Adult contemporary music

Adult Contemporary (AC, on German Adult, Contemporary ) is a technical term for a worldwide popular and successful radio format that offers mainly influenced melodic pop music standards in recent decades to the present day. In fact, the majority of commercially oriented radio stations internally referred to as " AC station". The audience, which is unknown to the technical term is usually referred to AC stations due to the focus on the most popular songs with little moderation often as music channel, accompanying, or pejoratively as Dudelfunk.

Program

Characteristic of an AC radio program is a "light audibility ", with the aim that the listener follow the program as long as possible and also not to be particularly deterred by commercials. Accordingly, the proportion of music is interrupted relatively high and usually only by more or less short presentations. At some stations is pointed out before commercial breaks on the following songs. Another goal is the recognition of the program in order to achieve a good result for telephone audience rating. Virtually all AC stations therefore use a slogan that often to reflect the music positioning and is called conscious after each piece of music in many channels. Many stations slogans include a reference to " change" or " mixture " in the music, because this property of listeners is particularly positive, according to polls. Typical slogans are, for example, " The Best Mix" or " More variety with the biggest hits of the 80s and 90s ." Some stations also integrate the station name in their slogan. Radio ffn integrated, for example, the letters in the slogan "Fresh, Fresh, New ".

Presentation

The length of presentations may be limited to a few seconds in some AC stations, for example, by basically only talked on the intro music tracks is ( jargon: "Ramp - moderation "). Such short Moderation comes in virtually all AC stations regularly (example: " This is Radio XY, 23:40, purely it's off to lunch with a super 80 by Whitney Houston ..."). Some AC stations moderation can be a long and up to several minutes, for example, an interview with a handset or an expert or involve a journalistic contributions ( jargon: " BMO: Post with O- Sound" ) to announce, with some dispense entirely with AC stations such content. Characteristic of many (but not all) of AC programs is a background music of statements, which is also intended to increase the audibility. While in the 1990s, the " 2:30 " rule was widespread (no posts that are longer than two and a half minutes ), this limit has shifted in recent years tend to be down. This is sometimes handled differently and at different times of the day: In the morning hours, more frequent and longer word posts are often the rule ( often consisting of comedy or service elements such as weather or traffic service ), some stations broadcast in the evening and night hours long speech routes, then often with a discussion or talk shows in which the audience can participate via phone itself. For the latter, there are different motivations, be it a strategic increase in the proportion of word in turn different reasons ( licensing requirements, saving GEMA and GVL fees) or to consciously set a substantive contrast to the music -heavy day program or to experiment. In the daylight hours ( approximately 9 to 18 clock ) to the music share in AC programs is generally rather high. In the night hours is often only played music, as many AC stations at night completely automate, that is possible to control the entire program run by the computer. Sometimes, however, recorded presentations (Voice Track) are interspersed here. In many AC stations is placed on the strategic development of a " On-Air Personality" value. This is usually around the morning presenter, are positioned by the specific personality traits to also strengthen the recognition and identification by the listener. While there may be only a " Personality" of some channels, several or all moderators have one or more properties that are penetrated again and again for the purpose of recognition at other stations.

Music selection

The music selection is based mostly on the taste of the so-called target demographic, ie aged between 14 and 49 years old, with many stations often put a special focus (eg 14-39, 20-49, etc.). The music lists of AC stations usually contain a mixture of melodic pop and rock music of the last 20 to 30 years. Classic played on standard AC formats performers are, for example, Robbie Williams or Madonna. Contrary to the representation in the program the music lists are usually strictly computer-based and created on the basis of strategic considerations and elude a spontaneous influence by the moderator. In music requests most of the channels do not go or only in the listener weak evening and night hours. The number of actually played music varies greatly from one station to another and usually ranges from 150 800 titles, which are often replaced from time to time and based on the results of music research. The most popular song rotate usually the most common. The so-called A- rotation, ie until a categorized as a very popular title repeated the long run, may in the extreme extreme cases, less than one hour and last for up to several hours. AC stations often find themselves exposed to the dilemma that listeners complain about too many repetitions, but on the other hand, the music research shows that only a few pieces of music are just very popular. Also supports a penetration with a few, very popular pieces of music the recognition value of a transmitter. Many stations distinguish between day and night rotation, which usually means that a rotation in the daily program with fewer pieces of music is played in the evening and at night. Often there are at AC stations longer "music sweeps " (three or four titles without interruption).

Contests

Typical AC stations are more or less elaborate sweepstakes, have being developed in recent years, recurring classics ( "We pay your bill ", " Do you recognize the sound ," "Sign up with our slogan on the phone " etc. ) that are repeated to many stations in different variations. Often the sweepstakes periods have a strong overlap with the period are made in the telephone surveys for the measurement of audience, as hope for the transmitter, through a raffle ( jargon: "Major Promotion" ) a greater sensitivity in the audience for " their station " to achieve.

Journalistic content

Information will be held only in short service reports, but the most AC stations in Germany also send messages once an hour in length between two and four minutes in the morning often every half hour. Almost all AC stations also send all day weather and traffic information is often complemented with information about speed traps.

Subgenres

Indeed, it is interpreted very differently, which is to understand exactly under the AC format. Established, however, have also the following subgenres that enable a more concrete interpretation.

• Hot AC: core target group usually under 39 years of age, younger version with tend to more recent titles and tend also to be closer rotation, so less active played pieces of music than other AC formats. Many stations this Subformats first-name basis and their listeners tend to play faster ( " hottere " ) music. Typical examples are 104.6 RTL or radio ffn. The transition of this program format to format Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR ) is often blurred.
• Oldie -Based AC: core target group usually over 30 years with a mix of music from the 1960s to the 1990s. A typical example is the Berliner Rundfunk.
• Major AC: core target group 30 to 59 years with a mix of music from the 1960s to today. Typical examples are Radio Brocken and RTL radio.
• Soft AC: core target groups 14 to 49 years, 25 to 49 years or 30 to 49 years, defined mainly by a high proportion of ballads.

There are any combinations of different Subformaten, then especially in the United States, a mixture of Hot AC and AC Oldie popular ( " Jammin ' Oldies ").

More often modified genres are Euro AC with additional French, Italian and German titles, Modern AC with partially alternative and moderate elements of rock and Relaxed AC ( RAC) with jazz - pop.

History

In the 1960s, established in the United States, Billboard magazine, the easy listening charts, which were located far from the neuaufgekommenen rock'n'roll. They included more traditional songs that have been played at this time mainly on the radio. After a few years this name was considered to be no longer appropriate because Easy Listening was more associated with the so-called " elevator music ". The Billboard magazine thus introduced the term " Adult Contemporary ".

The new adult contemporary charts in particular experienced an upswing by the singer-songwriter movement of the 1970s. Important representatives were Leonard Cohen, Eric Clapton and Johnny Cash. Then developed in the United States radio programs that focused exclusively on this new group of listeners and in addition to the current titles also played already established songs that the audience had grown up.