For Some, Radio Is Still The Best Way To Hear Music
Written on May 6, 2008 2:58 PM
When WCBS-FM New York went away in 2005, it had a 3.0 share 12-plus. When it returned last summer, it had a 3.7. In between, its audience had plenty of time and opportunity to get its music from other platforms that offered less talk, fewer commercials, larger playlists, and less reliance on somebody else's choices. So why did they come back? This week, Edison Media Research VP of music and programming Sean Ross takes on that question as a key to whether radio will remain a viable way to listen to the music in this week's Ross On Radio. Read more...
Closing In On a National New Music Channel
Written on May 2, 2008 10:03 AM
This week, Clear Channel launched its national Indie rock Website/HD-2 outlet eRockster.com. Several weeks ago, CBS quietly launched Ampradio, a format targeting those listeners on the cusp of Radio Disney and Mainstream Top 40. So what would happen if you combined one channel's body of music that is missing from the radio with the other's appeal to disenfranchised younger listeners? Edison Media Research's Sean Ross has some thoughts on the matter in this week's Ross On Radio, "Closing In On A National New Music Channel." Read more...
Is the Industry Open to Interpretation?
Written on April 17, 2008 2:43 PM
One of the interesting trends to emerge from "American Idol" in recent seasons -- proven again this week by David Cook's version of "Always Be My Baby" -- is that audiences are surprisingly open to hearing songs they know creatively... Read more...
At Classic Rock, AC/DC (And The '80s) Gain Current-cy
Written on April 7, 2008 3:38 PM
It wasn't so long ago that AC/DC was a band with one mass-appeal, all-ages song, and an act that typified why it was so hard for many Classic Rock stations to acknowledge much '80s Rock. Over the last year, however, a number of AC/DC titles have become increasingly viable titles for those stations willing to test them. And in this week's Ross On Radio, Edison Media Research VP of music and programming Sean Ross asks if the boundaries of a format that has long prided itself on stability are finally evolving in "At Classic Rock, AC/DC (And The '80s) Gain Current-cy." Read more...
How Fast Is Too Fast? The 45-Minute Power Rotation
Written on March 19, 2008 2:03 PM
For a while, playing your powers 100 times a week or more was the mark of a truly maverick radio station--one that was likely to be musically distinctive in numerous ways. Then, for a while, it became part of the Top 40 template, coinciding with a bad patch in the format's fortunes. Now, a handful of stations, including the newly launched KHJZ (Hot 95.7) Houston, are banging the hits faster than ever. In this week's Ross On Radio, Sean Ross looks at PPM, the available product, and more, and asks, "How Fast Is Too Fast? The 45-Minute Power Rotation." Read more...