Radio Industry Hits Shuffle
By Randy Dotinga
02:00 AM Jun. 06, 2005 PT
In the tradition-strangled world of commercial radio, all eyes are on that rarest of breeds: a bold new idea.
From Seattle and San Diego to Baltimore and Buffalo, more than a dozen big-city radio stations have converted to a format known as Jack-FM over the past two months. On Friday, even legendary New York City oldies station WCBS-FM dumped '60s rock and joined the 'Jack' parade.
Boasting they're "like an iPod on shuffle," the new stations typically dump their disc jockeys in favor of huge song playlists that mimic a well-stocked portable music player.
The Jack format, which is already spawning imitators, could be a key to FM's survival as an alternative to satellite radio, internet radio and MP3 players.
"There's an understanding (in radio) that you have some new competitors and you need to be more creative," said radio consultant Dave Van Dyke, former general manager of L.A.'s KCBS-FM, which just flipped to the Jack format.
At stake is the future of an industry that, while far from being on the ropes, is definitely a little punch drunk. Negative media coverage has turned DJ-firing radio monolith Clear Channel into a top corporate villain, while satellite radio has snapped up 5.5 million subscribers, with more expected to follow Howard Stern to the Sirius network next year. Talk radio sputtered after the election and industry stock prices are limping along.
Then again, "while radio is seeing some decline in audience, nearly all of us listen to it," said Nashville radio consultant Robert Unmacht. A January 2005 survey found that people who listen to MP3 players, internet radio or satellite radio still tune to terrestrial radio two hours and 33 minutes a day, compared to an average of two hours and 48 minutes among all listeners age 12 and up. That decline is not exactly a sign of robust health in an industry used to whopping profit margins of up to 50 percent.
Enter the clones. Inspired by Canadian stations who developed the format several years ago, the Jack operations boast unusually large, iPod-style playlists of as many as 1,000 songs. Commercial radio has traditionally relied upon predictability -- you'll hear that new Britney Spears song 15 times a day, and you'll like it! -- and some stations rotate as few as 200 songs.
At San Diego's Jack station, for example, a recent morning's playlist featured songs from a 35-year span, from 1969's "Gimme Shelter" and 1982's "It's Raining Men" to Madonna's "Vogue" and a recent tune by Nickelback. This is an unusual level of variety in radio: music stations almost always stick to a narrowly defined niche like classic rock, oldies, R&B or alternative rock. The (adult album alternative), known as the triple-A format, typically blends old and new rock, but pop artists like Madonna, let alone disco standards, aren't part of its equation.
"The appeal is that it reminds you of music you might have forgotten existed," said Scott McKenzie, editor in chief of Billboard Radio Monitor. "We all have our libraries of music sitting in our iPods. You recognize a song and say, 'I love that.'"
Some observers are skeptical of the mix-and-match approach. "It assumes that someone will set their dial to one radio station, leave it there all day and be thrilled with the randomness," said Darrel Goodin, general manager of several Jefferson-Pilot stations in San Diego. "It runs extremely counter to the way the radio has been successful over the years. Maybe someone has found a way to defy gravity, but the odds are against it."
There's another Jack quirk: Many of the stations have dumped their DJs. The lack of on-air talent could be temporary, a way to spotlight the new blend of music. Or the DJs might be gone forever from the stations, a truly radical -- and counterintuitive -- concept in radio.
But if your car stereo sounds like your iPod, just with a bunch of commercials and snotty promos, why would you listen? Indeed, some critics say radio won't survive unless it remembers that its only unique selling point is its ability to provide companionship.
"Why does the evening news spend so much time telling you that your friends are on Channel 5?" asked Unmacht. Because, he said, the human connection is important.
It will be several months before the verdict's in on the viability of the Jack stations and a country-music imitator, known as Hank. The formats could just be the latest radio fad, destined for the dustbin along with AM stereo, the all-'80s format and easy listening.
But Billboard Radio Monitor's McKenzie expects the radio industry to continue stepping up its battle for survival against its new rivals. Just this year, large radio companies like Clear Channel and CBS/Infinity retooled their websites and jumped into podcasting, he said. High-definition radio, meanwhile, is right on the horizon.
"They're looking into a bunch of digital solutions that they haven't dealt with until recently," McKenzie said. "They definitely have a fight on their hands, no question."
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