May 27, 2011
by Ed Ryan
CBS radio boss Dan Mason is one of radio's group heads not afraid to speak his mind and let everyone know what he thinks. When he writes a memo to his employees instead of worrying about somebody leaking it to the radio trades, his staff sends it out. He's visible at industry conventions, not worried about trying to fly under the radar. In light of the increasingly crowded and competitive battle for the consumer's ears these days, there's been a lot of talk about radio figuring out a way to speak with one voice. Mason wouldn't be a bad choice in that role.
His latest memo had to do with a directive given to CBS music stations. After a meeting with a music executive Mason came to the conclusion that the industry needed to do a better job identifying songs and artists on the air. Over the years, for some reason, stations have gotten away from opting, a lot of times, for unprepared and meaningless chatter that turns off the listener. That music exec told Mason identifying the artists would help him sell more music. That brings us back to the age old debate in radio. Why don't jocks back-announce songs? How much clutter is too much clutter? How much mindless chatter can the listener tolerate? There are many questions. And we turned to the industry experts for the answers.
Jacobs Media President Fred Jacobs says we're all struggling with those questions. "Doing great radio and finding the optimal avenues for different formats in which to deliver artist and title information is a key. This is clearly a promotable benefit. In research study after research study, listeners tell us that they value this information - and they're frustrated when they don't get it. The trick is developing the balance of delivering the information in a timely PPM-friendly fashion. For well-branded stations with strong personality, this won't be hard. Creative programmers will find a way, and their audiences will benefit from having this information, rather than using Shazam or racing off to a search engine to find out the name of that damn song!"
Jaye Albright of Albright & O'Malley tells Radio Ink there is no boiler plate answer. "The more compelling the
personality and the content, the more. The less personable and relatable the non-music programming on a music FM is, the better the station will do with less of it, as long is the goal is short term only. LONG term, developing strong entertainers who know how to use content as a magnet, the better the station will do. Listeners like it best when there is NO clutter. Limiting unwanted elements that make money has always been the greatest programming competitive challenge. Running any clutter of any kind which doesn't drive revenue or usage is foolhardy.
McVay Media President Mike McVay says he's a huge fan of identifying the music. "WBEB/Philadelphia invented the tactic of "Song Tags." That's my favorite tactic. It's a quick recorded blip that announces the song title/artist name. Even if you have the visual tags on the listeners radio tuner, they still want to hear the name of the song that's been played. I do not subscribe to the "one size fits all" philosophy, but I do believe that you have to declare if you're a music station or a personality station. If you're a music station ... play 12 songs minimum per/hour. We've learned from the People Meter that the "tune out" types are gone by the second commercial, if they're tuning out, but if a listeners sticks through two spots, they're likely to hang-in for the complete set.
Lund Media Research President John Lund says the research says that listeners really want this. "Listeners do
want to know what played. That?s why stations have this info on their website ? including the last 10 songs that aired. But it is impractical to B/A all songs in every format since it breaks the flow ? especially in PPM markets. Title and artist is highly desired ? and that means back-announcing after the song, but not fore-announcing. Stopping to B/A every song will be perceived by some as stopping down. Must be programmed carefully. I bet Clear Channel and Entercom are looking forward to all CBS stations back-announcing every song with title and artist.
Humans like humans, and listeners like to hear our air talents communicate one-on-one. I don?t consider liners to be talk, but rather benefits of continued listening i.e., mini commercials for the radio station, and liners reinforce reasons to listen. I disagree with one sentence below ? not all talk is perceived as ?all that clutter?. That would be especially true this week on the Country FM in Joplin, MO Kix 102.5.
Second oldest question in commercial radio: ?How many commercials an hour do we play?? Oldest is ?what format do we run??? Answer: Do not play many more than the competition you share audience with. We?re in the audience satisfaction business and we play the music targeted for the researched demo. But if we have to stop down, keep it competitive. Don?t give reasons for customers to shop other stores.
Gary Berkowiz of Berkowitz Consulting says "Yes, yes, yes. I have been a major advocate of this practice for a long time. Afterall, what do DJ's do? They tell you the songs they are playing. I advise my stations that when they are into music, always make the jock raps about the station benefits and the music. The biggest excuse I hear for not doing this is "They know all the songs we play." That is not true. In focus groups across the country, listeners frequently complain that they would like the radio stations to tell them the songs and artists more often. I have been using "song tags" on many stations for the past few years (a recorded backsell on every song played) and the listener reaction is always positive to them.
Listeners hear two things on radio stations. Music and everything else. They do not delineate promos, commercials, liners, etc. Its just music and everything else. For that reason, I try to play as much music as possible, keep it moving forward and still find a way to weave the personalities into the mix. If station promos are not highly compelling, I say drop em! I believe 12 minutes/12 units max is best. Lately, its the units that are causing problems. I have always believed that listeners hear "messages" not "minutes".
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