In some ways, the radio industry is like the movie theater industry.
It could be argued that we primarily license content, we don’t own it.
We play the songs, but they’re not ours. Yes, we string them together in a unique order, but many more options will be doing that tomorrow with a broad distribution and ease of use that approaches our own.
It could be argued that we rent the talent, but we don’t own it. A morning show can move – and take their audience with them. Ditto for a sports franchise.
Put another way, most folks come to us because of what we play not who we are. In radio, the package – the “brand” – is not as important as its components (unless, of course, those components are unique to that brand and owned by it) and the fact of our ubiquitous distribution.
Given the abundance of cinematic distractions for the moviegoer’s attention – from Netflix, on-demand, and digital cable to an infinite number of online options, what is a distribution channel (i.e., movie theaters) to do?
The answer: Create an experience which can’t be matched by these other distribution channels.
So what can radio do that can’t be matched by other channels of distribution for our content?