In Early May, the Canadian Music Week conference convened a panel of international programmers to discuss the issue of targeting younger audiences, a challenge for broadcasters that has only become more noticeable over the last two years. Programmers from four major youth brands, including SiriusXM’s new TikTok radio talked about facing those challenges. Here are highlights from the session, which aired in June; comments have been edited for clarity.
SEAN ROSS, moderator: What are stations doing specifically to target younger listeners?
REBECCA FRANK, Content Director, KISS UK: We’re trying to attract those audiences to the brand and not just the radio station … For us the mantra of “right content, right platform, right time” is really pertinent to the Kiss network. We have three main stations, one of which is very much targeted under 25 and clutter-free. It’s pure music. It’s real expert influencers who are hosting . . . . TikTok is our priority social brand at the moment, but there are no [repurposed] clips of our radio shows. It’s very important that we are native on those platforms, not just a radio operator on social media.
KAREN STEELE, PD, CKFM (Virgin Radio) Toronto: We made a decision to almost future-proof what we’re doing … Everything we do is to provide that companionship with our listeners in a way that can’t be matched in real time by most streaming services. We’re having the conversations that matter to them, and that connect in a way [that] they can see themselves or hear themselves in the personalities on our radio stations.
LOUIE DIAZ, VP/Top 40 & Rhythmic Top 40, Cumulus Media: We wanted to create a personality driven daypart that connects first on the FM because radio lost that a long time ago with [consolidation] and cutbacks. We’re slowly coming back to creating personalities on the radio, then repurposing that content because we’re still on step one. As far as having unique TikTok curators for our channels, we’re steaming full speed ahead but we’re not there yet.
ROSS: Nights used to be prime-time for the Top 40 format. Do they still matter?
DIAZ: Over the last 10 years, we managed to move away from that with voice-tracks or just playing music. This year, Cumulus EVP of programming Brian Philips and I got together and decided to change this trend. [We wanted to create a night show that was] a prequel to the [morning syndicated] Bert Show. The Eliott & Nina night show is targeted 10-15 years younger. It’s like the difference between 1883 and Yellowstone.
FRANK: Evenings are super-important for us. Listening is on smart speakers. [At our events, we] give out smart speakers and connected Bluetooth speakers to the audience. In early evening, we have a really important gateway show that takes us from daytime programming to specialist programming.
ROSS: One of the most intriguing station launches of 2021 was SiriusXM’s TikTok Radio. Please tell us about that station and how it’s different.
MARIE STEINBOCK, Director of Music Programming, Sirius XM: TikTok Radio : I work daily with the TikTok Music editorial team to curate our playlist. We have five different TikTok creators that are on our channel daily. We don’t have any specific times that they’re on. You’ll hear from four different creators every hour.
ROSS: How do you find music?
STEINBOCK: We’re playing songs that are trending and taking off on listeners’ For You Pages. We look at the data we receive from TikTok to see what’s trending. It’s not all new music, which I’m sure everyone is aware of. We’ll have a ‘70s song followed by something brand new–a Harry Styles–followed by something from the early ‘00s. It’s era-less and genre-less. I’m trying to break the mold of the traditional channels that we have on Sirius XM.
ROSS: And some songs only play for 30 seconds
STEINBOCK: With a lot of these songs, if you hear the part that’s trending, it’s really catchy but the rest of the 3-4 minute song might not be recognizable enough, so we’ll just play the 30-second snippet that’s trending. The song is in the zeitgeist but we don’t want to turn younger audiences away when they don’t know the rest of the song.
ROSS: So how should channels that are not TikTok Radio acknowledge streaming?
DIAZ: Streaming is a big, big force for us. A big number of streams are driven by an artist’s particular fandom. Harry Styles fans will make sure a song is No. 1 in streaming everywhere. Does that mean everybody over the age of 25 is familiar with that song? The answer is most likely no. In callout, songs still take 4 to 6-7 weeks to become familiar with anybody over 18 . . . The record label business plan with streaming and DSPs are often out of sync with FM radio. They’re ready to move on because a song is down 60% at their DSPs while songs are just starting to test, even with teenagers … We just cannot keep up with the speed that the DSPs are going. It will never work.
ANDREW FORSYTH, Radio Consultant, Luminate: You see that when all 10 Drake songs are streaming that those songs tend to go away, but the song that radio has picked up on … gets a second wind and you start to see it [rebound] on the streaming side.
ROSS: Knowing all this, how should radio have handled ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’? [At the time of the panel taping in early May, “Running Up That Hill” hadn’t yet made its pop culture comeback.]
DIAZ: There was Frozen, there was the Hamilton cast album. This has happened before where songs get overexposed in movies before radio can deal with it. Is it a design flaw in radio? [On the day of the panel, Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick had just come out.] We’re going to see that stream. Why is that OK and “Bruno” not OK? It’s a unique problem that we have inherited in radio that at some point we need to get past.
ROSS: When Top 40 was last at its healthiest, the mother/daughter coalition was very important in terms of driving younger listening. What role do parents play now in helping get younger audiences’ attention?
FRANK: It’s important to bring [coalitions] together but still create those [online] places where younger generations can have their own space … We’re noticing the cool of the nostalgia [for older music]. Throwback music is cool to both younger generations who weren’t on the dancefloor the first time and the moms my age, forty-plus, who definitely were, especially that ‘90s stuff for us which is absolutely banging. That’s where the mothers and daughters can get together.
ROSS: Adolescence and young adulthood have always been difficult, and have only become more difficult during COVID. What do listeners want us to talk about, especially in the context of entertainment programming?
FRANK: Where there is culture there is a counter-culture. [For every listener who wants to discuss social issues,] we have people who love the Kardashians and Love Island. There is no one 17-year-old . . . There is no magic bullet. There is no one kind of subject matter.
DIAZ: [When we need to] we move away from music to something that has worked really well for us … Talking about suicide prevention and mental health issues that are going on with Coronavirus and missing your high school graduation and missing your prom. Our morning show and Elliot & Nina have all spoken to experts about this on the air and had a huge amount of audience back and forth, like the old days … It takes a long time for the air personalities to become a trusted voice for the audience.
ROSS: Radio didn’t “ask for the order” from younger listeners for a long time. How do we know they’ll listen now, even if we ask?
DIAZ: It’s possible but it’s going to be in very limited windows. If the window is between 6 a.m. and 7:45 a.m., you have that small window to try to get them exposed to your product again and try to get them to come back at 3 p.m. Nowhere in there should we think that they even know we exist or what we’ve been doing for the last 25 years.
FRANK: It’s about discoverability. Their thumb is constantly drifting on a mobile phone . . .. If we try to push them from a mobile phone to a box in a room, that’s not going to happen for us.
STEELE: We’re looking at socials as an opportunity to bring people back into real-time listening. Our morning show feature Ghosted is also available on demand. Consumers can listen to it on their own time and think “this is something I would enjoy listening to live.”
STEINBOCK: We get a lot of feedback that listeners are finding our channel through ride-shares. I don’t know if the drivers are [choosing us because] TikTok is in the title and they just want to connect with [younger listeners] … Like Louie said, we’re just trying to figure out those small snippets of the day when we can connect with them. Hearing themselves and seeing themselves reflected in the programming and on-air talent is important and we’ve been really trying to do that as well.
ROSS: There are a lot of negative headlines about radio, especially when it comes to younger listeners. What makes you feel optimistic now?
DIAZ: The great news for Cumulus is that the country is in a better place, coming out of COVID. The feel-good momentum is certainly there for this format. You can see it in consumption for DSPs, you can see it in the concerts that people are attending. It’s a feel-good vibe now. We’re trying to ride that wave. Top 40 of all the formats is responsible for shifting gears to match the energy while people are beginning to have those graduations and weddings again. It’s our job to celebrate those moments and help them have big wins and feel like we’re part of their lives.
ROSS: What else is important in targeting younger audiences?
STEINBOCK: I just wanted to talk about speaking the language. A younger audience can really tell if something sounds outdated. Or if a host is speaking about something, and they haven’t seen it first-hand . . . they know authenticity and they can tell when someone’s involved and in the community. It’s important to have hosts that are in the community already.
FRANK: [There’s a challenge with advertising, both in terms of language and attention spans.] We’re always talking to the promotions department about creating content not competitions . . . We’re not going to completely get rid of adverts, but can we think of a way to deliver them that might be a little more palatable.
DIAZ: Imagine if you’re a Top 40 station and you can integrate with your brand with, let’s just say Roblox. Can you have your audience meet you on Roblox and have Calvin Harris there with his emoji and he performs for people who have won tickets to be part of this gaming concert that you can only win by listening to your radio station? Or you’re on PS5 or Xbox and your logos are on the game when people are playing. We have to be different than we have been for the last 40, 50, or 60 years in how we get our brands out in front of people.
