Have a question for everyone...

[bucwhyl]

I've noticed a new trend for FM radio: spoken word, (sports, news/talk). Many stations are dropping music formats for this particular type of format. I ask why? Is the music that today's artists are producing just that bad, or is this a money thing? Opinions?

 

[davideduardo]

I've noticed a new trend for FM radio: spoken word, (sports, news/talk). Many stations are dropping music formats for this particular type of format. I ask why? Is the music that today's artists are producing just that bad, or is this a money thing? Opinions?

There are a number of factors here. Any, and sometimes all, of the factors may enter into play in any individual market.

In the top 100 markets, there are less than 200 "viable" AM stations. This means that in some markets there are no AMs that cover the whole market or almost all or it day and night. In others, there may be one or two, and only in a couple (like Chicago, New York, San Francisco) are there 4 or more good full signals on AM. This means that AM is very limited in covering the full radio markets of the US.

There are many new delivery systems for music; radio remains viable in this area, but radio remains very significant for real time delivery of news and sports.

AM is mostly used by persons over 50 or 60, or those who grew up when the big stations were AM. As the AM-friendly group gets older, their attractiveness to advertisers decreases to the point of there being no revenue for stations that have little under-55 listening.

At the same time, we have seen over the last decade that strong AMs with talk formats that move to FM get a big boost in the very salable 35-54 age range without significant change in programming; the conclusion is that the formats are viable but the AM band is not.

In many markets the 80's and 90's saw countless move-ins and upgrades, resulting in more FM competition and the opportunity for more format variety on the band.

The possibility of high RIAA / Soundscan royalty payments for music means marginal stations will be driven out, maybe even out of business. Since it's clear that there is not room for many many talk stations, those wanting to be first in don't have much opportunity to play catch-up later.

 

[The_X_Man_Cometh]

Great question, buc. I agree with David, and add the following:

Radio used to be companionable, when the DJ played your favorites and conversed to you. It was a relationship.

Now with consolidation, downsizing, voice tracking, and mass-programming of radio clusters, radio is homogeneous, and isn't companionable.

The listener call-ins, instant request lines, and so on are a distant, fading memory.

We still want to be connected to others who think as we do, while we spin through the sky on this big blue marble.

So, we call the talk shows, we call the sports talk shows, and we thirst for news-as-it-happens.

Satellite radio, iPods, mp3 players, and CD players aren't interactive enough. We want dialogue, but we will settle for monologue.

Is news, news/talk and sports talk cheaper to produce? I don't know.

As for the music...some of the new stuff I hear on the radio is simply unlistenable, but I grew up with Dallas radio, from 1966 on.



my .02, your mileage may differ.

 

[OHTBGH]

Its also easier to webcast and give the station a world presence.

The CARP rulings screwed web casters really bad. And with talk they can stream. Unless a syndicated show has a caveat about web rights.

- BGH

 

[longtimelistener]

The big news/talk stations have finally realized that it's time to make their programming available on the band that has the most listeners. That, and the programmings costs on the FM they simulcast on drop from $X to $0.

 

[DToTheJ]

The CARP rulings screwed web casters really bad. And with talk they can stream. Unless a syndicated show has a caveat about web rights.

Even Rush Limbaugh's show, when it puts podcasts on their website, leaves out the Pretenders theme song and bumper music. Not that I'm a subscriber; Rush seems to address this issue on his show occasionally, once he gets a call or an email inquiring about why that is the case.

CARP? I'd rearrange a letter or two in that acronym... :

 

[arnoldevns]

Fairly simple: 20 years ago I bet that a majority of people listened to music primarily on the radio. CDs were popular but not all that portable (except in a car.) Now I suspect a survey of the public would find that a majority of people primarily listen to music they have downloaded on some kind of portable music player (ipod, iPhone, Android, etc..). The stations are responding to the changes in the public's consumption of music.