Alan Burns & Associates

Name

Alan Burns & Associates

Legal name

Alan Burns & Associates

Website

https://burnsradio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Radio Format Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Radio Network Distribution & Programming Services (Syndicators, Format Providers) (MPAIAEAH)

Keywords

• Radio format consulting
• Music scheduling
• Morning show consulting
• Broadcast strategy
• Radio station marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Orange Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Radio Station Consulting Services: Alan Burns & Associates generates revenue through consulting fees charged to radio stations for their services including custom strategies, music plans, morning show development, marketing/promotion ideas, and staff training. The company operates on a model where satisfied, successful clients continue using their services and refer friends. The company's own interests are best served when clients succeed.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Alan Burns & Associates is a radio broadcasting consulting firm that provides custom format strategy, music scheduling, morning show development, and promotional/marketing consultation for radio stations, with a specialization in AC (Adult Contemporary) and CHR (Contemporary Hit Radio) formats. The firm's services are built around its proprietary 3M Principle methodology (Music, Morning show, Marketing) and serve major-market U.S. radio stations as well as select international broadcasters. It supplements consulting with industry research studies and thought-leadership content authored by founder Alan Burns.

Product overview

Alan Burns & Associates is a radio consulting firm offering a comprehensive suite of services for radio stations. The core offering consists of consulting services including custom strategy development, music programming, morning show development, program director training, and marketing/promotions consulting. The company also produces proprietary research products including the 'Here She Comes' annual studies (2010, 2011, 2012) on female radio listeners. Additionally, they offer various resource articles and publications covering topics like branding, strategic planning, morning show character development, and radio programming in tough economies. The company has also launched 'NOW FM', a social FM platform. Services target AC and CHR radio formats across various market sizes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NOW FM™: A social FM platform referenced as a new offering by the company

Products and services

• Custom Format Strategy Consulting

Quantifiable outcome

• Station grew from 2 share to dominant position and achieved highest 12+ share ever for an ABC-owned FM
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered notable.

• Triton DigitalnotableGTM or Marketing Partner · 9 July 2012Partnership for webinar presentations of the 'Here She Comes' research series. Triton Digital co-presented with Alan Burns & Associates for the 2012 webinar series on female radio listeners.
• DMR InteractivenotableTechnology or Integration · 21 July 2011DMR Interactive presented the results of the 2011 'Here She Comes' study in a series of 4 free webinars. They served as the presentation platform for distributing the research findings to the industry.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Frank N. Magid Associates: Long-established US media and audience research consulting firm serving broadcasters, publishers, and digital platforms. Alan Burns previously worked at Magid, and it is the most direct comparable in radio programming and audience strategy consulting.
• Jacobs Media: Radio consulting firm specializing in strategy, research, and digital transformation for terrestrial radio stations. Directly comparable service offering and AC/CHR-overlapping client base.
• Buzz Knight Media: Radio consulting firm focused on brand strategy, digital content, and audience engagement for AC and CHR stations. Directly comparable niche and target formats.
• Randy Lane Company: Radio talent coaching and morning-show development consultancy serving stations and personalities. Direct overlap with Alan Burns & Associates' morning show development and talent coaching practice.
• BIA Advisory Services: Media and radio advisory firm providing valuation, due diligence, and strategic consulting to local broadcasters. Comparable in serving radio station decision-makers with strategic advisory services.
• Mark Kassof & Company: Independent radio research and strategy consulting firm focused on audience research and programming recommendations for radio stations. Closely comparable niche positioning in AC and CHR advisory.

Broad incumbents

• Edison Research: Larger audio and consumer research firm producing industry-defining studies (e.g., The Infinite Dial, Share of Ear). Comparable on the research/data methodology underpinning radio strategy, though broader in scope than ABA's niche consulting.
• iHeartMedia: Largest US radio broadcaster and an ABA client category. A buyer of radio consulting services and a potential acquirer, illustrating the customer base and incumbent scale against which ABA competes for influence.
• Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron): Dominant provider of radio ratings and audience measurement data on which ABA's client strategy recommendations depend. Adjacent incumbent whose data and broader advisory capabilities compete for the same station budget.

Others

• Triton Digital: Audio technology and measurement platform that partnered with ABA on the 'Here She Comes' webinar series. An ecosystem partner/advertising-tech enabler rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Alan Burns & Associates