February 26, 2018, Issue 590
CRS Deep Dive: Guts & Data
“Most of the world will make decisions by either guessing or using their gut,” data analytics entrepreneur Suhail Doshi has said. “They will be either lucky or wrong.” His point is that data is allowing us to make an increasing variety of decisions with a confidence not yet seen in human history, so why not take advantage? Radio, of course, is a petri dish for gut versus data-backed decision-making, something Stone Door Media Lab’s Jeff Green explored in depth during CRS 2018’s “The Matrix Of The Metrics” panel, again one of the seminar’s most popular. Gut instinct still rules, he found, but radio’s data toolbox is getting much more impressive. “The point of the presentation was to show how data can be used to identify hits as early as possible,” Green says of the study. “Nobody needs help if a record Jeff Green is already Top 15, but when you’re talking about a new record that could sit in overnights for 20 weeks, that’s an expensive proposition for everyone involved.” Streaming & Shazam: Part of the presentation centered on Music Decision Survey 2017, a joint effort with Country Aircheck that for the second year showed gut feeling, artist stature/ reputation and playlist fit as the top considerations for making add decisions (see the full story here). Those approaches have merit, of course, but it’s streaming data that’s beginning to make things interesting. “The evidence is mounting that songs that generate lots of streams are performing pretty well in the end at radio,” Green contends. Programmers appreciate streaming as an important bellwether, the survey shows, but they appear to be thinking of it in general terms. Green’s data identifies specific markers and platforms worth watching. Streams per spin in a song’s second chart week is the big one. Eventual No. 1 Country singles tend to have reached an average of 802 streams per spin at that point, considerably (continued on page 5)
Stream Team: Blue Chair/Warner Bros. Kenny Chesney spends time with his radio and streaming team ahead of his 2018 Trip Around the Sun Tour. Pictured (l-r) are Ray Mariner, Diane Monk, Kristen Williams, Chad Schultz, John Esposito, Chesney, Tim Foisset, Shari Roth, Cris Lacy, Stephanie Hagerty, Adrian Michaels and Kate Myers.
Remembering Dr. Bruce The passing of Country Radio Hall of Famer Dr. Bruce Nelson Stratton (Chronicle 2/25) was met with sadness and fond memories by those who worked with him over more than 50 years in the business. • Country DJ Hall of Fame founder Chuck Chellman: “I first met Bruce in Tupelo, MS. His pop air name was Phil Harmonic and he was on the staff with Hall of Famer Les Acree. Bruce was
Stratton with George Strait
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