Webmaster’s Corner for June 2, 2010 – HD Radio starting to take off; are you looking for a job in radio?

Summer is finally here! This year it snuck up on me. We had a miserable Winter, and Spring was cold, then hot, then cold… but the last few weeks it just warmed up and stayed that way. Its gonna be a wonderful Summer!

Enough about the weather. I’ve decided to be positive about our industry for once. Sales numbers are up, in fact, the data suggests that radio hasn’t had a year this promising (revenue wise) since about 2000! Now, I don’t know about you, but my jaded mind thinks this is only the case because there are far fewer jobs that stations have to actually pay a jock to do, lots more barter programming, markets are about as consolidated as they can possibly be, and we’re finally emerging from the worst recession in at least 50 years. In short, radio’s fortunes had nowhere to go but up, even with the prospect of having to pay royalties looming over the industry’s head.

I don’t want to quote my favorite consultant verbatim, but Jerry Del Colliano is certainly onto something when he talks about the future of radio being in more interactive media on the web… specifically, in APPs. Del Colliano mentions the Ipad being a great medium to convey content (while providing full disclosure that he’s an Apple stockholder). I happen to agree, but I think there’s still more to be done with the on-air side of the business. Here’s a couple of things that I think show great promise:

1. HD Radio. Its really taking hold in a lot of markets now, with most, if not all FM stations broadcasting in HD. Content in many cases is now a locally produced (albeit jockless) format that is missing in the market… some examples being WALK-HD2 Patchogue, NY, a Long Island Hot AC station that uses it’s HD2 to air a modern Country format! They have customized sweepers for “Long Island Country”. Its a local format, jockless, but running from the WALK-FM studios. WDRC-HD2 Hartford airs it’s own Oldies format, skewing much older, with mainly 50s and early 60s music complimenting the 60s/70s/80s format airing on the main FM/HD1 channel. These are really great sounding stations, the music is crisp and really is CD quality! The only problem with HD programming, is the same problem that plagued AM Stereo in the mid-1980s… a conspicuous lack of decent receivers. For this to work, and it SHOULD, ALL car radios should be equipped with HD AM/FM receivers as STANDARD equipment. This should be a government mandate in order to ensure that HD radio gets maximum exposure. There is a lot of potential with HD radio and millions of dollars in untapped advertising revenue that should be sold but currently is NOT. Manufacturers of AM/FM radios should be encouraged to improve upon the sensitivity of receivers of BOTH bands and should include HD receivers in each model from now on. HD Radio shouldn’t be allowed to fade into oblivion like AM Stereo did, and if it takes legislation to ensure its survival, then that’s what should happen.

2. Internet Radio. There’s more data out there suggesting that internet radio is taking off at an unprecedented pace. When you think of internet radio, you probably think of Pandora, or something on Live 365. Well, there are lots of alternatives out there, and some are starting to monetize the medium. Took long enough! There are too many stations to begin to mention, but just peruse the friends lists on Facebook and you’ll inevitably find people advertising their own stations. I mention this to say, traditional, over the air radio is missing the boat if they are NOT streaming their own stations. They should be streaming all of their HD channels (except perhaps their News/Talk station simulcasts), and creating their own content. There’s no reason to fight the internet radio only stations, but there’s every reason for OTA radio to join in the profits!. And the good news for jocks displaced by radio consolidation: there are increasingly more slots for out of work jocks on internet radio. The downfall is, if you go that route, be prepared to generate your OWN revenue. It can be fun, but internet stations aren’t paying… at least not yet. We’ll see what the future holds.

Which brings me to the one negative, related issue. Are you looking for a traditional radio job? Well, be prepared to be put through the ringer. Stations now are taking the step of doing full background investigations on prospective jocks – even part timers. This includes, credit checks, former addressess, criminal checks (were you ever arrested, better not lie on that job app…). What this is, is a screening process, done by computer. You get a pass or fail score based upon the investigation, much like if you apply for a loan. Crazy, isn’t it? I mean, say you have unpaid bills from years ago in another state. You want to go on the air at WXYZ, just weekends / vt. You get screened out based upon your credit score. Do you believe that? It’s not fair, but that’s the process that most radio companies have adopted recently. Just another strike against someone getting into or back into the biz.

Thanks for reading, and as always… remember the good times and great stations, and pass it on to the next generation!
Steve West