Making Radio Stronger In A Disaster
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Pandora VS. Radio. Tons of Comments.
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(2/17/2011 3:55:19 PM) Flag as inappropriate content
Questions:
1. Do you think broadcast radio can withstand ANY further reduction in revenue right now?
2. Do you think Pandora, or Pandora-like services will pull ANY revenue away from broadcast radio as they grow in popularity?
3. Do you understand that broadcast radio runs on profitable advertising revenue, not programming--no matter how good, or how “local”?
4. Do you understand that if a stick can’t pay its bills, it goes bye-bye?
5. Do you think that tomorrow’s decision makers will view broadcast radio in the same light as their predecessors?
You know the answers.
Love it, and would love to connect on Facebook!
The buzz surrounding Pandora belies its more modest reality. Its 80 million subscribers' aggregate listening equals that of terrestrial radio in ONE large market. When put into perspective, it's not so exciting. Nonetheless, the buzz Pandora has created is great for its IPO. Now if that goes well, Pandora will be bought out by one of the big boys, Tim Westergren and his buddies will walk away with some serious cash, and Pandora's remnants will blend into the ever-morphing internet mix. Refer to the history of Mark Cuban and Broadcast.com. Same thing. With Pandora, it's not about the music, and it's not about the listener. It's all about the money. We traditional radio folk like money, too, but we live, work, and have relationships in our communities, so there's something more to it than money. That's not the case with Pandora.
Excellent points Mary Beth! I listen to Pandora, iPod, iPad, Sirius/XM and Pandora. BUT...when I want local information, when I want to feel connected to my community, when I want to know what's happening either with the weather or social events I turn to my local radio.
I also think Pandora's ipo and biz model will be profitable and I'll toss some money their way.
Thomas Rohe
Pres.
SunSpots Productions Voice Talent Agency & Creative Audio Production
www.sunspotsproductions.com
"I'm no fan of HD Radio, but..." LMFAO!
OMG, this is too much fun…
When you sell for a station that has no “numbers” because it’s too new (as I have), you develop some great arguments as to why Arbitron ratings might not be the best way to gauge a station’s value. Of course, any intelligent person can argue both sides, but these were mine, and I owned them:
1. “It seems like the only people who have time to participate in Arbitron surveys are the unemployed and retired people; everyone else is too busy. Are these your primary demographics?”
2. “How many people do you know who would actually carry a PPM around with them everywhere they went? I think it takes a special kind of quirky person to do that—I always wondered—do they represent the general population?”
3. “I remember I got a dollar in the mail and a laundry list of stuff to do when I was a busy DOD professional. Since throwing money in the trash is counterproductive (and maybe even illegal), I remember I kept the dollar, but threw the rest of the stuff away.”
4. “Do the busy people you know have time to participate in stuff like this? (Shut up and wait for a response) “ Hmm…I know what you mean. Are most of your customers like that?”
5. “Seems like the fox is guarding the hen house on THOSE numbers. How many of your friends like Classic Rock? You know, our play list is 1500 songs deep. You’ve heard our morning show, right?”
6. “You know, stations that use Arbitron have to pay a very, very hefty fee to use their system. I always wonder—do the numbers follow the money?”
7. “Arbitron is first and foremost a business. They’re a publicly traded firm on the New York Stock Exchange; their symbol is ARB. They’re definitely in business to make money—and they cater to large corporate entities willing to pay through the nose for ammo to give to their sales reps. We refuse to give them money, or participate in their process. Have you listened to our morning show?”
Feel free to use this in your next sales meeting.
I think Pandora could be a good investment based solely on a business model and market place that I think is conducive to short term growth.
As for local radio, Pandora will not kill it at all. However, Pandora has and will continue to pull music listeners away from FM stations (local and network) that play the same songs over and over. Those who just want to listen to music and don't want silly morning jock showmanship will pick Pandora over radio any day of the week. FM station still play a vital role in radio, but as I see it, their ability to sell ad time will depend on their ability to reach their local audience with unique local content. They won't be able to simply rest on the quality and popularity of the tunes they play.
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Add a Comment
(2/17/2011 3:55:19 PM) Flag as inappropriate content
Questions:
1. Do you think broadcast radio can withstand ANY further reduction in revenue right now?
2. Do you think Pandora, or Pandora-like services will pull ANY revenue away from broadcast radio as they grow in popularity?
3. Do you understand that broadcast radio runs on profitable advertising revenue, not programming--no matter how good, or how “local”?
4. Do you understand that if a stick can’t pay its bills, it goes bye-bye?
5. Do you think that tomorrow’s decision makers will view broadcast radio in the same light as their predecessors?
You know the answers.
- Will Baumann
(2/17/2011 3:22:11 PM) Flag as inappropriate contentLove it, and would love to connect on Facebook!
- Billy Craig
(2/17/2011 3:00:41 PM) Flag as inappropriate contentThe buzz surrounding Pandora belies its more modest reality. Its 80 million subscribers' aggregate listening equals that of terrestrial radio in ONE large market. When put into perspective, it's not so exciting. Nonetheless, the buzz Pandora has created is great for its IPO. Now if that goes well, Pandora will be bought out by one of the big boys, Tim Westergren and his buddies will walk away with some serious cash, and Pandora's remnants will blend into the ever-morphing internet mix. Refer to the history of Mark Cuban and Broadcast.com. Same thing. With Pandora, it's not about the music, and it's not about the listener. It's all about the money. We traditional radio folk like money, too, but we live, work, and have relationships in our communities, so there's something more to it than money. That's not the case with Pandora.
- local oscillator
(2/17/2011 2:39:51 PM) Flag as inappropriate contentExcellent points Mary Beth! I listen to Pandora, iPod, iPad, Sirius/XM and Pandora. BUT...when I want local information, when I want to feel connected to my community, when I want to know what's happening either with the weather or social events I turn to my local radio.
I also think Pandora's ipo and biz model will be profitable and I'll toss some money their way.
Thomas Rohe
Pres.
SunSpots Productions Voice Talent Agency & Creative Audio Production
www.sunspotsproductions.com
- Thomas Rohe
(2/17/2011 12:53:41 PM) Flag as inappropriate content"I'm no fan of HD Radio, but..." LMFAO!
- Bobby
(2/17/2011 12:33:40 PM) Flag as inappropriate contentOMG, this is too much fun…
When you sell for a station that has no “numbers” because it’s too new (as I have), you develop some great arguments as to why Arbitron ratings might not be the best way to gauge a station’s value. Of course, any intelligent person can argue both sides, but these were mine, and I owned them:
1. “It seems like the only people who have time to participate in Arbitron surveys are the unemployed and retired people; everyone else is too busy. Are these your primary demographics?”
2. “How many people do you know who would actually carry a PPM around with them everywhere they went? I think it takes a special kind of quirky person to do that—I always wondered—do they represent the general population?”
3. “I remember I got a dollar in the mail and a laundry list of stuff to do when I was a busy DOD professional. Since throwing money in the trash is counterproductive (and maybe even illegal), I remember I kept the dollar, but threw the rest of the stuff away.”
4. “Do the busy people you know have time to participate in stuff like this? (Shut up and wait for a response) “ Hmm…I know what you mean. Are most of your customers like that?”
5. “Seems like the fox is guarding the hen house on THOSE numbers. How many of your friends like Classic Rock? You know, our play list is 1500 songs deep. You’ve heard our morning show, right?”
6. “You know, stations that use Arbitron have to pay a very, very hefty fee to use their system. I always wonder—do the numbers follow the money?”
7. “Arbitron is first and foremost a business. They’re a publicly traded firm on the New York Stock Exchange; their symbol is ARB. They’re definitely in business to make money—and they cater to large corporate entities willing to pay through the nose for ammo to give to their sales reps. We refuse to give them money, or participate in their process. Have you listened to our morning show?”
Feel free to use this in your next sales meeting.
- Will Baumann
(2/17/2011 12:28:51 PM) Flag as inappropriate contentI think Pandora could be a good investment based solely on a business model and market place that I think is conducive to short term growth.
As for local radio, Pandora will not kill it at all. However, Pandora has and will continue to pull music listeners away from FM stations (local and network) that play the same songs over and over. Those who just want to listen to music and don't want silly morning jock showmanship will pick Pandora over radio any day of the week. FM station still play a vital role in radio, but as I see it, their ability to sell ad time will depend on their ability to reach their local audience with unique local content. They won't be able to simply rest on the quality and popularity of the tunes they play.
- Brian
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