A parents look at why Radio is dying.

[Skynet74]

I was just reading the National Radio board. The topic was Radio Disney. But what this one parent said about her daughter stuck out like a sore thumb. If her daughter is typical of the average kid, it's not looking good for the medium so many of us love.


" My daughter liked Radio Disney when she was about 8 years old. At the time, she didn't know the difference between AM and FM, and didn't care about the difference in fidelity between the 2 bands. In the Bay Area, Disney is on low-powered and staticky 1310 AM, though it does have clever call letters (KMKY).

By the time she was TEN, she had already moved on to FM CHR stations, like Wild 94.9 (KYLD). She got an i-pod at about age 12, and radio has been almost totally irrelevant to her since then. Now, at 14, she finds out about new music from friends, and the internet, and downloads them from i-tunes. As long as she keeps it under $10 per month, I don't have a problem with it. Most months, she spends less than that."


Since she got an ipod, radio has been almost totally irrelvant to her. Very interesting. Finds out about new music from the internet. Also very interesting. Radio better figure out quick how to stop things like this from happening. Otherwise Radio's most attractive demo is also going to be the demo that goes away.

 

[Numo]

As much as I love radio I can attest that this is the truth. While I detest Apple and their i-Junk I will tell you that my driving companion is my Zune...

The only radio I listen to is Gio and Kim in the morning... Basically local interactive shows. Sometimes Charles on the ride home and or talk radio.

With the current trend of local hosts being replaced with out of town bird feed I can envision the day when I stop listening to radio altogether and it saddens me.

 

[fullabaloney]

You're citing a 14 year old here. Now since Numo mentions Gio and Kim and Charles, those are two shows still heavy on personality. As far as morning shows go, all the local ones in the market are. Even the non local ones like Matty and the garbage on Hot are heavy on personality whether you like the personalities or not. So are you saying that if stations revert to personality radio with more talk in between the music in all dayparts that listeners will come back? I don't think so. I think you'd have better radio being done but listeners have been accustomed to run of the mill programming after 10AM.

 

[Skynet74]

So are you saying that if stations revert to personality radio with more talk in between the music in all dayparts that listeners will come back? I don't think so.

Show me where I said that. I didn't write anything like that. I don't know exactly know what the answer is to stop the exodus. I know that stations have to think up something though. 14 year olds who stop listening to the radio will soon turn into a bunch of adults who don't listen to the radio.

 

[kwthom]

<...>I know that stations have to think up something though. 14 year olds who stop listening to the radio will soon turn into a bunch of adults who don't listen to the radio.

This is happened already, no?

My twenty-something year old son listens to only the drivel that is ESPN Radio. He enjoyed the six-months of Sat radio with his new car, but when it came time to pay for it, he told them to pound sand.

Again, another of the early i-Crap/Napster generation.

 

[landtuna]

There are five "kids" in my family ranging from 35 to 20 and none of them listen to radio. My wife and I listen in the car only and that is usually for less than 20 minutes at a time.

 

[TheBigA]

Since she got an ipod, radio has been almost totally irrelvant to her.

I think that's correct, and there's nothing radio can do about that. Radio is not an iPod, and an iPod is not a radio. Today's "have it your way" generation isn't interested in a mass medium where others who they don't know get to pick the hits. I was in a meeting yesterday with a 20-something, talking about another subject, but what he said applies to radio: People today want to interact, they don't want to be lectured to.
Even the best radio personalities lecture. It may be funny, but it's a lecture. No room for interaction. That's why radio is in trouble with under-40s.

 

[landtuna]

I was in a meeting yesterday with a 20-something, talking about another subject, but what he said applies to radio: People today want to interact, they don't want to be lectured to.

That may be the case for some young 'uns but I doubt it is a major reason. According to my "kids" and their friends the major reason they listen to non-radio is lack of commercials. Second is they can program their personal favorites. None of them mentioned DJ's, "lecturing" or the lack of interaction. After all, iPods don't interact either.

 

[Skynet74]

Look... I don't even own an ipod. However that will change by the end of the year when I finally purchase an Mp3 device that I already have my eye on. I don't even have the thing yet, but I can already see the appeal of it. Being able to take thousands of songs, and even radio shows I've taped with me. With such a device We are the Program Director. Some of my favorite radio stations in the past have been the ones without jocks. Providence used to have a station on 99.7 FM in the 90's called the Edge. When they hit the air, there were no jocks. It was Great! I loved it and so did many others. As soon as they added DJ's it just started to become your typical radio station with to much yapping. Having your own ipod type device is a way to get rid of the DJ that you don't want talking over your songs in the first place. Of course people are going to like it.

The only advantage that radio has these days is News/Talk. It's great to be able to turn radio on and have up to the minute News/Talk/Info. That is the only thing I see saving radio. I honestly think the music stations are in a lot of trouble and it's only going to get worse.

 

[landtuna]

I honestly think the music stations are in a lot of trouble and it's only going to get worse.

When KGO-FM signed on in the mid-60's as a jockless rockster I thought I was in radio heaven. But as Oldies and Classic Rock disappear I've gone another route.

I have a solid-state MP3 player that is just a bit larger than a postage stamp (Sansa Clip). I can load the entire "History of Rock and Roll" on it, or 150 Jack Benny programs or anything else I choose to listen to and take it anywhere. It plays for several days before needing a recharge and there are commercials on it only when I copy them there (yeah....right). It does have an FM radio but it is rarely turned on.

Oh yeah.....I am WAY outside the demo radio or TV are looking for these days but I am a pretty good "ghost of the future".

 

[Skynet74]

I have a solid-state MP3 player that is just a bit larger than a postage stamp (Sansa Clip).

HA! That is what I am getting (Sansa Clip). I bookmarked it a month ago. I am getting my girlfriend the pink one for Christmas. I totally agree with you in terms of taking radio programs with you. I recently finished a project where I took every single tape and CD I own and converted them all into Mp3 files. It took me two years to finish them all. Now I can easily transfer any of it onto a portable player. How is the battery life on the Sansa clip?

 

[landtuna]

How is the battery life on the Sansa clip?

I can't tell you exactly because I've never run it dry. It seems to be good for somewhere between 16-20 hours but I don't think the display is perfectly linear.

I've been real happy with it except making playlists. That process is a bit confusing. If you want to know how I do it shoot me a PM.

 

[jeffryan]

...According to my "kids" and their friends the major reason they listen to non-radio is lack of commercials. Second is they can program their personal favorites. None of them mentioned DJ's, "lecturing" or the lack of interaction. After all, iPods don't interact either.

Well you're right and wrong. DJs are an annoyance to kids. Hell, they're an annoyance to everyone specifically because of the liner card culture we're stuck in. But lack of interaction is huge for the younger generations. You can look at it this way. If kids can't program the radio station, that in and of itself is a lack of interaction. But when jocks busy out the phones, ignore e-mails/texts and generally take the listener for granted and don't *interact* with them, well it's easy to figure out why there's severe tuneout... that of course combined with the fact that technology is evolving while radio is not.

We live in an on-demand world. And while kids have embraced that more than older people, today's kids are indeed tomorrow's old people. And even older people are embracing on-demand and social networking for instance. The majority of new Facebook users are 55+. And let's not forget how radio regards 55+, let alone kids.

Kids (and now adults) don't want to be lectured to. They want to DO the lecturing. And the programming. And everything else radio won't let them do.