Country radio has made, and continues to make, the adjustments necessary to be successful in the new millennium.

As for the music industry’s ills, I've read a lot of articles criticizing or blaming short radio playlists, songs that stay on playlists too long, stations asking for too many promotion dollars for too little return, downloading, etc. I have rarely heard a label head say "we need to put out more compelling product." You get the picture.

Radio and records is a partnership in that we need each other in the long term to be healthy. Therefore, it is in the spirit of this sometimes fragile partnership that I make the following suggestions to the music industry.

1. Look beyond Nashville. There's great talent all over America. Not all the great ones will make the trek to your office. In radio, we often have to seek out great talent. They don't always come to us. Send talent scouts across America. Radio can help you find local talent with national potential.

2. Recruit producers from other genres to make Country music. I don't mean pop country. I mean COUNTRY. Let's get a fresh take.

3. Don't always put out the safe song. I challenge you to put out the best songs you think we won't play. You'd be surprised. I have an incredible respect for A&R people and think you should follow your guts and hearts and stop asking programmers what should be the next single. You'd be surprised at how we often steer you down the wrong path.

4. Get off the weak songs sooner. It would be healthy for everyone to acknowledge a song that's not going to make it, and move on. By the same token, don't give up too soon on something you really believe in.

5. See downloaders as friends not enemies. I think the industry is just now recovering from the lost opportunity to gain billions in revenue by fighting the gravity of technological change rather than embracing it.

Expansive thinking is needed to keep both industries healthy. Good luck to all of us in 2004 and beyond.

Joel Raab is a nationally known media consultant specializing in programming and marketing for Country Radio. His clients include stations owned by most of the major broadcast groups. He can be reached at mailto:joelraab@aol.comor at 215-750-6868