Chicao Radio Station Debuts 3000 Song Playlist

FROM THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE: "To Harvey Wells, the man behind the new Nine FM radio station, his competition isn’t just the slew of other formats vying for Arbitron ratings in Chicago. It’s the woman who has downloaded more songs on her iPod than the average music station has on its playlist. It’s the guy who bought a car with a satellite radio."

"When you spend that kind of money to hear the 700 songs you picked, or $12.99 a month for 100 radio channels, it’s an entirely new paradigm," said Wells, who ran WXRT for years and created the Score (AM 670) sports-talk franchise as head of Infinity’s Chicago radio stations. "We have to do something to reconnect with listeners."

"In Wells’ case, that "something" is a departure from the narrow niche formats that have become standard operating procedure in radio for the last 20 years. The slogan of Nine FM (heard on FM 92.5, 92.7 and 99.9) is "We Play Anything," though Wells is quick to say that the station has little in common with the free-form FM radio heard in the ’70s…"

"It’s a place where Cheap Trick and the Eagles coexist alongside Keane and Moby, where U2 and Gwen Stefani’s new music gets a platform and where even Snoop Dogg and Lee Ann Womack make an occasional appearance…"

"…Nine FM isn’t the only station around the country trying to attract some of that attention with a broad-based approach to rock. The format goes by odd names such as Jack, Bob or Dave…"

"Younger listeners probably also haven’t experienced a music station featuring personalities who actually have some personality. Among Daniels’ hires are Chicago radio veterans Johnny Mars (7 p.m. to midnight)…"

"Mars, who was a prime champion of new music during his two decades at WXRT, thinks many stations sell listeners short."

"I don’t believe people like one type of music," he said during a recent air shift. "Depending on their moods, they like diverse music. Even casual listeners — if we can give them some things that they know, they’ll be more willing to put up with a song or two they don’t."

"Radio & Records’ Jacobson says Newsweb has been "visionary" in positioning its stations to reach younger, affluent listeners who endure long commutes for the sake of their affordable homes in the far-flung suburbs. For that reason, he says, the coming months represent a big test for Nine FM."

"It’s the key to success for the station because of where the listeners are," he said. "If they can’t get listeners in Arlington Heights and Schaumburg and Palatine, then it’s time for something new. If they can’t get them, they’re not going to get anyone else."

Read the entire Chicago Tribune article here.

Click below to see a sample hour of Nine FM music.

The songs played on Nine FM from 9:54 p.m. to 10:59 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17.

– Jimmy Eat World, "Pain"

– Beatles, "Come Together"

– LL Cool J, "Mama Said Knock You Out"

– Duran Duran, "Girls on Film"

– Moody Blues, "Gemini Dream"

– Live, "I Alone"

– Rufus Wainwright, "Across the Universe"

– Bruce Hornsby, "Look Out Any Window"

– John Fogerty, "Deja Vu (All Over Again)"

– Tears for Fears, "Shout"

– Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "MAPS"

– Talking Heads, "Psycho Killer"

– 311, "Down"

– Rage Against the Machine, "Bulls on Parade"

– Rolling Stones, "Tumbling Dice"

– U2, "Vertigo"

– Madonna, "Beautiful Stranger"

– from Nine FM’s playlog