Sam Weller assesses the death of alt. rock radio
Bill Gamble saw the writing on the wall. But of course, that's his job. As the program director of Q101 for a decade, it was his task to play clairvoyant, to have his finger on the pubescent pulse of his listeners and to parlay that knowledge into big ratings. And it worked. During his tenure, Gamble transformed the station into an alternative-rock juggernaut arguably as influential as Los Angeles' mighty KROQ.
In 1988, Gamble inherited Q101's paltry 1.9 percent share of the Windy City's radio listeners. The station wasn't even in Chicago's Top 20. But under Gamble's guidance, Q101 soared into the Top 5, garnering as much as 4.4 percent of the audience, most of it in the prized younger demographic. Gamble's ponderings on the state of the industry became ubiquitous in the pages of Entertainment Weekly, Billboard and newspaper music sections across the country. But in a Leonardo DiCaprio-esque blur, he abandoned ship in 1996.
Once again, Gamble was just ahead of the curve. On April 8, 1994, the shot heard round the rock 'n' roll world came from Seattle. Kurt Cobain, with a twitch of a finger, had killed himself and alternative radio began its slow, painful demise.
This past Monday, the last coffin nail was pounded in with brute force as Q101 announced that shock-jock Mancow Muller would be leaving his cock-rock sanctuary at WRCX-FM 103.5 to become the Q's new morning personality. The death knell has officially sounded: alternative-rock radio is dead.
"I've been doing this for such a long time that you begin to recognize certain signs," Gamble says from his office at WXCD-FM 94.7, the classic-rock station he now captains. "I really felt that alternative radio had peaked. Record sales were down, there were a lot of soundalike bands, and the music had filtered from really being organic on the street to a constant search by record labels and program directors to try and find the next big thing." Ratings have also suffered, dropping to a 3.0 in the winter Arbitron book. That number, along with last fall's 2.9 and last summer's 3.4 indicate the glory days have passed for the alt-rock format.
"The problem with alternative music, or modern rock, is that it is aimlessly seeking an identity," says Chuck Taylor, Billboard's radio editor. Adds Jim Kerr of Radio & Records magazine, "Undeniably, you are seeing market shares of alternative-rock radio stations erode across the country. Ironically, there are probably more alternative stations right now than ever before. But that's because the business side of radio is usually two years behind the street. The music isn't nearly as galvanizing as it was during the salad years of '94 and '95."
When Gamble bailed off the Q101 Titanic, he left behind the crew of on-air personalities he had assembledÑincluding Brooke Hunter and Steve Fisher. Another of Gamble's radio offspring, Brian Peck, had left just before "Dad" decided to call it quits. All three are now employed by WTMX-FM 101.9, aka "The Mix." Do these personnel shifts hint that while Q101 attempts to appeal to a whiter, more testosterone-juiced audience, that WTMX hopes to become Chicago's new, New Rock Alternative?
"No way," says 101.9 programming honcho Barry James. "Listen, we can all sit around and play the same Fastball record. I believe the right personalities make a huge difference in the identity of a radio station. I think radio stations that have a very clear focus on their target consumer and stay that courseÑthen trends, music, all kinds of things come through. The mistake is when you try and chase the trends. It's when you chase your product rather than letting your product come through your audience that problems occur. I can't speak to the ideas and methodology of Q101, but I do know that clearly the personalities that were on that station five years ago do not meet the expectations of their audience today. That [original] audience has matured, along with the on-air personalities, and that's why they are now with us." In other words, WTMX is the VH1 to Q101's MTV.
The newest Mix jock, Steve Fisher, isn't nearly as concerned with trends, demographics or Mancow. After being let go by Q101 last November and piecemealing his paychecks from three nights a week portraying the best man in "Tony n' Tina's Wedding," four days as a waiter at Ed Debevic's and two days running a mobile DJ service, Fisher is beaming over his WTMX opportunity.
Brooke Hunter, however, is more willing to dish on her former employers. Now on The Mix, Hunter left Q101 after the culture of the station began to change. "Things were changing at Q101 in a manner that I really didn't want to stay," says Hunter.
"I wasn't going to stick around to be fired," she says. "Obviously, I'm not the only one that thinks this, but alternative radio is on the big downslide. It peaked with the whole grunge thing and look where it's at now. Mancow."
But Kerr of Radio & Records sees the Mancow move in more positive terms. "In the short term, Q101 bringing Mancow aboard makes great sense," Kerr says. "I don't care what format you are, it's a no-brainer. The strategic concern, however, is how will Mancow complement the rest of the station's programming? How will he affect sales? How will he mesh? He worked very well on the B96-style station in San Francisco, which indicates that he transcends format." And while the alt.rock format may have peaked, it hasn't shown much slippage yet in terms of ad sales, according to James Duncan Jr. of Duncan's Radio Market Guide. Last year, for example, Q101 billed $12.1 million in ad sales, ranking 17th in the Chicago market. In 1996, the figure was $12.3 million, good enough for 15th. Although Duncan won't release ad sales data from earlier years to the media, he does say the recent figures are roughly comparable to those in the Cobain era. By signing Mancow before ad sales begin eroding along with the ratings, the station might have ensured the health of the franchise over the near term even as the freshness of the music continues to slide.
As news broke of the 103.5 shock jock's leap-frog to the station he has long referred to as "Queer 101," Mancow was far out of target range on an Alaskan fishing trip. A spin of the radio dial Monday to the final installment of Q101's Bill & Wendy show found the cashiered Q morning duo offering up an uncomfortable version of their trademark final thoughts. Bill stammered, fighting back tears. Wendy said she couldn't believe she'd have to explain to her mother that Mancow took her job.
She'll be back. Radio recycles everything.
copyright 1998 New City Communications, Inc.