Adult standards

Not to be confused with Adult contemporary.

Adult standards (also sometimes known as the nostalgia or Big Band format[1]) is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.

Adult standards started in the 1950s and is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those people over 50 years of age,[2] but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens. It is primarily on AM because market research reveals that only persons in that age group listen to music on AM in sizable numbers. Adult standards first became a popular format in the late 1970s and early 1980s as a way to reach mature adults who came of age before the rock era but were perhaps too mature for adult contemporary radio or too young for beautiful music or MOR stations. A typical adult standards playlist includes traditional pop music by artists such as Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, some easy listening numbers from Roger Whittaker and others, and softer tunes from the oldies and adult contemporary music formats.

As originally conceived, the format features big band music, particularly from the 1940s and 1950s,[1] though most modern stations eschew that genre. Younger artists who record in the big-band era style, such as Harry Connick Jr., or Diana Krall, may be played as well. The term "standards" in the format's title is a reference to the standard, a song that is covered extensively by many artists over a prolonged period of time; adult standards may play true standards but are not limited to them.

According to Nielsen Audio, there were 129 stations with adult standards/MOR as format in 2016.[3]: 95  Because the adult standards audience has increased in age to the point where many of its listeners have either died or are no longer attractive to advertisers, the format as it is known today (much like the contemporary decline of oldies and smooth jazz formats, along with the earlier demise of easy listening) is likely to die out. Most independently programmed former adult standards stations have transitioned to other formats such as oldies, classic hits, or adult contemporary music that have similar music but skew toward more modern songs.

  1. ^ a b "Radio Station Format Guide". New York Radio Guide. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  2. ^ Smith, F. Leslie; Ostroff, David H.; Wright, John W. (31 May 2023). Perspectives on Radio and Television: Telecommunication in the United States. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-93880-7. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  3. ^ Hendricks, John Allen; Mims, Bruce (2018). The radio station: broadcasting, podcasting, and streaming (10 ed.). New York/London: Routledge. ISBN 9781351816335.