Not All Urban Ac Stations Are Created Equal

Times Have Changed - So Should The Format Focus

As we shift into the final hours of 2007, just ahead of the new year, in response to many requests, we're going to examine the Urban AC format one more time. The Urban AC format began to evolve some 12 years ago, when it was likely that the artists and jams played on Urban AC stations debuted somewhere else. Prior to the emergence of this Adult Urban format, although there was some day-parting, all Urban artists were dumped in one format.

Many of today's Urban AC artists are shared among several formats. Take Alicia Keys, for example. Her concerts sell out. She is one of the biggest Urban AC crossover artists of 2007. She is also a huge artist for Urban, Rhythmic and Mainstream Top 40. Her songs have crossed at least four formats, and in some markets, even crossed into Smooth Jazz.

That makes the Urban AC format mass appeal and really diverse. While it still must protect the upper end of the demo, it must also grow by adapting younger-appeal programming strategies. The common growth thread is that today's successful Urban AC needs to broaden its music to appeal to more than just its core, older adult audience. That's going to become even more important as we enter the age of Arbitron's electronic measurement.

One of the main things that attracts people to our format is the fact that we play new, mass-appeal music. In no age cell is that more important than 18-34. Most Urban AC stations are vying for the upper end of that demographic scale, but it's the younger end that drives the demand for new music -- and that is where many Urban Adult stations fail. It is true that not all Urban AC stations are created equal. It is also true that because times have changed. so should the format focus.

The hunger for new music doesn't stop at the age of 24 or even 34. For this group it's still all about fresh jams -- new music. These young trendsetters are saying, "Just be my source for new music." Recent studies have shown that contrary to popular belief, many 18-34 year-olds come to radio to find out what songs to download onto their iPods.

The smart Urban AC programmers have noticed this shift and have reacted accordingly. Their current to gold/recurrent ratio during the day, when the audience tends to be older, is lower. But at night the percentage of currents increases dramatically because the audience is younger and demands it.

The new music that airs during the day has to be the cream of the crop -- the jams that have the best potential of making it into the library. Many of those daytime currents probably started at night with the younger audience, making that initial playground very important to the overall sound of your station.

A few stations have given up on the younger end of the demo because in their mind, people in that age group are too fickle in their musical tastes and are not loyal listeners. But that loyalty needs to be earned and developed by programming the right new music.

Having a music director with a great set of ears is important, in spite of advancements made in callout research. That's because research isn't going to help you when a song is brand new and no one knows it. You have to know in your gut if it's going to work on your station. And Urban Adult stations with a syndicated morning show can't possibly get their spin totals up high enough for the passion scores of callout research to kick in.

Also, while ignoring the younger audience and becoming predominantly gold or recurrent-based may increase your older audience numbers, that tactic has a limited shelf life. People's music tastes shift as they get older and you'll eventually find your station becoming classic Urban. That means it will no longer

be an important place for listeners to go to hear new music.

Filtering The Format

Today, music lovers are faced with an unlimited number of choices when it comes to what to listen to and where to find it. We are living in an era of information overload and our brains have had to be re-programmed. They have had to become filtering mechanisms that zero in on music that matters.

Nowhere is this more true than with 18-34 year-olds, who have grown up in a time when all these choices exist. They are used to filtering, but the job gets overwhelming and tiring after a while. That's where Urban radio comes in.

Despite challenges from other media sources, recent studies have shown that the #1 place people go to hear new music is still radio. Now these figures have dropped considerably in the last few years because of all the new music delivery sources, but radio is still far ahead of other media.

This makes a programmer's gig that much more important. You build trust with your filtering ability. If you consistently get behind new music that eventually makes it into your library, the audience will sense this and trust you to be their filter. If you keep striking out on new stuff, you could lose them. New music, especially from new artists, must be front-announced or back-announced. Just that one little factor can make a huge difference.

A lot of people e-mailed me the last time I touched on this subject and the most prevalent question was, "What about the Internet?" The answer is more people use the Internet in more places than ever before. When they hear something they like on the radio, they find it on the Internet and either have it delivered electronically or use that information to go out and buy it on CD. Studies show the Internet has become an important delivery method for new music among these 18-34 year-old Generation Joneses, but it's still radio where they first hear about new music.

The reason is this: The choices on the Internet are so vast that unless you know what you are looking for, finding good music is like looking for a needle in a haystack. That's where radio comes in. Radio does (or should do) the work of finding the fresh new jams first.

Because the Internet has become such an important delivery system for music, it only stands to reason that radio should be streaming online. Most radio listening happens in the car during drive times, but more and more people are listening to the radio at work. If your station is streaming, someone sitting at their desk can have you on all day. For those Arbitron meter markets, that is vital!

People are using the computer for everything from trading messages with friends and paying bills to doing tasks for work and checking the news. They might want to hear music while doing these things; chances are if they hear something they like, they are going to look for that music on the computer. It is not unusual today for someone to be working on their computer, text messaging on their cell phone, watching television and listening to the radio all at the same time. Time-spent-listening (TSL) has dropped in recent years, but not to the extent you would think with all of this multi-tasking going on.

And here's a secret: If your station is streaming, you have a better chance of becoming a favorite station for those listeners that use you as a music source. If your company is looking for a way to pay for the streaming and maintenance of your site or to make money from it, this is the way you should do it.

Finally, in this ultra-fragmented era of highly competitive hit factories, all of these things we mentioned don't mean that Urban radio's impact as a catalyst for mass-appeal hit jams is diminishing. It may be more an indication of just how difficult it is these days to take an Urban AC station to the top and then have it hit the "crossroads." But for those who can do it, the world and large paychecks await.

Beyond finding and playing the hit jams early, our industry needs Urban AC radio to be a bit more exciting. There needs to be more excitement between the jams about new product and artists. Urban AC radio must have more confidence in itself. It needs to be more concerned about today's upcoming classics instead of short-term mentality about tomorrow's long-term recurrents.

It's true; not all Urban AC stations are created equal. If you want to even the playing field and move out in front, remember freshness counts. By being consistently fresh, sharp Urban AC stations can go after the whole market. They can come closer with fresh breath if they brush often. An Urban AC station today can "brush and floss" and become everybody's station by simply doing the number. And the number we need to do is not that hard. This time, we must do it before someone else does. Like an alien from another format.

Word.