When The Train Becomes Obvious, Get Off The Tracks

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(By Loyd Ford) I hear it. Do you? Maybe you’ve heard some of the experts scratching their heads about getting more 18 – 34s back to the radio. Of course, you’ve heard conversation about things opening up and people returning to their habits pre-pandemic, but are they really? What if they return to new habits?

It’s been a long time since radio has faced such a potentially scary blind time when so many habits may have shifted or changed completely without our having researched knowledge about where those habits are heading. Disruption can be harsh and unforgiving. I’m sure you are listening like I am, right?

It doesn’t matter if you are a market manager, a CEO, a morning show talent or anyone else in this business, what the hopefully temporary consequences of the pandemic have done to our business was attention getting. But what happens now? That is really an even more important question.

  • Will the old habits of listening return to pre-pandemic levels?
  • Will radio continue to be an important part of listener lives?

You’ve been watching how many Americans are paying for audio now, right? This isn’t only more choices. Something is happening. The value of audio seems to be more valued than ever, but radio in many places has become more generic. The muting of personalities and the overall reduction of risk has created a lot of very predictable experiences.

Is that good? If I can get Spotify (or a wide variety of other choices for music), why do I need YOU, radio?

While we’ve been busy in the consolidated era making hundreds and hundreds of radio stations sound like….the others and we have placed limits on personalities and rubber-stamped mass voice tracking to create a consistent product in formats X, Y and Z, what has happened to radio getting attention?

Zero. That’s right. Largely ZERO.

We even have major broadcast companies abandoning the word radio and realigning themselves as audio.

Radio is the problem, right? We want to be social media or playlist creators or national platforms, right?

What if that is what is killing radio?

While television (yes, this includes Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and everything else) has continued to develop personalities, stars and worked to develop fame for these characters, radio has tried to figure out how to further reduce dependence on personalities by either making more generic voice tracking ‘blankets’ (one personality covering many markets) or making a few national platform personalities with no connection to a local market.

So, here is what I am suggesting that the key holders of radio do now:

  • Risks must be taken. Without risks, progress and certainly attention will be minimal.

  • Radio should begin recruiting new morning show talents (call this development) directly from podcasting and social media.

  • We need to get busy becoming influencers that go and grow beyond the radio signal and we need to do that with the people who are making that impact now.

  • Radio clusters should have opportunities to take risk with lower performing stations and create more attention for radio today.

 

Loyd Ford consults radio stations, coaches personalities, and provides behavioral and strategic programming to radio with RPC. If you’re on the Clubhouse app, you can join Loyd’s radio pro encouragement group “The Encouragers.” Reach him anytime. 864.448.4169 or [email protected].

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