I Have A Question (Or Two) For The Radio And Music Panel

We were all glad to take a break for a while from the “labels and radio” panel at industry conventions. We knew what to expect—a radio person was going to set off grumbling by announcing that it was his job to drive ratings, not sell records; a small market PD was going to ask why he wasn’t getting record service; ultimately, somebody would point out that we were all in the communications business, why not communicate?

But in the intervening years, it seemed like there was even less communication. Radio had fewer decision makers with less time to talk, and even fewer program and music directors who were willing or empowered to help find songs. Left to their own devices, labels found a way to make money by creating songs that generated streams. Some of those songs worked for radio, others merely confounded them.

At this point, we as an industry don’t know what’s coming. That’s why it’s time to ask both sides “Where Radio Fits In Music’s New World Order,” March 26 at the Worldwide Radio Summit in Burbank. The panel description summarizes the issue pretty bluntly:

“Like it or not, streaming (audio, video, playlist, and on-demand) is the main revenue driver at labels now and the prime music discovery path. While still hugely valuable, where does radio play into this? And how does radio get its hands around the multiple [simultaneous] tracks by core artists … and properly interpret local metrics?”

The radio/music relationship has by no means evaporated. The charts are still worked—labels still take “increase spins now” ads to target the # 1 slot in Country and somebody still wants to be # 17 at Mainstream AC, even when that represents 70% overnight airplay. But there is clearly frustration on both sides that makes the old convention grumbling seem affectionate by comparison.

So I have a question (or two) for the radio and music panel:

What is the new, mutually beneficial arrangement? For years, the deal was that labels brought radio songs and radio (despite the convention grumbling) chose a few and helped sell them. Radio’s ability to sell records was, among other things, key to its exemption from a performance royalty. But if selling music is no longer the objective, then what makes radio compelling to labels? I’ve said before that radio could be in the literal business of selling music. If Apple Music wants to de-emphasize the download, could Radio.com or iHeartRadio become music stores as well? The number of people who want to own music is diminished but not demolished. Shouldn’t somebody collect that revenue for both parties?

Should radio still expect “radio records?” There are certainly a few more melodic up tempo songs at Top 40 and Hot AC that recall the format’s last great period in the late ‘00s/early ‘10s. But songs like “Sucker” and “Don’t Start Now” that work as both radio and streaming songs still feel like exceptions. If programmers demand songs with tempo and melody, are they giving themselves away as dinosaurs, incapable of following what’s hot? Or if the industry was willing to A&R to both streaming and radio, would it have twice as many hits? Would it have more hits in those formats where streaming doesn’t yet hold quite the same sway as it does in Hip-Hop and Top 40.

What should the “game plan” look like now? Eighteen months ago, the difference in timing between radio on, say, “Sicko Mode” was risible—not every listener liked that song, but even if they did, it was six months old. Potential hits remained stuck on albums because the single before them could spend 24 weeks clawing its way up to secondary rotation. When Ed Sheeran and the Jonas Brothers began unleashing multiple tracks last year, that changed a little. But radio is still inconsistent. An ‘instant grat’ track like “Cool” was rushed up to the cusp of the top 10; a bigger hit like “Only Human” somehow still needed five months. Are radio and streaming meant to be entirely on different biorhythms because they have different listeners with different expectations? If radio were consistently faster, would it better engage with streamies or just alienate the listeners they have? Does it make sense to play multiple songs from a hot artist only if the label is working more than one?

Can it still “all begin with listening”? Every week, TikTok or Spotify’s Today’s Top Hits propel another song or two to instant prominence. By contrast, those few local programmers still willing and empowered to find songs “off the menu” can’t count on their enterprise leading anywhere with labels. Can a hit record still start with one station and 22 spins a week among a single market’s cume if Sirius XM can reach the entire country? How can an individual story ripple out now? For that matter…

How much impact can one station still have? Even more than the song discovered and championed by one heroic music director that becomes a national hit, I’ve always been obsessed with the song that becomes a viable local hit and endures in the market. (“Forever Young” by Alphaville played on one Philadelphia station as a current. Today, it’s more important in Philly than 90% of the songs that were current at the time.) But in this age of smaller shares, does one radio station still have the ability to break a song even locally?

What does a meaningful chart look like now? The question of whether a spin should mean the same in market number one or market number one hundred has been a perennial in our business, but it’s further confounded now by the number of national entities on the charts as well. Is a spin on Alt.Nation or Sirius Hits 1 the same as a spin in any individual market? Should a spin on eight commonly programmed stations still be counted as eight spins if that national spin is only counted as one?

Is it possible that we’re all happier this way? When All Access President/Publisher Joel Denver moderated a panel on a similar topic at Radio Show 2019, one programmer said that he was personally happy that labels had somewhere else to go with a song, because it took the pressure off him. If radio and streaming are moving at two different speeds, maybe radio is happier being left alone to “play the hits” and satisfy its listeners. But it would be sad to think the cranky guy at the panel was right.