Syndication companies are sitting on the couch after a great meal with their feet on the table taking a nap with a smile for as of this writing they dominate urban radio with content, many say, including me, TOO MUCH content. Some estimate urban radio syndication content is as high as 75%. The highest of ANY format. Urban radio could survive with half or even less than that amount. Truth is, syndication companies should be VERY concerned about the very near future. Urban radio can ONLY survive if it creates trends instead of following them and that’s going to require taking advantage of trend-setting youth in a…. well…. youth-driven industry. Few if any of today’s syndication hosts are under 40. If urban radio is to survive, the return to local and community oriented programming must prevail. It’s the ONLY thing the iPod, syndication and corporations can’t compete with. As corporations or my new nickname for them “corps(e)” are forced to start dumping stations in the next couple of years, the syndicated shows are not going to be spared I don’t care how hot they are. The new potential owners and investors, who are already eagerly awaiting the opportunity are going to want to play with their new toy and start from a clean slate and it’s going to be very hard to convince them of the value of today’s economically challenged and homoginized corporate radio concepts. If it works, why did the corporation have to dump the station in the first place? The syndication companies better start paying more attention to their online content and discovering ways to produce podcasts and other digital media without radio. I checked the iTunes store and while Rickey Smiley and Micheal Baisden have a couple of shows on there, they have not been updated since 1962. I could not find ANY content for any of today’s most popular syndicated shows. This is just not wise. I was unaware that syndication companies are also out of the loop as far as digital media too. One truth in business I know for sure is never rest on your laurels, feast or famine is inevitable, it may not happen for decades or it may happen from day to day…. but it’s going to happen.
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Great post. Locally our web department constantly is on us to get podcast up. My show, The Tony Scott Show with Tammie Holland posts 15-20 a week usually and there is a feed on I-Tunes. Local announcers have to push back and prove to management that we can compete with national shows. Here in St. Louis we’ve beaten them all. ALL! We push back. We’re on the local landscape about everything. I’m not the answer but I ain’t losing. If I can help you, PLEASE reach out. Local talent has no choice but to push back and in a PPM world this is our time.
Tony Scott
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