Jim Olsen
Pres., Signature Sounds Recordings
We do have ongoing conversations with our artists; we actually talk about changing their music to make it more stream-friendly, but I'm not sure we've gotten there yet. For instance, does it still make sense to even release 10-song albums anymore? It's not how the majority of people consume music these days; more people are listening to one song at a time and creating their own playlists. It's really like the old days when all you needed was a hit song -- only the programmers aren't in radio, but the audience themselves. I look at streaming as another form of radio.
Gordon Borrell
CEO, Borrell & Associates
That's really what advertisers looking for -- trusted marketing advisors. Advertisers are pitched to buy ads in a local newspaper, the Yellow Pages, TV stations and social media. Suddenly radio is thrown into an environment where advertisers need a lot of advice -- marketing advice that's not just about radio spots, but what they should do with their Pinterest page and how to take care of a bad review on Yelp. If radio sales reps aren't able to offer good advice on those issues, they are marginalized to just being a sales rep, and advertisers will only go to them when they want to buy radio advertising.
Cliff Burnstein
Co-Founder, Q Prime
Statistically, at least in rock music, there are fewer headliners being minted than at any time in the last 50 years. If that's the case, then you have to ask why. Is rock not as popular as it used to be? That may be true. But it may also be true that by attending festivals, people aren't coming to see specific bands, but to just be a part of the overall environment. How can you build a fan following if you're part of a festival or a radio show where people are coming just to hear hits from different artists and just have a good time? How do you build a fan base by doing that? All these are subjective questions and we've got to come up with a new approach to answer each one.
Bruce Watson
General Manager, Fat Possum Records
It's tough, and not just for the artist. If the fans are paying $150 for a festival ticket, they're going to have less money to see our bands at a club. It really hurts newer artists just starting out. When the audience has a limited amount to spend on concerts, they're far more likely to spend it on established artists than younger artists, who are not going to get the exposure they need to become established.
Matthew Smith
CEO, Royalty Exchange
Because streaming is turning catalogs from decaying in royalties to now increasing, investors are willing to pay much more to essentially ride that macro growth in the music industry. When you look at the numbers of Goldman Sachs and others in the investment community, they are anticipating growth in the music business - and we're right in the beginning of that. We've been actively communicating that to investors, and we're getting more participating investors into our space than otherwise would have been here.
Sat Bisla
President/Founder, A&R Worldwide
In the very near future, there will be no products such as compact discs or downloads. So it's imperative for us and the artists to create a meaningful exchange that could be monetized and still keep the fans satisfied, because too often the music industry has been behind the eight ball on innovation, enabling the technology companies to overtake the way that we distribute, consume and exchange music as the most powerful connection between artist and fan. That bond is so powerful and sacred that we, as the custodians of the music, must maintain that next connectivity point.
Tracy Brown
Pres./CEO, Amplify Entertainment Group
We're not looking for those kinds of slots on a record. We're looking for real believers, for the first three to five stations to organically find out what we have, to see if the record can raise its hand. This also goes back to the metrics that define hits, streaming and Shazam. Once we see something's there, we will grind the record. AWOLNATION took us nearly a year to break. We shipped it on October 2010 and it peaked at #5 on September of the next year. That was a marathon, but once we saw a path forward with positive dynamics, we continued to push and fight. If you don't see those dynamics take place on record, forget about it. On average we believe every record needs a minimum of three months to find out if it can ring the bell, but there are times when you can make that assessment in less than three months.
Lee Habeeb
VP/Content, Salem Radio Network
But the problem with the current Talk radio playbook is that a lot of companies don't want to advertise with us. That is, the big U.S. corporations. That's just the way it is. They don't want to advertise in a heavy political setting. That's another reason why I wanted to tell stories that stay away from issues such as the gun debate and gay marriage and immigration ...because advertisers don't want to get near them. I think audiences and advertisers/sponsors will be thrilled to get a break from all of that and get to know more about what we're up to, hearing good stories that make the listener feel better about the world.
George Laughlin
CEO, YEA Networks
However, the biggest opportunity at hand is to integrate radio with digital and experiential marketing. Events/remotes and endorsement advertising are Radio's strong suits, but I've seen firsthand how ad agencies are moving money from traditional to digital spending, using these same strategic tactics but using different terminology. If we change two traditional Radio terms -- "the remote" to "experiential marketing" and "endorsement radio" to "influencers" -- that would open up a huge opportunity of revenue for something we're already doing, but not getting credit for. Of all industries, we know how powerful words can be.
Rick Bidlack
Systems Engineer, VoxPro
I would say that the usage scenarios are similar but not identical. A lot of podcasts are more highly produced than radio bits, so you'll hear a lot of podcasts that are obviously produced with a multi-track piece of software, which VoxPro doesn't try to be. It's not a true multi-track editor. On the other hand, a lot of radio stations are getting into podcasting because they can take their VoxPro content and shoot it up to their podcast site pretty easily.
Jon Miller & John Snyder
VP/Audience Insights (JM), SVP/Sales Director (JS)
Nielsen (JM), Nielsen Audio (JS)
One of the things we'll look at over the next year or so is whether in-home listening is changing. We all agree that the majority of smart speakers are used in the home; it'll be interesting to see if smart speaker use moves the needle of in-home listening. We've built PPMs to monitor radio listening away from the home - in the car or at work ... things like that. With smart speakers, we will be more closely watching in-home radio listening.
Peter Gross
Managing Partner, Coalition Entertainment
Radio stations are doing more and more shows at larger venues, almost mini-festivals that curate a bunch of different artists. This can be viewed as competition in a lot of ways; these concerts are very soft-ticket events. It's just a reality of the live event space. They're continuing to grow more soft-ticket events for millennials and generations of others willing to spend on more experiential events. It's just another offering people have the option to choose. At the same time, we work with a bunch of stations on our venues so they can be our radio partners. They come in and help promote the show, so we still definitely continue to do a good amount of work with them.
David Kantor
CEO, Urban One
I've been in radio for over 30 years, and I don't think anybody in radio is necessarily happy with the way PPM works, nevertheless we all have to work within that system. One of my national talents complained that the PPM doesn't truly reflect the size of his audience. I said, "Even if it doesn't totally reflect your audience, it's not totally reflecting other Urban radio talent either, so it's the same. Whether or not it's the ultimate monitoring service isn't at issue. It's the service we all have and use to measure our audience and gives us the ability to generate revenue. It's not like we have any other choice.
Lucas Keller
Founder, Milk & Honey Management
I was hanging around with someone around the Grammys and he pointed out what I've been thinking for the past two years. He said we're going to have a lot of one-hit wonders like we had in the '80s -- just less embarrassing. Streaming services have reinvented the music industry, breathing life and money back into the business. But they support songs and not artists. We're now in a playlist culture where you can have one radio hit, never have one again, and still have a career. That's why we think A&R is important, and why we represent all these prominent hitmakers in writers and producers.
Michael Martin
SVP/Programming/Music Initiatives, Alternative Format Captain, Entercom
I always say the only people putting sonic barriers and formats into music boxes and lanes are us. The audience doesn't do that; they don't define things as narrowly as we like to do. Now back to your question ... when you mentioned guitar-based Alternative in general, you're just counting the number of guitar bands out there as Alternative. The audience is defining what Alternative is to them, and they're casting a really wide net. The music they want to hear doesn't have to sound like the Alternative we know from the '90s.
Bob Becker & Jenny Reader
Founder (BB), VP/Marketing & Project Management (JR), Fearless Records
The music industry is constantly evolving, but as we are in the midst of one of the more seismic shifts shaping our business, it's about addressing it with open eyes and working creatively. It's not all about that big first week anymore; the advent of streaming means it's about the long game, allowing for more regular content to continually feed fresh music and point back to albums, stagger marketing to do the same, and appreciate how the algorithms work. While I understand it's not initially as lucrative nor as straight forward as garnering actual sales, the long-term possibilities for music discovery and ongoing revenue beyond the traditional album cycle are an exciting prospect once you readdress plans and expectations accordingly.
Kim Komando
Host, Kim Komando Show
Co-owner, Westar TalkRadio Network
I have to cover what's on mainstream America's mind, whether it's Net Neutrality or how to deal with a massive cyber attack -- and we will get one. Regarding Net Neutrality, I take a stance as a libertarian. I believe in a free marketplace and as a successful business owner, I know what's possible -- and only in this great country, it's possible to come up with an idea and turn it into a reality.
Kraig Kitchin
Chairman, National Radio Hall of Fame
President, SoundMind
I wouldn't say that it invites controversy as much as it encourages healthy debates and conversation on who is worth induction, which is very good for any Hall of Fame. We all realize that there's always some level of controversy when such contemplations spark conversations and debate on who most deserves being in the Hall of Fame. But the best ideas win and in the end, the industry - and the listeners -- speak in one voice.
Michael Goldstone
Founder, Mom + Pop Music
Funny that you say that, because sometimes we talk about aspirations and what we're striving for, and we're pointing to those historical and epic labels. We're now 10 years old, which is a nice benchmark that we're super-excited about. Those indies were small majors run by entrepreneurs like Geffen, Moss and Blackwell. After that, so many others such as Jimmy Iovine, Jonathan Poneman and the incomparable Martin Mills. Longevity and relevance is what we're striving for.
Gary Richards
President, LiveStyle
Whatever way the acts go, they go. If they have success on their own, yet still have success in the festivals we're producing, it's all good. We'll still book them if they continue to appeal to our audience. But for some reason, there are always people who like coming from a negative perspective ... that artists or things aren't as good as they used to be. But the proof is in pudding - and the numbers speak for themselves.
Adam Friedman
Pres., Banc of California Stadium Entertainment
Good question, but the bottom line is as much as ticket prices are set through a collaboration of artists, agents, managers, promoters and venue, when push comes to shove, the talent sets the ticket prices. No one ever increases the ticket price without artist approval. As the venue, we can go back and say, "This is what we think you could command," and we can have a reasonable dialogue. But make no mistake about it -- ticket prices are not set without being approved by the artists. Artists also are generally very price-sensitive and try to come to rates that fit different budgets so that all of their fans can attend the show.
Jordan Pollak
VP/Experiential, Cogent Entertainment Marketing
There is a massive opportunity for someone to "broadcast" live from events and festivals, similar to what you see at award shows and sporting events. Radio is an interesting platform that is continuing to evolve with digital. Podcasts are doing more live events, which is a sign of the times that consumers want to experience media in a live setting.
Mike Moore
Dir./Country Programming, Entercom
VP/Programming, Entercom/Portland
All of those things are part of the equation. They're interesting to look at, but I honestly don't know how much of it correlates to radio airplay. When you look at the streaming data, most of the songs that stream in a big way are catalog songs. People like to hear familiar things from artists they're familiar with - and not pay for it. If we paid complete attention to streaming, we'd all be more gold and recurrent-based. We feel new music is an important part of radio's mission -- to discover and curate the best new music.
Brett Gurewitz
Founder, Epitaph Records
Co-Founder, Bad Religion
I've always loved radio; radio just hasn't always loved us. But what could be better than getting free music for everybody, coming through the airwaves? We do our best to sign great artists; some make radio-friendly music; some don't. To what radio's going to sound like, say, four years from now, I don't think about radio like that. I'm signing artists who can make killer records on their own -- and once in a while, their creativity lines up with what's happening at radio, which turns it into a pretty big hit.
Rob Roberts
VP/Hot AC, Cumulus Media
It's nice when you have the hits, but you can kill yourself trying to make songs into hits. The radio graveyard is filled with programmers who wanted to be first on everything. It's okay to chase a couple of records a year, but pick and choose wisely. It's more important to know which songs you were first on that were stiffs than the hits. That's the real report card. And very few PDs keep score of those. They want to brag about the Gold record on the wall rather than the iron anchor at the bottom of the chart.
Art Laboe
Radio Hall of Fame inductee and Host, The Art Laboe Connection
At this point, I'm taking it one day at a time. The key is to be competitive, relevant and healthy. I happen to be fortunate to have good health and I've stayed relevant in the ratings. I may not be #1 all the time -- sometimes in certain demos I am -- but as long as I'm competitive and relevant, I'll keep doing this. When I push the microphone on switch, it turns me on and usually turns the audience on ... the magic of radio.
David 'Davey Dee' Ingenloff
SVP/Rhythm Crossover Promotion, Republic Records
You just mentioned four big radio stations. I think the challenge has been with Pop-leaning records that would have moved quicker at the format in the past. Depending on the campaign, it might be better to wait to impact, or remix them to fit the current state of the format.
Rod Phillips
SVP/Programming, iHeartCountry
Everyone likes to claim they heard a hit first, rushed it into the studio and put it on, but we do miss more than we hit because of the bulk of songs that come our way vs. the true hits. I do think it's far more important to increase your batting average. We hear of a lot of PDs claiming to be first, but when you are first with everything, it means very little. You're taking a chance with your listeners' time, so you better to be right more often than not.
Peter Tripi
SVP/Affiliate Relations/Talk and Morning Shows, Premiere Networks
Talk radio is provocative by nature and the most successful Talk stations embrace that fact. It's an environment that produces the most-engaged listener an advertiser could want, and that's what makes it such a valuable space for brands. Part of our job is making sure stations know how to capitalize on that, and we help by providing tools and resources to help them succeed.
Wayne Mulling
Regional Market Manager/South Carolina, Community Broadcasters
We will probably go back to "business as usual" sooner than you think. Remember that this area has been hit with two other hurricanes just in the past four to five years. People who have lived here for several years know what to expect, and start early preparing for it. When I managed a cluster of stations in Louisiana, we endured the same situation. People in hurricane paths, most generally don't take it lightly. Of course, people will always remember. And I, for one, think that is a good thing.
Troy Hanson
VP/Programming, Rock, Cumulus Media and WKQX/Chicago
There's plenty of space for more crossover records; it would be healthy for both sides. I know there are still programmers out there who'd view that as a bad thing. Sure ... why would you want more people listening your brand? At the end of the day, sometimes we have to get out of our own way with these boxes we put ourselves into. Just look at the streaming data and the metrics. The audience isn't putting up any boxes in the music they listen to. Why would they want to be in a box put up by a programmer? That's jive and the audience knows it.
Ruth Gaviria
Chief Marketing Officer, Entercom
Here's the thing: It is not only about reach; it is about engaged reach and ROI. Entercom's answer is to grow engagement across all of our platforms, invest in content and evolve analytics and attribution to deliver superlative ROI to our clients. We are truly emboldened by our opportunity to make a meaningful impact on growing the brands that advertise with us.
Korri Kolesa
Chief Revenue Officer, Stitcher and Midroll
Choosing quantity over quality. There's this myth that more is better, with talent sometimes wanting to put out an episode every day. If they instead put out fewer episodes that engage the audience better, they would ultimately have a larger listening audience and one that's more likely to listen to every episode released. We've found that you don't want to oversaturate the podcast listener and, with few exceptions, you can't expect the audience to listen to a podcast more than one to three times a week. Of course, some things that are topical - for example, news or sports programs - can be carried three to five times a week. But if it's not really topical, don't put too much out there. If you go for quality over quantity, you'll help yourself in terms of audience loyalty and monetization potential.
Jim Musselman
Founder, Appleseed Recordings
I've always followed my heart and passion, which is to advocate social issues and social change, and do those things in music. I can't predict what I'll be doing years from now; but I know I will be following my heart and passion. That might lead me in any direction. I never lay out a plan. I just let my heart and passion take me where to go next. I started this label to advocate for social issues. The next chapter is whatever my heart wants to do.
RJ Curtis
Exec. Dir., Country Radio Broadcasters
It's still challenging for programmers to seek a balance. Back in the day, they used to balance music that was all in the center lane, made up of mostly traditional Country music. Now the challenge is balancing everything that's coming at them, which is a harder problem. Not only is the music more diverse than ever before, but the sheer volume of singles landing on a PD's desk seems bigger every week. Country radio is brilliant at curating a relatively limited number of songs, and balancing them so there's no signs of fatigue, so that listeners are hearing their favorite songs whenever they give radio an occasion.
Keith Naftaly
Pres./A&R, RCA Records
First off, there's more music than ever to discover, which is simultaneously stimulating and overwhelming. Plus the ever-shifting landscape moves with such a quickness that the process of discovering, signing and releasing music feels like the highest setting of fast-forward on your TV remote. The playing field across labels is level now because we all have access to the same data that indicates what's truly buzzing, even in its infancy. Therefore, to win at A&R today, what matters most is your taste level, your stamina, your passion, your expertise, your team, their team, and what your label can deliver and leverage for the artist to provide scale and global success, based on a partnership built on trust and mutual respect.
Mike Thomas
National Spoken Word Brand Manager, Beasley Broadcasting
We are absolutely actively looking to create as much original content as we can ... and we're doing it. We have dozens of original podcasts on a variety of topics and we keep developing more. We want our podcast platform to be home to on-demand listening of our radio shows -- and a place to get much, much more
