The Passion of Music

One of the things I enjoy most as a programmer is to get out of the building to do different aspects of my job. Walter Sabo said, "Catch the flu, increase your ratings" when he promoted the idea of programmers getting out of the building a few times a year to monitor not only other stations in the market, but to monitor their own as well. I like to have focus groups, to talk to listeners about what they like and don't like about my station, and what they like about my competitors. The part of my job I love doing most outside the building is going to concerts.

Sometimes, amid digging through research, doing contests and making appearances, we can forget we are in the music business, and that artists are a big part of what makes our stations succeed or fail. I enjoy seeing what kind of audience attends a particular artist's show. Are they "mellow," "young," "old," "hippy," "female," "male," or some other type altogether? This helps me as a music programmer determine where the song and the artist fits within a format.

A year ago, I got a call from a friend insisting that I see an artist named Matt Nathanson in concert. I had heard his new single, playing on "Gray's Anatomy," but I was not familiar with anything else he did. I walked into the venue on a Saturday night and was astonished by the amount of "thirty-something" women in the audience. It was a complete Hot AC audience in attendance, but how had I missed this guy as an artist? His show was unbelievable and I went back home and immediately put the song into rotation and scheduled a market visit for him. Now, over a year later we're on to his second single, but if I'd missed his show in the first place I probably wouldn't have given him or his record a chance, and my audience would have completely missed out on a very talented artist.

The majority of us in the music business are jaded by the star power these artists possess. We've met the biggest stars and rarely think twice about meeting one more. Who would you want to meet? Who would cause you to start shaking at the thought of just shaking their hand? Back in October I went to Fort Lauderdale to see an artist who had become a friend over the years because of the great things she has done for me, my stations, and my listeners: Natasha Bedingfield. Natasha was on tour with New Kids on the Block. She has always gone that extra mile for me, so in return I support her as an artist by going to her shows. While I was there I was also going to see the guys from NKOTB.

In my 16 years in radio, I have never seen a more overwhelmingly adult female audience than I saw at this show. I knew there would be no line in the men's bathroom, that's for sure. The majority of the women standing outside the venue were in their late 20s or early 30s and were most likely Hot AC/Top 40 P1s. I was standing in the "cattle line" with Jason Elias from Interscope Records and my friend Kristin, who does mornings at G105 in Raleigh. Throughout the day, Kristin had been telling us what a huge NKOTB fan she was and was primping the entire time for the photo and her chance to shake the guys' hands. It was refreshing to see that not all radio people are jaded about meeting the artists. She was a true fan, and it was very evident when her hands were shaking when she was next in line for her picture. I had planned on just staying to see Natasha's set and then driving home, but I was convinced to stay and see NKOTB as well. In 20/20 hindsight, I'm glad I did.

In a tour that I had just assumed was thrown together for a bunch of middle-aged guys to recapture their youth and make a few dollars, I was truly impressed. The costume changes, the choreography, and even the vocals were great. The audience went nuts. I have never seen a bunch of adult women go so crazy for any group in my life. The woman in the audience recaptured their youth that night. For us, it was a striking reminder of what star power really means.

So what happens to our passion for live music? All of us in the music industry can pick any concert, walk in, and feel a vibe from the show. Some vibes are certainly more mellow then others, but they still create a sense of passion. Why are we all so jaded to it? Is it because we see going to a concert as a part of the job that is optional? Is it because we would rather be doing something else with our time? Or is it because we now have more duties with our jobs than ever before and the time for extracurricular job activities has been shelved?

All of us need to remember that our audience trusts us to give them the best music for the formats we program and if we don't live up to their expectations, those audience members will find it somewhere else. If a 30 year-old woman can still find herself starstruck at a New Kids on the Block concert, then surely we can find ways to deliver some of that passion to the radio.