In this week’s Programming To Win column, Mike Henry looks at the importance of “music discovery.” Henry argues that Triple A radio has carved out the music discovery position in radio, and with digital services moving in on that turf, he suggests a number of ways to own the discovery of new music in your market.
Mike Henry
By Mike Henry
What do these media outlets have in common: Spotify, Rdio, Twitter Music, Google Music, iTunes Radio, MOG (soon to be Beats), Alternative and CHR radio stations, and several Sirius channels? They all want what Triple A radio stations already have, which is the perception of “Music Discovery” and the monetize-able activity surrounding Music Discovery.
Without using the “Music Discovery” label, Music Discovery is what Triple A stations have done best on radio for decades in large markets such as New York, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston, San Diego, Minneapolis, Denver, Portland, Indianapolis and Milwaukee, and in many smaller markets such as Austin, Charlottesville and Burlington. These and other Triple A stations in the U.S. have carved out a position by having the best PDs in the business who still program by ear and gut, relying on wide and deep playlists, tons of new music, aggressive programming features, air talent who communicate about music with credibility, and station promotions that provide direct access to artists and music events.
Fast-forward to 2013, and it seems that all of music media has awakened to the fact that Music Discovery is an important and viable position. Based on their actions, one could surmise that Music Discovery is at the very top position of the music food chain. Music Discovery embodies the emotion and the actions from which they seek to profit. In response to Pandora’s stale algorithmic approach to streaming music channels, the other streaming music services are countering with a model that offers curated, filtered streaming music channels with a heavy emphasis on Music Discovery. Every week there seems to be a new announcement in this vein.
The realization that Music Discovery is critical has not been lost on Alternative radio stations either. The new music at many Alternative stations is now closer to Triple A than ever before. Take a look at the playlists of just three examples, KNRK/Portland, KBZT/San Diego, and WLUM/Milwaukee, and you’ll find great overlap with the Triple A station in that market. Alternative stations tend to have shorter playlists with faster rotations, and without the older library of many Triple As. Perceptually, the Alternative stations’ commitment to Music Discovery is even more pronounced. As time goes on, CHR stations will also start to promote Music Discovery in their even more narrow world. Don’t forget that history suggests that stations that play the best songs and the best music mix, particularly those with shorter playlists and heavier spins, fare better in ratings wars. So how do Triple A stations, with wider and deeper playlists and fewer spins, and many on the non-commercial dial, own Music Discovery in a heightened competitive landscape for this position?
Play the Hits!
First, PLAY THE HITS and play them as much as you can! Don’t be afraid of playing hit songs, even after they’ve been co-opted into the music mainstream. In fact, this is the best case scenario because it reinforces Triple A’s position at the top of the music food chain with Music Discovery. Most Triple A stations would benefit by playing the hits more than they do now, in terms of faster rotations, shorter turnovers and more spins per week. Get behind the best new songs, not all the new songs. Your listeners expect curation and not a fully open valve of songs without the filter you provide. This is the fundamental entry point into Music Discovery. Without the hits, all the breadth, depth, and new music is just a wall of unfamiliarity without an entrance point.
New, Deep and Local
Second, define Music Discovery for what your station does uniquely. In most cases, this centers on New, Deep and Local music.
New music is vital to Triple A. The list of artists that have started at Triple A and moved to huge mainstream success is impressive. From the Sheryl Crow in the ‘90s to Imagine Dragons today, radio playlists and Grammy Awards heavily favor artists and songs that started on Triple A. That’s because Triple A is the format that gives many artists their first shot. Listeners expect it. Therefore, act quickly and remain aggressive with new music. Get on the right songs first, spin them as much as you can, and own them exclusively for as long as possible. In most cases, don’t give up on the hits when they cross over to other formats.
Deep music is another Triple A calling card. Deep tracks from the past and present are often exclusive tracks to the Triple A station in the market. This is a point of differentiation from the all-hit radio stations up and down the dial. The right deep tracks differ from station to station and market to market. It’s one of the things that make you special.
Local music is an important piece of the Triple A music puzzle. Every market has great local music; you just have to find it. When I helped launch WYMS, RadioMilwaukee in 2007, we started with three local songs in a market not known at the time for local music. Today, RadioMilwaukee has played over 150 local songs in regular rotation and has an incredibly vibrant local music scene. They even created and host the local music awards. The same story has repeated itself across the nation. This is a critical point: Don’t segregate local music into a special weekend program. Instead, put the best of the best from your market in rotation and play them in between U2 and Phoenix and make them stars. Many Triple A stations now hang their hat on this music and this image because it’s territory they can own outright. As non-local music competitors propagate, a Triple A station’s ownership of the local music scene is valuable real estate to own.
To be clear, “New, Deep and Local” is an action (play them), but more importantly these are images that are critical to own through positioning and marketing. This doesn’t mean you don’t still play the hits, it just means there is more ground to be made around the imaging of what makes you special versus those things that bring you closer to the competition.
When in doubt, TURN LEFT
Lastly, when faced with decisions that pit the safe choice against the risky choice, turn left. Be bold! Triple A stations must always be the station that breaks the mold, takes the chances, and puts the listeners ahead of risk-avoidance industry convention. All you have to do is listen to every other station in the market to realize that when they hit that same fork, they always turn right (safe).
Be bold and keep veering to the left to stay outside the center mainstream of your market. Hopefully, you will get there, and stay there, ahead of massive competition that all want what you already have. The vaunted position of Music Discovery is worth fighting to own. Triple A radio stations are in the best position to own the perception of Music Discovery, because that’s actually what you do!
Mike Henry is CEO of media consulting firm Paragon and a partner in Media Mechanics, a multiplatform production company and 2012 Peabody Award winner. Reach Mike at (303) 922-5600 or mhenry@paragonmediastrategies.com
This column originally appeared in ProQB August 2013 issue.
