Part 6: Music in Broadcasting, Film, and Theater

Chapter 19

Start Thinking. . . What factors influence a song’s selection for

radio airplay?Who makes the decision about which songs

make it onto the week’s playlist?What portion of the new music you learn

about do you first hear on the radio?

Chapter GoalsGain awareness of radio’s dominant role in

the music business, particularly the promotion of recordings.

Learn how demographic analyses help determine stations’ target audiences.

Discover the most powerful influences on stations’ programming policies.

Music in Radio1865 Guglielmo Marconi develops the first radio

1920s

Commercially licensed stations go on the air; first radio network; radio becomes “show business”

1930s

FCC established; Great Depression strengthens radio’s appeal; advertising revenue soars

1940s

Commercial FM stations licensed; over 950 stations on the air

1950s

TV nearly kills radio; emergence of genre-specific programming; role of disc jockeys dominates; payola scandals

Music in Radio1960s

Multiplex broadcasting; radio promotion helps record industry boom

1970s

FM stations turn to “middle” audience; programming is predictable

1980s

FCC relaxes programming control; the rise of the music video

1990s

Digital workstations; owners can hold more stations

2000s

Competition from satellite and Internet radio; Spanish-language outlets popular; negative effects of ownership consolidation; HD Radio birthed

Types of StationsClassification by carrier waves

AM = amplitude modulationFM = frequency modulationAM = news, sports, talk stationsFM = music stations

Classification by call lettersW = stations east of the MississippiK = stations west of the Mississippi

Audience Identification and Market ResearchProgramming philosophy:

play audience segment’s favorite musicDemography

distribution, density, vital statistics of population

Audience Identification and Market ResearchResearch methods

polling samplesstation ratingsets in useaudience share

Syndicated research

Audience Identification and Market ResearchData interpretation

1. How good was the sample? Did it typify the market?

2. How weak, how strong was the program preceding/following the program being measured?

3. How strong, how clear was the station’s signal at the time the sampled audience was listening?

(continued)

Audience Identification and Market ResearchData interpretation (continued)

4. How strong were the competing programs?5. What was the influence of publicity?6. What was it that most attracted listeners?

Influence on music sales

Spectrum of FormatsCHR/Top 40Adult contemporaryCountryUrban contemporaryAlternative

Spectrum of FormatsAOROldiesNACNon-English stationsOthers

How Commercial Radio Stations WorkOperationsManagement structures shifted

1996 Telecommunications Actconsolidation of ownership of stations

Multiple stations now managed by one manager

How Commercial Radio Stations WorkProgrammingThe week’s playlist

add new songs and drop old songswho makes the decisions?

disc jockeys, payola scandals, independent recording promoters

Reverse programmingSong clusteringPacing

How Commercial Radio Stations WorkNetworks and SyndicationPre-1950s

Radio network = linked stations broadcasting the same programs simultaneously

NBS, CBS, ABC, MBSToday

complete packed programs licensed or sold to stations

30 seconds to full day-part; individual programs to series

displaced air talent due to signature DJs

How Commercial Radio Stations WorkSatellite Subscription RadioLaunched in 2001Sirius and XM

merged after bidding warautomobile makers installed satellite radios in

carsXM+MP3 lawsuits

Satellite radio servicesabundance of channelstalk formats drive significant sales

How Commercial Radio Stations WorkInternet RadioStreaming audio programming

started in early 1990sWebcasting improved with broadband connections

Traditional radio stationssimulcast signals via InternetInternet listenership research superior to

broadcastSound recording performance rates

raised by CRB in 2006SoundExchange negotiates alternative rates

How Commercial Radio Stations WorkHD Radio™Introduced by terrestrial radio sector in 2006

allows AM and FM stations to simulcast main signals in digital format

offers improved audio qualityFM stations

multicast by adding more channels in allocated spectrum

closes gap with satellite radio’s channel offerings

For Further Thought. . . What are the three basic sets of statistics in

radio market research?What impact has the Telecommunications Act

of 1996 had on radio stations?