Jaye Albright's Breakfast Blog

ARB's Twin Waterbeds, Diary And PPM

2012-02-02T04:55:00.006-08:00

RBR: "Given the news that the Media Rating Council (MRC) that it has withdrawn accreditation of the monthly AQH radio ratings data produced by the PPM service in Cleveland, Portland OR, Riverside-San Bernardino, Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo, and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, we revisited an interview with MRC Executive Director and CEO George Ivie as to issues surrounding accreditation in PPM markets. First of all, it’s a complex thing to accredit a new service and Arbitron has adjusted the service to meet the compliance needs of the MRC. That takes time and is always under review."

“It’s a complex problem. It’s like a waterbed, you push down on one side and other sides move. You have to push down on the whole bed to hold it all down. If you let go of something, certain things may get worse, other things may get better. You have to really be vigilant.” -- Ivie in Inside Radio

Since the news broke, clients in both PPM and diary markets have been asking if "panic" is the order of the day, as Arb itron Director of Programming Services Jon Miller coincidentally titled his new blog post on ARB's training site and my advice given that, yes, credibility of media measurement is absolutely crucial, but since we've all seen this coming for a very long time is: DON'T (panic).

Keep the pressure on researchers to be as open as possible as they work on the complex sample quality issues that every market is witnessing. Secrecy won't improve anyone's confidence level.

A quick recap of past history as chronicled on this blog alone:

Wednesday, May 24, 2006: Pew: 8% Have Only A Cell Phone, Challenging Radio And All Other Phone-Based Research. Last year, only five years later, The New York Tim es reported that Arkansas had the highest concentration of people in cell-only households, at 35.2 percent, next was Mississippi at 35.1 percent, Texas at 32.5 percent, North Dakota at 32.3 percent, Idaho at 31.7 percent and Kentucky at 31.5 percent.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008: Why An Index Of 80 Or 90 Isn't Good Enough
Wednesday, May 07, 2008: ARB's Patchen Hits A Foul Ball; Randy Kabrich Hits A Home Run
Wednesday, April 01, 2009: The Right Way To Sample
Monday, April 13, 2009: Arbitron's Dr. Ed Responds
Saturday, July 09, 2011: "Research IQ"
Tuesday, October 04, 2011: Take Aspirin Before Reading
Sunday, November 13, 2011: Smiling While Scratching My Head

Let's get up to speed about it all at CRS. (click the banner below for a free invitation if you're not in a competitive situation with an A&O client)

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Can You Program Listeners As Well As Your Radio Station?

2012-02-01T03:43:00.000-08:00

Want listeners to think of your call letters each time their phone rings?

All you need to do is play the sound of a phone ringing and immediately say your call letters after it time and time again.

Wouldn't it be nice if subliminal advertising was that easy?

The "Ignore This Message" website puts it all in this slightly tongue-in-cheek context:

Subliminal advertising doesn't exist. But if it does, it doesn't work. But if it does, it's not a problem. But if it is, it doesn't matter. But if it does, ignore it.

Snopes.com debunks the long-standing rumor that secret cues inside a Coke commercial got movie-goers to buy more popcorn.

Here in Seattle, UW Prof Tony Greenwald has been skeptically studying "Subliminal Influence" for almost five decades: "I think unconscious cognition is a pretty dumb but fast processor that scans sensory input and directs our attention."

Thus, he is at odds with followers of Freud, who contend the unconscious is a very smart and powerful entity that protects a person from psychic threats, such as knowledge of a fatal illness or personal incompetence, that are too anxiety-provoking for the more fragile conscious mind.

So, associate your brand with a ringing phone if it makes you feel diabolically clever, but don't count on this tactic to increase your ratings in any consistent and measurable way.

Win Radio Creative's Annual $100,000 Prizes

2012-01-31T04:38:00.000-08:00

Normally, I reserve my Twitter account for "re-Tweeting" and try to at the very least put a new spin on news items adequately covered by the traditional trades when I blog. However, the annual call for entries, creative seminars and announcement of the Radio Mercury awards deserves an exception.

The prizes are substantial, the chief judge is impressive, the audio examples will inspire you.

Click here and spend some time on their site!

"Reinvent" This!

2012-01-30T11:07:00.001-08:00

It wouldn't be a radio business convention or meeting if someone didn't call once again for reinvention of one aspect of what we do or another.

There's nothing wrong with rethinking, of course, but Arbitron's Ron Rodrigues (Marketing Manager for the Programming Services Team) has a better idea in my view:

The next time your sales staff is driving you crazy with value-added, got-to-have-this-or-the-client-will-cancel demands, educate them even further about the power of radio.

Go to the next sales meeting and give them the five-question pop quiz below. Bring a pair of concert tickets or a $5 gift card for the person who scores the best. Be sure to count how many times you hear “Hmm—didn’t know that.”

Before you walk back to your office feeling like the smartest person in the building, remind the sales team that all of this information can be found in Arbitron’s “Radio Today by the Numbers.” This tool will arm them with the information they need to show clients how well radio works for advertisers.

Radio Listenership Quiz

Q1: What percentage of Americans aged six and up does radio reach on a weekly basis?

73%
83%
93%
103%
Are you counting all eight days of the week?

Q2: How many hours a month do consumers spend listening to the radio?

14.5 million
1.45 billion
14.5 billion
A gazillion

Q3: If there are 10 people in a room, how many are likely to have listened to the radio in the past day?

5
6
7
8
It depends on the room.

Q4: What percentage of consumers does radio reach during prime time (6AM–7PM) each day?

60%
70%
80%
90%
More than newspaper

Q5: Rank these devices from highest to lowest by the percentage of radio listeners who own one:

Digital Camera
Computer
HDTV
Cell Phone
Predator Drone

Answer Key:

Q1: C—Radio reaches 93% of all Americans on a weekly basis.

Q2: C—Consumers listen to 14.5 billion hours of radio each month.

Q3: C—Slightly more than 7 out of 10 consumers listen to radio each day.

Q4: D—90% of consumers tune in between 6AM and 7PM.

Q5: From highest percentage of ownership to lowest—Cell Phone (90%), Computer (84%), HDTV (69%), Digital Camera (67%), Predator Drone (unknown %).

I'd suggest that our agency friends who seem to be hooked on nothing but the age-old negotiating ploy called "cost per point" that actually drives the percentage they make on radio buys down, since an agency commission on a small number is less than buying radio intelligently, using qualitative, all our multimedia platforms and involving us in your creative design, testing and execution.

They might increase the rate the agency pays a bit, but wouldn't that increase the dollars buyers make from radio and also act as an incentive for the radio side of the bargain to maximize results, not just lower our prices?

Make radio a full partner in working for the client instead of just a low cost vendor you can beat up in long-used ways.

Let's talk together about reinventing THAT.

Is Your Show, Your Commercial, Your Imaging "Sexy?"

2012-01-28T08:36:00.000-08:00

One of the best aspects of what I do for a living is that the job description changes constantly.

Consulting requires understanding changing listener tastes, working with executives and coaching talent seems to call on new skills, requiring always learning new things every day.

In 2012, Job #1 is helping Gen Xers and Leading Edge boomers "engage" and increase usage from Millennials. We're "Digital Immigrants" (learning new media as a second language, having been raised in an analog world) and they're "Digital Natives" (they learned to play video games, program a TV remote, interact with a computer before they spoke their first word).

The size of "the Taylor Swift generation" (click to watch the insightful video produced by Natalie Vardabasso and Kristina Emmott as a midterm project) means they simply can't be ignored, as the oldest of them are about to turn 30 and already they dominate the 25-34 demo.

I have been wishing I could find a way to let their parents and grandparents who still hope to be relevant in media for at least a few years more hear how life sounds to their Millennial listeners and now it's possible thanks to this man.

Meet Jad Abumrad: The man who Canada's Globe And Mail this week said has "made public radio sexy." (click to read the article)

The show uses any tools it can to illustrate the ideas it presents and hold the listener’s attention: tiny musical compositions, for example. Sound effects such as eerie echoed munching noises bring the listener to the ocean floor where scavenging hagfish devour a whale corpse. Layered voices talking on top of each other pass the story from person to person, just like in a real conversation. And rather than the formality of introducing each new speaker that listeners are accustomed to, these appear with the sound of throat clearing or a quick “ready?” before they are even introduced. For Abumrad, all this evolution is about fighting back against what he calls the “tune-out moments” of conventional storytelling and using the language of sound to jolt his listeners out of the inertia of the familiar.

How many "tune out moments" are there in your programming? Ask anyone in a PPM market: tune out moments literally do cause REAL tune-outs and drive ratings down, whether they happen in a song, a commercial, a promo, stationality elements or when an air personality opens a microphone.

“It’s totally accessible, which is awesome. I think that’s a trend in radio, and especially podcasts, making it accessible,” says Colleen Joyce, a 29-year-old living in Victoria, BC.

Do you have more listeners to your podcasts than to your terrestrial radio broadcasts? And, by the way, how are your numbers 25-34, let alone 18-24 and teens?

Perhaps you should spend some time experiencing WNYC's Radiolab.

Why Radio Stations Get Away With Lying

2012-01-26T03:21:00.000-08:00

The New York Times' "Debaters" feature last week was a thoughtful analysis on why politicians feel the need to lie and why, as a result, their most passionate supporters start lying to themselves.

Meanwhile, the inspiring author Andy Andrews is on a book tour promoting his new very easy and quick read How Do You Kill 11 Million People?.

I'm not going to wade into those controversial waters today, but all of that focus on the public's lack of trust of institutions that seems to pop up for me each time I pick up something to read right now is also a good reminder that radio stations so routinely lie to listeners needlessly that, just like most of us with politicians, they are turned off and have stopped paying attention.

Do we really need to "promise" 50 minutes of music every hour when we actually only play 48? Do listeners conduct an hourly auction with their time and only spend it with the station that promises to be the highest bidder? Would they listen less if we told them how much music we really play in the hour?
If the cost of a commercial free hour is a commercial-filled hour in the hours just before and after it, who are we kidding?
Is saying "the station that cares about the community" believable on a 24/7 voice tracked outlet?
"12 in a row coming next" is followed by an eight unit commercial break.
Positioning "best new music" on your radio station is followed by yet another play of Garth Brooks' "The Dance."

I could go on. So could you.

Listen to your radio station today and listen for those little lies you're telling so routinely that many jocks think that's "personality" and "entertainment."

Get them off the air. Entertain, interact, make the listener the star. Keep it upbeat and fun. Make me feel something. Paint me colorful word pictures. Tell me a story. Involve me.

Just not a fairy tale, please.

Why do radio stations get away with lying? Could it be because no one is paying very much attention?

Still Passing Out Plastic To The 9Th Caller?

2012-01-25T02:36:00.000-08:00

Asking your listeners to drive across town to pick up a prize?

Jim Pattison Broadcast Group's JRfm/Vancouver is doing it differently.

And, as usual with digital, there are lots of helpful metrics that come along with this approach, like:

230 people came to the JRfm music store on just one December day during the promotion, which drove impressive page views for many weeks.
The strong # 1 showing of Chad Brownlee's single, for example, is evidence that Vancouver country listeners appreciate and want to own Canadian country music.

Three? Two? One? Zero?

2012-01-24T01:36:00.000-08:00

As it has become increasingly obvious that Clear Channel and Cumulus have both been rolling out standardized, duplicate playlists across an increasing number of their very largest market stations, I've been speculating where that leaves the trade charts today, hoping that it will open opportunity for all of those highly successful stations to somehow still be represented - as networks, perhaps - while also opening up the chance for additional stations to be monitored and report as well.

In response to that, yesterday, Scott Fuller added this comment...

I'm sure you may disagree Jaye, but I personally feel that the gradual dismantling of the 'chart system' would be the best thing to happen to country radio moving forward.

Of course, I use charts to verify music decisions I make.

But ask the question: 'what if they weren't there tomorrow?' We still have a log to schedule, full of what the audience wants to hear and separates us from the other guys.

It might force we radio programmers to do something that's deeply fallen from our daily routine: caring what our own audience has to say. Sure, we'd still play the A+ from Nashville, but I'll bet we'd give a lot more spins to the B- in our own backyard over Nashville's third or fourth tier.

And just imagine the thousands of different 'types' of country radio 'mini formats' that would follow in their wake. Call letters with character once again.

I don't hate charts, and I'm not saying tomorrow, but it is starting to look like the way the business is going in general.

I certainly understand Scott's point of view and it's tempting to agree totally with it, but I still feel that the country format needs multiple trades and as many more reporters as possible.

The shrinking size of the monitored panel seems to me to be one of the factors hurting the speed that new music by unknown artists can move. This week's Billboard Country Update proves statistically that the hits still find a way to cut through and endure, a testament to the weekly efforts of Wade Jesson, Lon Helton, David Ross and their country chart teams' concerted efforts to be judicious.

The rules of the whole system, which admittedly can sometimes be exploited by knowledgeable promoters simply because they are so clear-cut, are well-known. Though no one likes to be the umpire, we think they are generally applied by in an aboveboard, even-handed manner.

Today, it is these forces that have created the need for independent consulting firms to do research, gather objective data from stations and listeners, keep at arms-length from the record promotion business and offer dependable, objective guidance on music to radio based solidly in listener reaction.

Frankly, the consulting business is GREAT right now partially because of these very actions that consolidated groups are taking in the face of incredible promotional pressure. Their competition is increasingly looking for believable help in separating the honest hits from the hype (of which there is plenty).

Country stations want and need trustworthy data more than ever, and we work hard to maintain high ethical standards in the information we provide to our clients.

A&O thinks the future of the formats and radio broadcasters we serve depends on it.

The Toughest Jobs In Music City

2012-01-23T02:08:00.000-08:00

This time, as noted in my previous missive, of potentially smaller reporting panels for BDS and Mediabase charts as two major groups move to standardize many more monitored stations' music should be a major opportunity for a reliable and, hopefully, larger sample of more stations that could be looked on by the industry as THE chart.

I certainly don't question any chart editor's right to add and drop reporters, but at a time of great opportunity for the country format, it would be a shame if the convergence of a smaller number of major group programmers controlling an increasing number of reporting playlists, homogenizing the top of the national charts and a larger portion of new reporters coming from the ranks of "easy add" stations preferred by the promotion community made the charts less trustworthy.

Over the years, large groups have diminished the impact of "independents" on their playlists after signing consent decrees, yet admitting no wrongdoing. Payola/plugola laws remain in effect, of course, and due to human nature, require careful and constant vigilance.

Rumors out of Nashville make me worry that the major trades are wrestling with all of this, contemplating cutting their panel of reporters based on a very, very, very troubling criteria --- the songs they report (or do not report)?

A very disturbing possibility, which would harm the format, I believe: if you don't play unfamiliar new music by unproven new artists that is being pushed by certain companies who are financially supportive of the trades your reporting status may be in jeopardy!

My fear (and maybe that's all it is - groundless fear) is that if chart editors and their friends in the music business don't like your playlist decisions, they will drop you as a reporter.

This is hypocrisy, ethical bankruptcy, dishonesty and damned frightening!

It is not news that the trades are subject to powerful pressures, of course. BUT - dropping stations because they don't like the songs the station reports is in essence telling us, "If there is no one at the station who can be influenced, we don't care what they are playing."

Trades should reflect what is being played by successful, winning radio stations. Period. They should NOT dictate how those songs are selected.

In tomorrow's post, let's put ourselves into the shoes of Lon Helton, Wade Jesson and David Ross and ponder what we'd do if we were in their position right now.

Charting The Country Format's 2012 Musical Relevance

2012-01-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

Almost everyone in the radio and records industries decries the need for trade charts as a means of determining the difference between "hit" and "STIFF."

If you have local research, you've no doubt become accustomed to finding that there are a surprising number of tunes which "lost their bullet and stiffed" that continue to TEST very well in research.

The listeners who love these songs simply don't know about trade charts. However, since it's difficult to test things that people are unfamiliar with, at some point we need to make educated guesses as to which of the many songs that come in each week will be hits. Good charts can be helpful in deciding which songs and artists have the highest consensus probability of becoming a hit nationally.

Personally, I define a "hit" as a song that gets sufficient play on a national basis to chart at least top 15 and achieves a minimum of 65% positive and less than 20% negative research scores in auditorium testing and callout. Even releases which end up at the lower end of those metrics may not make it to my recurrent or gold categories, even after fairly substantial "current" spins.

I think of that airplay as a risky investment that went badly.

When charts accurately reflect what selective, local market-oriented stations who listen to the new music are playing, most of the time, those charts indicate songs which may test well many weeks before research scores become available .

What if a trade publication picked which stations report to their chart - NOT based on accurate reporting of real airplay - BUT on which songs a station did or did not report? Would you consider that chart helpful or harmful on your station's efforts to determine what REAL hits are going to be?

With stories circulating now that Clear Channel's identical Premium Choice and Cumulus' Atlanta-recommended 13-20 approved currents playlists are being mandated at more and more major stations, it seems sensible for trade chart editors to adjust their reporting panels.

Hopefully, any changes will still reflect what has become "syndicated/network" spins of course but also open the prospect of being a reporter and monitored by many more radio stations.

Today, nine "networks" and 236 stations for Mediabase and 132 monito red by BDS have become one of the primary sources of chart information for the nearly 3,000 country stations in North America.

Though errors and glitches do occur, monitored airplay is generally acknowledged as unimpeachable in its accurate reporting of what those country radio stations in 125 markets actually play.

As A&O sees it, if you want to know what a hit WAS last week, check Billboard's chart. Review Country Air check each week for a good determination of which of the many current hits being promoted to most of those same radio stations THIS week are ranked highest. Watch it occur in real time, day to day on BDS and Mediabase.

Looking at both can be an excellent guide to what radio is doing in the largest U.S. and Canadian markets with music.

Since, today, most new music breaks from the largest markets DOWN to the smaller ones because all label promotion and artist visits to radio only occur in those places, one might ask: do I really need any other charts?

Musi c Row hopes that you do. By only selecting as its reporters stations which agree to expose more new music than the typical monitored station in a competitive situation does they hope to create a definable difference. Problem is, of course, is that many songs and artists chart in the 30's and 40's of that chart and never go anywhere else.

This time of smaller reporting panels for BDS and Mediabase charts should be a major opportunity for a reliable and larger sample of stations that could be looked on by the industry as THE chart.

In the following post, I'll ruminate more about this and remind you of some painful lessons from the past.

In 2012 Consultants Must Do More

2012-01-19T16:19:00.000-08:00

We’re at a time where people are so busy in their day-to-day jobs that it can be a tremendous benefit to have outside consultants who are able to look at the bigger picture, take some time to just sit and think about something, and then offer you some solutions that might potentially work.

And for so many years, there has been less of a farm club for people to come up through the ranks and actually get experience on a smaller level to come to these larger markets. So many times, when someone arrives at a larger market or when you’re looking to bring someone new into the fold, they need some assistance. They need some training, some guidance. Everyone’s trying to do the job of five people, so having an outside resource to help you really is a value.

-- A&O's Becky Brenner to Radio-Info's Phyllis Stark

How It's Done

2012-01-19T05:43:00.000-08:00

5:41 am: literally every Seattle area radio and television station broadcast an alert on the EANS notification system announcing an ice storm watch is active today until noon.

Will Pandora EVER be able do that? I don't think so.

I'm so proud of the Puget Sound area broadcasters and local governmental authorities for making aggressive use of the power and immediacy of LOCAL BROADCAST MEDIA these past 48 hours to keep the community informed and safe.

If I Ruled The World

2012-01-18T13:20:00.000-08:00

I'd make every radio owner, manager and programmer sign up for Pandora and spend thirty minutes per day with it and then switch over to their stations' online stream.

One of the two will captivate you with its flow and consistency and the other will treat you to clipped songs, the same Ad Council PSA's over and over, a time delay which makes it impossible to win their contests and promotions, technical glitches and snags.

With one, the two quarter hours will will seem to speed by and you might even forget to turn it off.

With the other, you'd likely become so frustrated with the experience that you'll probably switch it off early.

Aren't we supposed to be the "TSL" experts?

Be An Operator, Not A Trader In 2012

2012-01-17T00:50:00.000-08:00

As both savvy Inside Radio scribes Paul Heine and Frank Saxe reported yes terday that the "deal market (is) still struggling to find its legs" and "... the radio industry is entering its fifth year since the task of either buying or selling a station became much more difficult following a reset in pricing and the exit of many media lenders," they also made the statement that "the buying and selling of stations is seen by many as a barometer of the radio industry’s health."

Really? Is that all there is?

Let's get back to business basics and rethink that

Entertaining, informing, interacting with and engaging listeners as a means to aggregating a large, loyal audience, creating memorable events across multiple analog and digital platforms, leading to the buying and selling time with those folks is an even better barometer of the radio industry's sustenance and health.

Advertising helps the whole economy.

Radio, done right, is still a terrific business.

Rather than trading in our hard assets and stick values, lets sell the thing we have a fresh new supply of every day: time.

That way, we'll still be around, creating jobs and building profits, in 2013.

The "Other" Questions

2012-01-16T05:52:00.000-08:00

This is the week A&O's 7th Annual "Roadmap 2012" perceptual study goes into the field. Client stations can track strategic and tactical questions to define clusters (in addition to music preference), understand how satisfied each individual audience is with their favorite station compared to national averages, tracked over the years, in addition to tech usage.

Each A&O client station will receive a customized local breakout. The first presentation of the national findings and recommendations will be at A&O Pre-CRS Seminar '12 next month.

It's never possible to have an unlimited number of questions. That's why as Mike, Becky and I finalize the study, we ask ourselves "are these the most pressing success factors affecting clients right now?," which means that there are many other "interesting" things everyone who creates content for listeners also need to know about today's listener which we decided not to ask, since any smart programmer or personality is going to hang out with real people in their audience and tailor what they talk about to as many tribes within their cume as possible.

Do you know how long your cume and core listeners have been listening to country music? Less than a year, 1 to 3 years, 3 to 6 years, more than 6? The exact percentages matter less to your success than the fact that a bit of your content must be engaging to each of those groups as consistently as possible.

How many folks under 30 live in their residence? Is it close to the national census average of two and a half? More/fewer? Why would that be? Is it unique to your station or the local community for some reason?

Besides country music, what other types of music do they enjoy listening to? What type of program do they like to watch on TV?

In the past year, how many times have they left your home state on vacation? Did they drive or fly?

If they could choose one place to go on a dream vacation, where would it be? Would they take the whole family or go alone for an escape?

When they have spare time, what type of activity do they like to do most often?

How many vehicles do they and the other members of the household own?

Is their personal vehicle domestic or foreign? Why?

How would they identify their political views?
Republican/conservative
Democrat/liberal
Independent
Other

Social networks are one great place to start to think about these "lifestyle" questions in terms of the kind of people you want to like and listen regularly to you, and I don't just mean Facebook, Twitter and the online resources where you can interact with the lives of real people.

You don't need a perceptual study to do that.

You need a "life."

PS: if you'd like to make sure your audience is part of "A&O Country Roadmap 2012," reach out now to Mike, Becky or me.

Is "Spending Hibernation" Coming To An End?

2012-01-14T04:07:00.000-08:00

If you've been reading this blog for very long, you know I always look forward to the monthly tracking studies from Phil Rist at Big Research, not only for sales and business reasons but also because they provide great insights for promotions and marketing as well.

Hot buttons for on air giveaways and content: USA pride, Superbowl and of course that annual resolution to lose weight and get in better shape. But: don't do it in colored jeans, a pleated skirt or trapper hat.

Interesting Times

2012-01-12T00:15:00.000-08:00

For example..

1. A fast-growing ownership group learned yesterday from Miller-Kaplan that they have gone - in just four years - from buying a market's lowest-billing cluster to becoming that city's top-biller in 2011, but still had to work with their lenders to enter bankruptcy because they had the bad timing to have purchased the stations the year before the financial crash of '08.

Going from worst to first in revenues was still not enough to pay the bankers, who - thankfully - cooperated in the restructuring.

2. A longtime major market programmer and air talent who went into music promotion a few years ago lost his job this week when his label owners eliminated their entire promotion staff.

I told him about an on air position with a great company that just opened, but he declined my offer of a recommendation, preferring to continue to pursue work in the record business.

At least he knows where his passion lives and when times are tough, that's the name of the game.

3. T oby Keith's "Red Solo Cup" has sold 1,023,617 digital tracks since its release (ranking #1 again in sales), as almost every single track on this week's digital downloads chart is down roughly 40% from the previous sales week.

Given the state of the economy, I guess we all could use a drink and a good laugh.

Peggy Noonan Thought She Was Talking Politics

2012-01-10T03:58:00.000-08:00

Her November 19 review of Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs in the Wall Street Journal was meant to be a cautionary tale for both political parties, but in rereading it this morning it hit me that she also very succinctly explained what worries me about radio today as well.

There is an arresting moment .. in which Jobs speaks at length about his philosophy of business. He’s at the end of his life and is summing things up. His mission, he says, was plain: to “build an enduring company where people were motivated to make great products.” Then he turned to the rise and fall of various businesses. He has a theory about “why decline happens” at great companies: “The company does a great job, innovates and becomes a monopoly or close to it in some field, and then the quality of the product becomes less important. The company starts valuing the great salesman, because they’re the ones who can move the needle on revenues.” So salesmen are put in charge, and product engineers and designers feel demoted: Their efforts are no longer at the white-hot center of the company’s daily life. They “turn off.” IBM and Xerox, Jobs said, faltered in precisely this way. The salesmen who led the companies were smart and eloquent, but “they didn’t know anything about the product.” In the end this can doom a great company, because what consumers want is good products.

Elegantly package passion into your product, design it to delight listeners.

Once that's as perfect as you can make it, it's time to get sales involved, not before.

The Trachman Files: Unexpected Parallels

2012-01-09T10:24:00.000-08:00

This is the next of an ongoing series which I hope keeps the memory of Jay Trachman alive for today's class of radio personalities.

Just ask anyone who was on air between the mid-1970's, the 80's, 90's and early 2000's. His influence kept "The Art Of Personality Radio" (the title of his many books) alive for decades.

It's more necessary now.

He often seemed to see the future, as in this February, 2005, article, a full three years before the financial collapse that we're still trying to understand and cope with.

A while ago, the Fresno Bee ran an article about "the nine common investment errors. I thought it would be fun to review them, because there are some significant parallels with our own profession_ So, here they are:

1) Unclear investment objectives. You've got to know exactly what you want to achieve, before you can work efficiently to achieve it, they say. And so do I. "Adults, 25 to 54"? Way too general! Imagine if Baskin-Robbins mixed all their flavors together! Better to have one flavor you can trademark - or even eight, if you've got eight stations in your cluster.

2) Failure to adjust to changing markets and conditions. A fast way for investors to lose today's money is with yesterday's concepts. There are still stations marketing themselves as though there were no i-Pods out there, no streaming audio and no satellite radio. Last year's marketing techniques ("Sell the sizzle, not the steak!") are about as reliable today as last year's stock market values.

3) Inconsistent security selection. What they're saying is, one's investments should be based on one's ability to take risks, and on one's financial goals. Or, they could just as well be talking about a programming department that allows DJ's to make their own music formatting rules, playing their own favorites and ignoring others, until the next jock comes on, to play his own favorites... A successful station should have a tangible identity. Not six identities.

4) Over-diversification and under-diversification. To me, it's the same thing as lack of focus. Pick your goal; define your slice of the pie. Educate yourself on what that well-defined slice wants and what it'll take to make them yours, and then go for it.

5) Profits are taken too soon and losses are allowed to run. In broadcasting, as in any business, it means depleting your investment. While I have a deep respect for the fact that radio is a business and the primary purpose of any business is to make money for its owners/investors, I am nevertheless amazed that managers who will spend all morning explaining to a client why buying advertising is an investment, not an expense... can then come back and tell the program director he can't have the money for new music software, or hire a talent above entry level, card-reading, minimum wagers. "It takes money to make money" -- do you believe it or don't you?

6) Lack of a clear understanding of tax laws. I don't want to put too fine a point on this, so let's just pass this time.

7) Ignorance of the time value of money. We all believe "time is money." But how many of us bother to make the logical link -- that the extra time spent on making our performance better will ultimately result in pocket pesos? (If not from this employer, then from your next.) There are no shortcuts to being an effective air talent. Especially for people who set the standard for everyone at the station, like a PD.

8) Unrealistic expectations. If you're a 500-watter licensed to a suburb fifty miles from a megalopolis, you can't expect to compete successfully with the major market stations on their own turf, unless you've got millions to spend. Short of that, you have to stake out your own turf, if you really want to succeed. There's no way you're going to out-music or better music them. In my experience, the only thing that you can win with is what comes between the songs, that you can either do realistically and tangibly better, or exclusively.

9) Participating in today's market with yesterday's investments. Antiquated production and control room facilities which break down often enough to be noticed by listeners?

It's fun drawing parallels from other professions and applying them to radio. They don't always fit perfectly, but they do remind us that in many ways, radio isn't so different from any other "normal" business. Except that most of the time, we have a lot more fun doing it.

Too bad we all weren't taking investment advice from Trachman in 2005.

I hope you are taking his personality advice today.

How Many "You's" Are There?

2012-01-07T06:20:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday's New York Times Magazine featured a Charles McGrath article headlined with the question: "How Many Stephen Colberts Are There?"

The Colbert on-screen persona is actually less rigid than it used to be, and Colbert can dial it up or down as he chooses. There is now more of a winking quality to the act, a sense that we’re all in on the joke. And in the last part of the show, when Colbert typically leaps up from his desk and bounds across the set to a table in front of a fireplace with the Latin motto “Videri quam esse” (“To seem to be, rather than to be”), where he interviews a guest about a new book or movie, he usually tamps the character down enough to allow the guest a few minutes to get his or her own message across.

There are many great lessons for anyone who creates content and then brings it to life in the piece.

For example: "Colbert and his staff, which numbers about 80, have the show down to something like a science. They call it the “joy machine,” with equal emphasis on the fun and the mechanics, and the engine runs practically nonstop, at very high r.p.m.’s. By 11 every morning, a rough plan for that day’s show is established and the writers — all of them brainy and most in their 30s — are sent off, usually in pairs, to come back with finished scripts in just a couple of hours. Editing and polishing goes on all day, and sometimes continues even after the taping is done, around 9 or so.

"The show’s writing process is extravagantly wasteful. Colbert likes to say, “Let’s make it perfect and then cut it.” Every day enough good jokes or ideas are jettisoned to fill another couple of half-hours. Some are deemed too weak by Colbert’s demanding standards, some are put on hold for want of time on a given night and are then forgotten, and some are merely left behind as the show is swept along with the relentless news cycle. “The trade-off with the show is that you can have an idea and see it on TV that night,” Tom Purcell, the executive producer, says. “The downside is that you have to do it all over again tomorrow. It’s a hungry beast.”

Questions to ask yourself as you prep for Monday:

1. Can listeners hear "the real you?"
2. Is there an exaggerated, bigger than life character of you and what's that character's purpose?
3. Do both of them interact and engage with the real world in entertaining ways, adding dimensionality, freshness, topicality and relevance?
4. Can listeners describe how "all aspects of you" feel about and view one another? (i.e. do they feel like an insider, always getting the point?)
5. Do you over prepare and is what ends up on the air your very best?

For WHAT? Go To WHERE?

2012-01-05T14:00:00.000-08:00

Resolve to stop using "dated" radio phrases, like "for more details, go to our website."

Why?

1. "For more" = more what?
2. "Details" = my life is full of distracting details already. Why would I want more "details?"
3. "our" = how about telling me about why I should do something, make it relevant to me, rather than just telling me what you are doing?
3b. "our" = stop using the formal "editorial we." Best, use a name, avoid the general with the specific, but if you must use a pronoun, use "YOU." Engage me. Talk one to one.
3c. Rather than pronouns, BRAND. If every radio station I listen to calls itself "us" or "we," will I remember which one is which?
4. "website" = if it was 1995, I guess the thought that a radio station has a website on the internet would be cutting edge. Today, it's 2011. If you tell me to "go to urlname.com," not only is that more powerful because it's fewer words to say the same thing, you don't sound like you speak like my grandpa.

If you've been saying it the same way for a very long time, I know you can do it in your sleep.

Don't expect me to pay attention.

Talk like I talk, not like all the other radio stations do.

My View: The Dream Is Very Much Alive

2012-01-04T05:05:00.000-08:00

In a thought-provoking Op Ed in a recent Nashville Tennessean former CRS Executive, author and music business professor at MTSU and Cumberland and Belmont universities Paul Allen frets that corporate radio could kill the country music dream for artists coming to Music City in the coming year.

To the talented aspiring country artist, this significantly reduces the odds that their music will be played on their hometown or regional station. It becomes harder to build a fan base and establish a reputation that can get the ear of a Nashville decision maker. If the artist does become signed to a label, it is more difficult for music promoters to get access to radio’s corporate decision makers on their behalf.

Breaking out of the crowd and getting radio spins has never been easy, and that's nothing new.

Wannabe artists give up and head back home with nothing but a bitter taste in their mouth and less money in the bank every year and it's always been thus in the fickle music business, but in a year that gave huge radio success to Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Zac Brown Band, Thompson Square, Brantley Gilbert, Miranda Lambert, Lady Antebellum, The Band Perry and numerous others it's hard to convince me that the sky is falling.

New country stations are signing on as 2012 dawns in cities that have only had one station in recent years (some owned by the giant consolidated companies), so competition is actually heating up and that should drive more desire at radio to own the music discovery image as well as offer more variety to listeners.

As always, when consumers are poorly served, the marketplace fixes that very quickly.

Country music stardom has a lot more to do with possessing a unique talent and sound, infectious passion and great music than who owns what and where.

Stop Using These Words

2012-01-03T04:31:00.000-08:00

"Register, qualify, drawing."

Resolve to do better than taking the lazy. easy, uncreative way to meet promotional/value-added requests by kidding yourself that anyone is going to change radio stations to "listen for a chance to qualify for a chance to win a drawing."

You can be more entertaining in everything you do in the new year.

It starts by finding new ways to do the same old things.

Tell stories. Paint word pictures. Be different.

Caller #9

2012-01-02T08:51:00.000-08:00

Resolve in 2012: no more contests where the prize goes to the "XXth" caller.

Do I really need to even give reasons besides that when you do something that everyone else has done for decades, you're being mediocre, just average, like everyone else?

Caller #9 is simple and easy ... for the people inside the control room, but almost impossible to enjoy, let alone "win" for the people you'd like to entice to listen more.

Still not convinced to give up the old habit?

Ask listeners.

With social networking, texting, mobile apps, email databases, slow connections no longer engage. (did they ever?)

Calling a radio station contest line for all but "one listener" who gets lucky means either a phone line never answered or constantly busy.

Is that any way to communicate that you care about their call, let alone making the experience entertaining and fun?

If you can't make every station giveaway rewarding for as many listeners as possible so that they drive appointment listening, let's resolve to at least make what happens on the air around it either "an experience" or at the very least more "painless" for heavy users of radio than any other radio station.

Thank You, Carrie; Hello, Candy, Kristen, Marlee, Maggie and Jana

2011-12-30T17:52:00.000-08:00

Last week's mail brought a wonderful Jewel Box Platinum award for Carrie Underwood from Arista Records, commemorating 14 million albums sold and 14 #1 singles.

Carrie, true to form, included a thank you note for radio's role in her exciting success story. You can't help but feel great for her!

In the same mailings of just the last couple days came music samplers from at least five women who would love to walk in her footsteps.

Kristen Kelly, Marlee Scott, Maggie Sajak, Jana Kramer and Candy Coburn are all Nashville newcomers who will be hoping for a slot on your playlist in the coming weeks.

They are all enthusiastic, talented, bright, beautiful young ladies and of course I wish them all well. The more hits, the better for radio!

At the same time, I hope they're ready for what an uphill battle it's going to be.

In 2011 A&O client national research averages tracked 82 songs which were tested for at least eight weeks. 25 different artists placed songs in this year’s top 1/3 (vs. 24 in 2010 and 21 in 2009). This is the most since 2005 when there were 26. So, the music lately has been very, very good as judged by our listeners.

There was a greater female presence among the currents we played this year in part because of male-female duets as well as mixed-gender acts. However the percent of female songs tested in the top 1/3 fell back from last year’s 9-year high (26.6%) to 20.7% this year which is just below the 13-year average of 23.6%.

Hopefully, 2012's new crop of women is coming with their very best songs as they compete for a small number of places on radio playlists.

Judging from last year, only one in four or five of country radio partisans' favorite songs ended up being by females, 75-80% were by males.

That's why Carrie's achievement is so impressive and why I hope the country distaff class of 2012 is prepared for the extremely daunting task ahead of them.

"Build Connections to People Not Things"

2011-12-24T12:20:00.000-08:00

As politics really heats up and 2012 dawns, I've been reminded of some tips given to A&O clients based on his experience doing political research from Larry Rosin:

Listeners are more loyal to DJs than "XX in a rows;" sell personal aspects of the station including the people who work there.
Sell beyond quantity, mix. Use Symbolism - attach yourself to positives, your opponent to negatives. Don't put listeners in the middle of the battle between you.
Use Powerful Words: verbs not adjectives drive action.
Avoid clichés like “the best music” and use action and specifics, “we’re playing more Blake.”
Press The Flesh. It's incredibly powerful; people remember where you go. In politics, the chance of someone voting for a candidate skyrockets if that person has met the candidate.
Work Grassroots Organizations. Charity work feels good to do, of course, but it's also helpful for this reason too.
As ARB and BBM struggle to reach younger demos, the type of people who can be reached by their current methodology drive the rating results, just like elections. With so few voting, get those who’ll vote for you to do so (analogous with working heavy users, motivating the core to vote for you). It's useless if your biggest fans won't participate in radio ratings surveys. Encourage them, reward them for giving their opinions.
Database management is increasingly important; don’t just complain about returns, act on them. It takes excellent organization and execution to win.
Play “Retail Politics:” service the constituents; cater to heavy users. Make sure they know that you know their name.
Research: uncover deeply held values and key issues and act on them.

Things We Simply Couldn't Do 15 Years Ago

2011-12-22T04:59:00.000-08:00

An article in Bloomberg Business Week on the Obama campaign "geeks," whose job is to write software that can make sense of the reams of voter data the campaign collects, searching for information that will enable a not-so-popular President running in a lousy economy to wring out every last vote he can provides another way radio stations today can "campaign" for new listeners, a lot like politicians do.

The idea is to take the now-standard practice of “microtargeting”—where a campaign repeatedly pesters supporters with phone calls, volunteer visits, and fundraising e-mails—one step further by tailoring their message to the concerns of individual voters. A woman who tells an Obama volunteer she’s standing with the President may receive an appeal for a donation a few days later. But the software will warn fundraisers to avoid hitting up that woman’s unemployed next-door neighbor for even the smallest amount of money, which could sour him on Obama for good. Instead, they’ll try to convince him that Obama is on his side. The campaign has come up with a friendly term for this kind of data manipulation: “microlistening.”

Larry Rosin’s 1996 suggestion to A&O clients that radio needs to be more aggressive in its attack marketing shocked some in the room back then.

Here’s the key point that some seemed to miss: do the majority of your negative advertising and attacks OFF THE AIR - on media appropriate to the message, television with humor (when appropriate) or direct mail/telemarketing with specifically-targeted verbiage designed to secretly reposition your opponent on the key strategic issues that are important to ‘swing voters’ in carefully-selected areas.

It is best to take the high road on your own air! Why build negatives among people who already consume your station, when your current listeners probably don’t need to be sold in the same direct, comparative way that “their” listeners do?

Bill Clinton managed to survive in the 90's by understanding this.

Keep yourself above the attack on the air.

Carefully focus any negative message directly at the listener - where they live, work and listen - who will find it credible and understandable.

Listeners of the other station who may be dissatisfied with what they hear do not yet know you present a viable alternative.

You would be wasting energy to sling mud on your own station and could even irritate your already-loyal listener.

Learning From The Politicians

2011-12-21T14:14:00.000-08:00

Arbitron, Pandora, Edison Research and Ando Media are all playing "the game" well, right now.

What can you learn from it all?

1. Negative Advertising

Show a meaningful comparison or reinforce existing negative opinions of your opponent (“proving someone’s dislike”)
Use no unwarranted personal attacks
Use humor to soften the blow
Use candidates’ own words to associate them with negatives (you must aggressively monitor your competitors to do this)
Use a “High/low” approach - talk about your positives while you attack a competitor’s position

2. Position Your Opponent Before He Positions You

Don’t ignore a new competitor; they’re going to be noticed as soon as they start to market; act first
One of the most powerful attacks for a new competitor is to hang the old/out of touch handle on you
Respond rapidly. Unanswered advertising works (see don’t ignore new competitor)
Whoever quits marketing first will suffer (Ross Perot was considerably stronger where he continued market after others quit)

3. Steal Their Issues

Steal anything they do that is good
Muddy the waters
Shade the product towards the attacker to dilute their uniqueness

4, Conduct Opposition Research

Dig up facts on competition; not only is it fodder for attacks, it helps foster an understanding of where they are likely to go
Monitor everything they do

-- Larry Rosen, Edison Media Research, Applying Political Strategies to Radio (from a 1996 presentation to A&O's Pre-CRS client seminar)

Applying Political Strategies to Radio

2011-12-20T11:55:00.000-08:00

Members in The U.S. House Of Representatives just sent a message to all of us this morning, in case anybody forgot that 2012 is an election year.

Which reminded me of a presentation Edison Research's Larry Rosin did for A&O clients at our Pre-CRS seminar in 1996. Back then, Larry was just starting to do research in the political realm and he shared this advice based on what he was learning:

"Meet regularly to discuss strategies and tactics; politicians meet every morning. Think of yourself as a campaign manager; there are two battlefields: your station vs. other stations and your station vs. listeners’ votes. Be good at being both an attacker and an incumbent. Radio is usually better at attacking. We wait too long to respond to attacks by clinging to a “we’ll wait till we see what the book says” attitude."

Today, Edison conducts exit polling for all the major networks and Larry appears on media often, acknowledged as an expert on opinion research which drives election result.

My notes from his client presentation 15 years ago, like that quote above, hold up very well with time and I'll share highlights of them over the next few days.

The Future Depends On Quality Research

2011-12-19T03:30:00.000-08:00

I have no idea what the term "radio" means anymore in the emerging multi-platform world, but this seems obvious as everything starts to merge on the digital vehicle dashboard.

1. Having a major program supplier and analog radio owner/vendor to terrestial radio own what they say is "internet radio's standard for measurement..."

2. Supporting radio's highly-profitable audience measurement umpire as they try to stitch together all of their existing diary and PPM methodologies with proposed new ideas to erect a credible source of multi-platform audio usage data...

.. both possibilities compete in my head. Which would be the greatest potential conflict of interest and/or source of new business and solid pricing criteria?

One very savvy analyst whom I respect predicts "confusion in 2012."

Another seems to be beguiled by on-screen graphics rather than what comes out of the speakers, making my head hurt.

Who knows where it's all going long term, but, medium term, when two radio-friendly companies - both of which know and count financially on the viability of our business as it is today - I hope we don't have to choose between suitors.

It would be wonderful to see new competition in radio's audience measurement offerings.

Quality, reliable, local data which buyers can trust is the whole ballgame.

Insist on nothing less.

If anything being proposed devalues the current "radio/audio" revenue model, reject it.

We all acknowledge that we're an undervalued medium now.

It would be a mistake to help any supplier broaden their revenue base to emerging media at our expense.

History

2011-12-17T09:50:00.000-08:00

Clear Channel CEO Bob Pittman seems to be at every broadcast meeting and in every trade publication putting a positive spin on the wrenching changes affecting local radio service as the era of consolidation which started 15 years ago with high price mergers and acquisitions has culminated in massive junk bond debt.

Pittman showed a chart with competing media revenue adjusted for usage, in an ideal world. Newspapers would get much less of the advertising pie, TV stations would get somewhat less, and radio's take would mushroom from about $15 billion to $38.1 billion. Pittman says it's crucial for radio to "make new revenue to the radio sector our priority." And he has this advice, as a former radio programmer and executive now returned to the business: "Don't badmouth your own industry."

I admire Bob for taking on the immense task before him and hope he's successful, for the same reason I hope that Europe is able to find a way through the Ireland, Greece, Portugal, Italy (etc, etc) financial mess.

If they can't fix the real problem, we're all going to see it at our local bank branch and in our retirement accounts.

So, the hyperbole spinning reductions in force not being about cutbacks, but about reinventing radio's local relevancy reminds me of 1998 when Randy Michaels was trying to motivate the Clear Channel of that time and, just like Pittman is today, the rest of the industry as well.

I'm not sure the downsized folks bought it then and today people like me who lived through that history now hope that Pittman, as with Cumulus' executives see things as they really are, not like they wish they would be.

They are managing toxic assets.

The problem is excessive debt and there's not enough revenue in new media to solve it in the time frame available.

While it's very nice to hear Pittman's optimistic speeches about radio's value (and I agree with him that we need to be positive about the efficiency and effectiveness of radio) the cuts that he's been forced by reality to implement throughout his company are rippling through our entire industry and are equally essential.

Saving an upside-down business in a low-growth economy requires brutal honesty and hard choices.

It's about survival.

Leadership means telling harsh truths, whether in business or politics.

I hope we're all ready for it.

Looking Out At (And For) Chicago

2011-12-15T07:58:00.000-08:00

Over the years, millions of folks have walked by and looked into the window of the WGN-AM studio on the first floor of Chicago's Tribune Tower on Michigan Avenue.

Far fewer get the chance to see it from inside looking out.

Thanks to a recent visit to the legendary radio station by WMZQ/Washington morning show producer Sam Alex we now know what's on the wall Jonathon Brandmeier looks at every day:

720 WGN:

Bleeds Chicago
Tells compelling stories
Is relevant
Has the biggest guests
Helps people
Respects all listeners/callers
Is a place for fun & laughter
Is serious when it needs to be
Is a familiar friend

They Are Both Right And We Must Do It All

2011-12-13T13:57:00.000-08:00

Bob Pittman's view of today's media audience: "TV is their hobby. The Internet is their research tool. Radio is their companion."

Walter Sabo's advice: "Stop calling them shifts. Call it your show. Constantly hit refresh. Entertain."

For years, I advised talent not to think of their "performance" as "a show," but instead to talk to one person, being real, human, vulnerable, engaging, interactive.

It's time to rethink that a bit.

Be friend and companion, of course. Talking to one person, I believe, is the most effective way to do so.
Keep it fresh and current too.
Tell me something I don't know.
Entertain as you do it.

It's not easy to be in personal intimacy mode while putting on an entertaining show simultaneously, but being the very best never is.

The listener has too many other choices than to do anything but all of it each time you open your mouth and mic.

This Book Will Haunt You

2011-12-08T02:46:00.000-08:00

Business Holiday Gift Recommendation #2: Brooke said many powerful things at ACCJMS11 in Baltimore yesterday in her interview with Fred Jacobs, but her obsession to edit, edit, edit to make certain "if you cough during our show, you'll miss something" not only is good advice for all of us who work in communication but she also exemplifies her talents for it in very unique ways here.

If you didn't get her book when it came out last May, it's worth putting on your Holiday wish list.

Wouldn't you know that a media gadfly would create a book employing as many media as possible to deliver her message?

Free Must-Have Research Tools

2011-12-07T15:50:00.000-08:00

Just three quick highlights from Arbitron's Client Conference and Jacobs Media Summit...

U.S. Census Bureau's Dr. Robert Groves: The U.S. Census Bureau has several free online tools to help you get a handle on the local job market.

“You see where workers live, where they work, lives and how they commute. The possibilities and uses are endless for radio and any other planners.”

Industry Focus allows users to identify the leading industries for an area, focus on a particular industry to see how it ranks among top industries, and view graphs and charts of worker characteristics within industries. Users can analyze industries by state, county, workforce investment or metro area based on eight workforce indicators.

On the Map is a Web-based mapping tool showing where people live in relation to where they work with reports on age, earnings, industry distribution and local workforce indicators.

The Local Employment Dynamics data tools can be found at http://lehd.did.census.gov/led/.

Speaking of maps: Google maps has real time traffic info, and it's likely your listeners access it now from their vehicle if they have a smart phone. If you do traffic on the radio, you need to be looking at this info if it's available in your city or listeners will know more than you do.

Some undeniable great info for sales and programming: Radio Delivers 93 Percent of its Lead-In Audience During the Average Commercial Break - Arbitron, Media Monitors and Coleman Insights expand on landmark 2006 study

The 2011 study of minute-by-minute audience levels across 48 top radio markets again demonstrates that radio maintains its audience delivery during commercial breaks, contrary to the common misperception among advertisers, agencies and even radio executives that audiences during commercial breaks are a fraction of the numbers that were listening to the station just before the commercials began.

For the 2011 study, Arbitron, Media Monitors and Coleman Insights analyzed 18 million commercial breaks, 62 million minutes of commercials and 866 stations for a year of audience data from all 48 PPM markets to compare the audience level for each minute of a commercial break to the audience for the minute before the commercials began.

Business Holiday Gift Recommendation #1

2011-12-06T09:41:00.000-08:00

With the news that Clear Channel and Cumulus are cooperating on rumored divestitures and also "I Heart Radio," it's easy to jump to the conclusion that media competition in the radio space is endangered.

However, Tim Wu's sweeping history shows each of the new media of the twentieth century—radio, telephone, television, and film—was born free and open. Each invited unrestricted use and enterprising experiment until some would-be mogul battled his way to total domination.

As the Amazon review notes, "Wu identifies a time-honored pattern in the maneuvers of today’s great information powers: Apple, Google, and an eerily resurgent AT&T. A battle royal looms for the Internet’s future, and with almost every aspect of our lives now dependent on that network, this is one war we dare not tune out."

If Ed Christian Likes It, So Do I

2011-12-05T13:33:00.000-08:00

The ASCAP press release today that the Radio Music License Committee is announcing a settlement in principle comes which gives us all economic certainty through 2016 comes as great news, especially given the quote from Chairman Ed Christian:

“This is a gratifying result for the radio industry, which reflects the current realities of our industry and puts the industry back on sound footing insofar as its licensing relationships with ASCAP are concerned. We appreciate the good will which ASCAP has demonstrated in working with our industry to get this resolution.”

I would not have wanted anyone but Ed at the bargaining table representing radio's interests.

If he's happy, when we see the entire agreement, I'm betting that we'll be very happy too.

Something Extra

2011-12-02T17:57:00.000-08:00

The upscale Klimpton Hotel chain Hotel Monaco prides itself on every location in the company having a unique story and our downtown Seattle one is so pet-friendly that they place a goldfish in every room.

Guests are informed that it's their job during their stay to feed the fish.

So, when I check into any hotel, I'm always hoping for a little extra "something."

Mostly, I'm disappointed, feeling lucky to maybe have some shampoo, hair conditioner and lotion.

In Vancouver, this week I routinely checked in and was welcomed to The Park Inn by a little rubber ducky on the tub.

It caught me by surprise and made me laugh out loud, which is highly unusual for longtime road warrior me, who checks into at least two or three hotels a week and by and large finds the experience pleasantly-routine.

Radisson's chain has started to become so famous for the tactic that they're even getting mentions on the internet.

As you write station imaging, create your bits, add content to your website, social media posts and package it all for broadcast, please don't waste my time.

But, don't forget to throw in a rubber ducky or a goldfish too.

That IS What I Said, But It Wasn't What I Meant

2011-11-30T00:29:00.001-08:00

With programmers looking for benchmarks or norms to compare their station to, Arbitron, Media Monitors and Inside Radio are working on a study that looks at the musical characteristics of top performing stations under PPM measurement which will be revealed next week at Arbitron's annual Fly-In in a presentation by Arbitron's Jenny Tsao and Heine.

It examines key music metrics, like library size, current playlist and turnover rate, at top performing stations and compares them to the average in that format.

Since one of the formats they’re looking at is country, Inside Radio's Paul Heine conferenced with Mike O'Malley and me the other day and then printed a few bullet points from that lengthy conversation.

In reading it, I felt a bit like Herman Cain or Newt Gingrich, wishing one of us had done a better job explaining what I meant to communicate in a clearer, more quickly-quotable manner.

The data shows top performers share remarkably similar musical characteristics with average stations in the same format. The study both reinforces the importance of playing the hits to build a ratings foundation while demonstrating how non-music programming components separate ratings winners from also-rans.

As Heine previewed yesterday in Inside Radio, the percentage of airplay devoted to the most played songs in individual formats is largely the same – whether a station is ranked first in its target demo or not. For example, nearly one in three spins (30%) on CHR stations are from the format’s ten most played songs and nearly seven in ten are from songs in the top 50 — regardless of the station’s 18-34 rank.

While slower current music rotations mean country devotes a lower percentage of spins to songs in the top 10, the percentages hardly vary whether the station is No. 1 in 25-54 (18% of spins) ranked No. 2 - No. 5 (17%) or ranked No. 6 - No. 10 (16%).

The findings of the study were largely consistent across six major contemporary music formats.

Arbitron and Mediabase — in conjunction with Inside Radio — tracked stations in PPM markets from April-June for the study: "Country — radio’s most programmed format — exhibits few variances in selecting top songs. No matter whether ranked first or tenth in 25-54, country stations appear to be spinning and rotating the same current songs at the same levels across PPM markets."

In viewing the stats, Mike O'Malley told Heine there are only minor differences in the way number one stations spin the top 20 (or even the top 50) vs. #6-10. What is outside the Top 50 creates the majority of what country plays regardless of rank. 6-10 play slightly more songs outside the top 50 than #1s (2%) or #2-5 (1%), but really that difference is insignificant. Because there’s little different in the way ‘currents’ are spun, ranks are a function of something else.

My perspective on what that might be: no matter whether a specific market is highly Hispanic, black or primarily non-ethnic, the leading country stations still do best when they overachieve among non-ethnic listeners with an almost even balance of 25-34, 35-44 and 45-54 listeners. Thus, "common thread/low polarity" songs which work to help hit that goal tend to be the same ones regardless of whether the city is Miami, San Diego, Philadelphia, Houston or Boston.

Secondly, music promotion to country is driven by the reality that many country music fans continue to purchase music on physical CDs as opposed to digital downloads and so record labels strive to keep stations in synch on the number of consensus current hit songs that retailers like Wal-Mart and Target have on their shelves at any given time, which keeps the number of currents we're all exposing to fewer than 20-25.

O'Malley made the point that, given that, smart country stations tend to differentiate themselves musically by the gold library material a station either plays or doesn't, rather than currents or recurrents.

Heine's report included the factoid that top-ranked 25-54 country stations are playing, on average, 200 more titles than lower ranked country stations: 681 active titles for top-ranked stations, 484 for stations ranked No. 2 - No. 5 and 480 for stations ranked No.6 - No.10.

Then, he added his own observation that bigger libraries and slower current rotations are one of the hallmarks of a format long on Time Spent Exposed and light on cume followed by a quote from me, “If a country station increases its rotations too high, TSE generally declines. That’s the steel sword country has: a very loyal, passionate core that listens for a long time...” which had me seeming to say that big libraries are what makes winning stations in ARB PPM when, actually, just the opposite is true.

The repetition I was talking about was spinning currents too often which can harm heavy user time spent listening, based on audience turnover that is about half for country what the contemporary hit formats have.

They need to play currents twice as fast as country radio does to be sure that their average listener hears them about the same amount.

Country has a weapon in its arsenal that CHR generally doesn't have access to, given our wider target age: high appeal gold songs as well as currents and recurrents.

However, I sure don't want anyone to get the impression that when it comes to country bigger gold categories beat tighter ones in PPM. They do not.

The main reason a country station ranks higher in a Minneapolis or Cincinnati than in a Miami or Los Angeles has everything to do with the size of the non-ethnic 25-34, 35-44 and 45-54 population in those places and how accurately the PPM panel reflects those demographics in the correct male/female balance, NOT the number of songs in their library.

Things Are Looking UP For Retailers

2011-11-29T03:41:00.000-08:00

Big Research: Those of us on the “nice” list may be getting an extra special surprise under the tree this year, as purchase intentions for several big ticket items – including autos, computers, mobile devices, and TVs – are on the rise this year compared to last.

What’s NOT hot? "While more popular among young women, virtual pinboard Pinterest doesn’t seem to be generating much interest among the public at large."

Awards Are Nice, But Great Results Are Nicer

2011-11-28T04:19:00.000-08:00

Canada's Astral Radio learned last week that two campaigns broadcast on its stations have been awarded at the Media Innovation Awards gala in Toronto.

McDonald's Restaurants claimed the Gold in the Best in Radio category for its "McTraffic" campaign, while Michelin won the Silver in the same category for its "Le bon pneu peut tout changer" campaign.

It's great to win these prizes, of course, but it's even more gratifying to begin to understand how to measure proof of success of the campaign and its related contest.

Astral stations recorded more than 10,868 clicks on the different web formats of their campaign and, even more impressively, received a record number of contest entries in a very short 11-hour period: 11,450 entries across the two networks.

Let's all commit to sharing our success stories with one another, not just for bragging rights but to make everything that goes between the songs as entertaining and effective as possible.

Don't Let This Man Write Your Imaging

2011-11-25T09:30:00.000-08:00

This isn’t about politics. It’s about messaging.

Like USA Weekend, which features the Obama family on its cover along with their Holiday letter, when I saw that country music was the fare the other evening at The White House, I was hoping that there might be audio of something clever and Presidential (click to download the mp3) about the values and vitality of country music that could be used in our stationality elements this weekend or even better something funny, since unlike the Bushes, Clinton, Ford, Reagan or Carter, Obama’s Hawaii and Indonesia years meant that he wasn’t steeped in country music in his childhood.

At first, I was thinking I’d make a joke of the fact that he thinks James Taylor is a country artist, but Taylor Swift officially nixed that thought last week at Madison Square Garden.

I replayed his entire five minute welcome to the audience (click to see the video mp4), looking for an edit point that was self-contained with a setup, a quick story or statement and a payoff.

No luck.

He starts very well numerous times. “The music that’s storytelling gives voice…,” name drops Charlie Pride with a nice quote on country’s inclusiveness and diversity, talks about how much it means to so many, points to The Band Perry, Dierks Bentley, Alison Krauss, Lyle Lovett, Darius Rucker but really didn’t say anything easily quotable, fully-formed and brief that might have worked over an intro to one of their songs. He wraps up evoking a “grand tradition,” which got my hopes up, but then ended up disappointing for my needs.

If you find a succinct statement as quotable as the ones written for former Presidents in situations like this, please point it out to me. I don’t think that in 5:07 of rambling, albeit very sincere ad libbing he gave us anything that would work out of the context it was said in.

It’s tempting to say that Obama needs a Frank Luntz or this inability to imbed at least one or two very quotable and brief, fully-formed, memorable phrases in five minutes of verbiage says something about why he’s having difficulty selling his agenda to his opposition, but I’m not going there.

I will say this: when it’s time to create your marketing messages, don’t be like Barack.

It Doesn't Matter Where You Sit In Front Of A Mic

2011-11-22T02:46:00.000-08:00

It matters what you do.

Thanks to Radio Ink for digging deeper and finding some supporting opinions on my October post reminding talent that content is the new targeting and relatable is the new local.

Burns & Associates CEO Alan Burns tells Radio Ink people don't really care if Rush Limbaugh is local.

"In most cases and places, being entertaining is more important than where you originate from. Listeners will say local is preferable, but they’ll listen to what’s most entertaining or most useful to them. But local does matter. You can win with local if you do it well and thoroughly and are in roughly the same ballpark as the other guys on entertainment or information. Clear Channel’s move to more nationalized content will cause some broadcasters to try to do a better job of local service, and that’s good for the industry."

For local to matter, Burns says, you have to do more than just pay lip-service to it. "Just saying the names of three suburbs after the weather won't work. I’ve seen some of CCU’s Premium Choice stations do very well against nominally “local” programming. You have to know the market and care about it, serve it and reflect it on the air, and be everywhere in it. That’s where the national companies and content will have a hard time competing. Clear Channel, and anyone else who wants to emulate what they’re doing, has to be thinking about several questions regarding staffing levels: How many markets can one talent empathize with? Do you have enough people at the local outlet to actually be in touch with the market? Do you have enough people left to generate sufficient local presence?"

Going Over The Top For The Community

2011-11-20T21:01:00.000-08:00

As usual, when it's time to do a little bit more for Boy Scouts and thousands of other worthy causes, radio - as represented by Cat Country 98.7/Pensacola's morning guy Brent Lane, is the first one to volunteer (click to watch the WEAR-TV video of the event).

Of course, Gannett's News-Journal was there to cover it too.

Lane termed Friday's stunt: "a top 3 adrenaline rush of a life time."

It's such a source of pride in seeing radio's people and all media working together both up in the air and on the ground to help make a big difference in shared positive values.

Please let me know what YOU are doing in your home town too!

Pandora Satisfaction Slips

2011-11-19T01:46:00.000-08:00

StateNets is a regional rep firm for the numerous state radio networks, so unless you're one of them it's unlikely that you are a regular on Chicago-based Tom Dobrez's website. That is why I'm going to take the liberty of republishing his most recent sales graphic, which you may want to include in your media kit.

Dobrez, after listening to Clear Channel CEO Bob Pittman, who used the graphic as he placed radio in the new media world: "When you first got your iPod you were thrilled. You immediately downloaded music and made a few playlists. One for your bedroom listening, another for outside on the beach etc. But then you kind of tired of them and like most you shied away from them. Every once and awhile you might actually take the time to edit but rarely. Or perhaps you are a Pandora listener and you simply entered Peter Gabriel and you received a lot of tunes that sounded like Peter Gabriel. Some you actually thought were cool. However, your engagement lasted only a few days maybe weeks. Then your attention waned.

"In the world of Radio, the playlists are curated by professionals driven by extensive research. They can determine when a song is too old and magically you stop hearing it and it is replaced by something similar and fresher. Radio playlists change dynamically. That’s why you find yourself pulling your iPod cord out of the car tuner and going back to good old fashion radio every now and then. Well that and the human element which I’ll talk about on another day."

.. which means you and I had better bookmark his blog, eh?

What to Look for When Hiring Talent

2011-11-16T02:05:00.000-08:00

Due to the recent "RIF" cutbacks at Clear Channel, Cumulus and other major groups, the number of pro's on the loose right now simply boggles the mind. Here at A&O, we're getting emails from many of them every single day. It's overwhelming and sad to know that there's a bigger crowd of people needing jobs right now which far outnumbers the ones available and projected in the coming year.

At the same time, when an opening occurs it also makes it very hard to separate the wheat from chaff. As a prospective employer, you tend to have in the back of your mind that there has to be a reason why "this" person was cut and someone else was kept.

It's tempting to only recruit people who currently have jobs, so as to avoid the issue of digging deeply into backgrounds to understand why the previous employer decided that this person was expendable. Yet, you'd be missing a lot of people who are ready to start right now and will understand how valuable a good job is, hopefully bringing extra passion to your workplace.

The most important thing to do is start by being clear about what talents, attitude, personal style, work ethic and strengths you want. A strong line-up of talent is something every station needs, but what do you look for when hiring a new jock?

The decision will always be based on a number of factors:

Which time slot are you looking to fill?
Will you hire someone from a competitor/different market?
Will they already have on-air experience or not?

While the final decision is always going to be a subjective, there are a few things worth considering.

Confidence
You want a personality who will be able to connect with your audience confidently. So keep an eye out for a confident communicator who doesn’t come across as condescending or ‘cocky’.

The Ability To Focus
It’s a trait that every host/announcer will need to display if they are to perform to the very best ability on-air.

An Engaging Conversational Style
A great voice isn’t enough these days, you need someone who can engage your audience and keep them listening. Perhaps set them a quick test by asking them to tell you a story about a ballpoint pen, and to make it sound interesting.

Intensity
Do they make you feel like they really understand your radio station and convince you that no one wants to work for you more than they do? That they have the organizational skills and work ethic to exceed your expectations.

The X Factor
No, this has nothing to do with Simon Cowell. :) But you need someone who has that extra spark, a dynamic persona, the X Factor!

If the person you have in mind has all of those abilities, chances are they’ll make a great broadcaster.

Snap them up!

Thanks to Paul Hollins at Great Britain's production and syndication company bluerevolution.com, who provided the inspiration and many of the tips for this article.

Finding Out How Many Words Rhyme With "Receptacles"

2011-11-15T02:46:00.000-08:00

Strange times we live in, making decisions of taste almost impossible, if you're trying to please everyone.

Toby Keith provided radio a month ago with an (1) unedited, (2) edited, (3) bleeped and (4) "vegetables" version, which wasn't enough for CMT, which created a fifth (fade) version (5).

Five versions may be an all time record for the country format!

In the wake of Whitney Duncan's ‘Survivor: South Pacific’ antics, Luke Bryan's covering the CMA Awards for "Ellen" more thoroughly than he covers his "Country Girl, Shake It For Me" dancers and Zac Brown long ago proving that you can say the word "ass" on national TV, isn't this ado over "testicles" a bit overblown?

Mike OMalley and I are usually for playing unedited versions, but M O'M points out that 'vegetables' is actually funnier.

In short, we've been telling clients to opt for either the edit (ass) or clean (no ass). In any event, no beep.

The radio axiom "what you don't play will never hurt you," certainly still holds, though dead air is definitely not an audience-builder when compared to 3,155,434 views on You Tube!

Smiling While Scratching My Head

2011-11-13T23:41:00.000-08:00

If you, like me, are glued to the stats and musings of Richard Harker & Glenda Shrader Bos on Harker Research's "Radio Insights" blog, you are already up to speed on their recent format comparisons, which they feel is a more accurate use of the numbers than Arbitron's own "Radio Today" analysis.

Devoting the entire front page to Country’s performance,“the most trusted news in radio” declared. The format ranked first among all formats in diary markets with a 14.5 but finished fourth in PPM markets with a 7.1. Put another way, Country’s average diary share is more than double its PPM share. The statement is factually accurate, the ciphering flawless, but in the end meaningless. A few lines later we learn the purpose of this expose' when the author asks rhetorically, “Why do some formats perform better under one ratings system than under another?” It's perhaps a fair question, but using Radio Today Country numbers suggests that the author really doesn't understand how to go about answering the question. Radio Today shares are calculated just like you’d do for a single market. Share is just a format’s AQH divided by the market’s AQH. To calculate a national format share, add the AQH of all the stations, then divide by the total AQH of all the markets. Simple, right? But what happens when there’s no full market Country station in New York or Los Angeles? The two largest markets in the country don’t contribute any AQH to the format tally. Consequently, the format's share is much lower. Radio Today is not designed to compare formats the way the author has tried to do.

Both approaches make country look very good, fortunately.

For example, the Harker researchers found: "There are 90 Country stations in PPM markets, but only 60 have a full 12 months of PPM numbers, so like the other formats, it will take several more months before we know how the entire stable of Country stations are doing.

"That said, PPM appears to have been very kind to Country. Nearly two-thirds (63.3%) are higher today than they were a year ago. Country has the highest percentage of gainers of any format we’ve looked at. The median Country station has a 4.1 share 6+, a tie with Hot AC for third among the formats we’ve discussed so far. The big difference between Country and Hot AC is that Country has positive momentum while Hot AC is stalled, so in this tie we give the nod to Country."

As I reported in this space when "Radio Today" released, Arbitron's research team pointed out:

The No. 1 format overall, in both Diary and non-Metro areas, Country reached more than 65 million listeners each week on more than 1,700 stations—the most outlets of any music format, not including 300 Classic Country stations. It also was the top format among most age groups (including a big lead with adults 25-54) and in most dayparts. Country enjoyed some of the longest time spent listening of all formats, and its listeners set a new high in college degree attainment in Fall 2010.

Harker distrusts ARB's approach on statistical grounds and so to assess the health of each format they looked at two key metrics, median station performance and momentum. The median station is the one in the middle. Half of the stations in the format have a larger share, half have a smaller share. As they see it, the median tells us how the format is trending. "If we see the median rising, it means mid-pack stations, the majority in the format, are gaining share. Tracking the median station is more useful than calculating an average share because averages can be distorted by what are called outliers, stations that dramatically outperform other stations in the format."

New PPM markets coming on-line make it difficult to compare current median shares to last year’s numbers because the newest markets tend to be smaller than the first PPM markets. So, to look at median share trends, Harker calculated median shares for just the stations that have been in the format and measured by PPM for at least a year.

While the median shares tell how popular a format is, Harker posits that a more useful metric for indicating the future prospects of a format is momentum, comparing past performance to the present.

Harker calculates momentum by comparing each station’s share today to what it was last year at this time, using a three month average. Positive format momentum means that more stations are higher today than they were a year ago.

Why is it that there's such a big gap when ranking format mo' and yet so much compression in the 6+ median share ranker, where just a tenth of a point separates #1 and #2, back just .4-.5 are the next four and then just a share behind #1 is #7, leading #8 by just .2?

Richard and Glenda have a theory on that as well, in a 2010 post called Arbitron PPM Trends vs. a Coin Toss, most of the month to month movement of PPM is random.

Stations go up and down for no other reason than luck of the draw. Share estimates always have two components. The first is the actual number, the share you would find if you could ask everybody what they were listening to, instead of just a small number of panelists. The second component is statistical noise. It is interference like static drowning out the signal from a distant AM station. The noise is completely random and unpredictable. Sometimes it adds to the actual share, inflating it. Sometimes it subtracts from the actual share, deflating it. Both monthly PPM share estimates and quarterly diary share estimates have so much statistical noise in them that it drowns out genuine changes in month to month ratings.

I'd interpret that powerful momentum to country's high level of engagement, in spite of lower levels of cume in PPM compared to the formats above us in median 6+ share. And, putting it another way, as Arbitron reinforced in their diary/PPM data for the past year: " Country enjoyed some of the longest time spent listening of all formats." Harker would likely predict that the country format could be a rank or two higher in next year's median averages with that solid improvement (as long as we can keep it up).

There will be a lot to discuss when we're all together next month in Baltimore, which is why both Mike O'Malley and I will be there.

Meanwhile, it's nice to know that no matter how you count it, in PPM, diaries, by momentum over last year, average OR median shares, the country radio format is having one very good 2011.

From Fruitbowl To One To One

2011-11-10T05:46:00.000-08:00

Just search this blog for the name Jay Trachman and you'll discover what a huge influence on me (and many, many others!) Trachman was. It has now been two years since his peaceful death at home in the wee hours of the morning and I feel the need to keep his philsophies alive.

He started "Fruitbowl" (a mix of many different, but sweet treats) in 1974, later changing its name to “One To One” (which became his lifetime mantra) but it remained a constant weekly bit service which he provided for over 30 years from the mid 1970’s until he retired.

Here’s some vintage Trachman:

1. You've got to be speaking to someone specific.

Not a demographic, not an average - someone who is very real to you (even if it's a fantasy), and with whom you feel comfortable. Two reasons: first, the safety this Personal Listener affords you - to block out the masses and picture yourself with this one valued friend - allows you to display a spectrum of emotions you'd never reveal to a crowd of strangers. (More about this in a moment.) Second, when you truly believe you're talking to one person, everyone listening who seeks companionship from his/her radio will fantasize that this person is them.

The Personal Listener has a name, a family, a history, an occupation, a hair color and all the other attributes required so you can picture him or her in your mind when you open the mike. And their primary reason for being there is not the music or the information you offer; it's to spend time with you, because he or she enjoys your company. Not what you do - who you are.

2. You've got to be focusing on the person you're speaking to, rather than the words you're saying.

Otherwise one hears strange inflection patterns and often a hyped energy level that sounds phony. A programmer tells the young jock, "Be up and bright!" It's nice when you are, but it's not appropriate coming out of a soft ballad. When you say the station identifier - no one could possibly be that enthusiastic about something they say every five minutes for four hours. You can announce those words and say them authoritatively - but when you feign enthusiasm, you destroy any chance that the listener will relate to you as a person.

3. In order to be perceived as a friend, you must behave like one.

That means doing the things all human beings do. Among them: showing the spectrum of your emotions. Sometimes people are happy; sometimes they're sad. Sometimes they're angry and sometimes they're tender. You don't have any friends who don't show all these emotions - and more - to you, over a period of time. It's something people expect from one another. You can't achieve emotional intimacy - friendship - with your listener without doing it.

4. You have to prepare material for your show.

Most important, you need to be armed with Life Content when you walk in the studio. Life Content: brief bits about your life experiences and your responses to them. Anything which caused you strong feelings is worth talking about with your listener. Most jocks don't do show prep - especially after the morning show. I've heard every excuse in the book. But the bottom line is, they almost uniformly fail to entertain.

Most of the jocks I hear who don't prep rely on station slogans, positioners, promos and whatever other liner-card junk they can come up with. One of the hallmarks of the DJ who has nothing to say is that those crutch phrases get repeated way more than the programmer or consultant requires. These DJs train the listener to tune them out anytime they open the mike. Ultimately, a survey-taker comes along and asks people what they like least about the station, and they'll reply, "The DJs talk too much!" They don't talk too much - they don't say anything worth hearing!

Entertainment means: enabling another to experience his or her feelings in a safe environment. Make a person laugh, make them cry, make them shake their fists in anger - you have committed entertainment. Every bit you do should lead to an expression of emotion, calculated to make your listener feel something in response. This is exactly what the music you play does. You need to do it, too.

Being a radio performer isn't rocket science... But it does require some understanding and a good deal of work - both before air time and during. Or... you could settle for being an interchangeable jock who wonders why you can never make much more than minimum wage.

Trachman, each week for those three decades, wrote three different types of lines.

Topical (from the news)

I dreamed I won $340 million in the lottery, and they were offering me the choice of taking it in one lump sum, or twenty fill-ups...

We just captured al-Qaeda's "number two" man in Iraq? Great - but I can't help remembering, back when Saddam Hussein was in charge, al-Qaeda didn't *have* a "number two" man in Iraq...

Halloween is coming up on October 31st; know how to spot the kid in the "FEMA" costume? He doesn't show up at your door until November fourth!

I guess I shouldn't have ignored that item in the classified: "Wanted: Supreme Court Justice... No experience necessary..."

Sorry to hear about the recent passing of Don Adams... In his honor, we'll spend just a moment inside the "cone of silence..."

Just a thought: that "number two" guy in al-Qaeda must be getting tired of getting killed and arrested all the time...

You think *you've* got problems? New Orleans police say the flooding completely destroyed two police evidence rooms... Which means there could be up to 3000 suspects they have no choice but to beat confessions out of...

We were sitting in the coffee house complaining about the ridiculously inflated price of gasoline... Over a frozen mocha latte at $6, and a chai tea frappe at $5...

At the very moment the Kansas State Board of Education was debating how to sneak "intelligent design" into the schools, the U. of Kansas opened up a major public display explaining how evolution works; the department head says they didn't plan it that way - it's just pure coincidence... So supporters on *both* sides want you to believe in fairy tales...

Do you get the feeling Bush nominating Harriet Miers is a little like O.J. nominating Johnny Cochran?

Then, he also wrote personal comedy lines about himself, his life and his character:

I wouldn't say my back yard has gotten out of hand - but last week an alien landed in the tall grass and said, "Take me to your weeder!"

Scientists believe there are many intelligent species in the universe... All are owned by cats...

Personally, I always figure exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement...

Ever get the feeling that in a past life you were somebody named "Occupant?" And they're still forwarding your mail?

A tractor-trailer containing a shipment of file folders and Post-It notes was hijacked yesterday... Police think it was the work of organized criminals...

I'm going to have to start watching what I eat... Because I keep missing my mouth...

Handy household hint: if you can't find a screwdriver, use a knife! And if you break the tip off - well, now it's an even better screwdriver!

My wife and I found that planning your vacation is half the fun... So next year, we'll plan *two*, and then stay home - we'll have the same amount of fun, and it won't cost anything!

Thought for the day: life is just nature's way of keeping meat from spoiling...

Lastly, Trachman would write lines/turns of a phrase for songs on the playlist: 

All-American Rejects - Dirty Little Secret: Just because it's a sin to believe evil about others... Doesn't mean it's a mistake...

Black Eyed Peas - My Humps: My daddy always said, "It doesn't matter whether you win or lose - until you lose..."

Brown - Run It: I never worry about my kid running with the wrong crowd; he'd have to get up off the couch, first...

Clapton - Say What You Will: I always say, "Change is good, but dollars are better!"

Cabrera - Shine On: Love is blind... And it's not terribly bright, either...

Coldplay - Fix You: I asked Cousin Sara how come she married a man ten years younger than she; she said, "I figured, if you can't find a good man, raise one!"

Collective Soul - How Do You Love: Ever get the feeling a lot of people wouldn't fall in love, if it were more clearly marked?

Crow - Good Is Good: My cousin says once she was with two men in a single night; the next day she could hardly walk... Imagine, having two full dinners!

DHT - Listen To Your Heart: Just remember, the great highway of life is littered with flattened rodents who couldn't make up their minds...

DeGraw - Follow Through: I always say, never start anything you don't intend to... uh, whatever...

Eagles - Cloudy Days: You have to take the bad with the good - but you're allowed to gripe about the proportions...

Fall Out Boy - Sugar, We're Goin' Down: Life has its ups & downs... I hope my skin clears up... And my weight goes down...

Goo Goo Dolls - Give A Little Bit: I find that women are more likely to get romantic if I give them my PIN number, rather than my phone number...

Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc.: Never miss an opportunity to make someone happy - even if you have to leave them alone, to do it...

Johnson - Dollar: If I had a dollar for every time the boss complimented me on my show, today I could buy - lunch!

Mayer - Daughters: I want my kids to have all the things I couldn't afford... Then I want to move in with them!

McGraw - My Old Friend: My wife ran into her old ex-boyfriend yesterday... But he got away before she could run into him again...

Powter - Bad Day: How come a fool & his money are never around when you need them?

Underwood - Inside Your Heaven: Cousin Sara told everyone she wanted to marry a ghost... I can't imagine what possessed her...

Vertical Horizon - Forever: Imagine how life would be if you had to renew your marriage license every few years...

I hope that, though several years out of date now, the specificity, quantity, brevity and variety of the material he wrote inspires you to work a little harder to keep Trachman's way of relating alive and present in your daily content as well.

My goal is not to have you go out of your way to then use these lines he has written, but I hope you’ll try this on for size - to get you started prepping what you’re going to say when there’s nothing else to say when a topic comes up, a song plays, or an aspect of his character arises in conversation.

It’s all about planned spontaneity, making listeners think you’re naturally funny. It takes forethought, writing and preparation. Replace all of the “typical DJ” words and phrases we all use with things “only YOU’ would say and in your own, unique manner.

I Want FM On My Cell Phone (Even In Paradise)

2011-11-05T08:03:00.000-07:00

I always wondered why Emmis Communications has been such a strong and early advocate for radio to be included in every cell phone and now I think I know why.

As a company with considerable international experience, I have a feeling that they've long been aware of what I just saw graphically proven on the Greek Island of Santorini, where the waters are as blue as you'll see anywhere and the docks are a great place to watch ferries, transportation and cruise ships take goods and people up to those white hotels, homes and restaurants up on the top of the rocky cliffs.

That is, unless it's 9:30 pm and the ferry is more than two hours late.

Then, along with several hundred other people, you stand - as I did last week - in the chill with not much information on when the boat is going to arrive and not much entertainment to kill the seemingly endless time.

That's when I was glad to watch at least half the crowd starting to reach for their cell phones and ear buds as radio after radio came on. Thanks to my HTC EVO Android phone, I joined them, feeling especially smug as I noticed that the young folks around me were the most likely to be using their cell phones as portable radios.

I know it's been a long, slow process with little visible progress thus far but it seems like a non-issue in most other countries, which puts to rest the argument for me at least that phone owners won't use them.

It's been six months since the very clever and effective Radio Ink-Orkin ads have been updated, but have you aired them as yet? If not, please do.

Perhaps the recent initiative announced at the Chicago NAB meetings including even HD Radio will add impetus to the campaign.

As I discovered on a cold night waiting for a boat, it's nice to be able to turn to entertainment at the touch of a button on this ubiquitous device.

Sooner or later, it's going to prove essential when the power's out, cell service is down and and radio comes to the fore once again to inform, saving lives.

Let's work to make sure it's there when it's needed most.

From Bad to Poor and Everything in Between

2011-11-03T18:18:00.000-07:00

What one word best describes the economy? 1.6% call it "hopeful."

If you said something like bad, sucks, poor, terrible or depressing, you’d be right in line with the top 5 descriptions, according to the latest American Pulse™. 6,059 respondents participated in the 2nd October American Pulse conducted 10/25-10/26/2011.

The latest results show that very few Americans have positive things to say about the economy. Many say their standard of living has dropped, most would support tax system reform and the majority thinks the government needs to spend less to get the economy back on track.

The Lifespan Of A Country Current

2011-11-02T17:36:00.000-07:00

How long does it take to find out if country radio listeners dislike a song? How many weeks of airplay does it take to make ‘em tired of a song? Is the fact that two or three country stations per market all play almost the same songs in nearly identical rotations hurting the appeal of country music on the radio?

To try to learn the answers to those questions, A&O tracks audience response to every current hit tested by our client stations year-round. Most weeks, that's between 35 and 45 titles.

Lately, I have been entering all of them - by the number of weeks a song has been played nationally (A&O AccuTest recommendations) - into a spreadsheet. The tracking of average scores is displayed by number of weeks the songs play.

Here is how the audience felt about - not the best, nor the worst, but - the average of all of the country songs played during the summer and fall of 2011:

% Positive %Burn %Dislike %Unfamiliar
After four weeks: 51.95 2.58 7.03 20.35

In most cases, this was the first week the song was tested. The tune had received 14 plays in its first week on the radio, 20 plays in its second, 27 plays in the third week and 29 plays in the week the song was initially researched. Half of the national sample (52% was already starting to like it, while one-fifth were unfamiliar with it (based on a :07-:10 hook).

The acceptance radio margin (positive:negative) was 5.41:1. In other words, the odds were 5.4 to one that by the time that UNfamiliar 20.35% of the sample became familiar with it, they would also like it.

After seven weeks: 46.9 2.7 7.32 23.9

I don’t have an explanation, just an observation. After three additional weeks of play - on average in secondary rotation - the changes in acceptance and rejection are significant statistically.

Unfamiliarity grew by 17.4% and positives dropped by 9.7%.

Could it be that passionate fans, heavy-users, who are first to hear and recognize new music feel most positive about it right away? Then, their negatives begin to grow after this early positive response as they become more discerning?

Almost all songs in the sample received at least seven weeks’ airplay before being dropped (some were for poor research results, but most drops came as a result of slow chart momentum and not weak test scores). A small number of songs were dropped after three weeks’ play. The majority of songs tested in week four were still on the playlist by week eleven.

A dirty little "consultant secret:" our first national indication that perhaps a song isn't going to make it comes not from poor research scores, but when a number of influential clients simply stop testing it.

Eleven weeks: 65.98 3.65 8.75 6.08

The 41% increase in acceptance at this point was due to at least three possible factors: familiarity with the song had gotten up to almost 94% with (by now) an average of 35 plays per week, the lower-testing titles had been dropped from play at this point (which by and of itself improved the average score) and combined negatives had only increased from 10.02% to 12.4%, a 23.8% hike.

Positives seem to grow faster than negatives.

Fifteen weeks: 68.1 3.6 8.18 6.8

Now, familiarity has peaked and stabilized. Negatives are steady. Yet, at this point, almost all reporting stations are beginning to move the song from a 38+ play rotation to an average rotation of 22 plays, due to pressure from below the song on the chart to move on to other power records.

And, why not?

It begins to seem that if a PD or MD kept a song in power rotation until burn increased to extreme levels, almost nothing would ever go off that station:

Nineteen weeks: 72.75 5.2 5.53 4.2
Twenty-one weeks: 73.68 5.0 6.25 2.65

Normally, by that time, the song is starting to go off of all current trade charts - yet it’s clear that increased play does NOT appear to cause burn or dislike to grow.

Meanwhile, familiarity makes great drops in weeks 15 thru 21. Light and medium-users have now become familiar as well, and P-1 listeners are not yet growing tired of it.

Interestingly enough, all of the markets included in these averages have two, and in some cases, three country stations.

It certainly does not seem like fatigue with over-exposed music, or growing dislike for the burnt-out songs, is a problem for country radio today.

However: it must be remembered that callout/online test research respondents are screened for the fact that they listen to country radio regularly. It may be that the opinions of non-listeners or those who are listening less lately are simply not reflected here due to our testing methodology.

Have you noticed something I may have missed?

RIF or RIP?

2011-10-27T16:30:00.000-07:00

Applying the term "reductions in force" to the firing of people and reordering of financial priorities from content creation, street presence, local middle management and customer/listener service to debt reduction can be a misnomer, sending the wrong message to anyone hoping to gain market share as companies like Clear Channel and Cumulus decide what to keep and what to discard.

Asian martial arts proves that it's quite possible to quickly prevail against a stronger, bigger adversary if you understand what true force is and how to leverage it.

My first lesson in this fact came in the late 1970's when I left local radio in San Jose to join consultant-syndication company Drake-Chenault.

One of my first client station visits was to North Carolina Summit Broadcasting General Manager Roger Stockton, who I was trying to convince that his radio station should move from one of our 24/7 syndicated formats, "Great American Country" which was voiced by the legendary Bob Kingsley to adding a live morning show and other "live and local" dayparts.

"Don't people wonder if Bob ever sleeps?" I queried Stockton.

He replied, "they don't seem to, since we have an 18 share in those time periods."

Consistent music rotations, a familiar voice front and also back announcing all of the current music and tight formatics compared to what other choices Triad country listeners had was sufficient force to win big at the time.

That station was WTQR and fortunately Stockton and his company had the foresight to add budget for some great personalities over the next few years, thus maintaining a ratings juggernaut that has endured for decades.

Now, of course, it's a Clear Channel station and is both in the crosshairs of its present ownership's "RIF" and its Entercom direct country competition which is working to make it an "RIP" instead.

Jay Meyers, CEO of Adelante Media Group and a former Clear Channel executive told Inside Radio yesterday that where a personality is located doesn’t matter.

“Local and relevant are important but live and location are not,” he says. “What matters is whether the content keeps the listener in touch with their community and gives them the same bond they used to get when there were jocks around the clock.”

Meyers is talking about a force that matters most right now if you're across the street as Clear Channel CEO Bob Pittman shakes things up in the programming ranks at radio’s largest company, relevance.

IR also quoted Pittman from Facebook’s f8 Developer Conference in San Francisco last month: “We’ve got to get our program directors to rethink. We’ve got creative talent and great programmers but we have to figure out a way to unleash them so ideas come flooding in.”

Automating radio's programming is nothing new and neither is this tested and proven theorem:

Great beats local.
Great local beats unengaged execution, no matter where it comes from or how famous the voice.
Fun, originality, creativity, passion, interactivity, proper targeting, position, excellent formatics dominate as long as it makes the listener feel something more than anything else on the radio right now.

May THAT force be with you, radio people, as you navigate your career in these turbulent times for us all.

News And Comment

2011-10-25T00:12:00.000-07:00

News: A bit of poetic justice and extreme irony as CBS Radio resigns from the Country Music Association just as the organization started Country Music Month, after CMA signs a ten year deal for TV broadcast rights with ABC. They told CBS Radio/Phoenix OM and KMLE PD Jeff Garrison to resign his longtime position on the CMA Board Of Directors. Now, he gets a new assignment, as he explained to Country Aircheck “helping our Country stations and our digital platforms to work more closely with artists to extend the brands of our stations while promoting new artists, album releases, concerts and other projects" as VP/Country Artist Relations, in addition to his role in Phoenix.

Comment: Every country radio station in the world needs to join the CMA. Now, more than ever. As a board member, I promise to work with the other radio representatives on the board to make it more worth your while than ever in the coming year!

CBS may have a lot of reporting and monitored station muscle, but no one in the industry is as well positioned to aggressively assist “Country radio stations and our digital platforms to work more closely with artists to extend the brands of our stations while promoting new artists, album releases, concerts and other projects." Join. Then, let's join hands with CMA to do what CBS hopes to do without CMA within it and even better for all radio stations in every market size and ownership affiliation. That's what CMA was founded to do.

News: Cumulus/Atlanta has decided that the future for their new acquisition WKHX is to offer a choice rather than battle head-on anymore with Clear Channel's WUBL KIX has just gone from 220 tunes in its Gold catalog the week prior to 381 last week. If every song is a marketing message, KIX is saying "hellooo, 45-54." They now play only 37% current and recurrents and have added early Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, Clint Black, the Judds, Patty Loveless, Diamond Rio and many others from the 80's and 90's. CC's The Bull is 68% current/recurrent. It's "best country hits" vs "today's new country."

Comment: A&O's 2011 "Roadmap" national perceptual study certainly has shown that there's a large upper demo appetite for more variety and less repetition and Coleman's CRS 2011 research project replicates that it's also quite possible to build a very viable and unique music coalition centered on the highly familiar music of the class of '89 boom.

However, are there enough meters in the Atlanta country sample for two stations to create a "difference" that only half the audience will love?

Both Cumulus and Clear Channel managements are savy and smart, so you can be sure they looked hard at it before making this decision.

It's a first for PPM measured markets, though Cox's classic country KTHT/Houston, has proven that an even older narrow country target can perform consistently in a PPM market with a large enough country cume.

Keep an eye on Atlanta and be prepared to learn something about country's narrow demos and metered sampling.

The pressure is on ARB to deliver consistent samples in 18-44, men, women, and 40-54, men and women.

If they don't, the ratings for 'KHX and 'UBL will be more of an indication of ongoing panel sample issues than with the differentiation strategy Cumulus unveiled last Friday.

Making Show Prep Routine (from "The Trachman Files")

2011-10-21T20:07:00.000-07:00

Everyone's prep time is different and how you spend it depends on the kind of material that's appropriate for your station and your listeners. But there's a pretty bare-bones minimum daily requirement of at least an hour's prep for a morning show. Among the things you should be doing in that time...

Read the local paper (yesterday's, if it's an afternoon paper). Check the local TV station web sites (and other web sites carrying local information).
Inform yourself about what's going on in the town. Look for "little" items that interest you. If you find yourself responding emotionally to an article, it's potentially something you'll want to Share with a listener.
Scan your news sources for major national stories. Also, look over the features and show business news. Be on the lookout for silliness, absurdity, irony, and what I call "throat-lumpers" (things that make you want to say "Awwwww"). Watch for anything that relates to current artists you're playing.
Look out the window. Better yet, go outside for a few minutes; look at the sky, smell the air; "experience" the day. Familiarize yourself with both the official forecast, and the "look and feel" of the day.
Look over new copy for promotions -- so you'll understand how a game works before the first time you have to do it. Read any new ad copy, if possible, and rehearse it out loud.
Glance through publicity releases or any other material you may have on current artists. Some stations keep a "book" on all artists who will be appearing locally over the coming weeks.
Set up any raps you want to do with your news person. You don't have to script them, but the other person should at least have a broad idea of what to expect, and where the bit will end.

There is no substitute for prepping your show. There is no way you can be your best without doing the work. You expect it of your jocks; how can you expect less of yourself? - Jay Trachman

Compose your raps. Be they Life Content -- which you should be gathering 16 hours every day -- or Local Content -- the best kind is that which you experience personally, rather than what you read about -- they should be pre-thought-out. My personal preference is to script my raps, word for word.

Some prefer to make notes. Depending on format, you should have about two prepared raps for each hour of your show. And you should have on paper, if not the entire rap, at least a topic sentence (what it's about) and your closing line, or "kicker."

Should everything you do on the air be prepared in advance? Of course not! But by entering the studio with a sheaf of papers in hand that will provide you with more material, of various kinds, than you can possibly use that day, you free yourself to be creative as the impulse arises. It's very hard to create when you "have to."

When you don't have to, you can relax and enjoy whatever creative sparks fly.

JA adds: you may win by not doing all of these things routinely... until someone across the street from you does so.

Show Prep -- How And Why

2011-10-18T14:24:00.000-07:00

Jay Trachman, as anyone who has read my blog for very long knows, was an immense inspiration and a lifelong personal friend to me. As I tour Turkey and Greece on vacation right now, I am going to open some old Trachman tidbits in hopes it keeps his memory alive for you as well.

There's no way you can do a successful morning show "on the cheap." And I'm not talking about money.

I work with PD-morning hosts with the vague hope that they can learn how to do a better show just by talking with me.

As though all they lacked was a little knowledge;

"Trachman will tell me what's wrong and how to fix it, and that'll make everything great!"

Well, it ain't so.

90% of the time, one of the things I'm going to tell you is, you need to do more work. You need to do research; to prep your show.

The unprepped show is easy to spot, even when done by a very talented jock.

The give-away is that he or she will talk mainly about the weather, the music, and one or two bits pre-packaged from a service. He may chat amiably with a colleague on the air, but the raps are always too long, and often seem to go nowhere. Typically, the show lacks "substance," meaning relating to anything besides what's going on at that moment in the jock's little world, or what's been spoon-fed to him or her.

Here are just a few of the elements that should go into a morning show: Life Content, Local Content, Music Content, listener phone-ins, banter with colleagues, calendars, games and contests, and informational raps.

They all require time and effort to set up.

"But," says my typical student, "I work a 12-hour day already, between these two jobs! When am I supposed to find the time to prep my show?"

That's not a question I can answer in specifics.

Look for chores you can delegate as PD; look for times you can combine one job with another.

The fact that you're already over-burdened does not relieve you of the responsibility of a) keeping your listener entertained and informed and b) setting the pace for the rest of your air staff.

Be Like Taylor

2011-10-16T15:09:00.000-07:00

As the size of the generational cohorts comprising the age group which has already started hitting retirement now won't peak and start downward in proportion of the population until the 4.3 million babies born in 1957 during the baby boom have fast forwarded 65 years to 2022, it's inevitable that many country stations which once prided themselves on having a mean age right in the middle of 25-54, now find themselves with an audience whose average age is moving up into the mid-to-high 40's.

Last week's New Yorker offers a wonderfully-flattering in-depth profile of the woman who may have changed that course for us, Taylor Swift. Writer Lizzie Widdicombe makes it clear that Taylor wasn't trying to do anything so calculated as target the nation's next very, very large emerging generation of country fans - today's teen age girls and 18-28 females - in the article titled "You Belong With Me: How Taylor Swift made teen angst into a business empire." She's just being herself.

For those of us who hope to remain relevant from a perspective of several decades older, clearly we have some learning to do and even the descriptive phrases Widdicombe uses provide a list of traits not normal to an X'er or Boomer that we need to incorporate as we work to hold not only the Swift generation, as their values impact the entire culture.

Radiates unjaded sincerity no matter how contrived the situation
Writes her own material
Like Dolly Parton, writes autobiographical story songs that relate to her target audience
In the Internet era, (that) is also a clever marketing device
Doesn’t drink or go to clubs. More "wholesome" than her parents' generation was at her age
Emotional and personal in universal ways
Her mother and father remain a big part of her life
Spends most of her off time with band members, friends, and family
Approaches her career with the seriousness of a C.E.O

Anyone who opens a microphone on a country radio station would do well to run through that checklist each time they prep and deliver.

N. O. E. S. L. W. S. T. M. S.

2011-10-14T23:38:00.000-07:00

"Using 'commercial-free' verbiage is equal to saying 10-12 minutes of every hour of your station's product is worthless," says Jim Kirkland in Radio-Info.com.

Jim should look at our product from a listener and not just a media buyer perspective.

No doubt that our commercial time is worth a lot more than we normally manage to get paid for it, but there’s a reason why online streaming ads have to be :20 seconds or less and extremely engaging.

The future of media is moving to end user control and those buttons on their radio have always given them the power to avoid anything they don’t feel is worth the time.

Meanwhile, even the AAA confirms that the best bet is not to change stations while driving since even that, they infer, occasionally contributes to distracted driving.

OK, I'll stop now, after one final "No One Ever Said Life Was Supposed to Make Sense."

Making Sense Of The Senseless

2011-10-13T02:25:00.000-07:00

I understand why record labels play both sides in major markets where all competitive stations are monitored reporters.

Makes sense. Support the station which supports your music and artists. If you don't add it, I'll try to get your competition to do so in hopes that forces you to add it.

What doesn’t make sense to me is in medium and small markets where there’s only one reporting station and as a result labels make sure they get everything and the non-reporter next to nothing.

Those stations may be on top for the required three books in a row and reporting status may change then. Or, the non-reporting programmers and music directors will be at reporting stations some day and they will remember.

Hopefully, the label executives who lobbied for the smaller number of reporters in hopes it would save money have now figured out that didn't work quite that way and some day they'll start to lobby for more stations in more markets to report too.

More reporters means fewer people with too much power and a more representative, credible chart.

Even less sensible: small markets where no one is a reporter and yet artist managers still try to enforce a standard rider in their contracts which says only reporting stations can welcome the show or appear on stage.

Often the only station in town which has partnered with the county fair or local casino for years finds that they are told the artist’s road manager wants it to be a “neutral show” with no welcoming station in spite of the fact that they are the only game in town.

A Continuing Series: Stuff I Don't Understand

2011-10-12T15:44:00.000-07:00

Radio takes 15.6% of a consumer’s media day but, even under the rosiest analysis, its share of advertising dollars is just 11%.
Only 3.17% of RBR readers say “in the new digital environment, the main competition for local Television is newspaper and just 5.13% think radio’s main competition is newspaper. If so, how come we still let them bill a third of all media ad dollars in many markets?

I'll repeat it: No One Ever Said Life Was Supposed to Make Sense

(More) No One Ever Said Life Was Supposed to Make Sense

2011-10-11T02:24:00.000-07:00

It's SO great to see nice guy WWYZ PD Lance Tidwell, morning personality Corey Meyers and the Clear Channel/Hartford team leverage Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts and Brad Paisley concerts to the highest country station 6+ share in the history of PPM measurement anywhere, 12.3 6+.

Meanwhile, country's PPM-measured share of the radio listening in Atlanta is 6.8. In Houston, it's a 10.1. In Dallas (where A&O hears that 40% of 25-54 panelists are Spanish-language-only households) it's a 7.8.

Can it really be that country music is hotter right now in Hartford than it is in Houston?

Bigger in Connecticut than Georgia?

It's "Hankless Monday" #2

2011-10-10T05:18:00.000-07:00

The first thing about the whole brouhaha which makes much sense to me in any other way than just a whole bunch of folks going for publicity is this morning's RBR-TVBR observation:

"We got a lot of comments on the original story as to why ESPN decided to take a stance on this, either way, considering it was not even said on their network. But who knows what sort of comments (and from whom) they had been receiving on their end. Most likely most of them were in favor of pulling the song. Perhaps if Williams had issued a true apology, it could have been different."

The dust up see ms to me like a huge coup for Hank, since he hasn’t gotten this much media coverage (he's on The View and Hannity tomorrow) in many years and will probably help ESPN too when after awhile they kiss and make up, getting even more publicity when they do.

Meanwhile, it brought up once again the old canard that “Clear Channel banned the Dixie Chicks from radio.”

Not true and Ed Schultz and Holland Cooke of all people should remember that Cox and Cumulus wouldn’t use the word “banned” of course, but they were the only two companies I know of to decide at the corporate level not to play the Chicks anymore, citing persuasive listener research. Clear Channel left it up to individual stations, yet they keep getting blamed, proving that myths often resonate longer and louder than truths.

No one ever said life was always supposed to make sense.

Guest Blogger: WYRK's Clay Moden

2011-10-08T07:21:00.000-07:00

The management of Townsquare Media Buffalo has motivated Clay to become a very creative and prolific blogger. Most days, his listeners benefit, but now and then he gets inspired to write something he considered "too inside radio" to share on his station blog. Lucky you and me, we benefit. Here's his latest one:

I was speaking with a radio friend of mine recently about being a "fill in" for a certain air shift and I couldn't help but think that his dilemma is something that most jocks who have been on the air can relate to.

If you have ever been a part timer or even someone that wants a certain time slot, you can understand his story.

When the PD calls on you to fill in for someone, your first thought is..."here is my chance to show them I should be in that slot!" The next thing you do is go out of your way to prep for the show and try to make it sound like a nationally syndicated radio success!

What usually happens?

You FAIL!

Happens every time. You get caught up in trying to be something/someone you think will grab the attention of the PD/GM and have a perfectly polished show.

It may actually have all of the key ingredients and come out "sounding" the way YOU want it to, but here is the problem, the audience is not made of PD and GM's.

It is everyday people, most of which are casual listeners that are waiting to hear their favorite song or get a piece of information they need or a contest they are trying to win.

If you have ever listened to the Rush Limbaugh show, you will note that he has people fill in from time to time. Although they keep the format of the show, they are not trying to "replace" Rush. They are all very different than Rush and all have their own traits and styles. They clearly don't go out of their way to try to be someone.

It may sound cliche but it is true, being yourself is the best option.

After all, it is you being yourself that most likely caught the PD's attention in the first place.

Here is what I suggest. When you go to fill in for another air shift or even if you are doing a bonafide on-air audition, you PLAN what you intend to do, you PERSONALIZE it according to how YOU normally are when you do a show and you PERFORM according to your own style and ability.

Don't overdo it or you will sound PHONY!

Oh, and one more thing, try not to PREDICT what the PD/GM is thinking.

It has been my experience that they often times are not listening as closely as you think. They are just glad they found someone to cover a shift.

You'll find more from Clay on this blog, I am proud to say.

Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

2011-10-06T08:08:00.001-07:00

Great timing and a perfect tribute on the part of today's Sydney Morning Herald (click to read it).

Seth Godin has the consummate eulogy:

It's one thing to miss someone, to feel a void when they're gone. It's another to do something with their legacy, to honor them through your actions.

Steve devoted his professional life to giving us (you, me and a billion other people) the most powerful device ever available to an ordinary person. Everything in our world is different because of the device you're reading this on.

What are we going to do with it?

Three Things About Radio Commercials We Can Agree On

2011-10-05T01:56:00.000-07:00

Commercial free hours beat hours which contain irritating commercials hands down.
Radio programmers make bad grocery store managers/media buyers, and the reverse is true too.
Radio can always use more entertaining, creative commercials. (click to hear a bunch of them, presented their trophies and cash just last evening), including the big winner.

Take Aspirin Before Reading

2011-10-04T14:33:00.000-07:00

There's a strong possibility that this is going to hurt your head.

Back in the Diary Days our ﬁght was for bigger Average Quarter Hours. Now, on Planet PPM, technology has completely changed how BBM and ARB measure tuning.

Thanks to the always inquisitive PD of JRfm-The Peak/Vancouver Gord Eno, A&O recently was conveyed an excellent explanation from BBM on the technology of the PPM device:

"We now measure everything in ﬁfteen second segments. Yes, seconds. It takes keeping a listener ﬁfteen seconds for us to be in the game. If we win three out of the four ﬁfteen second segments we win that minute. If we get two out of four, the station that wins the ﬁrst ﬁfteen seconds wins the minute."

Yikes, talk about micromanaging our content!

If you've read much that I have blogged here, I bet you've already learned you have to grab them in the ﬁrst seven seconds.

Now, add to that. You must also hold onto them for at least three 15 second periods inside every minute.

Technically, you need the last best "code" in the 15 seconds to be ascribed the first 15 seconds.

That last best code could come in the first second or the 15th second. If you're not familiar with code qualities and what this does to the assignment of the 15 seconds to the last best code, contact your BBM or ARB rep who can lessen your need for aspirin as you contemplate these technical realities.

First, of course, if we donʼt keep them for the ﬁrst ﬁfteen seconds weʼre not even in the game.

Really, you only need to have the last best code in each 15 seconds, they don’t have to have stayed for the full 30.

But, it takes three 15 minute assignments of the last best code to outright “win” the full 60 seconds – and those three 15 second assignments don’t have to be consecutive, for example: first 15, station CAAA has last best code, Second 15, station CBBB has last best code, Third 15, station CAAA has last best code, and Fourth 15, station CAAA has last best code – minute goes to station CAAA.

Plus, we need them to stay for thirty seconds just to be in a tie. But it takes forty ﬁve seconds to win that minute. Then the battle begins all over again for the next minute.

Most minutes wins.

Eno joked with the BBM representative who offered the insights that the battleﬁeld has moved from quarter hours to quarter minutes.

The BBM rep's response was that things hadn’t really changed, and the focus as always should be on making better radio, because better radio gets better numbers.

Agreed, but knowing the mechanics of PPM helps us understand the ʻscienceʼ and how/when the radio consumerʼs impatience affects measurement.

Another revelation: the PPM code is not a constant stream.

Because the code likes to hide in the content the code stream is variable. When there is music, the code ﬂows along nicely. When there are gaps, such as spoken word, the code will embed itself behind any audio whatsoever, music, talk, random ambient noise will even encode.

Now, hereʼs the biggie. If there is four seconds of dead air there is no code.

The solution? Donʼt allow dead air.

Dead air (provided your dead air lasts for more than 15 seconds) means no code.

No code. No measurement. No measurement means weʼre kicked off the ﬁfteen second battleﬁeld and weʼre not even in the ﬁght.

To be totally factual, it only takes the last best code of the 15 second period.

It’s possible for there to be 4 different “last best codes” in each 15 seconds. Your code could come in as the ‘last best code’ on the 5th, 9th, 12th or even the 15th second with audio.

Take two panelists and call me in the morning.

Updating Your Personal Prep And Content "Algorithms"

2011-10-03T01:43:00.000-07:00

If you did a great bit one time yesterday morning, would all of your listeners have heard it?

Of course not. Social networking on Facebook works the same way. Just because you post something, doesn't mean that your fans or friends will see it.

Apply these variables as you choose what to talk about on the radio, what to post online:

How's your relationship with your listener? Does he/she trust, respect and like you enough to pay attention when you open your mouth?
How important to your listener is what you have to say right now? Is it clear right from the start why it's relevant?
Is it fresh or new? Or, warmed over re-purposed prep content that every other talent on the radio is also using today? (or even worse, last night or yesterday)
Are you a true, authentic, genuine "friend?" Or, are you heard/read as just "an interesting stranger?" Is what you say engaging enough to enhance the former, move toward it, away from the latter?

On Facebook now, subscribers can actually do their own filtering.

Your listener has been doing that all along. It's called "seek" and "scan," the reason push buttons are the most popular feature on their radio.

Work on your personal affinity, content weight, decay and "Edge Rank" as you prep and deliver everything across all platforms available to you.