There was a time, not long ago, when radio was “cool.” It was creative and fun, and run by people who valued those traits above all. Even better, it was a great, high margin business.
I’m not talking about the 1940’s; I’m talking about the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. This isn’t another “yearning for the good old days” piece. Instead, this is about radio’s future. But let’s look (or listen) backward first.
Radio was Facebook and Twitter before there was an Internet. It connected. It was one-on-one between the DJ and his/her listener. It set the tone for a community’s entertainment and informed it of the day’s news. It introduced new music. It was Facebook. It was fun and exciting. The DJ was “my DJ.”
But radio lost its focus:
“Just play the hits . . . do what’s safe.”
“No one wants local news anymore; besides, it is too expensive.”
“Let’s voice track the shift and save a few bucks; no one will notice.”
“Flying the morning show to the movie premier (or awards show, or NASCAR race, or fill-in-the-blank) is too expensive.”
And if that weren’t enough, we ran too many spots. Way too many spots.
Little by little, we chipped away at the cherished, intimate connection with our listener. And then it was gone. We became jukeboxes. Satellite radio won a PR war that radio didn’t even know it was fighting, repositioning the entire radio medium as “old” and “over.”
My own teenage daughters prefer their iPods; I bet that yours do too. Radio is boring.
So if my premise that we truly are (or were) the ultimate social medium is correct, how do we regain our footing? I’ll leave the specifics to the industry’s creative types, but here are a few starting thoughts:
- Bring back the stars. Find and hire talent; nurture them.
- Take some chances. Try something. If it doesn’t work, try something else.
- Break some rules. If a listener just wants more hits, she’ll get an iPod.
- Use the social networks to inform the tribe that you have something new.
- Get radio on all appliances. Have you seen the selection of radios at Target lately? Compare to the iPhone.
- Get the kids involved again. Listeners and staffers. Are the “kids” on your air staff all in their 30’s? Newsflash: they’re not kids!
Twenty years ago, every radio station broker knew ten GM’s working to own their own station. Today, those same GM’s simply want to make it to retirement (if they haven’t already been fired). There is no “bench,” no farm team. We are living a brain drain, or more accurately, a leadership and creativity drain. It is time to reconnect with our listener, with our tribe.
“What’s hard now is breaking the rules. What’s hard is finding the faith to become a heretic, to seek out an innovation and then, in the face of huge amounts of resistance, to lead a team and to push the innovation out the door into the world.”
Tribes, Seth Godin, 2008. http://www.amazon.com/Tribes-We-Need-You-Lead/dp/1591842336/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241701570&sr=8-1
Those are my thoughts. What are yours?
George
Media Services Group
It is the radio industry's saddest irony that a medium that always promoted itself as "one to one" fails so miserably at simply taking the obvious steps to truly be "one to one" in today's socially networked and connected one-to-one world.
ReplyDeleteAny ordinary Joe can hear whatever music he prefers and specifically chooses on his own ipod, or even his own custom created internet radio station. But that same ipod or internet station won't give him compelling or necessary local information.
Alas, neither will liner card reading, robotic voice tracked "announcers". Or a glitzy LA morning show beaming like corporate elevator muzak onto the disinterested populace of any sort of Scottsville, Virginia-like town.
In the vast majority of stations youthful talent and passion has been replaced by numbers that continue to deliver such an obvious point of diminishing return. And it's that same youthful talent and passion that would also be frequently tapping out compelling blog entries, amassing friends on their Facebook fan pages, and leaving relevant Twitter updates that generate a REAL one to one connection with listeners! This as opposed to long-timers who think it a hassle to "have to" write some sort of blog, occasionally banging out a couple of lines to fulfill their duty.
Missing just the same in most cases is an understanding that station management also should be connecting interactively, using the world of social media to "friend" with average listeners, as well as those in the business community. Personal brands far outweigh corporate images!
A proactive group of stations with passionate talent on the air, highly trained feet on the street, and a collective stable of staff & management working to add the power of social media into that mix would literally make itself the center of the community's universe! With a healthy bottom line that's sure to follow. In due time.
That approach requires long term strategic - and financial - thinking combined with immediate paradigm shifted operational action. As opposed to the reverse, which sadly and amazingly seems to be the operational plan at the vast majority of stations and broadcast companies these days.
In Australia, Community Radio is actually the largest sector in our three tiered media system (National, Commercial, Community) but by far the least resourced due to its structure. It is still the innovator and sets the pace for what later becomes "mainstream" or commercial.The aim of a community station is to build a community around the station, a community of listeners, members etc. More on the sector at cbaa.org.au
ReplyDeleteSince the 70's Community Radio & TV has been allowing people to come in and create media that represents them and their communities. Something the National and Commercial sectors have never done. In Australia the Community Sector truly has been creating and broadcasting "User Generated Content" and "Citizen Media" for over 30 years. It does not surprise me at all that once the delivery mechanism were made even easy for people to access (broadband, personal computers etc) that sites such as youtube and content deliver methods like podcasting and blogging have escalated. The social aspects of micro-blogging sites, facebook, twitter etc link into this but on a community connection level.
Digital radio is upon us here in Australia so new challenges loom for all players in the market. You may be interested in one of my stations recent podcasts on "radio" http://www.joy.org.au/rsspodcast - look for TechnoGaze - I also think you'd be interested to hear the most recent episode of the PodCraft as it touches on some points very salient to what makes radio work
Cheers
Stephen
Ironically -- this is exactly what I envisioned for my own media company. As a second generation broadcaster, I can recall the "good ol' days" of small market radio when we were really connected to the community with news, features, events, and a family full of on air talent.
ReplyDeleteThings changed when corporate America took over the radio industry.
I may be old school in some areas, but I also have the expertise and knowledge of what is hip and cool NOW. I too have teenagers who would rather listen to their ipods and their own mix of music.
I also speak to business owners and family people who wish they could get a decent local newscast, and even local sports and felt that their local radio station was more connected to the community!
Whats it going to take? I have the market, the stations identified to acquire from a "big guy" owner and a team waiting in the wings to put my plan into action. All I need is an investor who believes in it....
Anyone out there got any money? All the money to do it right has dried up and withered away. Everyone is too scared to take a risk on doing it right. They just want to do it cheap.
Well -- you get what you pay for!
Thanks George, Steve Gaines and others who have the same passion that I do.
We should partner up and show how its done!!
Kelly Orchard