Who's gonna win next week

I spoke to my friend Tom Roland yesterday for an article that is going to be in Monday's Billboard magazine.   The concept of the article is about the Duo category now that Brooks and Dunn are done.

The betting money is on Sugarland.   A good bet but I commented that they did not have a great radio year.  That is where the radio people measure success but looking at the others in the category it is no contest when it comes to liver performances and CD sales.

Too bad for a duo like Thompson Square.  I think that they had the best radio year.  An explosion onto the charts with two top ten songs and a number one with their debut.   They will gain more traction but may never have a year like the last.   They may win many awards in years to come but this was a special year for the kids.

Christmas Music

This is the most wonderful time of the year.  Unless your trying to decide what Christmas Music to play on the radio.   I have said many times that I like Christmas Music but am not a fan of music about Christmas.   This is particularly true of Country Music that is about Christmas.

Santa was an 18 Wheeler is not a Country Song. There are not many new Country Christmas songs this year.

But this year, as I have been watching AC music more I am confused about what singer are thinking.

What would Maria Meadows, who has a INCREDIBLE voice, and does does a great version of The Christmas Song, release the song the same year that Justin Bieber and Usher release the song?

Where is Maria, who deserves to be heard, going to get the play she should get this year?

The Chicken or the Egg?

Remember  that the Internet is the WORLD wide web.  Providing information about the music, information and entertainment news is not specific to your radio station.  Any of your listeners can type ANYTHING into Google or Bing and find what they are looking for without your website ever being accessed.  Listeners can go around you all day…on the web.

Our goal on the radio is to build stations that are compelling enough so that listeners do not go around you on the air.  You want to be playing the best music for your core.  Your morning show has to be the most appealing, with humor, warmth and information.

Your radio station is built around music, information, personality and promotion.  Your website needs to be built around the same things.  Those are reasons people come to radio station. Those are the elements that have built your brand.  Those are the things you are known for and what the listener expects you to be an expert in.

So why move the listener to the website if we continue to provide all of this information on the air? Because we live in a instant gratification society.  If your listener wants to know the Pirates score they have no intention of waiting for you to give them the score.  If they want to know what the weather will be like this afternoon, they have no intention to waiting around for you to tell them.  If they want to see the new Lady Gaga video they want to see it now.

Yes, they can go to ESPN.com.  They can go to weather.com and youtube.com.  If you talk about entertainment features in the morning does this entice your listeners go to TMZ.com? Interesting, isn’t it, that all of the things that you own on the air are owned by someone else on the Internet?

BUT when you tell them the story about Charlie Sheen’s rant they are yours.  If you add, “we’ve posted Charlie’s latest rant on WVAQ.com” where are they going to go?   TMZ is not in their ear that minute inviting them to their site.  BUT, if we fail to provide that information on our site, the listener will find TMZ and quite conceivably we have lost them forever for Charlie Sheen news.

Morning Shows need focus

I have been concentrating lately on morning shows and have found most wanting in the same areas.  No matter the market size.

The biggest issue has been the inability to stay focused on one topic and to present that topic in a concise yet complete manner.  It sounds to me like the topic is planned but the execution is not.  Knowing what you’re going to talk about is just half of the job.  

Larry Morrow,  a good teacher for morning shows, also points out that, “once you’ve decided on your topic you have to plan how you’re going to get into it, who is going to take the lead and how do you exit.”

I have heard our morning shows get into bits and then completely forget about the clock.   We have a few morning shows that are primarily talk where the music compliments the discussion but on many of our shows it is the other way around. 

When the morning show is music based, not all music but 8-10 songs per hour, please remind your morning shows that the listener has made the determination to listen based on the music genre and that their content is very important but not at the expense of the music.

Planning content is simple.  What is going to be on the listener’s mind throughout the day?  You should be the person that provides them that information so that they can be informed at work or with their friends and family.  Compelling and entertaining should also be concise.

Is the listener involved in the topic both thematically and on the air?   Is the team having fun? Both in the studio, on the air and with the listener?  Does the show sound spontaneous and are their production elements?  Do the hand offs sound clunky?

Are we getting the basics in 8-10 times per hour?  Is the morning show promoting forward on their show, the rest of the day and tomorrow morning?  Is the position of the station, the musical position part of the morning show too?

Just a few things to think about.

"Will work for girls."

Everyone has seen the homeless, and now rehabbed, anouncer Ted Williams on You Tube or national news shows.  His sign could say, "will cut spots for food."  

The Nashville based  record companies are going to need to begin making signs that say, "will sign a female singer for the salvation of the format."  It is getting that dire.

Each year the ACM and CMA try to award female newconmers with a trophy and recognition for being the most promising artist representing their gender. Recently the category looks more like Mother Hubbard's cupboard.

Sure we have superstars like Taylor and Carrie.  We have a budding superstar in Miranda.  We have newcomer Sunny Sweeny who has a radio hit right now.  It is great to have the beautiful Sara Evans back on the radio.  Ashton Shepherd was going to the the female savoir...maybe soon.

Fortunately on the radio side we can play oldies to balanmce things and we have "female" leads with Sugarland and occasionally Lady A.  We now have the Janedear Girls and female voices with Thompson Square and Steel Magnolias. 

There are a few girl acts that I am not mentioning here because they are not currently on the chart and that tells the entire story.

The industry needs to find new females singers and quickly.  I beleive that one of the reassons CHR is re-emerging is beacuse of the female voices on the air.  Lady Ga Ga, Katy Perry, Ke$ha, Rhianna, Pink and Brittany (she's backkkkk!) are all the huge hitmakers in the format and have brought new life into those radio stations. 

Country is missing it.