No...Not in the way that you may think. I've been quiet these days for fear of being termed "negative" as some have. I won't play that game. I think RADIO hurt itself in many ways, and there ARE more choices than ANY of us ever imagined 20 years ago...let alone 10. And that includes satellite radio. I've been ON Sirius. I think that much of it is programmed very well. There is almost an attitude on several channels there, that they're superior in the content department. They ARE in many cases...certainly not all. The TALK channels are where the most revenue will be derived. There are MANY choices of talk on satellite that are just not feasible on terrestrial radio....mainly because most mainstream terrestrial radio that does talk is from the conservative camp. Much has been written about "being entertaining". That is most of the reason talk radio has leaned conservative...and the fact that the ownership WANTS it that way. If LIBERAL talk was on those big flamethrowing AM stations and some big signal FM's...I believe they would do better than they have. Many people say..."but Rush is an entertainer!" Well I thought Al Franken was too...but they spent most of their time saying how dumb Bush was. And that got OLD. We KNEW he was not the most articulate president when he was elected TWICE. That BIT got old fast. I don't want to debate Liberal vs. Conservative talk on this platform. I just know what everyone else seems to know. The BIG players WANT it to be conservative because THAT'S what makes them the MOST MONEY. End of thought.
The MUSIC channels on satellite run from the ridiculous to the sublime. I can't STAND hearing "Born To Be Wild" ever few hours. I loved the song at one time. Now...jeez...play "Rock Me" sometimes...get my drift...and the HIT stations..or decade channels PLAY the hits. That what MOST people WANT. HITS. PERIOD. I have arguments all the time on other forums about this all the time. I finally realize that HITS and the ones that still WORK for TODAY'S listener are the ones to play. Deviate from that too much...and CLICK. Ipod or CD's. Satellite CAN afford to have OTHER channels that play to a more eclectic audience...but THOSE channels have LESS listeners...and are there just to show that they CAN do that...and have the bandwidth. What happens down the road is anyone's guess when it comes to satellite radio. It TOO could be a threatened species IF and I say IF it is perceived to NOT have the content that people want.
Which leads to research. It must drive some programmers NUTS today, trying to figure out ways to appeal to a YOUNGER audience, because the AD agencies still think that it's all about 18-49 year olds...and that NO ONE over 55 matters in ANY way...(The same could be said of TV.) A digression here.. Why is it that TV shoes like "The Price Is Right" and others have all YOUNG people as contestants and yet all if not most of it's advertisers are selling scooters to seniors and diabetes supplies and arthritis meds? WHY? Because that's who is WATCHING. IF their numbers showed that YOUNG people watched it, you'd see beer commercials, cosmetic products, feminine products, etc.. But you don't.
So why doesn't TERRESTRIAL RADIO program to who is STILL AVAILABLE to LISTEN TO IT?
I am PRO radio...and likely will be until they turn the lights off for the last time. I don't always like what I SEE and HEAR these days, but I'll leave some of that therory and pontification to guys like my friends Jerry DelColiano, Tom Taylor, Walt Sabo and others..
I see things from the TALENT side mostly, although I certainly have been in managerial positions. I'm currently writing my thoughts down each day for a book. I have to be careful as you ALL know, because NONE of us wants to bite the hand that feeds (or potentially feeds) us.
What I KNOW is that a good amount of radio companies missed the boat when it came to capitalizing on the potential of the internet. THAT will be the demise of terrestrial radio AS WE KNOW IT NOW, if...and I do mean
IF terrestrial radio ever goes away. I don't think it will totally, but will be among the choices that we will have for years to come.
We all read the same trade stuff daily...and many of the talking-heads in the biz say radio's dead. Many have driven a spike right through the heart of this thing that Marconi helped push to the forefront, and guys like Gen. Sarnoff and others made into a real BIG business.
I agree on some levels that radio in its current form will be less of a factor...but the real brain trust of radio execs better come to grips with the fact that it'll all be about the CONTENT. The platform will be a secondary factor. I think BRANDING is going to be more important than ever...meaning the best, and most creative CONTENT providers will be the ones with the edge...the ones who think WAY out of the box with providing content that SUPER SERVES a segment of our population. That population is now splintered in ways you can't imagine. Finding out which one to serve will be the main thrust.
Gone are the days of one station being everything to a majority of people. The WABC's of yesterday are, and HAVE been over for almost 30 years! The WNEW-AM of yesterday serving the adults/pop audience is gone. The WNEW-FM of yesterday is gone with its eclectic yet somehow comfortable music selection.
Yet...Z100 rolls on. Yet there are huge stations in every market in the country still...that somehow have figured out to not just think about their terrestrial signal, but the internet as well; with not just streams of music, but pod casts, and other content that NO ONE else does. THOSE people will ALWAYS WIN...because they figured out how to BRAND their content in OTHER venues!
I'm NOT saying that all radio is badly done. Nope...there are still many very well PROGRAMMED stations. But...if you believe the nay-sayers...no one under 30 gives a crap about RADIO the way WE knew it anymore. That MAY be anecdotal. I don't have the numbers in front of me...but I NEVER hear any kid or younger than 30-type even MENTION what they heard on the radio anymore. THAT'S what has changed. A generation...or maybe TWO have rejected someone telling them what to LIKE. THEY pick what they like.
So radio as we know it NOW has a couple of choices. Keep pounding at the way it WAS...and make it WORSE by getting rid of the very VOICES that became like FRIENDS and FAMILY to people (yours truly included)...OR figure out that local CONTENT will keep LOCAL people happy...and indeed ALL stations must give people a CHOICE of how they GET that content. And it can't all be JUST playing tunes spit out by a computer. It MUST be from the heart...because after all...we're only human.
Lose that factor...and RADIO will have killed the Radio Star...
As I've said, I've been laying low lately...for obvious reasons...but I'm still around absorbing all that's been going on in the last couple of years. I like some of it, but there are many disturbing trends too. In some cases...some people have DIED because of the disturbance and tumult in the biz. I can name names if you want privately.
I invite ANY and ALL radio folks to discuss this privately.
[email protected]
BE BIG
Jay
(inside joke...sorry...couldn't resist)...Oh, I noticed this weekends stock report had sirius/xm listed at .26....That's 26 cents ! Who's hurting Who?