Inside Music Media

Radio broadcasters are used to building content in a hot clock – an hour of programming with certain elements built into it.

But now, an hour is a long time.

And those elements – music, traffic, comedy, news, contests, commercials – don’t seem to fit in.

Anyone with a DVR knows that all of us want what we want when we want it.

But the 95 million Millennials who make up the next generation – some who are already old enough to be in the money demo – will never respond to the way radio presents its content.

To make matters worse, we aren’t doing the best radio we’ve ever done as an industry and any honest radio person knows that.

It’s about cutting expenses and standardizing programming today.

Who mentions audience? It’s best practices or right sizing. No wonder we’re losing our edge.

We want to sell commercials for whatever we can get and dump them into two stop sets an hour.

Listeners want no part of it.

To show you how dumb advertisers have become, they should want no part of it.

We don’t care what the commercials sound like.

Advertisers should care and both of us should care if they work because that is the best way to get renewals.

We do weather.

Listeners have an iPhone.

Ditto for traffic and transit and news in the unlikely case that we do that anymore.

We play only the hits.

But listeners want music discovery and they have the digital tools to get it on-demand.

Name something we’ve innovated in the past 20 years.

Look, Chevy is coming out with an onboard audio DVR that will allow drivers to record 30 minutes of programming.

Record what?

I’m thinking.

Maybe parts of NPR programming.

Not Kiss, not Power, not Amp, no music format. Why would we do that?

So as that misunderstood digital dashboard comes of age, radio is stuck with nothing noteworthy to record.

So one of the things I will challenge those attending my March Philly conference is tell me what you offer that a listener would value enough to record and play back on-demand for 30 minutes.

Not to worry.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

I’m going to share lots of ideas you’re going to like and hopefully we will get out ahead of perhaps the biggest story of the year – the compelling popularity of on-demand content.

Even real time broadcasting will have to adapt to on-demand.

The groups and independent stations doing great local content and starting a separate digital revenue stream are already in.

I’ve got the content divided into 7 critical things we need to be working on:

Specific ways to disrupt radio and put an end to digital competitors interrupting your station’s revenue stream.
Methods to master digital as a second stream of revenue alongside broadcasting. Things like replacing your website with something better, eliminating podcasts for a product that will actually attract big money advertisers and a cost-effective, easy way to put your brand on every smartphone in your market without having to stream your station. Just to mention three.
The nuts and bolts of starting your own station’s social media network independent from Facebook, Twitter or some other flash in the pan alternative. From there, how to grow your fan base.
A well-defined strategy to change the sound and on-air approach of your radio station at one coordinated time. You won’t want this to get in the hands of a competitor, for sure.
What you need to know about starting your own radio station video business – one that will be unlike anything you’ve ever seen, will not need salespeople to unlock the revenue potential and that will more than make up for any on-air advertising shortfalls you may run into this year. I’ll show video examples and reveal the winning game plans.
From my work as a USC professor in the area of generational media: the critical Millennial checklist. This is what I use as my new business bible. You’ll get it. Four things that the next generation of listeners must have in order to listen to radio in the digital age. What they want from you. On-air content you are not giving them that they would love. A never before aired “contest” that would enthrall them.
Exactly how you can time shift radio and how not to. Time shifting is the new broadcasting in an increasingly on-demand world. Failure to embrace time shifting could prematurely make your stations extinct. But you will have innovative key strategies to get started with.

Jerry Lee will be there to give you the edge in helping advertisers do better so they spend more with you like they do with him in Philly. He’s even bringing valuable handouts that only you will receive.

Sean Hannity will join us live not to talk politics but the opportunities ahead for radio with Millennial listeners. He is doing some impressive work in this area you probably don’t know about.

Michael Harrison is the most quoted radio person by the consumer press because he sees future trends before most. Let’s ask him about the future of radio, digital, talk, news and music.

This event will not be available by stream or video – only live and in person.

I can’t wait to share my enthusiasm and knowledge with you in Philly March 26^th.

Join the radio executives and digital entrepreneurs who have already reserved their seats.

Reserve a seat

Inquire about group rates

If you’d like to stay on-site at The Rittenhouse Hotel, mention you’ve registered for the “Media Solutions Conference”.

Breakfast, lunch and all breaks included. Starting time: 8am. Ends 4pm.

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