Christian Radio Survey

[brent]

Check out the front page of our website for a summarized version of the latest Troy Research CCM Radio survey.

www.projectdamagecontrol.com

[greenchili]

Hmmm not sure what to make of that one.

I'm kinda outta the loop anyways.

Ipod is my friend.

And no I'm not referring to itunes. I don't like my music tied to DRM.

Christian radio is kinda weird anyways because alot of it is ministry oriented (obviously). I'd probably be really difficult for a christian radio station to be all music. On top of that from what I understand. Due to the way things work they dont really play a whole lot of variety anyways. It's kinda hard to explain. What I'm thinking of might only apply to secular stations. Wish I could remember where I read about this stuff.

[Mexican Spud]

Christian radio is kinda weird anyways because alot of it is ministry oriented (obviously). I'd probably be really difficult for a christian radio station to be all music. On top of that from what I understand. Due to the way things work they dont really play a whole lot of variety anyways.

This is way my wife and I started our own internet station. VARIETY!!!!! Playing classics rock and the new rock. From mellow to hard rock. From bands that our popular. Bands that were forgotten and new bands that dont get any radio airplay. We love christian rock music. We are very cautious of who we play when it comes to new artist. Its all about JESUS!!!
Our station just delebrated its 2nd year this past weekend. Our music library is growing each day. Our station runs 24/7 with a live show on Friday nite. Useless theres a concert or baseball tickets.

[microkoe]

Spuds station is Great! What a mix! I mean he mixes my songs with Stryper and Petra! Now thats a mix. if ya want to hear what my tunes sound like.. http://www.myspace.com/michaelkoehler

I support the station 100 % . NOT just cause they play my tunes. The station is a blessing to me.. Ive been hearing songs on there ive never heard before, or since who knows when. I join the friday nite lives in the chat room when i can. NO talk.. just 24/7 Jesus Tunes. and thats a ministry in itself.. ok.. spud just thougth id give ya a plug..

[Enosh]

Michael,

I'm with you on that. I like the Right Place for the exact same reason. I don't know who they're polling for that info, but Christian Radio is awful! The only time I listen to Christian radio is when I just happen to hear a song I like.

It's not a rock vs pop vs ballad vs alien vs Freddy thing. I listen to many different types of music. There's just very little out there right now that will pass the test of time. I listen to talk radio more than anything.

This problem isn't central to christian radio. I listened to a talk radio show this past Sunday where they were discussing the fact that there aren't classi artists and bands like there used to be. We have quantity over quality.

[executioner]

the only time I have on the radio is if it has something to do with sports. I will listen to sports talk radio or baseball or hockey game that is it. We have a very high quality Christian Rock Station in our area (897powerfm.com) and the music is good but the message is very fluffy. I choose not to listen because very little meat in the message. You can listen to them online if you so choose to do so; I recommend them if you like that sort of thing. One thing the survey did not talk about was on how listernership is down for music radio by about 20% since 2002, and has decline for 8-9 years in a row. Clear Channel one of the biggest radio providers has losses in the $10 mil range over the last couple of years; I know because the media company I work for was attemping to buy them in 2004 but backed out because of overwhelming debt and losses. I know our stations in our area are constantly changing their formats and I believe that hurts listenership alot. The radio format as we know it is a dying breed and I believe will be phased out in the next 5-8 years.

[brent]

Radio stations have to be very specific and narrow minded in their programming, because of the competition. The most purchased music and most listened to radio station format is Adult and Hot Adult Contemporary. Christian stations view themselves as direct competition for secular AC stations. So they cannot be very deep in message, or deviate from the musical niche. They are about eight years behind the times though. With Digital Radio coming (providing an extra three to four stations per band), things will only get more narrow.

Most Christian rock stations are not 24-hour stations. Some are, but moat are not. Most Christian rock is only played on one to three hour programs. So, what happens is like what happens to churches trying to do both contemporary and traditional music with a blended audience. Someone gets alienated, it becomes an us vs. them issue, and the people that need to hear it won't, becuase they do not know that it is there, because of the is normally played 95% of the time, and they are turned off.

Times are changing. What was once perceived as hard rock 10-20 years ago is now considered AC. Most CC and PW music is going more urban. The stations are worried about that. Urban is not where the core audience is for the major networks. We heard many pleas for AC and Lite AC music. We also heard about the need for better, horizontal content.

I am afraid that Christian rock stations will be slower to grow, because it is such a small market. One of the most successful stations in the country is in Tulsa, OK., and it only has a .7 share. Pretty weak compared to the secular counterparts with a 4.0 +/- share.

What we have to remember is that true Christians, are a small, niche market compared to all other people. Even if every Bible believing Christian DID listen to radio, it would still be a small market. The majority of Christians are not rockers. Christians are no different than any other human, in their purchasing trends. AND, the big thing that we must remember is that converts do not always stay committed to their faith. If they don't stay committed to their faith, then they likely will not buy the faith's music.

iPods are killing radio. So what the stations are trying to do is think about internet broadcasting, podcasts, etc as marketing tools to get the listeners to come back. There are some things that radio has to offer. iPods created less sense of community and more individuallism. This makes it harder for labels, bands, broadcasters, advertisers, etc to zoom in on trends, realize what people want, and make more of it/capitalize on it. So we end up with more bland crap everywhere.

I am all for death to the system. But, as I sit here today, Iwonder if it wasn't so bad. Because atleast we all can know how to use and manipulate the current system. Right now, there is allot of uncertainty. There are allot of good ideas, but they are all going to end up being monopolies (Apple) like the current system. So there is no shift of power or money to the artist. It is just going to a different billionare.

[executioner]

i know it takes money but the artists need to take their rights back. They need to find a way to do everything from preproduction to postproduction themselves. I believe Petra could have kept going without a label but it probably would have been a hard road to hoe with alot of work, but with God and the internet all things are possible.

[brent]

The reason that you need a label is the money, the industry leverage for radio airplay, marketing, touring packages, etc, etc. It is dang near impossible to get airplay as an indie on the networks as an indie, especially if you don't fit the format.

Petra did do their preproduction in house. The big thing for me is quality. It is a huge mistake to let bands do it themselves. Not many people have the skills, access to great sounding rooms and proper acoustics to mix in. The idea should be to have the best production values, and a better delivery system than MP3.

There is no way to make money selling MP3s. There is no way to make money playing crappy gigs. All of which are essential for indie bands to start.

[greenchili]

Times are changing. What was once perceived as hard rock 10-20 years ago is now considered AC. Most CC and PW music is going more urban. The stations are worried about that. Urban is not where the core audience is for the major networks. We heard many pleas for AC and Lite AC music. We also heard about the need for better, horizontal content.

Lol. I always wondered why most of the music that I like is in the "Adult Contemporary" section.

What we have to remember is that true Christians, are a small, niche market compared to all other people. Even if every Bible believing Christian DID listen to radio, it would still be a small market. The majority of Christians are not rockers. Christians are no different than any other human, in their purchasing trends. AND, the big thing that we must remember is that converts do not always stay committed to their faith. If they don't stay committed to their faith, then they likely will not buy the faith's music.

Unfortunately very much true and alot of christian radio stations rely on donations from the listeners. If a listener gets offended say bye bye to some money. Another unusual thing I see, that irks me, is I see alot of christians who are VERY particular about what they will watch on TV, but do not apply that same thinking to the music they listen too.

iPods are killing radio. So what the stations are trying to do is think about internet broadcasting, podcasts, etc as marketing tools to get the listeners to come back. There are some things that radio has to offer. iPods created less sense of community and more individuallism. This makes it harder for labels, bands, broadcasters, advertisers, etc to zoom in on trends, realize what people want, and make more of it/capitalize on it.

/me goes out and buys more Ipods.. j/k

Well I'd be willing to bet that if you talk to people the two things they probably hate the most about radio are. Commercials and lack of variety. I don't do it myself personally, but then I don't really listen to the radio either, but I've seen it alot of times. Where as soon as a commercial comes on the channel flipping begins.

I am all for death to the system. But, as I sit here today, Iwonder if it wasn't so bad. Because atleast we all can know how to use and manipulate the current system. Right now, there is allot of uncertainty. There are allot of good ideas, but they are all going to end up being monopolies (Apple) like the current system. So there is no shift of power or money to the artist. It is just going to a different billionare.

lol. The system is so screwed up, it's on life support and someone needs to pull the plug. Can't say I know too much about it, but I get the impression that licensing and the way copyrights work make it very difficult to put everything all in one place. So you end up with a bunch of labels creating their own competing systems.

The average user does not like to be confused. So having to go to several different sources for their stuff is too inconvenient. Especially if those different systems have a monthly fee. Also, believe it or not, too much variety can do ya in. Too many options and the consumer blows a gasket.

I suppose it would be possible if the information was there, but the interface was easy enough to use that the user would just be spoon fed things a little at a time. But for the one who "knows" what he/she wants can get directly to it.

Think about those digital camera memcard stations you see popping up in the stores. I've even seen DVD movie rental machines popping up in stores. As MP3 players become more popular, don't you think it'd be kinda cool just to be able to walk into a store, hook up your player, and download a tune or two?

I dunno. Maybe someone will figure it out eventually. Like I said. I think there is alot more interest for stuff then they think there is. They just do not know how to measure it. Until a new way of getting it out is discovered it is only gonna get worse.

Obviously also, they seem to highly target teens as well. But I would think after having a few generations grow up on music you'd think they'd figure it out. Video games have the same problem. You have a whole generation of people who grew up on it. Kid's/Teen's aren't the only ones playing video games.

The reason that you need a label is the money, the industry leverage for radio airplay, marketing, touring packages, etc, etc. It is dang near impossible to get airplay as an indie on the networks as an indie, especially if you don't fit the format.

Translation. The label/industry has a choke hold on the distribution market. It doesn't hurt that they have the moeny as well.

Anyways I sorta kinda agree in that, any newly forming band has no clue about what techniques to use to get a good sounding recording. Our local church band has some good stuff on their 2nd release, but the mixing quality is horrible! Now I can see past that too the music, but alot of people are turned off by that. It's a shame too, the stuff sounds great live as well.

[executioner]

The things that Brent listed above about the Labels being in control not only from the artist stand point but also from whats on radio from what we hear on the internet is the reason why the Federal Government has put the Labels in with the Mafia and have called them the most crooked type of business in the free world. I really feel sorry for the artists because they have no choice about their gifts; If they want it to get out on the streets they have to sign their rights away to get it done. It is really stupid that an artist like Petra will get only 4-6 cents from each CD they sell. A high mark is 14 cents which Aerosmith gets for each CD they sell. It's funny but Aerosmith will actually tell you at their concerts not to buy their CD's in retail but only at their concerts or on their website.

[brent]

Exactly, because they get 50%+ minimum of the merch table sales. Many people, like Bon Jovi, have said that they don't care if they ever release another CD, as long as they still get to tour. Touring is a direct infusion into their wife's wallets. However, bands have to be big sellers/draws already to get to that point. They all had to have a presence at the retailer to start.

[executioner]

Exactly, because they get 50%+ minimum of the merch table sales. Many people, like Bon Jovi, have said that they don't care if they ever release another CD, as long as they still get to tour. Touring is a direct infusion into their wife's wallets. However, bands have to be big sellers/draws already to get to that point. They all had to have a presence at the retailer to start.

I know the Rolling Stones albums the past few years have not sold well, but they sure sell out their tours. Bon Jovi has had somewhat of rebirth in sales; They were really hurting in the mid 90's sales wise, but when they released Crush it did very well as have the last 2 albums. needless to say I like Bon Jovi's sound now, it is very current but also gives you a feel for the good ol' days in the 80's.

[sue d.]

We had a full-time 24-hour rock reporting station here in the area (www.wrgx.com) and in a few weeks they are having to shut down the rock arena and switch over to COUNTRY, of all things, because there just wasn't enough support to keep the station going.

They'll still stream the audio, but not "on the air." Country is taking over! GAG!

Too bad too, because this station was inagurated with a Petra concert.
See: http://www.johnschlitt.net/PicPages/101598SHEWI.htm

I listen to the radio all day long... it's playing while I work as background music. I rarely ever play anything off my computer... a radio is SO much more portable than a big monster computer!

[greenchili]

Country and Rap/Hip-Hop... Blech...