Looking For ‘Upbeat'

Even before the Radio Show 2017 wrapped up in Austin this week, I was hearing what I was told was the "consensus" about the show. "So," more than one person told me, "I hear it was 'upbeat.'" I heard that from people at the show, from people who weren't at the show... I swear I heard it from random people on the street. And they all used the word "upbeat," but they couldn't point to a single reason WHY the attitude was "upbeat," other than David Field's National Radio Award speech, which was a variation on his past statements about how there's nothing wrong with the radio business that aggressive selling and self-promotion can't overcome. It was a rousing speech, to be sure, and when you're in what has been a beleaguered industry that has, for certain, taken its share of unfair punches, it was the kind of thing that, at least for the moment, would bring you to your feet.

But that was really it. "Upbeat"? I'd call what I observed at Podcast Movement a few weeks ago "upbeat." The Radio Show had a lot less energy, and much less optimism, but quite a bit of uncertainty and curiosity and outright defensiveness, especially towards "smart speakers" (are we really calling the Amazon devices "smart speakers"? Can't we come up with a better name?) and the connected car. Not everyone is on board with new technology being a good thing for radio, but more people seem to understand how things are changing and how they don't necessarily involve an antenna and transmitter and FCC license.

And that's where I find the "upbeat." It was referred to in, I think (my notes and mind are presently unclear), Steve Goldstein's presentation about podcasting and Paul Jacobs' presentation about apps, and, no, it's not just about podcasting. It's about podcasting and streaming and "smart speakers" and connected cars and "Smart TVs" and Rokus and Amazon Fire Sticks and tablets and phones and refrigerators and, Lord knows, someday a chip implanted in your head. It's about having more platforms on which to put your creative output. It's about an industry which, if it defines itself as "audio" rather than "radio," can unleash itself and reach everyone everywhere with new and different programming. It's about the radio industry now being able to do not just audio but video (please, don't say "pivot"), about no longer being tethered to a clock but being able to serve up material on demand, about users being able to summon up any show from any source anywhere at will.

This is scary if you look at it as enabling more competition. But it is absolutely energizing if you look at it as opening the door for you to do whatever you want and reach an international audience, instantly, at low or even no cost. And as for monetization, if you're looking at, say, the podcasting industry crowing about projecting $220 million in revenue for 2017 and thinking, ha, that's pocket change for the radio industry, you should be taking the next step and thinking that there is no other industry, no other group of professionals better suited to finding ways to make money off niche audiences that respond remarkably well to what you always knew as "live reads." You -- the radio industry, the people in that hotel in Austin this week -- can do this. And it doesn't require the repeated incantation of "93% reach... 93% reach... 93% reach... 93% reach...." Reach doesn't mean effectiveness, but these new platforms for what you do make what you do more effective on every level.

Which is why, although I didn't feel the "upbeat" in the room that everyone else was talking about, I still feel upbeat about what we do. Then again, I might have a different definition of "what we do" from how a lot of people in Austin this week would define it. It's not enough to throw around the word "digital" and maybe stream and throw a scoped-but-unedited version of your morning show out as a podcast. The door is open for radio to create more and better and fresher content. The rules do not apply, for there are no rules, no gatekeepers, and no better people to take advantage of this opportunity.

There's "upbeat" for you.

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To our friends and colleagues in Florida, we at All Access are, along with everyone else, hoping for the best. And to those in radio doing the critical job of informing the public during this emergency, two things: one, this is another example of what you can do better than anyone else, and two... thank you.

Perry Michael Simon
Vice President/Editor, News-Talk-Sports and Podcast
AllAccess.com
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