It’s 80s out, 90s in for Magic 89.9’s Friday Madness starting today. (Logo courtesy of Quest Broadcasting Inc.)
A new sound awaits Magic 89.9’s Friday Madness.
Gone is the long-standing tradition of playing songs from the 1970s, 1980s and some of the early 1990s every Fridays. Instead, the music of the 1990s and early 2000s will dominate the playlist of Friday Madness.
This means that Friday Madness will adopt the old format of Saturday Slam, which Magic dropped earlier this year in favor of its regular playlist. More importantly, the station will only have one day dedicated to throwback music instead of two.
The newly-reformatted Friday Madness was one of only several changes instituted by Magic 89.9 as preparation for its upcoming 30th anniversary. Two weeks earlier, their weekday programming was also reformatted; save for ‘Good Times with Mo’ and ‘Boys’ Night Out’, the rest of Magic’s programs were either rebranded or changed DJ schedules.
The change of format for Friday Madness was a result of Magic’s ever-changing demographic. While some older listeners may still be loyal to Magic, the station is also attracting a large amount of younger followers, most of whom grew up in the social media age.
In addition, the continued emergence of Retro 105.9 DCG-FM as the go-to station for 70s and 80s music buffs made it clear that Friday Madness needed a makeover. It also hurts that competitor stations are also dedicating one day for 90s music (e.g. Monster RX 93.1’s Riot Wednesday, Mellow 947’s Decade, 99.5 Play FM’s Playback).
That said, with the station’s listeners getting younger, there’s no point in feeding them songs that are unfamiliar to their ears. For Magic, change was inevitable, and today was it.
It remains to be seen whether or not the new Friday Madness will adopt the regular Monday to Thursday schedules of its DJs (save for ‘Good Times with Mo’ and ‘Boys’ Night Out’). But in any event, people should enjoy the music of not too long ago, now playing on Friday Madness.
From the Tube 