More HD Radio & iPOD...

HD Radio and iPOD. There's more information this morning following yesterday's announcement of a new generation of HD Radio tuners that will allow consumers to "tag" song they hear on HD for download via iTunes.

Inside Radio reporting:

"Just in time for the holiday shopping season, the HD Radio Alliance will team up with Apple and Polk for a 13-week multimillion dollar ad campaign to market the new HD Radio-ready interface. It's part of the ongoing $250 million HD advertising campaign."

IR also reports Ibiquity's Bob Struble saying that stations will have to upgrade their HD equipment with a "small box" to their existing system or upgrade software to encode for iTunes.

Any issues/conflicts with Arbitron's encoding of programming for PPM? Me thinks not - but there's no dumb questions.

Mark Ramsey asks here this morning if "HD radio has been reduced to being a storefront for iTunes?"

Me wonders: "Does radio fight consumer shifts to new things (like the iPOD) or do we provide compatibility - with the introduction of new technology like HD Radio?

Added: Paragon Media's Bob Harper comments: "when are we going to get around to the Horses - the unique, unforgettable, and demanding Programming?" Read here.

HD Radio meets the iPOD

Inside Radio reports:

"On the heels of the release of Apple's new iPod, Inside Radio has learned Polk Audio will announce the next generation of HD Radio tuners this afternoon that will establish a direct connection between HD and iPods - and in the process bring e-commerce to HD. In an alliance with Apple, Polk's new I-Sonic ES2 HD Radio will include an iPod docking station that features a "tagging button" which will allow listeners to buy songs they hear on HD Radio stations via iTunes. The advancement requires HD stations to encode their signals and insiders say eight radio groups have committed to encoding."

Could this be the shot-in-the-arm needed to jump-start consumer awareness of HD Radio?

Added: All Access reporting that Clear Channel has signed to be the first to sign on with the HD Radio/iPod/Polk Audio model.

Wednesday Blogs

Welcome to Wednesday. Yesterday in mid-Michigan we had great spring weather; hitting 73°. This morning its light snow and 34°.

Blogs and more:

FM IPOD. The feature most IPOD owners would like to see on their IPODs are an FM tuner. That from the latest Jacobs Media Tech Survey of 25,000 rock radio listeners. Read more from Fred Jacobs here.

Survey sez: Classic Rock listeners are least likely to own or purchase an MP3 player among all rock listeners surveyed.

More IPOD. Mark Ramsey discusses the IPOD and why Apple only offers FM as an add-on. Read here. Alan Mason of Goodratings Strategic Services offers his thoughts here.

Intelligent Radio. Music industry veteran Steve Meyer writes about creating a radio station that focuses on the quality of music. Read here. Actually, I can think of a few Classic Rock stations that focus on the quality of the music they play.

Imaging Inspiration. What imaging did your station do around St. Patrick's Day or for the start of the baseball season? Get some motivation from this post from Lee Abrams on what XM does - and think how you can turn those ideas into short imaging pieces on your station.

Son Of The Year Award. I'm sure your morning show was talking about it - but if you missed this little tidbit from Rolling Stone Keith Richards yesterday here it is. Keith does the job to get his name in the news. Can Britney top this?

REO Speedwagon. We wrote a few weeks back about the Bob & Tom appearance by the band. Thursday Morning, members of REO joins WKLH/Milwaukee's Dave & Carole during morning drive (Central Time Zone). Listen here.

And speaking of WKLH's Dave & Carole - they've released their new TV spot for the spring book...enjoy:

Have a great Wednesday.