Radio & Records’ closing yesterday was a sad day for its staffers and the industry overall. And it was a poignant day for Edison Research’s Sean Ross whose industry career began at R&R more than 25 years ago. In this week’s Ross On Radio muses on what R&R meant to the industry and offers “Some Personal Thoughts.”
Perspectives, News & Opinions From The Researchers At Edison
The End Of R&R: Some Personal Thoughts
Handicapping The Summer Song Of 2009
This could have been the summer that tough times were reflected on Top 40 radio. Instead, we have our best crop of uptempo summer music in several years. Join Edison’s Sean Ross in “Handicapping the Summer Hit of 2009.”
Bob- & Jack-FM: After The Goldrush
Okay, it’s been a few years since you’ve read a lot about Bob- and Jack-FM in the trade press. But there are still stations doing the format very successfully in 2009. On the seventh anniversary of the format, Edison Research VP Sean Ross takes a clear-eyed look at the new issues that have emerged in “Bob- and Jack: After the Goldrush.”
Reclaiming Teens? A Second CHR Is (Only) A Start
In the first-ever “Instant Request” edition of Ross On Radio, we take up a reader’s question about why broadcasters are launching so many CHRs if teens don’t like radio. For the first time in a decade, new Top 40 stations have the potential to expand the format’s audience, not just cannibalize it. But bringing the teens back is going to take more than two Top 40s in a market.
Determining A Song’s Real Radio Age
There’s been a lot written lately about the Website that suggests your “real age” based on your overall health and lifestyle. But that concept applies for songs, too. “I Will Survive” has a lot of currency for a 30 year old record. “Brown Eyed Girl” doesn’t sound 42. In this week’s Ross On Radio, Edison Research’s Sean Ross looks at why and how records endure. See his quiz for “Determining A Song’s Real Radio Age.”
Ten Great Radio Battles Of The ’80s and Early ’90s
Whatever CBS Radio’s new CHRs may do in the L.A. and New York ratings, they’ve reignited the industry’s interest in the radio format battle — a relatively lost-art in post consolidated times. In this week’s Ross On Radio, Edison Research VP Sean Ross thinks about his most influential radio wars in “Ten Great Radio Battles of the ’80s and Early ’90s.”
We Will, We Will Mock You or Songs That You Hope A Rival Plays
When WXRK (Now 92.3) New York launched its Top 40 attack on heritage rival WHTZ (Z100), one of the first things it did was try to reimage Z100 as old and cheesy by running promos with “Mickey” by Toni Basil – a song that Z100 never played as a current. In fact, it’s usually easier to attack a station with a song that nobody plays (“You Light Up My Life”) than with something that’s actually on the air. In this week’s Ross On Radio, Edison Research’s Sean Ross talks about musical attack promos in “We Will, We Will Mock You or Songs You Hope Your Rival Plays.”
Even For Touring Artists, Radio Support Matters
As the performance royalty debate rages, much attention has gone to the plight of the touring artist. Radio can’t possibly expect to get credit for helping the careers of those acts who no longer have music on the radio, right? And yet, a recent look at Pollstar’s top 25 touring acts shows that most of them are still represented on the radio.
Keeping Your Station Moving
Program directors have radically overhauled their stations to be “PPM compliant. The jocks are talking less. The stagers are shorter. The cold segues are there. So why don’t today’s stations move better? In this week’s Ross On Radio, Edison Research’s Sean Ross talks about some basics of station pacing and “Keeping A Station Moving.”
First Listen: The CHR Battle For L.A.
When CBS Radio’s KLSX Los Angeles debuted as Amp Radio on Feb. 20, it took direct aim at KIIS, with an elbow extended toward Hip-Hop KPWR (Power 106) and a very different looking Website. In this week’s Ross On Radio, we take a First Listen to The CHR Battle for L.A.