Another Summer of Radio Discontent

Tara Sands: The Sound off podcast. The show about podcast and broadcast starts now.

Matt Cundill: So last year, I had a podcast episode called Radio's summer of discontent. And here we are back again a year later. And this will be radio summer of discontent, part Deux....

The closing of CHML 900 in Hamilton sends signals that AM radio is dying

I have to admit that I'm at a loss for words over what, has been transpiring in radio in both Canada and the United States over the last few months. So much so that I'm at a loss for words that here I am providing you with words. But just a couple of things, like the closing of CHML 900 in Hamilton. Yeah, we all understand AM radio is dying, but in Hamilton, I mean, this sort of sends signals when it comes to AM. If there was much we could have done, could we be doing it better? I don't think too many people are left listening to AM radio. This is not really going to be a referendum on AM radio. This is going to be really about radio in general, because what happens next, I think, is a little bit more alarming. And that's a company like Evan off closing three stations in Ontario, like super small places like Clarence, Rockland. I mean, I used to hunt in the Ottawa river, so I know how small they are. Hawkesbury's being another one. But if you're a company like Evan off, that is walking away from a frequency in Ottawa at 98 five, the jewel. You mean you cant find anyone who wants to buy this thing? This is Canadas fourth largest market, and theyre going to walk away from the license? They did say if youre interested, you could call them. But what does it mean when a company walks away from an FM license in Canadas fourth largest market? I dont have the answer to that. I can only summarize the following. They're not going to have the ability to make a profit simply by playing music, and they're not prepared to make the investment into putting content on the air in order to try to make it profitable. And I think that's problematic for radio. We've just become so reliant on playing the music. But music, you can get that anywhere now, right?

New media outlets and platforms eroding traditional radio radio revenues

Each one of these closures, whether it's like an AM radio station, FM M station doesn't really matter. It's the quotes that come with it from the company. So this one came from Evan off. It says, the media landscape has evolved with new outlets and platforms eroding traditional radio radio revenues, and the Covid-19 pandemic leading traditional radio listeners to park their cars for a few years. the number one source of radio listening. Chorus, by the way, had their own, It says the shift of advertising revenues to unregulated Ford and platforms, combined with the difficult regulatory and competitive landscape has forced us to make the difficult decision to close. Yeah, that's on YouTube. So you go back to 2010, we all saw this coming, we all talked about it, we all said, what are we going to do? And the answer to that, by the way, was nothing. So companies like Corus and Bell and Rogers, who had an opportunity to maybe get together and say, hey, we should probably do something about this, did not do anything about it. And the only people who were worse at not doing anything about it was the CRTC, who really thrive and exist on not doing anything about anything. And what happened? The listeners went away. They found other things that entertained them. They found other things that were better than the status quo, which is, by the way, what audiences do now. I know I'm pointing out the obvious, I know I've showed up here today and I haven't offered any solutions yet, but does anybody find it a little bit strange that you have to apply to the CRTC to get a license, but you don't have to maybe go through the same process to return it? Have you ever tried to cancel a cable subscription, phone subscription, a phone plan? Yeah, all that's pretty tough, but it seems to be easier. You can just walk away from a CRTC radio license or broadcast license and just go, I'm done.

There were lots of layoffs in medium sized markets this summer

Also this summer, noted, lots of layoffs, again, as it continues, medium sized markets this time. I, don't like seeing it in medium sized markets because that is clearly the future. That's the springboard to glory, pretty much. The places like London, Ontario and Kingston that had some layoffs. There were also lots of layoffs in the US. Some of them very, very cruelly timed. So for those who don't know, morning show boot camp is like, that's like summer camp for radio personalities. And it's run by Don Anthony. And we had him on this podcast back in May of 20, 23. It's episode 355. Somebody I follow, I've never met this person, but somebody that I do follow on Instagram, her name's Sarah Quinj, working at an iHeartRadio station down in Winston Salem, North Carolina. Went to morning show boot camp. Got filled with inspiration and joy and everything else that makes getting up in the morning bearable. And on the Monday morning that she gets back from boot camp, so all full of piston vinegar gets, laid off. that's a shit way to go. And she's still available and you can follow her on Instagram. But amazing talent. Again, just some of this stuff is incredibly cruel and beyond mean how it happens under the circumstances of timing. Yeah, I know there's no good time to let someone go, but probably the day after morning show boot camp is, not good. The other thing I wanted to gently point out, and this dovetails into what I do here at the podcast and thats two radio stations that, were all about joining. The conversation got replaced by alternative and country in Vancouver and Toronto respectively. So we can debate all day whether that particular thing of those two stations and those two markets is something or nothing. Im going to lean on it being something. And it tells me about the spoken word and how much the spoken word is really desired or how it's being marketed or how it's being presented to radio audiences. Because what happens now is we hear we have radio that has really defaulted back to. We're just going to play a lot of music and hopefully that alternative and country formats that have come out, there'll be some personality involved with those stations. But I don't think radio on FM has really figured out how to master the spoken word beyond a couple of successful radio shows. Radio is not going to be able to live on just playing music. I know that's the second time I've said that on this show today, but I'll say the third, radio cannot survive on just playing music. You go back to 2019. Jacobs Media does their tech survey. We saw the lines intersect where people are coming to the radio for personalities and people and connection. It's not about the music that has diminished now to secondary tier.

Another thing I did see that I want to talk about briefly is AI on the radio

Another thing I did see that I want to talk about briefly, and that's AI on the radio. So again, I'll go to is it something or is it nothing? And I'm here to tell you it's nothing. There's lots of choice out there. We're over served by radio. That's a complaint. I've had listeners and broadcasters have put up with voice tracking one way or another for 40 years. Now we bring AI into it. And the only prerequisite is that if you're a radio station and you're going to use AI, you've got to disclose it to the audience. You got to tell them. And from what I am hearing on the radio, everybody is doing that. That's a good thing. I think whether it's sonic, AI overnights, whether it's what's going on in Woodstock, Ontario. They're disclosing it, and you're saying it's AI. It's up to the listener now to have the choice. However, the FCC, the CRTC, where's the policy on this? Also, other broadcast bodies, Canadian association of Broadcasters, there should be guidelines for this. The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, there are bodies out there that should come forward with the policies on, on disclosing to listeners that what they're listening to is AI. And whether AI means assisted intelligence or artificial intelligence, it just needs to be disclosed.

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The difficulty and struggle of building an audience takes three years to build

Matt Kundal: in August, out at the lake, sat down with somebody who works at Deloitte, and she's an analyst there. And, you know, we got to talking about stocks, namely everybodys two favorite stocks, which is course and odyssey. Later on, actually, we found those stocks, they were out in the cottage, outhouse. But I asked her, how is it that those companies who need three years to build and amass an audience, whether its for a radio station, a new show, a morning show, how are they supposed to do that when the companies themselves are asking for quarterly returns from shareholders? And her words to me, maybe they should be private companies again, weve talked about this many times before, whether its in news groups or forums or one on one or at conferences, the difficulty and struggle of building an audience that takes three years to build. When youre trying to have quarterly returns, its near impossible. What does all this mean? Ive been doing the sound off podcast now for eight years, and the show has largely been about the future. And even if were bringing on somebody who was on the air 40, 50 years ago, there are elements of that work that can be used today. And so that's why we bring that person on. So what did I do this summer? I was quite content, actually doing some summer reading, some very good books. And listen, there's a few books coming out here in time for Christmas. We're going to be talking with a few of those authors. And I love these books because it's about the things that this show's always been about and that's building audience. When was the last time we talked about the audience? I got this far into the discussion here, and we haven't really talked about the audience. We've only talked about the behavior of radio stations. We've only talked about using AI and tools we haven't talked about the audience, and it's something that we don't do enough inside broadcast and podcast businesses or whatever it is that we're doing. Radio is in such bad shape because they've ignored the audience for so, so many years. We blame the audience for going to Facebook and TikTok because it's always been about quarters, it's always been about EBITDA and the dollars that never were. The audience is where the connections are created. They're the ones that power the vehicle to your media brand. These sort of relationships and connections are the ones that pay dividends for a lifetime, not the next quarter. Right? See the disconnect? So there are some really, really smart people out there who are either in the process or have already written really, really good books. And I'll put them in the show notes of this episode, and you can go and look for them or pre order them or whatever status that you're at when you're, consuming what I'm saying right now.

The Sound off podcast is about creating a great podcast that engages people

So we'll start Tom Webster's book. Tom Webster used to work for Edison Research, and then he now works for sounds profitable, which is something that the sound off media company is a sponsor of. And the book is called the audience is listening. And it's about creating a great podcast that engages people. And it's not about the tech, but it's about how the audience is going to interact with the podcast. A ah, really, really good read. Valerie Geller is coming out with a new book. It's actually not. It's actually the third edition to beyond powerful radio, which, if you've spent any time in radio, you've likely come across this book, beyond powerful radio, an audio communicator's guide to the digital world, news, talk, information, and personality for podcasting and broadcasting. So most of Valerie's work, by the way, has been agnostic. It has not just been about broadcasting. It's about any time that you have to, engage an audience. It always goes back to Valerie's three rules, which are, tell the truth, make it matter, and never be boring. And I can't wait to talk to her again and hopefully get to do that, before her book comes out. And Steve Pratt, who, you might know, was at Pacific content, Pacific content went and got sold to Rogers and was recently resold, to lower street in the UK. He's got a new book coming out. It is called earn it, and it's all about, you know, earning the attention of your audience. That's going to be out in a few weeks time, we're going to talk to Steve right here on the podcast somewhere in, towards the end of September. And with that, hopefully I've earned some attention from you enough. So anyways, that hopefully you can subscribe to our newsletter. The newsletter is called sounding off, where I do exactly what I'm doing here, only I just write it out and you don't have to watch or listen or anything like that. The Sound off podcast is going to have more great stories from people who can help build your audience. It is the greatest thing about being in media, and that is making a relationship with your audience and establishing connections. It is wonderful. It helps your brand grow, it helps your show grow, it helps your business grow. You're going to love what's coming over the next few weeks. So hit the follow button or the subscribe button in your favorite podcast app or right here on YouTube or wherever it is. You know what else I appreciate is five star reviews. And if you know anybody who would like to be a guest or should be a guest on this show because you think it will benefit everybody, you can send me an email. It's mattoundoff.net. work.

Tara Sands: The Sound off podcast is written and hosted by Matt Kundal, produced by Evan Szerminski, edited by Taylor McLean. Social media by Aidan Glassy. Another great creation from the Sound off media company. There's always more at soundoffpodcast.com.