MID WEEK Top 40 UPDATE BILLBOARD.COM/NEWSLETTERS BILLBOARD.BIZ/NEWSLETTER JUNE 6, 2013 | PAGE 1 OF 9 INSIDE Top 40 And Radio Geeks, Unite! The Connected Consumer PAGE 3 RICH APPEL [email protected] What’s With a multitude of entertainment options out there, it’s easy to YOUNGER = HIGHER, LONGER, MORE New At forget that in top 40’s long history, a listener’s favorite station has Who are top 40’s P1s, and how engaged are they in the digital uni- The New never been the only game in town. There was always something verse? According to Edison Research VP Jason Hollins, 60% are Music else a consumer could do. Not to mention there are only so many female, 50% are age 12-24 and 60% 12-34, with an average age of hours in a day, right? 28. This younger skew means a greater Seminar The good news suggested by the HOW TOP 40’S P1s COMPARE TO THE POPULATION level of connectivity compared with PAGE 4 PERSONS TOP 40 Infinite Dial’s study of the format’s 12+ P1s not just other formats but to the 12- P1s—released last week by Edi- AM/FM radio usage in car 84% 88% plus and 12-34 population in general. Macklemore son Research and Arbitron—is that Awareness of Pandora 69% 88% Nearly 80% of P1s have Internet ac- & Ryan Lewis there seems to be plenty of room— Having a profile on any social network 62% 82% cess and use Wi-Fi, and one-third own and time—for all players. The survey Internet access & Wi-Fi 67% 78% a tablet/iPad. The cellphone is signif- ‘Hold’ At No. 1 Having a profile on Facebook 58% 78% of more than 200 listeners naming icantly more important to top 40’s PAGE 5 Owning a smartphone 53% 75% a top 40 station as a favorite shows most valuable listeners: More than Awareness of iHeartRadio 45% 69% just how connected—make that, how 60% say they always have it within Daft Punk Learning about new music is important 45% 65% much more connected—the format’s Keeping cell phone within arm’s length 52% 64% arm’s length, and 75% own a smart- Spends most faithful are to their computers YouTube weekly usage 37% 62% phone, compared to slightly more Second and phones. Past week listening to Online Radio 33% 47% than half of the 12-plus population. Week Atop The survey marks the first time iPod/MP3 player usage in car 29% 47% Looking at online radio, streaming Billboard 200 the Infinite Dial—which since 1998 Using social network sites several times daily 27% 45% video and social media use, the story PAGE 5 has put radio listeners’ use of digital Past week listening to Pandora 20% 33% is the same virtually across the board. media under the microscope—has Having an account on Instagram 12% 28% Arbitron senior VP of marketing Bill Using Twitter 15% 24% drilled down to examine any for- Rose says top 40’s P1s “are highly Online Radio usage in car 12% 20% mat’s P1s. The reported usage of and tech- and digital-savvy. [While] all Following radio station listened to most on Facebook 9% 16% attitudes toward key digital platforms ARBITRON INC. AND EDISON RESEARCH, 2013 American consumers are more in- suggest that while there’s a lot that volved with all things digital, these radio is doing right, there’s also a lot more opportunity to extend particular listeners are even more so. They’re far more likely to a station’s brand using newer media. be online radio, YouTube, smartphone, cellphone, tablet and so- BILLBOARD TOP 40 MID-WEEK UPDATE JUNE 6, 2013 | PAGE 2 OF 9 cial media active [compared with listeners of] other formats.” Not surprisingly, it’s this higher level of social media activity among the format’s most faithful that stands out in the Edison/Arbitron report. Eighty percent have a profile on a social network, and nearly half check such sites several times a day. On the all-important Facebook, nearly 80% of P1s have a personal profile and have 70 more Facebook friends than average. Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest show almost twice as much activity among P1s. Hollins says, “It gives confirmation to these behaviors being stickier with younger demos.” RADIO STILL RULES And then there’s radio. While AM/FM remains the top listening choice in the car, other platforms like the iPod and online radio show up with greater in-car usage among P1s. Overall, close to half of top 40 listeners reported listening to online audio content in the past week, with one-third listening to Pandora. Awareness of such online radio brands as iHeartRadio and Pandora is also much higher than Seacrest Out, Cyrus In: Miley took over for Ryan on Monday’s “On Air With Ryan average, with nearly 90% aware of the latter. Seacrest” to world-premiere her new single, “We Can’t Stop.” Pictured with Cyrus The crowding of the competitive field shouldn’t necessarily raise a red flag for is “On Air” co-host Ellen K. (Photo: Sadao Turner/Ryan Seacrest Productions) radio, Hollins says. “With [top 40’s] recent resurgence, it’s clear there’s still loyalty to radio even though there are more choices now than ever. While other digital plat- general theme has been ‘media consumption is not a zero sum game,’” Rose says. forms are used in wider acceptance, AM/FM remains the dominant player. There “[We’ve seen] heavy Internet users spend the same amount of time with radio and may be competitors and threats to radio, but there are greater opportunities as well.” TV. The amount of radio/TV time spent in 2013 actually rose by an hour relative That’s a sentiment echoed by Entercom OM Brian Kelly. “I look at radio as al- to 2003. The new ways to consume this content make it easier to consume more.” most a different category from online. Few online choices are real radio stations Kelly adds, “There’s nothing wrong with being a heavy user of both radio and digi- in that there’s no interaction or companionship, just a music collection. With radio tal. As a kid who was a heavy radio user, it didn’t stop me from playing a stack of al- you’ve got a live personality who’s there with the audience.” bums now and then, but it was radio that influenced me to purchase those albums.” In fact, the Infinite Dial’s research suggests that for these listeners, online music One more vote of confidence for conventional radio: It’s still the most popular way delivery systems complement rather than replace AM/FM radio. “For years our of learning about new music, something two-thirds of format P1s say is important to them. That’s ahead of friends and family and YouTube, the second- and third- most-mentioned sources for learning. While the industry already understands the importance of new music on top 40, these figures help put its importance among the format’s most dedicated listeners into perspective: Less than half of persons 12-plus feel that same urgency when it comes to new music. By the way, not all digital radio options score with top 40’s P1s. They show no greater likelihood for listening to podcasts, with just 12% reporting having done so in the past month. And not all attitudes favorable to radio are higher: While the number is still high at nearly 80%, top 40 P1s are still less likely than average to be disappointed if their station were no longer on the air. Hollins says, “This speaks to the availability of music on other platforms. Formats indexing higher—religious or public radio—contain unique types of content listeners may not hear elsewhere.” Emblem3 performed current hit “Chloe (You’re the One I Want)” at WPST Trenton, ‘DIAL’ TO RADIO: CAST A WIDER NET N.J.’s Popfest, which also featured Cher Lloyd, Jason Derülo, Carly Rae Jepsen and Hot Chelle Rae. With the young male trio are WPST staffers including imaging As Hollins suggests, within the results of the Infinite Dial’s study lie opportunities director Wade Wieser (far left) and programming assistant Rob Quinn (far right). for radio. One of those may be with Facebook, which 78% of P1s use but on which The premier source for trusted radio industry news, analysis and chart info with expert commentary from RICH APPEL and SEAN ROSS, and chart analysis from GARY TRUST, all sent straight to your inbox every MONDAY & THURSDAY TO ADVERTISE, CONTACT: Allyson Levy • 404-313-1393 • [email protected] TO SUBSCRIBE, VISIT: www.billboard.biz/newsletter BILLBOARD TOP 40 MID-WEEK UPDATE JUNE 6, 2013 | PAGE 3 OF 9 only 16% have liked their favorite station. Hollins feels “there’s absolutely room THE CHRONICLER RICH APPEL [email protected] for growth and increasing brand loyalty.” Rose adds, “Communicating to P1s in a meaningful way, having a conversation with them—which is what draws them to social media—could bring that number up even further.” Entercom’s Kelly concurs. “It’s about interacting with the audience. Stations have to very careful about only using Facebook as the ‘buy our stuff’ page. It’s got to be more than that.” With higher usage among P1s, cellphones, especially smartphones, should inspire Confessions Of clever ways to connect with listeners. Kelly has already seen the power of the phone. “Along with social media, texting has replaced the request line.