This past week, Fred Jacobs shared the latest research about radio air personalities and how they view the future of this profession. Here’s what struck me about the presentation.
The Radio Talent Pool is Shrinking
Jacobs Media Strategies has been producing this research for Don Anthony’s Morning Show Boot Camp since 2018, and during COVID, no research was done in 2020. So, from the first survey in 2018 to the latest one in 2023, the number of participants shrank 62%; from 1,168 to 442 people.
COVID, with the resulting Work From Home (WFH) operating model, has greatly impacted radio station cultures and has not returned to anything like pre-pandemic days.
Less People, More Hats to Wear
Not surprising, with fewer people working on the content side of radio, those that remain “wear more hats” than ever; 54% of radio personalities now say they are responsible for more than four different areas.
No Talent Farm
When I began my radio career, it was board operating Sunday morning church programs. That first radio job would give me the opportunity to land a nights/weekend part-time air shift. This was pretty much the norm for baby boomers in broadcasting. In fact, Jacobs research shows that 78% of us started in radio this way.
Today, those entry level radio positions are gone, with only 14% of today’s up and coming air talent having those same opportunities.
Talent Development
One of the concerns expressed by today’s air personalities is believing their radio station and/or their company is not working to discover or develop new air talent. Radio’s biggest companies are blamed most, with medium and small companies being exceptions.
Would You Recommend Radio as a Career?
When today’s air personalities were asked how they would respond to the statement:
“I would absolutely recommend [that] a high school student pursue radio as a career,”
- More than half, 52%, said they would disagree or strongly disagree.
- A quarter of the sample was neutral.
Possible reasons for this negative attitude might be:
- Four in ten air personalities are in debt or struggling
- Few air personalities expect to make more money this year
- Three in ten air personalities are now involved in a second business
- A majority of the air personalities feel they are taken for granted
- 76% are personally concerned that Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) will lead to many more on-air radio jobs being lost
- Four in ten of those air personalities currently “on the beach” say they won’t be back
Welcome to Consumer Choice
Gone are the days of the gate keepers of music; those people being the radio program directors, record store owners and record companies. Consumers are now in charge and define the characteristics of the media world we live in.
Any solution to the problems we confront must understand our audience’s needs, wants and desires, and put those first.
“People don’t by what you do, they buy why you do it.”
-Simon Sinek
DickTaylorBlog 
There is absolutely a career in radio broadcasting. We aim to ensure this is so.
However, I suspect presenters on the likes of the “Gold” stations who mainly do little more than fill the gaps between the tracks, will be the first to lose their jobs to AI. I always feel sorry for these jocks, they have little to do beyond mumbling niceties between the tracks they have had to play over and over again, it must be soul destroying.
Radio will survive and prosper by being different, compelling, thought leading and anything else it takes to avoid being audible wall paper. The future of radio lies in being innovative and inspiring, not in being the same as a million others, churning out the same formatted monotony. People want entertaining and inspiring, so let’s provide that!
We are excited about our global future at Equal Ability Radio because we are not cliché, are not restricted to playlists, give our presenters absolute freedom to play what they are excited about and what they believe will excite their listeners and combine a wide mixture of music and chat shows that keep the listener motivated.
Some of the Gold style Stations are literally boring their listeners to death. If I hear “Love lift us up where we belong” or “I had the time of my life” just once more – even I will take a hammer to my car stereo!
Trevor Krueger
Founder & CEO
Equal Ability Radio
http://www.bigearradio.com
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Thank You Trevor for sharing your perspective on this topic.
-DT
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The FCC And the GOP/MAGA/Trumpian Republicans are gon’ get a reality check in 2024, because the world needs live energentic human type DJs be in on AM, FM, internet, satellite, and podcast, and not AI’s.
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Even A.I. has a bias, that the creator of the algorithm probably had. No one truly understands how this new technology actually works, only that appears it does.
-DT
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Good point, but if there’s one thing i learned from flicks like the “Terminator” series and “Avengers: Age Of Ultron” and that is this, not all AI’s haved to be innocent like us humans.
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Thank You for sharing the thoughts.
-DT
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I would ensure i had a trade or other career skills before entering radio as an announcer or journalist as the industry is skeletonised with few roles in sparsely staffed stations putting out multiple channels following the US example where you are also receptionist, sales guy, schedules, production, marketing and janitor. Radio since the 80’s has dwindled with networking ending thousands of local announcer jobs and closing many news rooms. Even as an A grade journalist I would have been better working in other careers with less hours and vastly less stress ie office admin, hospitality, real estate, shop assistant, police, ambo, woollies or as a burger flipper When i see announcers advertising they are conservative to get jobs that means a few jobs going and right wing bias is policy rather than balanced commentary. in Oz a teacher is now on $86,000 to 108,000.. Journos are on 60 to 70kays. Unless there is a radical reinvestment in radio to promote real talent, vital interesting unbiased commentary and investigative journalism the industry is doomed as people rely on streaming for their music, news & info. Radio has to reinvent itself ,lift its game to merely survive as it is being replaced by any twit wih a mic, camera and computer as a viral blogger with no training or skills behind him.
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Mark, I would say having skills beyond radio was always important and that’s certainly good advice.
All media is undergoing a revolution. Unlike evolution, revolutions are messy.
Thank You for stopping by the blog and adding your perspective.
-DT
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I would recommend forgoing the elusive dream of stardom via radio in favor of a career in a growth industry. Hopefully radio will remain viable, if not healthy, for many years to come. It’s hard to beat the convenience. However it is clearly not a growth industry.
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Thank You for sharing your insight.
-DT
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Radio, and the artists therein, need to realize that radio provides a few advantages that the mega streaming services cannot:
* First of all, the money. The ‘River of Pennies’ that Spotify & other streamers offer, is not sufficient to support the artists in any meaningful manner. It isn’t until an artist makes it onto radio that they begin to become relevant enough to make life altering money
* Secondly, local insight. Radio can spotlight & promote local events, concerts & businesses in ways that the ‘megas’ simply cannot. Including, live, in-studio guest appearances by the artists whose incomes are totally dictated by the local mediums. The artists themselves need to realize which side their bread is buttered on & support accordingly.
* Thirdly, giveaways. Local radio stations are able to not only promote, but give away 10th caller tickets to concerts & shows, again spotlighting the artists and increasing their gate revenue at their events
* Finally, personality & innovation. Local radio has a huge advantage in being able to find, cultivate & grow young talent in an atmosphere relatively free from corporate standards & oversight
Radio needs to realize its importance in the media landscape. It is where artists can gain the popularity & exposure they need to make meaningful income. That said, radio needs to return to local cultivation & get away from the large corporate media giants. To focus on the local markets, their personalities & own unique features. It’s time to get away from soulless voice tracking & mind-numbing 425 song playlists.
Radio used to be a place where we the people would go to find NEW artists & songs. Radio does have to play commercials to exist, but it would do well to make those spots more interesting & creative. Playing less commercials will help, which means radio will need to explore new revenue sources. Radio needs to once again become a leader and not a reactive shrinking violet.
Radio is still in a very important force in the lives & careers of musical artists. They both just need to realize what a symbiotic relationship they have & treat one another with the respect & relevance each deserves.
If radio will evolve, there will be a huge opportunity for new on-air personalities. The big question is, IF …
Mike Mewborn ~ B-Side Trax
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The operative word in all you wrote Mike is “IF.”
I’ve been writing this blog for 9 years now and the industry has only moved further from all the things you wrote as critically important to its future and survival.
Thank You for stopping by the blog and giving your perspective.
-DT
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My pleasure. It’s all right there if someone will just have the stones to stand up & follow the common sense path …
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One of the strange things about today’s air personalities is the laughter among groups of people on air. I listen to several programs and cannot understand what creates the laughter among groups of such personalities.
The conversation is rarely funny to me, and I wonder if it’s a product of ingested substances that alter mental processes, rendering the language weird. It’s especially noticeable the more personalities who are present on a particular program.
Has anyone else noticed that phenomenon?
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I have not, because I don’t listen to ensemble morning radio shows.
But I’m not exactly sure that’s anything new, because that sort of thing began with the advent of “morning zoo” type shows.
I don’t remember hearing anything like that back iin the days of Harry Harrison, Don Imus, Dale Dorman, Robert W. Morgan etc.
-DT
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Ha-Ha! Your characterization of the “morning zoo” perfectly describes those “ensembles”.
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I would not recommend it. Sorry. I wish that I could. If you go into radio these days, the only viable opportunity that I see is in sales. Air talent is being eliminated left and right. Even some major morning shows with big ratings are either being cut down (sidekicks/co-hosts eliminated) or the main talent is fired and someone cheaper brought in. I recently visited a local large market station cluster complex. The chief engineer proudly showed me all of the studios for the six FMs and one AM (news talk). It was 1PM and the six FM studios were all empty, with a computer pumping out the programming. I remember how sad it was that he had to turn on the lights in each studio that we visited.
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Sadly, this was the case in many radio stations by the end of the 21st Century. I empathize with your sadness.
-DT
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