Podcasters Respond to $28 Million Radio Industry Ad Blitz

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has launched the largest radio promotional campaign ever, marketing radio as "the primary source for news, music and compelling audio entertainment." Virtually every major radio group, including ABC, Clear Channel, Cox, Greater Media, Infinity and Radio One, is planning on airing the advertisements aggressively. According to the NAB, the industry plans on spending $28 million and using endorsements from major music artists.

In the coming months, this marketing campaign will be hard to avoid on traditional radio. One place you're not likely to hear it, though, is in the world of podcasting.

We asked several leading podcasters about the campaign, their thoughts on the state of traditional broadcasting, and why some listeners are looking for an alternative.

The podcasters represent a cross-section of the podcasting world:

• Aaron Drake podcasts Celtic Music News.
• Paul Cooper is a composer and electronic musician. He uses his PaulCMusic podcast to introduce his music to a larger audience.
• Michael Butler hosts one of the most popular podcasts, The Rock and Roll Geek Show.
• David M. Whitesock is pioneering podcasting in Grand Forks, ND as David Miller on The Miller Report.
• Craig Patchett's GodCast Network features Christian programming, like The Living Word and other family-friendly audio content.

The five podcasters displayed their passion with their answers:

About the Campaign

Podcasting News:  The radio industry is spending $28 million to promote itself as "the primary source for news, music and compelling audio entertainment."  Why do you think that the radio industry feels it needs to do this?

Craig Patchett: I can only assume that the rapid rise of podcasting over the past seven months, both in terms of popularity and media exposure, has caught the radio industry completely off-guard and put it in a defensive position. With major articles running in print and television media about the "demise" of radio, it has little choice but to launch this type of promotion.

Michael Butler: I think they are reacting to the competition that is breathing down their necks. Mostly, I believe it is satellite radio that they are concerned about, since Howard Stern will be moving in less than a year.

I don't know if they are as concerned about podcasting at the moment because it is mostly an amateur, hobbyist medium right now. I am sure they are watching the phenomenon closely, though.

David M. Whitesock: They know that a segment of their audience is moving to satellite. Satellite offers something radio can't and that is mobility outside of the transmitter signal. Obviously, with the way that the radio spectrum is set up, no radio station could place repeating transmitters across the country so that their audience can listen anywhere in the US. Satellite can offer that.

The other reason is simply due to the consolidation of radio. Even in a small market like Grand Forks, ND we hear promos on the Clear Channel stations that tell the audience that they are doing everything they can to offer the best possible listening experience. We all know that is bunk. So radio as a whole needs to inform the radio listening public that even though there is this consolidation, radio is still the one great medium that is (in NAB's own words) "instant", "interactive" and "responsive".

On Traditional Radio

Podcasting News: Is radio a good place to find new music?

Aaron Drake: With the possible exception of some small college type stations, radio is one of the worst places to find new music. You will, as has been proven with Adam Curry's soundseeing tour of South Beach, have better luck going out for a walk.

Paul Cooper : Traditional radio is a good place to find new music, but some people are not satisfied with it. It depends on how you classify “new music”. For example, many people feel entire genres of music are excluded from mainstream radio. This is somewhat true, but these stations have an obligation to cater to the “mainstream” audience. So people should perhaps look at niche radio stations - there does not seem to be a lack of these. With smaller stations the real issue is quality.

Michael Butler: Absolutely not! All of the groups sound like each other.

David M. Whitesock: No. Commercial radio is too tied to the major music industry. Public radio outfits are not a slave to the record companies and therefore are willing to take risks on independent artists. But public radio is so stigmatized that many radio listeners don't go to that part of the dial.

Craig Patchett: Absolutely not, unless your definition of new music is music that has been pre-screened and selected for you by media executives.

Podcasting News: Do you think that radio provides "compelling audio entertainment"?

Craig Patchett: Not unless you're a lemming.

Aaron Drake: It's hard to take a category as wide as "radio" and try to generalize it all.

Is a huge percentage just crappy songs? Definitely.

But there are some talk shows, that can't be done on podcasting yet due to the live call-in features. Also, as much as people do like to tear down big corporations and the "Big Money", they do provide content that is harder for individuals to do.

Michael Butler: There are some interesting talk shows and some late night shows that I like (i.e.; Stern, NPR and some late night music shows), but for the most part it, is just everyone sounding like everyone else.

David M. Whitesock: Some, but it is hard to find and usually you won't find it on the large radio conglomerates. There are some exceptions, though. I would point out may favorite broadcast on radio and that is T.D. Mischke on 1500 KSTP in St. Paul, MN. There is no other radio station in the country that would allow this broadcaster to do what he does or doesn't do between the hours of 10pm and midnight weekday evenings.

Problems with Traditional Radio

Podcasting News: Are there any things that you really dislike about traditional radio?

Paul Cooper : Lack of on-demand support, or poor support when available. Internet users are used to watching, listening and reading when and how they want, not at a specific time. The only real problem with traditional radio is the medium. Lack of choice actually stems from the difficulty and cost of setting up a radio station.

Some stations are beginning to offer alternatives. For example the BBC makes the majority of shows which feature non-pop music genres available online, but the drawback at the moment is they force you to use Real Player. This is because their licensing terms say you can listen to the stream, but you are not allowed to record and play it later.

Michael Butler: First, the annoying announcers. Have you ever listened to an announcer ad-lib? It is painful. Second, the lack of originality. Third, everyone is playing it safe for fear of FCC fines.

Aaron Drake: Mainly just the s**t music that they play - complete trash for the most part.

David M. Whitesock: When it comes to music programming, I can't stand the 45 minute commercial-free and 15 minute content-free clock. That is tune-out radio for me.

Alternatives to Radio

Podcasting News: Why do you think people are interested in an alternative to traditional radio?

Michael Butler: Because they are getting tired of the same old thing. It is just boring.

Paul Cooper : Reasons for alternatives in any area range from the practical to simple geekdom. Practical people are interested in more control, specifically listening time and the ability to pause. Geeks will always want to use the newest technology, irrespective of the actual content quality.

Aaron Drake: Well, there is a certain attraction to new things to start with, but I think people are just tired of hearing the same old thing. I mean, I love some of the songs that are on the radio, but I don't like hearing the same ones day in, day out consistently.

David M. Whitesock: Because traditional radio is becoming homogenized. The audience recognizes this and I think they are becoming fed up with it. I also think that people are contently looking for new programs. This, of course, is one of the biggest battles any program director faces. I know, because I have been there.

Craig Patchett: In order to justify the costs of putting a show on traditional radio, broadcasters have to dilute the content in order to appeal to as many people as possible (or offend as many people as possible depending on how they're trying to attract their audience). They then have to further manipulate content in order to woo advertisers.

So what you end up listening to is, in most cases, completely homogenized by the time it gets on the air. In some cases, this may be acceptable (some types of religious programming, for example, relies on adherence to a common ground) but in most cases it unnecessarily thwarts individualism and creativity.

In addition to this, traditional radio ties you to its schedule...you have to be available at a certain time in order to catch the show you're interested in.

Podcasting News: Podcasting is now the buzz of the Internet, and is starting to show up in mainstream media. What do podcasts offer that radio doesn't?

Michael Butler: More niche content. Interesting hosts. More variety. No FCC restrictions.

Craig Patchett: People want to hear something that more closely matches their own interests and personality. They want to be able to listen when they want, where they want, to content that's in sync with who they are. Podcasts offer them that freedom.

David M. Whitesock: Unpolished radio content that is on-demand and can be accessed anywhere, anytime. Over time though, many podcasts will become polished and they will be the standard for podcasting. In other words, the cream will rise to the top and the rest will become the 'ham radio operators' if you will.

In 1920 when the first broadcast it the airwaves, it was nothing different than some of the podcasts that you listen to today. Podcasting will go through the same evolution as radio.

Aaron Drake:  A show like mine on Celtic Music, might not be commercially viable in a small market. With podcasting, I have the whole world as a market for it.

Podcasting News: What do you do on your Celtic Music show that doesn't have a place in traditional radio?

Aaron Drake: Well, it's not so much that it can't be done, as in it can't technically be done or anything, but rather the show would not survive unless it was in a big city, and then only maybe.

The podcast is Celtic Music News. I play 4 songs every week, all from artists who have given permission for them to be played. The style of music is something that just won't make it on commercial radio, although a lot of NPR (or the various state versions) stations do have some 1/2 hour or hour celtic music shows, but they mainly play the more mellow or "traditional" music. My podcast leans more towards the celtic rock genre.

Paul Cooper : Podcasting has the possibility to become more popular because it promotes the ability to listen to specific shows on demand. The problems are that the potential audience is considerably smaller than traditional radio. How many of the daily radio listeners are capable of installing the required software and then finding, downloading & playing the right shows?

The technological problems are exacerbated by the fact that a lot of “podcasters” don’t adhere to the RSS specs, and listeners end up downloading the same 80mb file several times.

Only when the technology is foolproof and the quality is consistently high will “Podcasting” become anywhere near as popular as traditional radio.

Resources:

• Aaron Drake's Celtic Music News. All the shows are available for download from the site.
  
• Check out Paul Cooper's music at the PaulCMusic site.
  
• Michael Butler hosts The Rock and Roll Geek Show.
  
• David M. Whitesock hosts the Miller Report
  
• Craig Patchett is the founder of the GodCast Network, which features numerous podcasts.
• NAB: Music Stars Sing Radio's Praises