Content by Anthony Dockrill
In the car my daughter regularly gets me to bring up Siri so she can request a song. The usual artists range from Dua Lipa to Ariana Grande. Typical range of music consumed by someone of her age.
Lately something has changed. A recent request was The Smiths‘ There’s a Light That Never Goes Out. I was quietly stunned and yes, very happy. Like all dads, my musical taste is impeccable but I couldn’t take the credit for this selection as much as I wanted to. Other tracks that have popped up recently include The Cure’s Friday I’m in Love, Billy Joel‘s Vienna and more Smiths like Back to the Old House. A proper deep cut.
I asked her where she is hearing these tracks; TikTok.
Tik Tok is now the place young people discover music this also means exploring the past.
Growing up in the late 70s and 80s I went through a similar musical education but it was radio that was my campus. That idea is now as antiquated as standing by your cassette recorder with your finger on the record button in case your new favourite song is played.
Restricted playlists and a complete lack of risk or faith in music has meant radio plays little to no role in how young people discover music.
How did we get here?
The road to hell they say is paved with good intentions but music radio isn’t on a highway to hell. It’s on the road to nowhere.
FM used to be the home of the album. It was wild, varied and slightly messy. Community radio is still holding the torch but commercial radio used to be way more adventurous and take real risks. Now tight formats have made the idea of hearing a deep album cut as ludicrous as hearing a politician without talking points. Safe playlists with very little in the way of new music, and significant artists are reduced to two or three tracks if they feature at all.
I’ve written before it’s foolish to think young people are going to age into listening to the radio. Radio is all about habit and developing a form of listening that is unique to the platform. No skip button in a linear world unless you count the off button. If radio is not trying to reach these ears now it’s not just saying it’s not our job, it’s really saying we’re not for you. Can it really afford to do this?
Perhaps music – real music – is not in radio’s future. It’s talk, news, information and local stories. That makes sense to me on some level but it’s also sad to think of what we will lose if the platform fully rejects music as an important mission and the glue to hold onto our audience.
Demographics are destiny – just ask Japan. So while there is a future if we don’t reach out to Gen Zs I’m not sure it’s one we are really ready for or frankly want. It might be prudent to try and reach these ears before it’s too late.
The solution is simple. Engage with young listeners. That means invest, go out on a limb and make great radio. A jukebox service is not a serious response to the problem.
I totally understand long term thinking is hard to do when you are thinking about the next survey, but as Ernest Hemingway once said about going broke, it happens very slowly and then all at once.
As the Smiths sang how soon is now?
Anthony Dockrill is a Digital Producer at Pod Jam and the former Program Director of 2SER FM Sydney.
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