Program Directors and Tyrannosaurus Rex

[mo rock]

as i monitor this subject line and feel it has reached its end, i would like to reiterate what has been my main point the entire blog, once a brand has established itself, the job of the program director should be, in my arrogant estimation, to expand the brand. expand the brand. and this is not going to be done with one song add or two. i witnessed at the blitz as we added the Killers, then a track by Fall Out Boy, and i witnessed them be taken in away in two short weeks. expanding the brand takes time. add songs marginally, slightly outside the brand with, and this is the important part, NO regard for what the P1s think. it has to be done by the program director based upon his knowledge and in no small part gut on what is good. add songs that your station can look to and say, "F" the charts, we are proud to be identified with this product. expanding a brand will take a minimum of 6 months before it even gains a foot-hold but you have to stay the course! again, it is a fallacy to think that people switch the dial when new music comes on. what if they do? are they not coming back? get real. if you like CD101 and they spin a song or two that you don't like and you switch the dial, you will still come back! where else are you going to go when by and large CD101 is the ONLY station playing by and large the type of music you want?! it will still remain your station. the Blitz, in my not so humble estimation needed to disregard in their research the P1s and focus on the outer fringes. CD 101 were playing tunes, ie, Kings Of Leon that we absolutely should have been playing. you add one song, then two then three, based upon the program director's discretion and LEAVE them on, to say in effect, this is the station we are becoming... not leaving the brand, expanding the brand. i know of no other business that is not looking to expand. KFC, Kentucky FRIED Chicken just introduced GRILLED chicken! once the brand is established, EXPAND! people that like fried chicken are not going to stop going to KFC because they have grilled! BUT... you will bring in others. which is why McDonalds, one of the most successful corporations ever, ever expands their menu with salads, McDLT, etc... because the P1s, that love the big mac are going nowhere! research that caters to P1s is masturbation. plain and simple. am i wrong? was i wrong at the Blitz when i all but screamed expand the playlist? well, i think facts prove me correct. after the brand is established the PD should be focused on nothing but EXPANDING the BRAND! primarily in the new rock genre. it has amazed me when there have been the one or two people staying the company line of no one listens to new material. then how does any new song break. in my twenty odd years, and i am still young and good looking, in radio, i have never heard anyone say, that station plays too much NEW stuff. it's a delusion. it's not true. to quote the great, Public Enemy, don't believe the hype. expand the brand! and playing new Metallica does not qualify. did that album add anything new to the rock landscape? please. have some balls. and finally, if you have a great... ok, let me not be narcissistic, if you have a good morning show, advertise and support and give those motherf....ers a chance! especially when they were on an upward trajectory after an unbelievable amount of transition and turmoil. don't go against what you know and believe because a consultant told you different and distrust your own instinct. and especially don't saddle them with 6 plus songs an hour then replace them with a morining show that plays no songs and blame them for the failure. that sh.t don't wash.

 

[mo rock]

i need a job. i have no applicable skills other than undeniable good looks, impeccable casual style, (where can't you rock Chuck Taylors?...) and it has been said, no less than three girls from the Grove City area who implied my c..k should be featured on Andrew Zimmerman's Bizarre Foods. That's neither here nor there. i do possess an opinion i will defend to to the death, up to and including the fact that the new Star Trek sucks! sure, apparently there are two Spocks, future and present just be-bopping around the galaxy. but i digress, i actually don't need a job, i am happy writing screenplays but merely wanted my post to jump ahead of the 106.7 format tweak post! aside from the wealth of reruns of the Golden Girls on TV Land due to the untimely death of Bea Arthur, a great man, i have very little to look forward to. sex? seriously? after you've introduced jumper cables and breyer's oreo cookies and cream ice cream into a an aliens vs predator sex fantasy, it gets old. the impromptu addition of an unexpected visit by punky brewster nothwithstanding. rock doesn't suck. only our exposure to it does. btw, elbow released the best album of last year, The Seldom Seen Kid. won the Mercury Music Award best album in Britain. no one can touch them. and nothing they do fits squarely on radio. a shame. but listen to "Loneliness Of A Tower Crane Driver" if you want to know what the potential of rock and radio can be. if that track is a bit too ambitious for you, check out Mexican Standoff from their previous CD, a track that should have been played on numerous stations but alas, well, you've read my posts.

 

[GR]

as i monitor this subject line and feel it has reached its end, i would like to reiterate what has been my main point the entire blog, once a brand has established itself, the job of the program director should be, in my arrogant estimation, to expand the brand. expand the brand. and this is not going to be done with one song add or two. i witnessed at the blitz as we added the Killers, then a track by Fall Out Boy, and i witnessed them be taken in away in two short weeks. expanding the brand takes time. add songs marginally, slightly outside the brand with, and this is the important part, NO regard for what the P1s think. it has to be done by the program director based upon his knowledge and in no small part gut on what is good. add songs that your station can look to and say, "F" the charts, we are proud to be identified with this product. expanding a brand will take a minimum of 6 months before it even gains a foot-hold but you have to stay the course! again, it is a fallacy to think that people switch the dial when new music comes on. what if they do? are they not coming back? get real. if you like CD101 and they spin a song or two that you don't like and you switch the dial, you will still come back! where else are you going to go when by and large CD101 is the ONLY station playing by and large the type of music you want?! it will still remain your station. the Blitz, in my not so humble estimation needed to disregard in their research the P1s and focus on the outer fringes. CD 101 were playing tunes, ie, Kings Of Leon that we absolutely should have been playing. you add one song, then two then three, based upon the program director's discretion and LEAVE them on, to say in effect, this is the station we are becoming... not leaving the brand, expanding the brand. i know of no other business that is not looking to expand. KFC, Kentucky FRIED Chicken just introduced GRILLED chicken! once the brand is established, EXPAND! people that like fried chicken are not going to stop going to KFC because they have grilled! BUT... you will bring in others. which is why McDonalds, one of the most successful corporations ever, ever expands their menu with salads, McDLT, etc... because the P1s, that love the big mac are going nowhere! research that caters to P1s is masturbation. plain and simple. am i wrong? was i wrong at the Blitz when i all but screamed expand the playlist? well, i think facts prove me correct. after the brand is established the PD should be focused on nothing but EXPANDING the BRAND! primarily in the new rock genre. it has amazed me when there have been the one or two people staying the company line of no one listens to new material. then how does any new song break. in my twenty odd years, and i am still young and good looking, in radio, i have never heard anyone say, that station plays too much NEW stuff. it's a delusion. it's not true. to quote the great, Public Enemy, don't believe the hype. expand the brand! and playing new Metallica does not qualify. did that album add anything new to the rock landscape? please. have some balls. and finally, if you have a great... ok, let me not be narcissistic, if you have a good morning show, advertise and support and give those motherf....ers a chance! especially when they were on an upward trajectory after an unbelievable amount of transition and turmoil. don't go against what you know and believe because a consultant told you different and distrust your own instinct. and especially don't saddle them with 6 plus songs an hour then replace them with a morining show that plays no songs and blame them for the failure. that sh.t don't wash.

So...what are you trying to say here?

 

[mo rock]

dude, i am seriously trying to watch Scrubs and figure out why people thought it was funny. but here goes... in the post you reference, i was trying to say:

1. if you don't expand, you stagnate. so will your ratings.
2. expanding takes a commitment AND a program director unafraid, knowledgeable and with vision.
3. if you have all 3 of the above mentioned, the P1s are not going anywhere. a measured, tempered expansion might leave them scratching their head for a minute, but so does the success of Hinder.
4. people switch the dial more because they are tired of a song than because its new. that is the nature of humans, not up for dispute. they will give a new song on average a minute and a half, they will give a song they are tired of until the opening four chords.
5. it doesn't matter if you do give them something that makes them switch the dial, if you are overall giving them more of what they want than anyone else, they will be back. unless you BLOW up the format, P1s are not going anywhere. i witnessed the Blitz actually INCREASE their Blitz numbers when they switched to the Rock, a more classic rock format. why? because the P1s of the Blitz by and large had nowhere to go. the Rock was still playing more new hard rock than anyone else. they would never admit it, and they bitched, but they didn't leave in mass.
6. you would have to be a total idiot and unworthy of the job program director if you were on an active rock station and you didn't add Kings Of Leon "Sex On Fire."
7. see number 6.
8. any program director that utters the phrase "it doesn't fit the brand" need not worry about that brand for too long.
9. the rules of rock radio programming have to be different from any other format due to rock having more sub genres than any other form of music. it is commercial suicide not to understand you have to pick and choose from more than one of those genres in order to be a fully realized station. which is why CD101 played quite a few songs that were on the Blitz and why the Blitz, should have played quite a few songs from them.
10. see number 6.
11. when you have a morning show that every trend, every book is climbing....UP, leave it alone.
12. when a program director sits you down, and says, "the station isn't looking for ratings from you guys for the first year..." start packing your bags for Florida.
13. when they keep you off the air for 2 months and bring you back with NO advertising, even though they are running a million dollars worth of commercials that for free you could tag the morning show's name onto, and you don't even warrant an add in the free paper... pack your bags even faster.
14. don't be mad at anyone... it's the business, AND, hopefully you had a house in Florida to go back to. (not being mad doesn't mean not telling it like it is)

and finally

15. none of this tells me why Scrubs was considered good. maybe the guys in Hinder know.

if your question was rhetorical, my apologies.

 

[Neanderpaul]

Well...seeing as you continue to reference me, Let me address this post for you and show you where you're in error.

BEFORE I do that, I must also say, that I'd love to agree with you. But, as I see every month when the trends come out, the philosophy employed by a competent Program Director....works.

I happen to be one of the most musically passionate, and diverse people in our business. However, it's not about what I like. And in the PPM world, it's only going to get worse. If you think new music is choked out of airplay now...wait until instant ratings effect becomes the norm in all the larger markets.

Now then...with regard to your post:

1. if you don't expand, you stagnate. so will your ratings.

There used to be a philosophy; "Program Narrow, Market Wide." If you expand your brand too much, you will find yourself confusing the audience. The most important group you need are the P2's. And to get them, you need to play the most mass-appeal music possible. Especially with PPM. Because now...incidental listening counts. The reason Budweiser are so successful is simply this; they are everyone's fallback choice. If you cannot find what you want, you take the path of least resistance. That's radio in 2009. And before you come with "and that's why radio is dying," I will counter with, It's not. There's a lot of bad radio being programmed nationwide. Of that there is no debate. However, it can & is being done correctly in several places around the country.

2. expanding takes a commitment AND a program director unafraid, knowledgeable and with vision.

You continue to miss the point. Radio is no longer about music Mo. It is about ratings. The Program Director's job is to get them. And if the audience wants Nickelback, we serve them Nickleback. If they want Metallica's "Enter Sandman," we give them Enter Sandman. The audience overall doesn't want their station to expand. They want what they like. And they tell us what they want very clearly. Through sales, and concert attendance. By purchasing band merch. And yes...by participating in research tests. This is a business. It stopped being about music education, and exposure a long time ago.

3. if you have all 3 of the above mentioned, the P1s are not going anywhere. a measured, tempered expansion might leave them scratching their head for a minute, but so does the success of Hinder.

The P1s aren't the most important segment of the audience. They are a small portion. If you program to the P1s, you're missing over 2/3rds of the people who cume your station every day. You want the largest section of the audience to recall your station. Until PPM. Then...you just want your signal ubiquitous within the market. And to do that...you gotta play the songs everyone likes. Expect the percentage of "new/unfamiliar" artists to dissipate immediately once PPM in instituted in your market.

4. people switch the dial more because they are tired of a song than because its new. that is the nature of humans, not up for dispute. they will give a new song on average a minute and a half, they will give a song they are tired of until the opening four chords.

Can you please cite from where you obtained this "fact?" Because you certainly seem to be stating it as such. I would counter this assertion with something pretty easily defensible. And that is: People flip channels until they find a song they like. They are more likely to stop upon a station if it's playing something familiar. I would concede this point were you able to show me hard data that proves the assertion. Here's what I'll ask you to do; take a look at sales charts and see how many "greatest hits" collections continue to sell. There's a reason. Because people like "hit songs." Look at new Rock sales nationally. They're not doing well. People do flip stations. Because they want what they like. And more often than not, they like the same 400 songs. There is some variation every year Mo. Maybe not the percentage that you'd like. But, there is change. The change flows at the rate the audience dictates. That's what radio's mission is; Provide a product the audience desires to consume.

5. it doesn't matter if you do give them something that makes them switch the dial.

Wrong. Plain & simple Mo. You are absolutely incorrect. This statement alone really makes you appear to miss the point entirely. And again...in PPM world. We're getting EXACT TSL. We also know for certain which songs are causing people to tune away from your station when they come on.

if you are overall giving them more of what they want than anyone else, they will be back. unless you BLOW up the format, P1s are not going anywhere. i witnessed the Blitz actually INCREASE their Blitz numbers when they switched to the Rock, a more classic rock format. why? because the P1s of the Blitz by and large had nowhere to go. the Rock was still playing more new hard rock than anyone else. they would never admit it, and they bitched, but they didn't leave in mass.

So...did you just do a 180? Because what you've just said is...less familiar music, and proven hit records increase ratings, and cume.

6. you would have to be a total idiot and unworthy of the job program director if you were on an active rock station and you didn't add Kings Of Leon "Sex On Fire."

Kings Of Leon are not an Active Rock band Mo. I'd be interested to hear your definition of Active Rock. We do not, and will never play Kings Of Leon on our station. And although this is not intended to be self-congratulatory, we're currently one of, if not the highest rated Active Rock station in America. Guess we're total idiots.

7. see number 6.

See my retort.

8. any program director that utters the phrase "it doesn't fit the brand" need not worry about that brand for too long.

15 successful years and counting. Any Program Director that doesn't understand that the brand is the most important facet of the station, will fail. And as you see around America, there are quite a few. The strength of the brand, allows for that expansion you so passionately advocated before pointing out that more classic rock & proven hit music increased The Blitz/Rock's performance. If the brand is strong, the audience will be more receptive to "having their cheese moved." (Look it up)

9. the rules of rock radio programming have to be different from any other format due to rock having more sub genres than any other form of music. it is commercial suicide not to understand you have to pick and choose from more than one of those genres in order to be a fully realized station. which is why CD101 played quite a few songs that were on the Blitz and why the Blitz, should have played quite a few songs from them.

First of all...CD 101 is on avg. a 1.3 share radio station. The lowest rated rock-based station in your market. I wouldn't be citing them as proficient. They sound cool....to an incredibly small audience. That's not what radio does to make money. And let's not forget...this is a business.

Now...with regard to this silly assertion: "rock having more sub genres than any other form of music." You're wrong again Mo. Yes...it's true.

The radio format with the most musically diverse cross-section of musical sub-genres is Top 40. It also happens to be the highest-cuming, and in most markets, including yours, the highest rated. Top 40 plays: Urban, Rhythmic, Rock, Alternative, Country...and every sub-genre contained within each of those textures.

10. see number 6.

It's still incorrect on every level Mo. And here's my only shot in your direction: You don't know what you think you know about radio programming. I hate to be the one to break it to you.

11. when you have a morning show that every trend, every book is climbing....UP, leave it alone.

Not when you can't sell it. This is a business. Here I will agree with you. You would think a successful ratings performance would be an easy sell. Unfortunately, programming often has to atone for the failures of sales.

12. when a program director sits you down, and says, "the station isn't looking for ratings from you guys for the first year..." start packing your bags for Florida.

Wrong again. What you're not hearing is; "We view your show as a brand. Brands are not created, nor is listener loyalty instantaneous. We want you to not worry about the first years' ratings. We want you to create the best show possible. Do that, and market it properly, and it will all take care of itself." You fall victim to the "persecuted air talent" syndrome. You have no concept of branding Mo. This much is repeatedly clear with every portion of this post I read.

13. when they keep you off the air for 2 months and bring you back with NO advertising, even though they are running a million dollars worth of commercials that for free you could tag the morning show's name onto, and you don't even warrant an add in the free paper... pack your bags even faster.

Why didn't you market yourself? Did you show up for station events? Did you make sure you were seen in the clubs at events your audience might be at? Even if you weren't being paid? Did you ever buy the bar a round? I'm an absolute marketing whore. We are in the "please love me" business. It is incumbent upon you to market yourself. You cannot point the finger, unless you did everything...and then more to try to build your success.

14. don't be mad at anyone... it's the business, AND, hopefully you had a house in Florida to go back to. (not being mad doesn't mean not telling it like it is)

When you "tell" it, it's important to know a bit about the subject. Otherwise, you kinda look bad Mo. Honestly.

15. none of this tells me why Scrubs was considered good. maybe the guys in Hinder know.

The guys in Hinder have a platinum record. Someone likes them.

 

[mo rock]

while i am sure people following this thread will be expecting a long, somewhat arrogant, undoubtedly funny response. i will address points 2 and 13 only. while i disagree that the overall audience doesn't want their station to expand, it's your last sentence in that post that would make a long reply moot. simply put you are right. i am arguing for the cure to a disease that has no host body. much like MTV's all but complete abandonment of "music videos" for the most part, radio as a vehicle for discovering and celebrating the artistry of the song no longer exist. i am more likely to discover a new artist from the background music of a credit card or auto manufacturer's commercial than from radio. that is the one fact in your, long, somewhat arrogant, not even close to funny multiple post that i must acquiese to. though i will say that is exactly why "radio is dying." sure, there are successful stations, sure there are outright ratings monsters... but even a body sick with cancer that will eventually kill it has some healthy, happy cells. my statement was more metaphorical.

did blazor and i market ourselves? lets see, i appeared weekly at the funnybone comedy club, (will be performing there june 18th shameless plug) every week in which i marketed our show. i hosted their weekly show on television (live from the funnybone) in which i marketed the show and included a commercial inside the show, with blazor that ran every week. (neither was i paid for the show or the commercial.) i created Mo's Mix in which once every two months i was out four hours at a bar promoting not only the show but the station. it would regularly draw hundreds of people and anyone there will tell you i talked to, to quote Gary Oldman in The Professional, EVERYONE! if anyone locally had an event that they wanted to get out there, neither blazor nor i was hesitant to give them airtime at the expense of not hearing our own silky voices. i hosted every year, for free multiple charity events not bought to me by the station but by listeners. we, through a running bit i brought about TV personality Monica Day seduced her into an every Friday slot on the show which in turn equated into mentions of the local Fox affiliate, and when i say "we", i am referring to blazor and i, no other at the station had anything to do with it. i could go on but i will give you the biggest and last example of how we "marketed' ourselves in the face of extreme indifference, here comes the OSU Michigan game... kinda a big deal in columbus... here comes columbus' rock station the only station NOT going to be at a bar, here comes blazor and mo with not only a bar that will allow us to do it, but an entire 4 hours worth of show including gifts and prizes that came NOT from the station, not from promotions, but from personal contacts of blazor and mo, here comes the station's newly appointed sales manager taking the idea signing the contracts and NOT asking for a talent fee for blazor and mo. now here's blazor and mo doing the gig and making it an unqualified success anyway because if we didn't promote the show, no one was. and i suppose after three and a half years of receiving an appearance fee when i made an APPEARANCE, it was presumptuous of me to believe it would continue... even though, it was written into my contract, even though, i always accepted a fee below what was in my contract in an effort to make sure the show was marketed. (and that i had pocket cash for blow, i'm not going to lie to you) but i digress, they, as you say, did not want us to create the "best show possible" indeed, they didn't want us to create a "show" at all. the clock left no time for it. 8 songs! when for 8 years with howard then another 3 with grego and me then blazor and me we played none. and that was when the mornings were successful. as grateful as i was for the paycheck i to this day can't tell you why they brought us back at all. and even if we must play music, Black Sabbath's War Pigs at 7am! i turned off the station and i was on the show! there was one point, in a show where we went from 7 am to 7 thirty, and i'm assuming you know how valuable that time is in morning radio, that the clock was so jammed with music that i spoke not once. not even a word. that's not a show. not when you are paying someone 6 figures because you believe his voice is that valuable. that non show was doomed from the first time the pd, a friend, who i still consider a friend and have no ill will towards, threw that clock on the table in front of us. and all the "it has to be about the music right now" bs went out the window when six months later we are replaced by a show that plays no music. brother, when i sat in the pd's office next to blazor and was told that the station was not expecting anything from us for a year, he was being litereal not metaphorical. he WAS being obviously metaphorical when blazor and i, after being written up for trying to force show into that non show clock were told, "this is the way it has to be, this is the way i want it, and if it fails i will take FULL RESPONSIBILITY for it." as he is still employed and i am not i will assume that was not literal. ( i do still love the guy) but again, i digress. which leads me to my final point, addressing point 14, you obviously have not seen me, my friend, i NEVER look bad. but revel in this, it is often a curse.

i like you neanderpaul and enjoy the hell out of the back and forth, and don't think we are too far apart, but we are on different ends of the debate. i do believe you have a love of music, hell me and hal would sit at the bar weekly and do nothing but discuss music. not the station's music just music. great music. i loved those times. and then he would go in the next day and program hinder. i understand the limitations of the job. and speaking of hinder, the same type people that made them stars, kept jim belushi on tv for 8 years. there's just no accounting for taste.

damn, i was wrong. this was long.

 

[GR]

I hate to interrupt, but I happened to flip to the Blitz, oops, the "Rock" (*cringe*) the other day, and heard them playing the Verve's Bittersweet Symphony. What was that rare moment of good taste all about? Those few hundred 14 year old white boys in their Metallica t-shirts must have all dropped their meth pipes in their rush to turn off their radios in put on a Korn CD...

 

[mo rock]

not only do i misspell acquiesce, but now someone has to be funnier than me. this sunday is starting off very poorly and i no doubt blame neaderpaul. and GR, you have obviously never met a blitz listener. hurricane katrina couldn't get a meth pipe out of their hands. bittersweet symphony was no doubt assistant pd ronnie hunter's love letter to me. she knows i love that song. thank you ronnie. and now back to enter sandman.

 

[Neanderpaul]

while i am sure people following this thread will be expecting a long, somewhat arrogant, undoubtedly funny response.

And this is ultimately your undoing. I honestly dontt know you. You seem to be a good guy. Very passionate. And radio is certainly woefully void of those. However, you come across as extremely bitter. If you're so unhappy with the direction radio's gone...feel free to do something else. I won't dignify your personal stabs. I couldn't care less about your assessment of arrogance, or lack of humor. I wasn't trying to be funny. And with success comes perceived arrogance. I understand and accept it. The truly difficult thing to gauge is "tone-of-voice" in typeset. Although after reading your posts, it is clear you have an axe to grind. You are not alone. I'm every bit as disillusioned with the way radio has changed its mission. Or, perhaps I was looking through rose-colored glasses when I got in all those years ago. Either way. it is what it is. And if you choose to be part of the industry, you have no other choice but to work within the current parameters. We've seen people try to do it your way...and no matter what your, my, or anyone's personal opinion is on the subject, The fact is...it fails. Over & over again. I stand side-by-side with you and wish it were not the case. But...we're wrong. I am SO waiting for the month the trends come out and I can hammer my PD and tell him how wrong he is. It is an exercise in personal patience.

Forgive my deletion of the lengthy description of what you & Blazor did to promote the show. Obviously, you did your part. It is unfortunate that (and I don't know the other side of the story, but did work in the building) you don't feel like you got the support from the company that you felt you deserved. I know a lot of people, present author included that has felt that many times in their career. I was actually the morning guy for The Eagle...Yeah. I know what it's like to have no marketing. Although the webmaster worked his tail off to create the best website he could.

And you're right...we're not far apart. I think the primary difference is; I reluctantly accept that the formula, when employed correctly, does translate into ratings. Which translates into bonus'. Which translates into my being able to pay the bills. Which is truly the object of having a job.

Do I want to turn people on to cool music? Yes. Yes I do. And I will do so at my own expense, on my own website. In a podcast for now. And then, try to build something that radio might see value in. The trouble with podcasts is that they're usually not that good. However, when you take proven programming concepts, and then color them with that musical "ear" that's so lacking in radio these days, you might get something cool. I have two, 1-hour shows in the can now that I hope to have uploaded to my website this week. I'll come back and invite you to come listen.

Yes...I AM a marketing whore.

The virus usually grows from the inside...

Enjoy your Sunday Mo. I'm glad you aren't looking at this as adversarial.

 

[mo rock]

what you perceived as "personal stabs" was actually just a call back to how i began the letter. no malice of intent what-so-ever. as you said, tone of voice is difficult to ascertain in typeset which is why i think you think i am bitter. i promise you, nothing could be further from the truth as far as my job experience goes. yes, i am bitter at great music not getting the chance to be heard but that's born more of passion than anger. as for the job, i had an extraordinary experience and opportunity. i was on the brink of bankruptcy when hal fish and those at Nabco offered me the job. three and a half years really put me back in the game stability wise, BUT i was away from my family, primarily my son whose growth from 3 to 7 i saw sporadically. plan was to bring them up after the first year, man makes plan, god laughs. three co-host later... that job was NEVER going to be stable enough to bring them up from florida and leave our home. but, i couldn't simply walk away from a 6 figure job. i was essentially in Iraq without a withdrawal plan. them letting me go took care of that. Not only was i fine with what i certainly understood, which was when we were playing no music and the morning show was primarily my voice you could justify my salary... how to justify that same salary when i'm speaking cumulatively five to seven minutes an hour... can't be done, that after i was let go i was still personally invited to the xmas party only four days later by the very gracious Matt M, the owner of Nabco. txt and talk to hal fish to this day. guy had tears in his eyes when he had to let me go. (*****) i may bust his balls, and call him out for some things that were just not right, but i type this from my beautiful home in florida, where i can open the french doors from my master bedroom and step 10 steps into my screened in pool. or play ball with my son. i can't be bitter. i don't have an income that i can trust right now, but there are so many more important things and so many more people worse off than i. if anything my friend, and i call you that not knowing you but feeling we would share drinks, at times i am perplexed, perplexed at why Nabco would invest a third of a million dollars in me, and simply discard it. hell, they should have just mailed me my checks down here. you have a good sunday too.

oh wait! i am bitter about one thing. now that i'm back in tampa, i have to listen to the god-awful Bubba the Love Sponge show, KNOWING it is atrocious and the only reason it's number 1 is because my good looking ass doesn't have a mic. tragedy of my life.

if you're in or around columbus the thursday the 18th, come out to the funnybone at easton. show starts at 7. i am the feature.

m

 

[mo rock]

well well well. as 106.7 becomes the station that for three years i told the Blitz they should become which would have meant them not now having to "compete" with them, and no one should kid themselves, they are, word has reached me that the Rock, has added Kings Of Leon. a band i had suggested they play two years ago when they were a format more suitable to it than they are now. Neanderpaul, i implore you not to wait as long to acknowledge my genius. and the heads at the Rock, i implore you to do what one poster suggested on a previous topic i started. New Coke it! Here's your billboard, The Blitz Is Back! Our Bad. i'll give you that one for free. i have others.

 

[Neanderpaul]

I'm happy to hear the joy in your voice with regard to Kings Of Leon on the Rock there in C-bus.

We're still never going to play them here. As they're not our brand. We own a very good alternative station in KC called the Buzz. And they've played Kings Of Leon for a while now. My audience, who love Shinedown and Dixie Inc, aren't interested. Just as if we started playing Manchester Orchestra wouldn't fit. So, sit the Kings Of Leon.

Like feeding pizza to people at a fish market.

Might taste good, but that's not what you came for.

And that's the key. I hope it works for the Rock. If they have the available latitude to increase their cume/recall by playing that song, then it's a win. I'm sure Hal & Ronni are hopeful their audience are receptive.

Ours...would not be.

 

[Kodos]

Paul,

Generally agree with you here, but, I have to take issue with you on Kings of Leon. You've repeatedly claimed that Kings of Leon don't belong on active rock radio. However, your former colleagues at WAAF have had the band in heavy rotation for most of 2009, first "Sex on Fire" and now "Use Somebody" (currently their fourth most played track). WAAF is nothing if not a true active rocker that knows their audience. If their listeners weren't responding to the band, they wouldn't be playing them, which means these tracks would most likely work on other active rockers as well.

 

[mo rock]

uh, yeah. what Kodos said. i believe he's waiting for a response.

 

[JimmyJames]

Minor issue with this:

"Here's what I'll ask you to do; take a look at sales charts and see how many "greatest hits" collections continue to sell. There's a reason. Because people like "hit songs." Look at new Rock sales nationally. They're not doing well. People do flip stations. Because they want what they like. And more often than not, they like the same 400 songs."

There's a bit of a difference in that people who are shown buying music aren't generally going to spend money on unfamiliar music. Does anyone who buys a CD purposefully buy something they don't know they like?

With radio, you're dealing with a free medium (to the listener) so the comparison to what people will pay for doesn't win that argument. People might buy more of band X if they heard them on the radio first. (Isn't that the whole argument now, radio claiming they sell records and provide free promo to "new music?")

 

[mo rock]

uh, yeah. what Jimmy James said. i believe he's waiting for a response. he will respectfully get in line behind, Kodos.

 

[dawg4life]

Wow. You guys at the Blitz...er I mean Rock have really nailed it. You really know your audience. You know that mixing Shinedown with Van Halen must be better than Shinedown and Kings of Leon.
Seriously Paul, I think you guys need to do some soul searching and swallow your pride and for once admit that you are wrong. Do you know why you're wrong? It's because mixing Shinedown with Kings of Leon makes the station relevant. Does that make sense to you?
I could go on and on but I'll get back to listening to Shinedown and Kings of Leon on my ipod and radio 106.7 when I'm bored and you can go back to believing your own BS.

I'm happy to hear the joy in your voice with regard to Kings Of Leon on the Rock there in C-bus.

We're still never going to play them here. As they're not our brand. We own a very good alternative station in KC called the Buzz. And they've played Kings Of Leon for a while now. My audience, who love Shinedown and Dixie Inc, aren't interested. Just as if we started playing Manchester Orchestra wouldn't fit. So, sit the Kings Of Leon.

Like feeding pizza to people at a fish market.

Might taste good, but that's not what you came for.

And that's the key. I hope it works for the Rock. If they have the available latitude to increase their cume/recall by playing that song, then it's a win. I'm sure Hal & Ronni are hopeful their audience are receptive.

Ours...would not be.

 

[Neanderpaul]

Allow me to retort:

Kodos wrote:

"Paul,

Generally agree with you here, but, I have to take issue with you on Kings of Leon. You've repeatedly claimed that Kings of Leon don't belong on active rock radio. However, your former colleagues at WAAF have had the band in heavy rotation for most of 2009, first "Sex on Fire" and now "Use Somebody" (currently their fourth most played track). WAAF is nothing if not a true active rocker that knows their audience. If their listeners weren't responding to the band, they wouldn't be playing them, which means these tracks would most likely work on other active rockers as well."


And here we open yet another "Pandora's box"

I will only speak for what works for my station's brand. What works in Boston, certainly does not work in Kansas City & vice-versa. And I'm sure Columbus as well. WAAF are in a completely different competitive situation. In a market with significantly more options for Rock listeners to choose from. If playing Kings Of Leon serves their brand & the expectations of their target audience, then they should play it.

I will stand by my assertion that Kings Of Leon are not an Active Rock artist. I will add to that this caveat: There are Active Rock stations whose competitive situation allows them to play them and not damage their brand. We are not one of them. Our audience has made that clear.

JimmyJames wrote:

Minor issue with this:

There's a bit of a difference in that people who are shown buying music aren't generally going to spend money on unfamiliar music. Does anyone who buys a CD purposefully buy something they don't know they like?

With radio, you're dealing with a free medium (to the listener) so the comparison to what people will pay for doesn't win that argument. People might buy more of band X if they heard them on the radio first. (Isn't that the whole argument now, radio claiming they sell records and provide free promo to "new music?")

And what you're choosing to ignore is the 25-30 current-based songs that get the highest exposure to radio audiences every day. There are brand new songs spun 50+ times/week for weeks on end. At some point there has to be a decision made as to whether we keep playing them. There also has to be a determination which songs are likely to serve your station's audience.

Which part of this is throwing you off?

Radio stations' job is to serve the wants & expectations of their audience.

I don't care what the songs are. I really don't. I program to my audience. However...I must program with extreme attention to my brand.

Let me drop an example on you...

I am willing to wager, that EVERY Active Rock station in America has "Sweet Home Alabama" on the first page of its music test. Every one. I'm also willing to bet that most Active Rock stations in America, have Beastie Boys music on their first page. I also bet that, if tested, EVERY Rhythmic station in America would have "You Shook Me All Night Long" come back on their music test.

The point being...You have to program to the brand expectations of your audience. And those expectations are both fluid, and limited in their parameters. If the inclusion of certain songs runs counter to your brand, you run the risk of alienating more audience than you draw. There's where a lot of programming mistakes are made. More often than not...success dictates conservative. Those that take the most chances, usually need to take those chances to enhance their brand.

I'm not saying I like the concept. But...it works.

Which brings us to...

dawg4life wrote:

Wow. You guys at the Blitz...er I mean Rock have really nailed it. You really know your audience. You know that mixing Shinedown with Van Halen must be better than Shinedown and Kings of Leon.
Seriously Paul, I think you guys need to do some soul searching and swallow your pride and for once admit that you are wrong. Do you know why you're wrong? It's because mixing Shinedown with Kings of Leon makes the station relevant. Does that make sense to you?
I could go on and on but I'll get back to listening to Shinedown and Kings of Leon on my ipod and radio 106.7 when I'm bored and you can go back to believing your own BS.

It would be BS were it wrong. But Arbitron (right wrong or indifferent) say differently. And that's the only barometer that counts.

I don't get Shinedown. I also don't get Kings Of Leon. But...it's not about what I want to play. It's about what the audience wants to hear. And for my market, we have figured it out.

So...when Radio 106.7 is #1 in every key demo, come tell me how amazing a station they are. Those with the highest numbers win. That's how it works. Every other discussion is a moot point.

"Everyone's a programmer"

....fewer are doing it "right."

 

[mo rock]

paul, i think we’ve established that this is strictly dialogue between you and i and none of it is personal, so i don’t think you will be offended when i say you are exhibiting the classic symptoms of Stockholme Syndrome. Held hostage by the anomaly that is your stations success in a dying medium (rock radio) you have no choice but to believe some of the things you say while clearly stating subconscious disdain for them.

the “radio station’s job is to serve the wants and expectations of their audience”, a station’s audience is not a stagnant number. if i perform in a comedy club, the audience is the number of people in the seats. radio’s audience is ever revolving and can be any given number depending on what you serve them at that given moment but more often regularly, therefore, in my uneducated opinion, serve the medium, not what one thinks the audience is and the audience will be there. maybe we’re arguing semantics, but a statement like, “those with the highest numbers win” is indicative of the shortsighted thinking that caused mistakes at nabco. the devil stated in dante’s inferno that “it is better to rule in hell than serve in heaven”, well sometimes its better to be around forever at number 3 than 3 years at number 1 and then flame out because success stunted your growth when it renedered you too afraid to experiment.

one other thing, the very statement “i don’t get the Kings Of Leon” is why it is incumbent more stations play them. because it’s new. it’s different. i don’t think they are the greatest band in the world, and i think Band Of Horses more worthy of the exposure, but damn, it’s nice to hear a band on the radio that’s not a regurgitation (Hinder). and like others, i think they are as active as rock gets. but you have the job my friend.

 

[JimmyJames]

"And what you're choosing to ignore is the 25-30 current-based songs that get the highest exposure to radio audiences every day. There are brand new songs spun 50+ times/week for weeks on end. At some point there has to be a decision made as to whether we keep playing them. There also has to be a determination which songs are likely to serve your station's audience.

Which part of this is throwing you off?"

I was referring to how you make a comparison between record sales of "greatest hits" collections and radio airplay. My point is:

People aren't generally going to buy unfamiliar music. There's not going to be large numbers of people buying music that is unknown to them.

That's somewhat different from free to air radio, where one can hear both music one likes and new music, without having to "gamble" by paying for the unknown.