From the "what makes country different" department:
Bob Moody, VP/Programming of Regent Communications, has a hard and fast music rule which he feels helps his stations perform better with ultra-core diarykeepers. Back when he was VP/Programming for WPOC and Nationwide Radio Group he would drive record promoters nuts with his '12 weeks and off' rule. Just as their songs were starting to 'test,' and chart at the top, Moody would drop them. With today's more crowded media environment and lower average time spent listening he has modified it to be 26 weeks: "In general, I get concerned about songs that have been played for over six months, regardless of the rotation pattern."
Yes, Bob knows that many callout driven decision-makers like Cox Radio CEO Bob Neil would say that he's taking his best cards off the table too soon in a very competitive game. Cox country stations are legendary for keeping songs in power current and recurrent rotations for as long as a year or more.
Those folks might want to check Bob's ratings track record in markets of all sizes, from Chesapeake Bay to St. Cloud to Sacramento. Maybe his consistent success is due to his "XX weeks and off" rule or not, but it is true that Bob does many things to make his TSL above average and that rule is absolutely one of them.
1 comment:
Twelve weeks must seem like lunacy to young programmers who don't remember the days of four singles per year! It has also been amusing to me to note how some of the same record guys who hated the "12-week" rule now think it is a SPLENDID idea.
All I know is that, for whatever reason, I've been able to kick the butts of a lot of people who think I'm an idiot. That's fine with me.
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