I came across this today …

From Broadcast Dialogue: “A study from Yahoo and OMD Worldwide shows that the internet has surpassed radio as the preferred medium for music among youth in 11 countries. Forty-seven percent of young U.S. consumers prefer the internet for music, compared to 27% who prefer radio.”

When evaluating any research, take a close look at the methodology. In this case, the numbers were based on an online survey!

Think that might had any impact on the results???

“Take some chances,” Inside Radio reports…”That turned out to be the dominant theme of the NAB Radio Show. Keynoters like Seth Godin and Randy Jackson are supposed to say stuff like ‘don’t be afraid to fail.’ But the imperative to “try new things and take chances” was also on the lips of John Hogan, Joel Hollander and other speakers…”

It’s true…we are in an era where bold moves have paid off big in more than one industry…

In the car biz, Chrysler “zagged” with its 300. The car’s Bentley-like design is a huge departure from the “bar of soap” look of other cars. And mechanically, the 300’s rear-wheel drive is a “180″ from the front-wheel drive common in family sedans today.

Chrysler and its dealers were nervous about selling an RWD car in the snowbelt. They were unsure about selling a car that looks so different. But the 300 has been a huge success, helping spur Chrysler to record-breaking sales and a bigger market share.

In contrast, Ford took the conservative styling route with its big sedan — the 500 — making it look much like an Audi clone. Ford’s design guru J. Mays shrugged off criticism of the 500’s bland looks with a flippant:“You can never look too much like an Audi, can you?” Well…you can. Sales of the 500 have fallen short of expectations, and now Ford is now scrambling to give it more “edge.”

Closer to our industry, long-suffering ABC took a risk last year with edgy new shows like Lost, Grey’s Anatomy and (especially) Desperate Housewives — a campy prime-time soap. Housewives was pitched to NBC, CBS, Fox, HBO, Showtime and Lifetime before ABC gave it a shot. It was the most popular new show of ‘04-’05 season, and ABC’s risk-talking took it from #4 to #2 among the networks.

In contrast, NBC reacted to the loss of its mainstays Frazier and Friends with more of the same…for example, the Friends spin-off — Joey. This conservative approach landed NBC in the #4 spot, behind Fox!

And in radio, we have “Jack” — which became the hot format by challenging conventional wisdom with its extended playlist, “car crash segues” and irreverent attitude. While some stations have made a mistake in their rush to the format, the success Jack has had reveals the upside of thinking differently and taking chances.

The point of these examples is: bold, risky moves often succeed, while the so-called “safe” route isn’t always safe after all!

So what’s standing in the way of more risk-taking in radio?

Some will point to research. But used the right way, research does not dictate a station’s direction or impede innovation! At its best, research provides a reality-based “springboard” for radio managers’ creativity, so that their format concepts are grounded in serving listeners’ needs (rather than simply pulled out of someone’s butt).

For example, research tells that listeners like the idea of broad variety, and that an irreverent, “no bullshit” approach has strong appeal. Jack is a creative exploitation of these attitudes.

Research reveals what listeners like and what listeners think. It’s up to us to figure out what their attitudes, preferences and perceptions mean for a station’s direction.

I do think consolidation has played a role in radio’s risk-aversion. If anything, consolidation should facilitate more risk-taking, since clusters don’t have to “bet the farm” on any one station! But it hasn’t worked out that way. Managers have less time and less incentive to fix the weak stations in their clusters…after all, they’re just one of five (or whatever).

Before consolidation, format innovation was born of necessity… failing stations had every incentive to try something new and different. Given the competitive pressures coming at radio from multiple directions — XM, Sirius, iPods and the Internet — radio will again have to cope creatively and take chances, just as it has in the past.

What’s behind the appeal of Jack? In large part, it’s the perceived spontaneity and unpredictability of the format. Listeners are sending radio a message. They want to be surprised by radio…to hear something they didn’t expect to hear. Or as the “research guy” in the movie Private Parts told WNBC’s P.D. (in explaining the appeal of Howard Stern)…

“They want to hear what he’s going to say next.”

Spontaneity is more important now than ever, because listeners have more choices for music than ever. iPods, create-your-own CDs and satellite radio channels with highly specialized and focused music formats…and no commercials.

If the battle lines come solely down to music, then radio is at a disadvantage.

But radio can do things that all the new audio media can’t do. It can surprise you with a new song or artist you didn’t download, because you didn’t even know about it. It can surprise you with an old song you didn’t download, because you forgot about it. It can surprise you with line that takes you aback or makes you laugh. It can surprise you with a wacky stunt or with a community service.

It can surprise you. Radio’s unpredictability is part of its magic!

But by the new millennium, radio had become too safe and too predictable, filled with cliche’d positioning lines, off-the-shelf personalities, trite commercials, etc. Into this stale environment, Jack came in like an breath of fresh air…irreverent and ready to challenge the “commandments” of radio programming.

Let’s make this clear. I am not suggesting that Jack is the new ideal in programming! I am not suggesting that your station “play everything” (or even close to it)! And I’m not suggesting that you abandon the principles behind most successful stations — clearly defined, focused positioning and delivering whatever listeners most want to hear, most of the time.

What I’m saying is: take a lesson from Jack…Surprise them sometimes!