Same Game - New Aim

The Low Down On The Down Low

There's no question we're going through some tough times as Urban radio executives face flat to no-growth revenue, while programmers continue to grapple with cutbacks and new technologies. Radio has survived a considerable amount of criticism during the past several years. The cost reductions we struggled with were often necessary to get us through the lean times, but now there must be an investment in talent, content and overall product. The Urban audience has been presented with dozens of new listening choices through the Internet, satellite and iPods. Advertisers have been wooed with new platforms. Time Spent Listening (TSL) has declined as PPM markets expand.

Despite all of this, Urban radio will survive ... not everybody and not every station, but there is room and reason for hope. Why are we so optimistic, you ask? For one thing, we're encouraged because studies show our music gives us a distinct advantage. For another, those same studies indicate if we can put some compelling content around this mass-appeal hit music, crossover is inevitabile. In 2010, it's the same game. It just requires a new aim, for those who recognize the moving target and want to score.

Artists And Their Music Are Being Targeted

It's the same game with a new aim for the artists whose music we play as well. Let's briefly examine some music realities. R&B and hip-hop may be on fire commercially, but if you're an artist of the age to be thinking about hot flashes and golf, there's a good chance you aren't going to be having any hot hits. The evidence is on the charts. There are very few female R&B singers over 35 having any significant, consistent chart action. And it's a similar story for many legendary male artists.

More and more, older artists are forced to make albums in which a singer covers familiar songs, whether soul hits from the '80s or standards - material that has stood the test of time and is entrenched in the pop music lexicon. Many older R&B stars are revving up the way-back machine, foregoing recording new material in favor of covers.

The motivation for such moves is simple and multiple - namely ageism ... and to some extent, racism. The racism black artists have suffered disproportionately in the record industry has diminished, but it hasn't completely disappeared. But the biggest factor may be that for the past several years what is euphemistically still called R&B (with an emphasis on the rhythm) has long outstripped engagement with the blues. It's solidly and almost exclusively a young player's game. And for an older singer to survive, it's sometimes best to step out of the fray and just tour.

We asked a well-established, Grammy-Award-winning singer how she felt about the current state of black music and she said, "I've just come to accept what has happened and what's selling. And you know what is selling today? Beats."

So if you're a singer who still wants to keep recording and having hits, but who has more chops than choreography, your creative options may be limited in 2010. Another well-known male star said, "The other problem is that there just isn't any good material. Who's writing songs? With few exceptions, the songs they're writing lack firm melodic structure. They tend to be written by committee, in the studio, and often have a disjointed feel. The focus seems to be more on rhythmic elements, gimmicks like auto-tune and hooks than on exposition of narratives. Also, the emphasis on production over lyrics gives the current crop of R&B songs an immediacy that won't last."

The other problem may be that the average age of the record executives who have control over who gets signed, recorded and released is much younger. Many are from the hip-hop generation. They see their jobs as signing artists whose music will sell quickly. Some of them don't know how to recognize real music or what to do with it. And they're reporting to some equally young guy who says, "Just find me some fresh young talent." The bottom line is it comes down to a great song and somebody who can deliver the goods - instant financial gratification of big first week numbers.

Toll Takes And Boring Breaks

We can't blame our failures on the music or the artists. There are still some great artists who have strong songs. Yes, the music has changed. On the other hand, we don't need to tell you that Urban radio's constantly changing, too. It's got some new rules ... and one of the new rules we want to focus on this time is don't be boring. Delivering on that promise as defined by individual market needs, without over-focusing on the format rival's programming strategies, can still pay off.

Some Urban programmers are guilty of being boring because they've become too conservative. They're waiting for potential new hit records, some by established artists, to develop along with strong passion scores in their callout before they add them. As a result, they're playing only part of what they're being given. They're "niche-ing" the music too much, developing side formats and risking genre burn-out as a result. You run into trouble when all the songs start to sound alike. Right now, many mainstream Urban stations and some Urban ACs, are guilty of sounding the same -- record after record. Urban radio has lied to its audience, feeling it can fix any problem simply by saying it doesn't exist

If your liners and stagers are going to brag about variety, you better play a better variety because this new audience is listening closer than you think. They're an impatient audience with a lot more choices than ever before. Listeners today use the radio differently at different times of the day and it has to be programmed accordingly. Repetition is one of the biggest negatives. Play too much of one type of music when the audience, especially the "music freaks," expect freshness and variety and you exacerbate the problem.

Target Formatting Techniques

There is another new procedure, which is part of the new game, that requires taking careful aim. It's one that's already quietly making a difference in some markets. It's called target formatting, It's a combination or series of little things that, when done right, can create a sharp listener focus and make a huge difference.

Target formatting can mean the difference between a P1 and a P2. One of the tricks or illusions involves changing the perception of our stations and stepping outside the format boundaries occasionally. The other trick is about increasing your audience share by scheduling the right crossover music at the right times.

For Urban Adult stations, it means playing some rap songs that are extremely familiar. They are the crossover adult party songs. These are songs that would be a hit at any party. They're part of the new strategic thinking about music

There has been a shift in the core of Urban radio's library over the past few years. We've been moving away from some artists who have been found by every similar format's research and subsequently overplayed. There is a new theory that hip-hop is replacing rock with a younger male audience. It happens with every generation. In markets such as Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Birmingham and Memphis, the latest Arbitron trends show that in many cases, the Urban or Urban AC station is not only the format leader, but also the market leader.

If we've learned anything about market leaders in the last few years, it is that a well-programmed Urban or Urban AC station (with a competitive signal) can become the new market leader despite the rivalry from format-similar stations that may have better signals, more research and deeper pockets.

How do you combat these things? You combat them by offsetting their advantages with effective target formatting. It has to do with maintaining the proper balance between consistency and freshness. We can't hope to capture and keep an adult audience with nothing but oldies and ballads, even if they're the right oldies. There must be balance, freshness and variety ... balance in tempo, demographic appeal and freshness. It's a proven fact that the Urban audiences are trendsetters, so sameness will not work over the long haul.

If you're going to move from being a strong alternative or P2 station to become the favorite station, target formatting needs to be a part of the plan.

Hipness Factor & Mind Share

There is a hipness factor that is part of the new game with new rules. The hipness factor must grow from "occasionally hip" to "always hip." The hipness factor should be delivered on a consistent basis, in the liners, the contests, the way the air personalities handle callers, etc. The hipness factor is very much like the difference between a bank shot and a slam-dunk. They both go in and the score is the same, but true fans of the game want to see a little style and flair, and this is what the hipness factor provides.

Now, the hipness factor itself cannot fix a floundering format. You still have to have the right music, the right positioning and constantly adjust your rotations so that your station always sounds fresh. But hipness can make a difference.

Positioning is a key part of target formatting. Here is where great promo and sweeper copy that is hip and geared to the audience who is there to hear the music comes in. A positioning statement is a like a promise to your target audience - one which you can never violate If you expect to occupy mind share. Occupying mind share can translate directly into higher numbers. These positioning statements should offer a unique benefit to the listener. They serve as a point of reference, not just "#1 for hip-hop and R&B." That statement, like the music it surrounds, has to be changed, updated and produced with different approaches for it to continue to be effective.

Go On A Hit Hunt

Finally, sometimes you may have to disregard a series of music test scores and follow your gut. Keep in mind: Just because a test group said that a song is familiar, or they liked it in a callout, doesn't mean they want to hear it over and over. At the other extreme is the notion that songs could be put into a power rotation out of the box. But wait ... what about the familiarity precept that says that listeners always want to hear songs and artists that they recognize? That answer is it still has to be balanced properly. Too much unfamiliar music sends the wrong message to the target audience. Who are they? They are people in the outside world, listening to traditional Urban and Urban AC stations.

When you put a fresh new jam in a power stack on a station that has high cume, you can, by simply playing that song every four hours, make it familiar to your audience. Sometimes this is what you need to do. You have to make your own hits. Summer is a great time to do this. You still introduce new music first on the night show and then let it spread to other dayparts.

By target formatting and finding your own hits, you can win the new game. In the process, you accomplish two other important things. You maintain freshness and flavor -- and you will also pick up new cume that becomes attracted to your station. Before you know it, you will have picked up a younger, hipper audience that will grow with you. So yes, although it's still the same game, one that requires taking careful aim, there's a new target -- one you simply won't hit with worn out weapons and stale strategies.

Word.