Oldies And The Fatal Flaw

The reason some Oldies stations are signing off has nothing to do with programming. It has everything to do with advertisers spending their money elsewhere. And it also has everything to do with programmers not following advertisers' dollars.

Remember the Taco Bell ads with the dog? People loved those ads, but the ads didn't sell tacos. Revenue went down and the campaign was scrapped. The question is: does oldies radio as we know it sell cars? Does it sell tacos? Sadly, that's not our question to answer. It's a decision for those spending money on airtime to peddle their wares.

Without their money, the format will die.

Personally, I think the oldies format is fatally flawed. Oldies radio, in general, is constantly targeting an older and older audience. Twenty years ago, a forty year old grew up during the 50s and 60s. Oldies radio played songs from his or her youth. Today, a forty year old grew up during the 70s and 80s. I don't hear those songs on oldies radio.

Why not?

Not only do I think the format is flawed, I even hate the term oldies. If I were programming one of these stations, I'd work towards distancing my station from that word. I'd play "Greatest Hits," not Oldies. The term "old" is derogatory to very same people oldies radio needs to reach. How ignorant is it to image a format around a term that is precisely what the listener doesn't want to be? I'd also carefully move my oldies station forward with late 70s and 80s records.

Honestly, I think Jack is a better oldies format. Musically, it's brilliant. Most of those songs are oldies to someone in their 30s and 40s, but you don't feel old when listening to Jack. (Jack's struggle will be personality and connecting over the long haul - but musically, it's dead on)

Oldies began as a format that played favorite songs from your youth. Today, oldies is a format of songs from before you were born. It's a format for grandparents. As I type this, the 80's station is playing Heart "What About Love" and the oldies station is playing the Hollies "Bus Stop." My point there is made.

Do enough advertisers want to reach grandparents to keep oldies radio on the air? Time will tell.