How to revive/improve the Radio Industry?

Question

The industry is facing lots of competition from the TV sector.

How do we try to revive or improve the industry?

Answer 1

Well clear channel effed that up by buying up so many stations and feeding us the same lowest-common-denominator programming across the dial.

If you want to compete with TV then radio has to live where it's viewers do. What was the primary difference between radio thirty years ago and the radio of today? Free-form DJs.

Nowadays programming is determined by an algorithm designed to deliver the right advertisements to the right demographic. The big radio corporations don't give a damn about rocking our socks off, they just want to make money. We need to bring back free-form DJs, like Wolfman Jack, Don Steele, and The K.

Answer 2

Ther problem that the Radio Industry is facing is not the TV industry, but rather the CD/Computer Industry. As long as people can buy CD's or mix there own, as long as they can download music from the internet and as long as they can copy from friends the music that they want to hear, people have no reason to listen to the radio.

Radio has to find a way to compete. The main way would be to try to convince main course artists to agree NOT to release their songs for CD's/albums and down-loading until after a specific amount of time has passed.

I.e. that the songs would be given, say a free 6 to 12-month run on radio stations only and THEN become available to the general public.

However, since that limits the amount of money those artists make, the chances of convincing them to do such a thing are highly unlikely.

Answer 3

Quite honestly, the way to improve the radio industry would be for local stations to control their own formats again.

The radio industry as a whole has become so cookie-cutter that there are only about a dozen or so total formats out there, and very little is done at a local level anymore. You have all these huge conglomerates like Clear Channel and Citadel that control huge chunks of the radio market, and the local stations have very little control over format.

Local control over format and break up the mega media conglomerates. That would be a good beginning.

Answer 4

The key is to make radio relevant again. The stations need more local roots. It seems like the local DJs are starting to report the traffic and talk about the upcoming concerts, while the playlists are pumped in from headquarters. They need to start promoting more local acts and talk more about local issues.

At the same time, they need to put some effort into discovering new artists. With Clear Channel and the other mega-radio conglomerates, the music has become more about big money and what label you're with, rather than the quality of the music. They should try catering the music to their audience and maybe even cross genres occasionally, rather than let the music become stale...

Answer 5

I think radio should go the alternative route and play more bands/artists that are not in the mainstream. If they don't offer something different than TV why should people listen? At one time people used to listen to the radio in places other than their cars. Now bands/artists are all image and nothing of substance. The Beatles didn't need a video or an "image" to be grouped with and they did pretty well.

Answer 6

Get rid of all the car commercials, commercials for mortgage re-financing and for cell service ( yes I know they pay the bills but they are awful and cause me to tune out). Next, get some interesting people ( Mark and Brian for example ) on more shows than just the morning drive. Play more than just the safe songs, or 'classic rock n roll' which is what all the stations except hip hop/ R&B are doing. Get rid of automated formats as they really are just a different form of elevator music. Get the sales guys and the General Manager out of programming and music selection. AND MOST IMPORTANT GET RID OF THE FCC, and allow the freedom of expression ( even bad language if that is what it takes ) to make radio interesting again.

Answer 7

Live shows! Too much automation makes for really boring programming. Nothing compares to a live DJ. Why do you think talk radio got so big? Live people!!!! (as opposed to dead?!?!?heh-heh) A wider range of music... if in a specific genre- just more from that genre. Stop playing the same thing over and over and over and over! Fewer commercials would probably help too or at least interesting ones.
I'm not an automaton... please don't treat me like one.

Answer 8

First the Bob and Tom show is really, REALLY bad. I Don't listen to it anymore. No oldie but goodie music where I live and it is a metropolitan area.
Stop playing the same five or six songs per hour.

No syndicated whining crying liberal talk show host on AM. That would give me plenty of laughs, be very entertaining.

Answer 9

Bring back all the golden oldies on KFRC. I'm probably one of the only people my age that listens to music from the 50s and 60s, but I was really sad when they switched to 70s and 80s music only.

Answer 10

I agree totally with Looking4help. Big Corporate Radio has ruined the programming.