April 26, 2015
Modern rock continues to enjoy steady ratings growth, thanks to a deepening well of young, melodic bands and investments made by broadcasters to strengthen their brands. The format’s ratings share of men 18-49 grew 12% during the past three years while men 25-54 increased by double that amount, Nielsen data shows.
Modern rock added an outlet in Phoenix last year and moved back to a full signal in Chicago, while HD Radio-fed translator stations sprouted up from Tampa to Raleigh to Minneapolis.
“What we’re seeing is the influence of today’s Millennials on musical trends and musical tastes,” says Jim Fox, OM of Entercom’s Sacramento cluster and program director of modern rock “Radio 94-7” KKDO. The generational shift from Gen X’s “Hey, wait, I’ve got a new complaint” to Gen Y’s “Shut up and dance with me” has jacked up the format’s pop quotient during the past three years and spawned cume-enhancing crossovers.
“The core sound is focused, fresh and strong,” says programming strategist Greg Strassell. “Crossovers help expose the genre, making some alternative music true mass-appeal hits and giving it added cume appeal.”
The pendulum shift to pop has also heightened sharing with adult alternative. Half of the 10 most played modern rock songs this week are also top 10 at adult alternative, according to Mediabase.
But sharing music makes it more challenging for modern rock to have a unique musical position and enjoy the perks of “owning” artists. “It comes down to whether you are willing to fight for those songs in an environment when you could have 5-6 other stations playing them,” Fox says.
Modern rock wouldn’t be in a strong position today without a steady stream of quality music. But there's more to it than that. Many companies have improved their brands. “Morning show development, and some re-branding and refocusing of station names to rid themselves of rock images that may have held them back, has helped stimulate consistent growth,” Strassell says.
A strong music cycle is a good time to ensure other brand elements are being developed, he says. “Otherwise that music tide could go out and leave you with only the strength of what is between the music,” Strassell says. “Now is the time alternative should be building great morning shows and other brand features.”
Programmers also need to keep their antenna up for the next musical shift. “If the alternative radio community doesn’t recognize when that pendulum of critical mass begins to swing in the other direction, they’ll get let behind,” warns Fox.
Today’s emphasis on pop has some programmers wondering what happened to the electric guitar in modern rock. Troy Hanson, head of corporate programming for rock formats at Cumulus Media, chalks it up to some modern rock PDs having closed minds. “You hear them complain about playing too many crossovers and not having artist ownership anymore. But that’s the danger of poo-pooing any type of rock song because it ‘sounds like an active rock song,’” Hanson says. “The audience doesn’t talk like that.”
Modern rock added an outlet in Phoenix last year and moved back to a full signal in Chicago, while HD Radio-fed translator stations sprouted up from Tampa to Raleigh to Minneapolis.
“What we’re seeing is the influence of today’s Millennials on musical trends and musical tastes,” says Jim Fox, OM of Entercom’s Sacramento cluster and program director of modern rock “Radio 94-7” KKDO. The generational shift from Gen X’s “Hey, wait, I’ve got a new complaint” to Gen Y’s “Shut up and dance with me” has jacked up the format’s pop quotient during the past three years and spawned cume-enhancing crossovers.
“The core sound is focused, fresh and strong,” says programming strategist Greg Strassell. “Crossovers help expose the genre, making some alternative music true mass-appeal hits and giving it added cume appeal.”
The pendulum shift to pop has also heightened sharing with adult alternative. Half of the 10 most played modern rock songs this week are also top 10 at adult alternative, according to Mediabase.
But sharing music makes it more challenging for modern rock to have a unique musical position and enjoy the perks of “owning” artists. “It comes down to whether you are willing to fight for those songs in an environment when you could have 5-6 other stations playing them,” Fox says.
Modern rock wouldn’t be in a strong position today without a steady stream of quality music. But there's more to it than that. Many companies have improved their brands. “Morning show development, and some re-branding and refocusing of station names to rid themselves of rock images that may have held them back, has helped stimulate consistent growth,” Strassell says.
A strong music cycle is a good time to ensure other brand elements are being developed, he says. “Otherwise that music tide could go out and leave you with only the strength of what is between the music,” Strassell says. “Now is the time alternative should be building great morning shows and other brand features.”
Programmers also need to keep their antenna up for the next musical shift. “If the alternative radio community doesn’t recognize when that pendulum of critical mass begins to swing in the other direction, they’ll get let behind,” warns Fox.
Today’s emphasis on pop has some programmers wondering what happened to the electric guitar in modern rock. Troy Hanson, head of corporate programming for rock formats at Cumulus Media, chalks it up to some modern rock PDs having closed minds. “You hear them complain about playing too many crossovers and not having artist ownership anymore. But that’s the danger of poo-pooing any type of rock song because it ‘sounds like an active rock song,’” Hanson says. “The audience doesn’t talk like that.”
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