One size doesn't fit all

[R.D.P.]

Just picked up a response from Radio U.  I don't know of anyone right now that would be interested in doing their programming.  Everything we have has their presentation and audience already established.  Their goal is like Redeemer Radio.  When an existing station becomes available and/or has an interest in our program then we'll see if we can help. 

The youth need something at this moment.  With all the troubles we're faced with now, it would make perfect sense to cater to them. (Crime and Drugs) The only way the youth will have their own Christian outlet, is to build from the ground up.  Been trying to get a spot going for years now but no one is interested.  Everywhere I went I got the same old lines, it won't work, it'll be a contradiction to our Country format, it would seem foreign to my audience and I'm looking out for the bottom line. Even hinted at our local Moody station to do such a program and they didn't seem interested neither.

Man I tell you, it's so depressing and sad when no one will take an interest in my idea and attempt to run with it.  I know that starting up something from scratch does take time and money but if God wants it to happen, He'll see it through.   God can and will work a miracle if He choses to do so, even if the person wanting it, is on a fixed income and has a slight handicap.

I'm glad that Moody and AFR are here.  Although they may not attract a big audience, someone is being reached by them and that's a good thing.

Thanks again for your wonderful response and all your help.  I appreciate it very much.

R.D.P. <><

P.S. I've even had a few people to tell me that they wish Moody and AFR would play more music and less talk.  These people were a bit older than me. (Between 40 to around 80 years of age)  Now if these folks want that, then I know the youth want it even more. 

 

[radioboy]

R.D.P.,

I understand your situation because I'm in the exact same one, although the void in our market is a bit
different. I'm legally blind and after my last radio gig (operations manager job was abolished and station was leased to folks that just run EWTN) I was finally forced to go on disability after everything else failed.

I don't believe you can get the kind of help you need from any of the networks. You might want to
try getting in touch with John Broomall at Community Christian Broadcasters http://www.ccbroadcasters.com
to see if he has ideas that can help you.

He helped a colleague of mine get an LPFM on the air a couple of years ago and runs one himself.

It really sounds like local programming would best suit your market. Very few places really need another
translator feed of anything. The FCC is likely going to eventually enforce, or attempt to enforce, 8 hours a day of local programming on LPFMs.

But I also know that sometimes we have to walk away from "our" dream in order for God to work His plan. In my case, that ended up being an Internet station instead of a terrestrial one after my attempt to purchase the above-mentioned station didn't work out.

There are a lot of people here praying for, and pulling for you!

 

[audiophile.]

There are a few PW songs that can cross over. But a plodding 4:4 beat PW station, no matter how sincere the artists walk and delivery, will not resonate with anybody under 50 or 60.

That demographic is way off (unless I'm misunderstanding what 4:4) means. Modern PW will have solid audience in the 25-54 crowd. Modern Praise and worship isn't like copying off what secular world does, it kind has it's own sound, but with a 80's pop/rock base.

Like it or not, we all grew up with secular music in one form or another. It is fun - and since when can't Christian music be fun? We have the talent, all we need is the on-air venue. Yet the default mode for most Christian radio is to follow one real PW clunker with another and another, maybe throwing in something exciting once an hour, instead of taking the tempo of the songs back up and leaving it there for several songs. It is normal radio to "crash and burn" after a run of upbeat songs - you hear it on secular when the play Lady Gaga followed by Taylor Swift followed by Black Eyed Peas and Katy Perry - where do you go after a rocking up tempo set like that? You crash and burn with Miley Cyrus "The Climb" - essentially a ballad and the equivalent of PW music.

Miley isn't a ballad, or PW! If anything I'd say she sounds country-ish with a pop song.

But you don't do another ballad after it, you go right back in to Cold Play or something else up tempo. After another 5 songs, play Beyonce's Halo or something as the next crash and burn. No more than 20% ballads or you end up with the kiss of death "easy listening" or "soft rock" label. The same with Christian radio.

I'd avoid crashing altogether. If Miley is ballad/PW song to you, crashing will happen often under your definition of the system!

PW has a place, AC CCM has a place, but the vast majority of the songs need to be upbeat and current popular Hot AC, Christian rock, Christian hip-hop if you have any hope of holding a youthful audience.

Concur in part, dissent in part. I've seen CCM stations try for a 100% teen audience and get nothing! The same station trys for 18-34 crowd and get tons of teens, plus 18-34's. Why? The parents and the teens listen together as a peer group.

- who, by the way, have a large discretionary income and can support you or your advertisers

The youth have a large discretionary income? When did that happen, I must have missed the memo. When look at the demographic pie you'll find the "youthful" audience is a very small percentage. We just didn't make many babies with the effects of abortion (40 million) and birth control devices (probably more than 40 million). Even if you get 100% of the teens you probably would have a hard time paying the bills (look at the demographic pie to see why it will be a challenge).

 

[rbrucecarter5]

[That demographic is way off (unless I'm misunderstanding what 4:4) means. Modern PW will have solid audience in the 25-54 crowd. Modern Praise and worship isn't like copying off what secular world does, it kind has it's own sound, but with a 80's pop/rock base.

Concur in part, dissent in part. I've seen CCM stations try for a 100% teen audience and get nothing! The same station trys for 18-34 crowd and get tons of teens, plus 18-34's. Why? The parents and the teens listen together as a peer group.

The youth have a large discretionary income? When did that happen, I must have missed the memo. When look at the demographic pie you'll find the "youthful" audience is a very small percentage. We just didn't make many babies with the effects of abortion (40 million) and birth control devices (probably more than 40 million). Even if you get 100% of the teens you probably would have a hard time paying the bills (look at the demographic pie to see why it will be a challenge).

An audience for praise and worship? Please! Show me one PW station anywhere in the country (not CCM - PW) that shows up in the ratings. People don't like it, they don't listen, my church has 51,000 members and every Sunday after church when I walk by a car, I hear a radio, CD, iPod, or secular station. They bypass our two local clunkers completely. One is soft CCM, the other is traditional. Very few people even have a preset on them. They laugh at them in my Sunday school class - and it is a very conservative church and Sunday school.

I also agree in part and dissent in part. Teens will not send in donations to shareathons. But they walk around the mall wearing Ed Hardy shirts and True Religion jeans, have Coach purses, use expensive iPhones or Blackberries, etc. That is a lot of money being spent in the mall. All a Christian station has to do (if they can sell commericials) is sell commercials to the stores where these kids shop. I don't think there is a lot of peer listening with parents - teens like to get as far away from parents as possible. But parents hear the songs the kids like, and start liking them. So it does cross over, but from kids to parents - probably not so much the other way.

 

[audiophile.]

And show me a christian rap station that has high ratings. They're non-comms and aren't usually published. Same problem with getting advertisers, most are non-comms. How many mall stores advertise on commercial CCM radio anyway?

I don't know where you get that every teen is rebel theory from. Many loving Christian families will need to be the epicenter of any successful format. Without it I'm not sure you'd be to pay the bills (reality talking here) without a single "major" donor footing the bills. That model will fail when that single donor get's PO'd over a song they don't like, etc.

You mention WCIE, a great station in it's day (I'm VERY sad it's gone), but that was like a a million years ago in radio history, so I'm sure how much you can successfully "import" into today from a former weekend show. Cutting edge back then was probably DC Talk and SCC

 

[salemjedi54]

This is a problem with radio in general. Who do you market to: Kids or Adults. When I worked for KHVN we had a show called the Sunday Night Praise Party that catered to the folk who enjoyed uptempo Gospel music. (I write from a Black Gospel perspective because CCM or "white" gospel music does nothing for me). For the most part KHVN went after Black Women 25-54. The music mix on KHVN was more 70% old school(Shirley Cesear, Rev. James Cleveland, Aretha Franklin) and 30% New school( Kirk Franklin, Marvin Sapp, Donnie McClurkin) during the middays. the music mix was that way because the programming staff knew that kids were not listening during the middays, it was mom, dad and Big Momma.

I will just say this, the upbeat gospel music in the black church does sung, especially if the Pastor is younger. Some of the older folks may not like it, but you have to cater to the marjority of your membership. At my church, the majority of the parishiners are 20-45 years old.

Let me be clear, I have nothing against CCM. For those who like, I am glad they have an outlet for it. My complaint is in a market the size of Dallas/Fort Worth not to have a FM Gospel music station on a full signal stick is outrageous in my opinion. If done right and marketed correctly, money can be made.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

Let me be clear, I have nothing against CCM. For those who like, I am glad they have an outlet for it. My complaint is in a market the size of Dallas/Fort Worth not to have a FM Gospel music station on a full signal stick is outrageous in my opinion. If done right and marketed correctly, money can be made.

Well you would love Houston, they got one on 92.1. I actually listen because the other Christian stations down here basically suck musically. But not a lot - I'm developing a taste for secular music, because the Christian radio here is so bad.

What bothers me, too, is the assumption that one size fits all. I get the sense that a lot of Christian broadcasters are, in effect, saying "what is wrong with YOU, these people are really spiritual and reaching a lot of people." There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with me, except that my musical taste doesn't fit somebody's stereotype of what a 55 year old male Christian should be listening to. So - when a Christian station that fits my musical taste comes on the air, I'll listen to it. It probably won't be until streaming in cars is cheap and reliable, though, because satellite Christian is just about as bad. I can't wait - my stream will be set to Power-FM from Dallas, you really don't know how good Christian radio can be, until you don't have it any more.

I guess in a way I feel your former pain at being completely disenfranchised by broadcasters who are supposed to be serving the public interest, and Christian broadcasters who are additionally responsible for nourishing your soul - and instead program to the lowest common denominator.

 

[MightyFrenchman]

(I write from a Black Gospel perspective because CCM or "white" gospel music does nothing for me).

Let me be clear, I have nothing against CCM. For those who like, I am glad they have an outlet for it. My complaint is in a market the size of Dallas/Fort Worth not to have a FM Gospel music station on a full signal stick is outrageous in my opinion. If done right and marketed correctly, money can be made.

I'm white and I don't understand why CCM has to be "white". CCM should be whatever the specific market wants in which the radio station finds itself. In 1984 I programmed the music on WXIR/Love 98 in Indianapolis. Our playlist of currents included Amy Grant, Dallas Holm, Philip Bailey, The Winans, Denny Correll, Roby Duke, Wintley Phipps & the Neo-Gospel Experience, Margaret Becker,
Passage, Geoff Moore & the Distance, Jessy Dixon...you get the idea. At our roller skating parties, at which over 1200 people showed up because that's as many as the fire marshal would permit, 60% of the people were white & 40% were black. I think that was fantastic. It was a testimony to Indianapolis that there is neither white nor black in Christ Jesus. And please don't give me the laughable objections about targeting demo groups for ratings. We're talking about contemporary Christian radio, the stations that don't subscribe to that service even if they had any numbers to present to an agency.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

I'm white and I don't understand why CCM has to be "white".

We tried to be color blind when we programmed our show. I didn't give a rodent's posterior what race the artist was, as long as they fit the format. Black gospel is, understandably, dominated by African American artists. Although probably those folks that like that format probably wouldn't care if a white artist came in and did the style.

Racial arguments are so last century, I don't know a single station manager anywhere that would discriminate against an African American artist if their music fit the format.

Black gospel does not equate to CCM, and never will. There may be a few crossover hits, but they are different formats. They can have broader appeal than just the intended race - white kids might like black gospel and African American kids might like CCM - but they are different formats and the predominant appeal will be to their target demographic.

 

[trusty]

There are many college stations that block out time to their students, which has sometimes become the most creative programming in radio. R.D.P., does your market have a Christian college or church that has a station where you can present your format - at least a few hours a week?

It would be great exposure and would also test the market.

 

[R.D.P.]

No we don't.

We have several radio stations and none of them were opened to my idea(s). Went to them and they had various excuses for turning me down. (1) We have no where to put you and/or (2) Your program would be foreign to my audience and they would turn to someone else, if they heard anything they weren't familiar to. (3) I want to put you on RDP and would do it in a heartbeat but I'll have to check with Mr. Don Wildmon and see if he's opened to the idea. However Mr. Wildomon wasn't opened to the idea. Even did a petition and got people to sign it. The many signatures I got would've supported this program and help pay for the airtime. Gave it to my now deceased friend Mr. Dean Wilson and he sent it off the AFR, to see what their response would be. However, that petition fell on deaf ears though. (4) I even spoke with the local Moody contact manager to see if he was opened to my idea(s). However it didn't work out.

Outside of Moody and AFR, we have no other choices for Christian Radio, in my hometown.

Hence the reason why I'm now trying to start up something else. The only way the youth are going to be reached is for someone, like me, to establish a new Christian Radio station that'll exclusively cater to them. Due to me being on a fixed income, I'm not able to start up this station on my own. With God's help and His leading, anything can and will happen. I'm still Praying and working on getting something going. Hope God will soon open the door and allow me to bring something here, so that I can help Minister to the youth population and lead them to the Saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

R.D.P. <><

 

[anotherguyTN]

I think that doing anything local with CCM on an AFR station is a lost cause. When they changed all the stations on the CCM network to the talk network they also dropped the local Christian rock/rap shows in Jackson, TN and Paducah, KY, and very likely most other areas. I don't think that AFR has gone anti-CCM since a lot of the music on their regular network is AC CCM, but they have apparently decided that talk is more important than reaching young pepole.  :-\

 

[R.D.P.]

Amen to that! That's why I'm fishing for something of my own. I'm no longer interested in seeking airtime from the local(s), AFR and/or Moody. My program would offend most of their current listeners anyway and they would seek to run me off, never to be heard from again.

I still believe that a station like this, would be a potential goldmine, in a underformatted city like mine.

Just my two cents!

R.D.P <><

 

[MarkLaRoi]

I think we should stop thinking "the only way the ______ are going to be reached is by programming ______." It just doesn't work that way if your focus is serving God with programming excellence. When we get outside of our cliques the thign we find is that people listen to far more than they are normally willing to admit, mostly because programmers have pregrammed them to think that they are "supposed" to listen to brand A music and ignore Brands B thru Z.

The real lack in the industry is the trained ear with a foot in the community.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

I think we should stop thinking "the only way the ______ are going to be reached is by programming ______."

Thanks - I needed a good laugh! Seriously, I think you make a valid point that there can always be a small degree of crossover - who knows, a kid can get saved by an old time hymn or something. But it is far more often that they are reached by a format that the vast majority listens to. I recall 1996, when a representative of Moody was actually convinced kids would flock to listen to his network's sadly outdated format when they introduced it on WCIE! We all know how effect THAT transition was -----

It's great if an African American kid gets saved listening to country gospel, a teenager gets saved listening to Christian opera - a conservative adult gets saved listening to Christian metal - hey, whatever it takes! But - reality check. The vast majority of salvations from radio -something somebody heard through talk or music, is probably going to be within the demographic. So - my point is always that kids are an under served market. And they are the future of the church so it is a cause for concern, major concern. I think it is very naive to glibly say that they will get saved through the "safe for the whole family" station. Because it probably won't happen.

Radio, of course, is not what saves people. But it can spread the gospel through music so the Holy Spirit can do His work, combined with other believers and the church. Radio - and music - is an important component. Thousands of kids in my youth department have no Christian radio. So they listen to whatever the world wants to program. Sometimes it is good, sometimes it is very bad. But it is the decision of Christian radio in my area to abandon kids - so they fend for themselves musically with no help from radio.

 

[MarkLaRoi]

I think we should stop thinking "the only way the ______ are going to be reached is by programming ______."

Thanks - I needed a good laugh! Seriously, I think you make a valid point that there can always be a small degree of crossover - who knows, a kid can get saved by an old time hymn or something. But it is far more often that they are reached by a format that the vast majority listens to.

FAAAAR from what I said in terms of actual implementation. That's the logic leap most programmers make though, and that's the shame of it. The right mix is key.