I’ve been using the month of July to take some wide angle looks at many of broadcasting’s big issues—the state of radio itself; the paucity of hit music, and how much we rely on streaming; the ongoing issues with radio streaming apps; even the state of the Ross on Radio column. Now, I’m grouping them in one place.
My July 4 Declaration of Radio. About the broadcast landscape. Why radio is diminished, but not demolished—and why that seems to be just as hard to deal with. How we could do better radio on the budgets we have. Why personality is part of the way forward, but we still need to do something about spotload. Why that personality won’t come from AI. Why protecting AM in cars is not enough, and neither is more deregulation.
My Streaming Radio Declaration of Principles. Earlier this year, James Cridland, as part of Edison Research’s Infinite Dial, described streaming radio as a niche product, compared to its DSP competitors. The numbers don’t lie, but how did a definingly mass-appeal product come to have only a specialized appeal? Because we still need to address spotload, provide better curation, and find something better to say about it on the air. And more.
Programming in the Time of Streaming. Some industry people have tried to put a brave face on two years of “Beautiful Things” and a paucity of summer hits. At a time with low ratings and no artist careers, I can’t give you that one. Beyond that, the radio stations that have cheerfully appointed Spotify and TikTok as music director aren’t winning with that approach. Radio does need to consider rotations in the streaming era, but it also needs to continue to think for itself. Currently, the “radio songs” we do play are getting just enough airplay to be wasted.
Ross on Ross on Radio. Regarding radio as fixable, much less in any way functional, seems hopelessly naïve to many. I stand behind that. And before I concede anything, the industry will actually have to solve some of its product issues so we can know whether offering better choices worked. Having discussed other overarching issues, here’s what I have to say about the newsletter overall, including, as always, thank you.
One of the final declarations of the ROR column is that the goal is a dialogue, not a lecture. I hope you’ll check out any of the above columns that might have come while you were on vacation, then leave some thoughts of your own.
