Content creators responsible for producing or managing an event, a brand, or a talent know the significance of “the moment.” We associate success and failure with that bellwether, hallmark, capstone, pinnacle (did I mention enough overused presentation metaphors?)…moment.
It happened last week during night two of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Roll call is one of the most tedious parts of the night when all states and territories certify their nomination for President and Vice President of the United States.
Last week, it became one of those crescendo events when DJ Cassidy, the DNC staff entertainer for the four-day political festival, created and revived the moment with music.
He used a popular tactic of music-branded radio stations: themes. Instead of playing bumper music when each state had its moment to announce the delegates’ decision, DJ Cassidy played a theme song associated with each state.
Alabama got Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd (duh). Michigan’s theme was Lose Yourself by Eminem. That’s a tough choice for a state associated with the Motown catalog. I’ve placed a link to a list and the meaning of each song at the end of this column.
Radio stations, especially gold-based formats like Classic Rock, Classic Country, Oldies, and Classic Hits, used to rely on music themes to freshen their era-captive playlists. Twofer Tuesday, Beatles for Breakfast, The Drive @ Five, Motown Monday, Throwback Thursday, Flashback Friday, New Music Monday, and 80s at 8 are a few of the themes rotated through radio’s features categories.
I don’t hear music themes often these days. Maybe we burned out the “Songs of Summer,” “Movie Music,” or “One Hit Wonders.” When I browsed through websites of large, medium and small market stations from the major radio companies, there were almost no music theme postings aside from weekend era-based shows like “80s Saturday Night.” It doesn’t mean those stations don’t do daily features, but the content doesn’t appear as a recap or a promotional feature.
Website content, especially with the big owners, is dictated by mass appeal clicks across all stations. This makes most sites look and feel the same without much attention to stationality and local differences. Website and social media content may not be a fair representation of whether or not these features are happening on the air.
However, I have another theory about why these features appear less and less on the air. Syndicated talent shows can’t do these features because they don’t connect with the station’s music unless their show generates the music feed. Voicetracked talent can connect with a station’s music log, but their schedule may not allow the time it takes to write, prep, and execute these features.
As a radio programmer or content director, you may ask: Does the audience care about these features? Concepts are challenging to research without hearing or seeing the result. It becomes the moment when your morning show makes you laugh out loud, empathize, or get angry.
The creator and curator understand music features on paper like It’s All About Green for St. Patrick’s Day, but the magic doesn’t happen until the presentation. How do we freshen an old concept for today’s fragmented audience?
You see, DJ Cassidy has been the convention’s house band/DJ since 2012, and he has a history of providing entertainment for the room going back to the first Obama inauguration. According to a Variety interview, Cassidy said DNC Convention producer Ricky Kirshner came up with the idea of the “first musical maestro of a convention roll call.”
Radio station programmers, presenters, content creators, and event planners live in a constant state of What Now? We’ve been doing this show the same way for years. Consistency is good because it’s more challenging to establish your brand in today’s noisy media environment.
Are we looking for new ways to make the delegates’ roll call more entertaining? You can bet there have been meetings in the RNC camp this week to brainstorm ideas for making their roll call different in 2028.
Don’t let the limitations of your music format or the strategy of the Program/Brand Director be an excuse for missing the moment. Your brand may not play Green River by CCR or a song by the band Green Day on St. Patrick’s Day. Today’s noisy media environment gives us more choices to create engaging content. Station Imaging, blogs, Reels, TikTok, and YouTube videos allow us to make it different and be in the moment.
DJ Cassidy summarized his experience and presentation at the DNC in this response to the Variety interview. “After every one of these events, I say, ‘This is the greatest night of my life. It can never be topped.’ And then somehow it is. How great that I can use my DJing for some kind of greater purpose than I could have ever imagined in my wildest dreams.”
Sometimes, we get stuck because we challenge ourselves to create the best idea. The misuse and overuse of the word innovate stalls the process. Start by improving those programs, events, and shows. The best will be generated from the momentum.
Here’s the list of songs from the DNC Roll Call with an explanation of how each song fits, according to AP.
Oh, if you do a music feature or an audio imaging piece for St. Patrick’s Day, make sure you include Joe Diffie’s John Deere Green.
Ron Harrell is a columnist for Barrett Media. He founded Harrell Media Group, specializing in radio and audio brand consultation, fractional management, and talent coaching. He has worked in every role on the Programming and Branding side during his career, becoming management and executive-focused in the post-Telecom Act era. Ron has held leadership roles for media groups such as ABC/Citadel, CBS Radio, Chancellor Media, Cumulus Media, Hope Media Group, Hubbard Broadcasting, and WAY Media.
Interested parties are invited to learn more about his company Harrell Media Group and reach out by email at Ron@HarrellMediaGroup.com.
