R&R ‘The Industry’s Newspaper’
Urban Radio:
Mainstream Now Flows In Different Directions: Opportunity Knocks
by Walt Love
KPRS/Kansas City PD Sam Weaver says he looks Urban fragmentation this way: “Increased employment opportunities! There was a time when all you had was mainstream Urban Contemporary radio and you had to service everybody for everything. So if you were on the air you were expected to go in only one direction-and that was Urban. Now you have a number of different directions to go and you’re still able to participate, because there are more opportunities within the format. It’s been that way in other formats for many years. Now you potentially have more areas to get into and you also may have more longevity in the business.”
“When I’m out on speaking engagements I hear people say they want to get into radio. That means everything to me; any kind of radio is good. Then I hear others say they are interested in Urban radio. Those people just now getting into the business have lots of different areas of Urban to choose from.”
Education is Key
With many Urban variations gaining in popularity today, Weaver believes opportunities exist not only for up-and-coming air talents, but in others areas of radio as well. “I believe there will be more management opportunities, which means there will be more sales opportunities. I hate to use this term, but it’s a trickle-down effect.” “The key to getting into our business is for folks to educate themselves so they can work at any radio station in any format. And when I say educate, that means to learn as much as possible about radio-period.”