Research Archives - Page 7 of 15

Finney Media does music research every year on hundreds of songs in multiple markets across North America . . . and every year, the numbers on which songs from the past are the most popular with Christian Music Radio listeners changes. From our research, here are the Top Five Testing Songs released during the past 10 years:

2021 1. Anne Wilson/My Jesus 2. Zach Williams/Less Like Me 3. Cain/Yes He Can 4. Phil Wickham/House Of The Lord 5. Evan Craft/Be Alright	2020 1. Jordan St. Cyr/Fires 2. Andrew Ripp/Jericho 3. Josh Baldwin/Evidence 4. Jeremy Camp/Keep Me In The Moment 5. Cain/Rise Up
2019 1. Zach Williams/There Was Jesus 2. Michael W. Smith/Waymaker (ft. Vanessa Campagna) 3. Vertical Worship/Yes I Will 4. Zach Williams/Rescue Story 5. Helser, Johnathan & Melissa/Raise A Hallelujah	2018 1. Lauren Daigle/You Say 2. Josh Baldwin/Stand In Your Love 3. Elevation Worship/Do It Again 4. Cory Asbury/Reckless Love 5. Hillsong Worship/Who You Say I Am
2017 1. Tenth Avenue North/Control 2. Lauren Daigle/O’Lord 3. Sidewalk Prophets/Come To The Table 4. Passion/Glorious Day 5. We Are Messengers/Point To You	2016 1. Mercy Me/Even If 2. Zach Williams/Chain Breaker 3. Zach Williams/Old Church Choir 4. Elevation Worship/O Come To The Altar 5. Ryan Stevenson f/Gabe Real/Eye Of The Storm
2015 1. Bethel Music/No Longer Slaves 2. Jordan Feliz/The River 3. One Sonic Society/Great Are You Lord 4. Jeremy Camp/Same Power 5. Big Daddy Weave/My Story	2014 1. Mercy Me/Greater 2. Third Day/Soul On Fire 3. Lincoln Brewster/There Is Power 4. Francesca Battistelli/Holy Spirit 5. Passion/Even So Come
2013 1. Newsboys/We Believe 2. Phil Wickham/This Is Amazing Grace 3. Big Daddy Weave/Only Name (Yours Will Be) 4. Matt Maher/Lord, I Need You 5. Hillsong United/Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)	2012 1. Chris Tomlin/Whom Shall I Fear 2. Matt Redman/10,000 Reasons 3. Big Daddy Weave/Redeemed 4. Newsboys/God’s Not Dead (Like A Lion) 5. Toby Mac/Steal My Show

What’s Next?

Check out which titles are on this list that you may have taken out over the years . . . and consider if they should be a part of your station now.

Coming in April: The latest on the most popular artists with CCM listeners across the USA.

…in the 2021 Why Listen Survey

The 2021 Finney Media Why Listen?® Survey talked to almost 11,000 respondents with over a million data points from three different formats, including Music/Teaching (Hybrid) stations, and All-Teaching stations/programs, and Music stations.

There’s much discussion about focusing our radio stations and programs on people beyond the nuclear family. In 2022, there are way more folks listening with different marital statuses than those who have married for the first time. Here are the Top Five Marital Statuses ranked in the recent nationwide survey:

Top Marital Statuses among Teaching and Hybrid Listeners

Hybrid		Teaching
1. Married First Time	46%	1. Married First Time	44%
2. Re-married	17%	2. Re-married	21%
3. Divorced	15%	3. Divorced	12%
4. Single/Never Married	12%	4. Single/Never Married	11%
5. Widowed	9%	5. Widowed	10%

What do I do with this data?

Here’s a way to think about this: If you’re talking to your listener as if he or she is married for the first time, you’re talking to only half of your listeners. And if you assume they are married – for the first time or re-married – you’re still talking to only about two-thirds of the listeners. Over 30% of the Hybrid and Teaching listeners in the Why Listen® survey are not currently married.

We’re coming up on Valentine’s Day. It’s a happy day for many people. Not so much for others. And if you’re going to be empathetic with all of your listeners, it’s crucial that you’re sensitive to this. Some of your listeners are happily married, some are single and wish they were married, some are divorced, some are unhappily married, and some are happily single.

It’s complicated. A good time to carefully choose our words.

…in the 2021 Why Listen Survey

The 2021 Finney Media Why Listen?® Survey talked to almost 11,000 respondents with over a million data points from three different formats: Music stations, Music/Teaching stations and All-Teaching stations/programs.

There’s much discussion about focusing our radio stations and programs on people beyond the nuclear family. In 2022, there are way more folks with different marital statuses listening than moms who married for the first time. Here are the Top Five Marital Statuses ranked in the recent nationwide survey:

Top Five Marital Statuses among CCM Listeners

1. Married First Time	52%
2. Re-married	18%
3. Divorced	13%
4. Single/Never Married	11%
5. Widowed	5%

What does this data mean?

Here’s a way to think about this: If you’re talking to your listener as if she is married for the first time, you’re talking to only half of your listeners. And if you assume she is married – for the first time or re-married – you’re still talking to only 7 in 10. Thirty percent of the CCM listeners in the Why Listen® survey are not currently married.

It’s complicated. Let’s acknowledge that truth in what we say.

Missed last month’s article? READ IT NOW >>

The 2021 Finney Media Why Listen?® Survey heard from almost 11,000 respondents with over one million data points from three different formats, including: All-Teaching stations & programs, Music/Teaching (Hybrid) stations, and CCM stations.

One of the challenges we face and opportunities we have, unlike a church which is focused on one particular denomination, is that our radio stations and programs are multi-denominational. They are heard by people from many denominations. In our nationwide survey, we asked about denomination affiliation. Among respondents from Teaching and Hybrid stations, here are the Top Five Denominations:

How can this data help you?

Many denominations. With different ways of worship and different words they use in their worship and ways they communicate with each other.

For us to reach them, and perhaps many who haven’t even given us a pre-set yet, we’ll need to focus on using words and concepts that many or most understand.

A story to help illustrate. Heard this on the radio: A prominent national Christian broadcaster on his program – “we need to exhort fellow believers.” I asked friends from a Christian radio station to tell me the meaning of the word exhort. One thought it meant to exercise. A friend pointed out that refers to exert. Another thought that exhort is what you do when you know something damaging about someone and you expect payment to keep it quiet – to extort. These were smart broadcasters focused on a Biblical mission, but they didn’t know that exhort means to “strongly encourage or urge”. And if the national broadcaster had said “urge” instead of “exhort”, the message would have been clearer.

If we’re going to be clear in our communication, we’ll need to consider what our multi-denominational listener – people of all nations . . . and denominations – understand. Clarity and understanding of the Truth is at stake.

Coming in February: The Top Five Marital Statuses represented among Teaching and Hybrid respondents to the 2021 Why Listen? Survey. You already know not all are married for the first time – we’ll break down how different the respondents are in relation to marriage/life situations.

The 2021 Finney Media Why Listen?® Survey heard from almost 11,000 respondents with over one million data points, from three different formats: CCM stations, Music/Teaching (Hybrid) stations, All-Teaching stations and programs.

How can this data help you?

The first four denominations comprise almost 80%. Of the remaining 20%, 9% are Catholic. The remaining 11% come from other assorted Christian denominations with different ways of worship and different words they use in their worship and ways they communicate with each other.

For us to reach them and perhaps many who haven’t even given us a pre-set yet, we’ll need to focus on using words and concepts that many or most understand.

If we’re going to be clear in our communication, we’ll need to consider what our multi-denominational listener – people of all nations and denominations – understand. Clarity and understanding of the Truth is at stake.

Coming in February: The Top Five Marital Statuses represented among CCM respondents in the 2021 Why Listen? Survey. You already know not all are married for the first time. We’ll break down how different the respondents are in relation to marriage/life situations.

The 2021 Finney Media Why Listen?® Survey talked to almost 11,000 respondents with over a million data points from three different formats including: Music/Teaching (Hybrid) stations, All-Teaching stations and programs, and CCM stations.

We asked listeners about whether or not they gave to the ministry that sent them the survey. And to those who gave, we asked about what moved them to make a call, go online or write a check to make a gift. The top five responses from Hybrid station and Teaching station/program listeners are below. These are the percentage who said that reason is “very important” to their decision . . . a “trigger” for their move from listening to giving:

HYBRID

1. Feeling called by God to give	84%
2. I believe in the mission and vision of the ministry	83%
3. Knowing God tells us to support those who minister to us	67%
4. An emergency need at the ministry	37%
5. A story about someone’s life that was changed through the ministry	31%

TEACHING

1. I believe in the mission and vision of the ministry	88%
2. Feeling called by God to give	88%
3. Knowing God tells us to support those who minister to us	74%
4. An emergency need at the ministry	37%
5. A story about someone’s life that was changed through the ministry	26%

The no. 1 and no. 2 responses – “Feeling called by God to give” and “I believe in the mission and vision of the ministry”– are crucial. We recommend that you communicate clearly and often, your mission and vision. Both on-air and off-air. Your listener/donor is passionate about listening and passionate about helping. Help your team understand your why—your mission and vision–and be able to articulate it quickly.

Coming in January: The Top Five Denominations represented among Hybrid and Teaching respondents in the 2021 Why Listen? Survey. If you believe making your message multi-denominationally and accessible is crucial, get ready to tackle how to talk to all five in ways all of those listeners can understand.

The 2021 Finney Media Why Listen?® Survey talked to almost 11,000 respondents with over a million data points from three different formats including: Music stations, Music/Teaching stations, All-Teaching stations and programs.

We asked listeners about whether or not they give to the ministry that sent them the survey. And to those who give, we asked about what moved them to make a call, go online or write a check to make a gift. The top five responses from CCM listeners are below. These are the percentage who said that reason is “very important” to their decision . . . a “trigger” for their move from listening to giving:

1. Feeling called by God to give	85%
2. I believe in the mission and vision of the ministry	82%
3. Knowing God tells us to support those who minister to us	60%
4. An emergency need at the ministry	36%
5. A story about someone’s life that was changed through the ministry	32%

What does this mean?

The no. 1 and no. 2 responses – “Feeling called by God to give” and “I believe in the mission and vision of the ministry”– are so crucial. We recommend that you communicate clearly and often your mission and vision. Both on-air and off-air. Your listener/donor is passionate about listening and passionate about helping. Making sure that theme is at the center of your giving communication is crucial.

Help your team understand your why—your mission and vision –– and be able to articulate it quickly.

Coming in January: The Top Five Denominations represented among CCM respondents in the 2021 Why Listen? Survey. If you believe making your message multi-denominationally and accessible is crucial, get ready to tackle how to talk to all five in ways all listeners can understand.

Want to see more research from the 2021 Finney Media Why Listen® Survey? Visit our RESOURCES PAGE.

Missed last month’s webinar? Watch the REPLAY today.

The Finney Media 2021 Why Listen?® Survey is out! Almost 11,000 respondents. Over one million data points. And, from three different formats: All-Teaching Stations & Programs, Music/Teaching (Hybrid) Stations, and CCM Stations.

We asked about topics you might talk about on your stations and how interested your listener is in those topics. The two lists below are focused on the respondents who came from all-Teaching stations/programs and Hybrid stations. These are the percentages who indicated they are “very interested”.

Teaching/Spoken Word

1. A word from Scripture and how it might apply to your life today	91%
2. Bible studies on topics such as prophecy, spiritual gifts, marriage, etc.	76%
3. A series on an entire book of the Bible	70%
4t. Regular news updates.	41%
4t. A prayer of thanksgiving from a local pastor.	41%

Hybrid

1. A word from Scripture and how it might apply to your life today .	88%
2. Bible studies on topics such as prophecy, spiritual gifts, marriage, etc.	70%
3. A series on an entire book of the Bible.	63%
4. A prayer of thanksgiving from a local pastor.	45%
5. Stories about how people helped a neighbor after a tragedy.	43%

SPIRITUAL GROWTH!

In whatever form or forum we ask, our Teaching and Hybrid Christian radio listener is attracted to spiritual growth. Check out how far ahead of every other answer “A Word from Scripture and how it might apply to your life today” shows up. And then there are the Bible study topics!

In fact, the topics above lean in a spiritual direction, including the idea of prayer on the radio.

What topics scored lowest?

Dead last, run quickly away from this, is “the latest news from Hollywood” at two percent “very interested”.

Coming in December: The Top Five Reasons Christian Radio Listeners Give to Your Station or Program. The Finney Media Why Listen?® Survey includes a lot of donors, so we’re asking the folks who support you now.

Want more Why Listen Research? Visit our RESOURCES page.

The Finney Media 2021 Why Listen?® Survey is out! Almost 11,000 respondents. Over one million data points. And, from three different formats, including Music stations, Music/Teaching stations, All-Teaching stations and programs.

We asked about topics you might talk about on your stations and how interested your listener is in those topics. The list below is focused on the 3,000+ respondents who came from Music stations. These are the percentages who indicated they are “very interested”:

1. A word from Scripture and how it might apply to your life today	83%
2. Information on a local Christian concert	52%
3. Bible studies on topics such as prophecy, spiritual gifts, marriage, etc.	49%
4. Stories about how people helped a neighbor after a tragedy	47%
5. A prayer of thanksgiving from a local pastor	42%

SPIRITUAL ENCOURAGEMENT!

In whatever form or forum we ask, our Christian radio listener is attracted to spiritual encouragement. Check out how far ahead of every other answer “A Word from Scripture and how it might apply to your life today” shows up.

In fact, most of the topics above lean in a spiritual direction, including the idea of prayer on the radio.

What topics score lowest?

Second to last is “the latest decisions of politicians” at 11 percent “very interested”. Dead last – run quickly away from this – is “the latest news from Hollywood” at two percent “very interested”.

Coming in December: The Top Five Reasons Christian Radio Listeners Give to Your Station. The Why Listen? Survey includes a lot of donors, so we’re asking the folks who support you now.

Want to see more research from the 2021 Why Listen® Survey? Check out our Resources page.

With our 2021 Finney Media Why Listen?® Survey, we reached almost 11,000 respondents from three different formats: Music and Teaching (Hybrid) stations, all-Teaching stations and programs and all-Music stations. We learned plenty about why they listen…and why they leave.

One of our big questions was about tune-outs. These are things your listener perceives you might do that would cause her to tune away or turn off the radio. These are the Top Five Tune-outs from the respondents who came from Hybrid stations and Teaching stations/programs. The percentages are the total of “very likely to turn off” and “somewhat likely to turn off”:

Hybrid

1. They have a negative, angry, judgmental tone	77%
2. They talk about a topic I’m not interested in	50%
3. They play commercials	46%
4. An announcer talks too much	43%
5. They play songs I’m tired of	33%

Teaching

1. They have a negative, angry, judgmental tone	68%
2. They talk about a topic I’m not interested in	54%
3. They play commercials	48%
4. An announcer talks too much	46%
5. They play songs I’m tired of	38%

Last month, we focused on the no. 1 tune-out. These included negative, angry, judgmental tone and if you want listeners to stick with you, have a gentler, calmer approach to presenting the Gospel.

This month, we’re focused on the no. 2 tuneout. Over half of our respondents in both formats, indicated they were very likely or somewhat likely to leave if the station or program was on a topic they weren’t interested in.

Let’s take our imagination out of Christian radio for a moment. Let’s say you’re a Chicago sports fan and you’re listening to Chicago sports-talk radio. I’m writing this column in September. The no. 1 topic likely right now is Chicago Bears football. Cubs baseball, even though they’re out of the playoff race, is likely second most interesting. White Sox baseball is likely third most interesting (apologies to my friends who are Sox fans). Everything else (Bulls, Blackhawks, etc.) just aren’t all that interesting. If our sports-talk host has somehow landed on DePaul Men’s Basketball this evening and is talking about them because our caller asked a question about it, we’re dead with listeners. Very few people care. You can just hear the listeners leaving!

It’s a similar challenge with Christian radio. If your listener shows up and you’re talking about something she doesn’t care about, there’s a good chance she’ll leave. Is it possible to be perfect on this with every listener every time? No.

But you can certainly start here by:

- Being more aware of what she is interested in, which you can do by asking her.
- Then by increasing your focus on the topics she is interested in.
- Followed by decreasing your focus on the topics she isn’t interested in.

With as big a tune-out as uninteresting topics are, and with as much channel choices listeners have now, getting this right is crucial.

We have an idea which topics these are and would love to discuss more if you’re interested. Visit our CONTACT US page to get connected.

March 2022: Top Five Testing Songs from Each of the Last 10 Years

What’s Next?

…in the 2021 Why Listen Survey

Top Marital Statuses among Teaching and Hybrid Listeners

What do I do with this data?

…in the 2021 Why Listen Survey

Top Five Marital Statuses among CCM Listeners

What does this data mean?

How can this data help you?

How can this data help you?

What does this mean?

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