The news was unmistakably good for Rock, Classic Rock, and Alternative stations last week. On the more mature side of the music spectrum, it turns out that even younger guys are gravitating to the music their parents grew up with. Luxury labels are getting more attuned to Rock as a gateway branding drug. And as March Madness heats up, Classic Rock provides the soundtrack. Here are three more reasons why it’s especially great to be working in Rock and Classic Rock radio in 2015.
Exhibit A: The first big story last week concerns Mercedes-Benz and the announcement of their sponsorship of Rock In Rio USA in Vegas in May. According to The New York Times, the festival is massive, comprised of six stages. Its founder, Roberto Medina, says this about the iconic (but perhaps generationally challenged) car company:
“We see the brand as the principal artist of the festival.”
That’s interesting when you consider that Rock In Rio USA features Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, and Sam Smith. And one of the other featured bands is Metallica. Mercedes-Benz is sponsoring the “Evolution Stage,” featuring Sepultura, Coheed & Cambria, Steve Vai, and the Deftones. We’ve come a long way since Janis Joplin was crooning about craving a Mercedes-Benz in the ‘60s. Somewhere, Lars Ulrich is smiling.
As Stephanie Zimmer, M-B’s head of brand experiences notes, “We looked, but there wasn’t anything that we felt personified the best in-class customer experience that Mercedes-Benz values.”
So there you go.
Exhibit B: Then there was the release of PPM ratings for February. The buzz in the industry’s trade publications revolved around the amazing performance of Classic Rock. Inside Radio’s headline read: “Classic Rock Cranks It Up For February Ratings.”
Nielsen pointed out that Classic Rock’s growth among the 18-34 group makes it “consistently the second-most popular rock format with that audience behind Alternative, which also had a good February.”
Noting that Classic Rock stations set PPM records for both 6+ and 18-34 listening , the format appears to be edging away from the so-called “demographic cliff” by building younger coalitions.
Next month, it will be the 30th anniversary of the day I signed on WMMQ/Lansing, the first true FM breakout success for the Classic Rock format back in 1985. That Saturday, I drove directly from the Great Lakes Radio Broadcasting Conference in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, to a small trailer in Charlotte, Michigan where WMMQ was headquartered to change the station’s core artists from Lionel Richie and Barry Manilow to the Beatles and Led Zeppelin. I obviously had no clue that Classic Rock would have these “legs” three decades and one ratings methodology later.
Exhibit C: Finally, there’s the boxcars full of money that are being spent to market products and brands during the NCAA March Madness tournament. Like the Super Bowl, this is when companies pull out all the stops to put their best foot and best commercials forward.
Look no farther than a new GMC spot called “Swish” that uses the Who’s “Eminence Front” as the soundtrack for their “Precision” campaign, a group of ads that connect the vehicle to great athletes with a Who classic as the foundation. These songs are chosen very carefully, and it is gratifying to see yet another major auto brand relying on the timeless power of a band like the Who.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvyQ-RWTeCg
Email recipients can watch “Swish” here.
As the music world and label community get roiled by digital downloads and changing consumption patterns, the stability of Classic Rock and the timelessness of the music continue to win big in market after market across America, making the points that these artists, their albums, and their iconic songs have indeed stood the test of time.
If you’re programming, selling, or managing a Rock or Classic Rock station, enjoy another moment of affirmation that you’re not suffering through the ups and downs of a Roman candle format, but you’re part of something much bigger and more enduring.
I rest my case.
Thanks to Harvey Kojan for the heads-up on the GMC campaign.
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.
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Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Irresistible side note to all the recent use of the undeniably great music bed of The Who’s “Eminence Front” in luxury car ads. From Wiki: “Townshend sings about the delusions and drug use of the wealthy and hedonistic. The lyrics describe a party in which people hide from their problems behind a facade.” Of course the ads never get to the lyrics part.
Personal note, this past winter also marked the 30th anniversary of when our little AM station in Charlotte, NC WGSP (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WGSP_%28AM%29) stumbled into Classic Rock, flipping from “Beach Music/Top 40 Oldies” to what we called “Vintage Rock ‘n’ Roll” of the sixties and seventies that also included a once-an-hour track from the fifties pioneers. It all happened just weeks after Bruce Springsteen closed his 3 hour Born in the USA Jan. 15, 1985 show in Charlotte with this sequence:
Can’t Help Falling in Love
Born to Run
Detroit Medley (Little Richard songs)
Twist and Shout
Do You Love Me?
The daytime only station tripled its ratings, became the second most listened to AM station in the city (behind WBT), and set the stage for FMs to climb on board the Classic Rock train by 1986. And as Fred says, “these artists, their albums, and their iconic songs have indeed stood the test of time.”
Paul, thanks for the color and the story. The AM thing is interesting. My first foray was with Tom Bender at the old WFAA-AM in Dallas (which became KRQX) in ’83. We even tried to levitate AM stereo, but we know how that worked out.
From there, I also put on WNOR-AM in Norfok, and I know there were a few other AMs scattered around the country. But throughout that two-year period, I could not convince anyone that Classic Rock could work on FM radio. And truth be told, I had moments of doubt myself. Now the success of Classic Rock on FM radio seems so obvious, but at the time, it was just AM stations like WGSP. And as you point out, they had ratings impact, especially on FM “AOR” stations that had lost sight of their roots. Appreciate you chiming in.
That song from The Who is powerful. I’ve heard it used quite a bit as bumper music going into spots during live TV sportscasts. We used it regularly in 2003 on our Sports/Talk morning show on KFNZ/Salt Lake City. The drumbeats around :40 into the song, and the following riff, provide nice momentum for a show coming out of a spot-set. Great way to subliminally recruit Classic Rock fans to buy into your Sports station. Or your Benz.
And of course The Who’s “Who Are You” ruled as the theme for the seminal TV hit CSI, and helped spawn a long list of spin-offs for that franchise. It’ll be interesting to see which songs from current Rock acts become inspirational beds for tomorrow’s TV programming–and how long that takes to occur.
Dave, as you’ve pointed out, the Who have had a nice soundtrack run, both for TV shows and commercials. The music is powerful, familiar, and iconic. Thanks for the note.