The easy part, when you’re talking about radio, is to opine that the industry needs to change, soon. We were saying that when I got into the business (redacted) years ago.
I’m proud that I got to work on some unusual radio projects and the early stages of podcasting, but today we’re at the same things-gotta-change position as we were back then, only worse. Years of limited growth, increasing debt, and a few bankruptcies thrown in for good measure and you get… this.
But you know that already. It just, for me, raises another question: Now what? If we call for radical change to revitalize the radio business and get some growth happening, what kind of change are we talking about? A new slogan isn’t enough. More and better marketing when the product isn’t ready for what won’t work. Format changes, maybe, but only if you can come up with a format nobody else has tried. It’s clear, however, that the way things have always been done isn’t the answer.
How radical do you want to get? This is where you get to do the exercise I wrote about years ago at the other website, when you start with a blank slate and reinvent the radio business. Here, I’ll start: Maybe localism isn’t the answer anymore. Maybe we should join the rest of the world and have mostly national stations, the same (except maybe for local news/weather/traffic inserts) everywhere.
Do it like the BBC, with the programming grouped on the FM dial so you can find the format you like in roughly the same spot no matter where you are. Make it not only easier to find your favorite music and talk, but easier for agencies to buy, too. Leave AM to specialty and foreign language stations.
More radical? How about tackling the problem of long stop sets driving listeners away by eliminating the idea of stop sets and prerecorded spots altogether? Make all radio advertising live reads, dropped in organically, one at a time, priced higher due to scarcity and talent fees. Yeah, it’s a steal from podcasting, but it’s new for radio.
New music formats are tough because you need new kinds of music for that, and they don’t come along all that often. Mostly, it’s just a variation on an existing musical genre. There hasn’t been a truly new musical form for decades – it’s been a long time since rap/hip-hop and electronic music came along, and it may be a long time until we get something newer.
In the meantime, music radio is at the mercy of the music industry, and public taste. Maybe you can screw around with playlists, combine genres, I don’t know. Hey, I can’t do all the work here.
Talk radio? Create a format that doesn’t talk about politics. Create others that talk about nothing but politics, but from different perspectives for different audiences. Public radio? Fund it. Drop the political grandstanding and just ensure that we always have public radio and television.
Yeah, I don’t have all the answers. I may not have ANY answers. Honestly, I don’t care if I have the answers – I’m semi-retired anyway. If the entire radio industry hits an iceberg and sinks, it wouldn’t affect me. (Although this column would be toast, but I wouldn’t complain much.) It’s just that I don’t think everything that can be done to save the business has been tried or even devised yet, and there’s always been a fear of trying something new.
What are you waiting for? Let your imagination run wild, then try it out for real. Maybe it’ll bomb, maybe it’ll be a hit. Can’t tell unless you try.
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Perry Michael Simon is a weekly news media columnist for Barrett Media. He previously served as VP and Editor/News-Talk-Sports/Podcast for AllAccess.com. Prior to joining the industry trade publication, Perry spent years in radio working as a Program Director and Operations Manager for KLSX and KLYY in Los Angeles and New Jersey 101.5 in Trenton. He can be found on X (formerly Twitter) @PMSimon.
