The old adage is that radio focuses on the young blood for the most part by playing flashy, club anthems in hopes of keeping them listening.
A recent report by the New York Times however, may show that old school Hip Hop formats across the country have also seen heavy success over the past few years. The report is centered about a radio station in Indianapolis that changed from a popular, mainstream music station to one that played nothing but old school Hip Hop. Within weeks Indy’s WRWM 93.9 went from the 15th most listened to radio station in Central Indiana to first.
‘‘Literally nobody in the Top 50 markets in this country has ever done a format change, then in the next full month shot to No. 1,’’ Tom Taylor, publisher of a popular radio-industry newsletter, told the Indianapolis Business Journal. ‘‘Certainly no station in the last decade has done what [WRWM] has.’’
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Other radio stations have also experienced success. The article makes sure to make mention that it hasn’t worked in every city and that markets are different across the country. Author Alex French also compares old school’s prevalent return to the airwaves to early 1970s doo-wop recreation.
“In a sense, classic hip-hop is following a radio trend that began in the early 1970s, when the first dedicated FM oldies stations started up in Phoenix, playing records by old crooners and doo-wop quartets,” he wrote.
Read the full article here.
