In a world where playlists, algorithms and streaming have taken over, the opportunity for radio has never been greater. Once again we are realizing that despite being more interconnected than ever before thanks to the Internet and social media, humans have never felt more alone or abandoned.
This is especially true with music and music discovery. Despite having access to hundreds of millions of songs via platforms like Spotify, listeners still feel stuck. Smart radio programmers need to take advantage of this clear desire from the audience to feel something real and pivot their approach.
After all, much of radio still has that one thing that streaming and AI doesn’t. A human touch.
iHeartRadio Plays to the Listener’s Heart
iHeart Media recently released a comprehensive study regarding listeners’ opinions of AI. In a memo sent to the entire company, iHeart’s research found that 90% [of listeners] want their media created by real humans. Also nine in ten listeners say human trust can’t be replicated by AI.
As someone who grew up in the social media age and continues to follow and report on it, I can definitively say that their results are entirely accurate.
There is a growing backlash to social media, especially X. The unregulated “AI slop” is often seen in deepfake videos and AI-generated content. Unfortunately, too many people find themselves duped by it. Those negative sentiments and frustrations are now carrying over into other aspects of one’s relationship with media.
For example, we are seeing growing resentment toward the ridiculous number of streaming platforms available. How many times have you scrolled through Netflix, HBO Max and Amazon Prime, and still asked yourself why isn’t anything on?
“Sometimes you have to pick a side, we’re on the side of humans,” iHeart Chief Programming Officer Tom Poleman recently explained in a memo announcing the broadcast company’s new “Guaranteed Human” initiative.
The pivot couldn’t have come at a better time.
“When listeners interact with us, they know they’re connecting with real voices, real stories and real emotion. That’s our superpower,” Poleman continued.
Believing In The Risk
It’s now up to individual program directors to take that human element and run with it. They will never be able to beat the streaming platforms, but maybe they don’t have to. For the most part, the majority of music listeners and potential audience members listen while commuting or at work.
When doing so, they have three basic music-related options. Podcasts, AI-curated playlist streaming platforms (Spotify, Apple Music), and radio.
If radio wants to survive, it should take the best elements of the other two listening options and incorporate them into its broadcast.
The best way to do this would be to utilize human DJs and on-air personalities. The goal should be to bring in an audience through entertainment mixed with education. Essentially, lean into contextualizing the artist and the song. Radio needs to embrace not only playing the artist, but also explaining to the listener why they or their songs matter.
Storytelling Is Key
In recent months, we’ve learned that virality is not sustainable. As great as TikTok once was for music discovery, those 15-second clips have gone to the wayside. You can thank a constantly changing algorithm that even the platform itself doesn’t seem to understand.
As a result, this has only led to more fatigue among music fans. Algorithms will never be able to tell a story the way personality-driven music radio can.
Music directors need to embrace live and local while also educating their audience. It’s one thing to inform the listener that so-and-so is coming to town for an upcoming tour. It’s another to give fun facts or behind-the-scenes stories about the artist or the songs.
Essentially, take the best parts of the aforementioned podcast listening option and incorporate those elements into your radio programming delivery. Humans will never stop loving being the focal point, i.e., learning something and then being able to tell their friends or family about it.
With so much social media slop full of unhinged comment sections, music fans are becoming extremely exhausted. Social media is literally a combination of a cesspool and a minefield. It’s empowered by an algorithm that has no problem constantly feeding users the same thing over and over.
Radio can serve as the music listener’s escape while also allowing for entertaining discourse and conversation. These methods can ultimately lead to radio becoming a destination for music discovery that doesn’t feel manufactured and forced as streaming platforms often do.
Being part of New Music Friday used to mean something years ago. Now? Not at all. There are simply too many different force-fed playlists and options. However, imagine if you have a human DJ explaining why a new song made a station’s playlist. Conceptualize if you can help an artist build a legitimate following. Imagine bringing legitimacy and validation to not only your station, but the medium itself.
The opportunities are there. It’s just about going out and doing it.
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‘Gunz’ has been a staple in the music, sports and news industry for over a decade. From his first on-air appearances on MTV and FUSE television as a teenager to broadcasting nationally with Don Imus, to most recently hosting the Vans Warped Tour on Amazon Music, he has become one of the industry’s most insightful and trusted voices. As host of idobi Radio’s ‘The Gunz Show’ (80K+ Weekly Listeners) for the last fifteen years, Gunz has built a reputation for Breaking Bands and Breaking News, including notable debut interviews from bands such as Twenty One Pilots, Cobra Starship, fun., and viral interviews with artists such as Machine Gun Kelly, All Time Low and The All American Rejects. Whether it’s hosting red carpets or exclusive sit-downs with media’s biggest names from Clive Davis to Dana White, Gunz answers not only “What” is happening, but more importantly – “Why?” for programmers, publicists, artists, entertainers and fans alike.
