God winks, Stevie Wonder and being a media start-up

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What a week! Lots to dig into today…and I don't know what cosmic tricks the universe is up to these days... but I was going to remind you about tomorrow's already rescheduled workshop and tell you there's still time to register...

But I found myself editing this email mere moments before sending it because... well...

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It seems COVID is now making its way through our entire team.

*le sigh*

If it's not wildfires or hurricanes, it's that other thing.

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So here I am, again making the call to postpone our Promo & Growth Workshop until we are not breathing smoke or coughing up a lung.

Let's proceed shall we??

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I pulled out of my driveway in Halifax at 5am last Wednesday.

Sir Duke by the great Stevie Wonder came blaring through the car radio.

And I laughed, shook my head and turned onto Shore Road heading to Stanfield International.

I often talk and write about God winks..and this? This was a God wink alright.

A God wink is one of those full circle moments, a synchronicity that can’t fully be explained through rational logic or thought; a happening that usually elicits goosebumps, tears or maybe a gasp…in this case, it was all of the above.

You see, I was on my way to RadioDays North America. A large broadcasting conference in Toronto where the biggie bigs and smally-smalls and newbie-news of media would converge to talk about (dun, dun dunnnnn) - the future of radio.

The last time I was at a radio industry conference was in 2008. The same year I won multiple awards for my scripting, delivery and producing.

(After that, the large companies I worked for didn’t fund talent going to conferences or professional development. Only directors or managers could go).

And if I’m being honest, I was a little stuck in imposter syndrome for going. I mean, I’m not a newbie, but I am working to build something very new in a very stuck industry. I had all the swirly thoughts of …

What if they don’t take me seriously?

What if podcasting is not only positioned as a threat, but also the ugly stepsister in the corner and I’m on the defensive from the get-go?

What if…

What if…

And here is the God wink.

Because you see, back in August 2006… I had the same feelings rushing through my body.

• Fear I was in over my head.
• Worry that I’d be cut down before I started.
• Terror that I’d fail, screw up and my career would end before it began.

In August 2006, I was part of a proud, scrappy, start-up team - led by the tenacious and fierce Wendy Gray (now head of News at Vista) and then-Haliburton Broadcasting owner and, in my opinion brilliant media visionary, Christopher Grossman.

We were flipping the transmitter to ‘ON’ on the 106.3 FM frequency and launching The Moose in North Bay, Ontario.

As the switch flipped, the automation kicked in and … you guessed it…

Sir Duke flooded the airwaves.

So when, almost 17 years later, as I was sticking my neck back out with a new way of looking at radio, a new vision for audio on demand, new experiences and new energy, and I was serenaded by Stevie - I had to accept it as a sign.

Over the coming weeks, I’ll write more about what I heard at RadioDays, because there’s a lot to unpack; from the emergence of AI technology to the declining listenership on terrestrial airwaves to really cool tech being built into cars to visual radio departments cropping up (thanks BBC, I mean whoa!)

But right now, all I’ve processed is that it’s time to kick the old groove.

I mean, not to put too fine a point on this, but the radio really does still sound exactly like it did 17 years ago (and in fact, I’d hazard to say 30 years ago).

Competition, clunky infrastructure, fear-based thinking and a lack of desire to experiment and fail are causing permanent damage to the audio industry.

• Broadcasters are afraid to invest properly in podcasting or are seeing podcasting as additive rather than enriching.
• Podcasters are chasing vanity metrics and are hung up on monetizing audience share.
• Advertisers are in a weird grey space where they aren’t really sure what they are buying.
• Local stations are dying, while trends show audiences want more local.

It’s kind of a mess.

But it’s not an unfixable mess (as I’ve said multiple times before).

I mean, imagine Sir Duke was about radio instead of jazz…

[Radio] is a world within itself

With a language we all understand.

With an equal opportunity

For all to sing and dance and clap their hands.

Radio, podcasting and Canadian media is standing at the edge of a transformation, with loads of opportunities.

• Podcasting to build better audience stickiness.
• Radio that is enhanced by impactful (versus clever) use of AI technology.
• New content partnerships and multi-channel eco-systems that help audiences thrive where they live.
• Development of new units of measure that aren’t PPM counts or downloads.

It’s our job as creators and owners in the business to push those boundaries, pull ourselves out of the cycle of fear of failure, overwhelm, and trepidation and dance.

I’m ready for a new groove. How about you?

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Erin Trafford

Co-Founder, CEO | Story Studio Network

​Website | Instagram | Linkedin | Threads​

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