How Much Does The Music Matter

Listeners Leave If Your List Is Too Long

As we prepare for the important upcoming Spring Arbitron sweeps, this time we're going to share with you a few of the secrets we've learned and some of the winning strategies we've developed for maximizing your music mix during the book.

One of the things that some programmers we've spoken with recently intend to do this spring is to offer more variety and avoid repeating their power songs too often. They also feel (and claim their research supports) they are effectively competing with the "Jack" formats by adopting one of that format's policies. The idea is to play more titles than the competition while stripping away the clutter. While I totally agree with the latter, I'm not so sure about the former. There's always an obvious audience benefit if you can strip away some clutter in all its forms. What it really comes down to, though, is a question of balance. There are many urban music "freaks" who want to repeatedly hear the same 300 titles. They just have to be the right 300 titles.

Narrow format position stations such as urban and urban adult are risking a lot when they challenge their core audience by becoming less familiar. Believe it or not, there are other factors which affect ratings beside the music. You could develop and execute the perfect playlist and still not maximize your station's potential. Programmers sometimes focus too much on music, forgetting that imaging, positioning, the way its done, and what we do and don't do on-the-air outside of the music can have as much to do with ratings success as the music.

Label Rep Raps

Something we've discovered that is unique with urban formats is the audience's tolerance level for burnout. In other words, how long will they listen to a song they've heard too many times? Research studies say they will listen for two songs in the home, one in the car. That means if you schedule titles that are too burnt-out, no matter how well-tested, you could go from a P1 to a P2 instantly in as little as two songs. The change comes even quicker in the car, where it's a one-button motion for those fickle fingers to switch frequencies. So, obviously, the way to win this spring is to ensure that your station, especially if it's an urban adult station, plays enough new music to keep the format fresh.

Most stations have a policy that says they will play a new song in an extra or "power new" category for a few days before they officially add it. This allows them to make certain they're comfortable with it. Then, by the time they're ready to report it, they'll know if it's something they can live with for the next five or six weeks in order

to give it a good shot on-the-air.

Most mainstream urban stations have to juggle and expose new artists to maintain the freshness their audience demands. With only so many slots, that becomes a very difficult game. "So why not just expand the number of slots?" asks a well-known promotion executive for a major label group. And the answer is if you expand the light rotation (this is where most new adds wind up) those lights don't get enough exposure in a week to justify a report or to determine whether or not they (the new tracks) should move up, remain in light rotation, or go away.

The key is steady growth over several weeks. For new artists this is especially vital. But, it's also a negative to see a major artist slow down after just a few spins. Call-out research can give you an early indication for the initial feel of the song from the passive audience (provided they can find the right hook, of course). The problem there is that you have to get your spin totals up above 50 a week before the passion scores kick in. A lot of urban stations, especially with syndicated morning and afternoon shows, are simply not able to do this.

Another on-going problem many stations have centers around label add dates. For example, a new single from a major core artist is sent to the station. The label gives them an add date and the station prepares a spot for the cut on its play list. Suddenly, the label decides it wants to push the add date back a couple of weeks. The station told the rep they were ready to add it now. This did not make him happy. Later in the day, an independent promoter calls for the station's adds. The station mentioned the record in question. The independent rep reminds the station that the label wants to wait on that one. They've pushed it back. Now the PD is really upset. "They're (the label) not responsible for my playlist or my ratings. I had a couple of down trends and I need to be strong this spring." He politely told the rep they were ready to add it now. The result was that that record did not show up as one of the station's reported adds the next week, even though the station added and was playing the record.

Now this is not a case of other radio stations not having access to the song. This is a case of the label wanting all stations to add the record on the same day to make a big impact. This type of scenario brings to mind the question of whether or not we want charts that give a true representation of what is being played. Is this really much better than reporting a record and not playing it?

There are two schools of thought, one of which holds that, regardless of add dates, once a record is released it should be fair game for any station to play immediately. The idea is taking a chance on a new jam can provide a competitive advantage over other stations by allowing the station to be first with a major established artist's new jam.

The second school of thought says that since many trade charts are composed entirely of airplay initially until sales kick in, trying to orchestrate a first big week of reports would appear to be an attempt to orchestrate a high chart debut by forcing reluctant stations to add a record that may eventually prove to be a stiff. From the label standpoint, the reality is that add dates give them the opportunity to service all stations before airplay begins and to allow them to coordinate their promotional efforts.

We spoke to a number of winning program directors around the country concerning this subject. Their feelings varied from "When you get a record you should play it if you like it" to "If you want to break the record in your market you should be able to, regardless of whether it gets reported and counted that week or not." Still another major-market southeastern programmer said, "Stations should be able to take full advantage of pre-release schedules that permit early evaluations."

We should point out that the interval between receiving a record and its add dates gives programmers time to evaluate the release and lets them avoid impulsive commitments. The station's primary job is still to please its listeners. Nobody should get in trouble for early airplay of a released record.

There is one more issue that we feel compelled to bring up at this time and that is the tendency of some labels to have different add dates in different formats for the same record. Often today with consolidation these stations are in the same building, just down the hall from each other. That can cause confusion, frustration and chart problems. It also means, in the case of the individual stations, that they have to hold off reporting adds in one format if it's past the add date in another format on the same record. What's the solution? Again, it depends who you ask. Personally, I think stations have to do what's best for them regardless of who it affects.

Patience Rewarded

Next, we come to the problem that affects so many urban stations today. They tend to get off songs too quickly. We all seem to have this chart-driven mentality that dictates moving a song down in rotation or dropping it altogether the second it loses its bullet or momentum. Studies continue to show that it takes a lot longer for the audience to become familiar with or tire of a record. We're dropping records just about the time listeners are starting to get into them. We often feel as though there's this 10 to 12 week time frame during which a song can remain in a current rotation. Often, with syndicated drive-time shows, dayparting and gold-driven soft night segments factored in, light rotation can be as low as one or two daytime spins a day. This is simply not enough. A station must be able to play those hits as least four or five times a day for the next several weeks. But we seemingly grow tied of a tune. A few of the active "music freaks" call up and start complaining and suddenly the song is gone. This forces the passive listeners to find a new frequency so they can hear a song they really like that the labels chased off the radio so they could play the new one.

The answer is a program or music director who is knowledgeable, driven, passionate and committed with a decent set of ears. One who's not afraid to say no to a record that he/she feels doesn't fit the system or yes to one that does. One who also knows when he/she does hear something that works and fits, they do not need to wait for the call-out research to kick in before getting it on the air. Then, they need a GM and/or market manager and consultant who supports them.

How much the music matters depends on who you ask, but what matters more is that each station will succeed or fail based on its own ability to carefully target its content to its audience this spring. In the final analysis, urban stations won't be affected that much by "Jack Flashes," and we won't be defined by the industry. We'll be defined by how well we answer the question: What does our audience really want to hear?

Word!