Radio
Page: 13
As Asian pop acts have established a greatly increased presence in U.S. popular music over the past five years, one sector of the industry has long proven the most difficult to impact on a consistent level: pop radio.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
While BTS smashes like “Dynamite” and “Butter” stand as exceptions, top 40 stations have generally shied away from the latest offerings from Asian pop collectives, even as those groups rack up seven-figure streaming numbers and headline arenas in the States. BLACKPINK, for instance, has only notched one non-collaborative single on Billboard‘s Pop Airplay chart to date (“Pink Venom,” which peaked at No. 32 last year), while groups like TWICE, Loona and (G)I-dle have only been able to achieve fleeting appearances on the tally.
Yet a pair of English-language singles from the relatively new collectives FIFTY FIFTY and XG are not only turning into profile-boosting breakthroughs for each – they’re receiving real, growing radio play as well.
The K-pop quartet FIFTY FIFTY has seen its dreamy bubblegum track “Cupid” and its accompanying English-language version “Cupid – Twin Version” explode over the course of the spring. As “Cupid” rises two spots on this week’s Billboard Hot 100 chart to No. 17, the single also debuts at No. 36 on the latest Pop Airplay chart.
“Cupid” is gaining serious steam at radio, with the girl group’s track registering 1,700 total plays across U.S. terrestrial and satellite radio in the week ending May 11, according to Luminate. That number represents a 228% jump from the prior week, and “Cupid” has now earned 2,400 total plays.
Meanwhile, XG, the seven-member Japanese girl group that debuted under the XGALX label last January, has yet to hit the Hot 100 with its slinky, rhythmic electro-pop track “Left Right” — but as of now, the song is an even bigger radio hit than “Cupid” in the U.S. In its tenth week on the Pop Airplay chart, “Left Right” reaches a new peak, climbing two spots to No. 27.
The single – which XG’s Jurin told Billboard in January is “about our commitment to move forward, the only direction we know” – earned 3,000 radio plays in the week ending May 11, a 7% increase from the previous week. To date, “Left Right” has scored 20,000 total radio plays.
Both groups are capitalizing on the radio exposure: XG released a “Left Right” remix featuring Jackson Wang and Ciara earlier this month, and are slated to perform at the Head in the Clouds festival in New York this weekend. And FIFTY FIFTY announced a partnership with Warner Records last month — suggesting that, even as “Cupid” pushes up to No. 3 on the Global 200 chart, the four-piece will have an expanded focus in the United States in the coming months.
Back in 2021, a major label kicked off a radio promotion campaign for a song from an arena-selling act. One of the label’s early moves was to earmark payments to an independent radio promoter tied to a pair of stations in the Northeast, as documented in an invoice reviewed by Billboard. During the chart week before the date of the invoice, the radio-tracking service Mediabase recorded no plays of the single in question on WXRV (Boston) and WNCS (Montpelier, Vermont). The following week — the invoice, which allocated $750 to the first station and $500 to the second, was dated to that Monday — spins increased markedly, rising by at least 15 on both.
This invoice is one of 14 obtained by Billboard from three different executives — one from a major label, one at an independent label and one who works in radio promotion — all of whom requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about radio promotion activities. (To preserve that anonymity, Billboard agreed not to identify the acts on these invoices.) These documents from 2021 and 2022 are detailed, containing the artist name, the single name, the radio station and the “rate” for each.
The invoices show how payments — which range from several hundred dollars to $1,500 — move from labels to one independent promoter, Jeff Deane, who runs the company Jeff Deane and Associates, apparently resulting in spins at specific stations. Analyzing Mediabase data shows that in the week those payments are invoiced, plays for the songs in question increased at the stations specified in 28 out of 30 cases. Deane’s practices have concerned some in the music industry, who appealed for government intervention last year, according to two sources.
All the invoices made out to Deane that were obtained by Billboard include the inscription, “Nothing of value was or will be given to a radio station or radio station employee in exchange for airplay.” Deane and one of his employees did not respond to multiple requests for comment — by email, phone, and two letters in the mail — about how his business works. Representatives for the three major label groups declined to comment.
The Federal Communications Commission allows paying for airplay as long as those payments are “disclose[d]… at the time material is aired and identify who is paying for it.” It’s unclear if any disclosures were made in the 30 cases documented on the invoices. In a statement to Billboard, Ed Flanagan, general manager of WNCS, said that “when WNCS or WXRV broadcasts programming that is sponsored by a third party, it is the practice of the station to ensure that such sponsored programming is broadcast in compliance with the FCC’s rules on sponsorship identification.”
In addition, following a mid-2000s investigation into radio promotion by the New York Attorney General’s office, then overseen by Eliot Spitzer, all the major labels agreed to certain business reforms. Key among them was not to use “commercial transactions,” “advertising,” or “nominal consideration,” among other things, “in an explicit or implicit exchange, agreement, or understanding to obtain airplay or increase airplay.”
Gabriel Rossman, a professor of sociology at UCLA and the author of Climbing the Charts: What Radio Airplay Tells Us About the Diffusion of Innovation, agreed to review redacted versions of the invoices and accompanying Mediabase reports for Billboard. “We see this pattern between the invoices and the Mediabase reports that JDA gets paid to promote a particular song on a particular station, and then in the week that follows the spins go up,” he says.
Rossman says that Deane’s activities could be aboveboard. “Is there a way to do that legally?” he asks. “In theory, you could do that by making a really good press kit or a really good PowerPoint [about how great the song on the invoice is]. If you had to bet, that’s probably not what happened. But in theory, that’s what the job of an independent promoter is: to give a very compelling endorsement. The evidence I saw doesn’t yet exclude the possibility that the promotional efforts they’re doing are legal.”
Independent Promotion
Independent promoters are a longstanding feature of the music industry. At any given time, label promotion departments are working multiple singles across a variety of radio formats — pop, alternative, or adult contemporary, for example — with the goal of pushing those songs up each format’s chart so that more listeners hear them. There are hundreds of stations that need to be called and persuaded to play a track. But there is only so much time in the day, so labels hire middlemen who typically have experience with and relationships in individual local markets to augment their own efforts. These are known as independent promoters.
“Some independent promoters enjoy exclusive arrangements with particular radio stations and are guaranteed regular, direct access to the programmers responsible for the all-important playlists,” the New York Attorney General’s office explained in documents from 2005 related to its radio promotion investigation. “… Other independent promoters, referred to as ‘retainer indies,’ are hired to promote a particular song and are paid a flat fee for the life of the project.”
Deane is one of several current indie promoters who works by establishing these “exclusive agreements” with stations, radio veterans say. In a 2013 lawsuit Deane filed against a radio company, Apex Broadcasting, the promoter’s attorney described the way he relies on “longstanding radio relationships to help artists receive meaningful radio airplay.” The mechanism that allows Deane to deliver that airplay for clients is partially outlined in the lawsuit: He “enters into exclusive agreements — having mostly one-year, but occasionally two-year, terms — with radio stations or entities that own and operate radio stations.” (Deane’s suit alleged that Apex breached its exclusive agreement with him; the dispute was later settled and the case dismissed with prejudice.)
“Deane secures promotional support for the radio stations he represents” in exclusive deals, “helping those stations garner listener loyalty, higher ratings, and increased advertising revenue,” according to documents the promoter’s attorney filed in the Apex Broadcasting suit.
This support is increasingly valuable to stations, especially in small markets, radio sources say, because they have lost a lot of the advertising dollars that traditionally kept them afloat. Over-the-air ad revenue fell by more than 40% between 2005 and 2020, according to a 2021 FCC filing from the National Association of Broadcasters.
In court filings from 2021, another independent promoter allegedly acknowledged that he had been paying “a budget set at $200,000” annually for three radio stations in California and Las Vegas. (That promoter said he “has not, did not, and never will participate in payola, and maintains full compliance with the FCC and regulations of the record industry.”) One radio executive who worked at a station in a deal with Deane said those exclusive agreements land the station “six figures a year.”
Promoters also stand to benefit financially from setting up these exclusive relationships. In the Apex Broadcasting suit, Deane’s attorney said that stations in contract with him turn over “first access to their playlist data, which Deane then analyzes for, and discusses with the record labels, who retain Deane to promote their artists’ music.” In a 2013 email that was part of the Apex suit, he said he worked with 50 stations in this fashion.
Overnight Spins
In some cases documented on the invoices, the label payments occur at the start of a radio campaign. Last year, for example, an invoice indicates that a label made payments to Deane tied to multiple stations, including WRTT (Huntsville, Ala.), KAZR (Des Moines, Iowa) and WFXH (Savannah, Ga.), for a platinum-selling rock band. In the 48 hours following the date on the label’s invoice, each of those stations started to play the band’s single, according to Mediabase data. Another band sent Deane a similar invoice in 2021 for the station KYMK (Lafayette, La.); Mediabase data show that the group earned its first spin on that station two days after the date of the invoice. (Employees of these four stations did not respond to email requests for comment.)
The timing of the plays is notable. The majority of them occurred overnight between midnight and 6 a.m., when few listeners are tuning in, according to information from Mediabase.
This is not a new phenomenon: The New York Attorney General’s office noted in 2005 that the major label groups aim “to generate additional spins detections by the airplay monitoring companies, even if the spins occur in the dead of night when relatively few people are listening to radio. Nighttime spins may still prove effective as a means to improve chart positions” — especially on charts that only rank songs by spins, rather than by audience impressions.
In a 2014 lawsuit Deane filed against another radio company, Advanced Media Partners, that also alleged breach of contract, his attorneys wrote that part of their agreement involved “provid[ing] designated overnight programming hours to JDA, which would then enable JDA to fund the promotional budget Defendants demanded, and realize substantial revenue from its record label clients.” Deane was allotted “the overnight hours of 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. on Saturday (Friday night) and Sunday (Saturday night) and from 12:00 a.m. (midnight) to 5:00 a.m. on Monday through Friday (Sunday – Thursday nights) to facilitate… interaction with record labels,” according to the lawsuit.
Deane’s interest in the overnight hours is well known enough in radio circles that it was the butt of a joke in the trade publication Hits Daily Double. “I just offered a roll of toilet paper to a PD [program director] for an add,” Hits wrote during the early days of the pandemic. “On Amazon, most paper products, if you can find them, are going for more than a Jeff Deane overnight five-spin special.”
Rossman, the UCLA professor, says that “if you’re trying to get something to rise in the charts, that’s exactly what you would do: Do whatever you could to get a song played in small markets overnight, because that’s the part [of the day] that people care the least about [what’s playing], and so [it] should be the easiest to influence.”
The New York Attorney General
Independent radio promotion has periodically come under scrutiny for its ties to payola, which was regulated by Congress in 1960.
Apex alluded to payola in its 2013 response to Deane’s lawsuit: “In the course of communicating with Deane and the record labels for promotion, Apex Broadcasting also learned that Deane’s practices violated industry standards, and Apex Broadcasting’s instructions, concerning radio promotion.” In emails that were part of the lawsuit, Deane’s attorney hit back, criticizing the company for “coyly suggesting my client engaged in payola — both in the Apex relationship and at some unspecified time in the past” but “refusing to provide any alleged facts.”
While Deane was not mentioned in the 2005 documents summarizing the Attorney General’s investigation, Spitzer’s office zeroed in on the activities of some independent promoters: “In an effort to dodge the payola laws, record labels and radio stations have also enlisted the services of so-called independent promoters… who act as conduits for delivery of the labels’ ‘promotional support’ to the stations and help perpetuate the fiction that this support is not actually being delivered by the labels in exchange for airplay and therefore does not violate the payola statutes.”
Spitzer subsequently imposed strict conditions on independent promoters’ activities when they worked with major labels: Record companies “shall not provide any item of value to an independent radio promoter to be distributed to Radio.” (Again, this language is echoed on Deane’s invoices: “Nothing of value was or will be given to a radio station or radio station employee in exchange for airplay.”)
On top of that, any indie promoters working with the majors are required to regularly certify in writing that they are complying with the rules laid out by Spitzer’s office. When Spitzer announced the implementation of these business reforms, he called them “a model for breaking the pervasive influence of bribes in the industry.”
But there is some disagreement about their ongoing effectiveness. Last year, frustrated music executives secured another meeting with the New York Attorney General’s office, now led by Letitia James, to complain about the practices of some independent promoters, according to two sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
During a meeting that included Elinor Hoffman, chief of the New York Attorney General’s antitrust bureau, and Jane Azia, chief of the New York Attorney General’s bureau of consumer frauds and protection, music executives mentioned Deane and others by name, according to sources present, alleging that their activities violated the terms of the settlement agreements. (James herself was not in the meeting.) And they asked the New York attorney general to investigate independent promotion’s links to payola, as Spitzer did nearly two decades ago.
The New York Attorney General’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has notified radio and podcast giant Audacy of its plan to delist the company’s Class A common stock from the exchange over its consistently low share price, Audacy announced Tuesday (May 16).
According to a press release, “the NYSE will consider commencing delisting procedures when a company’s listed securities experience an abnormally low selling price.” The NYSE abruptly halted trading of Audacy’s stock at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, when shares were trading for $.094 — down slightly from $.10 at the start of the day. The company’s share price is down nearly 63% since the beginning of the year.
NYSE rules require a minimum average closing price of $1 per share over 30 consecutive trading days, but Audacy’s share price hasn’t traded above that threshold since July 5, 2022.
The NYSE has applied to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to delist Audacy’s stock. While that process plays out, trading in the company’s common stock on the exchange will be suspended, though it can still be traded over the counter.
Audacy signaled its intent to appeal the delisting by filing a written request, which it is required to do within 10 days of receiving the delisting notice. If that appeal is successful, the stock may resume trading on the NYSE.
In a statement, Audacy president/CEO David J. Field said that while the company is “disappointed” in the NYSE’s decision, he is “hopeful” that Audacy stock will start trading on the exchange again later this year “as we execute our action plans which include a reverse stock split to satisfy NYSE rules, the continued execution of our liability management plans and working with our financial advisors to refinance our debt.”
Field also stated that the company is confident it “will benefit from a general market recovery and will be able to capitalize on our investments in strategic transformation that position Audacy well for the future.”
Radio companies have been slammed by an advertising slowdown since the second half of 2022, and Audacy has been particularly hard-hit. In its first-quarter earnings released Wednesday (May 10), the company’s net revenue of $259.6 million was down 5.7% year-over-year, while cash operating expenses were up 3%. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was $3.5 million, compared to $26 million in the first quarter of 2022.
On a May 10 earnings call, Audacy CFO Richard Schmaeling noted that the company’s network advertising revenue fell 6% year-over-year due to inflation and rising interest rates (though its podcast advertising revenue was up 14%). He warned that advertising demand has “further softened” since the start of 2023 and added that “it could get worse before it gets better,” noting that the company “is continuing to work to accelerate revenue growth, develop and execute added cost reduction actions and to sell other noncore assets.”
“However,” Schmaeling continued, “these actions may not be sufficient to fully mitigate the impact of potential further advertising weakness.”
Several months after shutting down his SiriusXM station, Garth Brooks has found a new radio home.
Starting this summer, Brooks will launch SEVENS Radio Network through TuneIn, the free livestreaming audio platform with more than 75 million monthly active users and distribution across 200 platforms and connected devices.
SEVENS Radio will include multiple stations dedicated to country music and more, all curated and conceived by Brooks. “I’m excited about the future of TuneIn and feel lucky to announce a partnership with them,” said Brooks in a statement. “The thought of a global network of stations uniting all music fans is something I want to be a part of. The possibilities are bigger than I can dream.”
TuneIn already boasts more than 100,000 stations, accessible by downloading the TuneIn app for Android or iOS, via tunein.com or through smart speakers. Ad-supported content is available for free; listeners can also choose a commercial-free premium service.
“Garth Brooks is a tireless entrepreneur and one of the most recognizable stars in the world. When he shared his vision for SEVENS Radio, we knew TuneIn should be his home,” said TuneIn CEO Rich Stern. “At TuneIn, we believe in the power of radio and those artists who are passionate about it. Garth and the entire SEVENS team are creating something we believe fans will love and we’re so proud to have them on TuneIn.”
Brooks, the top-selling solo artist in the United States with more than 156 million domestic albums sold, according to the RIAA, comes to TuneIn after six years spent helming the 24/7 Garth Channel on SiriusXM, which ceased airing on September 30.
SEVENS will fill and expand the void left by the end of the Garth Channel, which had served as a community hub for Brooks and his fans since its launch in 2016. The singer frequently appeared on the channel, sharing his experiences with the artists the outlet played, while the station offered fun bits of Brooks trivia. The Garth Channel featured Brooks’ music roughly 25% of the time, with the rest of the airplay dedicated to artists he liked, including acts he grew up on, his contemporaries and newer performers.
With studios in New York, Los Angeles, Nashville and Washington D.C., SiriusXM can now also call Miami “home.” The audio entertainment company has officially opened their “state-of-the-art” broadcast complex that will operate in South Beach. SiriusXM is also set to launch a new Latin pop channel, Hits Uno, on Friday (May 5) which will become the station’s 17th Spanish-language channel.
“I’ve been with the company 15 years and when they told me that we were opening a state-of-the-art in Miami, in the hub of Latin music, I got so excited,” says Bryant Pino, director of Latin music programming at SiriusXM, who hosted artists such as CNCO and Zion & Lennox during a soft launch of the studios in March. “As a company, we’re doing things that really matter and are important, especially with what’s going on with Latin music right now.”
Latin music revenues in the United States hit an all-time high in 2022, exceeding the $1 billion mark on the wings of 24% growth that outpaced the overall market. According to the RIAA’s year-end Latin music report for 2022, total revenue jumped from $881 million in 2021 to $1.1 billion, with Latin music’s overall share of the total music market lifting from 5.9% in 2021 to 6.9%.
Opening studios in Miami and launching a new Latin channel is an acknowledgment of the culture’s growth, says Azu Olvera, SiriusXM’s senior director of Latin talent and industry relations.
“We’re not thinking of Latin as a backseat but as a driver of success and engagement. And when were coming up with the concept for the new channel, we wanted put together all these hits in one single channel that reflects the genre’s diversity.”
During the days leading up to Hits Uno, SiriusXM will host special live shows, including an intimate performance by Carlos Vives, an interview with Pitbull and a Becky G town hall-style conversation.
“With Hits Uno, we’ll be able to represent today’s Latin music fan,” adds Pino. “Back in the day you were a rockera, or reggaetonero but not both. Now, it’s cool to be eclectic, to listen to everything. We’re not a local radio station, this is not a Miami station but rather a nationwide platform so we’re going to be exposing people to global hits across all genres.”
The Howard Stern Show is airing live from the new Miami studios on Monday, May 1 through Wednesday, May 3. Stern, who has been working from home in recent years, will be joined live in the studio by special music and celebrity guests.
“Miami is an incredibly rich center for music and entertainment,” Scott Greenstein, SiriusXM’s resident and chief content officer, said in a statement. “SiriusXM Miami will capture the city’s unique culture and character and bring it to audiences across North America. We’re thrilled to have Howard kick things off in the biggest way with three exceptional days of shows, followed by a star-studded lineup of programming that showcases the broad array of content we offer, including the diverse and vibrant music emanating from the Latinx community.”
The All Access Audio Summit 2023 began Wednesday, April 26, and ran through Friday, April 28. Bringing together leaders in radio, podcasting, production and more, the virtual convention sparked conversation aimed at optimizing the impact of audio in multiple commercial forms.
Here’s a rundown of highlights from the gathering’s third day, when panels were introduced by YEA Networks’ syndicated host Tino Cochino, who aptly summarized the event as “a whole lot of learning, and catching vibes.”
‘We’re for the Masses’
All Access president and publisher Joel Denver opened the day with a conversation with Dave Milner, Cumulus Media president of operations.
“There’s no silver bullet” to successful radio, Milner mused. “It comes down to great local content, and making sure that content is available in multiple platforms. We have to be available any which way people listen to audio. If you put out good content, they will find it and consume it.
“Individuals are spending more time with audio – the pandemic stretched that,” Milner said. “Whether podcast, streaming or broadcast, people want audio.”
Milner also discussed one of the summit’s recurring topics: artificial intelligence. “There’s going to be a place for it,” he said. “It provides opportunities, from writing copy to traffic reports … weather reports … promotions. I have a hard time thinking it will replace any prime-time, personality-based radio.”
Milner cited a recent episode of SiriusXM’s Friday Night Freak-Out With Drew Carey that surreptitiously used AI. “I violated a rule from Radio 101,” Carey subsequently confessed, adding, “The reason treasured radio stations still make money is because people like the personality of the DJs.”
“You can’t replace that human touch, that soul, that connection with the audience,” Milner said.
Milner additionally touched upon another of the summit’s most prominent angles: finding and nurturing future talent. “The biggest thing we can control is how we mentor,” he said. “We’ve had a couple models where we’ve been able to take the third, fourth, fifth people on a morning show and given them an opportunity to have a more singular voice,” as hosts of their own shifts in different dayparts. “It’s helped them grow, and helped the station cross-pollinate and create a more contiguous audience across the station.”
As for fostering hits, “Radio is not the new music discovery place it used to be,” noted Denver, as streaming services have sliced into that share. “They can go deeper than we do,” Milner conceded of DSPs. “We’re more of a mainstream box store – we’re for the masses. It’s harder for us to take chances on a music level. We’ve got to deliver for all people. But on a day-to-day basis, we have the ability to out-local them all day long. Personalities live in communities – that is something the DSPs will never be able to do in an effective way. They’re trying … they know that’s our advantage.”
Atlanta ‘Radio United’
“You have to be in the daily conversation with your audience,” said Jimmy Steal, vp of branding and content for Hubbard Broadcasting’s WMTX and WSHE Chicago, in the day’s second session.
The discussion led to a rare, but rewarding, occurrence in radio: competing stations working together for a common cause, specifically one spearheaded by panelist Terri Avery, director of branding and programming for Cox Media Group’s WALR Atlanta. In late 2022, Avery helmed Black Radio United for the Vote, encouraging listeners to vote in the then-pending run-off election between U.S. Senator Raphael Wornock (the eventual winner) and challenger Herschel Walker. The initiative – among 11 Atlanta area radio stations – helped prospective voters check their voting status, be informed about requirements for in-person voting, get acquainted with a sample ballot and more.
That Avery could create harmony among so many stations in the same market prompted the session’s panel to agree that she herself “should run for Congress.”
Trolling the Trolls
An All Access Audio Summit panel about social media, led by moderator Lori Lewis, president of marketing firm Lori Lewis Media, had fun taking on trolls.
“They’re just looking for attention,” said Jamien “Melz on the Mic” Green, brand manager and afternoon host at Townsquare Media’s KISX Tyler, Texas. “They’re looking to feel something.” His playful strategy: “I’m gonna give you a rise back!”
His favorite online agitators? Those who take the time to craft an intricate post explaining … that they don’t care about your show. “You’ve helped my algorithm with your comment,” he noted.
Ultimately, he believes in the benefits of social media for radio. “You can lure in one listener at a time,” he said. “It’s free promo.”
Podcasting & Talk Radio (& Cheez-Its)
All Access vp of news, talk, sports and podcasting Perry Michael Simon chatted with Steven Goldstein, CEO of Amplifi Media. “We’re at a third of Americans listening to podcasts weekly – just under 90 million people,” Goldstein said. “I think that’s a giant success.”
Meanwhile, Todd Hollst, evening host on Cox Media Group’s talk station WHIO Dayton, Ohio, feels that the format doesn’t always need to be political-leaning. “There’s nonsense, serious moments … it’s not real-life, but it has that feel,” he said of his show, recapping a passion project of his combining fun and localism, and one not likely to stir a deep divide among listeners, depending on their stance on snacks: as Cheez-Its originated in Dayton in 1921, Hollst started a petition to build a statue in their honor. (No wonder he refers to himself as a wisecracker.)
VO & AI
Kelly “K3” Doherty, president and founder of Imaging House, posed one of the All Access Audio Summit’s most pointed questions, to voice-over and production specialists: Would you take a job recording AI, knowing it could ultimately result in a loss of further work?
“That’s a tough question,” pondered Scott Chambers, president of Scott Chambers VO. “Maybe, if my attorneys looked over the contract really well and I got residuals. The contract would have to be really good and lucrative.”
“I would probably prefer not to,” answered Donovan Corneetz, president of DonCo Productions. “I would not want to contribute to a tool to put me out of work. It wouldn’t serve the industry as a whole very well.”
Said Yinka Ladeinde, president of Yinka’s Voice, “I would like to say I would never do it. I would probably hold out until absolutely necessary.”
Doherty expressed caution that any recorded words could be stitched together to create audio considered offensive, or even incriminating, echoing the need for an airtight contract. Still, she noted that AI would be helpful when realizing a mistake had been made and the voice-over talent wasn’t subsequently available, or when copy is revised. “There are positives and negatives,” she said.
The panel also mused about its side of the business overall, and how sometimes factors are out of a talent’s control, regardless of how well a job is performed. Corneetz recalled once losing out on a gig because, he was later told about a client, “you sound just like her ex-husband … whom she hates.”
‘Our Superpower Is Human Connection’
In the summit’s final session, participants looked to the future of audio, and radio specifically, with another focus on AI.
Thea Mitchem, executive vp of programming for iHeartMedia, stressed the need not to dismiss AI, remembering that, around Y2K, certain executives for whom she then worked didn’t seem concerned enough about the rise of digital audio; even at the time, she thought that they should’ve been. “Technology has always moved things,” she said. “I think all industries have to embrace technology.” Still, she said about radio, repeating a common theme over the convention’s three days, “I think our superpower is human connection. There’s a trust level there.”
Said Kurt Johnson, Townsquare Media senior vp of content, “The concern with AI is no one knows where it’s going, and it’s going really fast. Copyright is a big issue. Like everyone else, were learning very quicky. We’re very big at generating local content. AI could contribute to that, but our people are what make our content.”
Added Keith Hastings, brand content director of Hubbard Broadcasting’s WDRV Chicago, of AI, “With rights come responsibilities. With opportunities comes responsibility. We have to study it and be careful with it.”
Agreed Jeff Sottolano, Audacy executive vp of programming, “All of us have a responsibility to experiment with it. I think there’s a lot of upside. Ask ChatGPT to write a 30-second script and I think you’ll be impressed – it might get you 80% of the way there.”
Johnson summed up his optimism about radio going forward (pointing out that the company’s name reflects how air talents in every market “are the town square”). “What radio provides hasn’t changed,” he said. “When you combine multi-platform – digital, radio, live events – you’re going to find people of all age groups. We have powerful tools to do it – that’s the exciting thing.”
SiriusXM CEO Jennifer Witz‘s predictions last year that the first two quarters of 2023 would be “softer” proved right, as the audio entertainment company reported that revenues and subscribers edged lower in Q1.
SiriusXM reported revenues of $2.14 billion for the quarter ending March 31, marking a 2% drop, as revenue from subscribers and advertisers both fell between 1% and 2% compared with a year ago.
Still, those modest moves downward were better than the company had predicted for the start of the year, and executives raised their full-year guidance for adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, debt and appreciation (EBITDA) to $2.75 billion from $2.7 billion. They also raised their free cash flow guidance to $1.1 billion from $1.05 billion for the year.
“We outperformed our initial financial expectations, putting us in a strong position to increase our full-year guidance,” Witz said on a call discussing earnings. “We intend to make prudent decisions to remain a very profitable business that continues to serve as a primary audio subscription service to certain audio segments while being complimentary to others.”
The company’s cost-cutting campaign — which has impacted its real estate footprint, workforce and marketing spend — helped allow for continued investment in tech improvements Witz says will improve future growth. Costs related to the new product launches, expected later this year, reached $68 million in the quarter, up 15% from a year ago.
However, the 17% reduction in sales and marketing spend, combined with lower numbers of customers starting trial subscriptions late last year, contributed to 347,000 fewer SiriusXM self-pay subscribers for the quarter. The company ended the quarter with 7.2 million trial users, compared to 6.9 million a year ago.
Self-pay subscribers of Pandora Plus and Premium tiers increased by 7,000 from the previous quarter, but the total number of subscribers edged 2% lower, to 6.2 million in the first quarter from a year ago.
“We are still expecting modestly negative [subscriber growth] for the year,” Witz said. “I would expect the second half to be positive, and that nets us out to the modestly negative.”
The company is in the process of updating the back-end technology and its SiriusXM app, tools Witz says will make it easier to find specific genres, make purchases in the car and elsewhere, and further personalize the experience. The hope is that this will enable the company to introduce new products to the app faster, a key part of its growth strategy.
“We are really focused on investing in this new platform and making sure that positions us for growth going forward,” Witz said on the earnings call.
Key SiriusXM Financial Highlights:
Overall
The company forecast it will generate approximately $9 billion in total revenue for 2023, along with $2.75 billion in adjusted EBITDA and $1.1 billion in free cash flow.
The company reported $2.14 billion in revenue, down 2% from the prior year.
Adjusted EBITDA was down 9% from the year-ago quarter at $625 million.
SiriusXM Segment
SiriusXM reported segment revenues of $1.7 billion, down 2% from the prior-year period, due to lower ad revenue and vehicle paid promotional revenue.
Average revenue per user (ARPU) fell $0.24 to $15.29.
Self-pay subscribers decreased by 347,000.
SiriusXM’s total cost of services rose 2% to $664 million in the quarter on higher programming and royalty costs.
SiriusXM’s gross margin of 61% slipped one percentage point from the prior year.
Pandora and Off-Platform Segment
The Pandora and off-platform segment generated $462 million in revenue, down a slight 1% from the year-ago quarter’s $467 million.
Advertising revenue in the segment held roughly flat from a year ago.
The segment’s gross margin was 24%, down 5 percentage points from the prior-year period.
The All Access Audio Summit 2023 began Wednesday (April 26), and is set to run through Friday (April 28). Bringing together leaders in radio, podcasting and more, the virtual convention is sparking conversation aimed at optimizing the impact of audio in multiple commercial forms.
Here’s a rundown of highlights from the gathering’s first day (as panels were introduced by Premiere Networks host Angela Yee).
‘What in This Day and Age is Free?’
In the day’s first session, All Access president and publisher Joel Denver chatted with Ginny Morris, Hubbard Broadcasting chairman and CEO, who highlighted a radio air talent’s value as an “entertainer, informer and connector,” with “the ability to move an audience.”
Mused Morris, “Localism and local autonomy are key tenets of what we do. We’re adding local talent in every market we’re in. Without our talent, we’re just another ubiquitous commodity. Those [broadcasting companies] that are committed to talent seem to outlast those that aren’t. And we know we’re not alone, thankfully.”
Morris also touched on AM radio, amid news that the band will not be available in certain vehicles going forward, prompting U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to weigh in on AM’s “important role.”
“I think we’re a long way from it disappearing from cars,” Morris said. “I’m involved with the NAB to see to it that all of America has access to all the ways that we’ll provide service in case of an emergency: foreign-language programming… a local baseball or hockey game… or news.”
Denver and Morris also discussed the amount of commercials on radio – a challenge, obviously, that streaming services don’t face with paid subscribers. Per Denver, “We’ve been running radio the same way the last 50, 60, 70 years.” Morris conceded, “We have to make payroll and keep the lights on,” while pointing out that Hubbard stations limit hourly commercials to 12.
“I personally love commercials,” she said, citing financial benefits for both radio and advertisers. “I wish they were more entertaining. We’ve tried to work on our creative and commercial content – it works better for clients, and their business grows.”
Morris reinforced the century-plus history of radio’s “no-trial, no credit-card” model: “What [else] in this day and age is free?”
As for maintaining the medium’s overall place in audio, “Super-serve your local community,” she offered. “We’re making sure we’re earning our place in the lives of our listeners.”
‘Art and Science’
After Jacobs Media president Fred Jacobs presented the results of the company’s Techsurvey 2023, the newest edition of the spotlight on core radio listeners’ media consumption habits, a panel discussed streaming metrics and radio’s traditional reliance on callout research – and where the two meet.
Sean Ross, Ross on Radio editor, advised radio programmers to “listen to music” and “don’t let TikTok have it all,” when it comes to exposing rising songs. “Top 40 is too narrow” in its variety of sounds, he said. “I just don’t think TikTok should be the decider for everybody. It’s one great source, but I don’t think it should be everything.”
Mark Adams, iHeartMedia vp of CHR and program director of KIOI and KYLD San Francisco, echoed Morris’ view that radio, with its air talent, boasts an advantage over streaming. “Listeners are bombarded with choice,” he said. “We have the ability to curate a better experience. It’s about the content, stupid. Are we providing a companion-based music experience?”
The panel also featured Louie Diaz, Cumulus vp of top 40 and rhythmic formats; Alissa Pollack, iHeartMedia executive vp of global music marketing; and Amie Vaughan, 300/Elektra executive vp of promotion and streaming.
“Art and science,” Vaughan marveled. “What a great business we have.”
AI: ‘We Have To Be Careful How We Use It’
Tim Clarke, Audacy senior vp of audio content, led a panel that covered multiple topics, including mulling uncertainties “as we go through the forest with a machete” regarding artificial intelligence.
“The cons are pretty frightening,” admitted Jon Zellner, iHeartMedia president of programming operations, digital music, citing that AI could, among other downsides, lead to higher unemployment. He feels that AI’s most important risk to radio is that it jeopardizes “discovery, surprise, trust and companionship. There are ways we can use it, but it should never be at the expense of a human voice.”
Smith-Richards Collective partner Tim Richards believes that AI can be helpful during a public emergency if air talent is unavailable, by creating familiar-sounding and comforting audio from prior recordings, à la voice-tracking. Still, he cautioned, “We have to be careful how we use it.”
All Access urban/R&B format editor likened the current stages of AI to “the wild, wild west.” He praised that radio programming and sales departments can use it to find out more about audiences, while engineering departments can employ it for technological advances. “The good thing about AI is we can pull the data a little quicker,” he said. Still, “That human factor will always be a part of everything we do.”
The group also discussed radio’s place in breaking new music.
“You just have to be paying attention all the time. There are so many places hit music can come from,” said Rich Davis, iHeartMedia director of CHR and KDWB Minneapolis PD.
Zellner noted research revealing that over 50% of people say that they discover music from radio – a higher share than that of streaming. While he found that stat “surprising,” he feels that listeners like hearing a DJ tell the story of a new song, as “there’s a trust factor.”
Instead of waiting for streaming to introduce hits, “Sometimes you can try to create the story, as well,” said Richards.
Again referencing radio’s role as more than a music service, Zellner directed to air talent that one break in an entire shift might be the only one that a listener hears that day, so make it count. “Make sure everything you’re doing sounds entertaining,” he said. He also advised that a morning show promo that runs throughout that day is essentially a “power song” and should be treated as importantly, by being specific and representative of members’ appeal. “More people will hear the promo than your actual show,” he said. “So make the promo kick-ass.”
“You’ve got to work harder than you ever have before,” offered Richards about radio’s current challenges among so many listener options. “The human attention span is more fractured today than it has been in the history of mankind.”
‘Great Programmers Always Find a Way’
A session on audio production continued the All Access Audio Summit’s first day (with Kelly “K3” Doherty, president and founder of Imaging House, sharing a tip that if anyone looking to record audio can’t get to a studio, solid soundproofing can be found … in a car), followed by a closing segment focused on radio programming.
Moderator James Howard, iHeartMedia regional senior vp in Chicago, declared, “Today is the good old days” for radio, and that programmers should consider “not a wish list, but a ‘can’ list.”
Greg Strassell, Hubbard Radio executive vp of programming, said, “I always quote Steve Rivers, one of my mentors: ‘Great programmers always find a way.’ ”
On recruiting the next generation of air talent, Chris Eagan, Cox Media Group vp of audience and operations, said, “It’s everywhere. We’re a lot more open to letting someone on a radio station than we were 20 years ago. We’re a lot more flexible. If someone shows the talent, or ability, there’s a lot less, ‘Bring me a tape.’ The relationship has sort of flipped.”
The panel, which also included Reggie Rouse, Audacy vp of urban programming and WVEE Atlanta PD, and Tony Gray, president and founder of Gray Communications, cited eager board ops and personalities on TikTok and Instagram, among other social media, as potential on-air voices. Howard suggested bartenders, as they can multi-task and “are great storytellers.”
As for finding hit songs, Eagan cited the importance of simply loving music, as how could one be a chef without liking food? “Be a scholar of music,” he asserted.
Replied Howard, “People love music and animals. If you don’t, you’re a serial killer.”
Meanwhile, as talk turned back to streaming’s place among programmers’ menu of song options, fellow panelist Beata Murphy, PD of iHeartMedia’s KIIS Los Angeles, recalled how the station helped make Encanto’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” an unlikely radio hit last year.
“I like to look at streaming, Shazam, other stations,” she said. “But then there’ll be a song every once in while … [“Bruno”] was the No. 1 streaming record, by four times, in Los Angeles. LA is the home of Disney, and it’s a Hispanic-leaning song. We tried it, the jocks set it up properly, it started a conversation, we played the record and then it started testing. That’s something I grabbed from streaming. We set it up properly so it didn’t sound crazy. It worked.”
Murphy further noted, with pride, listener response about “two favorite brands” – Disney and KIIS – “colliding.”
Summed up Strassell about radio in 2023, “Especially coming out of the pandemic, create that awareness. Hopefully your products are great and people will find you. Let’s remind people how great we are.”
The Academy of Country Music enlisted a raft of country artists, including Lainey Wilson, Breland and Jelly Roll, to help reveal the winners of the 2023 ACM Radio Awards. The artists tossed a radio from one to another in a clever two-minute video in which the winners’ names were flashed on the screen. The video was posted on the Academy’s official social media pages on Tuesday (April 25). Other artists who participated included Priscilla Block, Russell Dickerson, Parker McCollum, Frank Lay, Lily Rose, Brooke Eden and LoCash.
Winners announced include two first-time on-air personality honorees, Elaina Smith of With Elaina for national weekly on-air personality of the year, and Julie and DJ of Julie and DJ in the Morning for medium market on-air personality of the year.
WIVK-FM in Knoxville, Tenn. and WYCT-FM in Pensacola, Fla. both take home their fifth total ACM Awards for medium market radio station of the year and small market radio station of the year, respectively.
Additional winners include George, Mo, and Erik of The Morning Bullpen with George, Mo, and Erik on KILT-FM in Houston and Big Dave, Stattman, and Ashley of The Big Dave Show on WUBE-FM in Cincinnati for major market and large market on-air personality of the year, respectively.
“The Academy congratulates all of our ACM Awards radio winners for championing the artists that make up the soundtrack of country fans’ lives,” Damon Whiteside, ACM CEO said in a statement. “Country radio has always been and continues to be one of the most important ways for today’s favorite artists to connect with fans, and for fans to find up-and-coming acts to fall in love with.”
The 58th Academy of Country Music Awards is set to take place on Thursday, May 11 at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, TX. Country legends Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks are set to host the show, which bills itself as “country music’s party of the year.” The two-hour show will stream live without commercial interruption on Prime Video worldwide for the second year in a row.
The show will stream at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT. A limited number of tickets are available for purchase on SeatGeek.
The 58th Academy of Country Music Awards is produced by Dick Clark Productions, with Raj Kapoor, Barry Adelman and Fonda Anita serving as executive producers. Damon Whiteside is executive producer for the ACM. Patrick Menton is co-executive producer.
Below is a complete list of the radio award winners for the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards:
On-air personality of the year winners:
National daily – Big D, Bubba, Patrick Thomas, Carsen | The Big D and Bubba Show
National weekly – Elaina Smith | With Elaina
Major market – George, Mo and Erik | The Morning Bullpen with George, Mo, and Erik – KILT – Houston
Large market – Big Dave, Stattman & Ashley | The Big Dave Show – WUBE – Cincinnati, Ohio
Medium market – Julie Kansy and Dale Sellers | Julie and DJ in the Morning – WPCV – Lakeland, Fla.
Small market – Steve Waters and Tiffany Kay | Steve & Tiffany in the Morning – WFLS – Fredericksburg, Va.
Radio station of the year winners:
Major market – KKBQ – Houston
Large market – WSIX – Nashville
Medium market – WIVK – Knoxville, Tenn.
Small market – WYCT – Pensacola, Fla.
Both country labels and broadcasters want to speed the advance of singles on the Country Airplay chart, though figuring out how to do that is a slow process.
A volunteer panel, spurred by a 2022 Country Radio Seminar session, reported on its progress during an April 20 CRS 360 webinar, concluding that stations need to generate 150 spins on most singles to gain reliable research about the song’s connectivity. Stations that limit a new single to overnights and play it only six times a week require 25 weeks to hit that plateau, one of several factors that slow the hit-development process.
Songs ranked No. 11-20 on the chart have the toughest time advancing, according to the panel’s research, in part because of the plethora of approaches by programmers. Reporting stations that commit early to a new single are sometimes ready to move on from particular titles just as slower-evolving stations are beginning to boost rotations.
One partial suggestion, sure to meet pushback, was to use a smaller playlist, expose new singles more quickly in daytime rotations and make a decision at that 150-spin mark.
The issue is more intense in country than any other format, in part because artists and their representatives have a stronger personal relationship with broadcasters and are more invested in succeeding on that platform — and in controlling the outcome.
“It’s the only format I’ve ever been in,” said McVay Media president Mike McVay, “where people call and yell at me for playing a song or beg me not to drop a song.”
Subscribe to Billboard Country Update, the industry’s must-have source for news, charts, analysis and features. Sign up for free delivery every weekend.