Inside Music MediaJerry Del Colliano

Can you think of one other industry where customers call up and ask NOT to have their main service?

That’s what is happening in cable as 26% of their customers are doing just that according to a new survey from Marchex Call Analytics.

According to BI Intelligence …

TV media consumption share from 2009 until 2014 is down from 42% to 37%.

Digital for the same period up 32% to 49%.

Radio 17% down to 11%.

Print 9% to 4%.

TV comes out first only if you split online and mobile viewing …

TV 45% to 37%

Online 25% to 18%

Radio 17% to 11%.

Print 9% to 4%.

Mobile 4% to 23%.

Other 7% to 2%.

Mobile alone is the second biggest audience.

This sounds like bad news to radio – and it certainly isn’t like being mobile.

But radio was the original mobile media. It has been dumbed down by consolidators and imitators who are slashing costs instead of investing in product.

I take the potential as good news for this reason and my 6^th annual media conference is going to invest time into things that cooperate with the inevitable – that is, content that will help us compete in the digital space.

• New innovative formats, new TSL strategies, new ways to engage the audience on-air and in mobile.
• Storytelling is a sweet spot with 95 million Millennials – what is storytelling, how is it different from talk or spoken word, how do you put content together that will succeed in attracting audiences and revenue sources.
• The “commercial” of the future – it’s not a 5, 10, 15, 30 or 60 second spot. Not even a great one. The one proven “commercial” that people under 30 will actually listen to is something few stations have ever done. Let’s put an end to that now.
• The solution for music listeners most of whom do not even listen to one song all the way through let alone stick around for a music sweep. The way to handle them is edit the music, add discovery and repackage the presentation.
• Danger words – the ones that end in “est” or brag. That’s what we do in radio and we call it promotion. Now it has to change because there are 5 things that turn audiences off. Most stations are doing all 5 – not good. It can be better.

This is worth attending. I hope you can join our group of outstanding broadcasters this year and reserve Wednesday, March 18^th for our one-day teaching seminar in Philly and lock in a seat at today’s rates here.