April 22, 2022
How much attention should Top 40 radio be allocating toward the TikTok generation of music fans?
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Valentine, WBHT: You have to pay attention and use it as another tool, but not overuse it. TikTok is just a hook of a song, when you assess the entire song, “is the whole song a hit?” It’s important to embrace those songs and use the hooks in a music promo.
Randi West, WRMF: My feeling about TikTok songs in general are that sometimes you need the visual for the full impact of a song. That’s exactly why there are songs in movies that never make it to radio. They capture a moment that is visual. Also, though Tiktok was used in its early stages as a dance trend app, it has now become a content app. You just need to be where your fans are, there are too many distractions out there.
Guy Zapoleon, Zapoleon Consulting: As we try to get TikTok fans, the first step is completing the mission of getting great talent around the clock and talent that is relatable to a teen and young adult audience. Once you find that unique talent then you have a magnet that will draw listeners into a night show with great fun, surprising and entertaining content, and music on a hosted night show which can gain sharing from TikTok’s audience. We can learn a lot from TikTok as it is reflecting Pop culture and star starting trends, something that radio used to be all about! |
Mike O’Donnell, WKRZ: It’s definitely a factor these days in finding some hits, so you need to be in touch with that aspect. Artists and songs will always be on a case by case basis. If it fits within the framework of the station, you need to seriously look at it. Rick Vaughn, KENZ: If we value our future as a legitimate medium, we better pay attention.
Jana Sutter, WXXL: If we’re doing Pop radio and TikTok is Pop culture then we would definitely be missing out on moments if we acted like it wasn’t there. At the same time, you can’t overreact just because something’s trending one second and may not be the next. It’s a balance. Fish, WKRZ: We need to address it like we addressed the music cycle 10-15 years ago when T40 music was split among different genres. Case by case basis, it has to make sense for radio, and you have to know that it can be a radio hit, you have to rely on your ears. Joey Brooks, WKSS: My kids are on it non-stop so it’s pretty top of mind in my household. It’s important for music discovery but you have to filter it. Some of the stuff takes off instantly so you have to look beyond the initial impact. We need to find those songs that not only explode early on but continue to have legs for the long haul. Dom Theodore, Radio Animal Media Strategies: A lot! But be careful not to get sucked into believing that novelty songs are bigger hits than they really are.
Big Rob, KKPL/KMAX: That’s a loaded question. You wanna play what they know and wanna hear. But, how many of those TikTok songs are we playing in re-currents right now? A handful, sure, but a lot of them go away as fast as they appear. I’d rather play long lasting REAL hits, not fads. Gangnam Style was huge.. not a radio hit! |
Josh Wolff, WAEB: We should be playing the true TikTok hits to meet the audience’s expectations. Lee Abrams mediavisions: TikTok is a powerful discovery new generation platform with massive exposure potential.
Toby Knapp, WASH: Lots. I’d be paying attention to anyone who can influence pop culture when it comes to music and the songs we consider playing. But maybe that’s just me. I’d also remember that – with that audience – you don’t want to come off as “extra try hard” or your authenticity will go out the window with that core audience. Jagger, KCHZ: We need to pay a decent amount of attention because so much of our music is breaking out of the platform. We can’t overcommit, but we certainly discuss those impact songs on a case by case basis. Kobe, WUVA: I believe a big part of it while not letting it dictate our music decisions. The fact of the matter is TikTok is a major player in how new music is discovered. If we’re not understanding that, then we are not relevant to the new music conversation. Pick the right ones that make sense for your brands, TikTok like everything else is another tool to be used with our complete arsenal of tools. Bob Patrick, WXLK: It should be a piece of the puzzle but not all TikTok songs are radio hits. |
Brian Mack, iHeartMedia: Regarding new music, the biggest TikTok songs reveal themselves using the same analytics, so you don’t even necessarily need to know where they’re coming from. My belief is that the songs are just one fading lure for consumers. The goal is to actually create unique content that lives on TikTok, YouTube, Stream, FM Dial etc. In that case we should be putting just as much time into our TikTok content as we do our FM.
Elise, WPLW: When I’m looking for new “Test Drive” songs for our feature I’ll see what’s trending on TikTok. It does have a minor affect on what we do because it’s where several new artist are found, but I still look at what’s trending on the charts first, than defer to TikTok.
Jon Zellner, iHeartMedia: I think it’s always on a song-by-song basis and just one of the many metrics that need to be considered when making music decisions.
Bartel. WKTU: Radio needs to stay in touch with pop culture, So it should always be looked at as an important piece of the overall puzzle.
Jonathan Shuford, WRVW Well, that’s the million-dollar question in radio right now? We’re not in the music business anymore, we’re in the attention business. If Gen Z’s attention span was an Apple TV menu, would radio be an icon on their home screen, or an “other app” they go to when they’re bored of everything else? We better hope for the former. So yes, without alienating our core user right now, we need to be spending significant time and effort towards getting the next generation of radio users to actually use the radio (in whatever form it takes).
Next Week’s Question Of The Week:
If you were teaching Radio 101, what would your core curriculum be given the current environment of radio?
e-Mail your responses to: jodorisio@deanemediasolutions.com or bburke@deanemediasolutions.com
