VERY interesting thread over at the other board

[TonySantiago]

http://www.musicradio77.com/wwwboard/messages/339925.html

This thread actually hits a hammer on the head regarding younger demographics and how research has found that they are more tuned in to iPods than actual terrestrial radio for their music needs.

Is it technology that has changed or did corporate radio have a slight hand (inadvertantly) in turning off the younger listeners, or BOTH. If the latter is the case, have we completely lost them? Is there any way of getting them back?

 

[nightcrawler35]

I think the lack of adversity is the culprit. Why listen to radio and they're "perceived" 40 songs
they play all day with little diversity. Plus commercials and the promos blah,blah,blah. When i could just load up 3000 songs on my ipod and just enjoy the music. I think this is a real problem radio has to address.

 

[lalumia]

there is no real cultural connect with the youthquake, you can literally smell the artifice and the plasticity of it all,unlike hip, now, boss, gear, groovy, go-go,happening, self proclaiming radio of the late 50s, 60s, 70s and early 80s

 

[JohnParker]

Ask anyone with a teenage child what they see their kid(s) listening to and I'm sure that they will come back with a list similar to this:

iPod
MySpace Profiles
YouTube
Music from Video Games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero
and the occassional video on MTV2.

The only time my son listens to the radio is when he's in the shower. Other than that, he couldn't care less.

My daughter is about to enter her teens and she doesn't listen to her iPod anywhere near as much as my son but she does listen to her cd's some. But never the radio.

It's really sad to see coming from a person, me, that used to sleep with his AM transistor radio under his pillow because he couldn't get enough of the music and personality. But the times have changed and the choices that kids have today are an infinite amount of media sources pulling their attention all over the place.

From my perspective I don't believe that Radio will ever again hold the place for kids that it once did simply because of the numbers game (iPods/DVDs/Video Games/Internet/Radio/Cell Phones/etc). But it certainly could be doing better than it is now.

jp

 

[LinoNYC]

http://www.musicradio77.com/wwwboard/messages/339925.html

This thread actually hits a hammer on the head regarding younger demographics and how research has found that they are more tuned in to iPods than actual terrestrial radio for their music needs.

Is it technology that has changed or did corporate radio have a slight hand (inadvertantly) in turning off the younger listeners, or BOTH. If the latter is the case, have we completely lost them? Is there any way of getting them back?

The warning signs of this appeared months after Napster debuted in December 1999.

Radio had long served the dual functions of free music and communal experience. I interact with people in their mid-late teen thru early 30 daily, it's not that they no longer listen to radio, but they listen drastically less.

There is nothing that can be done about this. Radio will allways have a role in providing authoritative local news and in some cases exposing audiences to different genres of entertainment, but it's percentage of the pie is permanently reduced.


BTW: The "glory" days of Top-40 weren't so great. If you think kids were happy putting up with the same 14-22 songs played ad nauseum, we weren't but we had few choices.

Lino

 

[davideduardo]

BTW: The "glory" days of Top-40 weren't so great. If you think kids were happy putting up with the same 14-22 songs played ad nauseum, we weren't but we had few choices.

I loved true top 40 from the late 50's into the 60's. My only complaint was that the songs I liked did not come up often enough.

 

[lalumia]

I was 13 in 1965;
I LIVED to hear the latest Supremes hit every hour on the hour, and what number it was on the 'super hit survey',
we supported our fave rave groups the way people support baseball teams,and hit radio was the lifeline;
I had no desire to hear hundreds of new unproven tunes every week, I wanted the hits and so did everyone else;
and by the way, Z 100 is STILL #1 in NY last time I checked

 

[biggladman]

Re: VERY interesting thread over at the other board - this is a long one.

Heres the problem -
Stations geared to the younger audience do not embrace the total multimedia experience. Gen-Y and below requires almost total interaction. It's not that the I-POD is more attractive then listening to the radio - but the "experience" of radio has become stale. A good station that wants a Gen-Y audience needs:

A totally interactive website - This means streaming (not everyone even bothers to have a tuner anymore - I have 9 in my apartment, but thats an exception), an online music store to purchace MP3's, links from the "now playing" feature to the artists pages, a live chat where you can interact with other station fans and even talk to the on-air talent/jock in real time (i know this is going to piss a lot of people off, but this makes the station more interactive - besides, with Dalet/Enco/Prophet doing most of the work anyway, you got time to chat with a few listeners), message boards for station feedback and social networking interaction. This is ESSENTIAL to keeping a gen-y audience interested. With all the other web content drawing people away, make the station's CONTENT a destination.

LIVE REMOTES - when did we all trade in our Marti gear and stop leaving the building? A station that wants to reach Gen-Y should be EVERYWHERE. And I mean EVERYWHERE. Build that street team - get the station into multiple bars/clubs a night. Use those beverage industry connex and offer sponsored reduced drink specials, happy hours, ect. We're in a tough economy - start offering cheap drinks, the struggling young masses will come. When I went to Hofstra, WLIR used to do it all the time. We had a radio in our bathroom that was set to LIR so we could find out what was going on that night and how we could sacve $$. And this was 2001 folks, not 1987. Additionally, get some artists out at your remotes, make the station INTERACTIVE. I hate to use this term, but for any "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" Fans, remember the Mike Damone 5 point plan - point #3 - "Make wherever you are the place to be - isn't this great?"

PLAY SOME LOCAL ARTISTS and Represent at LOCAL SHOWS - most stations have interns and young staffers. Ask them what's hot - and whats garnering interest in the local music scene. If you arent involved in the scene, get down there! Get some banners up at venues. NYC has tons of them - why isn't RXP promoting at the Knitting Factory (HUGE VENUE for indie acts). Why doesn't Z-100 have a truck parked outside of Webster Hall? Good for the consultants that "Dirty south" rap tests high nationally. However, NYC has local hip hop shows all the time. Hot, Power - get over there, get a van in front of the spot, start handing out t-shirts and hats. Get a buzz going. If Gen-Y sees you're with what they're with, you own them. The I-POD is missing one thing - personality. What you can't make up in "Well everyone has different taste and wants to program their own music" make up with the fact that your brand kicks it the hardest. You have die hard listeners that will talk you up. An FM tuner costs $10 bucks - much cheaper then an I-POD.

Any takers?

 

[TonySantiago]

Andy....

STANDING OVATION! TOTALLY agree with what you've stated! Interaction, remotes, getting more local representation. I feel that for dance music so yep...that's it! Thank you!!

 

[andreajesus]

That may be ALL great for the Gen-Yers who want to hear the "new" dance tunes, but this is my question - how does a station playing "dance classics" (say, "Mix 102.7" in NY before they got "Fresh" ) embrace the NEW multimedia generation? Fill me in on this one, 'cos I'm VERY curious.....

 

[biggladman]

Take the same scenario I outlined above, and position it for Gen X / Baby Boomers. Whos to say a classic station can't throw a concert featuring one of their core artists, record the show and stream it for downloads?

Instead of offering direct links for I-tunes, offer links to purchace the artists CD's and then arrange to get a commission off each web sale...

Want more? Message me and we'll chat )

 

[andreajesus]

but see now, here's my thing with that..."Mix 102.7" used to have the concerts featuring a lot of the CLASSIC dance music artists from the 70's and 80's, and it didn't work...actually, i don't quite know WHAT went wrong with Mix 102.7 - to me, they were trying to position themselves as a re-created "Disco 92 WKTU" (they even had Paco and Joe Causi there Memorial Day Weekend of '06 - little did we know what was to come for Causi..... ) - but the music mix seemed good, they ended up with a decent mix of DJs (didn't Sue O work briefly there BEFORE they got "Fresh"?), and the promotions were STRONG...so WHAT HAPPENED??

Actually, in a way, though, the way it ALL worked out, BECAUSE 102.7 got "Fresh", seven months later (July '07), BOTH Causi and, subsequently, Sue O, came abroad at 101.1...

 

[Ozman]

I have noticed a serious decline in listenership to our college station WWLR. one reason because the new college kids these day could care less about radio. the music they put on no one likes and many times using seeqpod or u-tube the audio is so horrible. all the directorship care about is CMJ and Idie rock music thinking people like it when the comunity really hates it. (keep in mind in the NEK-VT there is not much selection for radio. College dj;s think playing indie music they will get the college listenership and could care less about the community. I see it as care about the community and not the only one college students which will listen. I push for the directors to go to conferences get no where. I decide to go alone on my own dime. IBS for example. To keep the listeners tuned in on WWLR I have to try to tell the community when their favorite dj's are on which can work well if someone whants to take the time to tell them.
some shows kick ass and there are some that suck. I promote the station like hell with no going to community stores gas stations etc with a jock schedule. ( I guess you could say I am the only one with some serious heart towards radio). WWLR is a hit or miss station music wise. A big issue I have is some people get satellite radio and i will never hear from them again. At the same time I have people who will listen for the 1st time because they have been listening to satellite raidio a lot and say my show kicks ass. I do see a major decline whith many more options out there however, I do not see it as dead yet.

 

[adma]

I have noticed a serious decline in listenership to our college station WWLR. one reason because the new college kids these day could care less about radio. the music they put on no one likes and many times using seeqpod or u-tube the audio is so horrible. all the directorship care about is CMJ and Idie rock music thinking people like it when the comunity really hates it.

How is that musical situation different from any other time in college radio history? I'd personally attribute a "serious decline in listership" to factors other than music that a so-called "no one likes".

And given your spelling and grammatical skills, I'd be very concerned if you represent a "norm" in today's college-kid scene, let alone one that's still committed to radio...

 

[JohnParker]

andreajesus,

I'll tell you something that I noticed at an event with MIX 102.7 in Long Island. I was at the Nassau Coliseum for an expo and I noticed the Mix van so I walked over. I started talking to the girl that was there doing the Promo and she seemed like it was the last place she wanted to be.

I asked her if they had any bumper stickers or t-shirts for the kids and she says "No, we only have these nail files." What in the hell am I gonna do with those? How does that get a station any extra set of eyes to see the logo? I can only imagine that this is a problem with a lot of remotes. But if you want to get free advertising from fans of your station you need to give them something that they can wear somewhere for others to see. A nail file isn't gonna cut it. Literally.

jp

 

[andreajesus]

I believe it...

(i remember you from the old B91 - I listened to it in the 80's - I remember you, Darren Wayne, Lightning Lou, Joe Cool...those were heady times, at least for me....)

 

[Ozman]

Adema,
I cannot proofread later on. R-I has a No Edit policy I would rather just get it out while the topics hot instead of waiting to proofread where the topic is long since dead a day to a few days later...

I have noticed a serious decline in listenership to our college station WWLR. one reason because the new college kids these day could care less about radio. the music they put on no one likes and many times using seeqpod or u-tube the audio is so horrible. all the directorship care about is CMJ and Idie rock music thinking people like it when the comunity really hates it. (keep in mind in the NEK-VT there is not much selection for radio. College dj;s think playing indie music they will get the college listenership and could care less about the community. I see it as care about the community and not the only one college students which will listen. I push for the directors to go to conferences get no where. I decide to go alone on my own dime. IBS for example. To keep the listeners tuned in on WWLR I have to try to tell the community when their favorite dj's are on which can work well if someone whants to take the time to tell them.
some shows kick ass and there are some that suck. I promote the station like hell with no going to community stores gas stations etc with a jock schedule. ( I guess you could say I am the only one with some serious heart towards radio). WWLR is a hit or miss station music wise. A big issue I have is some people get satellite radio and i will never hear from them again. At the same time I have people who will listen for the 1st time because they have been listening to satellite raidio a lot and say my show kicks ass. I do see a major decline whith many more options out there however, I do not see it as dead yet.

 

[jkb]

I don't think it's the youth that's the problem. It is people my age (29) that are the problem. I can't stand this Southern stripper Rap that is played on the radio today. I listen to a online radio station called neosoulcafe.com or the flow on xm radio online. Both stations play music that no station would play even one like WBLS which for years has had trouble figuring out their market.

I decided to pay for XM and to be honest don't even like it anymore. They took The Flow off of the sats and replaced it with another hiphop station. Yes it's the popular music now, but it turns off any and everybody that doesn't listen to it. If it wasn't for the news coverage and POTUS 08 i would just get an IPOD and use that.

 

[herethere]

I know I'm late to the party, but I have to say that Mr. Gladding's comment earlier was IMHO one of the most astute things said on this board in a long time.

Good job! ;D ;D ;D ;D

 

[adma]

Adema,
I cannot proofread later on. R-I has a No Edit policy I would rather just get it out while the topics hot instead of waiting to proofread where the topic is long since dead a day to a few days later...

I have noticed a serious decline in listenership to our college station WWLR. one reason because the new college kids these day could care less about radio. the music they put on no one likes and many times using seeqpod or u-tube the audio is so horrible. all the directorship care about is CMJ and Idie rock music thinking people like it when the comunity really hates it. (keep in mind in the NEK-VT there is not much selection for radio. College dj;s think playing indie music they will get the college listenership and could care less about the community. I see it as care about the community and not the only one college students which will listen. I push for the directors to go to conferences get no where. I decide to go alone on my own dime. IBS for example. To keep the listeners tuned in on WWLR I have to try to tell the community when their favorite dj's are on which can work well if someone whants to take the time to tell them.
some shows kick ass and there are some that suck. I promote the station like hell with no going to community stores gas stations etc with a jock schedule. ( I guess you could say I am the only one with some serious heart towards radio). WWLR is a hit or miss station music wise. A big issue I have is some people get satellite radio and i will never hear from them again. At the same time I have people who will listen for the 1st time because they have been listening to satellite raidio a lot and say my show kicks ass. I do see a major decline whith many more options out there however, I do not see it as dead yet.

But getting back to my earlier point, how is the "music that no one likes" situation different from any time in campus radio history? The CMJ/indie thing ruled over "the community" a generation ago, too; otherwise, such stations would have been playing lotsa Bruce Springsteen rather than the Butthole Surfers. If you want to blame the decline on anything, *don't* blame it on the music--things are no different today from yesteryear in that regard.

I agree that with fewer kids "into radio" these days, campus radio is at a crossroads; but if anything, IMO the more ideal self-justifying solution (other than shutting down/selling off signals) is to head the other "university-compatible" direction, whether NPRish or a more cohesive multi-platform alt-package a la WFMU. Which may leave you even more disenfranchised; but face it--when it comes to the future of this sort of radio, maybe "kicking ass" is an anachronism...