Music = Connection

Top 3 reasons all of us love music!

1. Music is inherently social.

Even when we listen to music alone, when we hear something new that we love, we are compelled to share it with220px-Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band others we think may love it too.

That’s one of the reasons Radio was the first true social medium, the reason we still have an advantage in “new media” today, if we care to use it — which, all too often, we don’t.

What did you do the first time you heard the Beatles “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”? Called a friend? Probably. And it’s no different today, when we hear Adele’s new single.

It’s because music is a point of human connection. And there is no reason your station should not have an app/button that makes it one-touch easy for your listener to instantly share their favorite new song on every platform they use.

Music has always been inextricably linked with love. In almost every culture worldwide, couples have a song, their song, that holds special meaning to them, that somehow defines and deepens the bonds of their relationship.

2. Music helps heal wounded hearts.

bereavement-and-loss

There’s a reason sad songs — think “Someone Like You” by Adele — become monster hits. Sad songs are somehow cathartic, by reminding us we are not the only ones suffering

Often, music expresses feelings, especially grief, which are better felt than spoken.

Music eases anxiety, reduces tension, soothes and comforts, and has the power to instantly transport us back to better times and warm memories.

3. Music makes good moods even better.

It’s entertaining, relaxing, motivating and the #1 reason people say they enjoy listening to music.

Music, of itself, has the power to make us more hopeful and optimistic. Ever sat next to a car at a stop light and watched the person next to you sing along with a song, smiling and completely unselfconscious?

If you work in music radio, these are your advantages.

Listening to Pandora is not a social activity any more than listening to your iPod is, but music radio needs to play our social trump card more often.

How often do you really listen to the songs you’re playing when you’re on the air? How often do you express your emotional reaction to and connection with a new song you love?

In our always-connected world, where most of us feel more — not less — lonely, someone is feeling something, something positive, something perhaps inexpressible, about this very song you’re playing.

The neural pathways are open to a shared connection but you’ve got to do your part too.

Share your feelings about the music you play.