Amazing Radio Stations: What Makes ‘Em…And What Kills ‘Em ( sort of long )
“1952: “RADIO IS DEAD. WITH THE LONE RANGER AND JACK BENNY GOING TO TV, BYE BYE RADIO”
Back in ‘52, radio didn’t die. It entered the true golden age. Guys like Todd Storz and Gordon Mc Lendon “re-invented” radio with the Top 40 ( repeated play) Concept, which is the foundation for most every competitive music format 1955-onwards. Storz and McLendon were the marketing, carney and science guys.
TV? Sure it was red hot…but so was radio as it was re-born in the mid 50’s on the AM band. The 60’s continued the parade as the soundtrack of America. By 1970’s , AM music radio was tired, generally burnt out an out of sync with the emerging stereo era… FM took the lead and revolutionized radio just as potently as AM did in 1955. Now, FM is arguably tired and the answer is whoever delivers the greatness, regardless of whether the transmitter is in a swamp, space or silicon. Radio, in my definition is programmed sound that comes out of speakers. At the end of the day, the Best content/programming/ experience is going to win
Radio as defined above keeps re-inventing itself as if by divine intervention. Though AM/FM Radio tends to revolutionize then chokes itself through greed, inattention or somehow forgetting the building blocks of the revolution that got them there in the first place.
The following is a list of the key Building Blocks that created each AM and FM Radio revolution…..( there were also beautiful music aka environmental stations—-but this article deals with more aggressive scenarios ) followed by the elements that killed each pre streaming radio revolution.
Besides the “movement” in radio back in 55 and 70, every…yes EVERY great music radio station built and possibly destroyed themselves on the following points. By “great” station , I mean stations that LASTED 20+ years…stations that had HUGE ratings…stations that others copied.
The point of all this is that any radio ‘band’ that is sonically strong has the opportunity to revolutionize…and the rules/building blocks are identical to those of what made 1955 and 1970 an era of sonic change. These are things we strive for…, but the following lists get right down to the KEYS that are the basics to COMING THROUGH on the promise of Amazing Radio in the fashion of prior revolutions….
While the environment is Completely different today with new listening technologies economic realities, and generations of listeners who didn’t grow up with brilliant radio, traditional radio still has huge circulation. The key is turning listeners into fans again. When was the last time you saw a radio station bumper sticker. It’s also possible that radio is a 40+ medium. That’s fine. There’s a lot of folks 40+
Here are the factors that created the radio revolutions and the Great Stations:
*Technology. transistor radios in ’55…Stereo in ’70. Without the transistor radio…AM could have died in 53. Without Stereo, FM may never have grown to it’s current proportion. Digital is now and there’ll be MORE innovations in the future that superscede the current hot technologies which is why it always gets back to content brilliance Whether background /environmental or in your face
*Music. A music shift/movement that radio identifies, responds to and aggressively popularizes. ’55 Rock n Roll. “Album”, Post Soul Urban, country etc…
*Wording. Often borrowed from Urbania, the wording was pure street and helped define a stations vibe. Even “ rock n roll” was popularized by a dj. Then there was boss, ripoff, keep in truckin etc…
*Production. In 55 it was jingles, news intros, weather jingles, overblown hype (it worked because it was NEW)…In ’70, the mellowing out…the less plastic sound…as well as a Harder more in your face approach. Production is to radio what visuals are to movies and ads…. or color is to Pictures. Magic between the songs TV Ads in particular continually evolve….Vastly new and fresh production had the same effect on the stations . New sound Production was as arresting as the NEW visuals in Kubrick’s 2001, Avatar or Star Wars or any shockingly fresh new eye treat….except for the ears…but the stimulation ends up in the at the time place–the head. Sound is to radio what color is to film.
*Features. A.k.a “trademarks.” The Silver Dollar Survey Countdown and Coke Hit Parade in 50’s…Chickenman in the 60’s….AT 40 in the 70s for example. Block Party Weekends in the 80’s. Franchises.
*In Sync. Current. Street savvy. When an early Top 40 or an early FM DJ talked…people listened. The DJs were as cool as the stars.
*Love/Passion. Stations were families. Not unlike bands who love each other at first…but over time want to kill each other (once successful)
*Audience Respect. No tricks. Honesty. Treating listeners as FANS and never screwing with them. Never lying about “15 in a row”…it’s about being the best by actions and truths not brags. Bragging has SO little credibility that it’s a key reason rarely one “believes” FM promos anymore.
*Personalities. Biondi, Lujack, Steele etc… Other than Morning shows, the average Joe can’t name a single DJ on any given station today….AND “personality” was NOT limited to Mornings. These days there seems to be an unwritten law that says interesting talent on music radio must cease at 10am. Of course there ARE some music concepts where DJ’s are an irritant, but maybe that’s because they have nothing to say that compliments the music. And personality doesn’t necessarily mean talking a lot. — it’s WHAT is said and how.
*THE musical information source. You found out about EVERYTHING musical on the radio not in print, TV or even online these days
*Completeness. In the 50s & 60s it was News, Sports, Countdowns, Million Dollar Weekends, Printed Surveys, DJ’s doing hops. In 70s it was Block Party Weekends, Truly sponsoring and involvement with concerts, King Biscuit, Mascots. Etc….
*Local. Truly local and involved. PART OF THE REGION . (For XM… we thought NORTH AMERICA as our locality). Local is what you make it regardless of its geographical boundaries
*Smarteners. You learned from the radio. It wasn’t BS. Jocks said something..no stupid clichés rote liners and mindless DJ chatter.
*Musical Digging. No relying strictly on research and trades. DJs/PDs DUG..WORKED to find great songs to play. Imports, Flea Markets….regional successes
*BLATANTLY/OBVIOUSLY new ideas. Out with the old. This sound is NEW….and obviously so. Evolving! *Anticipation. You couldn’t turn a station off in fear of “missing something”
*Claimed artists. Owned them. Absolutely tied at the hip to them.
*Attitude through authenticity. Hired people who “got it” and never had to worry about attitude. The attitude was in the DNA of the staff.
*Promoting the station. Being smart or aware enough to realize that if You don’t tell the audience…they aren’t going to find out through osmosis. Gotta aggressively and constantly plug EVENTS/HAPPENINGS on you and other days/day parts . New _____is out today…if this were 1965, the channel would play the cut every hour….Go over the top in making it known that you have it!
*Star Pull. The stars visited because they had to and wanted to…not because their label was trying to sell something.
*Guerrilla tactics. Stunts…. NON TRADITIONAL WAYS of attracting attention
*Thinking. People were creative. THINKING. CREATING NEW ANGLES AND METHODS. Today, radio is on autopilot. It’s not economics as much as rethinking priorities
*PRIDE. Willingness to plug the WHOLE STATION because you’re proud of THE WHOLE STATION
*Positive Attitude. Whiners or chronic complainers, historically, don’t last long. They get in the way of the mission. A station needs a positive attitude…swagger. You can HEAR the negativity or dull edge in the halls on so many stations.
*Sense of War/Mission. It’s not a job. It’s a battle. Permeates every corner of the building. WAR footing. Don’t see that much anymore….at least in programming departments. The War seems to be in sales. That’s fine but that’s like having a Navy without an Army.
*Quality Radar. A bad piece of production….a bad or wrong record simply never got on the air
*Graphics. Not really a programming function, but the revolution was characterized by a new “look” for stations.
