Back To The Christian Radio Future!

To quote the Byrds (Okay, and the book of Ecclesiastes): "To everything (turn, turn turn), there is a season (turn, turn, turn)."

Depending on who your radio station is targeting, you may have noticed something a little strange happening over the past year or two. Some of the new music from some of our format's big artists of the past 15-20 years isn't testing as well and, if your station has done a gold test recently, you may be seeing some previously-huge songs not testing quite as big as they once did. Your mileage may vary, of course, but I know it's been the case at WAY-FM.

So, why? Why the shake up? Well, to understand what we're starting to see, we're sending you back to the future-and taking a look at generational behavior.

Our first stop in the DeLorean is the late 90s/early 2000s. We were in the big fish, testifying to love and keeping our candle burning on this ride of life in Christian music. Christian radio was filled with vocal pop bands, and we loved every minute of it. Groups like 4Him, Avalon, Point of Grace, and FFH were some of the best at the format. Until they weren't. I was young at the time, and since this style of music wasn't my favorite, I was happy to see some of those acts "go away" to make room for newer bands, like Casting Crowns, Matthew West, Jeremy Camp, and others. (Full disclosure: I did skip my high school prom to see 4Him live in concert. So...maybe I doth protest too much about these not being my fave). At the time, I just chalked that up to the natural cycle of music, and it was. But maybe not so much because music is cyclical, BUT because of a change in generations.

So, what do I mean? What was happening around that time?

Generation X was entering what I would call the "Age of Media Influence," as Baby Boomers were starting to reach the older age of the demo. Gen X'ers were born between 1965 and the early 80s. So let's get back to the early 2000s (around 2001-2003) when Christian radio started shifting away from those vocal groups. How old were Gen Xers then? The oldest in the bunch were hitting their mid to late 30s. And what age does many a media conglomerate target-especially in Christian radio? In the early 2000s, as I was really beginning my radio career, "Jennifer" was 35. At that point, she would have most likely been a member of Gen X.

Obviously, there are numerous articles out there about the differences between generations, so I'm not going to rehash all of that. But there is one thing that is pretty much true with most generations; they have their own music that defines them that is often different than their parents'. Yes, they may like some of their parents' music, but they also grew up listening to music that was different. Now that radio is FINALLY going to care about them and their tastes, the music is going to shift.

(Side note...Christian music and radio was at such an early growth period with the previous generation shift, that this isn't as easy to see. But, if you were to take our DeLorean back even further, to when Baby Boomers started to get into their mid to late 30s, you get the early 80s as Christian music really started to explode with Keith Green, Petra, WhiteHeart and pretty much everyone that living legend Chris Hauser is best friends with).

So let's travel back to present day. Millennials were born in the early 80s. So how old are our oldest millennials right now? They are now in their mid to late 30s. So if your station is targeting a female in her mid-30s, don't be surprised if you're starting to see things change. Granted, if you're more focused on someone in their 40s, you probably still have a couple of years until it really starts to impact your station. Without giving away all our trade secrets at WAY-FM, our most recent auditorium test definitely showed some different songs and tastes emerging with our 30-39 year olds, as contrasted with those in older groups. And yes, as always, there are consensus songs, but the differences were most apparent with some of our more established artists and with older songs.

So, what does this mean for our future as far as music? What's going to be the next big thing? Well, I have the answers, and if you hire me as a consultant...kidding. Truthfully, I don't think anyone would be able to tell you for certain what songs and/or styles are next, but there are some "facts" about Millennials that I think will help define their music taste.

Millennials prefer brands that share their values; they tend to be idealistic. They also tend to lean towards authenticity, although not as much as Generation Zed behind them. I think it's why a lot of worship songs are big with this group: its music that connects them directly to God. They want to feel His presence. They also want music that's authentic, which probably means less of the songs that are written about an idealistic Christian life, and more songs that are about their struggles and their realities. Songs that reflect who they are. Let's also not forget, this is a generation who grew up with music that would have had a lot of urban/hip hop and pop influences, as they listened to Top 40 in their teenage years and early twenties. That's not to say that all of a sudden pop and hip-hop is going to take over Christian radio; but, I do think it means you don't have to be as "scared" of songs from genres outside the norm. Of course, there's always a resistance to "mom and dad's Baby Boomer music" which means some of the bigger artists of the past decade may start losing some of their popularity. That also holds true for music that sounds like it was written in a Christian music factory with Christian music cliches. That's just not who they are.

While change can be scary, it's also exciting. I'm not saying to go tear up your station's music and playlists just yet. But, you might want to start experimenting with some songs that, at one point, you would have said "there's no way Christian radio listeners will like this." You may be surprised what you may discover.

And then just wait until 2032 when Gen Zed gets to be in their mid 30s. We can save that thought for a few years yet.