If you're into Top 40 of the 60s/70s, don't miss this recent Bill Drake interview!

http://www.radioandrecords.com/Profiles/index.asp

Take note of "What can we learn from yesterday's sucesses" near the end of the article. That's required reading! (I doubt Wall Street would "get it" though.)

Thanks for sharing, Egor... Without your link, I would've completely missed this...

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, the million dollar weekend! On your much more music station: <insert>"

One of the, if not THE biggest influences on top40 radio 30-40 years ago. Read between the lines of that article and you will discover the simplicity, but effectiveness of his concepts. Very refreshing.

There was one comment from Bill Drake that I found interesting. It went something like, "when we went into a market, we went into it to be #1. No niche this or niche that." Is Drake implicitly advocating that at least some of today's radio stations should go back to a "big tent" programming philosophy? Could that approach work in 2008?

While choices and diversity on-air are things I regard as desirable, I think every market should still have a "big tent" (or mass market) station, as one provides a common center for the niche stations around them (i.e., their respective audiences). Without any such, one is confronted by a dial of nothing but splinters to wander among. Radio seems much less inviting to explore without some kind of reliable "home base."

I redacted a bunch of fuzzy reminiscing, as I make too many sentimental geezer posts as it is. Suffice to say that KEX of the sixties comes to mind: Wide range, live 24/7, hourly news, cross-generation "safe" MOR, something that could be played at work. It was a common denominator, even somewhat hokey (perhaps intentionally), but by no means mediocre. While it wasn't my favorite station, I still valued it, regarding it as indispensable. Who fills those shoes today?

I realize the relevant question is whether a "big tent" is still commercially viable, and must admit I couldn't know, beyond saying I miss having one myself. I simply took having one for granted, blithely expecting it to always be there, like some kind of utility.

I can't help thinking that consolidation is largely to blame for the lack of a "big tent" station like KEX used to be...or a station like 62KGW. It's pretty hard to go for all the marbles without hurting the other stations in your cluster. How could the Drake philosophy work today?

It would seem to me that if X owns five stations in a market, one could take most of the listeners while the other four played polkas and PSAs. I.e., one could make the bucks while the other four catered to underserved demos or niches on a "sustained" basis--perhaps a wild thought.

I'm naively assuming it all goes into the same pocket and it wouldn't matter how they sliced the pie. The biz dynamic between co-owneds is probably more complicated than that; I have no clue what happens on the books. But I suspect part of the managing philosophy is to foster intramural competition as a means of staff motivation and/or strengthening the org's overall position. I'd presume such might work well or very badly, depending on how it's done. If that's the case, it doesn't seem to be working very well now.

It makes me wonder if running part of a cluster at some tolerable loss as an experimental/developmental training ground might yield better long-term results. I'm thinking here of KINK's early days, and success that grew from that within a few years (though that analogy doesn't quite fit if one considers the early, reluctantly signed-on KINK an extension of King's dodging FM until the market was ripe). And King was in the game for the long run, as opposed to what seems to be the current situation.

(I was out of state during the growth of KINK, so I didn't get to observe the transition of the "big tent" from AM to FM there.)

Great, I don't have to start a new thread! I just learned that K-Earth is still mostly 60s and thought I would listen. It's Saturday morning and I'm hearing Charlie Tuna doing a live show. When they break for a spot set, the station sends down the stream, a series of "best of" from their morning show, featuring Gary Bryan, followed by a spot explaining the advantages of streaming. It was all "first rate"! Back to the live feed, Charlie Tuna, over several breaks, plays an old interview he had with the guy who streaked the Academy Awards show. All this on a Saturday mid-morning! Apparently, some stations are still making an effort to entertain, even outside drive times!

When I clicked on the link, I got a different interview...?

The Drake interview is now at this location:

http://www.radioandrecords.com/Profiles/Pages/Drake_B.asp

Thanks for the link. I also read some other articles including Mike Phillips', Gary Owens.

...and Dick Orkin! Saw him speak at a Country Radio Seminar in Nashville in the late 80s...a creative genius. Remember Chickenman?

He's everywhere, he's everywhere!