Day 3
The final day of the ALL ACCESS AUDIO SUMMIT on FRIDAY (4/28) included two panels of high-powered radio programmers, sessions on social media and spoken word content, and a talk with CUMULUS’ DAVE MILNER.
What’s Cumulus Up To?
The third and final fireside chat of this year’s SUMMIT found ALL ACCESS Pres./Publisher JOEL DENVER talking with CUMULUS MEDIA Pres./Operations DAVE MILNER about radio’s future, which MILNER summarized as coming down to “great and local content and making sure it’s available across multiple platforms.” The conversation covered AI in radio (“I think that there is going to be a place for it” but “I have a hard time thinking that AI will ever replace any prime time personality driven radio”), measurement (NIELSEN “could do a much better job” of selecting panels to reflect demographics and psychographics), AM radio (noting that five of CUMULUS’ top 10 streaming stations are AMs), podcasts, and finding new talent (“We need to do a better job of promoting what radio is”).
Programmers Speak (Part One)
A panel of radio programmers moderated by DMR INTERACTIVE Pres./CEO ANDREW CURRAN hit a variety of topics, from content (now-former CUMULUS/CHICAGO VP/Programming-Rock and VP/Operations TROY HANSON advising to “court controversy, expect backlash”; AUDACY/LOS ANGELES VP/Programming CHRIS EBBOTT adding that hosts “aim to be talking about what the audience is talking about”), engagement, the industry’s appeal to listeners (HANSON saying that the NAB’s spots asking listeners to sign petitions against the performance royalty were “embarrassing” and “the epitome of arrogance” for assuming listeners would care) and lessons learned from the NAPA VALLEY wine industry (“They knew how to make me feel special” while radio “used to be so good at presenting ourselves as something special”). AUDACY/SACRAMENTO OM AARON ROBERTS, HUBBARD Hot AC WTMX (101.9 THE MIX) and AC WSHE/CHICAGO VP/Brand & Content JIMMY STEAL, and COX MEDIA GROUP R&B WALR (KISS 104.1)/ATLANTA Dir./Branding and Programming TERRI AVERY were also on the panel.
Maximizing Social Media
Social media guru LORI LEWIS brought together talent adept at social media — the syndicated MURPHY, SAM & JODI, BEASLEY Active Rock WRIF/DETROIT afternoon host MARK “MELTDOWN” MILLIGAN, and TOWNSQUARE MEDIA R&B KISX (107.3 KISS FM)/TYLER, TX Brand Mgr. JAMIEN “MELZ ON THE MIC” GREEN — for a session on the intangible benefits of social media activity. LEWIS suggested that rather than “content is king,” the rule in social media is that “acknowledgement is king,” a maxim adhered to by JODI, who said that replying to listeners on social media is “a part of our day now… our rule is everybody gets a response.” MELTDOWN agreed, noting that during the pandemic, when live concerts were on pause, social media interaction “was my way to reach (the listeners). Now, it’s still a good way to reach them.” As for whether to post personal things on the station or show’s social media accounts, JODI said that “if you’re gonna do this job, you’re gonna have to give of yourself, and that means on social media as well.” SAM added that if he posts, “it’s gonna be in the SAM voice… you play your character.” MELTDOWN added that he is “real” in different ways on his personal account and his show/on-air account, talking about kids and family with close friends on his personal account and other matters on the show pages, to which JODI advised that “you might benefit from showing some of it (his personal life)” to listeners but MELZ agreeing with MELTDOWN that “you have to be careful” with personal material.
Different Talk
This year’s spoken word and podcasting session, like last year’s, was broken up into three individual interviews moderated by ALL ACCESS Editor-in-Chief PERRY MICHAEL SIMON, who took the occasion to highlight people who look at talk radio and podcasting from a different perspective, including AMPLIFI MEDIA’s STEVE GOLDSTEIN with thoughts on podcasting (“we’re at a third of Americans listening to podcasts. Do I think that’s good? Yes, I think that’s fantastic, just under 90 million listening on a weekly basis”), discovery (“it’s gotten harder”), the value of niche podcasting, and monetization; COX MEDIA GROUP News-Talk WHIO-A-F/DAYTON “THE EVENING EDGE” host TODD HOLLST explaining how his show, which focuses on entertainment and local issues rather than politics, has gained in popularity to the point of listeners getting show tattoos, plus his advocacy for a CHEEZ-IT statue and cataloguing of cars driving into local buildings; and AUDACY News-Talk KMBZ-F/KANSAS CITY midday co-host JON GRAYSON recounting how he developed his unique perspective on talk radio, which ranges from pop culture (including a penchant for references to obscure shows and movies) to politics.
More Voices
KELLY “K3” DOHERTY returned for another voiceover session with YINKA LADEINDE, SCOTT CHAMBERS, and DONOVAN CORNEETZ talking about their careers and craft, auditioning, whether they would contribute their voices to AI (all said they would not do unless it becomes absolutely necessary) and playing samples of their work.
Programmers Speak (Part Two)
The final session was another panel of A-list programmers, with BEASLEY’s JUSTIN CHASE moderating and AUDACY’s JEFF SOTTOLANO, iHEARTMEDIA’s THEA MITCHEM, TOWNSQUARE MEDIA’s KURT JOHNSON, COX MEDIA GROUP/SAN ANTONIO Dir./Operations ROB ROBERTS, and HUBBARD Classic Rock WDRV (97.1 THE DRIVE)/CHICAGO Brand/Content Dir. KEITH HASTINGS offering their opinions on AI (MITCHEM saying she is “a little concerned… because radio’s superpower is connection” but that the industry has to embrace technology; JOHNSON adding his concern about possible copyright violations but SOTTOLANO saying that he is a “long-term bull” on AI in radio although “caution is appropriate”), developing unique content (HASTINGS contending, “if we don’t stay very aggressively in the business of exclusive and non-duplicatable content, then we might as well hang it up and go home”), brand building and content breaking through (ROBERTS noting “it’s getting tougher and tougher to break through… nothing is responding as quickly as it used to”), and promotions and risk aversion (“our biggest enemy of creativity is time and resources,” SOTTALANO said, pointing to how programmers’ jobs have gotten harder in the last ten years with the addition of social media, podcasting, and other duties).
See It All For Yourself
The ALL ACCESS AUDIO SUMMIT is done for 2023, but check here to find out how to access all the sessions on demand.
