One More Shadoe AT40 Question

[Ponderous Man]

With all these Shadoe Stevens AT40 questions appearing last month, there's one more I wanted to ask. American Top 40 started using the Top 40 Mainstream chart in 1993. Now, Billboard began that chart in 1992. My question is this: If Billboard had started the Top 40 Mainstream chart in 1991 & American Top 40 would have used this to replace the Hot 100 instead of the Hot 100 Airplay chart, would the Shadoe AT40 have had a much longer run or would it not matter because of what ABC Watermark was doing behind the scenes?

[woolebull]

Sept 10, 2013 9:37:09 GMT -5 Ponderous Man said:

With all these Shadoe Stevens AT40 questions appearing last month, there's one more I wanted to ask. American Top 40 started using the Top 40 Mainstream chart in 1993. Now, Billboard began that chart in 1992. My question is this: If Billboard had started the Top 40 Mainstream chart in 1991 & American Top 40 would have used this to replace the Hot 100 instead of the Hot 100 Airplay chart, would the Shadoe AT40 have had a much longer run or would it not matter because of what ABC Watermark was doing behind the scenes?

Wasn't AT 40 losing affiliates pretty rapidly by the end of 1991? They were over three years into the Shadoe regime so I'm not sure if it would have made any difference or not. At least for me, the reason I stuck with Shadoe as long as I did was because of the Hot 100. When he went away from that, I never listened again. But to be honest, I don't remember hearing the show on the radio much longer after 1991.

I also don't think that Shadoe made that much to do about the new format when he switched over, so I would guess that many casual listeners would not have realized it at the beginning. It wasn't that the songs were not mainstream. In fact, I would argue the songs that Shadoe played after 11/23/91 were more in line with what stations were playing than Casey was (for example, I don't remember hearing Big Daddy Kane on any radio station in 1993).

I just don't think it would have mattered, IMO.

[Mike]

Sept 10, 2013 9:47:54 GMT -5 woolebull said:

Wasn't AT 40 losing affiliates pretty rapidly by the end of 1991? They were over three years into the Shadoe regime so I'm not sure if it would have made any difference or not. At least for me, the reason I stuck with Shadoe as long as I did was because of the Hot 100. When he went away from that, I never listened again. But to be honest, I don't remember hearing the show on the radio much longer after 1991.

I also don't think that Shadoe made that much to do about the new format when he switched over, so I would guess that many casual listeners would not have realized it at the beginning. It wasn't that the songs were not mainstream. In fact, I would argue the songs that Shadoe played after 11/23/91 were more in line with what stations were playing than Casey was (for example, I don't remember hearing Big Daddy Kane on any radio station in 1993).

I just don't think it would have mattered, IMO.

Yes, AT40 was playing more songs in line with what stations were playing - and that was the idea, that by switching to Top 40 Radio Monitor (later known as Hot 100 Airplay) they would achieve that. But I have to think it was the Hot 100 chart methodology changing that provided the reason why they changed charts on that date - otherwise, what was really stopping them from changing any sooner?

It may not have been obvious that they were no longer using the Hot 100 in the beginning unless one was looking that closely - though I don't think it would've taken very long for that fact to be very clear. The fact that the show did nothing to further their own cause in explaining what was going on likely only hurt them rather than help them at all, but did that make such a pivotal difference in the end? I can't say for sure.

[Deleted]

Unless you subscribed to Billboard, bought an issue, or glanced at the Hot 100 in the record store and then listened to AT40 soon after you would have no idea. AT40 was still airing on the station in Daytona when this happened and I had no idea they had changed. I didn't know at all until I was in Atlanta in May 1992 and bought an issue of Billboard and Shadoe had written a response in it to a listener who had written a week or two before and complained about the change.

[johnnywest]

Sept 11, 2013 16:56:00 GMT -5 @paul said:

Unless you subscribed to Billboard, bought an issue, or glanced at the Hot 100 in the record store and then listened to AT40 soon after you would have no idea. AT40 was still airing on the station in Daytona when this happened and I had no idea they had changed. I didn't know at all until I was in Atlanta in May 1992 and bought an issue of Billboard and Shadoe had written a response in it to a listener who had written a week or two before and complained about the change.

It was that same issue of Billboard when I found out about the change. My Top 40 station had dropped AT40 in 1991. I remember being upset that I had missed the Nov. 30, 1991 show because I was a subscriber to Billboard and I wanted to see how the radical chart change has handled. However, when I read about the Hot 100 not being used anymore on AT40 anymore, I felt like I hadn't missed much.

From what I remember, after Shadoe's letter was published in Billboard defending AT40's move to a new chart, one of the fans wrote to Billboard and complained about Shadoe's response. He was quite upset over the switch-up. I wonder if he's on this board today (no, it wasn't me).

[Deleted]

Well according to Robs book one person so annoyed the AT40 staff that they claimed the person probably slept with the Hot 100 every night.

[woolebull]

bump