It is all about the money. But my view is that it is not a chicken-and-egg thing. Product comes first, audience follows, and then the money. Some formats require more patience than others as to the audience and money.
It took guys like Woody down in Charleston to take the chance and create The Wave. And he was patient enough to see it come through.
My observation is that commercial radio is where it is because of one thing: debt service. If you are in a position where you have a massive obligation, you've put yourself in the position that you need more revenue NOW! That means doing what you know will work out of the box. It might not be great or even good, but if all you are watching is that nut each month, quality doesn't matter. In those terms alone, ok is good enough. And then, when the audience or revenues don't grow as fast as you need them because the product is not compelling, then you start cutting non-line budget items. Which eventually has an effect on the perceived quality of the product in that it will always limit you to just O.K., which is tough if your competitor is putting on something even marginally better than O.K. And sure, the shares are going to be pretty good and saleable, but what you don't see is the slow erosion of folks using the product because their CD's, iPods, Satellite are more interesting jukeboxes and have fewer interruptions.
That, I believe, has taken a better part of a decade to get to. From 1996 to today.
Today's radio programming is not bad. In someways, it's more technically perfect than it ever was. No skipping CDs or cue burned records. No announcer flubs. Programmers know with scientific precision which 300-350 songs appeal to the most folks in the target demo. But what is lost is what made the medium great and what non-radio folks key into: the vibe, the immediacy, the sense of place, and the character of each station. Those are radio's strongest points. But in the interest of making debt service, costs and expenses have had to be reduced. So you've got something unremarkable competing with devices and services that are custom-tailored to the individual, such an as iPod or CD collection or with a deeper, broader, and more focused appeal, like Satellite radio.
What's the answer? I guess that is for you and I to figure out.
