{"id":15399,"date":"2019-11-07T08:12:32","date_gmt":"2019-11-07T16:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/?p=15399"},"modified":"2019-11-07T08:12:32","modified_gmt":"2019-11-07T16:12:32","slug":"lee-abrams-on-radio-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/2019\/11\/07\/lee-abrams-on-radio-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Lee Abrams On Radio (and more…)"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE BIG TEN<\/strong><\/p>\n

Radio is in an undeniable position of strength in terms of accessibly, but as a fan of the medium, it has the potential for long term extinction in its current form. Overly dramatic maybe, but there are a lot of red flags that need to be addressed:<\/p>\n

1. MERGERS, WALL STREET, THE ECONOMY AND ACQUISITIONS:<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you observe the radio business, the conversation is focused almost exclusively on the economic side. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s great\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6this is America. But\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwhen was the last time you heard or read about a radio content war, or a station that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tearing up a market with a new sound. Content brilliance needs to be part of the conversation. If the excitement in radio is all about the deals, where does that leave the listener who could care less about who owns who. Death by deal is a real possibility as media\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s eye is SO far off the content ball, that we simply can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t compete to win in the Google\/Apple era. The business side is what makes it rock, but content is what makes it roll, and you need both. Deals will be done, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the magic that comes out of the speakers and screens that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll move things forward, and that needs to be the conversation every bit as much as the economics.<\/p>\n

2. THE PLAYBOOK HASN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T BEEN UPDATED IN 40+ YEARS:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I heard a “new” Rock station recently and they presented;<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u201cA “big voice” yelling at you about how hard they rock (that worked in 1979 when rock stations needed to re-enforce their manhood against the disco invasion\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s over)<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u201cStar Wars laser sound effects complete with ‘man in the box’ filtered effect. (The Empire was destroyed in the 70\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6time to move on..if radio is “theater of the mind” I heard theater of the lame)<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u201cBlocks, Two-fers, commercial free sets (Another relic of the 70\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s. That was 40 years ago)<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u201cLunch. Not sure if it was a retro lunch, an electric lunch or whatever, but it was a “lunch”<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u201cA station van. Cool in ’71 when hippies carried their pot and guitars in vans, now a soccer mom symbol that defines not cool drives a van<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u201cDJ\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s selling Free Bird. (What can POSSIBLY be said about Free Bird in this day and age?)<\/p>\n

The station was on 70\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s focus group auto pilot. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in the era where competition from other music sources is on steroids, but radio is in the “K108 plays more variety era. The Simpsons and Onion parody this stuff.
\nStations should install cliche buzzers\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthree buzzes and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re fired. That should thwart “new” ideas like “The _____ Lunch”<\/p>\n

Of course this station was raving about how cool they were. Embarrassing.<\/p>\n

3. THE STARS OF RADIO:<\/strong><\/p>\n

50\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s- Deejays
\n60\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s- PD\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s
\n70\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s- Consultants
\n80\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s- Researchers
\n90\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s- Group Heads
\n00\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s-beyond \u00e2\u20ac\u201d- Bankers<\/p>\n

God bless bankers, but we are in a creative crisis as much as an economic one. Time to recruit, enable and inspire creative content stars, and not just Talk hosts\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 but content creators. Radio seems to hire based on purely operational aptitude, driving those with heavy creative aptitude to other industries. That 19 year old creative star will probably look at TV and Radio as the last place they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d want to be. This is a problem IF media has any interest in entering the content war. We have to make our media a creative oasis for thinkers to thrive. Read a job posting from any major traditional media company. Sounds like HR hell. Then read the Apple postings. Wonder why they get the future stars?<\/p>\n

4. BALANCE NOT BULLSHIT<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is a content war out there and Apple\/Google seem to have the advantage. But Radio and TV have the eyes and ears. Without a balanced people\/function configuration, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doomed to lose. Need STARS in;<\/p>\n

-Business
\n-Revenue
\n-Technology
\n-Operations
\nand Creative.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not talking about Morning Shows. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m talking about creative leadership that, though actions and execution, create a creative priority that is equal to revenue priority. Working in sync to win the battle.
\nI recall waking into a TV station and seeing a mission statement in the lobby. It included lines about being cutting edge, innovating, leading, etc\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6. I asked the GSM if this was true. He smirked and said\u00e2\u20ac\u201dNope compete BS. Those statements exist throughout media. When you hear “Content is King”\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6run! It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not king. Revenue is. Content drives revenue.
\nSpeaking of Bullshit. Stop with the old school slogans. No one believes them. Like in TV News\u00e2\u20ac\u201cEVERY station is “Best, First, On Your Side, In It For You, Accurate\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.etc\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.. America is too BS savvy to buy that anymore.<\/p>\n

5. DENIAL & ARROGANCE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

You hear a lot of;<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u201cSpotify only has a small share of listenership. Ha Ha<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u201cRadio is great. When a tornado hits, you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t go to Spotify (Maybe not yet, but then again, what about the 358 non tornadic days?)<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u201cWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re #1<\/p>\n

STOP! If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re talking to Agencies and Wall Street\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6OK. BUT\u00e2\u20ac\u201dinternally\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.STOP!<\/p>\n

This stuff sounds like General Motors in 1980.<\/p>\n

We are at the most dramatic crossroad in Media History and to be self congratulating with denial and arrogance is frightening. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s NOT OK\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s war. You gotta pull out the weapons, kill the denial and start creating content that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll win on 21st Century terms. The denial and arrogance is deafening. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s worse in Radio\/TV than newspapers where they still think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 1935.<\/p>\n

6. THE DIGITAL EXCUSE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Digital is now\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6and the future. Pretty obvious. But\u00e2\u20ac\u201cit\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s often an excuse. A short cut that undermines the REAL issue\u00e2\u20ac\u201dDated and tired 80\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rooted content. If a station is tired and dull, a new App won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t magically make it great, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the thinking out there.<\/p>\n

You constantly hear how a product is “moving forward” and entering the digital space. Well, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s simply survival. What is being avoided like the plague is the core product\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6the brand itself. Fix the product first. I recall being at a newspaper and they were raving about their innovations and it was stunning. But when I asked about the printed paper, I got blank stares and a “we can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t touch that\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sacred” response. Same thing in radio and TV. WHAT COMES OUT OF THE SPEAKERS OR SCREEN is the problem that won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be fixed by migrating it to online\/mobile. Take TV News. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s laughably dated with the Ultra Doppler super action weather, NORAD sets and big haired modern Ted Knight anchors. Will migrating that to Ipad save the day? Of course not. Fix the product first. Get the product in sync with 2020 before you start praying the delivery system will save you.
\nThen there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s “interacting” with your radio. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s great, but not at the expense of the listening experience. Listen first\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6then interact. No one wants to interact with something tired and increasingly irrelevant.<\/p>\n

7. THE SECRET CONSPIRACY<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seems there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s some secret law that says a Technology company can innovate daily. Version 2, Version 3, Upgrades, White IPhones, etc\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 Radio? Same playbook with new slogans. Even TV and Fashion has “New Fall Seasons”\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6radio is on innovation autopilot at a time when, to prosper in the Google\/Apple era you need to innovate DAILY. American media is getting beaten by the Phone and Cable companies in terms of innovation.<\/p>\n

That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wrong.<\/p>\n

Radio has become a stagnant commodity hoping a new App will fix everything at a time when Tech companies have embraced the 21st Century. This ain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t 1975 where you plug in a format and go. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a new world requiring constant updating.<\/p>\n

8. BUT WE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122RE LOCAL!<\/strong><\/p>\n

No you aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. Well, the WGN and WLW types breathe local, but most stations are generic. When I was a kid, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d drive from Chicago to Miami on Holiday. Indy, Louisville, Nashville, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Miami. Every city had stations with character. Maybe it was the Southern accents on WQXI in Atlanta or the undeniable pride that permeated every break. Make that same trip today and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a generic wasteland. Everyone sounds the same. Again, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll hear the denial. we have a local morning show\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6we do a blood drive every summer. Big deal. Stations should do a “local audit”\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6audit their sound and marketing and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d find hundreds of missed opportunities. In Chicago, there are several billboards and outdoor vehicles, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve yet to see ONE that says “Chicago\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s W\u00e2\u20ac\u201d-“\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.
\nIncidentally, “local” can be an excuse too. We are becoming more Global by the minute. But if you commit to local\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6then DELIVER in EVERYTHING that you touch.<\/p>\n

9. YOU CAN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T ABBREVIATE MAGIC<\/strong><\/p>\n

New station launches: “We have AM Drive, billboard, a tested library, some promos and an App\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re good to go”<\/p>\n

HUH??!! You can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t design the future until you understand the past. Look back to KHJ, KCBQ, THE LOOP, KFOG and scores of other ground breaking stations. They created a plan\u00e2\u20ac\u201dcompleteness. Schwartzkopf style planning\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6a mission. Right down to how the receptionist answered the phone. Some say this\/I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m old fashioned and you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do that today. Why? Is media so full of itself that a great game plan that REALLY reinvents is old fashioned? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m one that believes ANY old media product can reinvent itself and kick ass in any market. Money? Imagination is free. In fact, the most passionate and gifted people are the ones you want in there, and they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not about money. Of course media is driving them away. Winning media wars is hard. It takes emotional and managerial command. Media has to stop living in the Ad Club world and create teams that fight for brilliance\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6and deliver.<\/p>\n

Todd Storz had a timeless line: “First program\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6then sell.”<\/p>\n

Media is entertainment\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6not utility. In some cases both, but always entertainment. The environment is too cluttered to think call letters, history and an abbreviated game plan will win.<\/p>\n

10. MEDIA & INFORMATION IS THE NEW ROCK N ROLL.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rock and roll is arguably on life support as is music radio. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s may not be apparent yet, but when it starts looking backwards, the best days are behind it. But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s OK, you can learn from it and build on the NEW Rock n Roll. By Rock being dead, I mean as a driver of culture. Whereas Elvis drove culture, nowadays it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Facebook\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6and News. The world is having a nervous breakdown and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what s moving the culture. I doubt if a new Beatles will emerge that make everything right\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6culture is all about media and information. BUT\u00e2\u20ac\u201cThe M.O. of Rock n Roll is timeless and we need Rock n Roll THINKING, regardless of format or style. The characteristics of Rock n Roll thinking include:<\/p>\n

ECCENTRICITY\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK
\nINNOVATION AS A DRIVER IN EVERYTHING YOU DO
\nATTITUDE\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6A SPIRIT
\nSWAGGER\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6A SENSE OF CONFIDENCE
\nNEWNESS\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6THE STRUGGLE TO BE FIRST
\nBIG\u00e2\u20ac\u201dMASS APPEAL
\nRE-INVENTION\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6A DESIRE AND MOTIVATION TO
\nCREATES FANS NOT “USERS”
\nPOWERFUL\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6CULTURE MOVING
\nCHANGING\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6ALWAYS PUSHING FORWARD
\nCOMPETITIVE\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6FIGHTING FOR SUCCESS
\nARTFUL\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6CREATING COMMERCE THROUGH ART (ART IS NOT A BAD WORD UNLESS IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S BAD ART)
\nINSTINCTIVE\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6NOT RELYING ON YESTERDAYS INFORMATION
\nREBELLIOUS\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6AGAIN, A FIGHTING SPIRIT
\nINTELLIGENT\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6IN A MASS APPEAL WAY
\nNON ELITIST\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6FOR THE MASSES<\/p>\n

SUMMARY:<\/p>\n

Get back to the roots. What a listener\/viewer hears and sees from the speakers, the screens and on the streets. Stop with the excuses\u00e2\u20ac\u201dEverything will be fine when the economy improves\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6we have a new App\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been here since 1942\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re local because our tower is here. Radio has one incredible thing going for it\u00e2\u20ac\u201dReach. Everyone has a radio. Radio and TV are in a position of strength. Just imagine if EVERYone had a Mac. Do you think Apple would call it quits? Radio and TV have, as mediums, given up the content fight at a time when THE MAGIC OF WHAT COMES OUT OF THE SCREENS AND SPEAKERS is more powerful than ANY technology. Combined with technology, it’s untouchable. Time to get on war footing and start to create the magic on 2020 terms.<\/p>\n

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THE BIG TEN Radio is in an undeniable position of strength in terms of accessibly, but as a fan of the medium, it has the potential for long term extinction in its current form. Overly dramatic maybe, but there are a lot of red flags that need to be addressed: 1. MERGERS, WALL STREET, THE […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-radio"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-40n","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15399"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15401,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15399\/revisions\/15401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}