Why are there no oldies on the radio anymore?

Question

Not one Bay Area radio station plays '50s and '60s music anymore. All we get is Country, Hip-Hop, or Led Zepplin.

101.9FM used to play oldies 5 years ago. First, they turned country, and now it's all Rap.

99.7FM used to play oldies like 2 years ago. All they play now is Hip-Hop and Rap.

There is not one station that plays the oldies. Don't we have variety anymore? Not everyone listens to that ghetto s.h.i.t.

It's been years since I've heard a Beatles song on the radio.

Answer 1

Radio is mostly geared to 15 year olds w/ their parents money, and their parents who are neo-right wing millionaires either droolingfor politics or slumming it w/ country.  They are just doing us deadbeats a favor by keeping classic rock on the air.

Every city ive lived in has had at least 3 oldies stations tho.

Answer 2

Maybe all the people that listen to oldies are gone. When theyre gone, there's really no one to listen to the oldies. Just a guess i don't mean anything bad by it.

Answer 3

It's an ugly thing called market research. They only care what 15 year olds like. 106.9 is the new version of KFRC, with some of their old dj's, but they are playing zep, blondie, with a little sprinkling of beatles & beach boys. Actually the new KFRC sounds a lot like KFOG.

If you want to hear 50's & 60"s, you need xm or internet radio.

Answer 4

Because the majority of younger people listen to it. Or at least that's what most people think.

Trust me, I'm with you.

Answer 5

Funny. I just answered a question from a young lady complaining she was bored because all she could get in her small town was oldies ;<)

Ah, Frisco - The Bay City and Waaaaay too hip for oldies anymore.

In the Bay area (depending if you are SF, SJ or out east), keep your ears on KLLC-FM 97.3; KITS-FM 105.3; KMVQ-FM 99.7. They are CBS. Big management shake-up and maybe a format change for you. One of them might make the change. I would think with the formats on air in NY and LA, SF might be right for the new CBS oldies format.

In San Jose, KUFX 98.5 is classic rock (code for Hippie Music ;<)

Out east there are some smaller FM stations you'll have to twist around for.

I understand your frustration, but mind the mouth, there are kiddies about.

Good luck.

- a guy named duh

Answer 6

New York had a MAJOR problem a few years ago with this as heritage station WCBS, an oldies station for over 30 years did a sudden format change to "Jack".  That angered EVERYONE for quite a long time; I had never seen such an outrage with a format change.

Just recently, WCBS flipped back to oldies but added more 80's music into the mix.

Point is, and I hate to state the reality of this...the audience for 50's & 60's style oldies is getting less and less every day as people from that era are dying off.  It's not that there aren't any people in their 20's or 30's that like oldies, but the main demographics (25-54) that radio wants unfortunately doesn't target the audience that want the 50's and 60's music (50+)

It was the same problem 40 years ago as nostalgia style radio stations (stations playing 1920's and 30's music) was fading out as that population died off.  Now, unless you luck out and tune in to a college radio station that MAY have it...there are NO nostalgia stations anymore.

Answer 7

The same Bay area where, The jefferson airplane,C.S.N.Y., Janis and the Greatful dead are all from?......The city of love?

So sorry to hear that.

Answer 8

http://www.963kklz.com/ if you have speaker's u can listen to this station they play music from the 60's to the early to mid 80's i listen to it everyday they r out here in Las Vegas, NV. hope this will help u out hun.

Answer 9

As most people have pointed out correctly. Radio has a set target group of people they are after.. Some stations look younger at the tween and teen set such as Radio Disney or a Top 40 station, However most look to appeal to the 25-54 age bracket. These are people advertisers figure have money and are willing to spend it...Younger and they usually don't have the money, older are banking it for retirement.

Unfortuneately, Today's 54 year old came up in 1972 and is more likely to listen to Classic rock to feel nostalgic than oldies which even though has a broad fan base at times, usually leans more at early Baby Boomer and WWII babies. groups that have hit retirement age and are more likely NOT to buy say a new car.

So the Ad dollars actually drive the way radio is programmed in most big cities. In some none, some I've seen 2 oldies stations. But the music played now on oldies (renamed sometimes to classic hits if more rock based songs are played) try to keeps up with the age bracket so more 1970s songs and less early 1960s for instance.

Depending upon the lean, most classic hit stations and true classic rock stations play the Beatles (true in the fact that they play what classic rock was originally supposed to be which has pretty much morphed into today's classic hit stations)

But in bigger cities, I find they go after the people that have the most disposable cash meaning people like yourself are put out, unless a small AM station tries to satisfy the market

Actually a surprise is there are more Nostalgia channels around San Fran compared to oldies!!!!! (4 stations within about 120 miles compared to 1 oldies station)

In fact here is the website of that oldies station:

http://www.komy1340.com/

Answer 10

"Radio is mostly geared to 15 year olds w/ their parents money" I don't know weather this is the situation in the USA or not - but certainly is not the case in the UK. Here are some radio stations you may like.

BBC Local Radio - There are 40 BBC Local Radio stations covering the whole of the UK. They are aimed at 50-60 year olds. Visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/radindex.sh... for a full list of BBC Local Radio stations. They are nearly all 60% music 40% speech... or the other way round. (I can't remember which.)

BBC Radio 2 - Music station, aimed at 25 and overs. www.bbc.co.uk/radio2.

Virgin Radio - Rock music. www.virginradio.co.uk

Gold - Formerly Classic Gold/Capital Gold but merged in 2007. UK Radio network playing the greatest hits of the 60s, 70s and 80s. You can only listen live inside the UK for legal reasons. http://www.mygoldmusic.co.uk/

Magic 105.4 - London radio station. I've never listened because I'm not in the London area and Magic don't broadcast in my area, but I know they broadcast the sort of music you are looking for. (Although they broadcast regional programmes in a couple of other UK cities like Manchester.) http://www.magic.co.uk/magic.asp

There are many more - just do a search on www.google.co.uk.

Answer 11

Go t am radio