Secret Lovers?

It's true. Many radio executives secretly love Satellite Radio. Are you going to deny having an XM or Sirius subscription? Okay, maybe many of you haven't signed up yet. I did say "yet". I'm quite positive many radio executives have a secret love affair with Satellite Radio. You are ashamed to admit that you either have it, or want it. You might even get around the subscription issue by tuning in to XM via AOL. Am I right? [all replies will be held in the strictest of confidence]

But some of you are saying to me right now, "Why would I pay for radio, when I can get it free over the air?" Have you listened to your station(s) lately? I have to wonder just who you are programming to. You have heard radio listenership is declining. Do you not get it? On most of your stations the number of songs you have in rotation is at a bare minimum. I don't know about you, but I get tired of hearing the same song every time I turn the radio on. If I want to hear the same song over and over, I'll buy the cd (or download the mp3). What really irks me is when I hear a song I don't want to hear, so I change the dial, and hear that same song on another station! And consolidation was supposed to encourage more "variety". Well, where's the beef? And in many cases, the "talent" you have in place is not talented (you fired the talented jocks for making too much money). These are reasons why I have a subscription to both XM and Sirius. I am not ashamed to admit my love affair with Satellite Radio. It fulfills a need I have as a man: A need for "variety" in my music.

The NAB and many programmers speak out against the XM and Sirius merger citing that Satellite Radio has a competitive advantage. What is that advantage exactly? All the conglomerates that the NAB panders to is making every terrestrial station in a given format sound the same no matter what market you are in. How does XM or Sirius have the advantage on that? Plus, you have to pay for XM and Sirius. Your terrestrial stations are free (of course, you get what you pay for, right?). What you fail to understand is that every form of entertainment has a competitive advantage over terrestrial radio right now, especially when reaching the younger demos. One thing, as the General Manager of a station, that I would tell many of my potential advertisers is that they have to think outside of the box when thinking about their competition. Take for example a donut shop. Their competition isn't only another donut shop. It's competition is also every other fast food place open for breakfast, it's every other coffee shop (whether or not they sell donuts), it's also the ice cream shop, and it's also the grocery store! Anywhere food is sold, the donut shop has competition.

And so it is with radio. Anywhere people can get entertainment and/or news, there is competition. That includes, TV, the newspaper, the movies, books, the Internet, iPods and other mp3 players, cds, cassettes, concerts, the high school play and even the guy in the subway strumming his guitar singing his version of Stairway to Heaven. As a side note, have you ever noticed that people don't stop and listen when those guys in the subway are singing "the hits", but you'll find a crowd around someone singing original, or less known music. Think about it.

Getting back on topic, competition for the consumer abounds everywhere. We are just lucky, that people have diverse tastes and need to stimulate the various senses. But terrestrial radio is losing out because it's catering to the least common denominator. Satellite Radio is filling a void!

Why are you afraid of something you may have even romanticized about as a kid; remember thinking how cool it would be to hear your favorite station anywhere in the Country or even the world! I used to think that, especially when we were traveling. But back then it wasn't possible (except for DXing, but that's a different issue), and so I did enjoy listening to all the various stations and their unique personalities across the Country. However now, it's not possible to listen to local variety because so many terrestrial stations (owned by just a few groups) are all sounding the same. The problem is, you are programming them so poorly I would prefer to listen to Satellite because there is more variety; more variety of formats, and more variety of songs within the formats. I actually get to listen to my all time favorite station on the Internet, CHOM-FM in Montreal.

Stop fighting the XM and Sirius merger. It will actually be healthy for competition (yes, because it will force you to broaden your playlists) and be better for the consumer too. Focus on your own content to bring listeners back. Stop blaming everything else for your loss of listeners and please stop pandering to the record labels playing what they want you to play, just so they can sell records. Play what your listeners want to hear (hey, there's a concept!). That is what will get more people listening. Radio listenership has declined because radio stopped listening to it's audience. (Like you haven't heard that one before) And I don't think a focus group can be considered "the audience". They are more like rats in a lab experiment that will do or say what they think you want them to so they can get their treats.

But like I said, you get what you pay for, and you didn't pay anything to read what I have to say about it! So, go about your business and keep telling yourself everything is all right in "radioland". I'll still have my Satellite subscriptions and Internet radio getting my need for variety fulfilled.

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Cumulus Takes a Stand

Cumulus is not renewing its contract with Arbitron for its stations in markets 100 and below. As a result, Cumulus is calling for a request for proposals (RFP) for an Audience Measurement Solution for Small and Medium Sized Markets. The second largest broadcaster in the US is acknowledging that Arbitron isn't getting the job done and has decided it will lead the charge for change. In a report posted by AllAccess, Cumulus says "As the underwriter of this effort, we will take the leadership role in solution design and vendor selection." Apparently Clear Channel is supporting this move by Cumulus. How exactly, has not yet been reported. Arbitron has had what seems to be a monopoly on the radio ratings market since 1991 when it's major competitor, Birch Radio, ceased operations. Arbitron indirectly bought Birch Radio out, by contracting with Birch Radio's parent company VNU to market the Scarborough report. Since then, there have been small companies that have sprouted up in the radio ratings game, but none have been able to truly provide competition to Arbitron. One most notedly is Solutions Broadcast, which I think may benefit from this develoment.

Correct me if I am wrong here, but doesn't Arbitron provide it's "research" for free to advertising agencies? How is it that the radio industry got scammed into paying for this research? There is a conflict for Arbitron when stations (or groups) each make their own deal to buy the information. There must be a simple formula that Arbitron follows: whoever pays more, gets more listeners. So now there are disgruntled radio executives because they are paying a premium and not "winning" in every market! Even if Arbitron was completely transparent, it is still wrong that radio pay for research that the advertising agencies need to satisfy their client's request.

The best way for the radio industry to see a fair representation is for the ad agencies to pick up the tab for the research. They are the one's that actually use the information. Sure the argument may be that it is the radio stations that benefit. But who truly benefits in the end, is actually the advertisers. It is information that the ad agencies require in order to perform the task they have been paid to do by their clients, the advertisers. They place their ad dollars on the radio stations that have the largest segment of the demo they want, which in turn drives listeners to the advertisers. Radio is merely one conduit businesses use to drive traffic to their stores.

Let's look at a scenario that creates an inaccurate measurement of the market, which in turn hurts the advertiser. Under current Arbitron rules, if someone at a radio station shares the book with a non-subscriber, and Arbitron finds out, that station gets embargoed. Essentially they don't get counted in the next book (or even longer). How is that an accurate measurement of the market? How can an ad agency properly represent its clients (the advertisers) when the book is not truly representative of the market? I'm surprised the DOJ has not looked into how this game is played!

We have to ask, why are radio stations willing to spend millions of dollars for such flawed reporting? And, why is it okay to buy bad, miscalculated information, (and use it) while cutting back on staff just so you can pay for such garbage? Radio stations themselves should not be selling on "numbers", but on the product they deliver. If a radio station is going to use the Arbitron ratings system as a crutch to get business, the broken limb will not heal. And businesses should not be buying a station just because it has the "most" listeners, it should buy a station based on the fact that the radio station can provide a response based on the frequency (number of times) the ad placed will run! That's a whole different topic altogether.

While I do understand that my sole, and lonely opinion does not matter, I do applaud Cumulus for taking the first steps to find a better more affordable audience measurement system. However, I believe the industry as a whole would benefit more by dumping their Arbitron subscriptions, and hire back local talent with the money saved! Let the ad agencies take the responsibility to pay for the research and thus get an unbiased measurement of the market. If the agencies don't want to pay for the research, let them create real relationships with the radio stations directly to service the needs of the advertisers. Create better partnerships for longer term strategies and growth for everyone. Cut the real fat, put the meat back.

Social What?

Social media, social networking, it's all about being social. Remember how exciting it was for your favorite dj to give you a "shout out". You would tell all your friends that you were on the radio! You probably delivered that message through a "party line" telephone line, or simply one friend calling another, who called another. Then the next day at school, it might have even been a topic of discussion in your circle of friends. Radio was a social medium for us!

Fast forward to today: kids don't need radio to be social. All this talk of social networking has radio executives wondering what happened, and how to claim their stake. But kids aren't just connecting with their own friends through Myspace, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, they are building up their own audiences. They don't need radio to entertain them. They entertain each other. I think that is where the radio executives fall short in understanding why the radio audience is shrinking. We think WE should be the entertainers, instead of just being a part of the entertainment. This goes back to my first point about the Shout Outs. Radio used to make the listeners the star, not the dj. I know, "we still do shout outs". But see, for the younger listeners, that's not enough anymore. With todays Social Networking, anyone can be a "star". Anyone can have an Internet radio station, or video channel. You have to do more than play music for this generation.

What can be done to get the younger demo to come back? Be a part of their Social Network! I think many stations have tried to be a part of it by setting up a MySpace page. The problem is that most stations just use MySpace as a "web page". A MySpace page should not just be another "web page". It should be used as an interactive function. But as has been mentioned in many places, MySpace is losing its appeal. However, if you have not set up a MySpace page for your station [even if your demo is 35-54!] you should set one up now. After all it's free! You know how us radio folk like free stuff! The next thing to do is set up a Fan Page on FaceBook. FaceBook is gaining momentum right now. Setting up a Fan Page is easy to do, but if you need a little help, let me know. I have my own fan page at http://facebookfan.charlieprofit.com. You can become my fan if you'd like! Again, this should be used as an interactive function with your listeners. Post bulletins, upload and share photos and videos. If you have listeners that attended a concert, invite them to upload the photos they took with their cell phones! Give the listeners some of the glory! Reward them for listening by allowing them to participate in your web community. Yes, you still need to have staff patrol the activity, but it will generate a buzz.


And we shall take this one step further. Get a Twitter account for your station. What is Twitter? Twitter is an application that allows "mini blogs". Take a look at mine at http://twitter.charlieprofit.com. [I use redirects, as it is easier for me to remember the url. If you don't understand those terms, don't worry, just click the link]. With these "mini blogs" people are able to update others in their network with what they are doing, thinking or experiencing at that moment. But if you think outside-the-box, you can not only use Twitter to give Shout Outs to your listeners, you can announce contest winners and live remotes! Imagine being able to tell your listeners where your station is at, even when they are not listening!. This is just one application that can bring back that interactivity that radio has lost over the past several years. If your station doesn't set up a main account, your jocks should set up their own individual accounts (if they haven't already)! There is also a way to have several individual accounts post to one main account. Again, just email me at charlieprofit@cabradio.com and I'll explain how.

So now you know how you can get GenY to incorporate your station into their lifestyle because you are doing what they are doing. And you will be sharing in their experiences too, because as you add your listeners to your station's Social Network, you will be able to know what they are thinking, doing, listening to as it happens. You won't need research anymore, because you will have it right there in your Social Network. Now take that money you saved on research and hire an overnight jock!

Welcome

This is a new project I am undertaking to not only express my own point of view on the radio industry, but also inform and educate with an outside-the-box approach. There are many issues of concern for radiophiles and I will try to explore each one and offer my two cents. Don't be shocked if you find yourself disagreeing, I don't expect to pander to the masses. There are many voices in the radio jungle. I hope you will find mine to be a lion's roar that causes all creatures to stop and listen.  I also welcome your comments, and hope the dialog will be engaging and thought provoking.

Some of the issues I'll be RIBing about include the XM/Sirius proposed merger, the FCC's role of content management, localism, competition, listenership, revenue, copy writing and the quality of production. There are many other issues I will discuss over time, in addition to these I've just listed. Of course we will break from our outline to RIB about breaking news as well. Oh, if I lost you on the term RIBbing, it means doing a Radio Industry Blog, as the title of this blog suggests.

I would also like to encourage you to send me a link to your blog, and I'll include in the blog roll. I have never professed to know everything, but I do think everything there is to think about has already been thought! In other words, there are no more original thoughts. So there is nothing wrong with sharing our thoughts, as they might not have been ours to begin with. I'm sure we could debate that idea in another forum!

This is just the introduction to the blog that is to come. Don't get your hopes up. After all, it is "just another blog".

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