A recent Borrell report provided a slew of predictions for the media space over the next ten years, but none was more alarming to radio broadcasters than Prediction No. 4: The prediction: Car-dashboard options diminish AM/FM radio listening. Half the terrestrial stations disappear. Only those with strongest and most valuable audiences remain. Smartphones become radios. The knee-jerk response to this for folks in the industry is to reject it out of hand. But let’s look closer

If you were born in the 80’s or 90’s, you’re in your late teens to early 30’s today. You are also a digital native and quite unlike older folks, including the older folks running the radio business. That explains why these older folks don’t know a lot about you – only what Nielsen tells them – only what radio their PPM devices are exposed to – and not much else. But oh, there’s much more to know. And it’s terribly important for the future of an industry that must maintain its

Nielsen recently released a study that was not representative of the entire population. I know, so what else is new, right? Actually, this was their intention this time. It was a study of 5,985 respondents 18+ years old who either use or are extremely, very, or somewhat interested in at least one of the three connected life technologies—connected home, car and/or wearable technology. It is, in other words, the low-hanging fruit of the connected car market. The Connected Car A

A recent Piper Jaffray report focused on the behaviors of teenagers and the consequence of trends in those behaviors. One of the questions asked teens what percentage of their time was spent listening to music in the following categories: mp3’s, Pandora, local radio, other streaming radio (e.g., Spotify, Songza, etc.), CD’s, or SiriusXM. The result: About 16% of teen music listening time is spent with radio. Pandora’s share was slightly higher, while mp3’s were more than twic

Just how big is podcasting, and how are consumers and advertisers embracing the platform? That was the topic I covered with PodcastOne’s Rob Greenlee in this spectacular conversation from hivio, the audio future festival. At about the halfway point, we’re joined by “Randall,” the hilarious YouTube icon famous for “badass” honey badger videos (Randall had a podcast running on PodcastOne at the time). Rob answers these and other questions: Just how popular are podcasts? There a

What makes radio talent great? Where do you find it? And how can you leverage it? Those are just some of the questions tackled by Tracy Johnson, CEO of the Tracy Johnson Media Group in this Q&A from hivio, the audio future festival. Tracy has a long and decorated career as a broadcast executive, specializing in programming, marketing, talent coaching and management, and he’s the author of three books about developing on-air superstars that have been described as The Bible of

If your brand is a story, then how can you best bring that story to life? Who knows more about story that the artists who work at Pixar – past, present, and future? In this conversation from hivio 2014, the audio future festival, Mark Ramsey talks with former Pixar story artist Emma Coats. Emma got her start in story at Pixar Animation Studios in 2007 on the feature film Brave. While at Pixar she also worked on such films as Monsters University and Inside Out. Since leaving P

What do advertisers want from the audio marketplace in general and from radio in particular? Let’s ask an agency head! Or in this case, an “anti-agency” head: Ric Militi, CEO of InnoVision, a company that buys terrestrial radio, Pandora, and a whole lot more. This was one of the standout Q&A’s from hivio 2014, the audio future festival. Among the questions Ric answers: What kind audio do you buy? Why? What is the BEST thing about the audio space from the advertiser’s perspect

Pandora is changing more than the way folks consume radio – it’s changing the way agencies view audio advertising. This was at the center of my conversation with Pandora VP Audio Sales Doug Sterne at the hivio audio future festival in San Diego in June, 2014. Among the questions Doug answers: What impact has online radio in general — and Pandora in particular — had on audio as a force among agencies? For online radio, audio is more than just audio. What creative opportunities

Podcasting, online radio, terrestrial radio, satellite radio….Do you think that all these audio silos have little in common? That podcasting is different from radio is different from online radio and Pandora, etc? You’re wrong. Do you think that ever-increasing choices in a world offering everybody their own personal customized experience means the end of “hits,” and – by association – the end of radio? No, in fact the more choices you have, the more important “hits” become.

Is NPR’s performance on the digital front a sign that radio’s digital evolution has stalled? Or, worse, that it’s just a big hairy mistake? So says would-be town crier Richard Harker. Harker’s basic point is right on: Broadcasters should direct some of their innovative attention towards content on traditional radio channels and not only experiment with all things digital. I agree! But saying innovative effort should be spread around is different from saying initiatives on the

Are you wasting your time nursing digital pennies and dimes when the “big money” is in the dollars that flow to your coffers from traditional agencies buying traditional radio in traditional ways? “Yes.” At least, that’s the opinion of one radio industry analyst, whose solution is to double-down on traditional revenue and the ratings methodology which feeds its ecosystem. Better content, sold better – that’s his answer. While I agree and routinely argue that radio professiona

Everybody wants to know what’s just over the horizon for radio. That’s why I talked with BIA/Kelsey’s Managing Director Rick Ducey about their new report, “The Internet Radio Revolution Has Arrived,” a fresh look at how platforms, services, audiences and advertisers are reinventing audio. (Lesson number one: Think “audio,” not “radio.”) “Radio has a strong future,” says Rick, “but there are challenges.” Digital will soon make up a third of media spend, Rick tells me, and for

I have nothing against Mark Kassof, although I interviewed for a job with him at the very beginning of my career and he didn’t hire me. Of course, some would say he made the right decision there. Kassof just released a piece of research which aims to prove not only that radio is primarily “local” but woe unto any broadcaster who thinks otherwise. Here’s his first question: Now think about media – TV, radio, newspapers, the internet and so on. Some media are mainly local – foc

As you consider your target audience, don’t forget that target keeps moving. And it has profound implications for radio. Check out this chart from Business Insider via WSJ: This chart shows the changes in US demographics (age only) over the past six years. What you’re looking at is a slight decline in the overall number of 25-54’s (down 1.2%), a more sizable increase among 16-24’s (up 3.7%) and a massive increase among those 55 and over – the folks who are traditionally of li

Not a week goes by that some broadcaster doesn’t bemoan radio’s unfortunate “nationalization” and the urgent need for radio brands to get back to what they are presumed to do best: Be local. This is a mistake. But where does this obsession with “local” come from? It’s not from the FCC license, which requires that broadcasters operate in “the public interest, convenience, and necessity.” Responsiveness to local communities and local content is one of the issues wrapped up in t

Want to hear some great ideas on the future of radio and the role of what we sometimes call “podcasting” in it? Then watch this video. It’s the New Media Show from Geek News Central with Todd Cochrane and Rob Greenlee, and I am their featured guest this week. We cover a TON of ground in this conversation, including… How should Apple’s iTunes Radio and Podcast app evolve? Why radio should consider podcasters to be their “farm team” A strategy for radio to monetize the most pop

If there’s one book this year that best sums up what the radio industry has to do to compete in a world of infinite choice, it’s this one: Blockbusters: Hit-making, Risk-taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment I talked with Anita to test some of my own theories about radio’s future in the presence of her research. The result is a clear strategy and plan of action. Now the rest is up to you. Click here to listen to my interview: Download Audio Or here for the sharable So

Nielsen just released a report trumpeting “News/Talk/Information” as the “Top Audio Format of 2013.” But what does that mean…really? First, recognize that the ranker is based on Persons 6+. Among 25-54’s, however, News/Talk/Info ranks 4th, clearly indicating that the driving force for the format’s dominance is persons over the age of 55, which should come as no surprise to anyone tracking News/Talk ratings over the years (not that 4th is shabby). Second, there is no indicatio

I just read a fascinating report on Radio’s relationship to Twitter in the U.S. and the results will startle and unsettle you. You can download the full report here. It’s from Brandwatch, a social media analytics company. Here’s a summary of some of the key bullet points from the study which sampled 20 radio stations from various genres (but lacks several important formats like Rock, Alternative, Country, and NPR, yet – oddly – includes two Classical stations): On average, on