Dance Music Becoming More Embraced By Radio (10-16-02)

Large markets like New York, Chicago, Boston and Seattle have always been able to maintain a healthy dance-music radio station. Now, new dance-music stations are starting to crop up in cities like Denver, Phoenix, Austin and San Francisco. Such stations were among the first in the country to play Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out of My Head" and "Love at First Sight," "Gotta Get Through This" by Daniel Bedingfield and "Heaven" by DJ Sammy & Yanou Featuring Do-all of which have become staples at mainstream top-40 radio. With more new dance-leaning or dance-based stations emerging in the U.S. marketplace and a larger percentage of import dance tracks hitting as well, things are heating up.

Since the marketing and promotion of dance records is less aggressive than that for typical pop records, dance-radio program directors tend to spend more time seeking out new music on their own. Most of the PDs surveyed admit that most new music is discovered via European charts, online stations (like London's Capital FM and KISS FM), syndicated programs and music downloads.

Import releases make up the bulk of these dance-station playlists. Steve Bartel, PD of WPYO Orlando, says his station's playlist is an "80/20 split of import to domestic releases." Since these records are usually discovered months before their artists are signed to domestic labels, downloading from the Internet is an important tool for obtaining new music for airplay. Phil Michaels, PD of WPYM Miami, also plays many imports. "I play a lot [of imports] that usually get signed domestically, which is a great feeling," he says.

Chris Shebel, PD of WKIE Chicago, recognizes that U.S. labels are beginning to pay more attention to the number of new dance stations. Because of this, he says the labels are "picking up import songs quicker."

PRE-LABEL INTEREST

Many programmers, like Jon McDaniel of KNHC Seattle, rely on Global Groovz-a weekly syndicated show that breaks new dance titles from around the world-for discovering new music. In fact, he says he ends up airing a good portion of the same tracks on his station. Global Groovz was created by WQSX Boston's Jerry McKenna and media consultant Jack Cyphers last year. While on frequent trips to Europe, Cyphers noticed the large number of dance-based titles, most of which would work in the American marketplace. Global Groovz has spotlighted tracks by Kylie Minogue, Daniel Bedingfield, X-Press 2 and Sophie Ellis Bextor-"all before labels took interest," McKenna notes.

With this globalization of dance music, which brings with it a plethora of new tracks and artists, radio stations face tough decisions in deciding how to split airtime between domestic and import tracks. Because of some regional differences in their audiences' musical tastes, most dance stations program according to the lifestyles and music scenes in their respective areas. Programmers also rely on networking with other PDs to measure regional hits against national hits.

While some of these radio stations are 100% dance, others blend a mix of current pop, R&B & hip-hop, Latin and other European pop hits. All programmers interviewed for this article agreed that mainstream dance songs are better received than more electronic or experimental sounds. "It has to have that mainstream sound, as well as a hook and a melody," Michaels offers. "It can't sound like a song from Pluto, if you know what I mean."

For McKenna, "good songs with solid production and lyrics" work well. And songs like Dirty Vegas' "Days Go By" and Iio's "Rapture (Tastes So Sweet)" have successfully crossed over from dance stations to top-40. Bartel notes a current "boom" in product, citing artists like Ian Van Dahl, Sylver, Deedee and Lasgo. Furthermore, he says, newer acts like Daniel Bedingfield and Kosheen are quickly becoming core artists on these stations, along with such established dance artists as Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Kylie Minogue, Cher and Amber. Whether they're spinning trance, freestyle, breakbeats or even disco, it's clear that each of these dance stations has a unique sound and group of core artists to call its own.

ONE SONG AWAY

With so many variations and textures of dance music currently available, PDs have to consider many elements in balancing a station's playlist. For someone like WKIE's Shebel, this means using "strong pop songs by artists with credibility."

At KCJZ San Antonio, PD Doug Bennett says, "It's important to find the recognizable, mainstream records that provide the format with familiarity but don't dilute the perceived edginess of the dance format." His station uses English music by core Latin artists as balance records. "I use the Shakiras and Thalias to balance the Darudes and Sylvers," he says.

R&B and hip-hop is used, but not quite as aggressively as the dance titles, notes Bartel, adding, "We will wait a little longer than most 'traditional' rhythmic stations." WPYO Orlando considers hit records by Ashanti, Ja Rule and Nelly as dance music. "We are never a song away from a dance record," WPYO music director Jill Strada states. "We pay attention to the rhythmic chart, and we test urban music in call-out." On a sample hour of WPYO, listeners could hear Robert Miles' "Children," Cam'ron's "Oh Boy," and PPK's "Resurrection."

McKenna wholly understands such a programming philosophy. "As far as currents go, it isn't only about dance," he says. "We play anything rhythmic-based that appeals to our demo. That means everything from Ashanti and Ja Rule to Marc Anthony and No Doubt."

According to McDaniel, using pop records from Europe balances out the domestic dance music on his station. He points to international artists like Blue, Atomic Kitten, A-1 and Rhianna. "They sound right at home on our station and do a great job of adding texture to the sound," he notes.

REDISCOVERING GOLD

Gold titles are also used as balance records. Shebel calls it "preserving history. We play classics as far back as the disco days" (but he adds that such songs are played primarily during the daytime).

McDaniel also spins a lot of gold titles during the day, decreasing play in the evening "For the daytime," he says, "with the exception of a few 'Oh wow' records from the '80s that we pop in from time to time, the early-'90s is as far back as we go."

KCJZ San Antonio evolved from a rhythmic oldies station; it's still "gold-heavy," says Bennett. "It lends a familiarity to a format that most of the audience is just beginning to learn about."

Upon hearing this, McKenna adds, "We are a gold-based station. Most of our gold comes from pop, dance or R&B genres. But, being a former club rat, I do make exceptions for songs that I know were huge in this city. It may be a title from Stevie B., Machine's 'There But For the Grace of God Go I' or Shawn Christopher's 'Another Sleepless Night.' None of these titles test well, but there is a place for them if they are well protected by smashes."

TEENS VS. ADULTS

Bartel acknowledges that some of his freestyle-gold titles, such as "Diamond Girl" and "Take Me in Your Arms," are 15 to 20 years old, but that the majority of the gold titles at the station are five years old. Music director Strada adds, "Just like in any other format, there are songs that just don't get old-they're the anthems, the dance-music classics."

Many of these stations are researching music based on their audience and the lifestyle of that audience. This is how they keep their stations on target, PDs say. "Our station has a very small teen audience," notes Shebel, who adds that most dance- music stations are adult-based. "Teens are more into hip-hop. We are a pure 18-to-49 radio station, which is what I would call adult."

WKTU New York and WQSX Boston are fine examples of adult-leaning dance stations. "If you want adults, you must give them what they want: the music they grew up with and the contemporary titles they love," states McKenna. "You can throw in a few titles to give the station edge, but you can't get too cool for the room or you'll lose them." On a recent afternoon, WQSX segued from Cher's "A Different Kind of Love Song" into Nelly's "Dilemma" into Haddaway's "What Is Love."

But someone like Bartel definitely sees his audience growing with the format. "In the three and a half years we have been on the air, we have seen the growth of the teen numbers evolve into adult numbers," Bartel explains. "At one time, the station was in a fight to the top-5 18-to-34 in Orlando. Now, the station has brought the younger listeners along into the 18-to-34 demo. Promotionally, we are on our game with visibility at teen spots, college campuses, high schools and malls, so those teens ultimately result in increased 18-to-34 numbers for us."

ROOF-RAISING

The bulk of mainstream radio is dictated by call-out research, which measures audience trends in music. That said, how do dance stations approach tracks that have negative or unfamiliar test results at mainstream radio? "I don't think dance music doesn't test well; it's just an unfamiliar type of music," Strada says. Most stations, though, test more than just dance in their research.

Not every station does call-out research. In fact, most rely on phones, e-mails, monitoring other stations and local clubs. An internal listener panel is also used as a research tool by WPYM's Michaels, who has seen his dance songs test well. "Our dance songs test through the roof...with passion," he notes.

Across the pond, Europeans are inundated with dance music on a daily basis. It's part of their daily culture and part of their advertising world (the Nike commercial featuring Elvis vs. JXL's "A Little Less Conversation"). The latter is also true in the U.S., where Madison Avenue executives often turn to dance/electronic music to sell a variety of products. Which poses the question: Has dance music finally hit the masses like it already has in Europe?

Michaels points to "the quality of the music and the great mass appeal of the dance hits." He also points to recent TV spots and even a Janet Reno fund-raiser that featured dance music. "It's crossing over to mainstream now more than ever," he continues. "It's only the beginning. I feel this is one of the formats of the future. As long as the dance scene stays healthy in Europe, we'll continue to have a stream of dance hits."

For Bennett, it's about good music. "While formats are cyclical, cultivating good music that meets and exceeds the audience's expectations should always be the goal," he explains. "I'm confident that dance music can be a huge, long-term success in the mainstream "

COMMENTARY

Excellent article here. I think the key to dance being successful as a format, is to give people variety in the genre. Play all the best stuff, ian van dahl, sophie ellis baxter, wide life, kylie, bedingfield dj sammy eyra gail(the flame will be huge) and what I'm waiting to see appear in the states, scooter(logical song). Also, I think it is important to not spin your currents more then 65 times a week, they get burned out real fast when you rotate them less then every hour and a half.

I also think that there needs to be a good balance between established hits, new stuff, and the classics. I really don't think that disco has a place on the format (unless you do a special kind of retro show) but a lot of the great 80's and 90's stuff does. I also think that you need personalities that can convey that party type atmosphere that sound fun and educated in the genre. I think it is a mistake for dance station personalities to imitate those on the hip-hop stations. A bigger mistake to have no personalities at all.

We must come off as a little more sophisticated than the hip hop djs yet at the same time hip fun and unpredictable. The #1 message that needs to be hammered into our listeners brains is that this is the place to come when you want to feel good and move to the music. You lose that vision when you play sleepy ballads and some of the mid tempo stuff like ktu does.

The target needs to be a 27 year old female that likes to have fun (don't take that the wrong way LOL). Also, we need to steer away from getting involved in political issues, while many p1's will find more respect for us for taking up their causes, it really does corner the station and takes us away from being what we need to be, mass appeal.

The format has come a long way and I applaud all who are programming it since it is 1,000X's more difficult then the mindless job of programming a hip hop station. However, I can't point to one station in this country and say they are doing dance the right way. I think in time it will all come together and I will be able to find a few stations that are getting it totally right.

As for new dance that works on the radio, capital fm is the station to listen to. The best time is on Friday and Saturdays, I tune in around 2 o'clock on Friday (7 their time) and I always here fresh new dance where a good 40% of it is able to work here.

2002 has been a great year for dance (except in San Diego), but there is still a hell of a lot more work to be done. Just remember that we need to tell the audience that there is a rhythmic alternative to the shoot em up lyrics of hip-hop that has good beats that you can move and feel good to. When the backlash of all this hip-hop takes place, we should be ready to exploit it and truly move dance to the mainstream.

COMMENTARY

I have to offer several points in your response.....

For one, why must a jock be different? Be a jock! Dance has fought tooth and nail to become a mainstream format from the early 90's. You must piggyback a track from Puretone with a smash R&B track in order to offset your programming in this day in age if you are breaking new music and want to still have a spot load. It is of vital importance for the financial stability of your station to provide something "dance" to your audience. That audience perceives the "dance" format in different ways, each person has their own personal description of what a "dance" song is. Some think Nelly, others think Bedingfield, still others think Darude, Ian Van Dahl, and Alice DeeJay.

I was spinning an all Hip/Hop R&B format here in Pittsburgh Friday night (a market that is anti-dance at best!) like I do every Friday night and now its the mixture of Cameron and Daniel Bedingfield and tracks like My Boo and Pony that formulate the new craving in mixing the 2 formats together. The great thing when it comes to mixing these formats is the ability to double time alot of dance tracks with R&B and Hip/Hop. Don't understand what I am talking about. An example is Eminem's, Cleaning Out my Closet which is about 70 something BPMs and then utilizing a dance track in the 140 BPM range.

My definition of "old Skool dance" would come from artists such as Ace of Base, Real McCoy, M People, Rozalla, The Shamen, Quadrophonia, The KLF, Crystal Waters, 2 In A Room, Black Box, Snap, Culture Beat, Haddaway, 2 Unlimited, Zhane, Prodigy, which gave mainstream radio a kick in the ass sometimes through the 90's and late 80's. How cool would it be to hear AB Logic's the HITMAN and the Dirt Devils THE DRILL in the same stop set?

Having the unique opportunity that I do to spin both in a club, break dance music in a radio mixshow and represent a plethora of syndicated radio mix shows, I feel obligated to find out each PD and MDs formula for orchestrating a dance format. I agree with some and disagree with others.

I agree with your "burn ratio", but then again this is no different than what is happening to tracks such as Dilemma, S8tor Boi, and Complicated on the mainstream Top 40 level. A clock for dance in the radio world I think has to provide the listener who can't get enough of DJ Sammy's HEAVEN an opportunity to hear it more often then they would on a KISS or other Top 40 outlet. That's the point of having DANCE as a format. When HEAVEN is an A in most mainstream outlets already, the hour and a half seperation on a DANCE platform I believe is too long to wait (my own opinion).

I am just excited that markets such as Phoenix and Denver now have full time outlets for this format. It has been a long wait. Here in Pittsburgh "Techno" is used as a negative in club spots to get people to the hip/hop clubs and its a disgrace. If Denver can come around in market 22, makybe someday the ideaology here in da Burg will change. I have tried for years and now hopefully I can get some nationalwide help with the emmergence of all of this. I have to thank Craig David also for helping this along. His name seems to get lost in all the shuffle look at the tracks he offered us to get things going on a mainstream level. Lets just all keep it rolling!