Maguire Moment - The Reaction

My article, "My Jerry Maguire Moment" (Consultant Tips 11/27/07), was supposed to say to radio talent what was going unsaid. I had a pretty good idea of what you were feeling, and it wasn't being honestly addressed. It's one thing to have fears and doubts nagging at you; it's another to feel like you're the only one feeling that way.

But I had no idea just how many people, and how many kinds of people, were quietly thinking these same thoughts.

The article was about radio's changing attitude toward talent and how they're valued. It was about how these changes have caused the stage on which we perform to shrink or vanish.

The point was to encourage you to at least start considering whether your skills can be applied to something other than radio. It wasn't a condemnation of radio. It was a call to accept where it's heading, and reassess it as the place where you'll be most fulfilled as a creative.

I fully expected to hear from those of you on the beach. And I did. You are what I thought you'd be -- stunned, disoriented and just plain hurt. This isn't like being laid off from the plant. This wasn't a job. It wasn't a career. It was a passion in the blood. A love. The reason you felt you were put here. When that's taken away, it goes a lot deeper than losing a job.

Then I heard from guys who considered themselves "untouchable." Their point was that if you're truly good, your ratings are solid, you've got huge name recognition, and you're making big money for your stations, you're fine.

Two of the untouchables who wrote that got blown out at the end of 2007.

Many said there's a pendulum that, once the mega-groups are through getting what they can out of radio ownership, will swing back to more local ownership, more competitiveness and more originality. Maybe. But will the old terrestrial radio business model return as it was? Will it support the talent salaries of yesteryear?

I heard from OMs and PDs who said they know how to do creative radio, but have their marching orders. They're also keenly aware that after the talent's gone ... they're next. Once there's not much left to manage, who wants to pay a PD or OM a big salary? GMs are making programming decisions. You can offshore music rotation to India.

The biggest surprise was hearing from some high-level radio execs who told me the changes are real, they're purposeful, and pure economic forces are driving it. They do maintain that someone who's truly original and has real star power can still get very rich in radio. That's true. Unfortunately, something truly original is unlikely to ever get on the air because, well, it's different ... risky. Just where this star power can go to develop a show and prove its viability, I don't know.

(Actually I do have some ideas, but that's for article #3).

Then I heard inspiring stories of talent who assumed ownership and risk. Rick Dees owns his station, his show and his syndication. Kidd Kraddick owns his show, its syndication, and a company to do it and other projects. Moby's morning show network of small town stations might not pull in what he made doing mornings in Atlanta yet, but he's one happy clam. He built it from the ground up. The hardest part is behind him. He doesn't have to bounce all over the country for insecure radio jobs, and it's onward from here...all on his terms.

These guys took responsibility for getting their talent out there and making sure it's not compromised. They'll stand or fall based on their ability to entertain and give audiences what they want. Most entertainers are perfectly content to succeed or fail on those terms.

Some emails launched personal attacks, which I took no offense to, because a) I'm used to it, and b) it can be unsettling to get shaken out of denial... I get it. On the other side of the coin, some worried I'd get blackballed for saying what I did instead of pandering. Any radio exec who would ban me because I'm provocative, relate to my audience and know how to push buttons isn't a guy I'll be asking to work with, is it? Remember when that's what we were supposed to do?

Mostly it got you thinking about what's next. The majority's convinced it has to be the Internet, and that's probably right (although the business model for individual shows on the net hasn't come into focus...yet.) It facilitates a media world where "broadcasting" gives way to "personalcasting." No one will tune in to "catch" a show. Everything on demand, when they want it, where they want it.

With limitless net choices, people can't scan and discover you accidentally anymore. They'll have to hear about you. Someone will have to recommend you to them. And they'll have to consciously make the effort to sample and download or subscribe to you.

You won't be judged by estimates of guesses. You'll have hard, verifiable download numbers. You'll live and die by your uniqueness, your talent, your vision, and your ability to market yourself.

In other words, (regardless of how radio feels about it), the power to entertain, the power to attract an audience, the power to create, the power to turn nothing into something, the power of you creatives will not just be critical, it will be indispensable.