We’ve all been there.
You wake up one day – or 5 o’clock rolls around – and it turns out that one of your competitors has changed formats.
And now they’re coming right at you.
They’re playing your music, with your value proposition, and your liners. And they’re commercial-free so even your core fans will try them out. And it also turns out that this is no ma and pa company – it’s one of the biggest corporations in the business and they’re gunning right at your heart.
It’s a sick feeling because brand managers work very hard to establish their turf, their position, and their difference. And when another capable player with assets galore comes on the scene, it signals fragmentation and the pain that comes with it.
That has to be how Tim Westergren and Daniel Ek probably felt last month when Google announced its new Google Play Music All Access (OK, they’ve got to tighten up that name) – another of these all you can eat music subscription services where the world’s music library is available to you to create infinite numbers of playlists. Maybe it was Rhapsody that was most uncomfortable because they’ve never cracked through and now good old Google has designs on this space. And these pure-play incumbents may go through that collective nausea again if the rumors that Apple may be starting their own music service are true. You have to believe that an Apple-created iRadio would be an instant problem for Pandora, Spotify, and others pure-plays.
Google has lots of assets – the Android platform, apps, a ridiculously large “cume,” and other tools that can be integrated with music. And Apple has a few things going for it as well, from its millions and millions of customers to iTunes to its incredible media brand equity.
For consumers, this is yet another signal that music has been commoditized and that it’s no longer necessary or even practical to buy music – whether you still do this physically or you’ve totally moved over to the digital format.
But for radio, it’s a whole other thing. Any consumer can now have 3 million songs in their pocket or purse. It’s possible to enjoy “radio” that is created based on your mood, your tastes, or the playlists of your friends.
And yet as more and more of these digital music services come along, radio may actually stand apart in a unique but very precarious way.
Every digital pundit and blogger believes that radio’s music stations are on the endangered species list as these smorgasbord services proliferate. But if that means that radio will essentially become a spoken word medium, that’s a tough one to swallow (especially as Talk/Radio now finds itself walking the plank because of advertiser problems and its myopic view of consumers). The music stations that manage to survive will suffer by the lack of competitors around them. And are there really enough spoken word formats to fill up a market’s worth of radio choices? Do markets really need three sports radio stations or news/talkers?
So will music formats really be dead on broadcast radio? Is there any truth to the theory that music stations will have no value when consumers can migrate to one of the aforementioned services that lets them listen to any song they like anytime on any device anywhere they go?
Well, yes, if radio continues to go down the path of fewer personalities, more voicetracking, less talk, no local program directors, formulaic playlists, no audience interaction, local coverage only during disasters, zero curation, and simply no fun.
Those tactics may work just fine in the PPM world. But consumers don’t live in that neighborhood. They’re part of a much larger social community. And while virtually all the world’s music resources and songs are now available at the click of a mouse, don’t people need help and guidance in order to discover and learn what’s worth listening to?
Consumers need reviewers, guides, mavens, and entertainers we trust who know us and know our tastes. This is true for restaurants, hotels, cruise ships, chain saws, and cars – and it’s also true for music.
We need help, guidance, and hand holding because the dark side of all this choice is that too many options can be overwhelming. When you have everything at your digital fingertips, it can become intimidating and stressful. And there’s a good chance that, ultimately, consumers will be turned off by all these options.
That’s where radio ought to come in – to reassert its historical value to consumers and help them better understand and enjoy the music that matters in their lives – whether it’s an album produced in Los Angeles or the UK or a great song that’s been recorded right here in town by a local band that’s worthy of hearing and seeing.
There are DJs like this on the radio, but they are becoming fewer and farther between. WMMR’s Pierre Robert, Mike Halloran at 91X (pictured), as well as “guides” at The Coast in Mendocino, The Drive in Chicago, The Sound in LA, plus public radio DJs like Ann Delisi (pictured) at WDET, and curators at stations that include KCRW, WXPN, the Current, and others across the U.S. All do a great job of musical guidance.
But it’s not easy to find these musical lighthouses – interesting, savvy entertainers who take the time to listen to music – because they are rapidly diminishing on a medium where they once thrived.
In the meantime, if the collective brain trust in radio actually sat down to determine “what’s next” for music formats, wouldn’t this notion of smart, savvy concierge DJs be hailed as a pretty smart strategy? Maybe the only strategy? Isn’t that locally flavored sherpa the defining difference between why a consumer would turn to Spotify or become more comfortable with the companionship of a local, trusted guide?
Like any creeping condition that doesn’t get critical overnight, the music radio crisis is a lot like global warming on Social Security funding. We can deny, deny, and deny, but for the good of the broadcast radio medium, isn’t it time to face facts, rethink the obvious, accept the new reality, and refocus on what makes FM music radio unique?
You know that’s happening “across the street” at radio’s new competitors – Apple, Google, Spotify, Pandora, Slacker, Songza, and Amazon. They’re spending considerable think time gaming out their music domination plan. They’re analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. They’re spending more time, resources, human and financial capital learning what makes radio tick – and how they can beat it – than we are. And they love our brand – radio. Look how many of these services incorporate it in their names and descriptors.
Are we going to have to wait for one of these companies to buy a radio group to learn how it’s going to be done?
Or are we going to wake up and attack ourselves first?
There’s a way out of this, but we have to swallow a dose of reality and start designing that strategic road map.
It’s time to get serious about music formats on FM radio. Because now Google and Apple are.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Spot on. Too many with their heads in the sand. Plenty of great music that needs set up, programming and presentation as only REAL Radio can do. No matter how we receive it, it’s still the product and the show. I’ll take radio anytime because it CONNECTS Everywhere, Wireless and Free! Clark
It comes down to this, Clark: What job is radio being hired to do in 2013? After all these years, some introspection given the new competition is in order. Thanks for chiming in.
My inherent “jock bias” aside, the points you raise above are the very same that I’ve been spouting for years now. When music becomes a commodity how does radio compete? By delivering entertainment, personality, and branding that no digital jukebox can. But listeners can’t embrace this possibility until the radio industry embraces it first.
Mike, it may be as simple as looking beyond “the station across the street” and reanalyzing the new competitive environment. We can see where the puck is headed (some would say it’s already there). Radio needs to rethink its music strategy. Thanks for commenting and reading our blog.
I am not sure how many times it has been said and so many ways its been said but it seems that the radio industry is missing what is going on here. Your comments are spot-on. One of the key radio advantages is its ability to screen and present music….creating “the hits” so consumers can then go buy it, and spend more time listening to it on their personal devise. If one or all of the music services introduce a screened playlist service a “radio station” service that provides an introduction of the new “hits” it is all over for music radio.
Thanks, Ric. I believe that in our quest to win in the ratings, we’ve mortgaged our competitive future by staying so buttoned up that our DJs cannot add needed content. But there’s a chicken-egg of it, too. DJs need to be smart enough, work hard, and earn that ability to be personalities. As someone who frequently on the other side of the desk, it works both ways. The lack of training, the absence of a farm team, and the loss of live overnights, nights, and weekends is taking its toll. Appreciate you taking the time.
The answer for radio is for it to co-opt the Pandoras and Slackers of the world, while it still enjoys cume AND access advantage over them. I think most of us who are or were in radio can see that Pandora’s algorithm could use some improvement – and can conceive ways it could emulate the localism that radio is, for the most part only faking now.
From promotions to guerrilla marketing to communication and branding, radio knows (or at least used to know) a thing or two about branding. It should apply that expertise to what Pandora does, before Pandora and its siblings figure it out on their own. Given how much radio has taken to mailing in its advantages through collectivism and automation, replicating that isn’t as difficult as it once was.
Obviously. the biggest issue for everyone is royalties and I’m not sure there’s a solution there. Artists claim that they aren’t getting enough and your blog yesterday revealed that a sufficient number of units for Pandora to make a profit might be too many to keep an audience. But it would be a tragedy if Google or Apple negotiated a significant, exclusive concession from the record industry before or instead of radio.
The end game is pretty clear – people like music customization products, don’t like ads and can are getting used to living without the localism that has set radio apart from them. Radio would do well to connect the dots while it has some built in advantages.
Well-said, Bob. There’s time, BUT the rate of speed at which mega-companies like Google and Apple are moving suggest that strategic purpose is necessary here in helping radio determine why it’s being hired in 2013. Thanks for the comment.
Bingo!
“In the meantime, if the collective brain trust in radio actually sat down to determine “what’s next” for music formats, wouldn’t this notion of smart, savvy concierge DJs be hailed as a pretty smart strategy? Maybe the only strategy?”
This is what has driven me mostly away for over-the-air radio and into the arms of XM (since 2003) and now Sirius XM. It’s the music AND the djs. The Loft’s Mike Marrone, Meg Griffin and company know their music and are coming out of that tradition and I have no trouble paying a few bucks a month for that quality. Pandora is interesting and I’ve played around with listening a bit but its the human DJs and the thrill of discovering new music mixed with the past that lures me in. When I get bored with things I can flip over to Deep Tracks or Underground Garage for a bit more of a kick, but still with smart and savy radio voices. If only I could find this on a local station, you could count me in.
We can do better, Alan, and we must rethink the strategy of the last decade or so if radio is to emerge healthy and sound as pure-plays abound. Thanks for the comment and the perspective.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2GmGSNvaM
I don’t know if links work in your comment box Fred, but this is worth a “cut and paste” if it doesn’t. This great 2:11 classic Seinfeld bit is the definition of the issue you discuss and our business. We “know what to do..but..
It’s a real dilemma for the business….we know the only way to separate ourselves long term is to provide a product that gives the consumer something that can’t get elsewhere. (Talent, local traffic, heritage,a connection etc) A more customized and UNIQUE product. But the measurement system that significantly defines the finical health of the business flat out doesn’t reward that. You’ve seen it everywhere…and my market is a perfect example…I had a much stronger product doing exactly what you talks about)and (was) dying in the PPM. Only when my competitor put on a dog of a syndicated morning show…did the numbers come back.
This philosophy is strong, correct and solid, but who wants to be the most moralistic, product oriented, fundamentally sound AND unemployed GM I know?! 🙂
And therein lies the problem, Dave. The tactics that work in the neighborhood street fight are ineffective in fighting the global war. It takes courage to present music with all the trimmings, and if anyone has any ideas about what other tactics might be effective in an environment filled with Pandora, iRadio, and Google’s new thing, I’m all ears.
I know this – the mentality that “I’ll be retired by them so it will be someone else’s problem” is a big part of this problem. It will take some serious rethinking from the top to turn this around. Your perspective and heartfelt honesty is appreciated, Dave. Thanks for joining the conversation.
My pleasure Fred. Great, thought provoking read. 🙂
When I started reading this article, I IMMEDIATELY thought of Ann Delisi. Her ability to wade through the mountains music to find the jewels is amazing. I listened to her show on Sunday, and I was once again in awe of her skill. She is able to connect with the listener without any sense pretension or condescension. Your use of the word “curator” is perfect.
Thanks, David. Ann is a special talent, as are the others I’ve mentioned – and many that I did not. The ability to talk, entertain, enlighten, and curate are at the heart of being a great DJ on a music station. Executing formatics has overshadowed these other skills. Appreciate the comment, as I’m sure does Ann.
Props to you, Fred – for continuously going deep & meaty on the big issues with your blog. You put a lot of thought into this and it’s always a great read.
The explosion of choice has broken the traditional music radio audience into 2 broad factions.
1) People that care about music/radio and actively engage their passion.
2) People that casually consume music as a background utility.
Radio used to get both by default.
Most ofl the erosion of TSL and occasions came from Group 1 leaving to explore more personal options.
But as you’ve pointed out, Fred those guys/gals in the #2 group use Pandora, Slacker and Spotify too – they just use it differently than music lovers.
So one large question is – Can commercial radio still serve group #1 on FM Radio – or can that ONLY be done on the internet?
I think the commercial radio “collective brain trust” already sat down and decided that question.
They decided we’re in the business of gaming PPM (group 2 audience) to get our music stations to rank Top 5 in their demos so we can get our slice of that sweet, sweet default demand agency money. Anything outside of that is considered failure.
Living only for today – that’s sound business. But as you aptly point out Fred, the underlying environment is radically changing – the storms are getting stronger, more frequent and more destructive.
But, hey – we’re Top 5 for June! And we’re all cashing that bonus check.
Thanks, Jeff, and your well thought out comments are pointed as usual – and smell a lot like the truth. Maybe the decision has been made that broadcast radio cannot compete in the arena of Sherpa DJs, curated music content, and storytelling. If that’s the case, a major opportunity has been squandered. Appreciate you taking the time.
I believe I saw Slacker advertising for personalities. Is a change brewing on the internet side?
That’s Slacker’s thing and it will be interesting to see if that defining difference is enough to move people away from Pandora or Spotify. And yes, it raises the question of the ultimate value of the personality – even on streaming stations. Thanks for the comment.
Fred: great article as usual: Is this an example of what you mean? This is an intro from Deep End Radio. It is the story behind the song MacArthur Park…and below are some audience responses.
Songwriter Jimmy Webb was deeply in love with Susan Ronstadt, a cousin of singer Linda Ronstadt. They would meet often for lunch at a park in the West Lake area of Los Angeles. A park named after General Douglas MacArthur. When they broke up Webb wrote this song about her. He also wrote “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” about her. The Actor Richard Harris met Webb at a fund raiser in LA and they became friends. Harris wanted to do a song so he asked Webb to show him his material…when he heard this song he chose it immediately.The song about the girl and the park where they met…MacArthur Park. Do you remember this song? Now you know the story behind it.
Thanks, Nick, for the history behind these wonderful songs!! I love Jimmy Webb.
Always loved that song but didnt realize for a long time it was Richard Harris the actor !! Great tune though !
Fantastic back story! This is why I love the Deep End, great music and stories that matter
I love the history you give. It helps me to better understand the meaning behind the music. Thanks for doing so much!
Nick: It’s like “crack” for the ears. I love what I’m hearing, the music and the threads that connect it. It’s like new “OLD” radio….great job.
Love your show Nick. Incredible stories. One of the first stories that caught my attention was that I never knew that “Ohio” by CSN&Y was a protest song. so I heard “Ohio” but never really listened to it. Once I heard the story, I listened to it again for the first time.. I heard a “different” song that day and have ever since.
These are a just a few of the responses we get every day. The audience cannot get enough. You see the demo for my show and the new internet station is not an age group. The REAL demo is music lovers. People for whom music matters a little more in their lives. They use it more. They care about it more. They feel it a little more. IF YOU BUILD IT,THEY WILL COME.
Yup, Nick. Music discovery works both ways – finding out about new songs and bands you never knew about. AND discovering something amazing about a song or artist you never knew about that rekindles your interest and enthusiasm. Thanks for pointing it out.
This may resonate or not. As I was starting the car yesterday, the CD player instantly came on with my daughters favorite song (Mumford and Sons) and she screamed “ooooh turn it up!” …
As I raised the volume I said “It’s your CD honey” advising her that it wasn’t necessary to hurry, that I could simply restart the song.
Well, with deflation in her excitement, she simply said “Oh, that’s OK then” and we returned to radio, scanning for ‘favorite songs’ at her request (no pun…well, Yes, pun).
THAT, is why Radio still has relevance. We want (expect) to be entertained.
Thanks, Dave. Radio has the ability to surprise and enchant. Consumers will tell you they’re tired of all 3,000 songs on their iPods. That “you never know what’s coming up” element can be powerful. Appreciate you taking the time.
Well said Fred.
It gets worse. The tighter and more monetized the playist, the more ridiculous corporate radio sounds. Don’t worry though, every man appears to be winning.
https://www.amazon.com/The-Cult-Amateur-user-generated-destroying/dp/0385520816/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370456916&sr=8-1&keywords=the+cult+of+the+amateur
Jeff, thanks for the comment. By the way, that looks like one helluva book.
Fred, this book should be a must read for anyone in tech these days. Not depressing, but says what we all think anyhow. The internet IS a sewer.
Until I read this blog entry I could not figure out why I had a hard time with Pandora, Spotify, Slacker Radio, etc., then your statement “We need help, guidance, and hand holding” made it abundantly clear – too many options are definitely overwhelming. I need traditional radio to steer me along. I still have choice given the number of formats up and down the dial but once I have landed on a radio station I like, I rely on them to serve up the music and expose me to different and new things.
Raymond, thank you for talking about your realization. Radio brands need to more effectively make this case.
Traditional radio = Viewpoint. It’s as simple as that.
I think the name is pronounced Google Play – “Musical Access”. If not, it should be 😉
Thanks, Robin! Appreciate you reading the blog.
As a Rock music fan, radio died a long time ago, right around the time the Classic Rock format was invented. It turned a vibrant and ever-morphing genre of music into a nostalgia pit. “Here are two songs from the Jefferson Airplane to go with the two songs from The Doors we’ll play and every once in a while we’ll throw in ELP so those dammned Prog Rock fans will shut up and stop writing”. That’s not what Rock was when I was in high school. I didn’t see it all as separate sub-genres, I thought that The Beatles, The Who, Genesis, Joni Mitchell, The Clash, Talking Heads and Joe Jackson all went together. It made sense to me. I could hear the stuff I already knew mixed in with something new — it was all ROCK.
Then it all split along demographic marketing lines. Music took a seat way in the back to the business aspect of the medium. You want to blame people, I’ll put the blame on the Sales Departments. Salespeople are good at sales — that’s where they should be. You raise them up into levels where they are making format decisions and it all falls apart. Music formats should be run by people who know music inside and out, not by people who look at quarterly earning reports.
Thanks for the comments, Paul. Appreciate the music passion.
Thanks, Joe, it’s already more than a year old, but thanks for sharing.