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One thing we’ve learned from COVID – nostalgia is powerful “comfort food.” And the continued success of Classic Rock is a reminder that music nostalgia might be the most potent elixir of them all. Today’s blog presents three eye-opening stories from the Classic Rock “highway” that underscores the financial clout behind the music.

One of the major impacts for radio in the COVID era is traffic volume. And a newly released research study breaks down more than 400 metros around the world, ranking them by traffic congestion – which of course, translates to radio listening. Where does your market show up, and how can this data inform your post-pandemic strategy. It’s all broken down for you in today’s post.

The Alternative format finds itself in a state of flux in 2022. So what’s new? Behind the scenes conversations are taking place about the format’s future, including inside the radio industry’s biggest companies. Today, I join forces with Jacobs Media consultant, Mike Stern, to address Alternative’s issues, and offer up actions and solutions for your consideration. And would some of these tactics and strategies work with other formats? That’s a question we hope you’ll help us answer.

What a weekend for sports! Between the Olympics and the Super Bowl, the action was nonstop. But so were the lessons. If you were paying attention, the athletes revealed a lot about who they are and what it means to not just win, but to compete. Today’s post pulls out six important sports lessons we witnessed that can help our radio endeavors.

Today’s post isn’t your garden variety “junk drawer.” It’s “The Big Game” edition, featuring stories you maybe haven’t heard yet about Joe Rogan, Neil Young, Joan Jett, and the Supremes – all in one post. And this post has been approved by the legal department, so it won’t get you in hot water to read it. I’ve also included my take on the overhyped Halftime Show, and the eventual winner of “The Big Game” itself.

What’s in a brand name? For radio, it’s everything – the outward facing way listeners, advertisers, and the community refer to your station. Coming up with a new brand – or tougher yet, a rebrand – can be a tough challenge. Here’s a guide that will remind you of the stations that got it right, as well as those that perhaps should have gone back to the drawing board.

On the heels of yesterday’s post about radio’s faded reputation for new music discovery comes an apt bookend – what to do about Gen Z. If you’ve ever said, “My teen doesn’t know what a radio is,” this post’s for you.

Years ago, those wizards from the Research Group taught radio programmers the value of “owning hills” – images that can set a radio station or even a company apart in a positive, unique way. These days, there’s a rush to “own” podcasts, streaming, event marketing and other desirable “hills.” But what about new music? It’s been slipping away from broadcast radio for some time now. And there are growing signs radio’s predators are more than happy to swoop in and grab up this once highly contested turf. Here’s what that looks like over the next handful of years.

Our JacoBLOG “junk drawer” today features three fascinating media/marketing stories – M&M’s is now rebranding around album covers, and you won’t guess which classic LP they chose. New innovations in text-to-speech could make radio searchable. And if we ever get back to the office, listening at work may take on a whole new customized, personalized model.

Oftentimes in radio, the difference between winning and losing is a diary here or a meter there. Just like in football, a so-called “game of inches.” There are lots of variables that separate the champs from the also-rans, but it often comes down to one simple thing that just about everyone in the radio industry has control over. That’s where we’re headed in today’s JacoBLOG post.

Howard Hesseman, the guy who played Dr. Johnny Fever, the patron saint of rock radio DJs on the “WKRP in Cincinnati” sitcom, passed away. Fever wasn’t just a sitcom character or a laugh track. He was a caricature of the real thing – cool rock radio DJs who rules the airwaves back then. Today’s blog post looks at radio’s “cool factor” – where it went, why it matters, and maybe how to get it back.

The JacoBLOG junk drawer is back, and today we’re getting you away from it all with three great stories about radio in faraway places. Bon voyage!

Another day and another blaring headline about the demise of new music. But when it comes from a respected author and writer, it’s worthy of our attention. And because the state of music – especially the new stuff – is important to radio’s present and future, there are implications worth noting. Today’s blog post brings the data, some of it disturbing, but an unvarnished look at how our culture is changing. And with it, the radio broadcasting business, and several of its most important and profitable formats.