SOCIAL NETWORKING FOR RADIO

We are all using the social networking sites, but how is it helping us, which ones are the most important and are we using them correctly? Sure we invite listeners to be our friend, post station information and send out messages. But, aren't we suppose to be doing that with our station web sites through member clubs and e-blast?

It's a debate that continues today and I'm not sure that there is an easy answer. Of course radio stations should be implementing social networking into their own sites, but they can't ignore the social networking sites that are well established and popular with listeners like Facebook and Twitter.

I know this post doesn't offer a definite answer, it is meant to primarily ignite thought on the subject.

I only hope every radio station is using social networking sites to do four basic things. Connecting, communicating, informing, and linking listeners to the stations' official site.

CAN A LEOPARD CHANGE ITS SPOTS?

I could not decide on a name for this post. "Can A Leopard Change Its Spots?" is just the first thing that came to mind.


My mind is wondering... our industry is facing a lot of changes and programming is adopting changes daily (and its hard), but is the sales department changing too? I mean changing the way it's selling radio?

The popular complaint about programming is the diminishing local programming, but where are the local ad dollars? The sales reps are still going after agency and technical buyers and stations have more national advertising dollars verses local. What? Businesses in our own community can't afford us or wont benefit from advertising with us?

I know that each media medium (TV, New Paper, Radio) has traditional advertisers, but its about time the sales department look for new advertisers and new streams of revenue. The old well is drying up.

CHANGE

I finally figured out why people are afraid of change.

I like change and welcome it with open arms, but every time I present change in any form, it is mostly met with apprehensiveness.

Recently, the PD's in my cluster were asked about upgrading our music scheduling software from the DOS version of Selector to the windows version GSelecor or Music Master.

During the consideration, it suddenly hit me that I have spent at least 10 years learning the current DOS version of Selector and that I'm almost an expert on it. My first thought was that if we changed I would have to re-learn the new software... and I got a little concerned.

Now there were a few other reasons in the consideration like convertibility and ease of use, but not using a software I have spent the majority of my career using and mastering was actually a little sad for me.

Rest assure I quickly got a grip and my sadness turned into excitement. But now I think for the first time I really understand why people are afraid of change.

Lj

AIR-CHECK

It is amazing to me how many bad air-checks I receive from talent looking for an on-air position. When I'm listening to an air-check I'm listening to the talent, but I am also listening to how well the air-check is put together. There are several ways to put together a good air-check and it should only include one thing... you.

The Program Director is listening to your air-check to hear how you sound, how you execute and to see if your swagga even fits his or her station. So why is your long ass intro, your personal drops and artists drops are on the air-check?

Delete all the extras, drops from your station in Texas is not a consideration for a job in Alabama.

Make your air-check no longer than three minutes, PD's are multi-tasking more than ever these day and barely have time to listen to that much air-check and if the PD wants more he'll ask.

Finally, when choosing breaks to put on your air-check, there are two ways that get my attention. First, a compilation of your best breaks from different shows and second, the best breaks from one show edited together chronologically. I prefer the later.

These are my thoughts on how to put together an air-check... and putting it together is just as important as the personality of the talent.

Lj

THE FUTURE

The hot topic in radio today is the future of the medium. With all the competition from the internet, ipods, podcasting, satellite radio, etc., I am continually having this discussion and it seems to be more frequently due to the economic conditions the industry is facing with all the budget cuts and lay offs. Lets not forget automation, syndication, voice tracking, the PPM (Portable People Meter) electronic ratings system and the effects they are having on our industry.

Our industry is also experiencing costs it has never incurred before, from streaming and online royalty costs to an estimated 60% increase in cost for Arbitron's PPM ratings services. And keep in mind that these expense increases come at a time when revenues are declining quarterly.


There is so much to discuss when talking about the future of this radio business. I just hope talented program directors and local personalities have a future in radio.

Lj

CAN A NICHE BE A SUCCESSFUL FORMAT?

Recently a station in my cluster switch to a format based on the success of a specialty show that was airing on the weekend of a previous format. But to date, the station has experienced very little ratings or revenue success. This reminded me of when KDAY returned to the L.A. market with a 24 hour Classic Hip-Hop format and was unsuccessful in the ratings and revenue department. So, it brings me to think... can a niche, specialty show (neo-soul, classic hip-hop, blues, mix show, etc) be a successful 24 hour format? I mention mix show because a station in Memphis tried the 24 hour mix format without much success.

I'm sure there has to be a success story somewhere. If you have one please share. But, my understanding of listener behavior and marketing leads me to believe that a format can not be successful if it is not appealing to the majority. You have to please the majority most of the time and not the minority some of the time to be successful. And my definition of success is #1 ratings in a specified demo.

So, can a niche be a format?

LJ

PERFORMACE ROYALTIES

If you watched the 2009 Grammy Awards you saw Grammy president Neil Portnow mention performance royalties for artists. Currently terrestrial radio stations are exempt from paying these royalties. However, internet and satellite radio do pay performers' compensation. Now, terrestrial radio is not exempt from paying any royalty fees, we do pay BMI and ASCAP (songwriters and publishers).


This new legislation is called the Performance Rights Act and its getting a lot of support in Congress. And there are legitimate arguments, for and against, on both sides.

But let just be real. Record company's seek air play to expose their artists to the public and exposure is the reason for marketing. A record company has to pay magazines, TV stations and billboards to market a song but do not have to pay radio to play it.

So think about this... if radio has to pay artists a fee to air a song, would it be wrong for radio to charge to play that song?

I'm just thinking that the Performance Rights Act, if passed, could change radio forever.

Lj

NO STATION IS PERFECT

No station is perfect... can you think of one? People complain about something on every station. Just think about it... "They don't play enough east cost hip-hop", "they need to play more r&b", "they need to play old school hip-hop", "they running too many syndicated shows", and the list goes on and on and on.

It's not that everyone wants to be a Program Director. Radio is art and art is interpretive. You interpret it one way and someone else will interpret it another. Think about music... you love the song but no one else does and you can't understand it.

Look, it's ok to have an opinion about the station, its music, format, promotions, etc. But this job is not about pleasing everyone all the time, it's about pleasing the majority most of the time. That's why you have different formats. If you like hip-hop you can listen to the hip-hop station and if you like rock you can listen to the rock station.

I know you think the station should do what you like, but remember... no station is going to be perfect to everyone.

LJ

A WINNING SHOW

I'm often asked about how to have a winning show and I do share a few elements with my talent that I think is consistent of all winning personalities.

1. Be a fan of your station - if you are not, how can you expect your listener's to be?
2. All your breaks should pass the "who care's?" test - think before you speak
3. Know the station's target listener - why talk about hip-hop if you're on an R&B station?
4. Respect the music - listener's really want to hear the whole song, so why talk all over it?
5. Front and back sell - you will be familiar with the song long before your listener's are
6. Provide artist info - your listener's will want to know what the artist are up to
7. Talk about your city - landmarks, major events, traffic conditions, etc.
8. Talk about the weather - talk about it on the air, listeners are talking about it off
9. Tease and Please - keep your listener's curious about what you got coming up
10. No inside jokes - don't exclude your listener's from your show

If you just implement some of this, you'll start feeling smarter and your listener's will feel like you are living the lifestyle with them.

Others will have their opinion, but these are my 10 elements to a winning show.

LJ

HOW CAN I SURVIVE?

With budget cuts rampant in our industry (and the world) I was just thinking... "How can I survive?"

While budget cuts are mostly based on a number... "cut 10%" or "cut 100K", a human is making these cuts. So I thought of 5 way to avoid being cut, but it has a lot to do with me making a few sacrifices. These probably apply if you're full or part time.

1. BE ON TIME FOR WORK weather it's for an on-air shift, production, meeting, a van hit or remote. Tardiness just means the job must not be that important to you if you don't respect it enough to show up on time. So why not cut you.

2. WORK EXTRA WITHOUT PAY. Cutting hours is the first area we are usually asked to make adjustments in next to controlling expenses. So why not do the extra work and keep my job.

3. SUGGEST BUDGET SAVING IDEA'S. There has to be something or some area, I notice, that can save the company money.

4. VOLUNTEER TO TAKE A PAY CUT. I know this a hard pill to swallow. But a small pay cut is better than no pay check.

5. STOP ASKING FOR A RAISE. You won't get one in this environment and to keep asking is annoying.

It's an employer's market and while there are no guarantees when it comes to budget cuts and some of these seem drastic, taking the above actions could be proactive and save your job.

It's just my opinion on how you can survive.

LJ

I AM A MANAGER

I have always wondered why these corporations, that own these radio stations, would put them in the hands of some very talented programmers, but not offer them any form of management training.

A Program Director does a lot of managing. You have to manage your staff, other departments (promotions, sales, production) and upper management (OM, GM, Corporate). There is a lot of interactions and situations, and each situation is different. But without proper training or prior experience dealing with any particular situation, a PD's actions could cost the company an awful lawsuit. Lord knows I have faced some tough situations as a PD and I will admit that I did not handle all of them the best way. But I have learned from each and have gotten better. You get better with every experience.

I am thankful for all the programming training the companies offer (Selector, Arbitron, Call-out, Perceptual, etc.). It all makes for a better programmer, but we do have to manage a staff for you... I am a manager.

LJ

ISN'T IT TIME?

Recently WRNB in Philly adjusted their UAC format to focus more on R&B from the 90's and today. While this is great news, I must say that my station WUHT in Birmingham has been trying this different twist on the UAC format since 2005. However, we do play some 80's. So we're not a pure 90's and today station. But we are trying a different approach to the UAC format. A few years ago KRNB in Dallas also refocused their format to include mostly new R&B with recurrents from the 2000's and a few 90's titles. So as you can see some pioneers are stepping out tying to be ahead of the curve. But I'm thinking... Isn't it time?

If you look at the non-urban Adult Contemporary format, you see a lot of diversity. For example they have AC, Soft AC, Hot AC and Rhythmic AC formats to fit the different taste and lifestyles of that audience. But at Urban you only get Mainstream, UAC, Gospel and i think there may be a few black talks still around.

Now, I don't think we should abandon the traditional UAC format. Heck, its the one urban format that has proven it's self in both the dairy ratings system and now in the PPM world (Just take a look at the PPM performance of WALR, WHUR and KMJQ just to name a few). But I do know that there is a big gap between Mainstream Urban and UAC stations.

This debate has been going on for some time now. And as usual I think radio is late to the party. So again I ask... Isn't it time?

LJ

THE BASICS

Are the basics still important to winning in radio? You know the basics... one thought per break, open and close with the station, don't talk over songs that end cold... yeah those basics. The question is being posed because of the changing ratings landscape from diary to PPM. I am also seeing syndicated talent (no names) breaking all the rules yet still garnishing ratings success.

In my career (18 years) I have always succeeded executing the basics, but our industry is consistently changing. Is it time the basics of radio change too? Again, are the basics still important to winning in radio?

LJ