Here's what you miss: The content has nothing to do with consultants or anyone who works in radio. It has to do with the audience, and delivering that audience to advertisers. They're the ones who drive the content, and why radio sounds the way it does. Those of us who work in the industry know more today about our audience, and how to reach them, than ever before. As a result, we're doing a much better job of focusing on what the mass audience wants. Unfortunately for you, it's not what YOU want. But for everyone else, radio content is great, and is why most people aren't motivated to subscribe to Sirius or other alternatives.
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“AM Radio Is Dead and its Rotting Corpse is Stinking Up the Airwaves"....
- Thread starter L Chanon Gade
- Start date
Here's what you miss: The content has nothing to do with consultants or anyone who works in radio. It has to do with the audience, and delivering that audience to advertisers. They're the ones who drive the content, and why radio sounds the way it does. Those of us who work in the industry know more today about our audience, and how to reach them, than ever before. As a result, we're doing a much better job of focusing on what the mass audience wants. Unfortunately for you, it's not what YOU want. But for everyone else, radio content is great, and is why most people aren't motivated to subscribe to Sirius or other alternatives.
Point taken. If you ask me (though of course you didn't...) one feeds off of the other. You might also consider the factor of the audience becoming jaded and looking for their next visceral thrill. Rush begets Savage begets Beck and where to next? The same applies even more to the internet. Online discussions on any topic can quickly deteriorate into schoolyard bullying, and it happens here too.
Here's what you miss: those of you in the industry are NOT reaching the desired demo! You've researched the crap out of radio and it's not working. As for Sirius I think its safe to say that many people aren't motivated to spend a couple of hundred bucks a year for something they feel they can get for free.
"The hate is thick in this one."
Bingo. The stations I listen to on SiriusXM give me what terrestrial stations do not. I rarely listen to radio any more.
But this goes all back to my original statement....where are the new talk show hosts coming from? We have 2 new studios in NYC to use for internet radio and still cant find any qualified people.....yes it costs money.....but we all paid to go to school
PS almost everyone wants to do a rap hip hop show or the comedians all want to talk to strippers........its truly sad.
PS almost everyone wants to do a rap hip hop show or the comedians all want to talk to strippers........its truly sad.
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It's exactly the opposite. Programmers, whether consultants or individual, are first and foremost interested... if not obsessed... with content.
But we know that in ratings driven markets, without a delivery system that is effective no manner of content will generate useful levels of listening.
Actually, content is one thing and delivery is another. Message and messenger.
Few if any stations are devoting more resources to AM content because we know that the "messenger" is in decline in a number of areas with no hopes of improvement in any of the key areas.
That's why the transactional markets have a split between a very few viable AM technical facilities with decent billings but an aging audience, and the rest of the AMs are either bleeding money or have found a niche such as religion and ethnic programming.
In the smaller markets, particularly unrated ones, there is still an opportunity of AMs to provide valuable service and we see some examples of vibrant stations. In those markets, there is less overall competition and more format options and less fragmentation. There are even cases of some music formats that become viable in such situations.
David, I can't disagree with much of what you say -- and I totally agree that AM radio is in death throws. But what I find interesting is that when anyone comments on programming from a cerebral standpoint you always shoot back with statistics. You may think you "win" because it's hard to argue with numbers. My point is that there's room for both.
To use the musical analogy again, an age old complaint among musicians is that the audience just wants to hear their hits (as noted in Ricky Nelson's "Garden Party.") But unless the creative force (the musician) is allowed to "experiment" (a dirty word among consultants) all we have is stagnation. AM radio is suffering from the stagnation of several decades of programming by the numbers, IMO.
Try opening your mind -- from time to time try discussing programming from a human, visceral point of view. Try to find what actually motivates you to listen. It actually feels good!
And, BTW, because you may have left the demo doesn't mean your opinions aren't valid. Young people aren't from Mars -- they're smart and often have a keen interest in history, politics and current events. Don't sell today's generation short.
To use the musical analogy again, an age old complaint among musicians is that the audience just wants to hear their hits (as noted in Ricky Nelson's "Garden Party.") But unless the creative force (the musician) is allowed to "experiment" (a dirty word among consultants) all we have is stagnation. AM radio is suffering from the stagnation of several decades of programming by the numbers, IMO.
Try opening your mind -- from time to time try discussing programming from a human, visceral point of view. Try to find what actually motivates you to listen. It actually feels good!
And, BTW, because you may have left the demo doesn't mean your opinions aren't valid. Young people aren't from Mars -- they're smart and often have a keen interest in history, politics and current events. Don't sell today's generation short.
My point is that the "facts" give scant hope to revitalizing AM stations. The biggest issue is that there are so few viable AM stations in the major markets... about 170 stations in the top 100 markets. Since those top 100 metros have just about 70% of the US population, we are looking about a "most of America" situation. Talk, news and sports are the only thus-far viable mass appeal AM formats, and the full signals are in these formats. So it's unlikely that anyone, no matter how creative, will have a test platform that can actually prove anything because there are just too few viable AM signals.
Decades ago I first encountered a slogan in a frame at the San Juan office of BBD&O: "It's not creative unless it sells". For any creativity to take place there has to be a positive financial outcome. And the first step is channeling creativity to where there is a logical opportunity for financial success. Knowing the facts about AM coverage, noise levels, usage by age and such pretty much tells us that any effort at creating younger appealing AM formats is time wasted.
Since the 70's, we have seen AM music formats of all kinds die. The ones with sales-demo appeal have been massacred by FMs in the same format. Other formats that FMs did not want to do because of the older demos... such as standards, 50's based oldies... are not viable any more.
As we went into the 80's, any attempts, and plenty were made, to find music based AM formats, failed.
In other nations where FM licensing was more liberal, AM has died on its own or the herd has been vastly thinned. I can think of cities that had as many as 40 full signal AMs (no daytimers, no rimshots) where FM has more than 90% of all listening and half the AMs have gone off the air. Other nations, seeing that, have made migration to FM possible for many AMs; in the case of Mexico, their congress declared the AM band to not be viable!
If there is a hurricane approaching, I use statistics... the current wind speed... before going outdoors. If the wind is too strong, going out is not just futile but dangerous.
Try opening your mind -- from time to time try discussing programming from a human, visceral point of view. Try to find what actually motivates you to listen. It actually feels good!
There is no feeling like having the #1 radio station, particularly if it was launched to a chorus of naysayers and skeptics. I've had that happen quite a number of times. But you can't unleash the creative, build the team and do the marketing unless you believe there is some kind of market. There is no market for creativity with AM as the whole band becoming non-viable rapidly.
As I posted in another thread, as I watched the American Music Awards last week, I thought, "I wish I had this great music back in the 60's when I first did Top 40". The demos have nothing to do with seeing the potential. When I first programmed, most of my successes targeted people older, and sometimes much older than me. But one thing I did realize through multiple experiences with stations that programmed spoken word... drama, all news, sports, talk... is that people age into an interest in such formats. Unless you have the rare talent like Howard Stern, you don't get the very youngest demos with talk radio. And you never, ever, will get them on AM.
Statistics are just a measure of reality.
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For the most part, we actually are. We have a problem with 20-something men, but that's because they tend to either like fragmented rock formats or rap with indecent lyrics. Not much we can do for them there. A chunk of them love sports talk radio. And another group listens to some country music. But women of all ages love OTA radio. And advertisers love women.
Less than 10% of the overall radio audience subscribes to Sirius. About 20% of the 10% listens to Stern. They can't get him anywhere else for free. Classical, opera, jazz, bluegrass, outlaw country, progressive talk, and 50s oldies are formats mainly on Sirius. And yes, there's a group of people who are willing to pay to escape commercials. But they'd love OTA if it was commercial free. There really isn't much any of us can do for those people. By the way, a big chunk of them NEVER liked OTA radio for a variety of reasons, so it's not like we lost them as listeners.
Not to mention, there are a growing number (in millions) of listeners who are so UNsatisfied with what terrestrial radio offers, that they are reaching into their pockets every month and paying a subscription fee to hear better content.
It certainly says a lot about the *free* content when someone chooses to PAY instead.
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If you want a custom-made suit, you pay for it. You don't want to pay, you buy off the rack. Radio is the same way.
Insightful...and well put! ;-)
In none of the responses here has anyone cited this basic issue: Is it legitimate business practice advertise a product or service that is blatantly fraudulent?
My answer is; NO.
The "Bible Code" scam is a clear example of a dying, cynical medium.
LCG
My answer is; NO.
The "Bible Code" scam is a clear example of a dying, cynical medium.
LCG
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Radio has ALWAYS had shady advertisers. When your first sentence bashes the format, it's obvious you're just looking for something to reinforce an existing belief. One not anywhere near based in fact, by the way. I'd be willing to bet you've never even been inside a studio.
Talk radio has demo issues, but it's still quite viable.
AM Radio
AM Radio is not dead in rural areas. Cities skew the entire format with their always on everywhere internet radio. This also applies to FM radio. Since streaming isn't available everywhere, at least 25% of the country relies on terrestrial radio. You could probably unplug all on air radio in NYC and nobody would notice inside the city. However, the clear channel AMs serve big areas far outside NYC. This is an insoluble problem because all the cash to run the station comes from the city, but the listeners are outside the city.
AM Radio is not dead in rural areas. Cities skew the entire format with their always on everywhere internet radio. This also applies to FM radio. Since streaming isn't available everywhere, at least 25% of the country relies on terrestrial radio. You could probably unplug all on air radio in NYC and nobody would notice inside the city. However, the clear channel AMs serve big areas far outside NYC. This is an insoluble problem because all the cash to run the station comes from the city, but the listeners are outside the city.
The issue here is how "fraudulent" is defined. If a station decides not to take a campaign, it can set itself up for litigation.
First, a refused account can sue for defamation or something similar. They could call into question the qualifications of the station staffer who made the call.
Second, if a station refuses an account but accepts other allegedly more reputable accounts in the same category, they can be sued for restraint of trade and related issues.
The only possible way I can see to limit potentially fraudulent ads is to have a uniform policy for advertisers with a certain number of BBB complaints that are unresolved or something similar. It still opens a number of doors to litigation, though.
Yes, I know that this is a response to a year-old post. But it is an interesting subject, and some of the ads I hear are even more awful than in the past...
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That's not so. Major market Internet streams seldom report Nielsen shares of more than a tenth of a share point, and few are consistent showers at that point.
Even so, streams make noisy AM signal area listeners able to listen. And cities are very noisy AM environments.,
Maybe that is true in some rural areas, and those may represent 25% of the land area of the US, but not of the population.
And in those rural areas, generally FM is preferred overwhelmingly to AM.
Not so, either. With 94% of the people in NYC using radio each week, they would notice. And were the local FM and AM stations off the air, it's likely people would go to pure plays as much as streams of OTA stations.
Also not so. Daytime, few of them get much beyond the extremes of the New York City Metro Survey Area, and at night there is much less listening to radio of all kinds, so skywave listening is rather insignificant.
Also not so. Metro area stations get their revenue from advertisers that want to reach people in the metro area. Those advertisers may be local, local via agencies or regional or national agency accounts... but they are all looking to reach consumers in the market as a whole. One thing they are not looking to do is reach people outside a defined market via stations inside that market.
1. To the OP, "fraudulent" obviously means anyone who advertises on shows he doesn't personally like.
2. BBB is a protection racket. I wouldn't use them.
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