Six months ago, “The Tommy Show” on 94.7 Fresh FM’s was canceled. Tommy McFly and Kelly Collis, along with other on-air talent at the Washington radio station, were out of work and looking for new gigs. But soon they – and their audience – moved to the Tommy Show App on smartphones, and that’s a cautionary tale for local radio stations across the country.
Fresh FM had good ratings, the playlists were geared to local listeners, and, like many local radio stations, the on-air personalities were celebrities actively engaged in the local community. It all ended when national radio conglomerate Entercom (based in Pennsylvania) took control of numerous D.C. stations, leading to the format change.
{mosads}What happened at Fresh FM is part of a long trend in radio—Big Radio getting bigger through consolidation; consolidation that robs radio of its local roots. Programming decisions made at corporate headquarters in Pennsylvania cannot reflect the local music scene in the Washington, D.C. area. Outsourced on-air talent cannot replicate the personalization of local community members like Tommy and Kelly.
But there’s good news. The shift of talent and audience to digital platforms not only gives listeners a better and more flexible experience, it gives the musicians some compensation not afforded by radio. Yes, the oldest and richest music platform, AM/FM radio, is the only platform in America that doesn’t pay the performers a royalty. Not a penny. While new streaming services do pay.
Listeners, especially young listeners, are streamers. They stream music to their smartphones, Echos, and Bluetooth speakers. Local radio stations must be where their listeners are already, and increasingly, that’s digital – even in cars.
While adapting to new technological shifts might sound daunting to a local radio station, they can get help from an unlikely source, the performers whose music they play.
The music community has tried for years to offer small and medium stations a win-win opportunity. Pay a small royalty (as little as a dollar a day) to close the royalty loophole and in return let the music industry provide incentives to help them in the digital transition. While the offer was good for truly local stations, entrenched corporate broadcast interests worked hard to prevent a deal.
This week, 100 musicians are coming to Washington for GRAMMYs on the Hill to ask Congress to close the loophole. Corporate radio will continue to fight it, while losing sight of the real battle — a shrinking market share and the loss of the young listener. While iHeart prepares for its IPO, small stations are being squeezed out of the digital marketplace. We urge the remaining truly local stations to work with – not against – the musicians whose work drives your listeners. Together we can resolve this issue before the next Tommy McFly leaves radio, and takes his listeners with him.
Daryl Friedman is chief industry, government, and member relations officer at the Recording Academy.