So I mentioned in an earlier post that I was seeing some very encouraging results with EDM in the desert using DTS data, but I've also been working through how to interpret periods where the available sample is limited.
I just had a particularly interesting weekend, with substantially more AutoStage data than I've had previously. Why? It's Burning Man week! My hypothesis is that there are a lot of tech people and people with disposable income driving through town (who can afford $500 to $3,000 tickets). And those people are more likely to have connected cars, some of which are DTS AutoStage cars, which are what is measured. This past weekend was the commute to the event.
The data from this weekend was dramatically different from what I normally see, and it gave me some fascinating clues about who is actually listening. The data also suggested some remarkably long listening sessions among people traveling through the area, possibly until the signal faded. When I drive from Tonopah (where the station is) to Gerlach (where Burning Man is), Google Maps always tries to send me on a back road, which is more direct but bumpy. That road lit up on my heat map when I narrowed the time period to just this weekend.
I saw enough data this weekend to get some hints about listening patterns, although I'm intentionally not publishing the proprietary audience figures (because I don't think I'm allowed to). One of the clearest takeaways so far is that my core audience appears to include a substantial number of people passing through the area, not necessarily people who live here. I'd be delighted to see stronger evidence of local listening, but so far, the data is giving me a very different picture of the audience.
[Originally posted 27 Aug 2026, now with edits made]
So I mentioned that I'm starting to get data back about my FM station in Tonopah via DTS AutoStage. I don't think I can mention specific numbers here, and I don't want to violate any terms of service.
KNTC 103.3 (“Kinetic.FM”) is running a very unique format of "EDM Classics and Classic Anthems." It's not being done anywhere else. My goal is to target tourists and truckers with remixes of tracks that I think almost everyone under 50 will know.
One of the interesting things I'm learning is that the amount of measurable listening in a small market like this can vary considerably from one period to another. That means I need to collect data over a longer period of time before I can have much confidence in the overall picture.
So far, the results have been very encouraging. When there is measurable activity, the station appears to perform particularly well, which makes me think the format may be connecting with the people who are actually hearing it.
What I really need to do is just wait. The more observations I get, the more stable and representative the picture should become.
A point of speculation: People driving cars that (1) have DTS AutoStage and (2) have internet connectivity may be more likely to be EDM fans. That's just a hypothesis, but it's an interesting possibility given the type of audience I'm trying to reach.
As I mentioned above, I don't think I can give out my ranking or numbers. But based on what I'm seeing so far, I'm increasingly convinced that EDM may be a particularly good fit for this unusual little market.
And my disclaimer: I don't yet have enough data to establish anything conclusively. Ask me again in a few months.
I'm working on blog entries everyday in my head, but they never make it past my notepad.
So much has been going on lately. I got a new transmitter that is absolutely amazing. My nonprofit has acquired a public radio station. I switched formats on my commercial station and developed apps for it. I've been on a learning curve with DTS Autostage. And I've learned that EDM, as a radio format, is far more popular in rural areas than most people might think, based on the actual data.
I'll follow up with more posts expanding on all of the above. There's a lot to talk about!
I've been excited about the concept of DTS Autostage analytics for a while and the possibility of getting better-than-PPM-level data. It's been in the news quite a bit lately, especially with some big radio groups eyeing it as a replacement for PPM.
But I wasn't getting any data back, and I figured it was because my "market" was just too small. Or because I was straddling the Reno and Las Vegas data regions.
Then, a few days ago, I read an article in Radio World that mentioned you don't get analytics unless you're sending "now playing" information to DTS Autostage. That had never occurred to me as a potential issue. Up until now, I'd only been using RDS for my minute-to-minute updates.
So yesterday, I started to put together a "now playing" feed and sent a few test pings to DTS. This morning, when I woke up, I had a heat map... and it goes back several months!
Wow. Wow. Wow.
First off, I'm absolutely shocked. I'm in the process of upgrading my transmitter (a/k/a waiting for FCC approval), so I'm currently broadcasting at a measly 15 watts, horizontal only. It's a difficult signal to receive. But people are listening to this very weak signal, even in places where I can barely detect it myself. They're listening for 41 miles along US 95.
The hot spots right now appear to be the two electric vehicle charging stations and the truck stop. This pleases me greatly.
I'm between formats right now, so the station is mostly international pop music, which in 2026 is very dance music-centric. It's actually doing much better than I hoped, and this bodes well for what I've been working on with the new format.
