Curator, Gatekeeper, or Something Else

Some people think that a radio programmer should be a "curator". That is, we should find good music and introduce people to it. Sort of like we're building a great art museum. Very noble.

Some people thing that a radio programmer should be a "gatekeeper". That is, we should shift through all the data, and discover those songs that aren't selling very well, or getting requests, or which don't sound quite right for us, etc... until we are left with only the few, the proud, the hits!

I've never seen any evidence that the first role is the correct one. Yes, there is an element of that in any radio station that appeals mostly to fans of current music. But it isn't the foundation. It can be a special feature, a special show, a special attitude.

But even people who profess to want the latest music need a certain level of comfort and familiarity within every hour they listen to us. And that means we can't stray too far from "least common denominator" for very long.

That doesn't handcuff us as much as one might think. LCD for OUR audience is different than for any other. And with the tiny amount of effort (or none) most of our competitors put into discovering what their listeners want, we can pretty easily create a superior product.

But I want to suggest another analogy: The buyer for a retail store.

Compared to a "gatekeeper", this analogy brings in some additional truths about radio programming. First, a store's buyer must deal with a mass audience. That's something our sales departments would certainly appreciate. Second, they create systems to learn what is selling. For us in music radio, that could be weekly music testing, or library music tests (auditorium music tests). Yet, they do keep an eye open for the next big thing. They try new things, and they use those new things to create excitement. But, they do so in a controlled way, and they watch carefully to see what works.

Gatekeepers, yes. But more. They measure. They adjust. They think about the new elements and the steady selling staples. They understand the reason for the gatekeeping, and they stay focused on the goal: a positive customer experience.

Sounds like a reasonable way for us to look at our roles as well.