Frost Advisory #68 – The three stages of success

As I approach my 40th anniversary in radio I’ve been privileged to work with dozens and dozens of people much smarter and talented who have generously poured themselves into me.

This week’s programming tip is a result of taking those influences to discern the decision making dynamics at dozens of Contemporary Christian radio stations over the last decade.

I’ve worked with radio stations that have become award winning in the industry, and I’ve worked with stations that have been a short blip on the screen. (Anyone remember Shine 97.7 in Albuquerque? I didn’t think so).

This week’s tip isn’t about the music you play, the disc jockeys you hire, or how much marketing and research a station has. This tip is about how trust is developed, and its impact on a station’s progress.

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The new music discussion, and what it means to your station’s success

There is a lot of discussion in our format about new music.  In fact, the only music discussion in our format is about new music.

Online forums, trade magazines, charts, and record company promotion folk spent much time, space, and energy in dialogue about what new songs your station should be playing.  The foundational problem with this dialogue is that “new music” isn’t really a category of music at all, although the very discussion assumes that it is.

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It’s not about the cardboard

Mickey MantleI collected baseball cards as a kid.  I mean I really, really collected baseball cards as a kid.  When most of my friends were buying a just pack or two at a time, I would ride my bike down to Klotzbach’s Little Store and buy the entire carton.  The gum in those packs was hard enough to pick a lock but it gave the card an unforgettable smell.

Even at that early stage of life there was something about being associated with a winner.

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