the state of radio today

[rockradiopurist]

I called an Uber to the bar. First the driver had on wzzo playing a shinedown song which was just awful. Then they had a breaker/promo. He did not have the patience to listen to it fully, and turned to 99.9, The Cars Magic was on. When that ended they had the 99,9 promo, He turned it to some Philly station. By then I reached my destination. Point is some people don.t care about any breaks on the radio. They just keep switching as soon as the music stops.

What happened to the old days when the kids would hang on to every dos word? No one cares anymore.

 

[TheBigA]

What happened to the old days when the kids would hang on to every dos word? No one cares anymore.

It's called "the internet." It killed tolerance, it killed patience, and it killed a lot of businesses.

People used to sit through songs they didn't like because they knew they'd hear a song they DID like. Not anymore.

 

[b-turner]

And we radio people are told unless we put DJs back on and talk about local things listeners will go online where there are no local DJs and talk between songs. The truth is radio responds to the wants of radio listeners in target demos.

It appears the all music, no talk is a good idea, for keeping listeners, you think?

 

[secondchoice]

They tried "Jack". Mixed results.

IMHO. If corporate broadcasting could get rid of announcers (and their salaries), it would have already happened.

 

[Hyrum]

What happened to the old days when the kids would hang on to every dos word? No one cares anymore.

They do not. That's the problem with music radio. If people are impatient and can't stand a spoken liner, they can't handle an eight minute stop set. There has to be something more than what automated radio is doing today. I don't know what the format is, but it ain't nine tunes in a row followed by 12 commercials. Declining audience proves that. An intriguing personality might help draw fans, but sadly, there are few of them around today. Those who are any good, won't work for the salaries stations can provide and those who suck already have their own internet stations to entertain their friends and Grandma. Sadly with the costs involved, I don't blame stations for automation. You can't make enough money to invest in much else today.

 

[TheBigA]

There has to be something more than what automated radio is doing today.

So instead they listen to automated Spotify or automated Apple Music. Name all the personalities there. None. The audience has changed. They don't want "something more." They just want what they want.

 

[Hyrum]

So instead they listen to automated Spotify or automated Apple Music. Name all the personalities there. None. The audience has changed. They don't want "something more." They just want what they want.

People who just want music just want music minus the 20 minutes of commercials. That is why there is a Spotify and automated Apple. If radio is going to survive profitably, they must find something besides music to hold listener attention through the stopsets. Dwindling audience proves that.

 

[b-turner]

That's just it. Everybody wants to point the loaded gun at radio's head. Radio invests in what works. Radio is not about cheap but rather about running lean like ANY business. Radio responds to what people want because you make money from how many people you get tuned to your station. In other words, listeners translate to advertising, thus money to operate.

6 minutes twice an hour for commercials has not destroyed listening. In fact radio listening is actually increasing.

The funny thing is how critics of 6 minute commercial breaks say it is driving away listeners. You realize if it did drive listeners away, you would not be hearing 6 minute commercial breaks because when the listeners leave so do the advertisers because they didn't get the results they needed. So, if you really want to know, a full 6 minutes twice an hour of commercials simply says the station is doing quite well.

Nobody listens if we voicetrack or have no jocks at all. Oh, I know, no air talent sends listeners online to sources with no air talent. So, they won't listen to music and no DJs online but not on the radio?

 

[TheBigA]

People who just want music just want music minus the 20 minutes of commercials. That is why there is a Spotify and automated Apple. If radio is going to survive profitably, they must find something besides music to hold listener attention through the stopsets. Dwindling audience proves that.

Radio has already found something besides music: News, Talk & Sports. But the music formats tend to still get good ratings and make money.

Commercials are radio's ONLY revenue source. They don't require a subscription, username or password. Just turn it on, and it's there.

The "dwindling audiences" thing isn't just radio. Compare TV numbers today with ten or twenty years ago. There's an overabundance of choices.

 

[Hyrum]

Radio has already found something besides music: News, Talk & Sports. But the music formats tend to still get good ratings and make money.

Commercials are radio's ONLY revenue source. They don't require a subscription, username or password. Just turn it on, and it's there.

The "dwindling audiences" thing isn't just radio. Compare TV numbers today with ten or twenty years ago. There's an overabundance of choices.

Agreed. But the point is that a dwindling industry must change or it will continue to decline. Radio is easy, true. I pick on music stations because it, is a product that can be found in a million other places. I find it curious that anyone would sit through right minutes of commercials on radio when other choices are available. There are so many stations competing for a dwindling audience that no one is making any real money when compared to years ago. That is why so many companies like ABC, NBC, and CBS rid themselves if their radio divisions. They saw the writing on the ledger sheets pasted to the wall

 

[TheBigA]

Agreed. But the point is that a dwindling industry must change or it will continue to decline.

It HAS changed. It's moving it's content to streaming platforms, it's creating podcasts and other digital content, and expanding the formats that people want.

I find it curious that anyone would sit through right minutes of commercials on radio when other choices are available.

The fact is they do. More than 85% of the audience sits through the entire break. Those who leave come back. However, if you prefer to pay for radio, that option exists. People prefer the free option that requires no subscription plan or credit card.

 

[b-turner]

Long ago my boss told me we had to be where the listeners were. He was talking background on the cable TV bulletin board channel then, but he'd be talking online, on the phone, doing podcasts and such.

 

[Hyrum]

It HAS changed. It's moving it's content to streaming platforms, it's creating podcasts and other digital content, and expanding the formats that people want.

The fact is they do. More than 85% of the audience sits through the entire break. Those who leave come back. However, if you prefer to pay for radio, that option exists. People prefer the free option that requires no subscription plan or credit card.

Moving the content to streaming platforms seems to cancel the notion that people want the easy to operate radio of old FM and AM days. If they will go to another platform to seek out their musical entertainment, they will find the non or fewer commercial examples if they're smart. The more choices that are available the smaller the pieces of the pie and revenue streams. That's why I say radio must find something new to make people listen. This current formulas are not increasing money and with few examples, I don't see any real increase in audience on traditional radio. Yes the new/weather stations during hurricanes and talk stations in politic season, but the real growth isn't there.

 

[TheBigA]

Moving the content to streaming platforms seems to cancel the notion that people want the easy to operate radio of old FM and AM days.

The fact that people aren't buying radios also confirms that view. It's not the old days anymore. People have new devices and new ways to get their content. Radio companies don't own AM & FM, they're just licensees. So they're free to put their content where the people are. Radio will continue to operate their broadcast stations for those who still want it.

If they will go to another platform to seek out their musical entertainment, they will find the non or fewer commercial examples if they're smart.

That's great! Hopefully they'll pay for a subscription. Radio isn't in the music business. They just play music because it attracts an audience. If that audience goes away, radio stations have news, talk, and sports content.

That's why I say radio must find something new to make people listen.

You keep saying that, but you're not paying attention. Radio HAS found something new that is attracting new audiences, and is the only growth area for revenue, and that is digital content.

I don't see any real increase in audience on traditional radio.

That's why radio companies aren't investing in traditional radio anymore. They're moving their investment and content to platforms where there's growth.

 

[Oldbones]

I called an Uber to the bar. First the driver had on wzzo playing a shinedown song which was just awful. Then they had a breaker/promo. He did not have the patience to listen to it fully, and turned to 99.9, The Cars Magic was on. When that ended they had the 99,9 promo, He turned it to some Philly station. By then I reached my destination. Point is some people don.t care about any breaks on the radio. They just keep switching as soon as the music stops.

What happened to the old days when the kids would hang on to every dos word? No one cares anymore.

Hate to break it to you but people did that 50 years ago too. Song comes on they didn't like...hit another preset. Commercial break...hit another preset. News comes on...hit another preset.
Drives me nuts when someone does that too, but it's not like this is anything new.

 

[joep]

The fact that people aren't buying radios also confirms that view. It's not the old days anymore. People have new devices and new ways to get their content. Radio companies don't own AM & FM, they're just licensees. So they're free to put their content where the people are. Radio will continue to operate their broadcast stations for those who still want it.


That's great! Hopefully they'll pay for a subscription. Radio isn't in the music business. They just play music because it attracts an audience. If that audience goes away, radio stations have news, talk, and sports content.


You keep saying that, but you're not paying attention. Radio HAS found something new that is attracting new audiences, and is the only growth area for revenue, and that is digital content.


That's why radio companies aren't investing in traditional radio anymore. They're moving their investment and content to platforms where there's growth.

Yeah, nobody listens to OTA radio anymore...... as they've been saying since the Buggles had their lame hit.....

The Record: U.S. audio listening trends powered by Nielsen and Edison Research | Nielsen

The Record from Nielsen delivers a quarterly look at how U.S. audiences spend their time with ad-supported audio media.

www.nielsen.com

 

[rockradiopurist]

I like the BUggles song. IT's brilliant!

 

[ILOVERADIO]

It's called "the internet." It killed tolerance, it killed patience, and it killed a lot of businesses.

People used to sit through songs they didn't like because they knew they'd hear a song they DID like. Not anymore.

Also before the Internet, radio offered far fewer choices leading to longer AQH for OTA radio. It was fun in the 1970s when many Pittsburgh oldsters listened to KDKA and many youth loved WDVE. It gave more people a common experience. Today’s advantage is that narrowcasting gives listeners a chance to select from thousands of worldwide choices. I personally miss the fun of friends who argued about local DJs while today many big city rockers have the invisible man midday show.

 

[ILOVERADIO]

So instead they listen to automated Spotify or automated Apple Music. Name all the personalities there. None. The audience has changed. They don't want "something more." They just want what they want.

Some Sirius stations like the 60s channel have old legendary DJs like Cousin Brucie. However the 50s and 40s station on Sirius XM have almost no announcers except for a few special shows.

 

[Seltzer]

Absolutely there are far more options for audio consumption today than even ten years ago. But radio drove listeners to seek these new options for 2 primary reasons. Too many commercials. Listeners have been saying this for years. But most corporate radio has ignored that. And the lack of personalities on stations. The corporate companies gambled that listeners wouldn't notice on air people mysteriously disappearing from their favorite station. And replaced by an out of town voice or worse...no voice at all. When asked if they listen to radio as much as they did five years ago, the majority says no. When asked if their favorite radio station is as good as it was five years ago, the audience says no. Until radio ownership is ready to address the personality issue, radio's slow death will continue to happen.
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