Request Experiment By Ed Sheeran Is a Reminder Radio Shouldn’t Ignore

Here’s a random thought for you to consider: maybe the oldest tricks in the book are there because they work best. Other, newer tricks might come and go, but the ones that accomplish what you need probably stay in the book and become part of the oldest-tricks list. Ed Sheeran might be proving that right now.

For example, let’s talk about requests. A time-honored tradition in radio that dates to the earliest days of the medium. It’s fun for the person making the request, and it humanizes the station for everyone else who is listening by letting them know the next song was picked by someone like them.

But over the years, with tighter playlists, reluctance to play anything that isn’t a bona fide smash hit, and reductions in the number of live talent in studios available to take requests, it seems like this trick has fallen out of the book.

Unless you ask Ed Sheeran. According to an article in Hypebot, Sheeran is launching a tour of New Zealand and Australia, and he is allowing fans to curate five songs in each night’s playlist. Prior to the show, there will be a number on screens in the venue that attendees can use to text in suggestions for songs they want to hear. The votes will be tallied, and the top five will be added to Sheeran’s set that night.

Even more interesting is that the requests don’t have to be Sheeran’s songs. According to his social media post announcing this wrinkle in his setlist, “whatever the song is, I will learn it before the show. So, surprise me.”

Now, I could easily run down the value of finding a way to integrate audience requests into your radio station, but Jeremy Young, who wrote the Hypebot article, did a lot of the heavy lifting for me. He listed a set of six reasons other artists should endeavor to do something like what Sheeran is doing. Here are a few that seem germane to our world:

Keeping Shows Dynamic: More than most, I know the argument for playing a tight list of hits. But I also know that finding ways to change it up, like taking some requests, can make a station sound much more vibrant.

Respect for the Audience: Taking requests is a way to subtly tell listeners that their voices do matter and increase their level of passion for the station. It also localizes your station when many others are running syndicated programming.

Creating Shareable Moments: Today, when everyone is a content creator, having your listeners post on their social channels about getting their request played is an excellent form of marketing.

Before the eyes roll or the hands are thrown up in frustration because there are limited people at the station who are already busy wearing four hats each, I would submit that taking requests is a light lift, especially considering the benefits you can reap in return.

In today’s world, there are so many ways to get song suggestions from listeners — text, email, mobile app, website, social media, and probably five more I’m not thinking of — that it’s hardly difficult. Nothing says they must be filled the moment they come in. Schedule the songs ahead of time and send a note back to the listener telling them when their song is coming up to create an appointment-setting opportunity for the requester and their friends and family.

So, whether it’s a daily feature at a certain time, a specialty weekend, or just something you integrate into your regular programming, it’s a good time to follow Ed Sheeran’s lead and pull out one of the oldest tricks in the book. It’s still in there for a reason.

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Mike Stern

Mike Stern is a Classic Rock columnist and Features writer for Barrett Media. He has been with Jacobs Media consulting stations in the Classic Rock, Rock, Alternative and AAA world for more than a decade. Prior to that he programmed stations in Chicago, Detroit, Denver Las Vegas and other markets. He also worked as News/Talk Editor for Radio and Records, wrote about Top 40 Radio for Billboard Magazine and had his own radio talent coaching business called Talent Mechanic.