Classic hits

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Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV [1] in the early 1980s and the nostalgia behind it [2] is a major driver to the format. It is considered the successor to the oldies format, [3] a collection of top 40 songs from the late 1950s through the late 1970s that was once extremely popular in the United States and Canada. The term is sometimes incorrectly used as a synonym for the adult hits format, which uses a slightly newer music library stretching from all decades to the present with a major focus on 1990s and 2000s pop, rock and alternative songs. [4] In addition, adult hits stations tend to have larger playlists, playing a given song only a few times per week, compared to the tighter libraries on classic hits stations. For example, KRTH, a classic hits station in Los Angeles, and KSPF, a classic hits station in Dallas, both play power songs up to 30 times a week or more, which is another differentiator compared to other formats that share songs with classic hits libraries.

Contents

The classic hits format saw growth in the 2010s, with stations like KRTH, WCBS-FM in New York, WLS-FM in Chicago, WROR-FM in Boston and Greatest Hits Radio in the UK having successful ratings with this model. [5] Classic hits was named "format of the summer of 2018" [6] by Nielsen Audio's research team emphasizing the huge popularity of the format. In addition, the Millennial generation is listening to this format in record numbers, according to a Nielsen report. [7] As of December 2019, there are now over 1,100 classic hits stations in the United States, the largest amount in format history. [8]

History

Origins

The term "classic hits" is believed to have its birth at WZLX in Boston, when the station hired programming consultant Gary Guthrie to convert the station from adult contemporary to a format composed of the hipper tracks from the oldies format and album tracks from popular classic rock albums. The goal was to attract and magnetize people who experienced adolescence in the 1960s or 1970s and enjoyed the music of those eras, but did not favor the then-current heavy metal or top 40 music of the 1980s. These were people whose mindset was aging beyond album-oriented rock and top 40, yet were still either too young for or uninterested in oldies. [9]

Contemporary definition

Until the mid-2000s, the term "classic hits" was used by stations that played the softer or more hit-oriented side of classic rock. Today, there are a few stations that identify as classic hits, such as WROR-FM in Boston and WJJK in Indianapolis, but whose playlists have more in common with classic rock.

The classic hits format as it is known today began to take shape in the mid 2000s when oldies radio stations started having audience and ratings issues. [10] They believed that they could not be successful with the oldies format and needed to update the music and presentation to stay relevant in the 25-54 demographic on which advertising agencies base ad purchases. After several years of format transitions and changes, the industry needed a term that better defined the stations who were basing their libraries in the MTV era of music. Thus, the term classic hits was accepted by the radio community as the official name and recognized by Nielsen Audio as a format classification. In addition, many adult contemporary (AC) stations that had featured a large library of 1980s music began to phase it out as new artists like Adele, Pink, Bruno Mars, Maroon 5, and others became very popular, thus making these stations much more current oriented. This factor created a situation where artists like Madonna, George Michael, Michael Jackson, and Prince, who are considered major superstars, were no longer being played on AC stations. Most of these stations are now current-intensive, playing newer artists versus those from the 1980s which have aged out of the AC format.

The recent appeal to this format has introduced format flips in major markets, including the flip of WIAD, Washington D.C. from adult contemporary-formatted "Fresh-FM" to classic hits as "The Drive" in October 2018. [11] Most of the current classic hits stations were simply slow evolutions from oldies, including WOGL in Philadelphia, WRBQ-FM in Tampa, KSPF in Dallas, and WOCL in Orlando, among many others. WOGL changed their slogan to "Nobody plays more 80s" [12] whereas WRBQ-FM changed to "Hits of the 80s and more". [13] Radio programmer Scott Shannon, the architect of the modern top 40 era [14] at WHTZ (Z100) in New York during the 1980s, moved his morning show to WCBS-FM, [15] bringing many of the 1980s-style radio formats to the station. [16] Dallas-based JAM Creative Productions, a major producer of radio station jingles in the 1980s, created an updated jingle package for stations that moved to a classic hits presentation. [17] Jingles in the CBS-FM update package include cuts from the popular "Flame Thrower" and "Warp Factor" packages made famous by WHTZ in the 1980s.

Musical definition

Today's classic hits format is a representation of the variety of music types [18] found on the radio in the 1980s including these core artists. These were a few examples that were more commonly used on most classic hits stations.

Rock:

Alternative and new wave:

Pop:

R&B and dance:

Songs from the mid- to late 1970s which had an influence on the MTV generation from artists such as Queen, Foreigner, Elton John, and the Bee Gees are still featured on many of these stations as the oldest part of the library. Additionally, stations have started to play songs from the 1990s and 2000s that have appeal to this audience such as "Linger" by The Cranberries and Uncle Kracker's version of "Drift Away", along with later releases by artists that were successful in the 1980s, such as U2 and Michael Jackson.

Together, all of these variations of musical genres still have mass appeal due to the origins of radio stations that played them together when they were hits. Similar to the philosophy with oldies radio, most of the music is upbeat and edgy. While these music types can be found in other formats, what makes this format unique is the variety of genres being played together on one station as a decade-based collection, as opposed to a single style of music.

Resurgence of 1980s music

There are theories about why the music of the 1980s continues to be popular, especially to younger generations such as Millennials. The advent of music in video games such as the Grand Theft Auto , Rock Band , and Guitar Hero series introduced younger audiences to 1980s songs from artists such as The Police, Queen, Duran Duran, The Cars, R.E.M., Billy Joel, and hundreds of others.

Another theory includes TV shows and movies on Netflix and other streaming video services that are set in the 1980s and feature music from that era. [19] Examples include Netflix's popular series Stranger Things (whose soundtrack features songs from Cyndi Lauper and Toto), Wet Hot American Summer , Glow , and The Goldbergs on ABC. Movies with box office success that are set in the 1980s have also been contributed to the popularity of the music of that era, including Guardians of the Galaxy , The Wedding Singer , Hot Tub Time Machine , and Ready Player One . [20] [21]

Studies suggesting that millennials prefer older music [22] have also been published with theories regarding a major shift in radio programming. According to these reports, the 1970s and 1980s were the last decades that a typical top 40 radio station played all music types; by the 1990s, top 40 began splintering into various genres such as rap and alternative rock, and each station was reformatted to focus on one type of music. Millennials also grew up in an era when music radio formats featuring older music were becoming widespread, something that was not necessarily true for Generation X; much of the classic hits library was included in adult-contemporary stations of the era, while classic rock was only beginning to split from more modern rock stations in the late 1980s, around the same time oldies emerged as a standalone format.

During the late 2010s, many stations in the adult contemporary, adult R&B, and alternative formats either reduced or eliminated songs from the 1970s and 1980s in favor of new artists and more current-based music rotations. This created a void in which gold-based music was not being played on radio in certain markets, thus creating a new opportunity for classic hits stations.

Related Research Articles

Music radio is a radio format in which music is the main broadcast content. After television replaced old time radio's dramatic content, music formats became dominant in many countries. Radio drama and comedy continue, often on public radio.

Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music, broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock, from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music.

KRTH is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Los Angeles, California, United States and serves the Greater Los Angeles area. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. and broadcasts a classic hits format. KRTH's studios are located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile district of Los Angeles. The station's signal covers an extremely large area of Southern California due in part to its antenna location on Mt. Wilson. It can be heard as far south as San Diego, as far east as Moreno Valley, as far west as Santa Barbara, and as far north as Barstow. KRTH is the flagship station for the nationally syndicated program Rewind with Gary Bryan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KCBS-FM</span> Adult hits radio station in Los Angeles

KCBS-FM is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. It is owned by Audacy, Inc., and broadcasts an adult hits music format branded "93.1 Jack FM".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCBS-FM</span> Classic hits radio station in New York City

WCBS-FM is a radio station owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. licensed to New York, New York, and broadcasting a classic hits format. The station's studios are in the combined Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, and its transmitter is located at the Empire State Building.

Dick Bartley's Classic Hits was a syndicated weekly, four-hour, classic hits program written, produced and hosted by Radio Hall-of-Fame broadcaster Dick Bartley. It was syndicated across the country by United Stations Radio Networks and internationally via Radio Express.

WBEN-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Beasley Broadcast Group and broadcasts an adult hits radio format. The studios and offices are in Bala Cynwyd and the broadcast tower is on Wigard Avenue in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia at.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WOGL</span> Classic hits radio station in Philadelphia

WOGL is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. and broadcasts a classic hits radio format. The broadcast tower used by the station is located in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia, at. The station's studios and offices are co-located within Audacy's corporate headquarters in Center City Philadelphia. The station features mostly hits from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s with some 2000s hits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WIOQ</span> Contemporary hit radio station in Philadelphia

WIOQ is a commercial radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station broadcasts a top 40 radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia. The studios and offices are on Presidential Boulevard in Bala Cynwyd. The station carries a mixture of local programming and nationally syndicated shows, including Elvis Duran and the Morning Show.

KOOL-FM is a commercial classic hits radio station in Phoenix, Arizona. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. The station is branded as Big 94.5 and features mostly hits of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, and is one of the top-performing stations in Phoenix. The station primarily competes with Riviera-owned 95.1 KOAI, which concentrates on the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s hits. KOOL-FM's studios are located in downtown Phoenix, and its transmitter is in South Mountain Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WLS-FM</span> Radio station in Chicago

WLS-FM is a commercial classic hits radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois. Owned by Cumulus Media, the station serves the Chicago metropolitan area, and is the radio home of Dave Fogel. The WLS-FM studios are located at the NBC Tower in the city's Streeterville neighborhood, while its transmitter is located at Willis Tower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WFRQ</span> Radio station in Harwich Port, Massachusetts, United States

WFRQ — branded as 93.5/94.7 Frank FM — is a radio station licensed to Harwich Port, Massachusetts. It serves the Cape Cod market with an adult hits format. The station is also heard on 102.9 WPXC-HD2 (Hyannis) via HD Radio and on 94.7 W234DP (Hyannis), a translator of WPXC-HD2. Unlike other Frank FM stations launched in the mid-2000s, this Frank FM station was patterned after Jack FM. It currently plays a broad selection of music from the 1960s to present.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WOMC</span> Classic hits radio station in Detroit

WOMC is a commercial radio station licensed to Detroit, Michigan. It airs a classic hits radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. The studios are located on American Drive off 11 Mile Road in Southfield, Michigan. The transmitter is located on Woodward Heights Blvd. in Ferndale.

KSPF is a commercial radio station licensed to Dallas, Texas, and serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. KSPF is owned by Audacy, Inc., and airs a classic hits radio format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WOCL</span> Radio station in DeLand, Florida

WOCL is a commercial radio station, licensed to DeLand, Florida, and serving Greater Orlando and Central Florida. It is owned by Audacy, Inc., and airs a classic hits radio format, focusing on the hits from the 1980s but with some 90s and 2000s titles as well. The station's studios and offices are on Pembrook Drive in Maitland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRBQ-FM</span> Classic hits radio station in Tampa, Florida

WRBQ-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Tampa, Florida, airing a classic hits radio format. Owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group, its studios are on Executive Center Drive North, near Gandy Boulevard in St. Petersburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WDRC-FM</span> Radio station in Connecticut, United States

WDRC-FM is a radio station with a classic rock format licensed to Hartford, Connecticut. The station began broadcasting in 1959 and was the first commercial FM station in the Hartford radio market. The station is owned by John Fuller's Red Wolf Broadcasting Corporation, with studios located on Blue Hills Avenue in Bloomfield, Connecticut, with other radio stations and a transmitter site in Meriden, Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WMTR (AM)</span> Oldies radio station in Morristown, New Jersey, United States

WMTR is an American AM radio station owned by Beasley Broadcast Group. It is licensed to Morristown, New Jersey and serves Morris County and surrounding areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WDRR</span> Radio station in Martinez, Georgia

WDRR, also known as "93.9 Bob FM", is a classic hits radio station located in Augusta, Georgia. The station is licensed to the town of Martinez, Georgia by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and broadcasts with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 13 kW. The station is owned by Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., through licensee Beasley Media Group, LLC. Its studios are located just two blocks from the Augusta-Richmond County border in unincorporated Columbia County, Georgia and the transmitter is in Augusta proper near Fort Eisenhower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WZLR</span> 1980s classic hits radio station in Xenia, Ohio, United States

WZLR, known as "95.3 and 101.1 The Eagle," is a radio station broadcasting a 1980s classic hits format currently owned by Cox Media Group. Licensed to Xenia, Ohio, United States, it serves the Dayton area. According to the Federal Communications Commission's website, the station has transmitted at 6,000 watts since 1998. Its studios are co-located with other Cox Media properties in the Cox Media Center building near downtown Dayton. WZLR's transmitter is located in Xenia and translator on the WHIO-TV tower in Germantown, Ohio.

References

  1. ↑ "CNN - MTV changed the music industry on August 1, 1981 - July 31, 1998". www.cnn.com. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
  2. ↑ "Why Pop Culture Is Obsessed With The 1980s Right Now". Film School Rejects. 2018-03-26. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
  3. ↑ "What's The Musical Future Of An 'Oldies' Format?". Insideradio.com. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  4. ↑ Classic Hits - Westwood One.com
  5. ↑ "Most popular radio stations in Los Angeles 2019 | Statistic". Statista. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  6. ↑ "And the Winner Is... Radio Listeners Preferred Classic Hits During the Summer of 2018". Nielsen Audio. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  7. ↑ "Millennials Flip the Dial to Classic Hits as the Summer Starts". Nielsen Audio. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  8. ↑ "Format Count: Classic Hits Soars To Record Number Of Outlets". Insideradio.com. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
  9. ↑ "About Nickey Radio". Archived from the original on 2017-10-26. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  10. ↑ Ross, Sean (2005-01-24). "Don't Drop Oldies Before You've Read This". Edison Research. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  11. ↑ Venta, Lance (2018-10-03). "Classic Hits 94.7 The Drive Debuts In Washington". RadioInsight. RadioBB Networks. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  12. ↑ "98.1 WOGL". WOGL. Entercom Communications Corporation. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  13. ↑ "Q105 - Tampa Bay's Hits of the '80s & More!". WRBQ-FM. Beasley Media Group. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  14. ↑ Venta, Lance (2014-02-07). "Looking Back At Scott Shannon's Impact & Legacy". RadioInsight. RadioBB Networks. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
  15. ↑ Hinckley, David (2017-08-14). "Scott Shannon and WCBS-FM: Is It Possible Youth Isn't Always All That Matters?". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  16. ↑ Hinckley, David. "WCBS-FM plays up the '80s, and a younger audience responds". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
  17. ↑ "JAM: WCBS-FM Update". Jingles.com. JAM Creative Productions. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  18. ↑ "80s Classic Hits". uDiscoverMusic. 2018-09-12. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  19. ↑ "Why Are Millennials So Obsessed With the 80s? – Millenial Influx" . Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  20. ↑ Jacobs, Fred (May 22, 2019). "Loving the music you didn't grow up with". Jacobs Media.
  21. ↑ Ross, Sean (July 27, 2021). "Who's teaching your kids oldies? Radio, and you". Radio Insight. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Millennials prefer music from 20th century 'golden age' to the pop of today". Metro. 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
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