KLOS moving closer to the present
A post on Facebook’s “The Sound LA Radio Family” group page caught my eye: “So how are people liking the now basically 90’s station, KLOS (95.5 FM)? They are comparing themself to KROQ from that era.”
I had noted some musical changes when the station hired Nik Carter for afternoons; was it moving to a more modern sound instead of staying solely with traditional “classic rock” of the 1970s?
Turns out it is indeed evolving. Information compiled for a recent Friday indicated that the station that day had a decades breakdown of about 2.9 percent of the songs from the 1960s; 25.8 percent from the ‘70s; 28.7 percent ‘80s; 30.9 percent ‘90s; and a full 11.7 percent from the ‘00s and above.
That’s quite a change for the station that once stayed mostly with music from the 1970s. It’s not quite the “active rock” format that I’d like to see — active rock stations tend to play at least some current music — but darn close, and a good move for the station in spite of some listeners lamenting the loss of the ‘70s.
Here’s the problem though: A song released in 1975 is now 50 years old. The listener who grew up with that song is probably at least 65 years old, and even older people want to hear more than the just the same songs they heard in junior high and high school.
Put another way, the senior in high school who first heard Nirvana’s “Never Mind” album when it was released in 1990 is now 52-53 years old. It just makes sense to add songs from the ‘90s and ‘00s even on a classic rock station. KRTH (101.1 FM) found great success doing the same thing for its “oldies” format.
What I think it great for KLOS is that the musical expansion opens the door for any song from any era, with an ear toward finding songs that you haven’t heard in a while. As well, it could easily add some new songs and allow today’s high school generation to come back to radio.
What a concept that would be.
Audacy Layoffs
The large corporate radio model keeps working its magic: Audacy — owner locally of KNX (1070 AM, 97.1 FM), KROQ (106.7 FM), KTWV (94.7 FM), KRTH (101.1 FM), and KCBS-FM (93.1) — announced layoffs that are expected to reach about 300 across the country, as it cuts its way to mediocrity and irrelevance.
Here is Los Angeles, the cuts known thus far include Ralph Stewart (Programmer of KTWV and KCBS-FM), Michelle Briddell (weekend DJ on KTWV), Kevin Kenney (who’s New York show was heard nights on KROQ), Johnathan “Beer Mug” Kantrowe (“Loveline” producer and fill-in DJ, KROQ), Charles Feldman (investigative reporter, KNX), and Alex Silverman (Director of News and Programming, KNX).
It is expected that the positions lost will either remain unfilled or replaced with regional positions overseeing multiple stations.
Country “Going” Strong
It’s been kind of fun to watch the happenings at Go Country 105.1 FM. Bucking industry trends, the station is actually letting the air personalities have more personality, talking a little about the music, and in general reminding listeners why they chose radio over streaming.
The station even has an evening personality … Heather B goes all the way to 12 midnight, giving an extra reason to tune in at night.
Go Country has been on a roll lately ratings-wise; it will be interesting to see if new morning man Bruce Scott — starting Monday — will bring in even more listeners.
HD Status
While there are numerous FM stations broadcasting with the digital HD system, the band that was supposed to benefit most from the technology — AM — has only a small number of stations still using the system in Los Angeles … though to be fair, in other cities there are more.
Unless I am missing some, I only know of two out here: KKGO (1260 AM) and KBRT (740 AM). And the FM extra channels … they are great, at times, but the reception especially in a car is spotty with dropouts aplenty.
Which got me thinking … is HD Radio a success at all? Or would we all be better off switching back to full analog and cleaning up the interference? With AM, dare I say consider bringing back the stereo broadcasting system, or at least pushing apps for greater clarity?
I know one thing … I thought I would miss it in my new car, which did not have an HD radio available even as an option. As it turns out, I don’t. And if I don’t, I am not sure there are that many others who care at all.
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