. They pretty much sounded exactly alike. If you're looking for good new music, you aren't going to hear it on the radio.

[NightAire]

Unless you are going for strictly nostalgia (don't laugh, I understand those who were teens in the 90s have nostalgia for the era), I'd think you'd have to pick a musical style & I'd think that would really limit your playlist.

Burnout is an oldies station's biggest enemy; you'd almost have to pull in "album cuts" from the target artists, & then you've got a lack of familiarity issue (although the single was pretty well dead by this decade, anyway, so at least your audience is more likely to have owned the whole album).

Hey-y-y...  did I just create a new format?  AOP?  Album Oriented Pop?   

(Somebody should be able to market to those hungry for strictly 90s era music, but I have NO idea how to make it work.  The comment that many of the Tulsa stations are full of 90s recurrents is correct; again I say that an all-80s station is where the next money segment is...)

[ionosphere]

I say that an all-80s station is where the next money segment is...)

That's already been done. It didn't work several years ago. I agree that it could work and should work, but is there a market for it now when there wasn't one 4 or 5 years ago? I know I would listen...

[NightAire]

The problem is HOW the all-80s stations were done:

*  First, pick only about 250 songs from the 80s.  Make sure they weren't all the biggest hits, so you can claim "variety."

*  Second, do your best to get a rim-shot signal to whatever market you're trying to hit.

*  Third, position the station so that it is either mocking its audience ("TOTALLY Awesome 98.9!!!") or draining the life out of the music ("The station EVERYBODY at work can agree on.").

*  Finally, don't give it enough time to develop a following.  Classic rock stations can take years to gain any kind of traction, but make sure to dump the 80s format after three books max, preferably, after two...  and blame it on the decade, not the programmers.

The 80s format is not that far away from being the new OLDIES format.  If you figure 40s music was oldies in the, what, 60s? the opportunity to use 80s music to reach the upper end of the money is closing.

If you take everyone who was 24 in 1980 to everyone who was 12 in 1989 (& the 80s audience is likely much more narrow) you're looking at an audience that is current 32 - 53 yr old.  Two years, & the upper end of that audience is in the 55+ demo!  Ugh...

Eighties needs to be done NOW to get any money from the advertisers.  90s needs to figured out in the next 5 years or so, the sooner you can get on it the longer the devoted listeners.

The 90s format may not be as big as the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s (& potentially 80s) formats because the hits were not as much a shared experience as in previous decades...  but I still bet there's enough of an audience to justify a well-programmed and carefully tracked station.

As tough a time as a 90s station is going to have, imagine someone trying to program '00s in 5 - 10 years!  No MTV to speak of, iPods, fewer & fewer top-40 stations...  how will you make the playlist...  will it be the soundtracks to viral videos?

In comparison, 90s radio looks downright easy.   

BTW, if you're looking for a station that appears to be doing a decent job of the 80s ("& more," carefully selected early 90s hits), you might check out Rewind 94.9 in Cincinatti...  haven't listened enough to see if they're burning everything, & they do focus a bit on the "at work" image (can't totally blame 'em, that's where the TSL is), but the mix struck me as pretty enjoyable the times I've tuned in...  YMMV: http://www.rewind949.com