The State of SD Radio
Ah, so much for my self imposed retirement, right? I guess the truth of the matter is that I care too much not to write, but at the same time, I don’t want the pressure of writing. So I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I will try to write at least once a week, kind of like a weekly column and throw in other stuff if I can’t get my point across on twitter. (Because everyone that reads this is on twitter, right? Get with the program my twitterless peeps.)
You might have guessed what is on my mind from the last few posts. San Diego radio is seriously turned upside down and I can’t really just let that slide. While changes on Star and 105.3 don’t really affect me, losing Hal on KBZT was really a shock. And then the whole Finest City news and the subsequent purchase by John Lynch’s BCA was another major event. All of this really changes the radio landscape in San Diego. (Duh.) I guess the real question is why do I care? With the internet, who needs commercial/terrestrial radio? My answer is this - I do. Some of us can’t stream radio online at work and let’s face it, that’s where most of us spend our day. And yeah, with apps for iphone and blackberry (hopefully soon) google droid, conceivably, you can listen to all your favorite online radio even if you have restricted access online. But that’s not as easy as just turning on radio when I am at work or in the car. I know I’m not the only person that feels that way because obviously there are still people that listen to the radio. And there are plenty of articles/industry research you can read if you want to debate that point. I think the real issue at hand is who is listening to the radio and why. I see industry research that says most people still get their new music from the radio. Serously? Not in my world. Most people who consider themselves music lovers do not listen to the radio. (I love to use Jeff Motch’s quote at NXNP 2008 for emphasis: “Anyone who really loves music in this town doesn’t listen to the radio” - see in context here.) So you have this whole disconnect with the people who love music/buy it/go to shows and the people who listen to radio but are not actively engaged in the music “scene”.
Okay, so hopefully I haven’t lost you yet and you are asking the same question I am. So what does terrestrial/commercial radio have to do to reach out to people who do love music? And how do you mix their needs with the people who currently listen and are not engaged? Tough, right? I think for the most part, KBZT has been doing this for seven years. They do it with a combination of “alternative gold”, newer somewhat mainstream alt rock and a smattering of indie rock. Their other strength has always been their specialty programming - FTP, coup d’etat, Local 94/9 and especially Big Sonic Chill appeal to specific music loving audiences. With Halloran no longer on KBZT and the rumours of Mikey coming there and/or a format flip, SD music lovers have reason to be worried that soon our only respite from the crap on other stations will be gone as well.
So now what? I really don’t know. It will be interesting to see how things shake out at KBZT and 91X. In the meantime, there are plenty of other non-commercial radio alternatives in this town for those of you who can stream online. I’m excited to see how this Sounddiego collaboration with Chris Cantore and NBC shakes out. And can I get an amen for Rosey being involved too? Props to Cantore/NBC for recognizing that what Rosey does is legit (haha) media and should be recognized as such. And then there’s Slacker (run by SD radio vet Scott Riggs). They made big announcements this week at CES - 3.0 + Canada support + a collab with ABC for a news channels.
So yeah, plenty of stuff to keep me interested and writing. See ya guys next week or on twitter.
Further recommended reading -
Chris Cantore’s announcement of Sounddiego:
http://www.chriscantore.com/2010/01/06/nbc/
Edison Radio Research:
http://www.edisonresearch.com/radioresearch/index.php
(just put them on your rss feed and browse through archives if you don’t already read.)
Finest City sold to BCA (via fqmb):
http://www.fmqb.com/article.asp?id=1652291
Normal vs Extreme Fans (via All Access):
http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/68674?ref=twitter
Slacker Radio announces ABC News channel:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/technologylive/post/2010/01/ces-slacker-radio-announces-an-abc-news-channel/1
Slacker Radio announces 3.0 and Canada support:
http://crackberry.com/slacker-3-0-arriving-soon-support-canada-included
