As is often the case, Wednesday’s radio news brought two interestingly timed headlines. Audacy’s Soft AC KSWD (The Sound) Seattle became Hot AC Emma 94.1. iHeart’s WMIA (Magic 93.9), which plays mostly English-language Soft AC with Spanish-language hosts, was up 4.8-5.9, its best share in more than 15 years, according to ratings expert Chris Huff.
After years of doing multiple variants of AC, Magic 93.9 became a rare instant success last fall. The Sound was one of the stations, along with iHeart’s KISQ (The Breeze) San Francisco, that helped touch off a format boom among major owners and in large markets. For a few years, Soft AC transcended its “too hard to sell” or “only for Florida” images.
Some of the format-rush stations left relatively quickly, including Audacy’s WDZH Detroit and iHeart’s WISX Philadelphia. Others, like Cox’s WFEZ (Easy 93) Miami evolved to more of a pop-based Classic Hits approach, still softer than much of the Bon Jovi/Survivor-driven format, but not quite Soft AC. CKRA (The Breeze) Edmonton, Alberta, and several Stingray sister stations have brightened lately. Others at the edge of the format, like KDRI (The Drive) Tucson, Ariz., have taken shape more as ’60s/’70s Oldies.
The Soft AC boom also found itself diluted from outside. Existing iHeart Mainstream AC stations such as WLTW (Lite FM) New York added some soft titles to cover their bases. Songs like “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” by Chicago or “Right Here Waiting” by Richard Marx got to stay in the format, although other early Soft AC signature titles, such as “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You” by Glenn Medeiros, are evanescing again.
Mainstream AC’s 2010s edginess, driven by the rise of CHR, has softened, particularly as most current music has disappeared from the format. That could change with a few more Sabrina Carpenters and Chappel Roans, but there would have to be a consistent upturn in CHR’s fortunes at AC’s expense, something which hasn’t happened yet.
Classic Hits has also moved closer to both Mainstream and Soft AC’s territory. KOLA Riverside, Calif., one of the format’s best-kept secrets for years, exerts more influence on the format now, with its continued push into 2K music. Even older Soft AC signatures like Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You” have a bigger footprint at Classic Hits than they did during the Soft AC boom.
Then there’s the ongoing brightening that seems to take place at Soft AC, which usually starts almost immediately when a station makes the first decision to test or play, say, “Sunglasses at Night” or “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” songs that are long defanged for their listeners. In the hour monitored below, Magic 93.9 has songs that both identify it as Soft AC (“That’s What Friends Are For”) and others like “Smooth Criminal” that may be safe and familiar, but not relaxing. The last song on the old KSWD was “No Scrubs.”
Soft AC has always been a test of whether station owners and sales staffs really wanted to be there. At the end, The Sound was fifth in the market, 6-plus, and up 4.0-4.3. It continues to have significant success stories, including WLIT (Lite FM) Chicago, KBEB (The Breeze) Sacramento, and KISQ. Notably, those stations are owned by iHeart, which also operates the Classic Hits stations least afraid to play the early ’70s and, at Christmas time, the stations most willing to go heavily into Nat “King” Cole and Bing Crosby era-artists.
The success of KISQ, then KSWD, were examples of how owners were hesitant to respond to a format’s first success story, but easily spurred to action by the second or third. So far, even iHeart hasn’t rushed to recreate Magic 93.9 elsewhere, except for stations in Fort Myers, Fla., and an FM translator in Tucson. But that may change this week.
Here’s Magic 93.9 at 2 p.m., Sept. 4:
- Dionne Warwick & Friends, “That’s What Friends Are For”
- Jimmy Cliff, “I Can See Clearly Now”
- Juan Luis Guerra, “Bachata Rosa”—from 1990, although the Spanish-language music often tends to be newer than other titles
- Matthew Wilder, “Break My Stride”
- Backstreet Boys, “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely”
- Culture Club, “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me”
- Michael Jackson, “Smooth Criminal”
- Mana, “Mariposa Tracionera”
- Berlin, “Take My Breath Away”
- Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle, “A Whole New World”
- Pet Shop Boys, “Always on My Mind”
- Men at Work, “Down Under”
- Simply Red, “If You Don’t Know Me by Now:
Here’s a recent listen to WLIT just before 11 a.m., July 19:
- Pink, “Perfect”
- Prince, “Kiss”
- Maroon 5, “Daylight”
- Righteous Brothers, “Unchained Melody”
- REO Speedwagon, “Can’t Fight This Feeling”
- Fugees, “Killing Me Softly”
- Madonna, “Holiday”
- Bon Jovi, “Wanted Dead or Alive”
- Christina Aguilera, “Beautiful”
- Bill Withers, “Lean on Me”
- John Mellencamp, “Small Town”
- Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories, “Stay (I Missed You)”
Here’s Seattle’s The Sound just before 11 a.m., August 30, a few days before its change:
- Wilson Phillips, “Hold On”
- Eurythmics, “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”
- Lady Gaga, “Poker Face”
- Crowded House, “Don’t Dream It’s Over”
- Patrick Swayze, “She’s Like the Wind”
- Beyoncé, “Irreplaceable”
- Maroon 5, “Sugar”
- John Mellencamp, “Small Town”
- Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars, “Uptown Funk”
- Backstreet Boys, “I Want It That Way”
- Michael Jackson, “The Way You Make Me Feel”
- Timbaland & OneRepublic, “Apologize”
- Belinda Carlisle, “Heaven Is a Place on Earth”
- Daryl Hall & John Oates, “Maneater”