Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Steal this Idea: #2 - Making Radio Relevant Again
You know all those crazy ideas you have? The ones that are really cool and maybe even revolutionary, but you would never be able to do anything with them. Maybe they're for an industry outside your own or an industry or company that doesn't really solicit or care to hear new ideas. We'll normally I'd just file them away in a lonely corner space of my idea file but now I have a place to let them free. So go ahead, take these ideas and make them happen, I dare you.
Ok, got an idea here that has two potential implementers: big radio (looking at you, Clear Channel) or small-indie-start-up net radio Jelli.
Right now, traditional, broadcast rado, kinda sucks. It's been sucking for a long time and it's only gotten worse with competition from I-know-exactly-what-you-want-to-hear-next, algorithm driven, internet radio. But maybe there's a way to improve the traditional radio experience and leapfrog it ahead of internet radio. Ok, at least catch it up.
Radio, like all the other so-called "traditional" media, is mainly a one-way communication channel. Sure, listeners can call in to make requests (and as of late, email or tweet them in too) but for the most part it's a DJ blathering on about something semi-relevant while queuing up the next corporate-mandated song. Since you (as the listener) have little input over what is played we tend to gravitate towards the station that plays the most of what we want to hear, thus freeing us from switching stations every other song while we're driving.
What hasn't hit radio yet (that I'm aware of) is the social, web 2.0 revolution.
Enter a service like Jelli (which I've mentioned before) that makes radio much more social. Now you're not just a listener, but an active participant in voting up what you want to hear next, voting down what you don't and chatting about what's currently playing with fellow users.
What happens is that traditional radio licenses (or develops on their own) a platform like Jelli's for their stations. Remember that one of my main criticisms about Jelli when I reviewed it was that you had everyone (and their musical tastes) in one room. As a result no one really got to hear what they wanted consistently. With an existing radio station that problem is taken care of as the filtering is already done. Those who listen to an indie rock station aren't going to be looking for Celine Dion. Those who listen to a classic rock station aren't going to be looking for, well, Celine Dion either. This puts listeners with similar tastes in pools together and lets them decide what is played.
But wait! OMG! How will radio make any money without ads!
The great thing about a platform like Jelli is that you are checking the home page a lot. It's updated constantly to reflect the ever changing votes determining what's played next so you are always paying attention, unlike other internet radios. This presents a fantastic opportunity for advertising to be inserted that will more than likely be looked at. And since you have additional information being captured (what's being voted up or down) you can make some assumptions about who's listening and serve them more relevant advertising. Got a lot of punk rock being voted up? Serve up an ad for a skate shop or tattoo parlor (obviously a stereotype, but you get the idea.)
But what about those listening in their cars, do they get a commercial free listen? I don't know, I can't solve everyone's problems all at once so I guess some things are going to have to be left up to those who implement this idea.
What about payola and all that cash that record labels pay big radio to play the same six songs over and over again? Fuck it. Seriously. It's time for radio to reinvent itself and obsolete itself before something else does. (I attribute the quote of "Obsolete yourself before someone else does to a Wall Street Journal about Netflix from a few years back regarding instant viewing. Smart thinking.)
The end result of all this is that radio stations get more engagement with its viewers, more two-way interaction, possibly more relevant advertising (which should lead to more effective advertising) and a path forward in our increasingly digital future. Who's gonna be the first to jump?
From: http://www.justinmccammon.com/2009/07/steal-this-idea-2-making-radio-relevant.html
Ok, got an idea here that has two potential implementers: big radio (looking at you, Clear Channel) or small-indie-start-up net radio Jelli.
Right now, traditional, broadcast rado, kinda sucks. It's been sucking for a long time and it's only gotten worse with competition from I-know-exactly-what-you-want-to-hear-next, algorithm driven, internet radio. But maybe there's a way to improve the traditional radio experience and leapfrog it ahead of internet radio. Ok, at least catch it up.
Radio, like all the other so-called "traditional" media, is mainly a one-way communication channel. Sure, listeners can call in to make requests (and as of late, email or tweet them in too) but for the most part it's a DJ blathering on about something semi-relevant while queuing up the next corporate-mandated song. Since you (as the listener) have little input over what is played we tend to gravitate towards the station that plays the most of what we want to hear, thus freeing us from switching stations every other song while we're driving.
What hasn't hit radio yet (that I'm aware of) is the social, web 2.0 revolution.
Enter a service like Jelli (which I've mentioned before) that makes radio much more social. Now you're not just a listener, but an active participant in voting up what you want to hear next, voting down what you don't and chatting about what's currently playing with fellow users.
What happens is that traditional radio licenses (or develops on their own) a platform like Jelli's for their stations. Remember that one of my main criticisms about Jelli when I reviewed it was that you had everyone (and their musical tastes) in one room. As a result no one really got to hear what they wanted consistently. With an existing radio station that problem is taken care of as the filtering is already done. Those who listen to an indie rock station aren't going to be looking for Celine Dion. Those who listen to a classic rock station aren't going to be looking for, well, Celine Dion either. This puts listeners with similar tastes in pools together and lets them decide what is played.
But wait! OMG! How will radio make any money without ads!
The great thing about a platform like Jelli is that you are checking the home page a lot. It's updated constantly to reflect the ever changing votes determining what's played next so you are always paying attention, unlike other internet radios. This presents a fantastic opportunity for advertising to be inserted that will more than likely be looked at. And since you have additional information being captured (what's being voted up or down) you can make some assumptions about who's listening and serve them more relevant advertising. Got a lot of punk rock being voted up? Serve up an ad for a skate shop or tattoo parlor (obviously a stereotype, but you get the idea.)
But what about those listening in their cars, do they get a commercial free listen? I don't know, I can't solve everyone's problems all at once so I guess some things are going to have to be left up to those who implement this idea.
What about payola and all that cash that record labels pay big radio to play the same six songs over and over again? Fuck it. Seriously. It's time for radio to reinvent itself and obsolete itself before something else does. (I attribute the quote of "Obsolete yourself before someone else does to a Wall Street Journal about Netflix from a few years back regarding instant viewing. Smart thinking.)
The end result of all this is that radio stations get more engagement with its viewers, more two-way interaction, possibly more relevant advertising (which should lead to more effective advertising) and a path forward in our increasingly digital future. Who's gonna be the first to jump?
From: http://www.justinmccammon.com/2009/07/steal-this-idea-2-making-radio-relevant.html
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