CRS DAY ONE (From Country AIr Check)

At Albright & O’Malley’s Pre-CRS Client Seminar Tuesday,
which featured warmly received performances by MCA’s Kip
Moore and Mercury’s Randy Montana, A&O partner Jaye
Albright showed that nearly 61% of P1 Country listeners now
tunein online weekly, up from less than 57%. The good news? Nearly
27% listen more to their local station because it’s online. Those who
said it’s important for their fave Country station to stream jumped
from 48%-56% in one year. Artist news, early-bird concert tickets
and discount coupons are “desirable” station website attractions.
Edison Media Research’s Larry Rosin says that while 12-24-yearold
Country listeners are somewhat inclined to use Pandora, the service
is “a bigger threat to radio because it’s one big brand,” as opposed to
several smaller competitors. He advised, “Shutting up and just playing
the music, followed by a lot of spots, is the worst thing you can. The
future is not ‘12 in a row’; online services can do that better. I believe,
more than anything, in personality radio. That’s why recruiting young
people is so important.”

Townsquare/Montana PD and Social Radio Pros partner
Ray Massie offered a wealth of knowledge about the proper
and improper use of Facebook, which he calls “a one-to-one
relationship strategy, not a broadcast strategy. Stop talking about
yourself.” He warned, “Stations are cannibalizing their own
websites by driving listeners to Facebook. And you can’t make
any money off doing that.”

Talent coach Tommy Kramer encouraged broadcasters
to focus on just one subject when encouraging a Facebook
conversation. “The litmus test should be ‘Is it as good as one of
your best songs?’ If you want reaction, don’t ask for calls or do
a poll. Give an opinion.” Kramer cautioned against using Twitter
for promos and commercial-sounding imaging. “That’s the worst
way ever. What matters most is the listener.”

Perhaps the most sobering advice came from Jacobs Media
partner Paul Jacobs regarding the growth of streaming radio and
importance of mobile: “Stop treating your stream as a second-class
citizen. Pandora is committed to mobile and to hurting radio. You
want your station six inches away. Ignore it at your own peril.”