Broadcast Streaming is at a Crossroads

Bridge Ratings has been conducting a study since January of this year to determine the interest in broadcast radio simulcast listening on the internet. You can read about these studies here and here.  Part of the study included reactions by a sample of 1500 persons to custom, personalized internet radio stations which would allow panel members to adjust various musical aspects of their favorite radio stations.

Initial results and follow-up data points to great interest by our sample of average radio listeners 12-49 years of age in broadcast radio offering customizable internet radio stations.

Studies done by other researchers support the idea that broadcast radio simulcast internet streams do not garner great usage. One estimate states that 7% of their sample listens to AM/FM content on a mobile device.

New additional data from the Bridge Ratings studies confirms this. But our study goes further.

Of the 3200 panel members in a new Bridge Ratings parallel study, 87% preferred mobile listening to desk-top listening of any streaming music. Only 9% indicated they have listened to AM/FM content in the last seven days.

Only 14% of the sample had a radio app on their mobile device.  Less than 65% of those with radio station apps on their mobile devices use them.

When asked if they would listen to customizable  content on an internet radio station app if it was offered by their favorite station and usage almost quadrupled to 34%.

And when the panel was asked if they would use a radio station app which offered additional personalized content, 41% indicated they would.

Based on this and other studies available, the writing is on the wall for broadcasters seeking a path to increased usage of their radio station apps.

Increase Usage

Current usage of broadcast radio internet simulcasts is less than 10% of the audience. Offering personalized internet radio stations would greatly multiple use and potential digital revenue.

In recent days we've seen increasing adoption to accept this Bridge Ratings data.

Q: But why aren't broadcasters taking this path?

A: Many programmers are not financially incentivized for the audiences generated by simulcast internet duplications of their AM/FM stations.

Many programmers are concerned that an internet radio station offering that can be personalized by its listeners may cannibalize listening from their AM/FM stations.

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Extend the Brand

Our studies show that if done properly this would not be the case.

Inevitably, the broadcast radio industry must finally learn from years of trial and error by companies like Spotify, iHeart and Pandora. They learned early on that customized experiences generate use and loyalty.

Broadcast radio can develop digital solutions that offer personal, geo-located experiences for their listeners. The technology is available, but it seems as though the will is missing.

From these studies we see a non-future for growing listenership of simulcast AM/FM content.

Isn't it obvious yet?

We do see a vast landscape of opportunity as described here.

Are there any takers?

Dave Van Dyke
President
Bridge Ratings LLC

The Death of the Chart

Napster changed everything.

The music file sharing service debuted in 1999, flared as bright as a comet on a moonless night and faded almost as quickly due to legal pressures associated with licensing of the music that was shared on the application.

Yet, despite its short life, Napster really helped change the world of music consumption and started a ball rolling that continues to build momentum wiping out decades-old business models and creating angst for record labels and artists alike.

We live in a time when we all can individually listen, watch and read virtually anything we want, when we want it and how. Technologies have given us the gift of inflated self-appeasement. Listening to music, for example, is only a mass experience on the radio and in concert venues. The rest of the time, listening to music is mostly an individual pastime as technologies push or allow us to pull only the music we like from the internet.

Before all this technology music charts published by grand old publications like Billboard or Cashbox or industry-focused trade publications like Radio & Records were the way that we were able to ascertain the popularity of music. In fact, music countdown shows were the mainstay of radio as soon as "Rock & Roll" gained mass audiences. Dick Clark saw the future and made a career out of top 10 countdown shows on TV.

Curiosity about where our favorite songs were positioned on the charts or how fast a song traveled up and down the top 100 list, generated great interest from the public and especially record labels.

But technology is about to take another victim. The music chart concept no longer presents a relatable way of showing popularity. There are so many ways of consuming music today that ranking song popularity on a published chart is becoming a more difficult task than ever. Album and single sales have turned into digital downloads, music sharing and music streaming. Popularity varies depending on the platform one consults.

So, is the chart on its way out?

From the public's perception it is.

Consumers may inadvertently discover music and video charts that pop up during on-line searches or news stories, but the majority don't go looking for them.

During a recent Bridge Ratings study of 12-24 year old music consumers, only 15% referenced a chart in a typical week to determine either the popularity of a song or artist they enjoyed or to learn of any new songs.

Even referring to charts reflecting digital sales or streaming popularity carries little interest for consumers. Popularity has become a more personal, one-on-one discovery and word of mouth is becoming more important than ever as a way to distribute popular taste especially among friends.

For this age group, song popularity and music discovery now comes in a variety of ways: word-of-mouth or sharing music with friends being the most dominant. Broadcast radio came in second. Referring to charts was way down the list.

Charts have been a mainstay of the radio and records industries and they will likely continue to be.

For their customers and clients, though, there are other - more personal - ways to determine popularity.

So, as a fan of charts, it hurts to know that charts may be another anachronism of a time when following, even collecting charts of the Top 100, or your favorite radio station's Top 30, was almost a hobby for some.

Dave Van Dyke
Bridge Ratings LLC

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What Is Music Radio Missing?

The team at Bridge Ratings has been abuzz this week with the latest revelation about the data we're seeing for on-demand music streaming.

 It seems that almost every day of reviewing the streaming data that crosses my desk reveals another series of golden nuggets about music consumption in 2015. This is a treasure-trove, my friends, and why more radio managers aren't paying attention is a mystery.

According to our friends at Nielsen Music, on-demand music streaming grew over by 50% in 2014 and all signs are pointing to growth exceeding that  number by the time New Year's Eve 2015 arrives.

So, it's plain to see that this train is not slowing and that since over 80% of music consumption is done on-line music radio programmers have access to the SECRET WEAPON.

Now I'm here to report that while on-demand streaming yields poignant consumption metrics for radio stations and what they are playing on the air, there's an even more interesting finding that will further align broadcast music radio with the ability to best reflect its listeners' interests.

Now we can show not only the on-demand streaming behavior of your station's listeners, but we can see what songs your station is not playing that your audience is streaming!

Read that sentence again.

As a programmer of a music station with a desire to be as current as its listeners to know what songs are missing is the difference between simply playing the hits and knowing early what the hits are that your audience has already discovered and are consuming. These songs, too, should be on your air!

In a recent conversation with the programmer of a leading major market contemporary station, it wasn't long after she first saw the data I shared that she found four songs her audience was streaming that were nowhere on her radar. Her record label reps hadn't mentioned them because the songs aren't on the "work list". In fact, a week later when we spoke she relayed a conversation she had with one of her label reps who told her that she was playing the wrong song by the artist he was working. She laughed and told him that her audience had already discovered the song and was rapidly consuming it on line. She helped that label manager that day by giving him a heads up about a song they should be working because there was evidence of success.

I'm continually fascinated by this new technology that allows producers of media content the ability to know exactly what their listeners/viewers are consuming.

If broadcast radio is not paying close attention to the detail available through on-demand music streaming, it is missing another opportunity to advance its ability to mirror its audiences tastes.

And with today's fast-tracking music consumers who are exposed on multiple platforms to music they may enjoy, radio's only chance to be aware of the moving tides is to not only pay attention to on-demand streaming data but use it effectively.

Dave Van Dyke
dvd@bridgeratings.com

Your thoughts?