The Center of the Music

I learned that a client had looked at his station’s music center, as determined by the auditorium music test analysis, and did not like it.

But he implemented it anyway.

I learned this six months later.

As a programmer, you should never alter the sound of your station, based on research results, in a way that makes you uncomfortable. There is a much better approach.

There is something you are not comfortable with?

Bring it up. Question the research. Ask if there is another way to look at it. Share your concerns with your boss, your consultant, your music director.

And remember this: We always want to know where the “center of the page” is. Always. But that doesn’t mean we want to stay there.

I suppose, depending on your programming philosophy, you may not want to spend very much time there. The research does not determine how modal your station is. As the programmer, you do.

But knowledge is power. With only one transmitter, we are stuck at the short head of the curve, not the long tail. So we have to manage our music selection and song to song flow very carefully.

The more we can learn the better.

Consider this an encouragement from me to proceed in this order:

1. Learn absolutely as much as you can about how people feel regarding your music, including how the music is divided into clusters, and where it all comes together for your listeners.

2. Use all this knowledge as input, but fit it into your programming philosophy and what you know about the history of your station.

3. Communicate. You may question the interpretation of the research by others on your team, including me if I work with you. You may think a survey might be flawed. You may want to do something with the programming based on some factor other than the research. Great. Just let the people you work with know. If you’d rather avoid the hassle of having to explain and justify your views, think again. We can’t help – I can’t help, unless we know your concerns. This is serious stuff.