(Seth Resler)
The economics of content are changing.
As a radio consultant, there is one question I dread hearing from executives: “What are other radio stations doing?”
I understand why they ask. When you’re trying to solve a problem, it makes sense to look at what your competitors are doing. But radio has a tendency to be insular.
We spend so much time looking at other radio stations that we fail to see what’s happening outside our own industry.
And that’s a problem, because the economic forces challenging radio aren’t unique to broadcasting. They’re also affecting newspapers, television networks, Hollywood studios, video game publishers, and digital media companies like BuzzFeed and Vox. If we want to understand what’s happening to radio, we need to look at what’s happening to the entire content industry.
The Economics of Content Are Shaped by Scarcity
For decades, the companies that controlled content distribution, including broadcasters and publishers, held enormous economic power because few competitors could afford the infrastructure required to reach a mass audience. Content distribution was lucrative even if you did not create or own the content being distributed.
In the case of radio, stations didn’t need to create or own the music; they controlled something that musicians and record labels desperately needed: access to listeners.
Then the internet came along.
What Happens When Distribution Is No Longer Scarce?
The internet eliminated many of the barriers that had protected traditional media companies. Suddenly, almost anybody could distribute content to a global audience. Today, an independent musician can upload a song to Spotify; a teenager can build an audience on YouTube; a podcaster can reach listeners around the world without owning a transmitter.
And thanks to artificial intelligence, the cost of creating content is falling, too. The result is an abundance of content competing for a finite amount of attention.
Now that almost anybody can distribute content, the power has shifted to the companies that attract consumers and help them find what they want. That’s why companies like Google, YouTube, TikTok, and Spotify have become so valuable. Meanwhile, traditional media companies like radio stations are no longer the gatekeepers to audiences that they once were.
In other words, when technology eliminates one source of scarcity, economic power shifts elsewhere.
And that’s why radio’s challenges look so similar to those facing newspapers, television networks, and other media businesses. We’re all dealing with the same fundamental shift: distribution is no longer scarce for any of us.
Why More Content Isn’t the Answer
Most stations are still trying to solve their revenue problems by finding new ways to create and distribute content: through podcasts, videos, social media posts, and more. But content creation and distribution are no longer scarce, so that isn’t where the greatest economic advantage lies anymore.
Yet I see the same pattern over and over again: Stations with already stretched staffs keep adding podcasts, videos, and social media posts to their workloads, hoping that producing more content will bring in more revenue. Instead, they’re asking employees to do more and more for diminishing returns, leaving them exhausted without solving the underlying business problem.
If radio wants to build new revenue streams, it needs to provide something valuable that’s still scarce.
What Does Radio Have That Spotify Doesn’t?
I believe the answer is community. Or, more specifically, the sense of belonging that a well-designed community can create.
We live in a world where it’s easier than ever to consume content and communicate with people, yet millions of Americans struggle to find meaningful connections. Consider what former US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy found when he examined social connection in America. In his 2023 advisory on loneliness and isolation, he reported that approximately half of American adults had experienced loneliness, even before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Content is abundant. Distribution is abundant. But a genuine sense of belonging remains elusive.
Radio can’t realistically compete with YouTube on the volume of content it offers or with Spotify on its ability to surface music that matches each listener’s tastes.
But radio stations have an advantage when it comes to bringing people together. They already have a physical presence in their markets, relationships with local organizations, and personalities who can help listeners develop meaningful connections with one another.
Those advantages become more valuable when the goal shifts from distributing content to creating connections between audience members. And those connections can open up new streams of revenue.
From Content Revenue to Community Revenue
For decades, radio’s primary business model has been built around content. Stations attract audiences with programming, then monetize those audiences by selling advertising. This is Content Revenue.
But what if a radio station could generate revenue not just from the content it distributes, but from the relationships it helps people build?
That’s Community Revenue: a business model that generates sustainable revenue by creating spaces where members develop a sense of belonging and create value for one another.
Imagine a country station that brings together aspiring local musicians. Instead of simply inviting listeners to another concert, it organizes gatherings where musicians find bandmates, learn from experienced performers, collaborate on songs, and discover opportunities to book gigs.
Or consider a sports station that organizes recreational leagues where listeners form teams, compete throughout the season, and develop friendships. The value isn’t simply access to the station’s personalities. It’s the relationships and experiences that participants create together.
A news-talk station could bring together local entrepreneurs to exchange knowledge, solve business problems, and develop partnerships.
Those relationships have economic value. Members might pay to participate in events or ongoing experiences, while sponsors might pay to support communities that bring together people with shared interests. Unlike a traditional advertising model, the station doesn’t have to continually attract more listeners or generate more impressions to create additional value.
The important distinction is that the station isn’t simply charging people for more content. It’s creating something valuable that happens between members. That’s a different business model.
What Is Your Community Revenue Strategy?
Radio has spent decades building relationships between listeners and the people behind the microphone. Now it has an opportunity to build relationships among the listeners themselves—and create new revenue streams in the process.
So the next time you’re sitting in a management meeting, instead of asking, “What are other radio stations doing?” try asking a different question:
“What is our Community Revenue strategy?”
Seth Resler helps content creators, event producers, and media brands move beyond Content Revenue by turning audiences into communities—and communities into sustainable Community Revenue. With over 30 years of experience across radio, podcasting, events, and digital media, he’s advised organizations across the country and is a regular speaker at industry conferences including the NAB Show and Podcast Movement.
