Op-Ed by VAB Executive Director Wendy Mays

If you haven’t seen the attack ad Sirius XM emailed this week against AM/FM radio (to the right), sit down, because if you’re like me, you’re going to be mad as hell!  See reactions from NAB and RAB below:

https://www.insideradio.com/free/nab-s-legeyt-siriusxm-is-siriusly-wrong-about-radio/article_07447066-0409-11ed-a5c4-63c3e10bd340.html

https://www.insideradio.com/free/rab-jacobs-rebut-sxm-attack-ad-why-waste-your-money-on-satellite-radio/article_987ffd2e-0338-11ed-9fd2-572f95ef42ec.html

We’ve been letting our competitors control the false narrative about AM/FM radio for way too long. I’m fed up with it and am ready to do something about it. Airing pro-radio spots on radio is fine, but its kind of like preaching to the choir. I’d like to create an external campaign to reach people who are not regular listeners; maybe a :30 TV and/or YouTube pre-roll ad?

I’ve come up with preliminary messaging (below) I feel an external ad campaign should relay:

“Why Pay for Music Subscriptions When Radio Is Free?”

24/7, your free local radio stations give you:

• New music and new artists to discover
• Your favorite songs in every variety and format
• Information about concerts and events coming to your town
• Severe weather alerts and critical lifelines during emergencies or power outages
• Traffic, accident and road condition updates in real-time
• High school and college sports schedules and game scores
• Entertainment and the chance to win prizes
• Local news stories to keep you informed
• Company when you’re feeling lonely or scarred and need a familiar voice
• Support for local non-profits and local fundraisers for neighbors in need
• A place to have important conversations and discuss topics you care about
• A sense of belonging to your community
• Anonymity – no targeted ads ever come from radio

Free Local Radio Stations Will NEVER:

• Take your money
• Force you to subscribe
• Listen in on your conversations
• Harvest your personal information
• Treat you like a data-mine

Listen to radio on your phone, tablet, laptop, smart speaker or in your car – wherever you go, free radio is at your fingertips!

Check out all the free radio station options in your area here (with a link to a page on VAB.org)

AM/FM Radio reaches 93% of Americans 18+ every month
– Nielsen “Audio Today” Study

This is just my opinion, what’s yours? Email me at vab@vab.org

(And if you know the name of the movie from which I ripped off the quote as the title to this article, you and I will be lifelong friends!)