• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Is live & local radio dead?

rtruskey2 said:
You pretty much said it. I'm not sure how many young people actually listen to terrestrial radio anymore when they want to discover "new" music.
Click to expand...

The problem with new music is there's so much of it, and it's hard to pick & choose which new music to play.

If you listen to KNCI, you'll hear a lot of new music. But it may not be what you want to hear. There are a lot of stations that specialize in "new music discovery." But The Eagle isn't one of them. "Discovery" is easier when you know what you're looking for. Having someone else discover it for you isn't really discovery.
 
TheBigA said:
If you listen to KNCI, you'll hear a lot of new music.
Click to expand...
Also if you listen to NOW 100.5 KZZO. I rarely listen to, I'll flip to it here and there to see what's playing. I like some of it but there's a lot I don't really care for much. Streaming music services have made it easier in that regard. My go-to stations are still The Eagle and sometimes The River but I dabble in almost everything.
 
TheBigA said:
The problem with new music is there's so much of it, and it's hard to pick & choose which new music to play.

If you listen to [insert station call letters here], you'll hear a lot of new music. But it may not be what you want to hear. There are a lot of stations that specialize in "new music discovery." But The Eagle isn't one of them. "Discovery" is easier when you know what you're looking for. Having someone else discover it for you isn't really discovery.
Click to expand...
Seems like this topic could fit a LOT of smaller & mid-market stations, not just those discussed in this specific forum for Sacramento.

For that to occur, I suppose what would need to occur is determining which 'lean' you want to have for a station to be a success - ratings=$$$.

*THAT* might be another topic in a more general discussion, without involving a specific sub-forum and stations.
 
vw86 said:
So how do you explain all these markets where Classic Hits, Classic Rock and AC are the top billing stations?
Click to expand...

The general public has zero taste. It’s why our “Rock of the 80s” station which HUGELY influenced my taste back in 1983 lasted only five months, but The Eagle has lasted 35 years playing the same songs over and over ad nauseum. It’s also why back when KPOP (which is technically now The River, but as it moved frequencies I don’t consider it the same station) was Rock of the 80s, KSFM was the #1 rated station with a repetitive top 40 format, though at least there the music changed every week or so. I never got to hear KSFM when it was Earth Radio but it seems like that was a great station, when they went top 40 it certainly was not.

And while 80s new wave is one of my favorite genres, I would not want a station nowadays that only played that. There’s a few online stations that do that, which is fine since they aren’t taking up valuable air space that could be used for playing newer music. I’ll listen to those every now and then, and usually hear at least one obscurity I haven’t heard in a while, but eventually it will get repetitive and I’ll go elsewhere. I’ve found you can ruin almost any song by playing it too many times.

I remember when The Eagle started out and I was sure then that it would quickly fail. Their motto has been “Nothing from the current decade could possibly be any good, even from veteran artists, so we’re just never going to play it. We will remain stuck in the past for all eternity.” Though funny enough they’ve likely added some songs that were too new for them in 1990, but if you were only listening to them you wouldn’t have heard them til much later. But does anyone keep their radio on the same station long-term anymore?
 
Alan Smithee said:
But does anyone keep their radio on the same station long-term anymore?
Click to expand...
Our office staff (I have been out of radio for many years) has our local AC station on all day every day. And I have another co worker that listens has our local Classic Hits station on in the workspace pretty much all day, both during the all-talk very politically driven morning show and when the music starts again at 10.
 
Alan Smithee said:
But does anyone keep their radio on the same station long-term anymore?
Click to expand...

Yes. Before we owned all the stations with studios in the county, we had just a stand alone and our TSL was through the roof 2-3x our nearest competitor and 3 to 5x the rest of the stations.. and im told by our owner whos seen most recent numbers than i have, that it hasnt changed for our AC/Variety station
 
Alan Smithee said:
But does anyone keep their radio on the same station long-term anymore?
Click to expand...
You’d be surprised at the number of businesses who never change whatever radio station their office radio is locked on. When K-Hits switched, that was the first time in the 3 years I worked at this company where we actually changed the radio frequency (ended up on KVGC and/or the Eagle, so now the channel gets changed a little bit)
 
Radio has been a big part of my life for seventy years but nothing on Sacramento radio appeals to me save live sports. I still listen to live radio but stream from small independent stations around the country which is not the same junk that iheart, Audacy, or Cumulus plays in all their markets. And I don't listen to talk radio where every host spews forth the same trash rather than actually challenge their audience to think and have discussios that enlighten. I find it sad that Classic Rock does well. Does everyone want to hear music from their high school for fifty years? Help us all. My older son still occasionally listens to radio the younger one maybe has turned on his car radio on once. I wonder if my grandchildren will ever listen to a radio at all.
 
GrouchyGuy said:
Radio has been a big part of my life for seventy years but nothing on Sacramento radio appeals to me save live sports. I still listen to live radio but stream from small independent stations around the country which is not the same junk that iheart, Audacy, or Cumulus plays in all their markets. And I don't listen to talk radio where every host spews forth the same trash rather than actually challenge their audience to think and have discussios that enlighten. I find it sad that Classic Rock does well. Does everyone want to hear music from their high school for fifty years? Help us all. My older son still occasionally listens to radio the younger one maybe has turned on his car radio on once. I wonder if my grandchildren will ever listen to a radio at all.
Click to expand...
Until about ten years ago I had the same, or more, involvement with radio you state. I had a great interest in commercial radio as a young kid and kept that through my young adult years as a military radioman. As a more mature adult commercial radio became a second interest as I gradually worked into my career in Information Technology. Throughout that time I still listened to commercial radio (music), mostly years 1955-1985 but listening became greatly reduced as the current music deteriorated in quality and format. Then, as on-air talent disappeared I found myself listening mostly to Oldies/Classic Hit jukeboxes which continues to this day.

The music from my high school years (1958-1962) is not among my favorites. I much prefer the mid-60's through the mid-80's. In the years since I have not discovered popular music that has the diversity and quality I find listenable. Why would I listen to music I do not appreciate just because it is current and more "modern"?

What I miss most are the DJ's from my high school years, and afterward, that made listening interesting.

I have four adult children and one teenage granddaughter. As they have told me many times they do not listen to commercial radio (or any radio AFAIK). Whatever music they listen to arrives over their phones as streams. As a casual observer I have noticed they never listen very long at any one time. I guessing less than 10-15 minutes, or, they continually switch between selections. To me, this does not bode well for the future of commercial music radio.

I'm just happy I lived through the golden age of popular radio music and have created libraries of it to enjoy for the remainder of my life. It is disappointing to know that younger generations will not have the same experience.
 
GrouchyGuy said:
I find it sad that Classic Rock does well. Does everyone want to hear music from their high school for fifty years?
Click to expand...

Classic rock now has more recent music. Typically no Doors or Hendrix. But there are also people your age who are looking for current music. For them, typically, they prefer AAA or Americana. People in your area might stream KPIG or something similar.

Commercial music stations are aiming at people about 20 years younger than you. That's why you can't find what you want. There may be non-com stations that have music for you.

landtuna said:
What I miss most are the DJ's from my high school years, and afterward, that made listening interesting.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, most of them have either passed away or retired.
 
vw86 said:
Our office staff (I have been out of radio for many years) has our local AC station on all day every day. And I have another co worker that listens has our local Classic Hits station on in the workspace pretty much all day, both during the all-talk very politically driven morning show and when the music starts again at 10.
Click to expand...
I've mentioned it before on this forum, but since I've been out of radio, I've been working in the tech sector (with people half my age and less) and when I mention what I used to do for a living the typical response is something like "cool...my mom/dad used to listen to the radio."

Granted, it is anecdotal evidence, but when it comes to arguing over what music comes out of the community Bluetooth speaker, nobody is clamoring to hear "Mix 98.9" or a classic rock station. They don't have a "favorite morning show" or can name a single personality on broadcast radio.
 
Deus Ex Machiato said:
Granted, it is anecdotal evidence, but when it comes to arguing over what music comes out of the community Bluetooth speaker, nobody is clamoring to hear "Mix 98.9" or a classic rock station. They don't have a "favorite morning show" or can name a single personality on broadcast radio.
Click to expand...

And yet we have documented evidence that some people actually listen. As shown by the OP. What he wants is live & local hosts for his particular musical taste. But he still listens.

The fact that people who work in the technology sector don't use older technologies shouldn't be a shock to anyone.
 
TheBigA said:
And yet we have documented evidence that some people actually listen. As shown by the OP. What he wants is live & local hosts for his particular musical taste. But he still listens.

The fact that people who work in the technology sector don't use older technologies shouldn't be a shock to anyone.
Click to expand...

"Some people actually listen." Not exactly a ringing endorsement for live and local radio.
Mind you, as someone who made a living in the business for over 30 years, I'd love nothing more than to have live and local hosts not just for my particular musical taste, but for the tastes of my co-workers. The other night when Drake's 3 albums dropped. we all had a "lively discussion" about the merits of the tracks. Myself and another guy thought it was "ass" while the resident Drake fan thought every song was 'fire, bro." In the ensuing debate, that other guy played me a couple tracks from Kendrick Lamar (from his "To Pimp a Butterfly") record that I thought were "fire."

Or at least interesting. But there was no live and local host involved in the discussion. No back and forth between hosts about the relative merits of the music. Instead of listening to engaged, entertaining people extolling the virtues of the songs or commenting on the ongoing beef between Drake and Kendrick, there was just us and the music.


We all know what good live and local radio sounds like...a show that made you want to either be a part of the conversation, or at least feel like you could be sitting around a table with them...eavesdropping on a group of friends that were having fun. I would posit that (oh gods, now I sound pretentious) "radio" would be doing better if the content - even on an "older technology" platform - was engaging and entertaining to the point where "the kids today" would listen to it rather than a streaming service that just played the music.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to tilt at some other windmills.
 
TheBigA said:
Things won’t return to the way it was.
Click to expand...

I don't think that things should. That would be as absurd as insisting that people continue to use the Yellow Pages to look up businesses rather than using Bing.

(okay, cheap shot, but really...who uses Bing over Google?)

The question is...what are the people who used to do traditional live and local radio doing to stay relevant in this new era? Throw up your hands and say "it is what it is" and set about cutting budgets? Or seek out new talent and new ways to deliver that content to the audience? How does that work? That's something that "radio" needs to figure out.

Stepping out of the "radio" realm for a moment, I'm a car guy. I always poured over car magazines, watched shows like Motor Week on PBS, and when things started moving to online content, I went that way, too. Sure, I watched Top Gear and it's offshoot The Grand Tour - the big budget shows - but also followed folks on the YouTube making creative and original content.

Now, one of those YouTube channels I've been watching for years - Throttle House - has hit the big time. A couple guys based in Canada have not only built a solid online presence, but have been hired to replace a legacy car show as the new hosts of The Grand Tour on Amazon. They're really, really good. Are Thomas and James getting the same amount of money as Clarkson, May, and Hammond? No, but Jeff Bezos threw a crap load of money to get them and fund a season of their little YouTube show with a big budget.

Where is that happening in the radio space?

It's not...at least as far as I know. Some kid with a brilliant idea for a show will be offered a gig at iHeart where they make $38k a year to track 3 or 4 shows on a handful of stations, dutifully reading the modern equivalent of "liner cards" and hoping they can supplement their income with side gigs.


The budgets are being "adjusted" out of existence.
 
TheBigA said:
Unfortunately, most of them have either passed away or retired.
Click to expand...
I understand that but what I was getting to is the almost total lack of replacement. As the old guys retired, or were fired, it seems they were not replaced by anyone of equal talent. 30+ years of DJ "added value" just vanished. Coupled with the decline in pop music I am not surprised music radio is in trouble.
 


Back
Top Bottom