MUSICAL MUSINGS
November 19, 1999
THE '80s ARE OLDIES!
At the risk of making everybody in the radio industry feel old, I’ll come right out and say it: “The ‘80s are oldies!”
Of course, I feel good saying this because I’m at the young end of the radio industry. I discovered the wonderful world of Pop music in the ‘80s. As a teenager, my Sunday afternoons were monopolized by Casey Kasem. I loved the sheer variety on the radio, from Duran Duran to Air Supply to Mötley Crüe to Jeffrey Osborne, and all these artists have helped develop my musical tastes to this day.
The ‘80s was the decade of the one-hit wonder. “Puttin’ On The Ritz” by Taco. “Come On Eileen” by Dexy’s Midnight Runners. “She Blinded Me With Science” by Thomas Dolby. From this same list of songs, one can gather that the ‘80s was also the decade of novelty. It was the decade in which disco died, the British invaded again, “Alternative” music was born, and Teeny-Bop was given yet another lease on life. All in all, it was a pretty incredible decade. And, yes, it’s time to turn it into a format – BP’s “Awesome '80s.”
Some people in the industry are gun-shy about an ‘80s format. They remember the fate of the ‘70s format, which did well for a couple books and then faded. But remember that the ‘70s format eventually morphed into the longer-lasting format we now call Classic Hits, and it did so when PDs started adding Rock hits from the ‘80s – songs by Bryan Adams, Dire Straits, and The Police. The R&B Oldies format is flying high right now, despite speculation on inevitable burnout. I believe that, in the long run, the portion of R&B Oldies that will burn least will be the ‘80s element – songs by Kool & the Gang, Patti LaBelle, and Zapp.
Yes, the ‘80s was a decade of novelty, but many of these novelty hits have made a comeback. “Walk Like an Egyptian” by the Bangles was the biggest hit of 1986, and conventional wisdom of the time predicted the song would fade into obscurity. Well, of course it did, as all novelty hits do…but it returned in the ‘90s. Now it resides as a permanent part of the Gold library of many a Hot AC station across the country. Burn will be an issue with the ‘80s format, but with well-timed platooning of secondary hits and a maximum quota of “burnable” songs, this problem can be overcome.
Both the ‘70s and the ‘80s were decades of extreme variety. Most ‘70s-format stations stayed away from Disco because it seemed incompatible with the Eagles. Likewise, Tony Orlando and The Captain & Tennille were definitely out.
The ‘80s format faces some of the same challenges. With such an extreme variety of sounds, it is necessary to focus on one specific niche of the ‘80s – namely, straightforward Pop. Madonna, Prince, Hall & Oates, Michael Jackson, Huey Lewis, The Cars, Pat Benatar...all of these are core ‘80s artists.
The ‘80s format will soon be the most reliable source of nostalgia for the 25-34-year-old female, and this can be best accomplished by focusing on this mantra: The ‘80s was a decade of fun. Stay away from most ballads, even some of the biggest hits. Yes, make them remember the boys they had crushes on in junior high school, but do this by playing “Always Something There to Remind Me” instead of “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” This is a format for the good times.
Interesting, isn’t it? What’s the other format that often gets positioned with the phrase “good times?” Oldies! Specifically, ‘60s Oldies. The ‘70s format, especially with its exclusion of Disco, lacked a certain element of fun. The ‘80s, however, was dominated by fun. If the ‘60s provided Oldies for the Baby Boomers, the ‘80s can now provide Oldies for Generation X. You know -- that other “money” demographic.
One temptation to avoid is to share too much music with the AC competitor. Sure, Whitney Houston and Chicago had some great ballads in the ‘80s, but listeners know where to go to find them.
Consequently, it is tempting to go too far in the other direction and lose the listener in unfamiliarity. One of my personal favorites is “Peek-a-Boo” by Siouxsie & the Banshees, but I would never play it in an ‘80s format because it simply wasn’t a Pop hit. The ‘80s format walks a line between familiarity and obscurity.
Of course, there are exceptions. In fact, many of the core songs in the ‘80s format are those songs that missed the Top 40 but later became classics through movies, commercials, or their gradual introduction into the Gold libraries of Hot ACs and CHRs. The best reason for their appeal is that they never burned. Some good examples are “What I Like About You” by the Romantics, “I Melt with You” by Modern English and “Blister in the Sun” by the Violent Femmes. It’s crucial to draw a distinction between familiar non-hits and flat-out stiffs.
Under what conditions is it safe to switch to the Awesome ‘80s? Well, the safest bet is to take that extra station in your multiopoly – you know, that other Country station – and coincide the switch with a marketing push. If you’re a Hot AC or Modern AC playing lots of ‘80s, and you have a more ‘90s-based competitor taking bites out of you, you’re in an ideal position to make the change. You’ve already got your P1s tuned in. But, with a concentrated marketing effort, you can make the change from anywhere.
So if I’ve convinced you of the value of this exciting new format, call me today at (800) 426-9082 and let’s chat about it. If it sounds like your market needs BP’s “Awesome '80s,” your salesperson can get you switched over very quickly.
And while I’ve got your attention, here’s my recommended method for debuting the “Awesome ‘80s.” Tell your listeners that the Y2K bug has prevented you from moving into the new millennium, and you’re just going to have to go back 10-20 years. Play Prince’s “1999” all day on New Year’s Eve, and then introduce your new format at midnight with “New Year’s Day” by U2. Build liners with nostalgic references to ‘80s memories: big hair … Yuppies … Ferris Buehler … MTV … Live-Aid … Pac-Man … “Knight Rider” … Mikhail Gorbachev … Rubik’s cube … breakdancing … moonboots … the list goes on.