I recently had the opportunity to chat with Ping Ho, who stepped down in June as Vice President of Digital Business Development at Warner Music Group (WMG).  With over a decade of experience in digital entertainment, both in and outside of the U.S., Ping sourced and negotiated new business opportunities for WMG that focused primarily on innovation, emerging companies, and new platforms and technologies.

What are some of the strengths that you see of the radio industry?  With what has the industry as a whole done a good job?

Radio is ubiquitous and mass market.  Terrestrial radio, both in US and worldwide, continues to reach massive numbers of people and for that reason, will always be a great vehicle for popular music dissemination and discovery.  The radio category beyond terrestrial is broad, and extends to services such as SiriusXM, Pandora, Songza (one of my favorites), and even radio-tiers within premium subscription streaming services like Spotify and Rdio.  Radio will always appeal as it offers a lean-back music experience that doesn’t require fans to curate their own playlists.

From your perspective, what are some of the weaker spots for the radio industry?  Where has it not done so well?

Terrestrial radio is obviously facing the threat of disruption, as more consumers move on to cloud-based platforms.  It needs to innovate.  In the car, if we’re talking about the US, satellite radio has a big following.   I recently started using SiriusXM and find that the service surpasses anything on traditional radio in terms of the depth/breadth of content; on traditional radio, only the top hits are played, and overplayed to death.

In terms of the record labels and their business, what are some of the initiatives for the future that have you most excited?  Does the radio industry play an integral role in any of these initiatives?

Labels and artists are finding new ways to reach and establish direct connections with fans.  It’s exciting how many more channels there are for music discovery and engagement.  Video is one medium that I think has a lot more growth potential for music.  I would encourage your readers to check out this startup, Vadio (http://www.vadio.com/): it’s exactly enabling the radio industry to participate in the growth and popularity of video.  Turning on video for a radio station enables higher CPMs and advertising revenues.

How worried should the radio industry be about Beats 1 and Apple Music?  How different is this platform compared to others like Spotify, etc.?

The radio industry should think of Beats 1 and Apple Music as another competitor in the digital streaming space.  And, for that reason, be worried that they’re only going to further accelerate the transition of consumer engagement from terrestrial to digital.  But that said, Beats 1 is a digital adaptation of a format that came out of radio.  There are opportunities for the best radio stations to leverage the best digital platforms for distribution.

What advice would you give to a radio station or a group of radio stations both here in The US and overseas when it comes to planning for the future?  What can be done to protect against the likes of Beats 1/Apple Music?

Radio is a category that won’t go away – think of it more as a form of listening, i.e., lean-back and curation, rather than a platform, i.e., terrestrial vs. digital.  Leverage your programming to continue capturing your audience, deliver the most appealing product possible, and find opportunities for distribution on the best digital platforms (see Vadio, above).  These new distribution opportunities would also result in new ways to acquire sponsors at higher CPMs.

You’ve chosen to get out of the business (at least temporarily) after ten+ years.  What’s next for you? 

I’m moving to Detroit and starting a brick-and-mortar business!  I’m always going to be passionate about helping build digital businesses in the music and entertainment space, and thus might be consulting on and off.  But I’m excited to be starting a new chapter that doesn’t involve a full-time corporate job in New York City.  Read more about my plans at www.movingfordetroit.com.