WEBVTT

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Radio cannot beat Spotify by becoming a cleaner

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playlist with commercials. Its advantage was

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always the human part. Personality, companionship,

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shared history, and actually belonging to the

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community on the other side of that transmitter.

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I hate the phrase. Let's talk more music. I understand

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it. I understand exactly what it means. Keep

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things moving. Don't ramble. Don't give somebody

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a reason to punch out because the afternoon guy

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decided he needed nine minutes to tell you what

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happened at Costco. Now that Costco story might

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have been a really awesome story. Maybe it was

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something funny. I don't know. But every time

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I hear less talk more music There's another part

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of me that thinks Then what the hell is this

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radio station for If I want less talk and more

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music I have Spotify I've got Apple music YouTube

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music title Any number of music services out

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there that I can go to. I can have exactly the

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music I want. No stopsets, no sweeper telling

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me I'm listening to the most variety from the

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80s, 90s, 2000s today, tomorrow, next Thursday,

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and whatever else we manage to cram into that

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positioner. I can skip the song. I can build

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a playlist. I can have an algorithm or even AI

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make a playlist for me now. Radio is never going

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to beat that by becoming a slightly worse version

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of it. How you doing? I'm Tyler. Welcome to the

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Tyler Woodward Project and I've been thinking

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a lot about something radio used to be really

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good at. And I know I haven't talked about radio

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lately. I was feeling a little sad there about

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the industry for a little bit. I had to check

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out because I was feeling burned out. But having

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a few weeks to talk about some other subjects,

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some other tech things, I'm ready to hop back

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on this and get back with it. Remember I said

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I've been thinking a lot about this radio used

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to be really good at Being your friend. Oh And

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the usual disclaimer here, these are my opinions

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mine Not anybody I work for not anybody else

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out there that I'm affiliated with or anybody

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that I know me My my thoughts from my brain It's

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not always a clean coherent thought but these

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are from my head and talking about radio being

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your friend i don't mean that every dj you ever

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heard was your literal best friend i mean the

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station felt like somebody you knew right Yeah,

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there were individual personalities sure But

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the station itself had personality That's the

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part I think we've lost You could have a morning

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show that sounded completely different from middays

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Afternoons might have another attitude entirely

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nights Could be a little weird but somehow It

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all still belonged to the same place. The people

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talked about each other. Something stupid that

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happened in the morning might come up again later

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in the afternoon. Listeners became characters.

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The person who called every Tuesday with some

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bizarre complaint eventually became part of the

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furniture. A station promotion went sideways

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and suddenly everybody on the station was talking

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about it. There were references you understood

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because you were listening yesterday. There was

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history. You weren't consuming a sequence of

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independent shows that were all isolated from

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one another. You were spending time Somewhere

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and I know yeah, I know Nostalgia can screw with

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this entire conversation Yeah, old radio was

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not universally amazing The there there were

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bad jocks there were boring stations there were

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Yeah, terrible bits that went on six minutes

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too long because somebody's program director

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Didn't have the heart to tell the morning guy

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that his impression wasn't really all that funny.

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We didn't leave some flawless golden age, but

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there was something structurally different about

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the product that we were producing back then.

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It was harder for people It was harder for the

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yeah, it was harder for the people making the

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station to be completely disconnected from each

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other and then We got really really good at efficiency

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Now that is an automation being a bad thing,

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you know, I'm a broadcast engineer I like Automation.

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I like things that work at three in the morning

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without somebody sitting there staring at a computer

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wondering whether that next event is going to

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fire or not. Voice tracking is useful. Remote

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production is useful. Centralized systems are

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useful. There are stations that would not be

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able to provide the amount of programming they

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provide without those tools. The problem starts

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When the tool becomes the entire philosophy When

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everything is optimized around making each piece

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of the station independently producible eventually

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you get exactly that Independent pieces the morning

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show they exist in their own box Middays exist

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in its own box. Afternoons exist in its own box.

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The music log exists in its own box. The imaging,

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yeah, that exists in its own box. And the commercials

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definitely exist in their own box. And then the

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automation assembles all of those boxes into

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something technically resembling a radio station.

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But does it feel like one? That's where I keep

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getting stuck. Because if the final product is

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songs, liner, commercial, song, liner, commercial,

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weather, song, what exactly are we offering that

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someone can't get somewhere else. And radio's

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own listeners are basically telling us this.

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Jacob Media's tech survey, 2026, surveyed almost

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31 ,000 core radio listeners. So this is important.

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These are people already predisposed to like

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radio. You know, it's not a representation of

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every American out there, but among that group,

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60 % said a particular DJ or host or show was

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the reason they were listening to AM FM radio.

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Favorite songs and artists? 53%. Did you catch

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that? I think it bears repeating. 31 ,000 core

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radio listeners said they listened to the radio

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because of the DJ, host, or show. Favorite songs

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and artists? 53%. People? 60%. People beat the

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music. That crossover has been happening in Jacob's

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research for years. Which makes sense music kind

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of already has been solved That doesn't mean

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music stopped being important of course It's

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important if you're you know running a music

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station and playing songs your listeners hates

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Having a really charming afternoon host is probably

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not going to save you at that point but access

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to music Well, that's not scarce anymore Access

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to a human being who knows your town? That's

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a little different. Access to a station that

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feels like it knows you? That's different. Access

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to something happening right now where you live

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with people you recognize? Now we're getting

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somewhere. That same tech survey. found 53 %

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strongly agreed and another 33 % agreed that

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radio's biggest benefit is its local feel. More

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than half said they feel a connection with local

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radio stations. They do not feel with any other

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kind of audio consumption. Again, core radio

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listeners, not the entire population, but these

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are people telling radio what they still value

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about radio and i don't think quote -unquote

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local means saying the city name between every

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two songs that's not local what i mean is simply

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mentioning the name of your city or town doesn't

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make a station genuinely local It's just a generic

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message with the location swapped in. Local is

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knowing what people where you live are talking

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about. It's knowing the weird intersection everybody

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hates. It's knowing the restaurant that has somehow

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survived for 40 some odd years even though Nobody

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has ever seen more than three cars in that parking

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lot is doing its thing It's knowing the high

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school Everybody is talking about this week It's

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knowing that the storm actually got bad on the

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west side of town Even though the generic forecast

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made it sound like nothing happened It's knowing

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the local band the local artist The fundraiser

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the parade the stupid argument everybody is having

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about you know, whatever the City Council Just

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approved It's also knowing your listeners Not

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as a demographic not as numbers on a freaking

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spreadsheet as people as genuine human beings

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Radio has always had this strange ability to

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talk to one person while technically talking

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to thousands at one time. There was a small little

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study published back in 2025 that interviewed

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radio personnel at community and public stations

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in Melbourne, Australia. The researchers kept

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finding the same themes. speaking to one listener

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authentically, maintaining relationships and

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creating a sense of community. The presenters

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talked about listeners developing long -term

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almost family -like relationships with the people

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they heard on the radio. That is the thing. Not

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reach. Relationships. I want the radio station

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to feel like my best friend again. I know it

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sounds corny. I don't care. I want to turn it

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on and hear somebody who sounds like they actually

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live in the same reality I live in. I want the

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person on at 430 to know what happened on the

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morning show. I want the morning show to know

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that the night guy exists. I want somebody to

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walk into somebody else's studio because something

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funny just happened and let us all in on it.

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I want a caller from three hours ago to become

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part of the conversation again. I want a station

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event to produce stories that last longer than

00:15:48.220 --> 00:15:52.899
the promotional liner advertising it. I want

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the station to accumulate memories. Let the damn

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personalities show again. Let people be themselves.

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Stop trying to make every voice on the air sound

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so robotic and generic. That is how a place gets

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a personality and serving a community has Well

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always been supposedly part of broadcasting,

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right? the FCC's public inspection system still

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describes station files in terms of a station's

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operations in service to its community of license

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including quarterly list of significant programming

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addressing issues important to that community

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there is a reason the word community keeps showing

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up around broadcasting we were given local transmitters

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to operate local services filling out the paperwork

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is not the same thing as actually being present

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Yes, there is still stations demonstrating pieces

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of this. First one that comes to mind, WFMU in

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New Jersey says its individual DJs control their

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own programming rather than following a station

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-wide playlist. And the station explicitly describes

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experimentation being spontaneous and humor as

00:17:40.930 --> 00:17:46.809
part of its character. That model is obviously

00:17:46.809 --> 00:17:49.650
not something you copy and paste onto every commercial

00:17:49.650 --> 00:17:54.890
station out there in the country, but it is a

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starting point. Another one, Seattle. K -E -X

00:17:59.809 --> 00:18:03.509
-P goes even further physically. Its Seattle

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facility includes its broadcast studios, a live

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room, and a viewing gallery. Plus a public gathering

00:18:11.559 --> 00:18:14.759
space that KEXP describes as a community hub

00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:20.599
for music lovers. People can actually walk into

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the station's world. Again, different business

00:18:25.180 --> 00:18:29.039
model, different format, different mission. That's

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not the point. The point is that making radio

00:18:34.740 --> 00:18:39.240
feel inhabited, I think it's still possible.

00:18:40.170 --> 00:18:44.529
I don't want to get rid of automation. I want

00:18:44.529 --> 00:18:47.329
automation to do the boring shit so people can

00:18:47.329 --> 00:18:52.130
have more time to do the human shit. That should

00:18:52.130 --> 00:18:55.309
have been the deal. Instead, sometimes it feels

00:18:55.309 --> 00:18:58.789
like we automated the human shit too. And once

00:18:58.789 --> 00:19:04.210
you do that, you're competing with Spotify, Apple

00:19:04.210 --> 00:19:08.150
Music, YouTube Music, Tidal, and whatever other

00:19:08.150 --> 00:19:14.599
streaming services are out there. Good luck You

00:19:14.599 --> 00:19:19.579
want to know why Spotify has more songs Spotify

00:19:19.579 --> 00:19:23.059
knows exactly what I listened to yesterday Spotify

00:19:23.059 --> 00:19:27.599
doesn't have Transmitter rent Spotify doesn't

00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:33.559
need to stop for 12 units of inventory If our

00:19:33.559 --> 00:19:37.859
pitch is basically hey we also have music except

00:19:37.859 --> 00:19:39.880
you Don't get to choose it. And occasionally

00:19:39.880 --> 00:19:43.079
we interrupt it for 17 commercials. That's not

00:19:43.079 --> 00:19:47.700
a pitch. The transmitter is not the advantage.

00:19:49.400 --> 00:19:54.339
The playlist is not the advantage. Even being

00:19:54.339 --> 00:19:59.259
live by itself is not the advantage. The advantage

00:19:59.259 --> 00:20:04.779
is the relationship. Build a station where the

00:20:04.779 --> 00:20:07.700
personalities actually know one another. Let

00:20:07.700 --> 00:20:11.200
them acknowledge one another. Let them be themselves.

00:20:11.480 --> 00:20:15.740
Let the shows bleed together a little. Give the

00:20:15.740 --> 00:20:20.779
listeners ways into the conversation and answer

00:20:20.779 --> 00:20:23.579
the damn phone. We have trained listeners not

00:20:23.579 --> 00:20:25.940
to call radio stations anymore because nobody's

00:20:25.940 --> 00:20:30.279
there to answer the phone. Read the text messages.

00:20:30.380 --> 00:20:32.980
We have the technology. If you don't want to

00:20:32.980 --> 00:20:35.400
answer the phone, you can get text messages.

00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:39.250
I have text and Talk line set up for this show.

00:20:39.670 --> 00:20:43.269
Again, 608 -668 -4702. You can call, you can

00:20:43.269 --> 00:20:50.009
text that number. 608 -668 -4702. Go outside.

00:20:51.970 --> 00:20:54.690
Put the station somewhere people can see it.

00:20:55.210 --> 00:21:00.130
Know the local music scene. Know who is doing

00:21:00.130 --> 00:21:03.650
something interesting in town before their publicist

00:21:03.650 --> 00:21:10.660
calls you up to buy. a schedule. Be there when

00:21:10.660 --> 00:21:14.160
something goes wrong. Be there when something

00:21:14.160 --> 00:21:19.339
goes right. And stop treating every unscripted

00:21:19.339 --> 00:21:22.660
human moment like contamination that needs to

00:21:22.660 --> 00:21:28.240
be removed from the clock. You can have structure.

00:21:29.299 --> 00:21:32.140
You should have structure. Nobody needs four

00:21:32.140 --> 00:21:34.859
hours of somebody talking because they, you know,

00:21:34.990 --> 00:21:39.109
Enjoy hearing themselves talk but personality

00:21:39.109 --> 00:21:43.450
and discipline they're not opposites Local and

00:21:43.450 --> 00:21:47.569
professional are not opposites being spontaneous

00:21:47.569 --> 00:21:51.289
and prepared are not opposites The goal is not

00:21:51.289 --> 00:21:56.329
to create, you know recreate radio from 1997

00:21:56.329 --> 00:22:02.589
You know, it's it's 2026 the listener has Spotify

00:22:02.589 --> 00:22:07.039
they have YouTube They have an ungodly amount

00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:11.759
of podcast. They have satellite radio. They have

00:22:11.759 --> 00:22:15.940
more audio available in their pocket than any

00:22:15.940 --> 00:22:18.640
radio programmer from 30 years ago could have

00:22:18.640 --> 00:22:23.380
ever imagined, ever dreamed about. So give them

00:22:23.380 --> 00:22:26.460
the things those services cannot automatically

00:22:26.460 --> 00:22:33.200
reproduce. Give them this place. These people.

00:22:34.690 --> 00:22:39.529
This stupid running joke. That caller. That restaurant.

00:22:39.630 --> 00:22:43.210
That storm. That concert. That argument. Today.

00:22:43.829 --> 00:22:49.289
Here. I don't need the radio station to know

00:22:49.289 --> 00:22:52.990
everything about me. I just want to feel like

00:22:52.990 --> 00:22:58.670
it knows where I live. I don't want it to sound

00:22:58.670 --> 00:23:03.369
perfect. I want it to sound alive. And when I

00:23:03.369 --> 00:23:08.369
turn it on, I want to feel like somebody's home.

00:23:11.750 --> 00:23:14.130
That's the show. If you want to keep up with

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it, subscribe wherever you're listening. Apple

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podcast, Spotify, YouTube, leave a five star

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rating. And you can find everything else, my

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socials, all of that at tylerwoodward .me. If

00:23:24.930 --> 00:23:27.130
you want to buy me a cup of coffee, tylerwoodward

00:23:27.130 --> 00:23:29.950
.me. And if you want to call, leave a voicemail

00:23:29.950 --> 00:23:34.809
on that number or text me 608 -668 -4702.