{"id":191,"date":"2009-05-15T20:53:05","date_gmt":"2009-05-16T04:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/radio3k.com\/rblog\/?p=191"},"modified":"2009-05-15T20:53:05","modified_gmt":"2009-05-16T04:53:05","slug":"why-do-i-hear-better-music-in-supermarkets-and-restaurants-than-i-do-on-the-radio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radio3k.com\/rblog\/2009\/05\/15\/why-do-i-hear-better-music-in-supermarkets-and-restaurants-than-i-do-on-the-radio\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Do I Hear Better Music in Supermarkets and Restaurants Than I Do on the Radio?"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is an article from a couple of years ago. While somewhat dated, the points are still valid. Besides, recycling is one of the few ways I can be “green” and still live with myself.<\/em><\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Somewhere on the road to the 21st century, Radio took a wrong turn.<\/p>\n

No, it’s worse than that.\u00a0 Radio slid completely off the road and went into a ditch.\u00a0 And now, Radio’s wheels are spinning in a futile effort to gain some traction.<\/p>\n

Let’s look at the evidence.\u00a0 In virtually every market across the U.S. Radio’s numbers are down.\u00a0 Time spent listening, persons using radio, and worst of all, revenue \u2014 all down.\u00a0 Listeners are voting with their fingers by switching to other sources of music entertainment. [And the lousy economy has only sped up the process.]<\/em><\/p>\n

And when you hear a better selection of music coming from a supermarket or restaurant’s ceiling speakers than you do on any radio station in your market, you know Radio has a problem.<\/p>\n

Unintended Consequences<\/strong><\/p>\n

So how did such a great medium get into such a pickle?\u00a0 A number of factors, including consolidation and technology, have combined to lure Radio astray with the promise of easy and certain success.<\/p>\n

As audience measurement efforts increased through the 80’s and 90’s, more companies turned to music research in order to eliminate songs that would drive away listeners in their target audience.\u00a0 Unfortunately, this tool slowly encroached on and eventually replaced many skilled program and music directors who created station play lists and formats using their instincts combined with research instead of survey numbers exclusively.<\/p>\n

Not long after this trend started, the first wave of deregulation arrived, soon followed by a second, even bigger wave.\u00a0 The large number of independent stations in each marked were soon consolidated into three or four clusters of stations controlled by large corporations.\u00a0 Driven by pressure from investors, these companies were reluctant to take chances with unproven formats.\u00a0 The loss of a share point or two meant millions in lost revenue and plunging stock prices.<\/p>\n

Experimentation, with a few exceptions, was out.\u00a0 Research was in.\u00a0 Research the audience, research the music, and develop a “safe” format formula that attracts listeners and generates revenue without taking any chances.\u00a0 With the exception of a few morning shows, creativity was also discouraged.\u00a0 “Safe” music is played, titles are back-announced (or not), and an exciting format becomes \u2014 unexciting.\u00a0 On the street, the word they use is: “boring”.<\/p>\n

And, it made sense to corporations to use these same carefully-developed formats in other markets across the country.\u00a0 Why go to the expense of duplicating the research when the results are already in hand?<\/p>\n

Trouble in Radio Paradise<\/strong><\/p>\n

Radio did not live happily ever after.\u00a0 After a few years, Radio stations had lost the individual “personality” that had made them unique to listeners.\u00a0 Research had homogenized the music and formats to the point where all Radio stations sounded alike.\u00a0 Given this blandness, compact discs or cassette tapes were preferable alternatives to many in the audience.<\/p>\n

Radio has a history of re-inventing itself.\u00a0 When television came on the scene in the 50’s, Radio was declared “dead”.\u00a0 Radio responded with innovation and the golden 60’s era of rock and roll was the result.<\/p>\n

Radio in the 21st century is far from dead, but the need for re-invention has once again arrived.\u00a0 With hundreds of competing media outlets, including satellite, iPods, and the internet, Radio unable or unwilling to respond risks becoming a dinosaur.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the conditions for re-invention are not good at the moment.<\/p>\n

In the 1950’s Radio ownership was diverse and corporations were limited in the influence they could exert.\u00a0 Innovation came from small groups and individually-owned stations able to exercise a level of creative freedom and experimentation that is rare today.\u00a0 With Wall Street’s demand for return on investment, few want to risk trying something different.<\/p>\n

The British SAS commandos have a motto: “Who Dares Wins”.\u00a0 Great risk offers great rewards.\u00a0 However small the number, some stations will dare to experiment…and these will be Radio’s hope for the future.\u00a0 When Radio is pulled from the ditch where it’s mired, the tow truck will be labeled: “Innovation”.<\/p>\n

Until the re-invention begins, I’ll see you in the supermarket aisle. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is an article from a couple of years ago. While somewhat dated, the points are still valid. Besides, recycling is one of the few ways I can be “green”… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-economy","category-radio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radio3k.com\/rblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radio3k.com\/rblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radio3k.com\/rblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radio3k.com\/rblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radio3k.com\/rblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/radio3k.com\/rblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":195,"href":"https:\/\/radio3k.com\/rblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191\/revisions\/195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radio3k.com\/rblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radio3k.com\/rblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radio3k.com\/rblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}