Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • Page 11

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL Wednesday, May 2, 1990 B3 rogrammer Sees Future in 'Eclectic' Radio Sound rate word to describe the new "EveiV CLit SPeakS tO people criticizing the overall sound of the station, he said, are mostly former advertisers who in reality are upset at the new higher advertising rates. "By anybody's definition of commercial radio, KLSK is diverse," he said, noting that the station continues to play most of the kinds of music the old KLSK played, but hear it, I know it right. It a real emotional thing. Nothing tangible." John Sebastian now," he said. "I would call it more of what the industry calls NAC, which means New Age contemporary, or new adult contemporary." Sims, who owns KMIK-AM in Santa Fe, added, "For what it is, it sounds fine, and I think it's far superior to what the satellite versions of that sound are." Regardless of what label is attached to the new format, Sebastian said, the overwhelming re- ing what happened to the station," Lyons said.

"Their comments are not positive at all. People are pretty much in mourning." While agreeing that eclectic is not sponse from callers and letter writ- ers is supportive, and a high percentage of former KLSK advertisers have remained. Those 3 H3 LnJ na format. "You don't hear the range from classical to modern to folk to jazz to New Age in a short space of time," Lyons said. "It's a totally different radio station, a totally different sound." That sound, he said is "New Age music intensive." Further, he said, when Sims owned the station, more air time was devoted to community affairs and public issues programming.

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"At one point, it occurred to me that there's enough songs here for a format." To test his theory, he put together a series of focus groups, each with about a dozen people aged 25 to 40. They answered questions about their musical tastes and their likes and dislikes about radio. "They expressed a great deal of disenchantment with commercial radio, which meant disenchantment with what I had been involved with during much of my life," Sebastian said. "They were sick and tired of DJs screaming at them, they were tired of contests, and they complained there was too much repetition." They also told him their listening tastes leaned toward the New Age sound. In January 1983, Sebastian gave his radio clients five months notice and dissolved his consulting firm to spend full time promoting the new format.

Reluctant to be the first in a market to experiment with the unknown commodity, the only stations willing to air the new format, Sebastian said, were ones near bankruptcy with little to lose. Those stations in Florida, Maine, Alaska and Wyoming had dramatic success, he said. In the meantime, stations around the country were having varying degrees of success featuring New Age music. Los Angeles radio station KTWV-FM became the first in a large market to successfully adopt Sebastian's format. From August 1988 to March 1989, he said, the station jumped from 14th to 1st in the local ratings, based on the number of listeners age 25 to 54.

"Finally, after all these years, I proved that I wasn't crazy and this format worked," Sebastian said. "My next step was to follow my dream and own my own radio station." In February, Sebastian realized that dream when he became a co-owner of KLSK in Santa Fe. The station, purchased for about $2 million, had been on the air since 1984, broadcasting its own eclectic format under the previous ownership of Bill Sims. Sebastian has taken a heavy hands-on role in the station's operation. KLSK receives an average of 25 new albums weekly from among 100 record labels promoting artists, and Sebastian said he listens to every song before approving it for airplay.

His screening process, he said, is far from scientific. "Every cut speaks to my heart. When I hear it, I know it's right. It's a real emotional thing. Nothing tangible." And New Mexicans, he maintained, are a perfect match for this type of music.

"I'm not entirely driven by the Arbitron radio ratings," he said, "but I do look at it because it's a barometer as to how we're doing and because all the advertisers look at it." The Arbitron research, he said, indicates that about 55 percent of the people in Albuquerque and 45 percent of the people in Santa Fe fit the profile of the type of listener the station is targeting. That audience is primarily, though not exclusively, well educated, upwardly mobile, earning middle to upper-middle incomes and nearly equally divided between men and women in the 25-to-54 age group. Sebastian has altered the old KLSK format. Abrupt changes from one genre of music to another are avoided, there is less classical music and mainstream jazz, the announcers keep conversation to a minimum and avoid being shrill or flamboyant, and there are far fewer commercials. But because there are fewer commercials, the cost of air time has risen substantially, he said.

This has bothered some of KLSK's former advertisers, like Stephen Fox, owner of 21st Century Fox Fine Art, in Santa Fe. His advertising rates, he said, increased 2V2 to 3 times. "I didn't think they were reaching the original market that the old KLSK was reaching," Fox said. "That old market was people who appreciated an eclectic format with interesting commentary and music made by human hands. The new market is the kind of people who appreciate New Age elevator Muzak.

It's the same type of musical bilge coming out of Los Angeles, "and it's certainly not eclectic anymore. Homogenized is one thing, but pasteurized is another." Johnny Lyons, a former KLSK announcer now working as a salesman for a coffee company, agreed that eclectic is not the most accu- there is less abrupt shifting from one genre to another, making the sound seem more consistent. "I expect we will be one of the top four or five stations in the market in the next six months," he said. 23SS Scotts rotary sreader for application of lawn care produces. 7-lb.

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