97.7 Rock is Now Party 97.7 (Katy, West: how much, buying, middle school)

[Hyp]

Originally Posted by SAguy

Just out of curioiusity, what time were you tuning in to Party 97.7?

Also, 94.1 KTFM has Deadmau5 on rotation. Along with other Dance artist.

I believe it was around 5ish when i was around the area to hear 97.7. DJ AK was playing Dance/House Music, and I think everyone could listen to it. Song selection was good, and his mixing was better then I have heard other dj's mix. So I was pleased with that

[Spade]

Originally Posted by girlbarsa

SAGuy is correct. The Beat has to adapt. Hip Hop is now Mainstream/general market. Might as well call it Hip-Pop! The Beat now plays artists like Bruno Mars/Kesha because the market is younger-a new IPOD generation that listens to everything.
97.7 is just a way for the Beat to cross sell clients and not sacrifice their format.
94.1 is good because they have real jocks in all dayparts-local guys who are funny and they have great club nights.
96.1 is generic-syndicated shows from all over-no real live people
98.5-i love hip hop and the BEAT is just not the hip hip i love-it is hiphop for a Hispanic Market (Angie Perez-seriously!) This crap kills me....I grew up with MC Lyte!

All in all....I agree having 4 stations with similiar formats is tricky. But there are 4 Spanish stations in the market who do very well. So only time will tell.

I can bet the station with a smart programer will adapt-and perhaps-try to compete with the BEAT. Better hip hop with some old school.

It's interesting that you say this. When Austin got Beat 104.3 back in 1998, it played the same type of music but it was rare. But as years went by, they started fusing the pop music into the station yet still called it Austin's number 1 hip hop and R&B station. The problem is these are THE only hip hop stations in most cities in the Western US including Texas. I believe Phoenix goes through the same thing. As does Seattle and San Diego. The only real station that is strictly hip hop in the West is probably KMEL in San Francisco and a station in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Could be wrong though.

This is not to say that there aren't any similar type of stations in the East. But in markets like Chicago, DC, Atlanta, heck, even Dallas, they don't play all of the same music as 98.5 the Beat. There is nothing like a K104 in San Antonio. Unfortunately, there is still terrible bubble game mainstream hip hop on these stations as well. They do share that similarity.

[Trae713]

Originally Posted by Spade

It's interesting that you say this. When Austin got Beat 104.3 back in 1998, it played the same type of music but it was rare. But as years went by, they started fusing the pop music into the station yet still called it Austin's number 1 hip hop and R&B station. The problem is these are THE only hip hop stations in most cities in the Western US including Texas. I believe Phoenix goes through the same thing. As does Seattle and San Diego. The only real station that is strictly hip hop in the West is probably KMEL in San Francisco and a station in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Could be wrong though.

This is not to say that there aren't any similar type of stations in the East. But in markets like Chicago, DC, Atlanta, heck, even Dallas, they don't play all of the same music as 98.5 the Beat. There is nothing like a K104 in San Antonio. Unfortunately, there is still terrible bubble game mainstream hip hop on these stations as well. They do share that similarity.

Yeah, but San Antonio's "Hip Hop and R&B Station" is really just another reggaetone station. They just play less off it. They have like their own soundtracks down there. Songs I have NEVER heard of, that get stuck in your head. And all of the commercials have heavy Mexican accents. My friends down there always joke that it's because San Antonio doesn't have enough Black people.

[AnthonySA]

Here's one of the new mixes you hear on Party (per their Facebook Page):

djakhouston - DJ AK ElectroBmoreDstepMiamiBass FREE MIX | Mixcloud - Re-think radio

[SAguy]

Originally Posted by Scarface713

Yeah, but San Antonio's "Hip Hop and R&B Station" is really just another reggaetone station. They just play less off it. They have like their own soundtracks down there. Songs I have NEVER heard of, that get stuck in your head. And all of the commercials have heavy Mexican accents. My friends down there always joke that it's because San Antonio doesn't have enough Black people.

Every station caters to their market. In this case, if The Beat would have remain all Hip Hop & R/B, it would have fell out of the Top 5 station or even the Top 10. As bubble gum as some consider The Beat to be, it still a powerhouse in SA.

Here's another example, Power 106 in LA slogan is "Where Hip Hop Lives" yet, it has a similar playlist that 98.5 The Beat has.

[L210]

Originally Posted by Scarface713

Yeah, but San Antonio's "Hip Hop and R&B Station" is really just another reggaetone station. They just play less off it. They have like their own soundtracks down there. Songs I have NEVER heard of, that get stuck in your head. And all of the commercials have heavy Mexican accents. My friends down there always joke that it's because San Antonio doesn't have enough Black people.

I haven't heard any reggaeton on The Beat in a long time. They did play Latin hip hop (mostly from California) every Sunday night, but I don't know if they stopped playing Pocos pero Locos (nationally played) or they just moved its time slot. What bothers me is that they're now playing Katy Perry. Not that I don't like Katy Perry's new song "ET" and I know she took the beat from Three Six Mafia, but that is not a hip hop or r&b song. It sounds a lot like TATU's "All the Things She Said" and The Beat would have never played that. I also have issues with them playing Enrique Iglesias. Just because he has a rapper featured on the song doesn't mean that it's hip hop or r&b. I already have to hear Enrique Iglesias on 3 other stations. Having to hear Enrique, Pitbull, and Bruno Mars on 4 stations drives me crazy. Then I turn to talk radio or plug in my mp3 player and everything's right with the world again.

[Hyp]

Glad I'm hearing more & more EDM get air time. That's what this city needs =)

[L210]

It's what EDM fans need. People have different tastes.

[Hyp]

Majority of Top 40 is 4-to-the-floor like you've stated earlier, so more EDM just introduces more people to what they are already used to. But ACTUAL GOOD DANCE MUSIC...

[L210]

That's great for people who enjoy that. I'm still hoping for a little more soul in mainstream music and that rock and intelligent hip hop will make a comeback. I just wish there was more variation in the Top 40 like there used to be. It seems like in the past 5 years, everyone has to jump on the bandwagon of new trends. If someone does something different with a hip hop beat, it has to be in almost every hip hop song for the next year or two; if someone has a hit using AutoTune as a vocoder, everyone has to use it; if a mainstream artist is injecting EDM elements into their sound, everyone has to do the same. It's gotten to the point that hip hop, pop, and r&b all sound the same. It's just annoying that mainstream artists no longer care about originality or staying true to themselves. They just jump on whatever is going to get them to the top on iTunes without even realizing that more and more people are turning away from mainstream music. Never mind, they should see it when they receive their royalties; I bet most mainstream artists today are broke. Rihanna was only worth $20,000 a couple of years ago after having several hits on the radio. I know that music is a business, but they've taken the artistry out of it.