Really? Why?

Report: Radio Stations, Record Labels Begin More National Partnerships

Ever since former New York State attorney general Eliot Spitzer extracted multimillion-dollar payola settlements from all four major-label groups in 2005, tighter boundaries have been drawn around the relationship between the radio and music businesses. But large national partnerships appear to signal a new level of cooperation between two industries that have long had a symbiotic, albeit sometimes contentious, relationship.

The article notes that Show Dog/Nashville coughed up a $34,000 boat stocked with fishing tools and reels to "tie into" Trace Adkins' "Just Fishin'," requiring listeners to "like" one of 110 Clear Channel country station Facebook pages to be eligible to win.

CBS Radio, it says "has been marshaling radio, TV and online platforms" for it's "Live On Letterman" Ed Sullivan Theater webcasts and flyaways, which started in October 2009, starring Curb's Tim McGraw.

With Cumulus and Citadel about to merge, don't be surprised to see the stakes of these "events" get even higher as the biggest conglomerates woo the music business, trying to outdo one another promotionally in pursuit of cash and prizes.

Meanwhile, the remaining several thousand non-monitored, non-reporting, non-major group-owned country stations whose listeners all consume lots of music too and often buy CD's at rural WalMart, Target and other retailers, stand by and wonder what it takes to share in all the largess.

A humble suggestion: let every radio station in North America which wants to support music they play get in on the promotions.

Call a halt to all the exclusive partnerships, which leave the majority of us out while hoping the preferred "friend" spins the music enough to make up for the anger and alienation it creates across the street, thus, potentially proving as toxic as permitting one station to "present" a concert and shutting the other ones out regardless of the sizes of their audiences.

As with "neutral shows," maybe it's time for "neutral promotions" too, encouraging ALL of us to promote the music to the max of our creative capabilities and mutual needs.

Marrying one artist or song with one major group or another is both too expensive and counter-productive in the competitive landscape that is records and radio in 2011.

Let's all work together and sell some music.

I Bet You Can't Wait Until Monday To Google These

Each weekday, A&O's prep producer Dan Van emails a long list of the items that will be in our client only prep. For example, this morning, just a few he'll have full info and even audio on for Monday's prep are:

• Jake Owen Celebrated 30th Birthday Yesterday, Plans to Settle Down Soon
• Jason Aldean's "My Kinda Party" Approaching Double Platinum Status
• George Strait to Become a Grandfather this February
• Rascal Flatts Concert Slashing Incident Causes Arrest
• Back To School: Kenny Chesney Show Men Can Wear Skirts
• Carrie Underwood to Join Tony Bennett in Concert
• Keith Urban Is Thankful His Parents Let Him Drop Out of School to Play Guitar
• Lady Antebellum “Makes A Difference” For MDA

Be honest. Are you going to wait until Monday morning to listen to the radio to hear the juicy details?

Of course not.

Today, as you prep content, you have to assume that listeners already know every story you're planning to tell them, so simply copying from internet sources or even an excellent prep service like A&O's (we take pride in Dan's commitment to getting stories and sidebars first from angles no one else has), is no longer enough, if it ever was.

Tell just enough the each story to be sure every listener knows what you're talking about and then engage listeners with as many fresh and unique perspectives and reactions to it as possible.

That's the content that no one can beat YOU to.

Don't even tease to the headline of the story as you promote ahead. They already know that and will think you're only going to talk about what they already know.

Tease to your camera angle, your cohost's feelings about it and the listener reaction.

Like my buddy Michael O'Malley always says: focus on feelings, not facts.

Trend: Away From Home Is Up; At Home Listening Slips

Sampling and discovery happens in the car (cume), but turning that usage into ultra core time spent listening/hours tuned involves getting them to start with you very early in their day and then taking the radio station to work with them.

Source: BBM/Canada's 2010-2011 Radio Data Book

Why Working On At Work Listening .. WORKS.

Even 7-Midnight gets "at work" listening! If you do nights and you don't have it, your share falls on average by 10%.


.. but HALF of midday's share of audience is driven by it.


Tip: make your radio station, regardless of the format, as at work-friendly as possible, from early morning until nights.

Source: BBM/Canada's 2010-2011 Radio Data Book

You Can't Win Younger Demos Without Winning At Work

Country ranks #3 in "at home" listening in Canada, but is #7 "at work."


To beat the national averages, a station must do twice "the average" in at work listening.


Thanks to BBM/Canada's 2010-2011 Radio Data Book for a helpful lesson in where the majority of our listening is coming from and going to.

A&O can point to many country format clients across Canada who get 25-30% of their total hours from at work listening, which is far above the national average for diary markets and driving superior heavy user listening and 25-44 growth.

It can't be done, however, by simply swimming with the prevailing currents. It takes strategy and consistent tactics, making us very proud of their outstanding achievement.

What's Happening To Country Radio In Canada?

What can ANY country radio station learn from these national averages, gleaned (as in stats shared last week) from BBM/Canada's 2010-2011 Radio Data Book?

Fortunately, A&O's Canadian country clients have been having a very good 2010-2011, a fact that looks even better when compared to national format shares from all diary survey markets, which are not pretty:

(click the chart to enlarge it) Ranking #4 nationally overall still isn't too shabby, of course, and many other formats would like to trade places with country, but Top 40 and Classic Hits were up at Country, Hot AC and Classic Rock's expense through last fall and the BBM national Spring 2011 country format 12+ diary market share continued the drop, to an 8.5.

The population demographic movements offer one helpful clue - as the format's 18-24 share is better than 25-34 and even 35-49 nationally and many listeners slid into the 55+ age groups, but there's more to it than just that.

Even more interesting are the locations where those trends happened and I'll share that info - which provides a clue as to what our clients in Canada have been doing to out-perform the trends with you tomorrow.

Country Music Artists That Served in the Military

There is something about Country Music that captures the heart and soul of America. There is also something else that seems to go hand in hand with Country Music and that is a love for our Country and for the men and women who serve in the military.

Over the years there seems to be a slew of patriotic or military typed songs performed by Country Artists.

It may surprise you to find out of all the Country Artists WHICH ONES actually served and wore this nation’s uniform. I know I was upon doing research when I was first inspired to write this book. It truly was an inspirational and rewarding journey finding out who they were. I hope you feel the same way after reading HEROES OF THE STAGE. Some you will already have known about and others may come as a complete surprise to you. Some are more famous and well known than others, but all of them served this Nation for us and deserve our sincere thanks as well as our respect. As you become acquainted with the featured artists who have served you might just become a new fan or a fan all over again.

- Travis L. McVey is the author, Veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and Army Reserves, founder of and Chief Veteran Officer at Heroes Vodka. McVey is currently serving as the Regional Advocate for Tennessee’s chapter of the National Veteran-Owned Business Association (NaVOBA) and the Buy Veteran Campaign.

Title: HEROES OF THE STAGE
Sub Title: Country Serving Country
Genre: Biography
ISBN: 978-0-615-45434-4
Publication Date: August 1, 2011
Price: $19.99
Publisher: Hero Spirit Publishing

Media samples are available upon request. HEROES OF THE STAGE/Country Serving Country is now available through Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and at www.heroesofthestage.com

A portion of all proceeds are donated to Operation Troop Aid.

For more information or to set up an interview with an autographed give-way contact: Sharla McCoy (Cell) 615-504-1268 - (Office) 615-683-5025

Your Most Important Listeners

More from BBM/Canada's 2010-2011 Radio Data Book:


One-fifth of all participants in the ratings survey account for more than half of all listening. Four of ten contribute 80% of the total hours spent with radio.

Each time time you encounter one of your station's - or your competition's - heaviest users in person, on the phone, by snail mail or online, make certain they know that you know how important they are to your success.

How To Out Perform Your Market

Why should an American radio station care about trends in Canada? Why should a local Canadian radio station worry about BBM stats on what's happening in other markets?

National average trends indicate "big" things affecting all media and if your individual station can be the one in your town that holds onto cume and TSL while others are losing theirs, just staying flat can help your shares GROW.


Programming and marketing radio can be like sailing. It's possible win the race by letting the prevailing winds blow you to victory but everyone is trying to do that.


Or, you can be the one to "come about," gain advantage by staying out of the "no go zone" and yet moving into waters few others have the courage to enter.

The competition is smaller in number there, of course, so you have a better chance to really stand out as unique.

If you know how to sail in very challenging seas.

Before deciding to go against the wind, it's crucial to fully-understand the prevailing breezes and their impact on everyone in your environment.

Thanks to BBM/Canada's 2010-2011 Radio Databook for providing info on those fast-changing currents.

AM Listeners Are From Mars

... And, it sounds like New York and Chicago's newest radio stations are thinking that their FM listeners will be from Venus.

Both Arbitron and BBM offer some very helpful national perspective on why, even though we all love to cheer on a direct confrontation, it may be that everyone can coexist.

Here are three pages from BBM/Canada's 2010-2011 National Radio Data book which show how different the target audiences available on the two bands are today:



(click each chart to enlarge it in a separate browser window)

Two very nice things about radio warfare:

1, No one can take your audience away from you. You have to give it away.

2. No one dies, unless somebody ends up shooting themself in the foot.

Should ARB And BBM Ask Everyone To "Friend" Them?

Overcoming privacy concerns makes including the fast-growing number of households which can only be reached using a cell phone number an equally-rapidly growing problem for all researchers.

On Friday, at first, I thought when I saw this story that Facebook provides an inexpensive and immediate method for radio's survey research companies to reach them where ever they are 24/7 instead of playing a never-ending game of catchup that started three years ago.

"We are not able to pinpoint when, where or how this meme started," said a Facebook spokesperson in an email to ABC News. "We became aware of the confusion earlier this week and immediately started informing press and people on Facebook that this is not a new feature but one that has existed for some time." The company added an assurance at the top of people's Phonebook Contacts page: "Only you can see your contacts." And it posted a message on its own Facebook page: "Rumors claiming that your phone contacts are visible to everyone on Facebook are false," the company said. "Our Contacts list, formerly called Phonebook, has existed for a long time. The phone numbers listed there were either added by your friends themselves and made visible to you, or you have previously synced your phone contacts with Facebook. Just like on your phone, only you can see these numbers."

Then, the blowback started:

By Friday afternoon, nearly 35,000 people had "liked" the post -- and another 17,000 had replied with comments. Some were gibberish, but many were vociferous complaints. "I don't understand what business any online company has snatching private contact information from my phone," wrote one user. "Where was the request to grant permission to sync those phone numbers with Facebook?" wrote another. "Disgusting behaviour, truly disgusting." There is a way to turn off the feature, which you can find at https://www.facebook.com/contact_importer/remove_uploads.php?r=%2Fphonebook. But to many users, the damage was done. Users and privacy advocates have complained in the past that Facebook introduced features and assumed users wanted to enable them, forcing them to feel their way through their account settings and opt out. "I think you need to notify us of these changes... period," wrote a user this morning. "It is an invasion of privacy, you should have permission to do this. What if someones profile gets hacked or phished?"

No wonder it's such a challenge to find a way to do any kind of telephone-based research today!

As Vision Critical/Toronto's Jeff Vidler blogged several weeks ago:

We just completed a strategic study in a major Canadian market where 31% of 18-49 year-old radio listeners said they lived in a cellphone-only household (sample size: 1,000, using a market representative online sample). And, despite BBM claims to the contrary, CPO households varied sharply by format. From 43% among the cume for an alternative-leaning station to 35% for the cume of the market-leading CHR station and 29% for that of a local Hot AC. Yes, age plays a role, but notably, only 3 years separated the average age of the cume listeners to the three stations. (Note: the proportion of cellphone-only households in Canada is generally considered lower than it is in most Western countries.)

Clearly, this issue isn't going away!

The Psychology Of Influence

15+ years ago, fresh out of college with a degree in accounting (of all things) Sean D'Souza joined an advertising agency called Leo Burnett.

Now, he's living in New Zealand as "Chief Brain Auditor," e-newsletter editor and strategist, employing "PsychoTactics™," a thought system that is based on 5000+ years of tried and tested methods. He says:

Our brains are hardwired with information, that hasn't changed in all these centuries. Imagine being able to use that same psychology in business. It's so deceptively simple that you will wonder just how you did without this incredible understanding of the human psyche for so long.

Click around his website and become more effective at what you do!

"The Envelope, Please"

This is the time of year that every Country Music Association member gets both email and snail mails from every aspiring artist and musician wanting to be a CMA Award finalist.

Since I have already cast my vote in the latest round of nominations, my immediate reaction when I opened this email from Chris Young was to quickly glance at it and move along.

But, I couldn't.

Thanks to Chris and his team for not only providing a great kiss, a good laugh, but also a quick visual lesson in marketing anything.

If there was a "best solicitation for your vote" award category, this would get mine!

The Best Mechanics Own Their Own Tools

Cat Country 98-7/Pensacola afternoon guy Captain Chris, I learned the other day, pays out of his own pocket for his very own talent coach/consultant to his show, even though A&O works for the station.

I have long been impressed by his on air content and production, and now I know why.

Some garages do buy tools for their mechanics, but most mechanics provide their own tools.

No mechanic would try to work on your car without tools, but it never ceases to amaze me how many air personalities refuse to get prep help simply because of the excuse 'the station owner won't buy it.'

Be entrepreneurial. If you don't invest in self-improvement, who will?

Another Win For Radio: The Science Of Ad Placement

Radio-Info's Daniel Anstandig reports today that a new study by Casale Media, a digital display ad network, affirms that “reach and frequency” works online the same way it does in radio or TV.
They recently analyzed a random sample of two billion ad impressions from Q1 2011 across their display ad network and found that online ads are most effective when they are placed in the top of the page and first in order.

.. which reminded me of a BBM/Canada presentation earlier this year by Alex Petrilli from TiVO who gave some results from their StopWatch research which measures second by second viewing of the US PVR audience.

This has shown the importance of the 1^st in pod position in terms of retaining the audience during a commercial "break."

Other strategies have proved successful in preventing the audience from hitting the fast forward button, particularly “promercials” such as the recent campaign from American Express using the cast from Glee.
This brought to mind the PPM research using actual usage data (What Happens When the Spots Come On) from Arbitron, interpreted by Coleman:

The fact that radio's cume is always going up throughout the listening day as PPM proves, means that no matter when your commercial runs on the radio, it's on center stage.

Recap Everything

Most of us schedule a recap meeting after the station fronts a big NTR event or music festival.

• Did this work as planned?
• Complaints?
• Comments?
• What could we do to improve or put a spin on to make it better next year?
• What did we like?
• What didn't we like?

This is always a hassle to do, of course, as you write down notes, throw them into the file and pull 'em out the following year. Then, suddenly, you're grateful you took the time to do a recap.

It helps to really make signature events better and better, as those old notes tell you that next time you need more seating, more prizes, a different way to judge a contest.

Hassle or not, do recap meetings with everyone involved producing TV campaigns, major contests, imaging, all of the touch-points with listeners. Improving their experience of everything you do is what winning is all about.

Intelligent strategies, pulled off half-heartedly, get trumped by excellent execution every time.

How To Spell B-R-A-N-D

Hayley Solich is CEO of Perth-based PR & Branding Agency The Creaticians:

"How do you build a successful brand and how do you measure how you are doing in terms of your reach, your marketing tools and your reputation?"

1. B is for Build - consistent effort creating an easily identifiable brand. Build your brand by posting consistently the same corporate colors, the same images, the same style of writing, the same ‘packaging’ across your platforms. If you are on multiple platforms, use the same profile pictures, for example. Make it easy for people to recognize you.

2. Reputation - Build a reputation for delivering on what you promise where possible. Build a reputation for producing high quality work and being generous in your dealings with "customers" by providing value. These are ways to build respect.

3. A is for Association. Create an association for people in their mind. Guard your reputation by ensuring that you never walk away from a dissatisfied customer where it is in your power to positively resolve the issue and by being careful about what you release into the public arena and who you associate with.

4. N = In a sea of competitors you need to become noticeable. People will associate you with your products and services. You are the guarantee that stands behind your products and services and it is really important that you understand that. We all know iconic brands like Coke an McDonalds. They have easily identifiable branding and it is noticeable in the marketplace. Why? Because they have worked hard to be consistent with putting that brand in front of their market. The golden arches at McDonalds are still the same today as they were 25 years ago.

5. D is for Differentiate. Differentiate yourself from your competition. Brand is an asset of a company because it is very closely associated with customers goodwill and your brand should be GUARDED at all costs.

Brand also becomes about the WAY that you do business and not just the products or services that you sell, especially in Social Media where you place your brand in the hands of customers to spread. Your businesses core values and ethos are part of your business brand. “It takes 40 years to build a reputation and about 4 seconds to destroy one.”

Excerpted from "Social Media Woman" E-Zine, July 2011

What's Hot, Beside The Temperatures?

Cookouts are what’s hot in July (according to 76.1%)…Solar Power is making its own heat among 69.5%, while the new Transformers and Harry Potter movies are also sparking interest among consumers. Young adults favor Beyonce and Shia LaBeouf, while women in general carry Clutch Handbags and are packing their one-piece swimsuits for vacation. Confidence drops in July…do consumers fear a double-dip recession?

Do You Feel Like A Wounded Gorilla?

Mel Karmazin, always the master of hyperbole: "...terrestrial radio, though wounded, they are still the 800 pound gorilla.."

Radio as gorilla works, but wounded? Naw.

For some exciting and fresh pro-radio facts, email Katz's Mary Beth Garber.

Free Trip Inside

The interactive wizards at Townsquare Media practice classic Seth Godin by making it more than worth your while to subscribe to their (free) "Taste Of Country" prep email service, which drives impressive levels of traffic to the company's country music news portal.

1. It's great format-relatable content for you to talk about on air (of course, crediting the source).

2. "If you’re a Jason Aldean fan, you won’t want to miss out on this contest. Taste of Country is sending one lucky fan and a guest to see and meet the ‘Dirt Road Anthem’ singer live in Los Angeles on his My Kinda Party Tour." Sign up with a click here.