Inside Music MediaJerry Del Colliano

Everything in the world has changed except the way radio stations talk to their listeners.

Talkers throw red meat on topics because that always worked before – well, ten to 20 years ago. Today’s listeners like compromise but talkers didn’t get that memo.

News stations lumber on as if what they are broadcasting is actually “new” to their listeners boring them all the way putting their future in the hands of 65 year olds not prime demos.

DJs talk as if they are the big deal when anyone in their audience these days could tell you that it is all about them and not about you even if YOU have the microphone --like it or not.

It makes sense, then, that we need to change the way we talk to audiences as a first step for telling them – we are just like you.

Not aliens from the past – not sorry imitations of an earlier day.

At my upcoming 6^th media conference in Philly, I am going to share with guests the radio person I think best represents what we should shoot for in the way we sound and communicate.

He’s on the air – somewhere. I’ll name him, and tell you why he’s a role model for your station’s sound. That good!

While I was working on this over the weekend, I thought I would also take a moment to share with you some of the other things I am anxious to get into when we work face-to-face.

1. Why sounding authentic – which is the Holy Grail as far as younger money demos are concerned – requires sounding flawed.  There is a way to do this without sounding pathetic. We’ll discuss.
2. Remind me to explain why any word that ends in “est” like “Greatest” is pure poison on the radio. And there are a lot of other words and images we’re killing ourselves with.
3. Why formatic pandemonium, if you will, actually is like catnip to anyone under 35. But there is a way to retain necessary structure (that we need) and the wild, noisy, disorder and confusion that – believe it or not – younger demos want. By the way, this means you! Every format. I’m not just talking about hip-hop.
4. The new definition of news – and why we need to embrace it in a very different language. Serious news used to require dignity and comportment.  But now, it has to be heartfelt as well as believable. Heartfelt makes it believable.
5. Words to never use on air: dj talk. Heavy use of contemporary phrases and terms. I’d like to compose a list of these with you to take back to your markets.
6. And, how storytelling – whether it be for ten seconds or ten minutes – is the skill we should all want to learn and perfect because it is the one thing that can still make radio compelling.

Hope you can join us.

Here’s a look at some other topics we’ll get into in Philly:

• What You Need To Know About Reimagining Radio – Changing the way the programming is delivered. The end of the quarter hour mentality that ironically will win more quarter hours. Great opportunities for music and spoken word formats.
• Mastering Digital – What Works, What’s in the Pipeline – Separating digital from on-air to get the best results.          
• Protect Your Station Against Competitors Who Drop Their Rates – The way to put a stop to competitors dragging down your station’s rates.
• Latest Breakthroughs For Attracting Money Demos – No risk ways to make radio cool again to younger listeners who are turned off by lots of commercials and too much repetition of music.
• Changing the Way We Talk To Audiences – 5 things you can do right now to make your station sound more authentic to younger listeners.
• Key Strategies To Protect Your Radio Station – Digital, podcasting, streaming music services and the digital dashboard are four challenges that we will answer.
• New Content Businesses Ripe For Radio – Startups content providers can start either as part of a radio station’s business or as an independent company.
• Salvation for AM Stations – Format ideas that are so much more attractive that even young people will find how to turn on an AM station.
• FM Protection Against Streaming Music Services – How to hamstring popular services like Spotify, Pandora and YouTube so that they cannot compete with your local radio station.
• The Trick To Real and Lasting Success For News/Talk/Spoken Word – The bad news is doing talk and news the way it is now being done is a death sentence. The good news as you will hear is that young listeners love the spoken word – they just don’t like radio’s way of doing it. Here’s the alternative.
• Dire Warning About Podcasting – I get that everyone is enamored of podcasting, but it is not broadcasting and there are these serious repercussions for radio stations who fall for it.
• The Best New Radio Format No One Is Doing – This alone is worth the price of admission. A radio format that Millennials will eat up – for innovative stations only because you’re going to have to have an open mind.
• Expanded Group Questions & Answers – An entire segment devoted to your questions.

Take a look, space is limited this year -- Reserve a Seat – Attend in Person

Inquire About Group Rates while available.

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