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All music radio formats suffer through cycles of ratings ebb and flow based on what’s happening in the format’s core music genres – or in the genres of other formats that compete for listening. Country has been there at times; so has rock; and even Classic Hits suffers when one of the more contemporary genres are hot. Current pop has been in decline for several years now, and it’s affecting Top 40 and Hot AC (and, soon, AC as well). As we noted in our last post, many Top 40 stations are seeing the worst callout scores ever for current powers, and current pop has weakened at Hot AC.
Despite releases from Taylor Swift, Shawn Mendes, and Ed Sheeran/Justin Bieber in the last few weeks, hit music has been weakening for several years now. Top 40’s ratings have fallen as a result. It’s affecting Hot AC as well, and will eventually impact AC.
Current “mainstream” music is definitely poor. Many Top 40 stations are seeing the worst scores ever for power currents. Currents are weaker at Hot AC as well; in one market we’ve seen Current pop decline from 24% of the top-testers to now just 7%.
Everybody knows creativity is important in the entertainment world, right? So why bother to write a blog post about something so obvious? Good question. I hope you like the answer.
I often suggest to program directors and audio producers that they observe and analyze other forms of entertainment - movies, circus, theater, etc. - in order to learn and be stimulated to produce fun and drama in their radio/audio product. Recently I ran across a quote from Rick Rubin that reinforces that.
One of the best quotes I have stumbled on in the past several months came from one of radio’s youngest and brightest owners, Vince Benedetto, whose Bold Gold Media has assembled a group of stations in small and medium markets in Pennsylvania and New York state. Interviewed in a recent RAB podcast, Vince said:
Two-thirds of all local radio commercials tested in Philadelphia are failures. That might actually be good news.
“Facial Coding” is a form of research based on evaluating the facial reactions subjects have to various stimuli - a way to measure their emotional reaction and engagement. The science has been around since 1978, it’s effective, and one of the leaders in the field is a company called Sensory Logic.
Over the past seven days Starbucks brilliantly captured millions of dollars in free publicity with its version of a morning show stunt. You could hardly find a late-night TV monologue, or a Facebook community, that didn’t include some comment about the Unicorn Frappuccino.
Why would Starbucks create a drink that, according to most reviews, tasted like sour birthday cake - and then only make it available for three days? It’s all about the buzz. And I can’t think of an industry or product that benefits more from “buzz” than a radio station and/or its morning show.
12 Things You Can Do to Make Radio Commercials Easier on the Audience
We already know listeners don’t love commercials, right? If we needed any fresh reinforcement, our 2017 “What Women Want” study showed that one of the most important drivers of Pandora and Spotify usage is “too many commercials on the radio.”
We've been consulting radio stations since 1985. During that time Alan Burns & Associates is proud to have helped hundreds of AC, CHR and Gold AC stations succeed in even the toughest of market circumstances. The result of our accumulated knowledge, experience, and skills is successful clients.
