The last post in the Sunny 105.9 string got me thinking about the massive of exodus of music lovers from AM to FM. It got me also to think about business practices both then and today. As a student of history, I believe in learning from it. History doesn’t always repeat itself but the radio environment of today does have similarities to 1978.
That year saw the single release of “FM” by one of my all time favorite bands – Steely Dan. The line in the song “No Static At All” very cleverly summed up the public’s open-armed embrace of FM. Ordinarily, I probably wouldn’t have related to that song but in ’78 I moved to South Florida. There I experienced all that Cuban interference and night time directional patterns and reduction in power. As much as an AM Top 40 junkie as I was, I couldn’t tolerate the sound, so off I went to FM and AM would be a soundtrack only played in my mind.
One could say back then that even though FM was around awhile, it was still considered a new technology in the minds of most listeners. Today, there are new technology alternatives that come from lots of different sources. Peer pressure and the need to be accepted especially among young people may actually bring to reality the real danger for radio stations whose listeners are narrow in age span.
I was the short, skinny, totally non-athletic kid who didn’t have lots of friends and often I was chosen last in gym class for whatever sports things we were doing. One day when I had use of the family car, I was like the big guy on campus when I picked up friends to head out somewhere. My dad’s car only had AM and I was made to feel like I was the un- coolest guy on Earth. With my reputation at stake and to hold on to the very few friends I had, I got one of those FM adapter things for the car. But in the privacy of my room, I listened to what I preferred.
In the near future, I can just imagine some young insecure kid whose friends rip him for listening to the radio and not – fill in the blank – for whatever internet alternative or whatever is available in the car that the young set views as too cool to be without. What may look good on paper and for billing today may prove risky for the long haul.
When FM was on the rise in the 70s, do you remember how AM dealt with increased competition? Similar to today, many only were concerned with today’s targets and not tomorrow’s challenges. AM Top 40 didn’t innovate. They held on to their singles like they were precious gold - little creativity - and the talent still acted like all the teens in town were listening. It was a recipe for disaster. Their audience left them but they were in denial as I see so many radio execs today.
In time, every swingin’ d**k on AM it seemed flipped to talk, news or sports. The thinking was music sounded better in stereo so AM would be talk. OK, but with so many doing it there were going to be losers Today AM is practically a vast waste land. Too many doing the same format = little choice for listeners = they go elsewhere when the opportunity presesents itself. Does that sound familiar? Today, a new generation sees FM as the future home for all talk, news and sports and the other hot button - country. It would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious.
Even in the 70s, the AM Top 40 stations who lasted the longest were the ones who may not have been the coolest but they were built on coalitions of audience representing true mass appeal radio. When the teens left them in droves, there were still sufficient numbers of other demos to sustain them.
When I was in South Florida, the FM station I gravitated to was Y-100 under the brilliant leadership of Bill Tanner. Truly, this was probably the last time the power of mass-appeal flexed its muscles. Despite incredible competition from all fronts, the station dominated because they had such a massive audience and if one target was vulnerable, there were many others that kept the ship afloat. In the end, there is no substitute for hard work and being responsive to the uniqueness of the market.
As I continue to think of our town and I look at the latest trends, everything I have said of the ratings has turned out to be true. I’m sure there’s a lot of the decision makers in our town who are proud of their accomplishments. But as I think about South Florida and how quickly things can change, I can recall a legendary DJ by the name of Rick Shaw. Throughout the 60s he had double-digit shares and in fact in the mid 60s he had over a 50 share! That went down to meager numbers under a 5 and the teens who grew up with him cast loyalty aside and went with something much cooler.
There are a number of stations in our market who I believe are doing the right thing to meet challenge head on because they have coalitions of audience and I strongly believe that will make a big difference for the long run. In particular WEJZ and WQIK have what it takes to really last. I can’t help but laugh when I hear the TV commercials for one station in town that keeps emphasizing the 50 minutes of music an hour. They just don’t get it. To an average listener, that equates to 10 minutes of commercials and considering alternatives play 0 minutes of spots, that’s really yesterday’s news and there is little relevance.
Does radio have the capacity to learn from the past? I can only hope so but just like the AM Top 40 suits conducted themselves as if they were in a time where they dominated, reality didn’t sink in until it was too late. Let’s hope history isn’t about to repeat itself.
That year saw the single release of “FM” by one of my all time favorite bands – Steely Dan. The line in the song “No Static At All” very cleverly summed up the public’s open-armed embrace of FM. Ordinarily, I probably wouldn’t have related to that song but in ’78 I moved to South Florida. There I experienced all that Cuban interference and night time directional patterns and reduction in power. As much as an AM Top 40 junkie as I was, I couldn’t tolerate the sound, so off I went to FM and AM would be a soundtrack only played in my mind.
One could say back then that even though FM was around awhile, it was still considered a new technology in the minds of most listeners. Today, there are new technology alternatives that come from lots of different sources. Peer pressure and the need to be accepted especially among young people may actually bring to reality the real danger for radio stations whose listeners are narrow in age span.
I was the short, skinny, totally non-athletic kid who didn’t have lots of friends and often I was chosen last in gym class for whatever sports things we were doing. One day when I had use of the family car, I was like the big guy on campus when I picked up friends to head out somewhere. My dad’s car only had AM and I was made to feel like I was the un- coolest guy on Earth. With my reputation at stake and to hold on to the very few friends I had, I got one of those FM adapter things for the car. But in the privacy of my room, I listened to what I preferred.
In the near future, I can just imagine some young insecure kid whose friends rip him for listening to the radio and not – fill in the blank – for whatever internet alternative or whatever is available in the car that the young set views as too cool to be without. What may look good on paper and for billing today may prove risky for the long haul.
When FM was on the rise in the 70s, do you remember how AM dealt with increased competition? Similar to today, many only were concerned with today’s targets and not tomorrow’s challenges. AM Top 40 didn’t innovate. They held on to their singles like they were precious gold - little creativity - and the talent still acted like all the teens in town were listening. It was a recipe for disaster. Their audience left them but they were in denial as I see so many radio execs today.
In time, every swingin’ d**k on AM it seemed flipped to talk, news or sports. The thinking was music sounded better in stereo so AM would be talk. OK, but with so many doing it there were going to be losers Today AM is practically a vast waste land. Too many doing the same format = little choice for listeners = they go elsewhere when the opportunity presesents itself. Does that sound familiar? Today, a new generation sees FM as the future home for all talk, news and sports and the other hot button - country. It would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious.
Even in the 70s, the AM Top 40 stations who lasted the longest were the ones who may not have been the coolest but they were built on coalitions of audience representing true mass appeal radio. When the teens left them in droves, there were still sufficient numbers of other demos to sustain them.
When I was in South Florida, the FM station I gravitated to was Y-100 under the brilliant leadership of Bill Tanner. Truly, this was probably the last time the power of mass-appeal flexed its muscles. Despite incredible competition from all fronts, the station dominated because they had such a massive audience and if one target was vulnerable, there were many others that kept the ship afloat. In the end, there is no substitute for hard work and being responsive to the uniqueness of the market.
As I continue to think of our town and I look at the latest trends, everything I have said of the ratings has turned out to be true. I’m sure there’s a lot of the decision makers in our town who are proud of their accomplishments. But as I think about South Florida and how quickly things can change, I can recall a legendary DJ by the name of Rick Shaw. Throughout the 60s he had double-digit shares and in fact in the mid 60s he had over a 50 share! That went down to meager numbers under a 5 and the teens who grew up with him cast loyalty aside and went with something much cooler.
There are a number of stations in our market who I believe are doing the right thing to meet challenge head on because they have coalitions of audience and I strongly believe that will make a big difference for the long run. In particular WEJZ and WQIK have what it takes to really last. I can’t help but laugh when I hear the TV commercials for one station in town that keeps emphasizing the 50 minutes of music an hour. They just don’t get it. To an average listener, that equates to 10 minutes of commercials and considering alternatives play 0 minutes of spots, that’s really yesterday’s news and there is little relevance.
Does radio have the capacity to learn from the past? I can only hope so but just like the AM Top 40 suits conducted themselves as if they were in a time where they dominated, reality didn’t sink in until it was too late. Let’s hope history isn’t about to repeat itself.
