Balanced Rotations

The PD just knew something was wrong
Metro Traffic said when the wind is real strong
And we're flying low
No matter where we go
We hear your competition playing the same song

Well, of course listeners are going to hear your competition playing the same song. They're playing the same hits ... just in a different rotation. Is that wrong? No, as a matter of fact, it's exactly right. What may be wrong though is the balance that will determine how long the audience will listen to your station.

If they're hearing the same song, with the diary they could credit you even if they heard it on your competition. With the meter, however, once they're exposed, they're exposed. Now it's a question of how long will they stay and will you be the station they'll come back to?

It was just a few years back when the industry decided to divide the Urban format as a reflection of a significant separation that had occurred. They decided that two Urban formats were needed -- one that concentrated on adults and another whose focus was younger and included hip-hop. Now, much like biological cell divisions, Urban stations have continued to fragment and create their own unique methods for attracting a targeted demographic. The problem emerging from the merger is that each format is so focused on its core that it has lost a sense of balance -- a balance in its audience composition that is critical to ratings success. In the world of electronic measurement, in addition to setting appointment listening times for benchmarks or promotions, Urban programmers need to work to achieve balanced rotations. And an excellent time to begin the process is during the summer.

Keep The Balance, Lose the Clutter

As the endless summer sails on we're going to share a few rotation secrets, plus some of the winning strategies we've developed for maximizing your music mix during the summer.

One of the things that some programmers we've spoken with recently intend to do this summer is to offer more variety and avoid repeating their power songs too often. They also feel (and claim their research supports) that they can become more competitive by cutting back on all talk. 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. But what it really comes down to, though, is a question of balance. There are many Urban music "freaks" who, during the summer when they're out of school, on vacation or just able to listen longer, want to repeatedly hear the same 300 titles. The problem is 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 that affect ratings beside the music. You could develop and execute the perfect playlist and still not maximize your station's potential. This is especially true for stations being measured by Arbitron's PPM.

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.

Burnout Blow-Up The Difference Between "Toasted" and Tested

Something else 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 "toasted," 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 find another frequency.

So, obviously, the way to win this summer 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 task. "So why not just expand the number of slots?" asks a successful, but impatient promotion executive for a major label group. The answer is if you expand the light rotation category (where most new adds wind up), those lights don't get enough exposure in a week or two to justify a report or to determine whether or not they (the new tracks) should move up, remain in light rotation, or go away. This is even further complicated if the station has one or more syndicated shows whose music they can't control.

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. Callout research (for those few stations that still have it) can give you an early indication for the initial feel of the song from the passive audience (provided you have the right hook, of course). The problem there is that you have to get your spin totals up above 50 a week before the true passion scores kick in. A lot of Urban stations, especially those with syndicated morning and afternoon shows, are simply not able to do this.

Another ongoing 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 playlist. 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 summer." 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. Most said, "When you get a record, you should play it if you feel it is a strong cut and it offers freshness and could build audience." Others said, "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 others claimed, "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 always 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 & Polarization

Next, we come to a common problem among both Urban genres. They tend to get off songs too quickly. That can have a polarizing effect. 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 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. You either love it or hate it with little in between.

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 tired 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.

If Urban adult stations have a large P1 audience, very little P2 or P3 audience and a large P4 audience, the P4 audience of very casual listeners will drag down the effectiveness of the station. The problem is that for the most part, the format doesn't have significantly more P4 listeners than other similar formats. Let's look at the polarization theory another way and see if Urban AC P1s are really "super listeners," while the rest of the audience of P2s are very casual listeners.

In all formats, P1 listeners deliver most of the AQH for a format. You've probably heard of equations like this: "P1s make up 35% of your audience and that 35% accounts for 70% of your ratings." With minor differences, this equation is the same across most music formats. But if Urban Adult P1s were actually "super listeners," they would contribute much more than 70% to the overall ratings. The reality is that Urban AC P1s deliver a percentage of AQH very similar to P1s in other formats.

The key is to become 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 they do hear something that works and fits, there's no need to wait for the callout research to kick in before getting it on the air.

There are plenty of jams that do great in research but don't fit the station's music position. An, there are some tracks that look weak in research out of the gate, but just need more exposure before they turn the corner and test like a power. You still have to use gut and instincts in programming and take the right chances.

Ideally, you can get a feel for what the summer audience wants and get them conditioned for fall and winter. Some of them are going to get diaries or meters. So along with balanced rotations this summer, something else to keep in mind is the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle which says that human behavior doesn't change simply because it is being observed.

Word.