Higher Ground

Building Your Career Takes More Than Luck & Tenure

Despite the fact that the radio and music industries, as well as our overall economy, have seen years of decline, they have somehow managed to hold on. For example, when we look at today's radio industry, we find a different, constantly changing picture. The change began with deregulation and continued with consolidation, and the industry currently faces economic challenges no one could have forecast.

A quick look into the busy labyrinth of roads that crisscross America's new media landscape reveals some scary things. Hundreds of jobs and many artists suddenly found themselves on the outside -- some for the first time -- not only without a career, but also without hope.

'The Entitlement Generation'

There are some who are fortunate enough to still have employment who seem to have an unusually inflated sense of entitlement. This group is part of what I like to call "the entitlement generation." They believe they are entitled to have great jobs, huge salaries, perks and benefits and seemingly have forgotten that the journey to the top is a long one. Most aren't prepared for the reality that, even though they may be well prepared and ambitious, if they're lucky they still have many years of hard work ahead of them.

Back in the day, promotion executives and radio people actually hung out, discussed music, and spent quality time together. Radio programmers and music directors really listened to music. Record labels wanted to sell records and build acts. Trade publications wanted to report news rather than make it. Information from any Urban music station was openly courted and gladly accepted. Radio was concerned with staying one step ahead of its audience's tastes. It was the Age of Aquarius, when peace ruled the planets and love steered the charts. We all know that has changed.

The incentive now is just keeping your job. The friendly trades have consolidated, reduced their staffs, and adopted new rules for reporting that have become even more confusing. Deregulation has altered radio ownership from long-term investments to short-term financial windfalls. Budgets have been slashed and priorities switched almost as often as call letters and formats. Many programmers have been reduced to being music schedulers and order-takers.

Over on the record side, no longer are "breakers" more important than sales.

When field staffs are cut and independent contractors who receive no benefits are added, the whole atmosphere has changed. Stress is now part of the job. Even the youngest employee had better understand the firm's business strategies, know where to find the resources and know where to go for answers and at what times.

The entitlement generation believes that it's time for the "old heads" to retire or move over and let them have their shot. And while a young employee's promotion can be great for a company, it can often lead to alienation among older workers who believe they have put in their time and paid their dues. They, too, want their entitlements.

Some smart organizations are tackling the entitlement problem by identifying high-potential workers. These firms will frequently have a multipronged approach toward leadership development so that there's a program geared to young, promising talent and there are programs that are generic for high potential or that address separate subsets. Employees -- regardless of age or how many years of experience they have under their belts -- are simply judged on performance.

Most companies today are always interested in promoting internal people who are carriers of the company's culture. Younger people often bring energy and creativity, and in the age of the Internet and tremendous globalization you need people at the top who are comfortable operating with blurred barriers when it comes to race, gender, age or tenure.

Now, let's look at today's radio world. Formats have fragmented and Urban radio is being squeezed -- not just by the music, mergers and control freaks, but also by a system that demands playlist additions dictated by callout research, nontraditional revenue, and rules and regulations that have nothing to do with audience tastes. To make data simpler to process and easier to control, radio has been reduced to the lowest common denominator.

Innovation, imagination creativity and style -- once characteristics most sought after in our business -- have been stifled because of consultants with no background in Urban radio who are making musical decisions from afar.

Know What's Important

Building your career and reaching for higher ground today requires a keener understanding of just what's really important. The future of the format lies in programmers, music directors and consultants making playlist decisions based on what's right for their audience. Sales executives have to be retrained to find innovative ways to sell younger demos and have to quit apologizing for representing stations they don't listen to, audiences they can't relate to and formats they don't understand.

What we all need to understand is that in the advertising world, where youth and sex are used to push almost every product and service, Urban radio, which epitomizes these traits, consistently abandons its strengths in a vain attempt to be older and more mature. There are Urban Adult stations that have forgotten their younger demographics and the fact that "girls still want to have fun." They want a radio station that is fun to listen to. And then there are straight-ahead Hip-Hop stations that still simply play to the "shout-outers" and seem to have failed to recognize that there is anyone over 19 who's listening or who's important.

For years now, the complaints have been mounting. Everyone is griping, but no one has done anything about it -- until now. Now the mood is different.

The climate is ripe for change. It is time to find innovative and improved ways of accomplishing our goals. With this mandate for change comes responsibility. We can no longer sit and complain about the way the game is being played. If you're a "true player," it's up to you to really study the game and then change it so that it works for you. To effect change, we must participate in the process -- the process of finding the path that will lead to higher ground.

Word.