Music Tells the First Story

Radio often reminds itself that music isn’t the only thing that matters.

And it’s right.

It doesn’t.

Talent matters.

Content matters.

Imaging and promotions matter too.

A station is much bigger than its playlist.

But music still shapes much of the experience.

It’s the part listeners spend the most time with.

It’s the thread that connects one moment to the next.

And it’s usually the first thing that communicates a station’s identity.

Before the spoken elements have had much chance to reinforce it, the station has already started telling me what it’s about.

Not with words.

With decisions.

Within a few songs, I usually have a sense of where the station is taking me. I can hear what it values, what it protects and, ultimately, what it wants to be known for.

Long before personality has a chance to reinforce it, the music has already shaped my first impression.

The strongest stations don’t make me wait to understand them.

Nobody has to tell me what they’re trying to be.

I can hear it.

The music has shape.

The choices feel intentional.

The station already feels like something.

That’s a very different experience than hearing a collection of songs that all fit the format but never really say anything together.

I’ve found that most stations aren’t struggling because of the music itself.

They’re struggling to communicate a clear identity through it.

Once that story is clear, everything else has something to build on.

The personalities deepen it.

The imaging reinforces it.

The promotions make more sense because they’re all pointing in the same direction.

When that story isn’t clear, those same elements have a much harder job.

They’re being asked to create clarity instead of reinforce it.

That’s why I still believe music tells the first story.

Not the whole story.

Just the first one.

Every story that follows is stronger when that first one is clear.

Mike Lavallee