Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when radio was compelle ...

. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults"

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, 2021. See also New York Times archive.Staples, Brent. "Rock-and-Roll for Grown-Ups: The Record Business Gets a Scare."

, Dec 23 1996, p. 1. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, 2021. See also New York Times archive. Its roots trace to both the " classic album stations of the ’70s as well as the

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

format that developed in the ’80s."

Format

The format has a broader, more diverse

playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs, but sometimes a loop. The term has sev ...

than most other formats. Musical selection tends to be on the fringe of mainstream

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

and rock. It also includes many other

music genre A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from '' musical form'' and musical style, although in practice these terms are som ...

s such as

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produ ...

, Americana,

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...

, new wave,

alternative country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, folk, world music,

jam band A jam band is a musical group whose concerts (and live albums) are characterized by lengthy improvisational " jams." These include extended musical improvisation over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music which often ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

. The musical selections tend to avoid

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest ha ...

and rap music. Music selection also includes tracks from albums that are not

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

, which leads to the enhanced and larger playlist. Some AAA outlets focus more on classic rock artists, folk and blues while others focus on more contemporary artists and modern/indie rock.

Popularity

Some of the songs that first air on the Triple-A format have later found additional popularity on the

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

, or

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

charts months after their initial Triple-A chart runs. The format is often seen as a "test market" for emerging artists.Mills, Joshua. "WNEW Gambles on Elite Rock Hybrid: Seeking Listeners Who Crave what they Half-Know. WNEW-FM Gambles on Elite Rock Hybrid." New York Times, Aug 01 1995, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, 2021. See also New York Times archive. The format has gone off and on in the Los Angeles radio market. Currently KCSN and simulcast partner KSBR broadcast a Triple A format in the Los Angeles and Orange Country areas respectively. The format still exists in New York City ( WFUV); Chicago ( WXRT); Philadelphia ( WXPN); Minneapolis (

KCMP KCMP (89.3 FM, 89.3 The Current) is a radio station owned by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) that broadcasts a AAA music format including a significant rotation of songs by local artists. Licensed to Northfield, Minnesota and covering the Minnea ...

); Boston ( WXRV, WERS, and Americana leaning WUMB-FM); Aspen, Colorado (

KSPN-FM KSPN-FM is an adult album alternative radio station owned by Patricia MacDonald Garber and Peter Benedetti, through licensee AlwaysMountainTime, LLC, and broadcasts at 103.1 MHz FM in the Aspen, Colorado area. The station airs an adult album alt ...

); Denver ( KBCO and KVOQ); Fort Collins (

KJAC KJAC is a non-commercial public radio station located in Timnath, Colorado, broadcasting to the Fort Collins-Denver, Colorado area on 105.5 FM. History Adult hits (2004-2012) The station previously aired an adult hits music format brand ...

); Portland, Oregon (

KINK Kink or KINK may refer to: Common uses * Kink (sexuality), a colloquial term for non-normative sexual behavior * Kink, a curvature, bend, or twist Geography * Kink, Iran, a village in Iran * The Kink, a man-made geographic feature in remote ea ...

); Portland, Maine (

WCLZ WCLZ (98.9 FM) is a radio station licensed to North Yarmouth, Maine with studios located in Portland, Maine. Since 2001 WCLZ has been broadcasting an adult alternative format. It is under ownership of Saga Communications. Programming WCLZ o ...

); Indianapolis ( WTTS); Nashville (

WRLT WRLT (branded "Lightning 100") is an adult album alternative-formatted FM radio station in the Nashville, Tennessee market and located at 100.1 MHz. The station is licensed to Franklin, Tennessee, some 20 miles south of Nashville. The s ...

, WNXP, and Americana leaning

WMOT WMOT is a public radio station serving the metropolitan Nashville, Tennessee market. Licensed to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, it is owned by the Middle Tennessee State University, located in nearby Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and it broadcasts an Am ...

); Conway, New Hampshire (

WMWV WMWV (93.5 FM) is a radio station broadcasting an Adult Album Alternative format. Licensed to Conway, New Hampshire, United States, the station serves the Mount Washington Valley area. The station is currently owned by Mt. Washington Radio & G ...

); Burlington, Vermont ( WNCS); Turners Falls-Northampton, Massachusetts ( WRSI); Woodstock, New York (

WDST WDST (100.1 MHz), branded as "Radio Woodstock 100.1", is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Woodstock, New York, and serving the Mid-Hudson Valley. Radio Woodstock is known as a progressive station that was at the forefront of both the m ...

); Austin ( KGSR-HD2, KUTX, and KTSN); and Dallas ( KKXT). On July 10, 2008 ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' began a Triple-A chart (using information from sister-publication '' Radio and Records'', a news magazine devoted to the radio and the music industries that has since ceased publication). Rival

Mediabase 24/7 Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analy ...

also compiles a Triple A chart. As of mid-2009, ''Radio and Records'' publications and accompanying charts were discontinued. As of 2010, ''Billboard'' publishes Triple A charts in the magazine and for its premium members on its website. Mediabase also publishes Triple A charts on a daily basis. Additional Triple-A charts are published by CMJ and FMQB. FMQB also produces the annual Triple A Conference in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Colora ...

, USA, an event that grew out of the Gavin Report's Triple A Summit, first held in 1993. FMQB took over production of the event, rebranding it as the Triple A Conference, after the closing of ''Radio & Records'' in 2009. At the end of 2019, FMQB closed and all Triple A services were absorbed by Jack Barton Entertainment, LLC (JBE), helmed by Jack Barton, former VP/Triple A at FMQB. JBE has rebranded the Boulder convention as the Triple A SummitFest and continues to publish weekly Triple A charts, including a Non-Commercial album chart, as well as a weekly newsletter (JBE Triple A Report) covering Triple A radio and the music it plays.

References

Radio-Locator's Format Definition: Adult Album Alternative AllMusic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adult Album Alternative Radio formats