As part of Idolator’s extensive coverage of the demise of “smooth jazz” radio, it’s our duty to inform you that WJZZ in Philadelphia, owned by the Greater Media group, flipped away from the format yesterday. MORE »
Posts Tagged ‘Formatting’
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Time To Cut Back On Expenditures, Chris Botti
Another smooth jazz station bites the dust thanks to Clear Channel, this time in Baltimore, as WSMJ 104.3 flipped last week to what is described by the station as “a 1990’s-intensive modern rock format”. Unfortunately, that seems to mean a Stereo MC’s flashback is occasionally thrown in with the Seether and Finger Eleven to mix things up a bit. Still, which format is more dreadful these days? Smooth jazz or “modern rock”? MORE »
It’s A Tough Day To Be Boney James
Will the last smooth jazz station to leave the air blow out the candles? Houston’s own The Wave has flipped formats from the soothing sounds of Paul Hardcastle and Candy Dulfer to a contemporary hits format which according to the station manager will feature tracks from “Alicia Keys, Beyoncé,… MORE »
Is It Possible To Save The Full-Length Album If It Just Takes A <em>Really</em> Long Time For The Songs To Be Released?
That’s an idea put forth by the Wall Street Journal, spinning off from a blog post where one Mark Cuban wondered if bands shouldn’t be “serializing” their songs, releasing them digitally one-by-one over the course of a year rather than in one 10- or 15-song chunk available in stores. Mr. Cuban doesn’t seem particularly concerned if the album itself lives or dies, especially if it can’t survive in the climate of martial law declared by the new model, but Jason Fry of the WSJ (who also outs himself a “song guy”) wonders if the “serialization” model can actually extend the life of the album just a little longer. MORE »
Has The MP3 Killed A Uniquely Jamaican Musical Experience?
Long thought to be so entrenched that it was impervious to the rise of MP3 and CD-R culture, critic Dave Stelfox writes in the Guardian that the seven-inch vinyl single is now “completely extinct” in Jamaica, a topic he also touched on last year in his “Month In Dancehall” column for Pitchfork. But what’s more interesting than another variation on the story of digital files crushing sales of physical music formats, a now all-too-familiar tale around the world, is how the MP3 has also resulted in the collateral loss of one of Jamaica’s most sui generis creations. MORE »
The New My Bloody Valentine CD: Not Gonna Happen
Hopefully you didn’t have you heart set on buying a new My Bloody Valentine CD after all this time, because MBV’s manager tells Billboard that they are planning to take after another famous U.K. art rock band when it comes to releasing their planned 2008 follow up to Loveless. MORE »
Connecticut Staind And Soundgarden Fans Rejoice As Alt-Rock Radio Stages (Kinda) Triumphant Comeback
After an early-’00s format flip to hip-hop that mirrored former alt-rock radio strongholds around the country switching to urban, country, or Latin programming, WPHH-FM in Connecticut has brought back the Pearl Jam two-fers, because “Hartford has long been well served with Top 40 and adult-contemporary stations but hasn’t had an alternative-rock option” for four years. Coolfer rightly notes that it’s tough to gauge whether this is indeed a trend, but as industry types worriedly watch hip-hop sales figures decline, certain stations around the country are slowly re-embracing modern rock. So while this might be a small part of a potentially larger story, one aspect of the WPHH-FM format change did give us pause. MORE »
