Who knew? That at least is one of the conclusions of Walt Hickey, writing for fivethightyeight.com, based upon an analysis of the music played by 25 classic rock stations in the country’s top 30 radio markets. And yes, what such stations play varies widely by market. And it seems the station in the survey that plays the most Pink Floyd is Charlotte’s WRFX. The most popular band overall on classic rock stations? Led Zeppelin. The most popular songs? “Dream On” and “Sweet Emotion” by Aerosmith.
While the article contains many interesting insights, I find this one particularly fascinating:
“The Hispanic influx across the southern United States vastly changes the rock landscape,” [Eric Wellman, the classic rock brand manager for Clear Channel, and programming director for New York City’ WAXQ] said. “The common conventional wisdom is that Hispanics who listen to English-language rock like a significantly harder brand of English-language rock. In markets where that is an influence, you’ll see that.”
H/t: JAT and RH
