Your Music on The Radio? It's a Two-Way Street!

This is a message for independent artists on how to get radio airplay (FM, satellite, AM, internet) and how to keep that airplay.

There aren't very many of us DJs on FM or satellite radio left who are given the carte blanche to play what we wish... Corporate radio has taken over.  

Being aired on a powerful metropolitan FM radio station has massive reach. My station in Japan, InterFM897 reaches over 42 million homes in the greater Tokyo and Nagoya areas... It is also streamed On-Demand nationwide.

So, whether it is an FM station or satellite radio or internet radio, when we DJs pick an independent artist for airplay it is a labor of love and a struggle against all odds. 

That being said, if you are that independent artist and we air you, us DJs expect some mutual support. This is a team effort. 

Good morning everybody!

I am writing this post today because I personally know several DJs; FM, satellite and internet radio DJs, who feel exactly the same way I do: (sorry to put it so bluntly, but) If you won't support us, we can't/won't play you... Please read on.

The details? Recently, I did play this indies artist on the FM radio in Japan. I played them two weeks in a row. But, I stopped. Why did I stop? Because I gave up on them. After I stopped playing that artist (it's been a few weeks back that I stopped), they wrote to me and asked me today if I had played them. They wrote: "Did you air any other songs of mine? Reason I ask is, I've received a large spike in Spotify and Apple Music streams all from Japan. Appreciate what you do."

Here's how I responded:

Dear Johnny (not his real name), 

Hi.. 

Let's be frank, positive and discuss business and how we can help each other.... 

Yes, I did play you, twice. I sent you a friend request on Facebook but you didn’t accept so I couldn’t tag you on my posts. Since I couldn't tag you or get any reaction from you, I stopped playing you after the two weeks. 

I stopped playing you, not because I was mad about it or anything, but because I figured it must not be a priority for you, so I gave the airtime to someone else who has great tunes and might be more hungry. 

Some artists I play will do great SMS promotion and really blow my mind. Renato Telles Sbeghen with his song "Late For The Last Waltz" did an amazing job for us. Renato got on social media and got us so many Likes that I actually feel obligated to play him them on air for at least a month.  Doing this cross promotion helps him and it helps us. (And when I say, "us" I mean it. I have staff who have families and mouths to feed too.)

Johnny, it’s a two way- street, my friend. We take risks when we play new artists. We need to show that station management or sponsors or possible sponsors that we have promotional power. We do that through Social Media.

If I can’t coordinate with you on Social Media - that also means you don’t support our radio in return by Liking and Sharing with your friends and asking them to Like us too. 

Now, I am leaving Japan tomorrow and will not be back until end Dec. so the next few shows are recorded and your song is not on the playlist due to the reasons above. 

May I politely suggest that you check your Social Media (no point in having it if you don't check it at least once a day, maybe?) And when DJs air you, you are on the ball and show us real appreciation by promoting our show?

Like I said, I know many DJs personally who feel exactly the same way. In fact, one of the most famous DJs in the world feels exactly the same way.

I don't think I'm being unreasonable to ask (for all of us DJs) that, if we play your indies artist music, you'll reciprocate and make the effort to promote us back.... Like I said, this is a team effort and a two-way street. 

Anyway, I hope you will consider this carefully and that we can move forward in a positive fashion in the next year. 

Best, 

Mike 

...

Let me digress and allow me to brag. My show is extremely popular in Japan, and I have data to prove it. So if I play you, you have access to millions of people. 

There are 45 million monthly Twitter users in Japan, a nation of 130 million people; that means a lot of Japanese people use Twitter. 

My program has Trended Top 3 for all of Japan on Twitter four out of the last five weeks. We climbed to number one last Sunday for the first time. (See last week's Twitter chart for Japan here. My show is "Mike Rogers Show on InterFM 897 so my Twitter handle is: #mrs897.) It is unheard of for a radio show to trend like this. I am proud of my team and myself for achieving this. I thank the listeners the most. My listeners are the best in the entire world! 

I reckon being played on my show (or any show for that matter) is powerful promotion for any indies band. (If you are a major label famous act, like Guns & Roses or Coldplay, if we play you, we don't expect you'll Like our FB page or follow us on Twitter.) But if you are not, well, then...

My favorite DJ programs - Go check them out. Send them tunes. (But read this before you do send them tunes: Musicians! Do Not Send DJ's Spotify, Youtube or Soundcloud Links!  (If link doesn't work, try this: https://modernmarketingjapan.blogspot.jp/2017/11/musicians-do-not-send-djs-spotify.html)

Be smart, "Like" their FB pages, follow them on Twitter and listen in:


Alex Kish at Wassup Rocker Radio: wassuprockerradio.com
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2nHsPXe
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WassupRckrRadio

Candice Marshall @ Limehead Radio: http://bit.ly/2y3EgZf
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2BeMjbE
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CAMARSHALLSMC

Gabbie and Chris at Biscuit Boys Radio: www.biscuitboys.co.uk
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2AFE2ud
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Biscuit_Boys

Kayla Marie Williams @ Radio Alchemy: http://bit.ly/2AFyAas
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2kBDG3X
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RadioAlchemyFM

Marc Platt @ Radio Candy: http://www.radiocandy.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RadioCandyIndieShow/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RadioCandyHits

The Mike Rogers Show InterFM 897: http://www.interfm.co.jp/mrs/
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2BTteZt
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MRS897

World Famous Rodney Bingenheimer: http://www.siriusxm.com/
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2BKxuK4

History Repeats Itself: The "Stars of Silent Films Are Alive" Today (But not well!)

History Repeats Itself: The "Stars of Silent Films Are Alive" Today (But not well!)

Most will probably find the title of this blog to be a bit curious. But history is repeating itself right now and the "Stars of Silent Films" are "alive" today! Well, maybe not those exact people, but people who follow in their footsteps and fail to learn the lesson that they taught us....

History is truly repeating itself in front of our very eyes in the TV and radio world and the reaction of many TV and radio "stars" - and even broadcasting company management - towards the Internet.

And, just as it was in the 1920s, the silent film stars who were able to survive - and actually make more money, along with the production companies who profited handsomely from "Talkies" - the stars who survive and prosper will be the ones who embrace the new technology and use it to their advantage. 

The ones who do not, will fade away. (It's actually curious to think, that after all this time, there are mass media talent and company management who refuse to consider the internet as a profitable promotional tool or revenue stream, but I know a few... I understand if they are over 60-years-old. But under 60? I don't "get it." This seems like complete denial of reality.)

Silent films were big entertainment from about 1910 ("Birth of a Nation" in 1913 was the biggest grossing silent film of all time) until the beginning of the end in 1927 with Al Jolson's "Jazz Singer" and the abrupt ending of all Silent Films by 1937. 

So, from the advent of "Talkies," until the death of the Silent Movie Star, was only a few decades - or even less than 20 years, depending upon how you look at it.

When Talkies first arrived, many of the world's biggest stars refused to accept it. Even the great Charles Chaplin said of Talkies, "Talkies are spoiling the oldest art in the world— the art of pantomime. They are ruining the great beauty of silence. They are defeating the meaning of the screen." 

Yet, even Charles Chaplin could not deny progress and he stayed silent no longer. Just six days after Britain declared war on Germany, in 1939, he started work on "The Great Dictator". It would be a stroke of genius - as well as the acceptance of the inevitable - that helped solidify Chaplin's place as one of the greatest film makers of all time and a worldwide superstar - even to this day.

Many stars, though, simply refused to embrace the new technology and they faded away. 

It is said that many of the silent film stars insisted that their fame and talent was good enough and that their audience were loyal enough that they would never abandon them because they 'could speak with their eyes, therefore they didn't need sound or Talkies.'

In hindsight, anyone can see that this sort of thinking is foolish. 

I wonder why some of today's radio and TV stars refuse to do the Internet... I know a few who refuse to even do simple ones like Facebook or Twitter! I can understand not having the confidence in writing ability to not do a blog (how about taking, photos?) but not using FB or Twitter to keep your name in front of the audience and potential sponsors, is basically the same as "shooting yourself in the foot." 

Many of the old silent film stars obstinately refused the Talkies for the very same illogical, self-defeating and completely impractical reasons. 

I can't blame them for being artists, but I can blame them for being stupid.

They faded away, right? 

After long avoidance, some finally did try, but found they didn't have the voice to match the face...

What should we call a TV or radio star today who refuses to participate in the internet besides "someone in denial"?

From Forbes (April 10, 2014): 

"Perhaps the iconic pose of our era is someone squinting at a smartphone screen–replacing another iconic pose, the couch potato pointing a remote at the TV screen. That stark change is apparent in a new report that says for the first time, Internet ad revenues have passed those of broadcast TV."

From a guy who has worked in the mass media for over 30 years, I can tell you for a fact that, even though many won't say it, many of today's TV and radio "talent" and broadcasting station management think the exact same thing about the Internet: They foolishly believe they don't need it and they refuse to participate in it; as if it is "below" them... Just as the Silent Stars once did

They think TV and radio are going to survive in their current form for the next twenty years and giving them a livelihood; just like the Silent Stars believed about the Silent Film industry.

Starting to see a connection here? I do. And this is why I state that "History is repeating itself right in front of our eyes." 

Here's a list of 10 former Silent Film superstars who didn't make it through the transition to Talkies for various reasons.

The World Wide Web began in 1990 and now has mass acceptance. It's been 25 years now. Talkies destroyed Silent Films completely in about 25 years or so.

How many of us can see the writing on the wall? 

It figures that if you do not do the internet (Facebook, blogging, Twitter, Instagram), you'll be out of a job within 2 ~ 5 years. 

So, TV and radio star, ignore the internet at your own peril... 

They can predict the future by following the examples shown perfectly by the Silent Film stars who proceeded them: some adapted; some didn't.

Bad and Incompetent Management? It's Everywhere!

You've got to wonder how people, who are so clueless to even their own industry, get into management positions. 

Bored

But, come to think of it, actually, you and I don't have to wonder; someone wondered about it long ago and wrote a book on it in the 1970s. It was all explained in the seminal book, The Peter Principle. That book explained the phenomenon of how, in a hierarchy, everyone rises to their top level of incompetence. Then because they are incompetent, they remain in that position, unable to advance or, because of politics, be demoted.

Wikipedia says:

The Peter Principle is a belief that, in an organization where promotion is based on achievement, success, and merit, that organization's members will eventually be promoted beyond their level of ability. The principle is commonly phrased, "Employees tend to rise to their level of incompetence." In more formal parlance, the effect could be stated as: employees tend to be given more authority until they cannot continue to work competently.

Yep. That's it. 

Regular readers of this blog will know that I have railed on incompetent management at broadcasting stations for years. Just to prove that even a broken clock is right twice a day, almost 4 years ago, I wrote (on July 24, 2010) in One More Phase in the Shattering of Mainstream Media:

I rode the Tokyo subway today and saw a sign inside the car that notified the passengers that as of July 24, 2011, terrestrial television stations will no longer broadcast analogue signals in Japan and will finally make the switch to digital.   

This signals the final nail in the coffin of many of the FM radio stations in this country and the collapse of TV Tokyo and TBS.    

I predict that *****FM will either be bankrupt or sold to a new owner by 2014 and TV Tokyo will be in the same situation: insolvent or absorbed by another company by 2016. 

I picked the first one correctly (polite applause here). The FM station was sold to another company in the summer of 2012. My prediction came true two years ahead of schedule. 

I've got a few more years left on my TV Tokyo prediction and I'm feeling very good about that. Especially since TV Tokyo is unable to payback a $5 billion dollar loan from Mizuho bank they made in Feb. of 2010 and keeps rolling that loan over every year... I wonder how long the rollover will be allowed by Mizuho bank especially since the new Japanese government has publicly stated a policy of 2% inflation which will lead to much higher interest rates.

(TV Tokyo share price was around ¥4,400 at that time. Today, TV Tokyo Holdings shares run at ¥1768 - a rise of over ¥800 from the 2011 lows - due to Abenomics?)

I haven't been writing about these stations recently, but a while ago I had a meeting with management at a broadcasting station that just made my head spin. The boss of the station said to me in an incredulous manner,

"Mike! We have to do something to get people back to listening to the car radio... Did you know that Toyota stopped putting radios in cars? Did you know that??"

Simply astounding! Doesn't this manager read business publications at all? 

It was in 2007 that Toyota had publicly announced that they were phasing out analogue radio in the automobiles within three years and that they would no longer be standard equipment in 2011 (that was two years ago!) Taking that obvious clue, I even blogged three years ago that the future of radio lay in the hands of, not the stations, but Toyota. How could a station manager, almost seven years later, just be finding this out? 

Please refer once again to July 24, 2010: One More Phase in the Shattering of Mainstream Media

The future of FM radio doesn't lay in what they broadcast or how they up the ante of quality of content (but, of course, it will always be a competition between stations for dwindling audience and sponsorship dollars)...

The future of FM radio depends on what Toyota does.

That's right. Toyota is the one who decides what is going to happen. In my opinion, it is obvious that FM  is is serious trouble and that we are now witnessing the end of an era; and it's happening, in slow motion, right in front of our eyes.

But, don't take my word for it, decide for yourself. Let me explain further...

Think about this: Where do most people listen to FM radio? In cars, right?

The Japanese government and all the big manufacturers in this country, Sony, Panasonic, etc. (who, by the way, all have an incestuous relationship with each other and Toyota in stock holdings) are pushing for the digital conversion big time. These manufacturers need their flagging fortunes to get an injection of sales and profits that new broadcasting and new equipment will generate. Digital equipment costs anywhere from $500 - $2,000 (USD) a set. The Japanese manufacturers want and need for the Japanese public to go whole-hog into digital broadcasting. They need the public to dispose of their analogue equipment and buy the new digital equipment... (By the way, a cursory check of analogue equipment at Bic Camera the other day - what little I could find - showed that all the analogue products were all manufactured outside of Japan).

If digital broadcasting is a failure in this country, then it's going to hurt Japanese manufacturing for a very long time... The analogue equipment I saw was all manufactured in Malaysia, Indonesia, and I found some from Taiwan (which was surprising).

Now, how does Toyota fit into this equation?

Imagine your car dashboard. It has a GPS, CD player, and television/radio set all built together. Most people have an analogue device (with terrible TV reception!) From July 2011 there will be no cars that come with that device. They will all be digital.

After July 2011, on your dashboard, you will have a digital GPS, Internet, digital TV and digital radio. Want to do Social Media, YouTube, Twitter, U-Stream, blog? Got you covered. Need to Google or Yahoo search? Sure. When you need traffic conditions, just a click on your GPS will give you up to the minute details on traffic and road conditions. All the TV channels? No problem. Throw on top of that 6 digital radio channels and, of course, a CD player and probably an iPod connection, and you have the next generation of car entertainment system. 

Now where does that leave radio in the equation? Especially when you consider the fact that radio, unlike TV and the Internet, cannot give data on exactly how many users it has and cannot give ratings... 

Why does it matter that radio cannot give ratings? Well, because any advertising campaign expenditures from sponsors must be justified at accounting at the sponsor company. How can one justify a radio campaign in Japan when clients cannot be told how many people listen and who is listening? They can, though, get data on viewers for TV and Internet and numbers for print media.

That upper management at a station can be serious and tell me in an incredulous tone, a full seven years after Toyota's announcement, that they just found out that the world's largest car maker stopped making radios for their cars shows just how completely out of touch with reality some people are with what's going on with people's lives and the world and society they live in.

But, gee, far be it from me to tell people what to do, but I think it is the duty of management to keep apace with the market and conditions. Anything less is gross negligence. The shareholders should be, and will be, furious. It's a simple matter of time.

You be the judge! Do you think people like that, who are so unaware of the market - and even their own business merits and demerits - who seem to not read business publications on market trends - can run a successful business? They should be fired! There are employees working under them who have families to support; management has a responsibility! 

Of course, if the guilty parties ever read this, they would probably be angry at me for stating the obvious... I don't know why. I am doing them a favor.... 

But, as you know, when the tyrant king doesn't like the message, they will not consider where they went wrong, they will just kill the messenger boy... 

What was I saying about the Peter Principle?

Crowd Funding? WTF? Yes!

I started producing, directing and co-hosting a 5 hour Friday morning FM radio show on 76.1 InterFM. The show is entitled, "WTF?" 

.....What!? That's not a foul name? "WTF?" Means, "What the Friday?" (Kind of like "TGIF" means, "Thank God it's Friday" and NOT "Thank God it's F*cked!") Heavens! What kind of a people have you been hanging out with? Now, go wash your brain out with soap and water! What if your mother ever found out what you were thinking? You should be ashamed!

Anyway, the show is going well. It's not your typical Japanese FM radio show (boring) and we are loud, laugh and play loud music. You can see the WTF? program web page here. http://www.interfm.co.jp/wtf/index.php?mode=fri&id=32

The other day, we had a gentleman by the name of Yu Sasamoto, the head cheese of WESYM, as a guest on the show and he told us about "Crowd Funding." You might have heard of Crowd Funding but weren't too sure of what it was. Yu explained it all to us. 

Crowd Funding is a way for people (without deep financial backing) to get their fans and friends to help fund their projects. It's a boom in the west and just starting out in Japan.

Being the kind of guy who doesn't quite understand this new-fangled "Internets" thingy, I decided that the best way to learn wasn't reading the "Users Manual" but by just jumping in and doing it! So we started our own Crowd Funding effort.

In this effort, I want to do three things:

1) I want to fund a product for program merchandise 
2) I want to help build a buzz for my program
3) I want to help build "community"
4) I want to take the extra proceeds and help out my favorite charity: Children with Incurable Diseases (That's me as Santa!) (If that link doesn't work, use this: http://modernmarketingjapan.blogspot.jp/2011/12/santa-claus-visits-hospital-for.html)

The campaign just started yesterday and I think it is going OK! 

Crowd Funding seems like a great idea and I want to do more if the future! See below the actual page for our effort. Crowd Funding is cool!

Japan's Radio Show X Crowd Funding: Engaging with listeners.

About the Project

Hello Japan!

I am Mike Rogers and I have a show every Friday on InterFM, a radio station in Tokyo.

Our program was renewed this April and is delivered to those who look forward to Friday every week. Don't forget to tune in!

For most of us, Friday is a great day just before the weekend. That's why the phrase TGIF (Thank God It's Friday). On this happy Friday, we have a great show called WTF!? What The Friday.

The show airs every Friday mornings with George Williams and Taro for 5 hours, providing the hottest info on music before anyone else along with easy listening music such as cross over Jazz. We only air once a week, so don't miss it. You not only get a great start to your Friday, but also get great information to make the most out of your weekend.

So why are we starting crowd funding on WESYM?

We want to create cool & fun goodies, as well as, events with our listeners and crowd funding is a great tool to make this happen.

Would you be interested in a private party on a cruiser with great food and music with the WTF!? Staff and listeners? Anything is possible.

For starters, we came up with an idea to create an original magnet that you can stick on your fridge. People who support the project will automatically get a cool WTF!? magnet.

We want at least 200 supporters for this project! So, help us spread the words to make it happen!

What? You rather have a T-Shirt? No problem. We can start another project or add a gift to this project.

Crowd funding is all about a community of fans or supporters making a fun idea a reality. It is somewhat similar to the European soccer team Barcelona being supported and funded by its fans. For us, our supporters are our listners. We would luv to create something with our supporters that everyone can enjoy and be a part of together.

Don't be shy if you have great ideas on what we can do together. Will be sharing ideas on a regular basis on WTF!? What the Friday!

◇ Return to the project supporters;

500 SEEDs will get you an original WTF!? Magnet. This is to show you are an official member of WTF!? What The Friday

You get TWO magnets for 500 SEEDs. One is signed by George, Taro and Mike. Another one is for you to either keep or give it away to your friends!

*When we exceed the required SEEDs to produce the magnet, we are to donate them to"Children with Incurable Diseases"

http://www.nanbyonet.or.jp/

▼ We plan to use the design below.

Check out our program blog as well!

http://www.interfm.co.jp/wtf/blog/

The Importance of a "Sales Point" - Bragging about Economy Class Tickets in a Promotion is Not a Sales Point - it is a Minus Point!

Today I want to give you an example of extremely amateurish marketing campaign that's going on right now in Tokyo and a taste of some quality marketing that will start next month... These both have to do with understanding (or not understanding) what a "Sales Point" is supposed to be.

What's a "Sales Point?" A "Sales Point" is something that should make your audience think, "Wow! That sounds great!" 


A sales point" is supposed to be something extra or special or, as the vernacular goes, "Value Added." Words used to describe sales points are adjectives like, "Deluxe," "Giant," "Extra," "Premium"....  


Whenever you make an ad or sales pitch for your business, service, event or campaign and you add sales points they should be things that make the prospective customer sit up and take notice. They should be something that makes them think, "Special!"


Yesterday, I heard a radio commercial on a Tokyo radio station that just made me slap my forehead. It was a contest to win a vacation for two to Hawaii!


The commercial went like this;


"Something-or-other FM radio station in Tokyo is offering you a chance to win a vacation on Japan Airlines, economy class, for two to Waikiki, Hawaii..." 


Read that sentence again....


"Something-or-other FM radio station in Tokyo is offering you a chance to win a vacation on Japan Airlines, economy class, for two to Waikiki, Hawaii..."???


Economy class!? They're kidding, right? They didn't actually say that in their on air commercial, did they?... Well, yes. They did. 


In the case of airlines tickets, a good sales point would be saying something like, "Business Class" or "First Class" for two. Business class and First class are "premium" and "up-grade." Saying "economy class" is not a sales point. In fact it is a demerit. It cheapens the experience and the lessens the excitement. There was no good reason at all to add that.


Saying "Economy class" could be a sales point if this were an event run by some small organization, but when you are a major broadcasting station in the most crowded city in the entire world with over 35 million homes in your broadcasting area, saying "Economy class" is not a plus in any sense of the meaning....


For the accommodations, did they say, "The cheapest dump motel we could find?" Nope. They didn't. If it's not going to be at least a 5-star hotel, then there's no reason to say anything. Free accommodation sounds nice enough as it is. No reason to add, "Cockroaches no extra charge!"  

Which is better? "Free accommodations" or "The worst dump we could find"?

They should have left out the "economy class" part of the commercial and just stuck with;


"Something-or-other FM radio station in Tokyo is offering you a chance to win a vacation on Japan Airlines for two to Waikiki, Hawaii..."


Like I said, adding the words "economy class" just cheapens the experience and the excitement for the listeners... If economy class weren't the cheapest seats available, I can imagine saying it, but the last time I heard, the airlines don't normally allow people to ride in the tire wells or in the luggage area. 

I doubt that the purpose of the campaign was to create for the listeners an image that this radio station does everything second-rate, but I suspect that is probably the ultimate result.


In June I will be running a campaign with Delta airlines for a lucky couple to win a vacation to the USA for seven nights and nine days - to a destination of their choice - on Delta Airline's Top Quality Premium Business Class... Now THAT'S a sales point. You'll be able to find information about that here this very blog. 


Stay tuned.

Japanese Government Preparing for Broadcasting Companies' Bankruptcy

Last year, in 2010, for the first time in the history of this country, two major broadcasting stations were allowed to go bankrupt. Those stations were Radio-I in Nagoya and Love FM in Fukuoka. Those two events shook the Japanese broadcasting industry to its bones as the old school broadcasters have always thought that no matter what happened, the government would bail out the stations.

SELECTER - ON MY RADIO

"It's just the same old show... On my radio..."

There have been times in the past when stations got themselves into serious financial troubles, but, when push came to shove, either the Japanese government bailed the stations out or they guaranteed loans for the stations or arranged a group of companies to cooperate to buyout or support the station.

With the current poor economic situation and the Japanese government in debt over 200% of GDP, the well has run dry. There are no more funds to bail out these businesses.


This is actually the way things should be. The government should not be bailing out insolvent businesses as that just causes distortions in the market and causes management to continue with their incompetent practices.


A bankruptcy allows for the bad management to be washed out and replaced with new management. Bailing out a business (in this case a broadcasting station) or arranging loans, etc. allows bad management to continue in their positions and creates a false security for them. This creates a situation whereby the stations continue in their old and tired ways of failure.


I can give you a shocking example of this. In 2006, when a major Tokyo TV station took over a FM station, I was at a meeting where the guy who had been Program Director at that FM radio station for over ten years (ten years and lost $140 million USD) actually said to the TV station president - who had no become the president of the radio station;


"We don't have to get good ratings or make money as, even if we lose money, some other company will come in - with government support - and bail out the station and we'll all get to keep our jobs as we can't be fired under the labor laws (of Japan). So there's no reason to make any money." 


He said this like an excited boy who wanted his new friend in on his "secret." Both the new president of the radio station and I were surprised. No, surprised isn't the word I'm looking for here. I think my jaw dropped and bounced on the table top. It was a shocking admission.

If the kids want to hear new, cool music in Japan, 

it's not on the radio. They have to read magazines! 

The new president was also dumbfounded to hear this sort of thinking direct from the horse's mouth from a person in management. I had worked with this guy and that station for years and knew that they were incompetent and not interested in making money or getting good ratings. But I was completely surprised that he was so foolish that he'd so readily volunteer such information - so innocently - as if it were common sense - and as if it were useful knowledge. Did this Program Director actually think that the new president had bought this radio station for his fun and not to make money?


Of course, it goes without saying, that this Program Director was removed from his position quite soon after that.    


It had always struck me as amazing how someone like that could keep their job in the decade or so that I knew this gentleman. He was a nice guy, for sure. But a completely and totally clueless and incompetent businessman. 


As an aside, for those of you who live in Japan and have always wondered why, say, Japanese FM radio is so bad, then there's your answer: The management of these stations all think like the Program Director above; there's no reason to worry about your station brand, ratings, sales or making good programs. The station management only have to worry about protecting their own personal positions. This is how the situation is on the ground in these broadcasting stations. This is the reality for these people.


That's why, in a nutshell, Japanese TV and radio are so bad. It is also just one more symptom of why several of these stations will not survive the digital conversion. I've written about that here, here and here.

Now, if you read between the lines of the latest headlines, you can see that the Japanese Government is setting up the system for a collapse of radio stations.


The Associated Press reports: 


The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said Friday it plans to allow one company to own up to four radio stations by relaxing its ordinance on the principle of banning multiple ownership of mass media.


The amendment is designed to permit a company to hold an entire equity stake in each of four radio stations, whether they are AM or FM stations.

The current ministry ordinance bans a company, which has a 10 percent or larger stake in a radio station, from holding more than 10 percent of shares in another station in the same service area.

On a nationwide basis, a company is allowed to hold a stake of more than 20 percent in no more than two stations.

The ministry decided to relax the principle in order to help radio stations as the widespread use of the Internet has caused many of them financial difficulties by eating into their advertising revenues.

The drafted amendment, which would also allow radio stations to merge with each other, is expected to be put into effect in late June after being examined by an advisory panel to the communications minister.


The Japanese government recognizes the writing on the wall. Most of these stations under the current system are insolvent and cannot survive much longer. The economy is so bad - and the Internet has changed the game so much - that industries outside of broadcasting (the ones that the government traditionally went to for money) are no longer able to afford it, nor are they interested in broadcasting anymore.


Traditional broadcasting is a dinosaur. All the FM radio stations in Japan are seriously bleeding money even now - even J-Wave in Tokyo. When digital broadcasting starts and they lose all their sponsors, they are dead. I explained that in detail here.

RAMONES - ROCK & ROLL RADIO

Well, actually, no. No one in Japan remembers any rock & roll

radio because Japan has never had any.

FM stations in Tokyo cannot survive past 2015 in their current configuration. The government can change the rules all they want to try to keep them breathing but the fact remains the same: Traditional broadcasting days are numbered. FM radio in Japan is already at death's door. 


TV stations like TV Tokyo, TBS and TV Asahi are not far behind.