1. Part 6: Music in the Marketplace

2. Chapter 19

3. Start Thinking... What factors influence a song’s selection for radio airplay? Who makes the decision about which songs make it onto the week’s playlist? What portion of the new music you learn about do you first hear on the radio?

4. Chapter Goals Gain awareness of radio’s dominant role in the music business, particularly the promotion of recordings. Learn how demographic analyses help determine stations’ target audiences. Discover the most powerful influences on stations’ programming policies.

5. Music in Radio 1865Guglielmo Marconi develops the first radio 1920sCommercially licensed stations go on the air; first radio network; radio becomes “show business” 1930sFCC established; Great Depression strengthens radio’s appeal; advertising revenue soars 1940sCommercial FM stations licensed; over 950 stations on the air 1950sTV nearly kills radio; emergence of genre-specific programming; role of disc jockeys dominates; payola scandals 1960sMultiplex broadcasting; radio promotion helps record industry boom

6. Music in Radio 1970sFM stations turn to “middle” audience; programming is predictable 1980sFCC relaxes programming control; the rise of the music video 1990sDigital workstations; owners can hold more stations 2000sCompetition from satellite and Internet radio; Spanish-language outlets popular; negative effects of ownership consolidation; HD Radio birthed 2010s:Broadcast (terrestrial) radio continues to fight for listening share with Webcasters, which in turn struggle to gain a marketplace foothold while paying comparatively burdensome performance royalties.

7. Types of Stations Classification by carrier waves AM = amplitude modulation; news, sports, talk stations FM = frequency modulation; music stations Classification by call letters W = stations east of the Mississippi K = stations west of the Mississippi X = Mexico C = Canada

8. Audience Identification and Market Research Programming philosophy: play audience segment’s favorite music Demography distribution, density, vital statistics of population Research methods polling samples station rating sets in use audience share Syndicated research

9. Audience Identification and Market Research Data interpretation 1. How good was the sample? Did it typify the market? 2. How weak, how strong was the program preceding/following the program being measured? 3. How strong, how clear was the station’s signal at the time the sampled audience was listening? 4. How strong were the competing programs? 5. What was the influence of publicity? 6. What was it that most attracted listeners? Influence on music sales

10. Spectrum of Formats CHR/Top 40 Adult contemporary Country Urban contemporary Alternative AOR Oldies NAC Non-English stations Others

11. How Commercial Radio Stations Work Staffing Management structures shifted 1996 Telecommunications Act consolidation of ownership of stations Multiple stations now managed by one manager

12. How Commercial Radio Stations Work Programming The week’s playlist add new songs and drop old songs who makes the decisions? 1950s payola scandals: disc jockeys, independent recording promoters “Don’t Touch that Dial” Song clustering Pacing

13. How Commercial Radio Stations Work Networks and Syndication Pre-1950s Radio network = linked stations broadcasting the same programs simultaneously NBS, CBS, ABC, MBS Today complete packaged programs licensed or sold to stations 30 seconds to full day-part; individual programs to series displaced air talent due to signature DJs

14. How Commercial Radio Stations Work Satellite Subscription Radio Launched in 2001 Sirius and XM merged after bidding war automobile makers installed satellite radios in cars XM+MP3 lawsuits Satellite radio services abundance of channels talk formats drive significant sales

15. How Commercial Radio Stations Work Internet Radio Streaming audio programming started in early 1990s webcasting improved with broadband connections Traditional radio stations simulcast signals via Internet Internet listenership research superior to broadcast Sound recording performance rates settled by CRB in 2007 SoundExchange negotiates alternative rates

16. For Further Thought... Has the dispersion of radio programming across platforms such as the Internet, satellite, and terrestrial radio created more or less access to niche music? Should Internet-only radio stations pay the same level of performance royalties as over-the-air stations? Why?