Your Music Research May Be Hurting You

Needless to say, I'm a believer in research. All of my career has been devoted to using it to improve the value and performance of radio stations across formats, including a whole lot of CCM stations. It has been a key ingredient in the format's growth and success.

But I have become concerned lately. Concerned about what we're getting from our music research vs. what we think and hope to get.

First, let's say the obvious: Research is an investment in the product and as such, it's not cheap. And music research - because it's regular and frequent - can be particularly expensive. So systems have evolved over time to bring down the cost (with certain sacrifices), otherwise it would be impossible to do it at all. And all credit to the companies that do it. It's not easy, and I know they want to provide the best research they can for you.

But it's the sacrifices I'm increasingly worried about. And those sacrifices are actually our fault.

See, the vast majority of CCM stations who do music research via "online call-out" (or whatever you like to name it) do so with a panel of station fans recruited specifically to vote on our music.

But how much do you know about the makeup of this panel?

Do you know, for example, how many of your music panelists are station donors?

That may sound fine to you conceptually, but donors represent maybe 4% of your Cume audience and - as my research regularly shows - they have little in common with your station's fans, let alone Cume listeners.

If your music panel contains 20%, 25%, or - as in one actual case I'm familiar with - 50% donors, then you are getting results which don't square with your fans, future fans, or future listeners. Period.

And what does that mean?

It means you're getting bad information.

It means your biggest fans who pay for your history of playing their favorites are making decisions about what you might do that you haven't done before. And since they are donors, they are going to be your most conservative listeners - those who least desire that you change anything. Those who hate music risks the most.

This means you are trapped by your donors. You can't evolve, you can't change, you can't grow. You are the victim of years and loyalty and fixed expectations.

Wanna know why your music panel rejects popular new sounds? Donors. That's why. And the more you have in your panel, the more trouble you're in.

Remember, it's not our job to superserve donors with programming. It's our job to grow our audience, convert more audience into fans, and more fans into donors. Donors are donors for many reasons, and music is only one. To obsess on the tastes of donors (and especially to do it blindly) is dangerous.

Keep in mind, your biggest competitor today isn't the Christian station across the street (if there even is one). It's the digital smorgasbord every listener enjoys via Spotify and Apple Music. These are where the new artists and sounds are born. You need to have an extraordinary openness to these new artists and sounds or younger audiences will get them from the sources that provide them, no matter what you do.

And if that happens, younger audiences will never "grow into" radio, let alone your station.

This doesn't mean you should be unduly "risky" with your music choices. It means you need to be open to novelty and change. You need to redefine what "risk" really is. It means you need to seek the opinions of the right mix of listeners. It means you need to specifically avoid the opinions of donors who are not representative of any population besides...well, donors.

Do you have donors in your music panel? How many? Why?

Don't.

Mark Ramsey Media does audience research for Christian Media - Perceptual research, digital studies, donor studies, underwriter impact studies, music studies, etc. Learn more here. Call Mark at 858-414-4191 or email markramsey@mac.com.

And if you want a strategy to solicit major donors to pay for your research, look here and download this Listener Impact Study solicitation for donors from WAKW-FM.

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