Part 6: Music in Broadcasting, Film, and Theater

Chapter 19

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?

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.

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

Music in Radio 1960sMultiplex broadcasting; radio promotion helps record industry boom 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

Types of Stations Classification by carrier waves AM = amplitude modulation FM = frequency modulation AM = news, sports, talk stations FM = music stations Classification by call letters W = stations east of the Mississippi K = stations west of the Mississippi

Audience Identification and Market Research Programming philosophy: play audience segment’s favorite music Demography distribution, density, vital statistics of population

Audience Identification and Market Research Research methods polling samples station rating sets in use audience share Syndicated research

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? (continued)

Audience Identification and Market Research Data interpretation (continued) 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

Spectrum of Formats CHR/Top 40 Adult contemporary Country Urban contemporary Alternative

Spectrum of Formats AOR Oldies NAC Non-English stations Others

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

How Commercial Radio Stations Work Programming The week’s playlist add new songs and drop old songs who makes the decisions? disc jockeys, payola scandals, independent recording promoters Reverse programming Song clustering Pacing

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 packed programs licensed or sold to stations 30 seconds to full day-part; individual programs to series displaced air talent due to signature DJs

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

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 raised by CRB in 2006 SoundExchange negotiates alternative rates

How Commercial Radio Stations Work HD Radio™ Introduced by terrestrial radio sector in 2006 allows AM and FM stations to simulcast main signals in digital format offers improved audio quality FM stations multicast by adding more channels in allocated spectrum closes gap with satellite radio’s channel offerings

For Further Thought... What are the three basic sets of statistics in radio market research? What impact has the Telecommunications Act of 1996 had on radio stations?