LA Radio Waves

By: LA Radio Studio
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  • A weekly radio podcast covering radio news, business, history and innovation - hosted LA radio veteran Mike Stark and LA radio columnist Richard Wagoner.
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Episodes
  • Radio Waves Podcast #382

    Radio Waves Podcast #382
    Sep 22 2023
     Radio: September 8, 2023             Trends are funny. Funny in an interesting way, and often caused by forces not necessarily obvious.             Such an example is top-40 radio, represented locally by KIIS (102.7 FM). The station that almost single-handedly brought the format back from its death in the early 1980s while hitting record high ratings for an FM station, is on hard times now. The July Nielsens had the station tied for 8th place with a 3.7 share of the audience … a far cry from the 10+ shares of the 1980s.             But I am not here to bash KIIS. I am merely using it as an example of some trends that have come together, and perhaps help find a way out.             First and foremost, the appeal of oldies cannot be denied. Out of the top-10 stations, fully six are either fully oldies-based or rely heavily on them in the music mix. KRTH (101.1 FM) KTWV (94.7 FM), My FM (KBIG, 104.3), KOST (103.5 FM) Jack (KCBS-FM, 93.1) and KLOS (95.5 FM) all predominantly play songs not released in the last year.             KIIS is definitely not alone. Top-40, or Contemporary Hit Radio as it is called today. has taken a hit nationwide. As the format tends to attract younger listeners, the fact that many younger listeners are getting their music from streaming services and apps like TikTok, it seems to be the natural progression.             Indeed, InsideMusicMedia’s Jerry Del Colliano has extensively covered the migration to and influence of streaming; a recent Billboard.com story spoke of TikTok’s appeal to young listeners; top-40 stations across the country have added more “gold” to their playlists; and the idea of playing music that is old but “new to you” has taken hold as an easy way to attract listeners.             But it doesn’t work to attract younger listeners, thus top-40 as a format suffers.             Yet the answer lies in the appeal of the very things that are supposedly killing radio. TikTok is exposing kids to music, new and old, from multiple genres. Streaming services use curators to find music that listeners may like, based upon the songs they play — and those they skip.              Add in Sean Ross, who writes in RadioInsight.com that most people fondly remember their own top-40 listening days from “when top-40 played it all,” and you have the answer: play it all.             Top-40 has always thrived when it played it all, and has always stagnated when it limited itself. You saw it happen with too much “bubblegum,” too much disco, too much country, too much of “the Miami sound,” too much grunge, and too much Hip-Hop. All of those eras had temporarily success, but ultimately led to ratings declines as listeners left for other stations.             Yet when “they played it all,” such as the 1960s where you could hear The Beatles, The Bee Gees, Jefferson Airplane and Cream all on the same station, it just worked. Same for when Prince, The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, and Foreigner all shared space on the same station. Today KRTH is leading the ratings doing nothing more than playing the music that once played on KIIS … Naked Eyes, Wham, Soft Cell, Tears for Fears, Madonna, Depeche Mode and Outfield.             That variety of music makes things interesting, and today’s teens especially are, according to research, more willing to listen to different genres right now than any other generation.             Inside Music Media’s Del Colliano suggests that perhaps it is time to hire curators — locally, of course, so you can better match the audience — to find new music and present it. “Young audiences are more eclectic than baby boomers, Gen X or even older millennials - they mix genres,” he explains. They are “spellbound” when they find it, open to fresh musical styles, “and amazingly curious.”             Radio is losing young people, he says in part because, aside from the commercial overload, “radio no longer breaks new music and acts.” Fix it by doing so, and become the influencers you used to be, Del Colliano advises programmers, instead of letting social media do it.             Ross takes it a step further and blames, in part, the record companies for not even trying to promote new musical styles and acts to hit radio stations.             I agree fully with all of the above, which you already know if you’ve read this column very long. Your responses to me tell me that you agree as well. And like the dark days of hit top-40 radio before, all it takes is a KHJ, a Ten-Q, a KIIS-FM, or the like to take up the cause and do it right.              Top-40 is not dead, it’s just dormant. And the time is ripe for a comeback. Hopefully sooner than later.             Rumor Mill             Is Saul Levine ready to ...
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  • Radio Waves Podcast #381

    Radio Waves Podcast #381
    Aug 30 2023
     Radio Waves: September 1, 2023Antenna ManiaI recently had a chance to try out a really cool looking — at least in the opinion of some — antenna for my truck. The brand itself doesn’t matter much as these are all similar in design: flexible rubber with some sort of spiral wire inside to, as the description says, optimize reception for both AM and FM bands.Most modern cars and trucks have special antennas that barely stick out of the body, and rely on signal amplifiers to get good reception. And most do quite well, including the one on my son’s Chevy Cruze … that radio gets better reception than almost any car radio I’ve ever used. But my truck is a 1999 Silverado, with the old school antenna. The factory original sticking up 31 inches from the fender, it is optimized for FM frequencies but does quite well with AM too, including picking up the HD digital stream of KBRT (740 AM) from San Pedro. and occasionally getting the identification from KMZT (1260 AM) even though I can’t get the actual HD sound until I get closer. FM is similarly solid everywhere I drive.But I couldn’t help wondering if the mini flex antenna — a “new generation” with a carbon-fiber base covering, built-in copper wire, and “optimized AM/FM reception by nearly 40%,” whatever that actually means — could live up to the hype and at least match or even beat my factory install.Turns out, it couldn’t, and I realized that the 40% optimized reception means the reception is about 40% of what I used to receive with my original. Most people may not have noticed the difference in FM performance, but I have an HD radio head unit, and it likes a good clear signal. FM stations generally did come in well with little interference similar to the original, though a few stations were just missing, such as KFBG (100.7 FM) and KGB (101.1 FM), which usually come in decently due to the signal shooting straight up the coast from San Diego to San Pedro … at least on a clear day.But the HDs were hit and miss, with more reception problems than ever. Even Go Country (105.1 FM) had trouble locking in the HD stream, and that is usually one of the most reliable where I like.AM on the other hand, was an entirely disappointing experience. Static everywhere, even over flamethrower 50,000 watt powerhouse KFI (640 AM). KMZT could not even be heard, and mid-signal stations such as KLAC (570 AM), KABC (790 AM), and KHJ (930 AM) were essentially unlistenable.To prove it wasn’t just weather or atmospheric conditions on the test day, I put my factory antenna back on and all the reception problems cleared up. Immediately.I bring this up not to bash the manufacturer of the antenna I evaluated. Instead I want to highlight the fact that antenna design, including length and other aspects, is exceedingly important to good reception. AM likes an antenna as long as possible, FM seems to work well with — on a car at least — that 31 inches preciously mentioned. Something to do with wavelength as I recall — engineers, feel free to confirm or correct me.Newer cars usually use special small antennas are just that: antennas designed to work with the car’s construction and electronics to optimize reception.Home radios and stereos can suffer from the same issues, and reception there can often be improved for AM by rotating the radio or moving it away from other electronics to cancel out interference. For FM, if you can connect it to a house antenna just like most televisions used to be, you’ll hear stations from greater distances than ever before.Of course all of this is moot if you listen via apps. But that’s another column …Sound ScienceAnother new toy I recently evaluated is a special little box that turns my normal iPhone’s Car Play wired system into wireless. Not an amazing must-have, mind you, but really a nice thing if you do have it. When I start up the truck, the phone connects automatically and starts playing whatever I was listening to last.Yesterday I was driving my dog Snoopy back from a check-up at the vet’s office, and Alt 98.7 FM came on. I really wasn’t paying attention, but it turned out it was playing through CarPlay via the iHeart app. How does it compare with the over-the-air signal?I checked. While it does sound good on the app, over the air is vastly superior on a direct comparison. More open, more dynamic … just better.This is not an indictment of apps, by the way. Some stations, including both over-the air simulcasts and internet-only stations sound absolutely phenomenal on apps. And Alt does sound fine. But the difference in quality was noticeable, and probably related to reducing bandwidth on the internet stream to allow more connections as well as cut streaming costs. Just a guess … again, engineers can feel free to confirm or correct me.Where the apps excel, though, are areas of weak reception. As long as the internet signal is good, apps can work where AM and FM cannot. And while I am on the subject ...
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  • Radio Waves Podcast #380

    Radio Waves Podcast #380
    Aug 8 2023
    Radio: August 11            Hearing Taylor Swift 24/7 wasn’t enough for you? You needed more?            On the heals of Taylor 105.1 HD3, in which one of the HD radio streams tied to Go Country 105 plays nothing but Taylor Swift (you need a special HD radio to hear it; new cars often have them) came word that KIIS-FM joined the trend.            Scheduled for August 3-9 — so depending on when you read this it may already be over — KIIS-FM became “SWFT-FM,” playing at least four Swift songs an hour. Last weekend included classic Taylor hits, Monday was Merch-Monday in which listeners could win official Swift memorabilia, Tuesday was Taylor TWOsday — back to back Swift songs — and much more.            Even morning man Ryan Seacrest got into the act giving way a pair of tickets for the final show on August 9th.            Not to be outdone, Alt 98.7 was doing an “anything but Swift” promotion. Different strokes.            Stunting            While 105.1 HD3 continues to play all Swift through the end of the month, rumors are circulating on what will happen when the stunt is done. I originally assumed that the format would revert to the Adult Standards format that focussed on Frank Sinatra and friends, but there is word on the street that something new night be coming. And you know what happens when one assumes.            HD radio signals are a tough sell, as the reach is limited compared with regular FM signals, due to a far lower number of HD radios in the hands of consumers as well as reception problems  — dropouts — when the signal isn’t pristine. That can often be made up by the use of smartphone apps and smart speakers … unfortunately adding more costs, such as music streaming license fees and costs associated with computers. As most HD signals have few to no commercials or sponsorships, it is most definitely a labor of love for owners who truly try to make a go of it.            Could the right format combined with the right promotion make an HD stream at least break even, if not profitable? That’s your question of the week: If you could program an HD stream, such as 105.1 HD3, what would you put on it and why? For extra credit, how might you promote the station to not only attract listeners, but advertisers?             In the meantime, I’ll keep an ear to the ground to see if a new format will indeed be replacing All-Taylor.            Not Quite            “In a significant change for Los Angeles radio listeners, KNX has stopped simulcasting its broadcasts on 1070 AM, a frequency it had occupied for over a century,” read the story posted at newsbreak.com.  “The shift comes about a year and a half after KNX moved its main broadcast to 97.1 FM.” The story — no longer available on line — went on to state that listeners were shocked when they tuned in to 1070 AM and didn’t hear the normal news format.            A reader of this very column sent me the posting; at first I just assumed that management made a decision that was, um, questionable. Most people I know still tune to KNX on the AM band due to its significantly stronger signal, even if the fidelity on most radios is not quite as good. “Stupid,” I responded.            But then I tuned in to hear it for myself. Same news as always, an exact simulcast as has been happening for the past year. That’s odd…            Soon KNX management responded directly to the story: “Hi there, Alex Silverman here, Director of News & Programming at KNX News,” said the social media post. “Just want to clarify: we have not ended the simulcast. KNX News is still on both 97.1 FM and 1070 AM in all hours except weekend mornings (Sat 6-11a and Sun 6-8a), when 1070 AM airs some paid and specialty programming.             “This has been the case for more than a year, and there has been no change recently. During those hours the news is available on 97.1 FM as well as the Audacy app and by asking your smart speaker to 'play KNX News.’”            So what happened? AI, or artificial intelligence that can be used to wrote stories. According to sources close to the subject, it was a story written primarily by artificial intelligence, and I will go out on a limb and state that the AI system involved probably just picked up a discussion by people related to the weekend morning paid programming. In the beginning of the simulcast, I am sure there were listeners surprised/shocked/etc. to hear something other than news in those time blocks. But weekend mornings does not translate to all the time.            Luckily for you, we don’t use AI here. In fact, I try to avoid all intelligence, not just artificial. Just ask my editor - he’ll agree completely.            Future Series            I ...
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