"Up Your Ratings" Steve Casey's monthly newsletter

I've been visiting a number of clients. That is why this newsletter is later than usual this month. It is also the source of the material for this article.

A DJ should be aware of the music, and the mood that the music imparts to the listener. When he or she continues to speak at a rapid speed, while introducing a love song, they are obviously disconnected from the music. The listener feels the emotion of the song. If you're on the air presenting a song, you should feel the emotion too.

Too many DJs substitute fast talk and/or shouting for passion and emphasis. Real people, when not on the radio, express passion in many ways. They often slow down and punctuate their speech. They may whisper. They will only occasionally shout. And they constantly adjust their speed and their pitch to match their emotions. They do not announce. They rarely shout. Unless they are arguing, they usually won't speak very fast.

As a on-air personality, you are a human first, an actor second, and an "announcer" last. Radio is a personal medium. Too many DJs seem to forget that.

It is a lesson to be learned in the first week. Don't laugh at your own jokes. Watch stand up comedy. Only very inexperienced comedians will laugh. That job belongs to the audience.

Too many times I hear a morning team merrily chatting amongst themselves, as though the listener wasn't there.

This isn't a stage production of Cats. It isn't a television sitcom. Radio is a personal medium. Speak to the listener. If you have a morning team, you'll speak with several voices. But every one of those voices must speak to the listener.

Morning shows seem to be a great place to find people who speak fast, shout (all at the same time) and generally make a lot of noise. They should drop the fake DJ artifacts, and talk like real humans. Humans who are having fun, who are passionate, who are speaking about very interesting things, of course. But not like little children trying to get the attention of their mother.

Sometimes it is part of the act. But for the most part, you should respect the realities of radio listening. People are doing other things, and can't listen very closely to sort out all the voices. Speak a little slower. Telegraph your intentions more than you would in person. And don't speak all at the same time.

Most DJs don't. But this is the music people care about. That's why we play it. They think "I love this!" So why doesn't the DJ say "I love this!" too?

All too often, the DJ is too "cool" to like the music. or the station promotion. Or the other DJs. Or the station itself. or the nice day outside. Listen to yourself, if you're on the air, or to your air staff if you're not. Do you hear the same enthusiasm that you want from your listeners?

Listeners complain loudly about jocks who cut off the end of their favorite song. Most radio programmers and air talent understand this.

But people have different opinions about whether jocks should talk over the beginning of songs.

Some think that it is okay, because the record producer put it there so DJs could talk over it.

But let's think about that. Maybe 99% of all songs are never played on commercial radio. Do about 99% of them have music introductions? You bet they do. I'm sorry to disappoint the ego maniacs, but the record producer isn't worried about the little DJ on the radio.

So, let's try to cut down on the two most irritating things I'm hearing jocks do.

If what you have to say requires that much time, okay. But let's be honest. Many jocks just keep talking. They think they've achieved some kind of excellence in programming when they hit the post or the vocal. Sorry, that's just juvenile.

If you are going to talk while a song is playing, talk about the song. If you have other information to deliver, do it before you start the song. It is a simple rule, and it makes a big improvement in the sound of your station.

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"Up Your Ratings" the monthly radio research and programming newsletter from Steve Casey Research. June 2008


	In This Edition: We are focusing on: Powerful Programming Ideas Series Continued and Notes from a Consultant on the Road Enjoy! And as always, your feedback is welcome. "Every on-air personality should have a bio, active email, active IM, special SMS, a forum and/or chat room, and should blog. No exceptions. No excuses. " "The compromise position,widely accepted by research companies around the world is for 40% to 60% of the sample to be P1." About Steve Casey Research I want you to feel confident about your programming. My approach: Focus on learning what your listeners want and appreciate about your programming. We work with you to do essentially one thing: Ask better questions. Of firms based in the USA, we are the most experienced in providing radio programming and research advice to the international broadcast community. We've been honored to provide our help to exceptional broadcasting companies like TV2 Radio (Denmark), AMP (Malaysia), Cox (USA), NRJ Group (France), Chrysalis (UK), Start (France), Millennium (India), Primedia (South Africa, Israel), SBS (United States, Puerto Rico), SBS (Scandinavia, Romania, Greece), RMF (Poland), Prima (Romania), Clear Channel (USA), Virgin (Thailand and India) and dozens of great radio stations around the world. Visit us on the Web at: www.UpYourRatings.com Call us: +1.406.388.5309 office +1.406.388.5324 fax +1.406.209.1541 cell Email us: scasey@UpYourRatings.com Write us: Steve Casey Research 100 Willem Way Belgrade, Montana USA 59714	Notes from a Consultant on the Road Observations from recent station visits I've been visiting a number of clients. That is why this newsletter is later than usual this month. It is also the source of the material for this article. DJs: Announce or Converse? I'm consistently hearing two bad habits: One Speed A DJ should be aware of the music, and the mood that the music imparts to the listener. When he or she continues to speak at a rapid speed, while introducing a love song, they are obviously disconnected from the music. The listener feels the emotion of the song. If you're on the air presenting a song, you should feel the emotion too. Shouting Too many DJs substitute fast talk and/or shouting for passion and emphasis. Real people, when not on the radio, express passion in many ways. They often slow down and punctuate their speech. They may whisper. They will only occasionally shout. And they constantly adjust their speed and their pitch to match their emotions. They do not announce. They rarely shout. Unless they are arguing, they usually won't speak very fast. As a on-air personality, you are a human first, an actor second, and an "announcer" last. Radio is a personal medium. Too many DJs seem to forget that. Morning Shows Some things to be aware of: Don't Laugh at your own jokes It is a lesson to be learned in the first week. Don't laugh at your own jokes. Watch stand up comedy. Only very inexperienced comedians will laugh. That job belongs to the audience. Speak to the listener Too many times I hear a morning team merrily chatting amongst themselves, as though the listener wasn't there. This isn't a stage production of Cats. It isn't a television sitcom. Radio is a personal medium. Speak to the listener. If you have a morning team, you'll speak with several voices. But every one of those voices must speak to the listener. More speed, more noise Morning shows seem to be a great place to find people who speak fast, shout (all at the same time) and generally make a lot of noise. They should drop the fake DJ artifacts, and talk like real humans. Humans who are having fun, who are passionate, who are speaking about very interesting things, of course. But not like little children trying to get the attention of their mother. Don't speak at the same time Sometimes it is part of the act. But for the most part, you should respect the realities of radio listening. People are doing other things, and can't listen very closely to sort out all the voices. Speak a little slower. Telegraph your intentions more than you would in person. And don't speak all at the same time. DJs and Music Express your love for music. Most DJs don't. But this is the music people care about. That's why we play it. They think "I love this!" So why doesn't the DJ say "I love this!" too? They should. All too often, the DJ is too "cool" to like the music. or the station promotion. Or the other DJs. Or the station itself. or the nice day outside. Listen to yourself, if you're on the air, or to your air staff if you're not. Do you hear the same enthusiasm that you want from your listeners? When you talk during a song, don't talk about anything else. Listeners complain loudly about jocks who cut off the end of their favorite song. Most radio programmers and air talent understand this. But people have different opinions about whether jocks should talk over the beginning of songs. Some think that it is okay, because the record producer put it there so DJs could talk over it. But let's think about that. Maybe 99% of all songs are never played on commercial radio. Do about 99% of them have music introductions? You bet they do. I'm sorry to disappoint the ego maniacs, but the record producer isn't worried about the little DJ on the radio. So, let's try to cut down on the two most irritating things I'm hearing jocks do. Irritant 1: Talk to the vocal. If what you have to say requires that much time, okay. But let's be honest. Many jocks just keep talking. They think they've achieved some kind of excellence in programming when they hit the post or the vocal. Sorry, that's just juvenile. Irritant 2: Talk about something other than the music If you are going to talk while a song is playing, talk about the song. If you have other information to deliver, do it before you start the song. It is a simple rule, and it makes a big improvement in the sound of your station. The UpYourRatings Blog Reminder: My blog is up and running at: www.UpYourRatings.blogspot.com If you need a free blog reader: www.RssReader.com The RSS reader subscription address for my blog is: www.upyourratings.blogspot.com/atom.xml I hope you'll take advantage of the Up Your Ratings blog, and feel free to make your own contribution.	Powerful Programming Ideas Part 7: Design a Music Test Sample / Tips 3 and 4 of 5 This is one in a series of articles that expand on my white paper Powerful Programming Ideas presented to the delegates at the 2007 NAB European Radio Conference in Barcelona. You can click here for a copy. Tip 3: Every respondent should have listened to your station during the previous week. Tip 4: Those who did not listen to you most should have listened most to one of your two closest competitors. This is a tactical tool Although all large studies are expensive, there is a fundamental difference between a music library test and a "perceptual" or "market" study. As I wrote last month, when discussing the importance of respondents who listen most to your station: For a music test, we are not taking a wide view of the market. We are looking for people who basically "like" us. And we want the music test to help us know what to do, specifically, with each individual song to keep them feeling that way. Making sure that half of your sample is listening most to you is a good step toward a quality AMT sample. But it is not enough. Everybody in the sample should be a current listener to your station. You're going to receive the results from the AMT, and then make changes to the on-air song rotations based on the results. Your hope: People will notice and appreciate the changes. You'd like this to happen before the next AMT. For that reason, you don't want to water down the test with people who don't listen. The odds of those people going from "non-listener" to "core" in the next 3-6 months simply aren't good enough. With today's limited research budgets and sample sizes, you can't waste money on respondents whose opinions don't reflect the listeners who will immediately hear the changes you make to improve your radio station's programming. Instead, invite somebody to the music test who has heard you and is interested enough to listen on a regular basis. I've occasionally observed stations designing music tests that include non-listeners. For screening purposes, they will often ask the potential respondent to rate a music montage. If they like the montage, they qualify. If not, they don't. In theory, if this montage could adequately tell you that this person is an excellent prospect as a fan of the station, then you could lean that. The problems with using a montage, rather than station listening: 1. We've never found a montage that was a good predictor in that sense. People need to hear the entire station, as it really sounds, for a fairly long time. Then they can decide whether they can be a listener or even a P1 listener. 2. The montage is picked by the programmer. It is supposed to represent a type of music. When you pick the songs for the montage, you are biasing the results according to you guess as to the correct songs. That isn't research. And can these three songs alone really reprsent a type of music? 3. This technique may have some value for a format study or market study, where you are trying to learn more about the competitive situation and about your opportunities for growth. But a library music test is a tool designed not to change the vision of the station, but rather to help you better implement the vision you have. The non-listener won't be "burned out" on songs that you play too much. And if you change something, they won't notice. The answer remains the same: Invite somebody to the test who will hear the changes you make to your programming. Limit the number of other stations in the sample The rule that every respondent must be a listener exists to assure that every participant is qualified to offer an opinion and then notice the changes you make. The second rule is: Those who did not listen to you most should have listened most to one of your two closest competitors. Purpose: Many people listen to you only occasionally. But if the station they listen to most is not similar to yours, then no matter how you adjust your rotations, those changes will not cause any fundamental change to their listening habits. You need to identify those stations that are similar to you. You can interview their core listeners and then have a valid chance of changing listening behavior in the next 3-6 months, of converting them to a P1. These should be the stations that would benefit if you fail to provide the best programming. It is rare that more that 2 or 3 stations will meet these requirements. Further, for consistency from test to test, you should fix the percentage of listeners who listen to each of these stations at certain values. Try to keep these values stable from test to test unless changes in the market and in the ratings demand a change. The more stable your station mix from test to test, the more likely that changes you see are real. If the station mix changes, there will of course be different scores. But there may be no actual change in the real world. You just looked at the world through a different lens. The Benefit If you design your sample carefully, you'll receive feedback from exactly the mix of people that will help you implement your vision for the station programming. And you'll have the tools to do so in a consistent way from music test to music test. This newsletter is free. And you are free to share it and any of the ideas included here. If you have questions, ideas for articles, or something to say to the world about programming research, please let us know. Corrections and Additions: If you need us to make a change to your name or email address, or if there are others you'd like us to add to the list of those getting these research and programming ideas, please let us know. We'll be happy to make changes and include new friends.