RAIN Summit Dallas Discusses Radio's Future In The Digital Age

Dallas Today

KURT HANSON's RAIN SUMMIT DALLAS brought radio and digital audio professionals to the HILTON ANATOLE DALLAS for a full day of sessions and presentations on the future of audio entertainment and information.

Where We Stand And Where We're Going

HANSON's opening "State of the Industry" address noted the decline in radio usage from the 1980s through today (3.5 hours per day to about 1.5 hours per day) and pointed to new media as a solution, with more people listening to internet-delivered radio and podcasts. He cited several trends as factors for confidence in the future of audio entertainment, including new technologies, including smartphones, cheap data, Bluetooth headphones, wearables (especially watches), smart speakers, and connected cars; changing consumer tastes; and new forms of media.

The Townsquare Story

TOWNSQUARE MEDIA CEO BILL WILSON followed HANSON with a keynote presentation on TOWNSQUARE's business, including radio, digital ad sales technology, digital marketing, and live events, then sat for a chat with RAIN's BRAD HILL about TOWNSQUARE's embrace of digital. WILSON said that about 15 to 20 percent of on-air talent at the company left because they did not agree with the push to digital, seeing it as additional work for the same salary. The discussion included a look at competition, including pure-play digital companies as well as radio operators; his perspective as a former music industry executive on the changes in the music business; the growth in overall listening for both AM/FM radio and digital; and podcasting ("we're at the very beginning" but "there's no profit in it today").

Alexa, What's Next?

A panel on smart speakers moderated by AMPLIFI MEDIA CEO STEVE GOLDSTEIN looked at four companies' strategies for the burgeoning category. SPOKEN LAYER CEO WILL MAYO described his company's B-to-B operation -- "if you've heard our name, we're not doing our job" -- helping companies like CONDE NAST and POLITICO in the podcasting and audio space; FEDERATED MEDIA Chief Strategy Officer JAMES DERBY talked about his company's pioneering instinct ("we're always looking forward") and the on-demand future;  NPR ONE Managing Editor TAMARA CHARNEY outlined NPR's strategy towards new technologies (repurposing radio content, then incorporating interactivity, and finally looking towards how to become a market leader in the category); and DALLAS MORNING NEWS Chief Product Officer MIKE ORREN explained the paper's "rebooting" and evolution from being heavily into podcasting ("we didn't make a nickel on them") to getting out of audio altogether and then re-entering the category for smart speakers with news updates and a return to podcasting. But MAYO advised content producers not to confuse the devices with representing voice command in its entirety, calling smart speakers like “the AMAZON puck” transitional to a time in the near future in which “voice (command) is everywhere” and not tied to a single device.

Programmatic Presemtation

ADSWIZZ Head of Publisher Development MARSHA FISHER offered a presentation on programmatic that highlighted the growth of smart speakers and podcasting and the commensurate increase in digital audio advertising; programmatic, she said, "is not something to be afraid of but to be embraced," pointing to developments in attribution and personalization of ads as examples of optimization of campaigns.

Podcast Panel? Of Course There's A Podcast Panel

MARKET ENGINUITY EVP/CRO HARRY CLARK moderated the seminar's podcast panel, characterizing the session as a "general" look at the medium with representatives from various segments of the business, including TRITON DIGITAL's STEPHANIE DONOVAN,, AIRSHIP's LINDSAY GRAHAM, AUTHENTIC's BETH ELOSHWAY, and reVOLVER PODCASTS' JACK HOBBS. The topics included whether podcast networks need to "buy" existing successful podcasts or develop fresh talent on their own; how smaller podcasts can stimulate growth (GRAHAM said getting on other, more successful podcasts provides the boost that traditional (and paid) marketing, cannot, while HOBBS noted success with FACEBOOK Live); and standardization of measurement (IAB 2.0 cited by DONOVAN and ELOSHWAY as being important).

After the panel, ART19's KORRI KOLESA and LEX FRIEDMAN followed up with a talk about what their company offers podcast producers, including results of a study conducted with VERITONIC to demonstrate the effectiveness of highly-targeted podcast advertising with the target audience versus the general population.

More Talk About Digital 'n' Stuff

EDISON RESEARCH Dir. of Research LAURA IVEY followed lunch with a rundown of insights from the company's Infinite Dial and Share of Ear studies, leading into a panel with consultant MIKE MCVAY moderating a discussion of the radio industry's challenges in the digital realm, with BEASLEY EVP/Strategy & Innovation BUZZ KNIGHT, ENTERCOM SVP/Revenue Operations ELIZABETH OZIAN,  ABC AUDIO Dir./Business Development & Strategy ABE VELEZ, and iHEARTMEDIA Pres./Digital Revenue Strategy CARTER BROKAW. The panel addressed topics like how to get PDs and staff to get on board with creating digital content as well as sales issues.

The sessions were scheduled to conclude with NIELSEN SVP/Global Product Leadership & Industry Insights DAVID BAKULA presenting "The Latin Music Market: From Evolution to Revolution," followed by a networking reception.

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