NuVoodoo Study Reveals Startling Insights For Radio

• Over 2/3 of 14-24-Year-Old Likely Ratings Respondents and Nearly 1/2 of All Radio Listeners Believe Radio’s Tight Playlists Are a Cost-Saving Measure to Avoid Paying Licensing Fees
• Nearly 60% of All Respondents and Close to 70% of Likely Diary and PPM Participants Conclude That Radio Stations Play the Music That Record Companies Pay Them to Play

NuVoodoo Media Services, a data-driven media marketing, programming and content intelligence provider, announces that it has recently completed its 12th and latest NuVoodoo Ratings Prospects Study of over 3,000 radio listeners between the ages of 14 and 54 across all PPM-rated markets.

Key findings of the new study will be revealed in a series of free webinars presented by NuVoodoo’s Leigh Jacobs, EVP, Research Analysis and Mike O’Connor, EVP, Marketing Insights. The webinars will be presented beginning Wednesday, August 1st through Monday, August 6th and are open to all radio professionals who register at: http://www.nuvoodoo.com/webinars.

NuVoodoo Ratings Prospect Study XII was fielded in June 2018 and shows that about half of all radio listeners under age 35 believe radio’s tight playlists are a cost-saving measure to avoid paying licensing fees. Among those respondents who are likely to accept a diary or meter, the perception jumps to over 2/3 among 14-24 year-olds.

NuVoodoo’s study also showed that nearly 60% of all respondents and close to 70% of likely diary and PPM participants conclude that radio stations play the music that record companies pay them to play. 

Leigh Jacobs, Executive Vice President, Research Analysis, NuVoodoo Media Services, said: “Our findings reveal a sharp younger-demo skew among those who believe that radio’s tight playlists are the result of cost saving measures on the part of stations seeking to avoid paying licensing fees. The younger the demo, the more pervasive the perception. When it comes to music-business collusion, that demo skew goes away – and it represents a majority across the demos (and strong majorities among likely ratings participants).”

The webinar series is part of NuVoodoo's ongoing effort to inform the industry of emerging trends and to help uncover opportunities for stations to improve programming and marketing efforts.  The primary focus is on those who have accepted or are more likely to accept a ratings diary or become part of the PPM panel, since this small segment of radio listeners holds the key to any station’s financial success.

The webinar will also include updated study results about streaming and smart speakers - and their impact on terrestrial radio, as well as what marketing channels, from direct mail to digital, stations should emphasize when promoting themselves to likely panelists and diary keepers. Things have changed since Facebook’s recent data privacy scandal, and one competitor has clearly benefited in particular.

Carolyn Gilbert, President, NuVoodoo Media Services, said: “Our entire team heavily relies on the findings from the semi-annual NuVoodoo Ratings Prospects Studies. Our goal is to help clients dominate their competitors in the ratings, so knowing what motivates radio listeners, and likely ratings participants in particular, is the key to our strategies.”

Mike O’Connor, Executive Vice President, Marketing, NuVoodoo Media Services,  added: “Digital behavior is an ever-evolving and fast moving target. It’s not enough to conduct these studies only once in a while. Our edge comes from the fact that these findings are very recent and directly relevant to stations.”

To register for one of five free webinars to be held on Wednesday, August 1 (12pm ET and 3pm ET); Monday, August 6 (1pm ET); Thursday, August 9 (11am ET); and Monday, August 13 (2pm ET), visit: http://nuvoodoo.com/webinars/.