Date Posted:
04 | 13 | 05

The Real Competition

I spent my lunch today enjoying a phone conversation with a guy I consider to be among the nation's best up and coming air talent. He's a Hot/AC night jock. It is during these conversations I realize the basics aren't being taught any more.

Correction: The basics that are being taught (when they're taught at all) are ten to twenty years out of date. I suppose this is a truism in business in general, but I'm not writing about Detroit automakers and their decades old slump.

With the basics in mind, I asked this jock who his competition was. I wasn't being a smart-ass... He's a young jock, and I think it's important to teach whenever you get the chance. It's important to keep learning too - but that's a post for another day.

"Well, I'm up against..." [insert local chr here]

"The basics that are being taught (when they're taught at all) are ten to twenty years out of date. I suppose this is a truism in business in general, but I'm not writing about Detroit automakers and their decades old slump."

A Hot/AC night show does compete with a CHR show. Sure. But here's a list of other things his show is competing with for a 30 year old female's time:

  • The triple A station
  • The AC station
  • Sirius Satellite Radio
  • Her mp3 player
  • American Idol on FOX
  • Animal Planet on cable
  • Going to the movies
  • Yoga class
  • Shopping (till stores close around 9pm anyway)
  • Meeting an old friend for drinks
  • Screwing her boyfriend's brains out (we're all human after all. Good luck competing with THAT!)
My point, of course, is that when you're on the air, you are competing with anything and everything else listeners could be doing with their time.

A person's time is really quite a gift. Consider the many other options at their disposal, and then realize that they chose to hang out with you.

While I'm sure you know this, I suspect that a little reminder every now and then is a good idea.

...and with that - Captain Obvious... OUT!

Colophon:

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Think About It:

  • The Gamblers: Anatomy Of An Implosion, Kenny Rogers' Style:   One might think driving down the rate card while building massive debt would be the most ignorant of ignorant decisions... but Clear Channel saw the ignorant hand they'd dealt themselves and raised the entire industry a stupid.

  • Private Investment:   Terrestrial radio is only special so long as the content on terrestrial radio is special. Once it isn't... it isn't. And that's it.

  • Portable People Meter Teasers:   If you're on a date with a woman and you realize she's nothing but a tease, are you going to bother seeing her again? Why would we want our radio stations to become the embodiment of a bad date?

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