Someone recently said to me when describing a station, “that’s the most fatiguing station I’ve ever heard.” We ended up having a conversation about what makes a station fatiguing to the listener and the damage it can do to your TSL.
Here are some of the most fatiguing things I’ve heard on different radio stations (thank God these all weren’t on ONE radio station):
• Way over produced. I love good production, but loud in your face production really wears on the listener.
• Fully produced imaging and production running over the intro of the song (I’ve heard this a lot recently and it’s brutal). Listeners hate it when we talk over intros, running production/imaging so loud you can’t even hear the intro is as equally brutal.
• Jocks talking “at” me, not “to” me. Be conversational. People don’t like to get yelled at in person, why would they listen to a station where the jock is “yelling” at them?
• Jocks that talk too fast because they want to have energy. Energy isn’t talking fast, it knowing where you are going with your break and how you are going to get there.
• Too much stuff coming at the listener. Letting the show and the station “breath” is not a bad thing. You can do this and still have nice pacing and momentum.
• I’m cool with speeding up song a bit…but just a bit. Stations have are 2 ½ or 3% is a little much and that can cause some fatigue.
• Not being familiar enough with the music. Too many unfamiliar songs when the listen is expecting to know the songs and the artist can be fatiguing.
Step back and monitor your station for listener fatigue. You may be surprised at how many things you are doing that are causing listeners to listen to you a little less.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
WHAT I LEARNED WHILE BEING LAID OFF
I lost my job at KUPL in Portland on August 18th. Within a few weeks I was working for Jaye Albright part time while looking for my next full time gig. After four months I landed a new job as the Senior Director of Country Programming and Program Director at the Hot Country format at Dial Global based in Denver. The four months I spent as a “regular listener” changed my programming philosophy forever. In those four months I was given a great gift…to be able to listen to the radio as a real listener, not as a PD. I was able to “listen to the radio, not monitor the radio.” In that time I learned some things that I’d like to share:
Pandora is cool and it defiantly a big competitor to listening. I signed up for a Pandora account right after I was laid off and I love it. The downside, it’s not nearly as mobile as my Ipod (it will be soon), they play commercials and I missed the companionship and information of a personality.
It takes a long time for listeners to get familiar with new music. By the time I started to know and like a new song, it was being moved to a recurrent and I heard it less on the radio.
I listen to a lot of different stations. It would take PPM to tell me who I was a P1 to.
When I didn’t have to “monitor” my station or the market for my job, I listened to the radio less. It was on in the car every time I drove (but not working full time I was driving less). I listened in the bathroom and if I was working in the garage. No longer was I listening to the alarm clock or in the kitchen.
Most of the time I had no idea what stations were talking about since I wasn’t listening as much as they thought I was. There was a lot of “inside stuff” or no real explanation of contesting or bits. I felt like an outsider at a dinner party who was the only one who didn’t know anybody. You need to find a way to explain things all the time.
I don’t care about position statements. I only care about what’s on the radio. I’m smart enough to know what the format is by the song people are playing. I think most people are. Positioning statements can be just added clutter.
I only knew a few stations in Denver (KBPI, KYGO, The Wolf) so when I wanted to populate my pre-sets, I used the scan button until it landed on a song I like and I set the station. I bet that’s how most people find new stations when they move to a new city.
I finally became a real listener and can see how people really use the radio and what drives them to keep listening. It’s tough to do, but challenge yourself to listen like a listener, not like a radio person.
Pandora is cool and it defiantly a big competitor to listening. I signed up for a Pandora account right after I was laid off and I love it. The downside, it’s not nearly as mobile as my Ipod (it will be soon), they play commercials and I missed the companionship and information of a personality.
It takes a long time for listeners to get familiar with new music. By the time I started to know and like a new song, it was being moved to a recurrent and I heard it less on the radio.
I listen to a lot of different stations. It would take PPM to tell me who I was a P1 to.
When I didn’t have to “monitor” my station or the market for my job, I listened to the radio less. It was on in the car every time I drove (but not working full time I was driving less). I listened in the bathroom and if I was working in the garage. No longer was I listening to the alarm clock or in the kitchen.
Most of the time I had no idea what stations were talking about since I wasn’t listening as much as they thought I was. There was a lot of “inside stuff” or no real explanation of contesting or bits. I felt like an outsider at a dinner party who was the only one who didn’t know anybody. You need to find a way to explain things all the time.
I don’t care about position statements. I only care about what’s on the radio. I’m smart enough to know what the format is by the song people are playing. I think most people are. Positioning statements can be just added clutter.
I only knew a few stations in Denver (KBPI, KYGO, The Wolf) so when I wanted to populate my pre-sets, I used the scan button until it landed on a song I like and I set the station. I bet that’s how most people find new stations when they move to a new city.
I finally became a real listener and can see how people really use the radio and what drives them to keep listening. It’s tough to do, but challenge yourself to listen like a listener, not like a radio person.
Monday, February 15, 2010
AN EASY READ
I love quotes. I like them because they are short, memorable and to the point (like all your breaks on air should). This week is nothing but quotes that hopefully will inspire you.
Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
Harold R. McAlindo
You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.
Brian Tracy
You don't lead by hitting people over the head - that's assault, not leadership.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
If you'll not settle for anything less than your best, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish in your lives.
Vince Lombardi
Formula for success: under promise and over deliver.
Tom Peters
He that cannot obey, cannot command.
Benjamin Franklin
A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.
George Bernard Shaw
Great effort springs naturally from a great attitude.
Pat Riley
Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.
George Patton
Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.
Zig Ziglar
Leadership does not always wear the harness of compromise.
Woodrow Wilson
Leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders.
Tom Peters
You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.
Henry Ford
My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.
Abraham Lincoln
I don’t know what the key to success is, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.
Bill Cosby
To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.
Elbert Hubbard
…and my personal favorite
Beer is proof there is a God and he wants us to be happy.
Ben Franklin
Here’s to a good show and great ratings.
Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
Harold R. McAlindo
You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.
Brian Tracy
You don't lead by hitting people over the head - that's assault, not leadership.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
If you'll not settle for anything less than your best, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish in your lives.
Vince Lombardi
Formula for success: under promise and over deliver.
Tom Peters
He that cannot obey, cannot command.
Benjamin Franklin
A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.
George Bernard Shaw
Great effort springs naturally from a great attitude.
Pat Riley
Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.
George Patton
Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.
Zig Ziglar
Leadership does not always wear the harness of compromise.
Woodrow Wilson
Leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders.
Tom Peters
You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.
Henry Ford
My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.
Abraham Lincoln
I don’t know what the key to success is, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.
Bill Cosby
To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.
Elbert Hubbard
…and my personal favorite
Beer is proof there is a God and he wants us to be happy.
Ben Franklin
Here’s to a good show and great ratings.
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