Consumer Escapes - In-car Radio

Yesterday I posted an article about men's joy and escape in driving on the open road. Today we take a look at what men are doing while driving, specifically what they're listening to. I've pulled out pieces of a story in The New York Times that ran last November.

American men have a naughty little secret. Sometimes, they like to relax with a little Céline Dion. Professed classical music fans have one, too: as it turns out, they don’t tune into classical radio nearly as much as they claim.

These are two of many findings shaking up the radio industry as it converts from measuring ratings through surveys to monitoring listeners electronically using so-called Portable People Meters. As radio executives are discovering, what people say they do and what they actually do is different — especially where “My Heart Will Go On” is concerned.

“It may be a case where men didn’t want to admit they were listening to a light A.C.,” said Greg Ashlock, president and market manager for Los Angeles at Clear Channel, using industry shorthand for adult contemporary, or soft rock. “ ‘No, I don’t listen to Céline Dion. I’m a sports guy.’ ”

Some male soft-rock listeners say they simply like the music. Ezra Feinberg, 33, a psychologist in San Francisco, listens to KOIT, a soft-rock station, on his commute. “One in 10 songs on soft-rock radio resonates, but it really resonates,” he said.

“The meter is sort of making radio more homogenous, because the stations that do best are the mass appeal stations,” Ms. Albright said. That may be another explanation for why men are listening to soft rock.

“There’s no good radio,” said Jason Pontius, 39, a technology executive in Oakland, Calif. “Soft rock radio is like, ‘Am I really listening to this?’ But it’s the best thing that’s on.”

So take a look in your rearview mirror and when it appears that the guy behind you is rocking out, he just might be doing it to Lite FM.