We can view our format one of two ways.
It’s either a bunch of songs that people don’t know by artists they’ve never heard of…
Or…
…it’s songs and stories about the most important things in our lives.
Examples of the former litter the landscape but they aren’t very memorable.
I’m often asked, “Which is more important? Creativity or discipline?”
The answer is “yes.”
I was 21 when I was first bestowed with the title Program Director. I obviously didn’t know much about programming at that age, but I had the lowest voice on the air staff, had my own car, and laughed at the boss’ jokes.
In the decades since, I’ve coached a few air talent, trained a couple of program directors, and taught up to a few general managers that thought they could program a radio station.
Over the years I’ve found that ones quickest to learn were the ones with one of two things in their background; music or acting.
Reckon’ you’ve heard this before.
Everyone’s favorite radio station is the station that plays their favorite music. That’s the easy part.
Most GMs and PDs nod their heads in response to the question “would you like to grow your audience?,” much like being asked if you’d like to have whiter teeth, or if you wish Trump would stop Tweeting.
I’ve found that few programmers really comprehend the conundrum of attracting new listeners while playing songs they simply don’t know.
One can’t prefer something one isn’t familiar with
Or put the other way, “familiarity is preference,” as Mark Ramsey says.
So, what’s the solution?
Remember back in school when you wanted that girl or boy to like you? I bet a specific name immediately pops to mind. (That’s for you, Marlene).
If I could just be taller, thinner, have prettier hair or clearer skin.
If I could just be smarter, run faster, or make the other kids laugh.
Then. Then maybe she’d love me.
There is an old joke about the expressive who said, “Enough about me! Let’s talk about you. How do you feel about me?”
Welcome to the show! We’re glad you’re here!
A simple idea, but one with profound impact.
In all my years of movie going, even harkening back to the days when you could buy a jumbo-sized pickle from Mrs. Cushman at the Majestic Theatre for a quarter, I don’t recall this ever happening.
The director and the star welcomed me to the movie!
“And we are so glad that you’ve come to see “The Greatest Showman” in the way it was meant to be seen; in the theatre with an audience on the big screen.”
~Hugh Jackman and director Michael Gracey.
And it only got better from there. (Insert plug for “The Greatest Showman.” It’s that good.)
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The most common New Year’s resolutions are about losing weight, quitting smoking, and getting more exercise. What if we took those same resolutions and applied them to our radio stations?
Lose Weight!
We know that eating junk food is unhealthy, but clogging up your radio station with junk programming can weigh you down, too. Junk programming is anything that doesn’t match your listeners’ needs and expectations or done with excellence. The discipline of losing weight isn’t much fun, but you’ll love it when you’re slim and trim.
Quit Smoking!
The Christmas season brings out the best in our format. More people tune in than at any other time of the year, some stations topping a million listeners per week, once unthinkable.
Many stations often do the best job of connecting on common values with stories of hope, forgiveness, and fresh starts. Over the last several weeks I have heard some amazing stories and songs.
I heard how Pamela and her daughter were helped to move out of the homeless shelter and start a new life!
What makes someone so special that they are elected to a Hall of Fame?
Is it talent? Or personality? Maybe just right place at the right time?
Bob Costas was inducted this week into the broadcasting wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame. When you hear people talk about Bob today they refer to his sense of craftsmanship. I knew Bob a few decades ago in St. Louis and people said the same about him then.
“I’ve always been someone who was serious about the craft, so I would review my tapes, and even if it was a good broadcast… I can always pick up something, if it was a matter of timing or selection of words, where if I had just done it slightly different it could have been done just a little bit better.”
~Bob Costas
There is no music format in need of a craftsmen’s work as the Christian music format. Why?
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Curious how ‘Tis the season to be jolly’ can often bring out the Ebenezer Scrooges in your audience and in your hallways.
What begins as an attempt to reach the largest number of people to celebrate the Christmas season can end up seeming like a gathering of the Trumps and the Clintons.
Here comes another complaint!
When we hear criticism about our station we often react in a way that is absolute. There is a complaint about song and we are tempted to pull it from the playlist. A criticism of an air talent results in a scolding e-mail to NEVER DO THAT AGAIN.
A general manager once told me he had so over-reacted to every complaint that his station had little worth listening to anymore.
Consider this.
“What’s going to change in the next 10 years?”
Jeff Bezos is one of the world’s richest men, having founded Amazon.com in his Seattle garage two decades ago.
He says people ask him that question a lot.
“I almost never get the question: ‘What’s not going to change in the next 10 years?’
And I submit to you that that second question is actually the more important of the two – because you can build a business strategy around the things that are stable in time. … [I]n our retail business, we know that customers want low prices, and I know that’s going to be true 10 years from now. They want fast delivery; they want vast selection.
