1 of 1- Holliday
- Member
Offline 
The “Howard Stern Question” Works For Almost Any Station
Been saying this for years. Research bearing it out.
“Music has become commoditized and ubiquitous, available on umpteen streaming services, as well as on satellite radio, your cable or dish system, and your Bluetooth speaker system. It seems like in recent years, seemingly everyone has become a music radio programmer.
But it's personalities that have become highly proprietary. They are the difference-makers for so many radio stations. And they're the reason why more and more companies seek strong, habit-forming personalities, shows, and hosts in dayparts outside of morning drive. It's also why syndicated talent has become so important in recent years. Anybody can duplicate your music, but its the people behind the mic that are your “secret sauce.”
Last edited by Holliday (April 13, 2021 1:08 pm)
- RadioActive
- Moderator
Offline
Re: The “Howard Stern Question” Works For Almost Any Station
Wow, I've been saying this for years. Anyone can play the music. It's what's in between the songs that differentiates your station from all the others. Sad that so many in radio looking to pay peanuts seem to have forgotten that lesson.
I mentioned in a recent thread a friend who worked for WGAR-AM in Cleveland during its market dominating Top 40 heyday in the 70s. He told me the program director at the time gave them one rule: he wanted every single on-air personality, regardless of time slot, to try to be like a morning man - that same energy, importance and sense of humour. Didn't matter if you were on at 3 AM. He was looking for that sound and talent.
That's one of the many reasons it was #1 for so long. I wish more stations subscribed to that theory. This guy I know was one of my all-time favourites. I'd listen to him if he was doing Latvian country & western, just to hear him.
Sadly, he's long since retired, but he's as funny as ever. And besides, there are no Latvian C&W tunes coming out anymore...
- Holliday
- Member
Offline
Re: The “Howard Stern Question” Works For Almost Any Station
grilled.cheese wrote:
The only musical host I enjoyed listening to was Kim Mitchell.
“I am a Wild Party”
- Kim Mitchell
- •
Thread Starter- Dial Twister
- Member
Offline
Re: The “Howard Stern Question” Works For Almost Any Station
Dating myself here...
Personalities, ah personalities. Back in the day, that's what kept listeners glued to a specific position on the dial - personalities. All those great hits from the late 60s were made so much better by the excitement and energy provided by a Top 30 / 40 DJ. Man, the rush when your favourite tune came on.
Simply cruising through the local A&W told the story. Dozens of parked cars waiting on their food-delivered-to-the-car-on-a-tray orders, while others cruised in and out of the lot yelling at friends. All windows down (who had A/C then?), people wandering from car to car, and 1050CHUM blasting on everyone's AM radio. We knew every DJ, like a friend. And, it's hard to ignore this week's ChumDinger when every parked car, and every car cruising through the A&W, were all blasting the same radio station. Welcome to North Oshawa in the late-60s/early-70s. It's sure a different world now. Everyone's isolated in their airconditioned, self-driving, mind-numbingly personal fifedom (aka SUV or crossover), and cares not what those around are doing or listening to.
Today, the music-verse is so fragmented (live radio, podcasts, sat radio, Youtube, phones, etc.) that we're all in our separate encampments knowing little of what's happening in the next car.
- paterson1
- Member
Offline
Re: The “Howard Stern Question” Works For Almost Any Station
It really is the whole package. An on air personality can make a big difference to any station. And we have seen that audiences will follow certain personalities- Don Daynard when he moved from CKFM to CHFI, Erin Davies getting canned at CHFI and taking her audience with her to EZ Rock, only to return eventually to CHFI and again her listeners followed. Of course Roger, Rick and Marylin had it nailed for years. Perfect mix of personalities, information for the listener, humour, music, basically a show that was very easy to listen to and always entertaining.
Dial Twister is right, it was interesting growing up when you would hear the car next to you listening to the same station when at the stop light. Where I lived that would be CHUM, CKOC, CFTR, CHAM, CJOY or CHYM in Kitchener. Sadly, sort of forgot about CKFH. Didn't have FM in the car back then!