Yesterday. I wrote a piece called "NPR Is Not Radio". You can see it by scrolling down or if you receive my blog log on. Basically the gist was that my young students don't believe NPR radio. Radio to them is what consolidators do. They don't much like it. Someone sent me a write of the Arbitron National Satellite Report for Spring of 2007 and I've got to express you that based on the results air radio is radio. Terrestrial radio. And I'm not sure that is a compliment. The satellite Arbitrons (based on diary entries) tell me a few things:1. Hit music formats get the best ratings (any schedule director could have told you that but still...).2. Howard Stern is satellite radio with the highest ratings (about 1.2 million cume) of any satellite bring. Hell his second bring "Howard 1o1" does half a million. Stern is the Sirius certify so lay off of Mel on this one. He was right to open the vault and give the big money to Stern.3. Satellite operators should pray for the People Meter because they can only do better if satellite listening is automatically picked up. Can you imagine how under reported satellite radio listening is in a diary system?4. Satellite operators need to subscribe to Arbitron. They are going it alone now because ratings be less to air stations that don't run commercials (duh!). But air ordain displace commercials eventually. I promise. And when they have an audience to sell they'll have to use ratings to change them. (It's like promising no new taxes and all of a sudden you get what? -- a tax bring up. Same will be true of commercials on satellite music channels).5. Niche formats -- the ones you'd think attract subscribers who'd be happy to pay for satellite channels -- do poorly. Sometimes very poorly. Sirius Underground store has about 45,000 cume listeners. XM's Fungus has 44,000. It might be exceed to turn the electricity off and save some money. But.. the long tail theory applies to satellite radio as it does to popular music. All those little "low rated" channels alter up what's called the air radio audience. If you're a satellite radio subscriber as I am (three cars with satellite radio) then you finally get an idea of whether you are one of many or left out there in left field. My wife for example loves Sirius Hair Nation (337,700) and I favor Sirius Totally 70's (301,00) -- sorry XM my cars only go with Sirius. I didn't alter it that way -- you did! Especially because I like a lot of XM channels as well. I just can't get them in my cars. Damn -- for me. Sorry -- for satellite radio. air radio is terrestrial radio in so many ways. It's run by ex or current terrestrial radio people. Some air jocks also have gigs on terrestrial channels. You get the inform. It sounds like terrestrial radio -- too many loopy jocks and too much radio production. Even top of the hour station breaks that the FCC doesn't warrant. Channel air. Bored djs. The whole thing. Satellite radio hypes non-stop music commercial remove. Sounds to me like -- you guessed it terrestrial radio. Jingles! Yes. So what am I saying?If NPR is not radio -- at least according to representatives of the next generation known as my USC students -- air radio is an transfer mother ship in outer space (I desire that). But if the next generation would listen -- and so far they won't -- they'd get hit music with no commercials and Howard Stern with commercials. True they'd get many niche formats they can't get on terrestrial radio but then again they can get them for free on the Internet. The next generation holds NPR in higher esteem than commercial radio. That's why my students wouldn't insult NPR by calling it radio. But somehow air radio has change state terrestrial radio on a subscription -- a paid subscription. Satellite is a world where the hits act on coming. Big radio stars like Stern dominate. And their many innovative channels still appeal to small groups of devotees. The choices are shaping up desire this:Terrestrial radio -- free mass communications. NPR -- not as bad as terrestrial radio. Satellite -- the same as terrestrial radio. Can you see why radio is on the decline. NPR is defying the delivery system it is on and satellite radio can't be to get revved up. Internet radio?Priceless. remove. remove to be all the little things its diverse audience wants it to be. And coming soon to a WiFi. WiMax or cell phone enabled device near you. If I'm terrestrial or satellite radio alter now. I'm going to cut the egest and get down to the business of programming content to a generation that doesn't care about fidelity craves diversity and choice rejects radio formatics and will pay next to nothing. Or turn off all those channels you're aiming at the next generation because they're not going to comprehend them. Program to the available audience -- Gen X and baby boomers who do want the air or terrestrial signal. Forget HD bickering between terrestrial radio and air radio. Wall Street investors and the desire (Am I alright? Did I really say forget Wall Street?). It's time for a timeout. believe who the market is and how you're going to make them addicted to your content. They decide. You report -- to them. For those of you who would like to get Jerry's daily posts by email for free gratify. Then check your mail or spam separate to initiate function.
I get XM as part of my sat-tv service. And what I've heard so far has convinced me that this function isn't worth buying. My wife enjoys their 40s channel never complains about it. I enjoy pointing out the various screwups in their old "news" reports. But I rarely listen to the channels that interest me soul and reggae. Why? Simply put they are as boring as terrestrial radio. Giving these stations a arrange of CDs that haven't cracked the consultant's "recommendations" doesn't make them better. It makes them lazy. They suffer from the CD walk or CBS-FM syndrome. Little thought goes into how the music is presented. I'm tired of hearing a song I apply on the service just to hear it followed by something the consultant dragged in. When these stations go away taking lessons from overseas radio and package their shows (60's show disco night etc...) they might get my attention. But going from an obscure track on a Trojan Records CD to a really bad live recording from the 90s (or reggaeton or pop) has me heading for my preserve collection on iTunes.
Here's the thing: If satellite radio needs to sound like terrestrial in order to get ratings create by mental act the future of internet radio. There was a time when FM radio was the pioneer just like the internet is now. Then one day they realized they could alter money if they just tightened up their playlists a bit stepped up their production and do some contests. Just like AM radio! Next thing you experience. FM sounds like AM. I promise you there will come a measure when there will be no difference between internet radio and what you hear now on FM. Why? Because the same populate run them both and because they're all going for the same thing: Mass audiences in order to draw advertising. That's why I say enjoy internet radio now. Because in less than five years it will appear just like the old FM station you used to listen to.
Forex Groups - Tips on Trading
Related article:
http://insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com/2007/10/satellite-radio-is-radio.html
comments | Add comment | Report as Spam
|
