I've gone on before about the hectic format change here in the Detroit radio market, and it looks like I'll go on some more. The past year or so has seen a lot of changes. First, 97.1 went from music (rock, heavy and modern stuff) to an all-talk format. This change was a slow one, however. Their last several weeks before the official change had seen them migrating more and more towards talk and away from music. And that specific format seems doomed, at least here in Detroit, as 105.1 WXDG (The Edge) went from a similar format to classic soul. Then we had probably the most welcome change, as 102.7, Ted Nugent's former station, went from classic rock and 90% Ted Nugent material, to easy listening. Yes, I laughed pretty hard when I found out about this one. It seemed that justice had finally been served.
Now this past Labor Day weekend has seen two more stations change over, but not really like we expect. 96.3 used to be "modern hits of the 80's and 90's", and now they're "alternative classics, all the time". Apparently, their use of the word "alternative" leaves MUCH to interpretation, as their new format still allows for the likes of Alanis Morrisette, Goo Goo Dolls, and Collective Soul, in addition to the "flashbacks" that they used to play, like Falco, Duran Duran, the Clash, the Go-Go's, et al. Honestly, not much of a format change at all. And what's really annoying are their new promos..They've got their program director, Garrett Michaels (sorry if I misspelled that) doing these spots, where he's almost apologetic in a snotty kind of way. One of the spots has him saying "what's the deal with Shania Twain? Is she country, rock, country/western, or what? If you're into boot-scootin', I don't mean to offend you, but bla bla bla", we don't play that crap, yadda yadda yadda. Bad bad spots, sloppy advertising. It also doesn't help any that I just don't like Garrett Michaels on the air. He occasionally fills in on the morning show if someone is out sick, and the man has no personality. It's obvious that he's only using his position to get himself on the air, where that opportunity could be better given to an intern or something. But that's a different rant for a different day.
And we have now seen the death of a giant. W4 Country, 106.7, has jumped on the 96.3 bandwagon, and are now playing "hits" from the 70's, 80's, and 90's. This particular change seems doomed from the start. I don't understand why we need TWO stations playing the same material (96.3 and 106.7), and even though 106.7 is throwing in the previous decade, I don't think that'll make a difference. Before 97.1 was rock, they spent a very brief period in the 70's format, and it didn't even last a year, so we'll see what happens with this mess.
(copyright 1999 mdl)