When I first got the bug to develop an internet oldies station in 1999, little did I realize that interest in internet radio would grow to what it is today. And it ain’t finished. Oldies Radio on the web specifically continues to grow due to an apparent desire of conventional AM & FM oldies programmers to kill the hen that laid the golden eggs. To a lesser degree, oldies radio stations in the USA in the early 21st century have taken the same approach that AM stations followed in the late 70’s and early 80’s. ‘The demos are getting older’, ‘No one knows but a few songs’, ‘Advertisers don’t want the oldies crowd’ and ‘We can’t get ratings up’ are statements which comprise the lament of oldies PD’s today. Ironically, these same honchos, by following these philosophies, have become the architects of alienation in turning off millions of listeners to conventional oldies radio.
Incredibly, large markets like New York and Baltimore are today without true oldies stations. Most oldies stations which exist regardless of market size are either satellite, voice tracked, or poorly programmed. In my opinion, today’s average Oldies PD is a research guy or girl who never knew the music, never loved or even understood the music, and cannot relate to those who listen to the music. I’ve sat in on a few ‘sessions’ with ‘big-name’ jocks and programmers who adamantly state that there’s nothing that can be done. They are ironically telling the truth, in that THEY don’t know WHAT to do. Many of them never ‘got it’, and still don’t.
Their frustration is akin to a child who gets an expensive toy, can’t figure out what to do with it, and then throws it against the wall because it got the best of him. All the kid had to do was go to the one who made it and learn how to do it. There are plenty of older cats who did quite well in the 60’s with oldies who are still around and could pass along some real savvy advice to make it work. However, they’re either too preoccupied, too disinterested, or altogether ignored by the programming ‘experts’ who continue to destroy what is left of the format. That’s why internet radio continues to find a valued place in the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. The medium will continue to grow. For all formats to be sure, but especially for internet oldies radio. It’s truly as…to quote an old positioning liner from years ago…the place where all the good songs have gone!’
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Oldies Radio..Where Have All the Good Songs Gone?
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