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08/18/2006: "Country Music, Meet Reality"

I was never one of those kids who dreamed from an early age of doing some particular career as an adult. I figured eventually something would grab me someday. In college, I found something I really loved - radio. The freedom, the creativity ... the chicks! I spent two years on the college station at UCR and absolutely loved it. But I also watched "WKRP in Cinncinnatti", and realized that the gypsy lifestyle was not for me.

I'm still a big fan of radio, though, and I've followed the mostly negative trends we've seen in radio in the last 30 years. No longer the home of the witty DJ spinning his favorite records, most stations today are part of a larger media group that play pre-programmed formats licensed from consultants who might be programming dozens of stations nationwide. The classic example of that is the Jack-FM format, often referred to as the radio equivalent of an iPod on shuffle, that is currently sweeping the nation and knocking dozens of established stations off the air.

It's amazing just how established some of the stations that get replaced by formatted music streams really are. We got another example yesterday, when 93.9 KZLA, LA's only real country music outlet, was replaced in favor of a new dance format called "Movin' 93.9".

KZLA, which billed itself as "America's Most Listened To Country Station" had been country format since 1980 - long before the Garth Brooks-fueled country surge of the early '90s. It's the station where I learned that there was more to life than rock and roll and came to appreciate the beauty of a steel guitar. But in the new reality of commercial radio, having listeners isn't enough, and pleasing listeners isn't even a priority.

An interview with Val Maki, GM of KZLA and sister station KPWR, done by Don Barrett of LARadio.com pretty much sums it up ...

“As tough as it is to give up what is really a good radio station, KZLA has had a lot of success. KZLA was almost always the most listened to Country radio station in America, from a Cume standpoint.” Val said that KZLA was responsible for the most Country music sales, according to SoundScan. “But we work for our advertisers. Through our research and other research we know there was a large phantom cume that never got measured in Arbitron, as good as Arbitron is.”

Val continued: “When you see an opportunity that looks to be appreciably better, there’s no option. You have an obligation as a business."

The changeover was so quick and so secretive that even the KZLA program director was only told 1 hour before the 10AM switch. That's cold, but it's the new reality in radio. As the dollar became increasingly important to the business, consultants locked down formats and eliminated personality. People can sense this - and that's why they own iPods. Rather than respond to the challenge, radio execs continue to kiss the ass of their advertisers, more concerned with keeping them happy than pleasing their listeners.

Eventually, though, they'll figure it out. Those rating points they're so desperate for represent people - people with opinions, and with fingers that can change the channel.