I was at the Fred Meyer music Market in Downtown portland the other night and they had a list of the 10 top selling cd's at Fred Meyers. I noticed that the #1 selling CD for like the 7th week in a row was the new Weezer album. Now I'm slightly biased because I do like Weezers new album, but It just struck me a bit odd that Top 40 stations like Z100 are not playing anything off the new Weezer album. This is one of many albums that Z100 should be playing. My 14 year old Cousin sara is obsessed with Weezer and was playing their new album non stop last time I was visiting her house. I bought the new Weezer album when it first came out at Target a few weeks back and their was only 1 copy left in the whole store.

Now, Im just using Weezer as an example of a group that Top 40 stations should be playing. There are many other albums that I think Top 40 stations should be playing, but are not.
Does stations like Z100 not do any local research, do they ever check in with the big music retail stores and find what CD's are flying off the shelves????? I don't think they are and I really question a lot of the music they are playing. I think Cheap Channel is out of touch with whats "HOT" and whats selling IN PORTLAND, NOT NEW YORK!!! I think their research is CRAP and I think they are leaving out Crucial albums that kids are listening to. I was at Best Buy the other day and this girl who was about 14 years of age was going Crazy over the new Weezer album, begging her Mom To buy it for her.
Now if this 14 year old girl is obsessed with the new Weezer album, where has she been hearing the new tracks from Weezer??? NOT Z100 because they are not playing the new weezer. So shes obviously not listening to Z100 very much. Isn't she in Z100's demo???
Again, Im just using Weezer as an example. Its weird that top 40 has given up on almost all rock and are playing mostly Rap/hip hop. I understand that hip hop is HUGE with teenage girls but I don't beleive for one second that that is the ONLY thing in their IPOD!

So Here is my final question. If there is a certain album that is the number one selling CD that is continuing to fly off the shelves with great demand in all the portland music stores, shouldn't TOP 40 be playing them??
It amazes me how out of touch a lot of music directors are here in portland.

Does Weezer appeal to Women 18-34? If not, CHR probably won't play it because 12-24 isn't their "intended" target, even though it may work out that way.

Yes they do. Infact the first time I ever heard Weezer was on Caseys top 40 back in the mid 90's.

Weezer "Pork and Beans" is #1 this week at Alternative..Weezer is breaking there first..as top 40's true nature is to steal hits from every other format...it could be too early for top 40 to be on it.

I guess my question is, does Z100 look at record sales HERE IN PORTLAND to see what people in portland are BUYING?? Im thinking no. I know for a fact that back in the mid 90's they used to.But that was before Cheap Channel owned them.
If I was a PD I would be keeping abreast of the music sales at all the major record stores in Portland. I would want to know what new cd's are flying off the shelves and which aren't.

(Ahem, Fred Meyer is now owned by Kroger based in Cinncinnati, OH. The Oregon FM territory as a percentage of the company has been shrinking for a couple of decades (Washington is the largest, by far, or by a landslide, if you're political). My point is, who knows how and where the top 10 is compiled. Weezer label reps may have offered a bulk discount for placing the Weezer CD next to the debit swipe machine. My ex was a Music Market Manager so I've a bit of "inside" there. I'd consider the FM top 10 at best, being in the ballpark for "correctness", and at worst, at least on the same planet!)

I am surprised that any radio station was collecting data from local music sales as late as the 1990s. Kudos to them. After the music buying public moved from buying singles to albums and later to cassettes, it would have become difficult to pin down what the locally popular songs were.

Regardless if the pd is keeping track of "Portland" sales or not...it still doesn't necessarily mean that Z should be playing Weezer yet...like I said in a earlier post..it may be too early for top 40 or Z to be playing it...and FYI..if you know anything about top 40 radio..the music "door" is always swinging ...for 6 months it could be heavily hip hop leaning and maybe another 6 months it's Alt/Pop leaning....or it could be a combination of both.

The music on Z must be "sanitized' for your safety.

I have two general questions on the program philosophy of CHR today:

1) Why does CHR have the sound focus that "Sly" alluded to--that is, it might emphasize hip-hop for 6 months and then it moves on to be dominated by something else? In other words, what research is there that shows hip-hop being the "in" thing for such a short period of time, followed by something else?

2) Why does CHR radio today throw in recurrents that are several years old? In old top-40 airchecks, I have heard one-year-old songs played as a special feature, but nothing older than that.

Z100 keeps swinging back and forth, they should just pick a format and stick with it. Right now they are all hip hop, 6 months ago theyhad some rock mixed in. now they have taken most of the rock out of their format. They have completely lost their identity. With Jammin back on the dial I think its dumb for them to go all hip hop, which they have been lately.

Do you guys check the Radio and Records airplay charts? Z100 music is base out of R&R/Billboards Charts. Why would you think Z100 will play Weezer music, do you hear Weezer on 104.7 K-DUK? 107.5 KISS-FM Medford? POWER 94.1 Bend? 107-3 FFM in Yakima?

I think this happens because automated music formats only hold peoples attention for a little while. (and I don't mean totally automated --just not free form.)

This is nothing more than lower cost format churn.

You get the nice bump from the change, without all the expense of rebranding, etc...

Z100's new morning show doesn't fit their format, if they are playing all hip hop. The new Morning show sounds more like the Soccer mom demo, not the hip hop demo.
Although I can't listen to Z100 for very long, it is still horribly voice tracked and completely unlistenable on most dayparts.

I've heard things on Z100 that are decidedly not hip-hop. The song about kissing a girl, is one. If I can tell the difference just flipping by, there must still be quite a bit of CHR/Pop in the playlist.

Why would you think Z100 will play Weezer music, do you hear Weezer on 104.7 K-DUK? 107.5 KISS-FM Medford? POWER 94.1 Bend? 107-3 FFM in Yakima?
And if someone in market 23 (Portland) were paying attention to market 148 and three sub-200 markets when scheduling music, rotations, etc., I'm going to go out on a limb and conjecture they probably wouldn't be in market 23 for long.

LOL! Good point Newflyer. Those are the smallest "Shit-hole markets" that E dawg is talking about.

Although now that I think about it, I've heard that Yakima actually has a decent top 40 radio station, and they do less voice tracking than Z1-blunder.

I wanted to say something about that but couldn't fit the word "tact" into a sentence. Is the Seattle CHR/Pop playing it? On second thought, if they are, it might not be that good of an idea because their ratings haven't been very good for quite awhile.

I believe the Seattle market is NOT playing it!

Is Bender still doing mornings on Kiis Fm in Seattle. That guy is AWESOME! one of the best top 40 jocks IN THE COUNTRY! And of Course he was Rich E Cunningham on Z100 back in the mid 90's. I still have my old tapes that I recorded off Z100 back in the mid 90's. That station sounded so good back in the day. Talk about a Powerhouse of air talent.

Top 40 music is popular music...what's popular at the time. Sometimes there are 6 hip-hop and r&b songs that are the top 10 on the charts. a few months ago they were playing Colbie Calait, Sarah Barellis, Jordan Sparks, Myley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Nickleback and Daughtry...not songs you would hear on an urban station. They are not doing anything out the ordinary, most Top 40 stations for the most part play basicly the same music. Some just lean more pop or more rock or more rhythmic than others and this depends on what market you live in and what competition you have in the market. It's funny how people write post about Z100 like its the worst top 40 ever. If you listen to Z100 in New York or Kiss in L.A. they would sound just the same. We need more independent owners.

Thank-GOD Jammin does not play
Brittney spears, Miley Cirus or the Jonas Brothers.