The longest running radio program in the country, the Grand Ole Opry, has aired on Saturday night since its inception in 1925. Many music stations in the United States perform news and timechecks only sparingly, preferring to put more music on the air.
Unlike WCBS-FM's pre-JACK format which was centered on the 1955-1979 era, the post-JACK station was based on the 1964-1989 era because of the aging listener demographics of the original format. This preference for younger listeners caused the decline of the "Big Band" or "Standards" music formats that covered music from the 1930s to the 1950s.
In the 1930s, phonograph records, especially the single, let a disc jockey introduce individual songs, or introduce blocks of songs.
Backstage sound engineers who jockeyed discs (records) from one turntable to another to keep up with the live programming were often called disc jockeys. With the mass production and popularity of records in the mid 1940s, as well as the birth of TV, it was discovered that a show was needed to simply play records and hire a disc jockey to host the program.
Unlike WCBS-FM's pre-JACK format which was centered on the 1955-1979 era, the post-JACK station was based on the 1964-1989 era because of the aging listener demographics of the original format. This preference for younger listeners caused the decline of the "Big Band" or "Standards" music formats that covered music from the 1930s to the 1950s.
Often the only breaks in a satellite music station's programming are for station identification and DJ introductions. Internet radio stations exist that follow all of these plans. Much early commercial radio was completely freeform; this changed drastically with the payola scandals of the 1950s.
Rock music entered the mainstream during the 1950s because of controversial white DJs such as Dewey Phillips, Alan Freed, Dick Clark and Wolfman Jack with an appreciation for black music.
Unlike WCBS-FM's pre-JACK format which was centered on the 1955-1979 era, the post-JACK station was based on the 1964-1989 era because of the aging listener demographics of the original format. This preference for younger listeners caused the decline of the "Big Band" or "Standards" music formats that covered music from the 1930s to the 1950s.
Oldies stations must occasionally change to more youthful music formats; as a result, the definition of what constitutes an "oldies" station has gradually changed over the years (and the phrase "oldies" itself is falling out of use except for the stations that still regularly play music from the 1960s and earlier).
Unlike WCBS-FM's pre-JACK format which was centered on the 1955-1979 era, the post-JACK station was based on the 1964-1989 era because of the aging listener demographics of the original format. This preference for younger listeners caused the decline of the "Big Band" or "Standards" music formats that covered music from the 1930s to the 1950s.
The countdown show, ranking the top songs of the previous week, has been a staple of weekend radio programming since 1970; current hosts of countdown shows in various formats include Rick Dees, Ryan Seacrest, Jeff Foxworthy, Kix Brooks, Bob Kingsley, Crook & Chase, Randy Jackson, Walt Love, Al Gross, Dick Bartley, and (via reruns) Casey Kasem.
WNEW-FM in New York during the 1970s exemplified this approach to progressive rock radio. At their best, free-form stations have never been equaled for their degree of social activism, programmatic freedom, and listener involvement.
While the format has no particular standard identity, most "mix" stations have rotations consisting largely of pop and rock music from the 1980s and 1990s (and often the 1970s), with some current material mixed in.
In addition, stations devoted to the pop music of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s on their own have developed as the audiences that grew up with that music grew older and nostalgic for the sounds of their youth.
The difference is mostly in the era and styles covered -- Easy Listening is mostly older music done in the style of standards from the early 20th century (typical artists include Johnny Mathis and Frank Sinatra) combined with Big Band music and more modern performers in the same style such as Céline Dion and Josh Groban, while Adult Contemporary focuses more on newer pop music from the 1970s on.
There was a wide spectrum of disco-format radio stations during the late 1970s, but virtually all of them died out during the disco backlash; WXKS in Boston is one of the few notable survivors, now a Clear Channel Communications-owned top-40 station of considerable influence.
Also, WUCF-FM in Orlando has been playing jazz music since 1978.
While the format has no particular standard identity, most "mix" stations have rotations consisting largely of pop and rock music from the 1980s and 1990s (and often the 1970s), with some current material mixed in.
In addition, stations devoted to the pop music of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s on their own have developed as the audiences that grew up with that music grew older and nostalgic for the sounds of their youth.
Alternative rock grew out of the grunge scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s and is particularly favored by college radio and adult album alternative stations; there is a strong focus on songwriters and bands with an outsider sound or a more sophisticated sound than the "three chord wonder" cliché.
Like the music it plays, these stations can develop strong cult followings and listener loyalty, but they are also less commercially successful than pop country stations. ===Urban (hip-hop/R&B)=== The explosive rise in popularity during the 1980s of [hop music|rap music] has led to a large number of radio stations specializing in rap/hip-hop and R&B music (with the exception of classic R&B such as Motown, which is as often as not the province of Oldies stations).
Two very well known smooth jazz stations are WNUA in Chicago and 94.7 The Wave in Los Angeles, both of which were introduced in 1987, and still continue to enjoy tremendous success in the format today.
While the format has no particular standard identity, most "mix" stations have rotations consisting largely of pop and rock music from the 1980s and 1990s (and often the 1970s), with some current material mixed in.
In addition, stations devoted to the pop music of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s on their own have developed as the audiences that grew up with that music grew older and nostalgic for the sounds of their youth.
Alternative rock grew out of the grunge scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s and is particularly favored by college radio and adult album alternative stations; there is a strong focus on songwriters and bands with an outsider sound or a more sophisticated sound than the "three chord wonder" cliché.
For example, the Beautiful music format that developed into today's Easy listening and Soft rock formats is nearly extinct due to a lack of interest from younger generations, whereas classic rock has become popular over the last 20 years or so and Jack FM has arisen only since 2000 or so. The most popular format in the U.S.
Both traditional and smooth jazz stations have been in severe decline, both on commercial and noncommercial stations, since the 2000s, in part because of the formats' lower profitability compared to other formats (adult contemporary for commercial stations, NPR-driven news/talk for noncommercial ones). Blues programming is generally limited to niche programs on stations that primarily broadcast other formats.
In the United States, public radio is typically confined to three formats: news/talk, classical music, or jazz, the last of which is declining rapidly as of the late 2000s.
Examples include Portuguese Fado, Spanish-speaking Mexican Regional, Reggaeton and tejano, French Cajun (especially in French Louisiana), Russian Shanson, and (since the late 2000s) Korean K-pop. ==Cost of programming== Stations usually adopt a music format to gain the greatest number of listeners for the least expense.
(Thus, a song that is in the public domain is free to play on the radio, regardless of who performs it or when it was performed.) For example, the industry-wide fees payable in 2004 to ASCAP was $176 million.
This is why many oldies stations, like WCBS-FM in New York City and WJMK in Chicago, have switched over to the younger-oriented Jack FM format in recent years—although WCBS-FM adopted a Classic Hits format on July 12, 2007, and the "Jack FM" format was moved to its HD2 subchannel.
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