Another format has launched where the music will be totally random. Audacy San Francisco has launched 105.3 Dave FM, Totally Random Radio on KITS-FM. Listeners will hear anything from Prince to Pat Benatar to The Cure, Journey, Nirvana, Huey Lewis and others.
“Dave FM is an opportunity for us to provide our audience a station that encompasses a wide array of music genres, full of recognizable hits across multiple decades,” said Stacey Kauffman, Regional Vice President and Market Manager, Audacy San Francisco. “We trust this station will be able to offer listener favorites each and every day, no matter their taste.”
What’s going to make these formats work is the addition of personality. Howard Cogan on “Jack” was the “personality” of the station. There should probably be more to a station than “we’re random” to make it work. John’s “WOW Factor” is a great idea -to get the listener to say “wow” hearing a song they haven’t heard in a long time. Conversely, if a listener wants to hear his/her “favorite” songs, it’s feasible that this station isn’t for them. I know of one major market station that rocketed to #1 by insuring that when the listener tuned in, they were hearing one of their favorite songs. That #1 position was bolstered by friendly personalities and fun promotions that reflected the feelings of the listeners at the time. The station wavered from that “favorite” tactic, started using rubber stamp promotions-and it’s not #1 today. Say what you want about “random” radio, but without the basics of personality fun radio, they can’t expect to achieve their full potential.
First it was my baby The WOW Factor. A smash success in Phoenix, now there will be copycats.
Wow Radio, KOAI in Phoenix, ranks a lowly 16th in the Phoenix market. Sorry, but that’s hardly a “wow,” based on ratings performance lol.
If I want a random playlist, I have 500 MP3s to listen to….and no 8 minute commercial breaks.
That may be you, but if you look around the country, these random playlist stations are popular. Certainly more popular than alternative rock.