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The Straight Skinny
Long May The Wave, Wave
By Carol Archer |
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To my mind, it's a perilously thin line between attempting to mainstream CBS Radio's venerable KTWV(The Wave)/Los Angeles to grow cume and rank, and diluting the station's brand and totally unique, unduplicated position. As the percentage of instrumentals in The Wave's mix dwindles to one-third, the result sounds reminiscent of commonplace iterations of AC, especially given the dearth of library instrumentals, which turn over so quickly it makes your head spin.
By the same token, the clocks are in flux. The station is playing some current instrumentals, but the emphasis for the moment seems to be more on air talent than music programming. (The music is literally another story.) Jocks are obviously working their boards, with segues tight as clenched fists, talking over intros and hitting posts like the pros they are.
Efforts to take stations like The Wave mainstream don't have a history of being particularly successful, though quite a number of stations have abandoned the phrase "smooth jazz." In many cases focus groups research reveals how deeply ingrained the brand was in the minds of listeners. And not only was it a familiar, recallable, comfortable phrase with listeners, but it also had no negative connotations. The smooth jazz moniker was still powerful and positive, and it often fares better in the research than the alternatives of "hip jazz," "cool jazz" or "city jazz." Time alone – that is, PPM -- will tell whether PD Jhani Kaye's "jazz"-free re-direction proves fruitful. Let's hope so.
Burnin' Down The House
"The Harmonic Lounge" founder/host Bill Harman hasn't monitored KTWV(The Wave)/L.A., but has perused the station's music lists and offers the following feedback on the format's evolution: "They are now strictly AC/Urban Oldies based in their vocals, while [my approach] would be much more format-oriented, with a small mixture of AC material to flavor the presentation. It's bittersweet because I firmly believe that we have to change the entire concept, burn it to the ground and see what rises from the ashes before we can start to see a direction. There will be multiple directions and presentations in the future. I know that the music is still good and there's an audience out there for it. I'm very happy to be in a strong niche once again and we all just have to ride the current times to get to the other side. The way SJ is being done now is toast and we'd better start looking to dig our way out of the hole."
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