Last week, the Stones rolled into Detroit to play a crowd-pleasing stadium show at Comerica Park in downtown Detroit. Their Zip Code Tour has been extremely successful, despite the chronological ticking of the band’s collective age clocks. Somehow, it doesn’t matter to them or the 40,000 or so in attendance.
This drone’s-eye view above the concert, courtesy of The Motor City Drone Company gives you an amazing view of the magnitude of the concert:
As their entourage (and semis) left town, the market can now focus on the next extravaganza to hit the Motor City – the Eagles at the (not long for this world) Joe Louis Arena for their “History of the Eagles Tour” in just a few days. And the hits just keep on coming.
2015 is already an amazing year for Classic Rock. But the truth is, you could have said the same thing about 2013, 1997, 1989, and just about every year since the format hit the radio waves with a vengeance in the mid-‘80s.
So one of the nice things about this blog being more than a decade old is that friends and readers regularly send me articles and stories they think may be worthy of a post.
That happened last week when a friend emailed me a Fivethirtyeight.com analysis of the Classic Rock format with the ominous title, “Why Classic Rock Isn’t What It Used To Be” by Walt Hickey. The title turned out to be deceiving because the story was more about the mechanics and process of how music is tested, selected, and programmed at Classic Rock stations around the U.S.
But the real kicker is that this story isn’t a new one. It’s a year old and we actually blogged about it at that time. (I won’t even tell you how long it took me to figure this out.)
And so, another piece of history goes wafting by – until I took the time to re-read the article, and started asking the Ronald Reagan question: Is the Classic Rock format better off than it was a year ago? Or two years ago?
For that task, I turned to Jon Miller and the Nielsen team who were in the process of calculating the June/Spring PPM tallies.
So here’s the report card on the format – a very upbeat run that shows continued growth for stations across the metered landscape. You’ll notice the rise began even before all those Voltair boxes were turned on:
So, growth-wise, how does this two-year period play out? The chart be
So once again, we’re left with the happy task of trying to explain this phenomenon. How is it that three decades later, Classic Rock is experiencing its best ratings success, “demographic cliff” and all?
Last weekend, more evidence came pouring in – this time from the motion picture industry. There’s a good likelihood you attended “Minions” last weekend, an animated film that grossed more than $115 million in its debut. Or you’ll be seeing it soon.
As NOW’s Tom Taylor informed me after walking out of the theater, the movie is “chock-a-block” with nostalgic references, and of course, lots of Classic Rock. As Tom told me, “You’re always talking about the resilience of classic rock, and it’s very much on display in Minions.”
And it’s pop culture phenomena like this that breathe life and vitality into music that is decades old, but redefined by a bunch of odd yellow characters that have one or two eyes, singing jibberish that is funny to the ear.
The Doors, the Kinks, Hendrix, the Beatles – in an environment that has multi-generation multi-media appeal. And if you stay for the credits, you’ll be treated to the Minions’ rendition of “Revolution.” Not a bad song to be humming as millions leave theaters this summer.
As young Gen Z kids see Minions with their Xer parents and Boomer grandparents, the music comes alive…again.
And a whole new generation of Classic Rockers is born.
So how’s the format doing? Most definitely, better than it used to be.
Thanks to the Motor City Drone Company | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
- How Radio Can Improve Its Digital Content Batting Average - January 3, 2025
- Is It Time For Radio Broadcasters To “Thelma & Louise” Over The Demographic Cliff? - January 2, 2025
- Some Good News About Radio? Yes! - January 1, 2025
Another great, thoughtful piece, Fred.
On behalf of all of us who live and die for the world’s oldest electronic form of entertainment, I think it’s great that you put so much work into your blog to keep the important discussions alive.
I would agree that the genre of Classic Rock is alive and well, but everyone in management and programming should do themselves a favor and subscribe to all of the major subscription forms of music delivery…simply to “know the enemy.”
Since retirement, I’ve slowly found myself being drawn into these services because they are doing what radio used to do so well: they are creative in a way that consumers can’t be. For those who haven’t learned yet: Pandora creates fake radio station based on a style. If you choose the Sting format, you get Coldplay, Peter Gabriel and every artist with a sound similar to The Police. They use a lot of science to make this work and they do it with thousands of artists and groups. Rhapsody offers you almost every album and single recorded, so subscribers can toss their CD collections and stop paying 99 cents for singles on iTunes. You can also download all your fav LPs and listen off-line. I’m enjoying these services despite the fact that without radio, I’d probably be a homeless person at my age. These services will only continue to kill our business if we refuse to learn the lessons they offer on giving listeners/customers something they obviously are enjoying: creative music entertainment, And they’re doing it without jocks! Imagine how great we could be if we stopped sitting around in the conference room, dismissing Progress and utilized all of our assets?
Jim, you make some great points. And no longer being in those conference rooms has allowed you to take a broader view of the changing landscape. Radio would do well to study these other platforms and brands. They certainly have studied us. Thanks again for reading our blog and taking the time to comment.
The timelessness of Classic Rock is such a phenomenon. I have a cousin (he’s 24 now) who thought he personally discovered Aerosmith (he’s from Boston) when he was 14. And my son, who’s almost 9, thinks Queen is the greatest rock and roll band ever (he makes a solid argument). What’s equally great is how Classic Rock “inducts” new members as it brings on Joan Jett, U2, REM, The Police and other “newbies.” Focusing on the timelessness of the music, not the calendar era, is a big part of what makes the format work so well.
Thanks for the familial insights, Bob. The evolution is a key part of the format’s growing appeal, but of course, the quality is the music – from the Stones to U2 – is the real story behind the endurance and multi-generational appeal. Thanks for sharing.
There’s just something about this music that’s unique and special.
Zeppelin is well, just Zeppelin.
True that!
Also keep in mind we have an entire generation that grew up with Rock Band and Guitar Hero. The majority of the music on these games? You guessed it, Classic Rock
Good one, Jeff. Those games were wildly popular and turned on millions of kids to Queen, Hendrix, and Cream. Pop culture has been very kind to Classic Rock – and vice-versa.