Robby Bridges
by Robby Bridges
I had a number of thought provoking occurrences happen to me over the past several weeks which led me to the conclusion that a major problem with the radio industry today is the absence of “show business”. I reference the Justin Timberlake song lyric in my title not just humorously, but to note that Justin is an example an artist exuding “show biz glitz.” Justin is a brand and sold to us, his persona, his style, how he’s photographed, his shows and the sound of his music. Think of Justin Timberlake, you know what you’re going to get. Timberlake has been well marketed to the public. I attended a recent concert stop of Justin’s and not only observed all these traits in him, but also a comment my friend made, “Oh my god I love him, I would have paid anything to see him!”
While their images are different, artists from the Stones to Kenny Chesney generate that kind of passion. Take then a Rock band of kids who dress as they did in grade school, playing bars and pubs and sometimes accepting food and drink as pay for playing. That’s the way the radio industry, the most intimate of all mediums, reaching 99% of the population each week treats itself. This is far different from our show business counterparts in TV, film and even records. What is our brand? Not individual station brand, but as a medium, what are we? A new study released on June 26th detailed a growing number of Americans view Internet, with television close behind, the media they cannot live without. Radio, once rated above 30% is now at 17% and falling in relevancy. The radio industry has a brand awareness problem.
What’s ironic, to complete my analogy, is it would be as if a gifted star like Justin Timberlake were the performer settling to play small venues, working cheap and not commanding attention for his art in light of bigger acts, venues and shows. Radio has created its own brand acceptance problem and done so at a time when an increasing number of new technologies are eating away at radio’s TSL and AQH audience. Radio itself has pounded into the public’s head mantra like “more music, less talk.” That positioning in many formats across many markets often means just airing the same 250 songs with liners, promos and spots. Additionally, as evidenced in remarks made by Google’s chief executive in announcing that companies plans to sell radio ads, radio is notoriously undervaluing its reach and potential in the returns it gets by setting for what ought to be below standard rates and ignoring all but small audience niches as potential revenue sources.
I was discussing these very topics with two different friends of mine in the industry, both successful programmers I respect. I mentioned a point I had made in my last column for FMQB, that while the music is important, it’s the brand from which a station has its identity, but the role of compelling content from the personality to contesting to benchmarks were more important. What does that mean? Let’s use KIIS in LA as an example. KIIS has been branding itself as “Today’s Hit Music” in one way or another for 25 years. Southern Californians know what the KIIS brand is. But today more so than ever before, a 22-year-old living in Long Beach can download music or stream it using an mp3 player, an iPod, a cell phone or a Blackberry. They can listen to podcasts, Internet stations or music Web sites. If that 22-year-old likes hit music, they can hear it and hear exactly the song they wish to hear when they want to hear it. KIIS meanwhile, as they always have, offers mammoth promotions, big giveaways and compelling, exciting, marketed stars on the air Ryan Seacrest, Ellen K and JoJo Wright to name a few. The station’s branding is bigger than life and offers compelling talent and content surrounded by the best testing hits. So while songs are not played on demand a la an iPod, the music mix is a part of the stationality; “tune out and you’ll miss something, musically and otherwise.”
In many instances, radio has branded itself as just music and spots, and the listener is right. If radio can’t provide songs on demand as the personal audio device can, and we offer nothing more bar spots, why wouldn’t radio’s relevancy and TSL be on the decline? My colleagues said to me, “There’s nothing radio can do, it’s not the ’70s.” KIIS is an example of a station that has not forgotten how important flash or “show business” is in the presentation of music radio to combat this. A glance back at the tremendous reach and impact WABC had on the Big Appleas a music station reminds us of how to deliver the product with pride. In the ’70s, as today, radio used limited playlists and could not offer songs on demand. However, radio was far more zealous and outlandish in its promotional activities; it utilized its talents abilities to “reach out and touch the listener” and gave them freedom to entertain as it marketed itself as hip and exciting.
Additionally, many stations offered community bulletin boards, weather, traffic, news and information. What music stations are doing this today outside of perhaps AM drive? Providing compelling, exciting local content that a device can’t replicate, in addition to well researched playlists? “People just want music, they don’t want to hear DJs or anything else.” I suggest that what listeners don’t want to hear is clutter and they don’t want to hear DJs talking about nothing. In other words, a voice tracked midday talent reading liners and endless promos touting car dealership remotes are white noise. A young night jock being thrown on the air and doing 7-minute phone bits using “I” and “out there,” that’s white noise. No personality is a grave danger, no stationality is worse still. We need to train the next generation of compelling content delivering stars, that’s another article in itself.
Finally, I was flipping around the television a few weeks ago and landed on the Tony Awards. Now I am familiar with and enjoy the great musicals and I like a drama. I had heard of some of the plays and performers on the telecast but not all. I’ve been to a couple of Broadway plays, I know what it offers but I’m really not a theatre-goer. As I watched the show, the passionate performances made me want to see a number of these plays, and I was impressed by their performers. I enjoyed the celebration of the past year in theatre and of the great talents who’d graced the stage in years past. I was also taken that on an international broadcast, not only did the Broadway talents herald themselves and show pride for their work, they often referenced directors, producers and even local New York restaurants they frequent.
All of this struck me as if to say “Robby, we wanted you to come to the theatre more often. Look at what we offer, look at what we have done in years past. Come enjoy!” And further, though I am not familiar with many of the performers, producers or references made, it made me think how vogue and interesting theatre is. Now I can see a show locally, I can rent a movie or go to the cinema, I can even download the soundtrack of any Broadway show I want right now and listen until my heart’s content. What I can’t do is see these performers in the Broadway setting anyplace else. That’s the use of “show biz”. Radio needs to reinvent itself by reinvesting in itself to remain relevant and compelling as it did in the advent of TV. All we need do is what only we as an industry can do best.
Robby Bridges hosts afternoon drive and is part of the programming team/AMD at Providence’s number one radio station Cat Country 98.1 WCTK, arriving in 2003. He is also President of BBOR Productions, developing and marketing syndication, music and production pieces nationally. Previously Bridges has worked in various capacities at Z100/New York Q102/Philadelphia WODS and Mix 98.5/Boston and elsewhere in New England. Robby can be reached at 401-467-4366 or bridges@bborproductions.com.
