Last week, I spoke to college radio students at the Intercollegiate Broadcast System conference. It caused me to think about the lack of opportunities for these students when they graduate versus 20 years ago. There are three primary reasons for that. The first is voice tracking, and the person I credit with that is Randy Michaels.
If you’ve come into the media business in the past 15 years, you may not know about Randy Michaels. He ran a company called Jacor through radio’s ’90s consolidation. That company became part of Clear Channel (now iHeartMedia). As CEO (along with the Mays family), he created the largest radio company in America before leaving in 2002. He has held various roles in media since. However, his role in creating what is now iHeartMedia was his epic achievement.
I remember the first time I saw Randy Michaels speak. He spoke about talent. The higher the ratings and revenue, the more the talent was allowed to get away with. The morning man with big ratings could break things in the studio, while the overnight talent better not spill Coke into the board or they’re out.
When I later worked for Randy, I found him always generous with compliments. I always felt that he understood what every programmer thought. The light went off in my head when he claimed the most important person in the building was not me, the programmer, but the chief engineer. How could anyone hear a station that wasn’t on the air? I believe I always gave engineering much more respect from that day on.
What I hated about Randy was the introduction of voice tracking. He compared radio to the railroad industry. We needed to operate with fewer people. I was horrified. I wanted live and local talent every minute of the day. Screw voice tracking and syndication. At the time, I was programming WLTW in New York, which would bill over $70 million in a year with 11 minutes of commercials an hour. I thought the money train would never end.
But alas, music radio is a hollow shell of what it once was. And the music radio “dee jay” is becoming an endangered species. But voice tracking is not the only reason.
Let’s reflect on how many fewer music radio stations exist today than 20 years ago. When WFAN became the first sports station in America in 1987, it was a great solution for AM radio, which did nothing for the sound of music. It took years for sports radio to migrate to the FM band. When it did, it came at the expense of music radio. The Score in Chicago is the latest major market station to fill the airwaves at 104.3, kicking classic hip hop jams to the curb.
It wasn’t until 2006 that the music died on a major market FM station for a news simulcast. The station that went away was classical. WTOP began one of the most successful runs in modern radio on the FM dial. KCBS in San Francisco soon followed. New York and LA were late to the party, but they’re there now. In fact, 1010 WINS on 92.3 FM in New York was the #1 station in the #1 market in January. It knocked my alma mater, WLTW, down to #2.
But that’s not all the losses FM music radio has suffered. EMF has put its formats on a great number of FM frequencies around the country. The radio world was shocked when WPLJ was added to its roster. Now, even Milwaukee has joined the parade. Air1 and K-LOVE are music formats. Christian music is increasing in sales as it gets more exposure. But the EMF formats are national, without an air talent in a local studio answering the request line and giving away tickets to some concert.
When Bob Pittman launched MTV with the Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star,” it hardly affected music radio. But 25 years after that video first played, serious attrition started and continues today.
Maybe you weren’t replaced by voice tracking, a format change to talk, or a station sale to EMF. But I’m sure you know someone who was. Someone who has now gone in a different career path.
Randy Michaels compared radio to railroads. Trains are still running, and radio stations are still playing the hits of yesterday and today. But there’s a lot less of both. I can’t speak to careers in the railroad industry, but great radio jobs are few and far between. However, there is a seat for someone who can really entertain an audience.
Randy was right. He was also right about the chief engineer and the star talent who was bringing in the revenue and ratings. While the number of music radio air talents fully employed today is likely half of what it once was, those who make a difference are still in that chair.
If you’re on the air at a music-driven radio station, you have a duty to give your audience the best you can, no matter how many or how few stations you’re on. You need to leave an everlasting impression on your listeners. Touch an emotion. Radio provides companionship to those thirsting for it. Don’t take your position for granted. When that mic is on, you need to be someone’s best friend. It’s up to you to keep the music radio train running.
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Jim Ryan is a Music Radio columnist for Barrett Media. In addition, he runs Jim Ryan Media LLC, a consulting company which assists major market radio brands and top talent including national radio personality Delilah. Prior to relaunching his consultancy in 2025, Jim spent 15 years with Audacy/CBS Radio, serving as SVP of Programming. Among his responsibilities included programming WNEW-FM and WCBS-FM. His career includes additional programming stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston. Jim was voted the #2 PD of 2024 in Barrett Media’s Top 20 series in the AC category. He can be reached by email at Jim@JimRyanMedia.com.
Hi, Jim!
While I do agree with a lot of your comments, I think the real issue is HOW some companies are actually telling staff to track their shows. And, I know you realize that tracking across multiple time zones is the problem.
Though I am semi retired by choice now, I still work part time for a group with an on air staff of about 20 for 4 stations including an active news-talker that does local news around the clock. We only have a small number of out of town trackers, and everyone on the air staff is working for all of the stations in one way or another.
I agree a lot of major market stations continue to feel the pressure at the top. (Chris Conley, by the way came from the same high school radio program I did. He got into radio after listening to me and thinking I sounded like I was having so much fun on the air, he decided to try it. I actually mentored his class for a brief while after high school. Imagine my shock when he contacted me to say thank you around 2006).
My thought is that American radio was never designed to have to deal with over 14,000 commercial radio stations. And that’s where the business is at. Too many stations. Too much competition for all to survive.
and Kevin You forgot about the computers, Plus A.I the automation systems that put the overnight & weekend person off the air
I think the purpose of this was to praise the technical person in your station, the one who made sure when you hit the switch, the human on the other end would hear something. It got wound down to a critque of voice tracking. Would be nice if that many stations actually WERE voice tracking those late night and early morning and weekend shifts. What was lost on the CEOs was one thing that Randy told me back in the day. Voice tracking was not meant to replace people. It was meant to enhance your station and deal with the economics of hitting the bottom line target. At one point in working for Clear Channel I was voice tracking up to 5 stations a day. These were not “generic”-they were station specific. That was the intent. That’s how I remember it. The listener – even at 3am-had a companion speaking to them on the radio. I was there when, at Jacor, we tried our first voice tracking experience. The software was “Master Control” from RCS. We tried getting voicetracks from WONE in Dayton to WSAI in CIncinnati (Nostalgia) and we stood there waiting…and waiting..and waiting. That failure led to different software and eventual success. I was also the last overnight voice on the #1 station in the #2 market back in 2014. Voice tracked, yes – but voice tracked for the market and the station specifically. Even now that station has no late night/overnight voice. Having said all that, let’s be honest. A smaller market station can benefit from a voice tracker from a larger station if voice tracking is used as a tool-not an answer. I’m sure that’s another topic for another time. Jim, your success paints a royal picture of what can be done with the support and encouragement of the parent company. In 2026, that parent company is more concerned with a CEO’s bonus and pouring 80% to the bottom line to keep the shareholders happy. That’s not voice tracking’s fault. That’s a total lack of understanding what your product is -and that comes from the top, even above your pay grade. Going back to the original article from Paul Jellison, when it comes to a station’s technical success-the most important person is the chief. Let’s not forget that one. I’m lucky enough to be working with both Randy and Paul in 2026, and after even 5 minutes with either one you realize that, unlike most in our business these days, these guys do have their heads on very straight.