Not a lot of topics in Ross On Radio are by request. But this one comes from Andy Denemark, Executive VP of programming for United Stations Radio Networks who writes:
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Like cats and dogs living together, check out the contradiction inherent in these recent radio headlines:
“Thank you for helping KUHF raise $939,482 during our Spring 2009 fund drive!!” ...
“Clear Channel Media down 23% in 1st quarter 2009” ...
“RadioMilwaukee doubles its one day fundraising goal to $50,000” ...
“Scranton’s WARM-AM transmitter dies; no return date planned” ...
“Will Air America start asking for donations?” ...
“Blogger predicts summer death for satellite radio” ...
“Public radio stations break fundraising goals” ...
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More than 20 years ago, Steven Covey famously said, “Begin with the end in mind.” More than half a century ago, in the years after World War Two, two German sociologists came up with an equation that nearly perfectly describes the path to the “end” that all good managers should be seeking:
**Job Clarity = Job Satisfaction**
If you remember third-grade math, you know that an equation is true in both directions: 2+2 = 4 is also 4 = 2+2. Thus, Job Clarity = Job Satisfaction is just as true when presented as Job Satisfaction = Job Clarity.
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Either "Radio is screwed" or "Radio's opportunity is HUGE!"
Which side of the attitudinal coin are you on? Because one side will survive and thrive after the shakeout, and the other will not.
I don't know about you, but I want to be on the side that sees huge opportunity, because it's quite real.
Early this week I was honored to be a featured speaker at the Gospel Music Association convention in Nashville.
This is the underground video of the event (excuse the soft lighting and internal camera mic), but it's the full 45 minute presentation, and it includes nine simple but strong themes about what radio needs to do to realize its future.
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As I told you, Step Number One, Reestablish the Relationships with your Top Clients, is the most important of the Five Steps I'll be giving you in this Radio-Info series, "New Tricks from an Old Dog." However, to be quite honest, this one, Step Number Four: Settling Old Scores, is, for many of us, going to be the most fun! Serious, but fun. Serious fun.
As an industry we’ve taken a real drubbing from many quarters in the last few years. Frankly, quite a bit of the bad ink we’ve gotten has been deserved; we do have to get our house in order. Much of what we have done in the years of consolidation has been wrong-headed. However, virtually no one of consequence is predicting the death of local Radio; we have a strong future if we handle it correctly.
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Once again, Radio-Info.com has created a special publication for its readers and for the attendees at this year’s International NAB Show in Las Vegas. “Breaking the Box: New Waves in Radio” is the culmination of months of interviews and research with some of the best and brightest in broadcasting, and how they’re managing radio today.
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There has been a lot written lately about the Website health quiz that determines your "real age" based on your current physical condition and lifestyle. Clearly the concept resonates: we all know people who look and act younger than their physical age. And most of us think of people currently in their middle age as more vital than their counterparts of a generation earlier.
This can apply to songs as well. Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" -- still a heavily played record at multiple formats and an inevitable wedding/party staple -- first charted almost 42 years ago. By contrast, it's hard to imagine the 1925 recording that would have been on the radio when "Brown Eyed Girl" was new; just being on this side of the rock 'n' roll era has made an longer lifespan possible for most songs. But very few records from 1967 have the same overall currency with the general public; ("Are You Lonely For Me" by Morrison's label-mate Freddie Scott, a record just a few months older, is timeless to me. But it's sadly lost to many.)
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FACT - The current state of the economy has employees working in fear and
management navigating through it while looking over their shoulder,
wondering if their leadership is being questioned. In spite of these
realities, LEADERSHIP must create new opportunities for the organization by creating its own “Phoenix” (i.e. to rise from the ashes).
In the days before "stimulus", successful organizations had what they
believed to be obtainable goals. Since 2008, many organizations find
themselves trying to define and redefine how their organizations are
currently running, constantly searching for that winning formula.
Has your organization's objectives really changed?
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Here’s a nasty truth that often doesn’t show itself until way too late in the game: You understand that you, as managers, through no fault of your own, have little experience dealing with really tough times. We’ve established that and I think most of you get it. Concurrently, you see that the same is true for lots of your staffers, especially sellers. But what about your systems, the account tracking, activity monitoring, personality profiling, yield and contact managing programs and devices that sometimes we get to use like management light sabers and other times get under your skin like a third grade tattle-tale?
Think about this: One of the measures that virtually all GMs, DOSs and SMs take into account when looking to balance their sales strategy, is sell-out level. Lots of inventory pressure means one set of tactics, while lower pressure on inventory requires other, different techniques. However, what if there is almost NO pressure on inventory? I assure you that in lots of markets across America, there IS almost no inventory pressure. I mean, have you ever in your life heard so many PSAs detailing the “Seven Deadly Signs of Hemorrhoids?”
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Since consolidation the radio industry has always depended on ample advertising revenue to pump free cash into paying debt.
As long as the major groups could keep the money coming in, they could make payments on the massive debt they accrued by acquiring stations at unrealistically high prices.
Now, many of the major consolidators are in danger of defaulting on their loans.
Unlike in better times, they can't get banks to simply refinance the debt at favorable rates (to the banks!).
Of course, the banks also have a problem.
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Let’s begin by asking two important questions:
• What SHOULD my customers buy?
• What WILL my customers buy?
We’re all big kids in here. We know that what our customers should buy is often at odds with what they will buy. This is, of course, sometimes directly related to the “Agencies Suck” discussion we just had in the first of these "New Tricks" columns. You bring a client a KILLER idea and the agency wants to break it down into little tiny analyzable pieces, proving that, “your cost per point is WAY outta line, Mister!” That’s one of the critical reasons that you need to be talking directly to the client. Not to convince them to buy something expensive, but to convince them to buy something that is RIGHT!
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Whatever CBS' newly launched CHRs may do in Los Angeles and New York, they've had the additional effect of reigniting broadcasters' interest in radio battles beyond their own backyard -- no small accomplishment in these dismaying times. The WHTZ (Z100) vs. WXRK (Now 92.3) battle isn't just the first time in a while that the out-of-market PDs I talk to have wanted to discuss what's going on in New York radio, it's also the first time in a long time that so many have obviously made the effort to listen themselves.
WXRK and KLSX (Amp 97.1) Los Angeles have given the format battle new currency after 10 to 15 years of relative dormancy, during which the best way to dismantle a competitor wasn't to out-program or out-promote them, but just to buy them and fire everybody, even if they were winning. (Or particularly if they were winning.) All of which got me thinking, of course, of other format battles that were particularly influential for me.
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Whatever CBS' newly launched CHRs may do in Los Angeles and New York, they've had the additional effect of reigniting broadcasters' interest in radio battles beyond their own backyard -- no small accomplishment in these dismaying times. The WHTZ (Z100) vs. WXRK (Now 92.3) battle isn't just the first time in a while that the out-of-market PDs I talk to have wanted to discuss what's going on in New York radio, it's also the first time in a long time that so many have obviously made the effort to listen themselves.
WXRK and KLSX (Amp 97.1) Los Angeles have given the format battle new currency after 10 to 15 years of relative dormancy, during which the best way to dismantle a competitor wasn't to out-program or out-promote them, but just to buy them and fire everybody, even if they were winning. (Or particularly if they were winning.) All of which got me thinking, of course, of other format battles that were particularly influential for me.
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Do you remember when you first discovered music? The artists you identified with, the songs that sang about your own teenage years? For many programmers, the music they came of age to in their teens and young adult years, are part of the reason--or at least a major force--that drew them to radio in the first place.
But somewhere along the way, some programmers lose that passion for music, and for new artists that might be slightly off-edge and different. And understandably so. PDs have a lot on their plates today, and much more important things than music to worry about. That’s why you have music directors and mix show DJs who can tap into what’s hot, and what’s not, and keep a station current.
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Lindsay Wood Davis, a Radio Sales & Management consultant, has put together a five-part series for Radio-Info.com, on the how to manage more effectively and accomplish more, in difficult economic times. Read part one, here:
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Nominations are open now!
What Tweets are your must-reads? What are the best and most important Twitterati in Radio-land?
[Comment here with your nomination(s)](http://www.hear2.com/). Please, only a couple per submission, max! Make sure to include the link! (And be patient while you wait for your comments to appear - they are moderated)
I'll run through the nominees and post the winners from your list next week!
Remember, we're looking for the tweets that help you do your job better. Not the tweets that illustrate the exciting life of Ashton Kutcher.
Feel free to retweet this invitation and spread word to your network.
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When WXRK (Now 92.3) New York launched its Top 40 attack on heritage rival WHTZ (Z100), one of the first things it did was try to reimage Z100 and morning host Elvis Duran as old and dated by running promos with "Mickey" by Toni Basil, a song that remains the standard bearer of '80s cheese for anybody who didn't help make it a platinum single at the time. ("Mickey" was also used about a decade ago in an ad for a music-related dot-com as an example of what 60-year-old record executives thought the youth of America wanted.)
Of course, Z100 never played "Mickey" as a current. It was already more than six months old in America when Z100 signed on. Any 12-to-24 listener who might want their Top 40 in a shiny new package wasn't even born when it was a hit, and doesn't necessarily know what "Mickey" is, except that it sounds like "Hollaback Girl" and Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend." Whatever your taste in music, there's a lot that Z100 - like any heritage CHR -- has played over the years that could induce just as many groans now from someone, just a few of which include:
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Talk Radio Network has announced plans to produce and distribute a morning show based on content from The Washington Times. According to TRN and the Times, the three-hour show (6a-9a) will feature investigative stories, newsmaker interviews, and discussions with reporters from the conservative daily. TRN promises the show will be “fast-paced.” Based on that limited information, the show sounds very much like a broader version of the Wall Street Journal This Morning, which has enjoyed considerable success over the past two years.
Flash prognosis? Properly conceived and executed, the Washington Times programming could be an excellent option for the third talk station in a large market, or the second talker in a mid to small market. The timing is certainly right for a decent morning show available on barter.
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It was only a few months ago when those who used the word “recession” were chastised. The critics would respond with “Negative talk is to blame” or “We’re not going to take part in the recession.” That may have worked in past recessions, but not this one. Today everyone is looking for any evidence that everything will be OK again and we can get back to normal.
Most clues indicate that’s not going to happen anytime soon. (1) The Recession will affect everyone to some extent and (2) When Radio “comes back,” it isn’t going to be the same. Just like the larger economy, growth wasn’t backed by cash in the bank but by borrowing. Radio groups are burdened with insane amounts of debt with market caps below the value of a company’s real estate alone. The cash flows are being halved and station multiples are at 5x.
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Lots of people have been sending me B101's recent announcement that they would stop streaming their content to make a statement about dramatically higher royalty rates.
Let me first say that I, like everyone in the industry, have tremendous respect for Jerry Lee and the gang at B101. They are not the first broadcasters to make this decision, but they are the ones that garner all the attention, and it's because they are leaders in the industry.
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I have had the opportunity to work with radio stations in two markets where PPM is now the law of the land. The first in Houston and the other in Dallas. StarCall conducted telemarketing in those markets, specifically to try to gauge what impact outside marketing would have on the PPM. Would the impact show instantly? What type of specific benefit for listening would be most effective? Could the ratings really be impacted during a very short campaign? Could the ratings be impacted with a small budget? What effect might this have in the future with regard to spot prices, rating point estimates, cost per point and the overall success for the advertiser as well as the station?
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Edison Research and Country Radio Broadcasters recently teamed up to present the fourth iteration of the Edison/CRB National Country P1 study. This survey of over 13,000 Country listeners was presented on March 6th at CRS in Nashville by Edison's Tom Webster, and touched on the health of the format, how listeners feel about repetition, and the rise of social networking.
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Permalink As the music industry's quest for a performance royalty heats up again today on Capitol Hill, one of the record industry's talking points is the veteran touring artist - the act that rarely gets airplay from current-based formats, and supposedly receives little benefit from Classic Rock or Oldies airplay, no matter how prevalent.
And yet, a look at Pollstar.com's Top 50 top artists chart tells an interesting story. That chart, derived from the number of tour date inquiries for various artists, is dominated by acts who still receive considerable airplay at radio, whether it's for their new music or, more often, their gold titles.
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Wisely, the National Association of Broadcasters has backed a resolution in Congress that opposes the introduction of “any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge” on radio stations. The Local Radio Freedom Act has at least 135 signatures (as of now) from both sides of the aisle. I say “great idea” with a big twist: radio stations that do not act locally should not be protected.
There should be very basic assumptions met to qualify a radio station as being local. Being local is very different from being a transmitter, which defines too many radio stations today.
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Okay, most major-market broadcasters have changed their stations to comply with the perceived demands of PPM. They've installed their cold segues. They've cut the jocks back to a few breaks an hour. They've shortened the sweepers.
So why aren't their stations better paced?
One of the things that has become clear listening to radio in Philadelphia and elsewhere is that brevity doesn't guarantee forward motion on a station. It's better than being drawn-out and clunky - but a station can have short stagers and two jock breaks an hour and still sound oddly disjointed.
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