Category: Bill Gavin

The Bill Gavin Newsletter / December 21, 1963

By BILL GAVIN
Billboard Contributing Editor

DURING THE DAYS that followed President Kennedy’s death, I was privileged to talk with many people in radio, in many different cities. Without exception, they expressed shock, grief and even shame that such a thing could happen in the United States of America. Many spoke with pride of the manner in which their stations responded to the tragic events and of the loyal, unselfish cooperation of their program staffs.

All stations, of course, abandoned their regular formats of popular records, substituting different kinds of serious music. All advertising was canceled until the morning of Tuesday, November 26. Even after that date, many stations were cautiously slow in returning to their full complement of current hit records. In a few cases, it was reported that even though the regular playlist was once more in effect, disk jockeys simply would not program the more raucous sounds. The entire response of American radio during those difficult days was a mark of innate good taste and respect for listeners’ feelings on the part of radio people.

THE QUESTION has been asked by many – and answered by none: Will the sobering reflections of our national tragedy bring about a new trend in programming? Some things are fairly certain: shock wears off; memories of sorrow grow dim; time erodes the sharp edges of a newly aroused national con- science. It is a part of living that there should be music and laughter and entertainment. No one would want it otherwise. Radio Influences youth network television, and radio is doing an excellent job of presenting and explaining the world’s problems and our concern with them.

Unfortunately, very little of the networks’ news and commentaries ever reach the school age population. The majority of the teens and pre-teens prefers listening to pop radio. Pop records are its entertainment and disk jockeys are its heroes.

THERE ARE DISK JOCKEYS who claim to “identify” with teenagers. What some of them mean is that they accept and condone teen attitudes and behavior: What is implied is often the disk jockey’s apparent approval of the lowest common denominator of juvenile morality. The radio jock is the acknowledged leader in the field of records for youth; he too often neglects his opportunities to lead in the direction of more enduring values. Many radio stations, with their well -publicized “personalities,” are held in far higher esteem by their young listeners than are their schools, their churches, or even their homes.

It is time, I think, for such prestige to be used to reinforce, rather than to ignore, the basic values of human living. Isn’t it time that radio stood for something besides competition and profit?

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Information, credit and news source (as published): Billboard  December 21, 1963

Programming Newsletter

By BILL GAVIN
Billboard Contributing Editor

PROGRAM DIRECTORS handle a multitude of problems. They deal with promos, jingle packages, formats, news, music and everything else that goes on the air. At many smaller stations their jobs also include supervision of commercial production for local advertisers. The manifold responsibilities of a program director test his skills and try his patience. Of all his jobs, none is so important and none so difficult-as obtaining optimum effectiveness from his staff of disk jockeys.

It has been said that the most successful PD is the one who does the least directing. It could be said more accurately that the most fortunate PD’s are those who need to do the least directing. In an ideal situation, the PD can say “Here’s our policy–here’s our music–you’re all pros–you know how to do good shows–so go!”

There are hardly more than a dozen stations in the U. S. where the staff quality permits the PD to get away with such a do-it-yourself policy. The great majority of disk jockeys, with all their many skills and talents, do better jobs with some coaching, directing, urging, scolding, prodding and whatever other devices the PD may devise. The initials “PD.” which are synonymous with “Program Director,” could just as well stand for “People Director.”

Consider some of the combinations of talent and temperament which the PD must weld into an effective air force:

1. The witty DJ, who is clever and amusing, but who knows little and cares less about his music.

2. The DJ who depends on a set bag of tricks, but who seldom comes up with a fresh, original idea.

3. The record “expert,” whose poor voice and bumbling reading of copy are somewhat compensated for by his contagious enthusiasm about his
music.

4. The erratic genius, who poses a constant threat of embroiling the station in libel suits and license difficulties.

5. The conformist who plays it safe by running his shows according to the book, never doing anything wrong but never rising much above the minimum requirements.

6. The restless wanderer, always with an eye on the bigger job, whose long-distance approaches to other stations eventually reach the ears of his own boss.

7. The young prospect who shows signs of talent, and whose apparent potential persuades the PD to spend endless hours trying to develop him into a pro.

Then, of course, there are the rebels and gripers who would be fired tomorrow if they weren’t such very good DJ’s, and the loyal stalwarts who probably would be fired if they weren’t so terribly cheerful, co-operative and devoted to the station.

OUT OF THESE varying degrees of skills and problems, the PD must determine when and where to apply his authority, how and whom to help, and which are hopeless and must be dropped. The way in which he makes these decisions usually determines his own job tenure, for they vitally affect his station’s ratings. He doesn’t dare let his personal friendships for certain DJ’s blind him to their faults, nor can he afford to permit personal dislikes to obscure good performance. He must be detached and objective enough to judge by results, yet warmly human enough to inspire loyalty and enthusiasm from his staff.

Hiring the new man is always a tough decision. There have been countless occasions where the PD has hired on the basis of past ratings and a good aircheck and found later, to his dismay, that his new man simply would not fit the staff or help the station. One of the most successful PD’s I know follows a strict rule: he never hires anyone without a personal interview, and if he has to travel a thousand miles to meet the applicant, he does so.

A program director’s success is usually judged by his station’s ratings, and rightly so. That’s what he is paid for. It is a mistake to credit his success to an inspired music policy or brilliant promotions. His genius, if he has any, lies in his skill and understanding as a people director. END

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Information, credit, and news source (as published): Billboard; September 19, 1964

Programming Beyond the Music Determines Stations’ Success or Failure for Better Audience Appeal 

By BILL GAVIN
Billboard Contributing Editor

AS SOME OF OUR READERS have already surmised, I am not a columnist by profession. Nor, if I may point on the obvious, am I even a writer. Aside from this weekly excursion. I devote most of my time advising and consulting with a number of radio stations in the U. S. and Canada, trying to assist them toward higher ratings and bigger profits.

It is necessary to present this personal preamble to explain that in the course of my work I am constantly faced with the problem of adapting program policies and plans to meet competitive situations in various cities. In no two cities are the problems the same. A policy or formula that will work in one place usually falls short in another.

Broadcasters are notoriously label-prone. They want to put a name tag on every policy. They use such names as “Top 40,” “Chicken 40,” “Rhythm and Blues,” “All Talk,” “Good Music,” “Town and Country,” and so on. Unfortunately, none of these tags accurately describes a specific program operation any more. Modern radio has brought unlimited variations to each classification.

THIS IS WHY SO OFTEN WE find the manager of a good music station (for example) that is not snaking the grade, thinking in terms of a switch to a top 40 policy. The same kind of confused thinking often prevails when the lagging top 40 operation switches to good music, or to some completely different program approach. Such abrupt policy reversals may prove highly successful; others may compound disaster. It is entirely possible that key adjustments within a general program policy may bring the desired improvements.

Top 40 programming for instance, is no longer a projection of local record sales plus a few picks. Recent developments have attracted attention to such variations as the all-request survey, the tight playlist, controlled frequency of plays, distributor sales surveys, etc. Upgrading of production, promotion and /or program personnel may provide the key to a brighter future.

In the field of good music (an inaccurate term which I use with some reluctance), there is usually a great deal of room for improvement. A program director, in his determination to avoid a “top 40″ sound, often turns his back on many pop hits that fit perfectly into his established pattern. Or, if they are on his playlist, they are played too infrequently to be of any great value. In selecting his music, he consults his own ear rather than relying on the proven audience appeal of certain singles and LP’s. Commercial standards for music selection work just as successfully for good music stations as for top 40’s.

TRENDS IN COUNTRY/WESTERN, and also in R&B, show that many successful stations in these fields have adopted the bright pacing and crisp production characteristics of top 40 operations. In their music, the disk jockey’s choice is being replaced by the people’s choice.

A small but growing number of stations are using the phone as a program tool. Some invite their listeners to phone for their favorite music. Others solicit phone votes on new records. A few stations have experimented successfully with putting their phone callers on the air with their comments and questions concerning subjects of common interest. Some phone interviews are taped and edited for special feature programming, not only as a part of the news, but more broadly as a matter of human interest. While there is no central formula for using the phone in broadcasting, the persistent success of this technique in various cities makes us conclude that by involving listeners directly in our programming, we are attracting and entertaining a larger audience.

With all the newer devices and techniques of modern radio, its great common denominator continues to be recorded music. The infinite variety of musical sounds and styles available on records defies rigid classification. This makes communication difficult at times when it is necessary to discuss music policy. Even among professional radio people, one encounters differences in interpreting such terms as jazz, good music and (of all things) rock ‘n’ roll.

EACH MUSICAL SELECTION THAT goes on the air is somewhat like a beam of light, illuminating a certain segment of the audience according to its breadth and intensity. The general type of music determines the breadth of appeal; the depth with which it penetrates is determined by its popular appeal — often referred to as “hit potential.”

Communication becomes somewhat easier when we discuss music in terms of listener reaction. Given a specific segment of musical tastes on which to focus our musical beams of light, it is then up to the programmer to achieve the depth of penetration necessary to build good ratings.

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Information, credit, and news source: Billboard; July 4, 1964

To ‘Program’ A Radio ‘DJ’ Or Not. The Debate Lingers

By BILL GAVIN
Billboard Contributing Editor

Some radio people don’t like the term “disk jockey.” Nobody seems to know where or when the term originated. In spite of many attempts to find a more suitable substitute, the name has stuck and has come into common usage. Webster’s dictionary says, “disk jockey: a person who conducts a radio program of recorded music, interspersed with chatter, jokes and commercials.” There is some question whether the word is properly “disk” or “disc,” but since lexicographers give the two spellings identical meanings, we are apparently free to make our own choice of spelling.

In a search for a more distinctive title for the trade of “conducting a radio program of recorded music,” some stations publicize their disk jockeys as “personalities.” This has always struck me as an awkward and highly misleading term. Fortunately, it has not become widely used.

A current fad is to refer to the station’s dj’s as “the good guys.” Whether or not this implies that the dj’s of all other stations are bad guys, I wouldn’t know. It is not likely, however, that our dictionaries will ever list “good guys” or “personalities” as synonymous for“disk jockeys.”

Not only is the real difference of opinion over what to call a disk jockey, there is also some little variety in what is expected of him on the job. More than one program director has said: “We don’t want any time-and-temperature jocks.” They were referring, of course, to the standard minimum for “top 40″ dj’s, whose air words are strictly limited to time signals, weather announcements, station’s call letters and their names, all endlessly reiterated. Special promo announcements are fully written out, and the rest are detailed instructions about when, where and how to identify the various records. The ability to adlib is not considered an essential qualification for such an assignment.

Although a lot of progressive radio people turn up their noses at such a stereo-typed formula operation, many stations employ it with considerable success. It has certain advantages: It guarantees the briefest minimum of talk between records; the station sounds the same at all times of the day; and an experienced dj can speedily master the job and high salaries for skilled men are unnecessary, which has a beneficent effect over head costs. Such advantages are important in smaller markets, where potential billings are limited, but a number of large cities also include similar minimum operations.

When the controls and limitations are removed from the disk jockey, and he is told to make his show colorful and entertaining.the question is: what does he have to say? All too often what he has to say turns out to be self-important, long winded, unfunny and down right dull. One of the most frequent failings of the so-called personality dj is his insistence on intruding himself at every possible opportunity. To him the music he plays is simply a breathing space in a continuous monolog. In a few rare cases, such a spotlight seeker may hold a big rating; in most cases he is soon recognized as a colossal bore, who is better suited to a job as a carnival barker or tourist guide.

One well-known program director decided a few years ago that he would make his dj staff personalities “by the book.” He established an elaborate system specifying what the dj’s could say, should say, and must say. Wit and humor were not simply permitted, they were required. Card files of gags and stories were inconstant use. An elaborate set of musical jingles was spotted rigidly through every hour oft he broadcast day. Did it work? Yes, it did, and the fact that it worked so well was a tribute to this particular program director’s imaginative genius. It is not, however, a system that could be recommended for general use.

The new school of disk jockeys that is emerging these days is well trained in the arts of brevity, pacing and production. The humor is spontaneous rather than lifted from a gag file. The comments are relevant, with a minimum of personal reference. Most of all, the music is the show, and the dj’s function is simply to present his show in as interesting a manner as possible.

There’s no reason why a disk jockey has to be an automation. He can sound like a human being. Its unfortunate that more of them don’t. END

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Information, credit, and news source: Billboard; March 21, 1964

From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1964

The Bill Gavin Newsletter

By BILL GAVIN
Billboard Contributing Editor

“TOP 40 RADIO,” as we have known it for a decade, is fast becoming obsolete. “Top 40,” as a term of reference relating to a music format based on singles sales, will undoubtedly continue in our vocabulary for some time to come. In practice, however, the number of stations actually using a full 40 best selling singles is rapidly decreasing. The majority of pop format stations today have reduced their applicable lists of hits to 25 or 30 titles. The day of the playlist numbering 80 to 100 titles has passed. These days a list of 60 titles is considered long.

INTERESTINGLY enough, a good many stations decline to publicize the fact they have shortened their surveys. These stations continue to print and distribute a full top 40, or top 50, as they have done for years past. Their program directors will tell you privately that they are actually playing only a portion of the records on their charts. For some reason. not clearly understood, they are reluctant to publish a limited list of the hits they are playing, which omits some singles that are still selling better than some others that are being played. Other stations with attenuated surveys make no secret about it, they publish their top 30s with no attempt at concealment. There are two slightly different approaches now being taken to the short survey. In one case, the top survey items are simply listed according to tabulations of sales reports. The other system deletes the older hits that are dropping down rapidly, so that the resulting list of 30 may actually he a blue-penciled 40.

A few stations, accepting the principle of a smaller number of records for airplay, still cling to the mystic magic of the number 10. They continue with a full-blown survey of 40 hits but hold down their “extras” to only 10 or 15. Such playlists obviously have less room for new releases than lists of “25 plus 25.”

PEOPLE in the record business quite naturally regard these changes in radio program policies with some misgivings. The sale of single records. as everybody knows, is almost entirely controlled by airplay. Some record men express the fear that widespread curtailment of playlists will reduce the exposure of new product. A number of radio people consider such fears to be groundless. “What’s the good of 40 or 50 extras on a playlist?” asks one radio man. “Most of them never get played often enough to find out if they’re hits or not. With only 20 extras. and 30 survey records, all the new things on your list get played at least every three or four hours all day long.” Another program director puts it this way: “Every time we knock a tired old hit off our chart, it makes room for something new. With this new system we’ll not only break more new hits but we’ll also stir up lots more interest and excitement in new records, new artists and new sounds. The record people all ought to be cheering us, instead of finding fault.”

SUCH A STATEMENT of the new policy should make good sense, but apparently it does not. Judging from comments and inquiries that have been coming in to me, a good many people seem to think that a playlist is shortened by chop- ping new tunes off the bottom. This is not so in the big majority of cases. The first chopping is done on the older hits that have dropped down below 20 or 25. Then the half hits, whose sales have been fair, but which have failed to show improvement for two weeks, are dropped. This makes room for the more dynamic newcomers, either with a number on the chart or as “hot comers” standing next in line for a number next week.

AT THIS POINT, the playlist would show about 10 titles in addition to the chart – a total of 35 to 40 selections. The final 10 or 15 on the list will be about equally divided among (a) previous picks that still could be hits, (b) regional hits that were passed by the first time around, and (c) brand-new releases.

If every pop format station in the nation played only five new records a week – many will continue to play more – it would be practically certain that every worthwhile new release would get fair exposure in a number of markets, large and small.

True enough, promoters will find it more difficult to get big station picks in some cities. In others, of course, this condition has existed for quite some time and will not be a new experience.

Let’s get one point quite clear: The new trend is toward a shorter survey. It is not in the direction of drastic curtailing of airplay on newer material. The emphasis is on weeding out the weaker sides – either weak from the infirmities of old age, or weak from an inherent inability to build sales. This does not imply an impetuous haste to delete every item that has passed its sales peak. The occasional smashes, like a Dean Martin or a Louis Armstrong, continue selling in big volume for a long time after they have dropped out of the No. 1 position, and radio will keep its “umbrella” over them while they’re moving out of the rack locations. On the other hand, fast dropping items become candidates for oblivion.

What the change does imply is that radio programmers now rely less blindly on statistics. There is more evaluation of statistical data to interpret in terms of strongest possible airplay. END

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Information, credit, and news source: Billboard; September 12, 1964

From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1963

The Bill Gavin Newsletter October 12, 1963

From the Desk of Bill Gavin  Billboard Contributing Editor

Record  promoters  are  the  personal  points  of contact between broadcasting and the record business. As is well known, the relationship between the two is not the smoothest. Some of the rough spots are created by inept promotion people.

In daily contacts with radio people throughout the country, I hear a large number of complaints about members of the promotion fraternity. Some of the annoyances arc petty, some are serious. I have tried to sum up DJ views on promotional irritants in the form of the various types below, following where possible verbatim quotes from my friends in radio.

The liar: Examples: “I brought you that record last week.” “I don’t know how the other station got that exclusive. The publisher must have sent it to ’em.” “It’s already sold 20,000 in Chicago, and we’re back- ordered up here.” “Their manager and I are just like that. Make it a pick and I’ll get ’em for your hop.” This man will say almost anything to get his record played.

The big shot: He thinks he’s doing somebody a favor by dropping in. He calls the record librarian and asks her to arrange lunch or dinner dates with the DJ’s. He’s from the big town – works for the big company. He talks about how important he is in the organization – how the a.&r. men ask his advice – how chummy he is with the big name artists. He’s doing you a favor to let you play his records.

The griper: Business is terrible, he says. Nothing is selling. Those short play lists are crazy. It’s a conspiracy by the radio stations to kill the record business. How can a manager be so stupid? Retailers won’t order new records – just the top 40. The other promoters are all liars. The boss expects him to get all his records played, but how can he do that on such a miserably small expense account. He got up at 5 a.m. to take that visiting artist for a TV appearance, but the guy slept in. You can’t win.

The know-it-all: He’s the one who tells you that all the other stations are playing the record. It jumps 30 places in the Billboard chart this week. This is the side we’re working on, he says. If you like the flip, well lots of luck. His idea of promotion is to tell you which side he likes. All the top DJ’s in the country are his personal friends and they’re all wailing on his records.

The Gossip: He knows all the dirt about everybody. He spreads enough rumors to fill a newspaper. So-and-so is breaking up with his wife. So-and-so is getting fired. And so on. You’d never guess that he is being paid for promoting records. His chief delight is in promoting suspicion.

The snoop: He tries to read all the letters and memos on every desk in every office he enters. He’s a master at reading upside down printing. He picks up odds and ends of papers on the desk. It’s hard to tell what he’s looking for or what he finds out, but whenever he comes in the door, any confidential papers on the desk had better be put out of sight.

The loud mouth: He tries to dominate every conversation with his voice. He talks too much – he interrupts -he shouts. He many not have anything important to say, hut he makes sure that nobody else gets a chance. He can’t even keep still while his record is being auditioned – snaps his fingers, jumps around, and keeps talking about it. He barges in on other people’s conversation. He pushes in anywhere. It’s practically impossible to insult hint.

The jelly fish: This man is running over with flattering remarks. The person he is talking to is always the greatest in the business – the greatest ear. the finest voice, the best ad libber. Name it and you can have it. He laughs at your unfunniest jokes. This kind of promoter is often very successful at his job. A surprisingly large number of DJ’s are only too ready to believe every flattering word he says.

And so it goes. The cast of characters outlined above represents some of the more irritating personality traits encountered by radio people in their dealings with record promoters. Fortunately, these objectionable attributes are comparatively rare in their pure form. The majority of promotion people are pleasant companions and a credit to the record business. END

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(Information and news source: Billboard; October 12, 1963)

From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1964

The Bill Gavin Newsletter June 13, 1964

Radio Manager 7 Point Essentials Defines Station’s Objectivity, Success and Destiny

From the Desk of Bill Gavin  Billboard Contributing Editor

A RADIO STATION is people. Its impact on listeners and advertisers is the product of a number of people, doing a number of things. Engineers, secretaries, salesmen, disk jockeys, accountants, supervisors, switchboard operators and managers all combine to produce profitable programming.
Of all the people who make radio what it is, the one who stamps his personality most indelibly on a radio station is the manager. Not only does he control a station’s destiny, but his personality and character are often reflected by his employees.

THE MAN WHO achieves managerial status most often does so by demonstrating ability in the business aspects of broadcasting. More often than not the manager lacks experience in programming, or in any of the performing or production phases of show business. While he can direct his salesmen and accountants with the voice of experience, he usually relics heavily on his program director to plan and supervise the actual programming. There are times, however, when only the manager can make critical decisions about program policy. At such times, a lack of program experience can produce decisions that do more harm than good. All too often a manager’s decision to make drastic changes in program policy is made without proper awareness of consequences.

THE PURPOSE of this Newsletter is to suggest certain qualities that all managers should have in making their program decisions effective.

OBJECTIVITY: A manager may he coldly analytical about such things as overhead, taxes and profits, but he is often apt to let his own personal tastes get in the way of good programming judgment. He forgets that the music that he, his family and friends enjoy is not necessarily the music most preferred by most radio listeners. A careful study of ratings, as influenced by various programming patterns, offers the only safe guide on this thorny path.

OPEN-MINDEDNESS: We need to look back only a few years to remind ourselves how radio continues to change. New ideas bring new successes. New ideas are not necessarily good ideas, and they frequently fall short of their goal. No capable manager will try out every new idea brought to him. but he will at least he ready to explore its possibilities. There are few surer methods of failing in radio management than a stubborn adherence to the past.

CONVICTION: Some managers embark on a new program policy with obvious reluctance. Their doubts and cars are contagious. The entire staff is infected by uncertainty. When program planning lacks directions and
When a manager finds it necessary to submerge his own personal tastes in order to follow objective logic, he should keep his feelings to himself.

COURAGE: A conservative station that switches to a top pop music policy is bound to become the target of adverse criticism. Listeners will protest. Local newspaper columnists will poke ridicule. The manager’s golfing cronies will express their objections. Every manager who takes his station into the pop music field for the first time should expect such abuse and be prepared to discount it. Eventual gains in ratings and revenue will be sufficient rebuttal for the critics.

CONSISTENCY: Once a program policy is embarked upon, it should be followed without deviation until it has been thoroughly tried and tested. This is simple common sense, but sometimes it is overlooked, and confusion is compounded. Consistency also should be the rule for successfully established operations. Overconfidence can lead to tinkering with the program structure to the ultimate damage of the station’s ratings.

AWARENESS: A good manager should learn all he can about the sources of his program material. He should know the news services, the record distributors and their promotion people. He should know about his production material, who produces his jingle packages, and why they cost so much. Being thus well informed, he will be better fitted to work closely with his program director in handling special problems.

SENSE OF COMMUNITY: Most managers belong to service clubs or the chamber of commerce. They sec to it that their stations carry public service spots in support of community projects. This is not enough. A station’s strongest safeguard against sudden swings of public favor is found in its community roots. Every employee should be encouraged to he a part of its community activities: churches, schools. clubs, etc. Friendly contacts should be maintained with civic and philanthropic leaders. The station’s voice should not just parrot “me too.” It should at all times speak with prestige and authority on community matters. There is no reason why constructive community roles should he reserved for the network stations or for the conservative independents.

The progressive, contemporary music stations can play an equally significant part. Radio generally has lagged far behind as a representative medium of mass communication. In such a policy, community interest and self interest go hand in hand.

It is a wise manager who knows when and how to take an active part in his station’s programming. He is even wiser who knows when and where to leave it alone. END

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(Information and news source: Billboard; June 13, 1964)