A random viewpoint on the state of Radio

[Skynet74]

I found this on another board... then copied and pasted it here. Does this guy have a point. Do you feel this is the way that most people now feel about radio?


regardless of internet theft, the internet is why satellite radio will go the way of laserdisc, betamax and the 8-track. I can hear any song, artist, radio show, podcast, etc from the internet. I can take any of those things, put it on my Ipod and take it in the car or anywhere I want to. I can just steal it or if I want I can pay for it if I have to. The bottom line is that radio itself is a dying medium - why should I pay someone to pick a bunch of crappy songs for me to hear when I can pick good songs that I like and listen to them for free?

 

[someplacesomewhere]

To an extent I agree. Sattelite radio won't last, unless they change it drastically(I'm not even sure how they could). Music radio may be in for it, but I think Talk radio, both opinion talk and news talk will always be an outlet. Mainly because society today is so concerned about what others think. There will always be an industry to spread the local news to people driving in cars, and despite the whole traffic alert GPS, I think traffic and weather will continue to be in demand on the radio, along with general news. We may be coming to an end to the music format with the advent of IPods, but News/Talk will thrive. In both the local and national forms. Its easier to hear news than watch it sometimes.

 

[Holland Cooke]

You're right...as regards MUSIC radio...

Even a merged Sirius/XM service could be a question mark long-term.
Why: It may end-up being a "bridge" between:

1.) when post-consolidation AM/FM radio cut-back/dumbed-down/mailed-it-in/automated/syndicated/etc.; and

2.) when the new platform becomes:
a.) productized (i.e., Wi-Max coverage, radio-like OEM dashboard Internet audio receivers, etc.); and
b.) proliferate (OEM is a 3-year lead time). Early adopters don't count.

Already, the rental cars I'm getting all seem to come with an iPod jack and satellite radio.

But -- just as Sirius/XM gave us SO-much-more-variety-than AM/FM -- mobile Internet will make satellite radio seem limited by comparison.

SO...Radio's silver bullet will continue to be uber-relevant programming.
Do what iPod and streaming and satellite cannot.

It's tempting to typecast that as "local programming;" but good non-local programming will beat poor local programming.

For instance: NOTHING -- repeat, NOTHING -- can be more relevant to the high-TSL in-car listener than EXCELLENT traffic reports.

Very few stations do "excellent" traffic reports.
At most stations, traffic is just...there.
The GM hears a sounder, an intro, a reporter voice, and a :18-spot-that's-supposed-to-be-a-:10.
He/she assumes that the listener got value.

Much of what stations are offering motorists after that sounder is:
1. construction advisories they already know about; and/or
2. downright incorrect, or, at best, "history" (traffic is THE most perishable info on-air); and/or
3. irrelevant geography; and/or
4. stated inconveniently-to-the-ear (always announce LOCATION before CONDITION).

EXCELLENT traffic reports in, for instance, The Sean Hannity Show, could certainly help Sean trump a local competitor doing the "I," "I," "I," "ME," "ME," "ME" show, day-after-day-after-droning-day, with traffic report business-as-usual.

HC
www.HollandCooke.com

 

[JointChinese]

Harland-

You put it so correctly! Each morning I listen to WPRO for my commute. More times then not, the traffic information is incorrect! It is usually late. The tie ups are cleared and new problems they don't have. Now I am seeing ads for GPS systems that report traffic problems. I have not had the chance to test, but it would be interesting to see how they do. "Detour Dave" needs to detour himself, becuse he's not current.

 

[Holland Cooke]

"I am seeing ads for GPS systems that report traffic problems"

Joint-Chinese ain't "wong!"

Last month, TomTom’s Go730 ($449) and Go930 ($499) went on sale.

IQ Routes technology uses actual traffic data – gathered from other connected TomTom users -- to calculate best routes.
Until now, in-car GPS estimated travel times based on posted speed limits in a database.

What this means to radio: If you do traffic reports, DEFEND.
Get your imaging right.
And get the dang information right to begin with.

When I managed WTOP/Washington in the 80s, we REALLY fussed over traffic.
And spent big, to grow our own.
Metro was our competition.
They tried anyway.

We owned and super-equipped the cars; and leased a Cessna.
(Only Lloyds of London would write the insurance to fly over metro DC in-the-fashion-we-did.)
And our 3 full-time traffic guys were ACES.

And that was nothin' compared with what-I-saw-there when I visited last week.
I can't begin to describe the in-station facility.

But that's just hardware.
What's most-impressive is how listeners contribute.

The Internet gets all the ink for so-called "social media," i.e., MySpace, YouTube, etc.
But there, last week, I watched as radio, an early 20th Century technology, artfully gathered/processed/disbursed this important data.
Listeners are SO bought-in they've become participants.

And THAT is the-opposite-of "I," "I," "I," "ME," "ME," "ME" blah-blah-blah, day-after-day-after-droning-day.

 

[someplacesomewhere]

Holland, the TomTom information also uses data from either RealTraffic(a Metro Networks product) or traffic.com(not sure which, buyt its one of the 2) for incidents and construction.

 

[bernzee]

Plenty of logic in this thread and plenty of good reasons to predict the death of radio,etc. One important factor seems overlooked, though. In my admittedly archaic world, one of if not THE most important reasons people listen to radio is companionship. Radio has always had loads of competition....itself! Don't like what you hear? Push a button, turn a knob, turn it off.....From 8-tracks to wireless internet connections, competition for your listening time has been a dogfight. I can't even count how many people have told me, after owning XM or Sirius for a couple of years, how much less they are in love with it and will pop in a CD or IPOD or, gasp, even listen to their choice of good old fashioned commercial land based radio. My guess is, that for the foreseeable future, all these formats will coexist. The REAL problem is that these are all distractions from driving. Hurtling down the road at 70mph in a 3,000 pound steel coccoon requires a lot of concentration. Answering your cell phone distracts you; enough so that many states have outlawed the use of hand held phones and research shows hands free phones are no less distracting. Operating any device when you're driving robs you of the attention you need to safely navigate the road. From cupholders to DVD's, all these distractions are bound to eventually come under the radar of the government regulators who "protect" us. Cupholders? Too distracting-shouldn't even be in the car. Get it?
Radio, tape decks, IPODS....too distracting....shouldn't even BE in the car. Poor programming aside, this is the real threat to the state of radio et. al. in today's world.

 

[Holland Cooke]

EXCELLENT point...

You've made a point that lots of people-ON-the-radio under-estimate...or are too self-centered to weigh: share-of-mind.

Even Rush wanna-be's will roll-their-eyes-less at the dang consultant's "boil-it-down, cut-to-the-chase, get-to-the-phones" mantra when they read research Jon Coleman presented in the session I moderated at R&R's recent Talk Radio Seminar: http://colemaninsights.com/ppmrush.htm

 

[Skynet74]

Specialty programming is where the future is at. Content that you can't get anywhere else. I have Sirius Radio and it's not the music which attracted me to the service. It was the talk channels. Howard Stern, Deepak Chopra, Jay Thomas, Richard Simmons, Martha Stewart... etc. People that I can't hear anywhere else. I can get music anywhere. Thousands of stations across the nation play the same songs. I can even type any song title into youtube and watch the video too! So there are very real threats to the future of broadcasting.

Radio stations that don't seperate themselves from the competition are going to be in deep trouble. I don't care if you are a music station or a talk station. You better be doing something interesting to keep me from shutting you off. There better be something unique about you that I can't get anywhere else. Otherwise I'm tuning you out. Stations are currently working on templates to become even more cookie cutter..... at a critical time when they should be doing the exact opposite. They need to differentiate!

 

[Runrigger]

After reading this I had to go back and watch Woody Allen's Radio Days again. As funny as it is, it's also sad watching the radio stars of yesterday in that final scene on a nightclub roof on New Year's Eve ushering in 1944 & wondering if future generations will even hear about them. Then the narrator comments that with every year those radio voices grow dimmer and dimmer.

Oh and John, how's Deepak working out for you?

 

[IdentityProgramming]

We in radio can take a lesson from interactive advertising and marketing. The more interactive we become with our audience, the more significant our relationships will be with them. By offering interaction opportunities through our websites, we create
an overall inclusiveatmosphere with your station, no matter how many people actually participate. In other words, just the idea that you are offering this gets people to feel good about your station. Sometimes radio stations are hesitant to engage in this activity because they fear a low response. This is the wrong way to look at it. Don't fear asking listeners to go to your website to vote for the funniest or most interesting segment of your show, because you are worried about a lack of response. Just go for it and see what happens! No matter how many people vote,
you should always use percentages. "Yesterday 76% of you thought the story of the
parachuting car salesman was the funniest thing you heard all morning." The point is, we need to be searching for ways to let our listeners get access into our world, so the two seem to become one.

Gary Begin/Consultant
Identity Programming
Jackson, TN
www.garybegin.com

 

[Skynet74]

Oh and John, how's Deepak working out for you?

The guy is soothing to listen to. I've always been a fan. When it comes to the mind body connection, he knows his stuff. I just need to apply his advice and techniques. I'm going to start transcendental meditation.

 

[Holland Cooke]

YES!

We in radio can take a lesson from interactive advertising and marketing. The more interactive we become with our audience, the more significant our relationships will be with them. By offering interaction opportunities through our websites, we create an overall inclusive atmosphere with your station, no matter how many people actually participate.

YOU BETCHA.
But making-that-gesture is just the first step.
Don't be surprised WHEN IT WORKS.
People WANT to be engaged, talked-to, not talked-at.

Good morning from Noo Yawk, where I'm attending the Streaming Media East convention.
Scalp-tingling starts this afternoon.

FYI my notes from Streaming Media West in San Jose in October:
http://hollandcooke.com/2007StreamingMediaWest.pdf

Radio needs to hear this.

HC
www.HollandCooke. com

PS: CBS-FM sounds GREAT. Despite the-worst-laid-plans of bonehead management, sometimes things just...work out, eh?

 

[uncleDJ]

Interactive practices do work: Jones keeps in touch with their audience with listener request boards and manages to find the 'faves' to keep listeners tuned in. We already know the 'bang for the buck' in radio whenever something different catches listeners' ears and the phones/emails pour in; where I'm at recently we did our first anniversary show as a BigBand/Oldies crossover affair for about 2 hours with my buddy and previous show host
Greg Bugbee. It was like a party in the quiet corner of NE CT: suddenly people were driving up in hand with coffee, listeners calling in begging us to make it happen again.

Our listeners love the oldies and the big band sounds which WINY has kept on air for many years on Sunday mornings. It was a hard transition to take away the big band days and get the 50s/60s going, and it didn't come without some grumblings...but the first year saw great success and most of the older listeners stayed on. Greg and I took a progressive approach, 'dating' the music into the 50s and 60s era before I came aboard with the doo-wop, rockabilly, soul, and 50s/60s rock prevalent on the radio scene in that era...and we kept the chart topping crooners too. Actually, our sound is akin to WLNG with a little CHWO/Toronto for spice.

We're very fortunate here to have a station that the listeners DEPEND on, as it is central to its audience among just a handful of local competition surviving in a vast ocean of Worcester/Hartford/Providence heavyweights. Dependant listeners make the best recommendations...and thankfully the station keeps an open ear. The bottom line: sales...the station has one of the most active Sunday logs I've worked with. The place does make money and has for 50+ years, featuring LOCAL news, LOCAL sports, LIVE programming in the key dayparts...as well as the attention grabbers (RedSox, NASCAR, LOCAL talk, specialty programming and a whole lotta remotes).

DEPENDABILITY: key to success in anything! So how does one form interactive listeners and markets without dropping large amounts of C-notes? Re-read the last paragraph for starters. The mega-conglomerates have not been so good as they think in being dependable, and brand-switching (formats) whenever a book downturns a tenth of a point never helps their cause.

If you give the people what they want, they'll set a button to you every time, and your station will be the dependable spot on the dial. The audience need for your signal is in direct proportion to the station capitalizing upon listener loyalty; yet the ARBs are only part of that establishment. The rest happens naturally by live contact, phone or email...and it amazes me how many facilities seem to overlook the human dimension.


-Bill Alley
JUKE BOX GOLD
WINY/Putnam CT