Why You Shouldn’t Be Focused On Radio
According to Statista.com, radio is the second most powerful medium in the United States, second only to television. Makes you think radio is where most people listen to music. Well, that would be a wrong assumption. When it comes to how audiences listen to and find music, there’s been a huge shift because of the change in our economy due to technology. While radio is popular, because of this shift, playing music is not its main agenda. Below, we will examine why you should not be focused on radio:
Radio is struggling for listeners so that they can satisfy advertisers
- They’re competing with other ways for audiences to listen to and download music such as social media, YouTube, Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, etc.
- Since radio stations are competing with so many of these other options available to audiences, they need to make sure they play what they know people want to hear. And since major artists already have fans who want to hear their music, they’re the ones more likely to get played.
- As I posted earlier, some stations are just playing music as filler between commercials. Music play isn’t their money maker – commercials are.
- Even if you had a budget of $10,000 for radio servicing, it most likely won’t make a difference unless you’re bringing listeners to the station. If you can’t bring them listeners, there’s no incentive for radio stations to play your music. That means you need a strong fan base first.
- Between commercials, news, weather and talk, there’s not much time to play music. So, who do you think they are most likely to play?
- The quest for listeners is a key reason stations are hiring celebrities to host their shows. The hope is that the celebrity will bring their fans along with them to the station. It doesn’t matter that a broadcasting major from the local college would probably do a better job. A better job doesn’t guarantee more listeners. And more listeners mean happy advertisers.
For more details on this topic, check out my video below:
When was the last time you heard an artist you didn’t know on the radio? Unknown artists without a fan base can’t bring listeners to radio stations. Until you have a sizable fan base, radio may be a futile effort of time and money. Once you have a strong fan base, then it’s time to consider hiring a radio servicer.