Wednesday Blogs

60° - light rain/mist at 10am. Left: view from the day job window - a mixed office/residential area on the northside of downtown Lansing.

Good Morning from Michigan. Clouds/fog/rain - but quite warm this morning. A nice rainy fall day.

Around my blogosphere:

Listener Engagement. We've written about this many times over the last 20 months. This morning Fred Jacobs contributes more to the conversation this morning. With apologies to my friend for overquoting:

"A radio station social networking initiative is about engagement. It is about providing listeners with the chance to discuss, dig deeper, and get even more emotional about your people and your programming. Until now, the audience has been forced to remain passive, with the exception of showing up at station events. With social networking, they can get in the game, participate, and become more loyal and knowledgeable about a station and its brand."

"It's just a matter of providing them with the means to connect with one another. We see this at focus groups and Listener Advisory Board groups. Ten strangers come together to talk about your station, and end up in the parking lot, arguing and sharing their views about music, bands, and yes, your station. Many other consumer brands would kill to have the type of emotional connection that many stations have with their customers."

Would kill indeed! Very cool stuff! Fred's post here.

Telling It Like It Is. Mark Ramsey sums up the current PPM controversy/litigation in a few words:

"This is a case of the interests of the radio industry and its advertisers being hijacked by a small number of selfish parties who don't like PPM because PPM doesn't like them as much as diaries do. Pure and simple."

Mark's complete post here.

Webcasting: Monday's Edison Media-sponsored Streaming/Music Royalties was fantastic (although the audio quality a little less than ideal). If you missed, its archived here.

During the webcast - Attorney David Oxenford had some great contributions to the webcast and offered some great real world ideas for radio, especially the smaller markets to expand their reach and consumer convenience.

David mentioned making your newscasts available for listening anytime on the web...and stations that do local sports offering 3 or 4 area games through web streaming; since you can only do one on the air (of course, HD could change that!). High School sports typically means $ for small market radio.

It was time well-spent and kudos to Edison Media's Tom Webster for putting it all together.

Scratch. Pop. Click. Vinyl on the air. Randy Raley's doing it once a week...tracking an album on his classic rock station in Normal, Illinois. Very cool. Read about the adventure here.

Have a great Wednesday!

Online Event Today at 12 noon Eastern

61 - light rain at 9:47am

Sorry for the late notice - intended to include in an earlier post - but my Outlook calendar just popped up with a web meeting today hosted by Edison Media Research. The topic: "Music Royalties and the Future of Online Webcasting".

This will certainly be of interest to anyone involved with streaming - either commercial or non-commercial. From Edison Media's site:

Join us on Monday, October 6th at NOON Eastern (9AM PST) for an interactive panel discussion where you'll hear perspectives on the issue from:

* Tim Westergren, Chief Strategy Officer and Founder of Pandora
* Kurt Hanson, CEO of AccuRadio
* Alan Levy, CEO, BlogTalkRadio
* David Oxenford, Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine, LLP

The discussion will be moderated by Tom Webster, Vice President of Strategy and Marketing for Edison Media Research. Listeners can call in LIVE during the event at (347) 205-9090, or submit questions before the event to Tom Webster.

For more information - or to access the event, click here.

Very Cool Viral Video Campaign

With props to Edison Media's Tom Webster for the tip (here):

It Ain't Easy

58° - mostly cloudy at 9:09am

At this week's event in Las Vegas - the NAB unveiled the "Radio Heard Hear" campaign. I mentioned it in this blog in the post below this one. Without comment.

Now in the past few days, I've ready the ramblings of all the naysayers regarding the NAB campaign. Some of these voice I do respect; some not so much.

Many of these same people are quick to jump on and be critical of any efforts by the HD Radio Alliance to promote its new technology.

Adding to the noise are the anonymous commenters. Some with their own blogs - some leaving comments on the blogs of others. Hiding behind a screen name without the opportunity for the reader to have a clue of the writer's background, agenda or qualifications.

All that said - here's my take on the NAB efforts - and to some extent those of the HD Radio Alliance: They're attempting to do what the individual broadcasters are unwilling to do.

And it ain't easy.

Promoting radio - in my view - is best promoted by its brands. The product and promotion of individual radio stations. The product is the reason to listen (or as my blogging collegue David Martin has written many times over: "the play's the thing").

And that product needs to be invested in and then well-promoted in this cluttered media environment. And it doesn't appear to be happening much these days.

The NAB - and the HD Radio Alliance are simply trying to do what the stations are unwilling to do. With a handicap. They can't talk brands. So they're left simply to promote the medium. And that's a difficult task indeed.

Also this morning: a great post on small market radio from Edison Media's Larry Rosin. Read here.

The Return of WNEW-FM

Received this a short time ago from Allison Mandara at CBS Radio:

LEGENDARY ROCK RADIO STATION “WNEW” FINDS NEW LIFE ON-AIR, ONLINE AND ON-DEMAND

The Past Meets The Present When The Formidable WNEW Returns Featuring Unparalleled 30-Year Archive Of Historic Interviews And Live Performances By Rock Immortals Presented In A Contemporary Musical Context

Listeners To “Staff” The Station And Its Website As Hosts And Contributors

Social Networking Component Available Through CBS Corporation’s Last.fm;

Site To Host Station’s Custom Group And Provide Audience Access To Its Free On-Demand Music Service

Today marks a milestone in rock ‘n roll history as celebrated rock station WNEW marks its triumphant return on-air (102.7 HD 2 in New York) and online (http://www.wnew.com/). The legendary station has been reborn for the passionate rock music fan in the spirit of WNEW-FM’s commitment to exposing the best new artists.

Completely updated to reflect its historical influence on today’s contemporary rock scene, the revolutionary new WNEW.com features recordings from the dawn of the album era in the late 60s and early 70s through today, as well as music from the most promising emerging artists yet to be discovered by the masses. Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Spoon, and Vampire Weekend will be among those featured along with the likes of REM, Foo Fighters, The White Stripes, Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd.

In addition, thousands of hours of archival interviews by former WNEW hosts Scott Muni, Dave Herman, and Richard Neer, among others, with such artists as John Lennon, The Who, Stevie Wonder and David Bowie will be integrated hourly throughout the station’s on-air and online programming.

Also finding a home on WNEW.com’s lineup will be exclusive live performances from artists who contributed to the station’s storied history.

The modernized WNEW.com will also offer the listening audience a complete interactive and social networking experience through the station’s website (www.wnew.com) and CBS Corporation’s Last.fm (www.last.fm). Using these two online portals, fans can listen on demand, share feedback about the former and current station, join dedicated groups, meet fellow WNEW listeners and become a part of the station’s “staff.”

Staff members will have the opportunity to program and participate in the presentation of the station and its website through a series of on-air and online initiatives including blogs, concert reviews, music forums, and artist profiles.

At the helm of this ambitious project is Norm Winer, CBS RADIO Vice President of Adult Rock Programming, and, for more than 25 years, the award-winning Program Director of the landmark WXRT in Chicago.

He said, “As a music fan and radio geek who grew up in Brooklyn listening to the original WNEW, I’m excited to help recapture the spirit and philosophy of progressive radio, using tools we never dreamed of back in the early days. With the foundation of a timeless and totally one-of-a-kind archive, we will provide rock devotees of all generations the chance to hear incredible moments from our collective past and enable them to connect the dots to rock’s most compelling artists of the present and future.”

Special programming on the influential station will include:

• Interview With an Icon: showcases classic extended on-air interviews with rock legends from WNEW-FM;
• Live From the Archives: vintage performances from rock’s most prominent artists. In addition to the vaults of WNEW-FM, the station will have access to the recorded treasures of many of CBS RADIO’s prominent radio stations such as WBCN in Boston, and WXRT in Chicago;
• Emerging and Amazing: the station will regularly debut music from rising artists and those whose names are not yet known to the listening audience;
  

Originally launched on Oct. 31, 1967, WNEW-FM is considered the first free-form progressive rock station in the nation. It quickly went on to become both an institution and a piece of radio history for which it is remembered today. The station rocked New York City for three decades breaking some of the biggest artists of all time, including David Bowie, Elton John, and The Talking Heads.

To many who grew up in the 60s and 70s, WNEW-FM remains to this day the embodiment of the times, turmoil and tunes of those eras in New York City.

Very cool. Kudos to Norm Winer and all involved at CBS Radio.

Added: Edison Media's Sean Ross takes a in-depth first listen to WNEW.COM here.

Sunday Morning Odds & Sods

36° - overcast at 11:15am. Snow earlier.

Good Morning from Michigan. Busy week between the day job and house guests. Its all good.

I'm late to the party here on the blog - but earlier this week I was following WLAV/Grand Rapids' Kevin Matthews who made the committment to stay on the air until the Detroit Tigers won a game.

After losing their first six, Matthews vowed to stay on the air until the team won a game. The Tigers finally won a game 36 hours later - and Kevin generated some great buzz and local press. Fred Jacobs describes this more in-depth here.

Classic Rock WLAV is in its second year of carrying the Tiger network along with a sister AM station. Night and weekend games are airing on the Classic Rock station with the remainder on the AM.

Listening this morning: To Bob Stroud on WDRV/Chicago. Tangled Up In Blue from Dylan playing right now. This morning's theme on Rock 'N Roll Roots is "colors".

As usual, its then on to Steve Palec on WKLH/Milwaukee as he features ELO this week on his Rock 'N Roll Roots. I'm reminded again of what an awesome job Steve does with sound bites and production elements.

Edison Media/Arbitron Study The Infinite Dial 2008: Radio's Digital Platforms. Survey says Online listening at an all-time high. Work hours (10a-3p) are the prime hours for online radio. Radio use still beats iPODs/MP3 players/satellite 3-to-1 or more.

Observation: quoting Fred Jacobs from this past December (again): "So how can a medium with this kind of reach be struggling so mightily? Just asking."

Edison/Arbitron study notes HD Radio still has awareness problems. See complete study here.

Back to streaming: Mark Ramsey concludes that "radio is better when its on the radio. Not online". I disagree. Its apparent that at-work online listening is important to the audience. A matter of convenience. Same product but another delivery method.

I do agree with Mark to the extent that radio station should offer more online audio options (in "chunks"), but in addition to their over-the-air streams. Mark's complete piece here.

Great interview: Triple A Radio's Mike Lyons interviews Emmis VP Programming Jimmy Steal on the launch of WXRP/New York. Read here.

Wednesday Blogs

41° - overcast at 8:25am

Good Morning from Okemos.

AC/DC on Classic Hits. Sean Ross writes about a classic rock/classic hits station that decided to test a few AC/DC titles with surprising results. Read here.

Perhaps surprising to them; but as a one-time PD of a "classic rock that rocks" station, its not surprising at all. A quick look at Mediabase should give you an idea of the variety of titles being played on classic rock stations around the country as well as the gold on the mainstream AORs.

Free Webinar Today: 2pm eastern. Edison Media's Tom Webster and Arbitron's Pierre Bouvard will present a session titled "2008 edition of The Infinite Dial: Radio's Digital Platforms". I'm trying to arrange my schedule to catch as much as possible. Get info and sign up here.

Jay Marvin. Jay writes about this week in 1967 when Tom Donahue put KMPX in San Francisco on the air and started the underground format - which evolved to progressive rock, then AOR...and later classic rock and AAA. Quoting Jay:

"Today when radio publications have conferences they invite big name guests who don't know shit about radio. Sorry but it's true. Why not find what old heads are left and have them talk about what they did, and how they did it."

I couldn't agree more. Read Jay's piece here. And I'll extend that to include later programmers like Jay Blackburn, Frank Felix and Mike Joseph. Just to name a few. Added: OMG - there's soooo many more I could add - with just some casual thought.

Full disclosure: I'm reminded of Frank Felix (and Mike Joseph) by Sean Ross here. And Jay Blackburn - I spoke to him on the phone just yesterday.

Monday Monday

+5° - light snow at 6:30am

Weekend leftovers:

Edison Media's Larry Rosin offers "Further Evidence of How The Breaks Kill Internet Radio". The internet fill issue. Larry's piece and reader comments here.

If you've been reading this blog for long, you'd know one of my pet peeves is the way stations handle their spot breaks on their streams. One of my early blog rants here

The story behind the show. Free Beer & Hot Wings. The syndicated morning show running on a number of rock and classic rock stations around the country. Read here. Thanks to Michiguide for the tip!

Jay (J.) Blackburn. We've been writing here for months about Jay's new based-on-reality radio novel. Jay - a retired programmer (and GM and station owner).

"The Radio Gypsies" will be released on March 17th; and available at Amazon, Borders and all the others.

Welcome back Jay Mitchell. Jay's been MIA on his blog; but he's just been real busy - and that's always good. More here.

Late Day Update - more wisdom from consultant Alan Mason:

"We don’t get it that our DNA controls who we are, and that each radio station has it’s own DNA. If you want to know what happens when you try to mess with what your DNA is, look at Michael Jackson."

"The point is that in the modern world, you can’t just decide what you are going to do on your own, and then force it down the throats of the listeners. You have a DNA factor to pay attention to, which will lead the listeners to decide what you can and can’t do."

Alan's complete piece here.

I'm still here...

22° - overcast at 9:34pm

Long days. Started a new industry-related job this week.

I haven't had to "show up at the office" since January 24th; working out of the house and keeping my own hours now for months. It was nice - but didn't pay the bills. Not all of 'em.

It will take a new routine to balance all I do; trying to figure it out with varying schedules and workloads. I'll get there.

Boneheads. No, we're not talking about some classic rock station. But about a company based on disturbing news that I hope is nothing more than a nasty rumor.

Read Jaye Albright's blog post here.

Classic Rock gone. Oldies in. Indianapolis has a new oldies station. Edison Media's Sean Ross offers his thoughts in a first listen here.

Lee Arnold. Lee sends us to Rolling Stone with a list of the songs that DJs forever have played to make a trip to the men's room. Read here.

Speaking of: Lee's very cool internet radio station "WORJ.COM" can now be heard on smart phones and PDAs everywhere.

Still radio; just a different distribution system.

RAIN reporting Live365 (Lee's streaming provider) "announced new mobile service that lets on-the-go listeners use the streaming audio service via their Radio365-Mobile software for all smartphones, pocket PCs, and PDAs running Windows Mobile 5 or 6." Read here.

Have a good night.

The Weekend Classic Rock FM

The Countdown is over - and the best market for radio is: Chicago!

"A huge, eclectic variety and still the best morning-show slate anywhere."

That according to Sean Ross and the staff at Edison Media Research - who have been counting down their list of the ten best markets for radio over the past several weeks in their excellent "Infinite Dial" blog.

Kudos to WDRV's Bob Stroud and Bobby Skafish for being one of the highlights.

Though you may disagree with the final results - its all a fascinating read. See here. I agree Chicago is a great choice for #1 - but wonder why Denver was left out of the Top 10...just my two cents.

Jay Mitchell. Jay blogs on why he sucks as a consultant (and why he sounds like a great one) here.

Long Week. Wrapping up a very busy November with one job - and getting ready to add another come Monday.

More here Sunday Morning.

Wednesday Blogs

32° - cloudy at 9:45pm

Good evening from Okemos.

From my blogosphere:

Great post: Mark Ramsey on being "Hyper-Local". Read the original post and follow-up comments here. Mark writes about being relevant in a local emergency - using the Southern California wildfires as an example.

My two cents: I couldn't agree more with Mark. In addition to his thoughts - its my thinking that those stations that focus on being local and relevant each and everyday that are the real winners.

I suppose there's a place for automated jukeboxes - but the real successful stations are the ones that truly connect to their local market.

Its a long-term investment - but marketed right the revenue usually follows - and increases the "sticky" factor of your product. Attributes that create a great offense.

I still hear many stations not taking advantage of one of their biggest assets: the world within its coverage area.

Then there's thee stations that really get it. You hear and feel the buzz of their market. And those stations are wonderful to listen to.

AFDI. A term coined by Lee Abrams. And a favorite of mine. In his latest blog post - Lee comes across some old emails from the early days of XM - a great read.

One of those emails concerns the topic of artist IDs:

"..Whenever you get artist ID's, make certain you get them to cut ID's for Christmas, Labor Day and other Holidays. Come Christmas, you will have dozens of custom ID's, and other stations will freak wondering "Where did they get those"!...it's the XM way of going the extra mile".

I'll bet we didn't AFDI this one too well. These are the "little details" that separate radio from AMAZING RADIO. So---It's your choice:

a) Show me I'm totally wrong and pull them out;
b) Suffer through endless pounding of this at future meetings;
c) Start plugging in the hundreds we DO have (special thanks to Mike) and remember to AFDI this at all future ID sessions. .....

The right answers are A or C. Again, it's those little details. The bottom line: Let's flood the appropriate formats with Artist XMas ID's that we have in house...we have a ton in Dalet.

More from Lee - including thoughts on great audio imagery, on PDs providing direction to talent and the product - here.

Passion. Once again - Lee Abrams:

“They don't make records like "Pinball Wizard" anymore. Literally. There was this acoustic guitar in one ear. And then, all of a sudden, twenty five seconds into it, an electric BLARED into the other."

Can't you just hear that song intro when you read that?

(Oh - the term "AFDI". In case you don't know what that means - find the term highlighted here)

Great blog: Edison Media Research's "The Infinite Dial". Lots of fresh observations about our industry - almost daily - from Sean Ross and Tom Webster. Make it part of your daily routine. Here.

And more WGRF/Buffalo. Have I ever mentioned that I think this station "gets it"? A great listener email went out this afternoon highlighting something very local to Buffalo that happened on-air in AM drive:

Breaking news for Bills fans - and giving those who didn't tune-in a chance to hear. Tomorrow would have been too late. Great stuff!

Wednesday Blogs

56° - clear at 8:35pm

Late Wednesday post. A busy day here with an opportunity to learn some music research tools as part of my continuing education.

From my blogosphere:

Classic Rock "Jacked". Edison Media's Sean Ross notes some shifts toward classic rock by some Jack-FM and Bob-FM outlets. Sean writes:

"For all of the format's variety image, we've already asserted that they were, at the core, Classic Rock formats for those who grew up in the late '70s/'80s and have poppier sensibilities." Read here.

CGM. Fred Jacobs blogs on CGM promotions - sharing some tips from Ben McConnell and Shahi Ghanem - accompanied by his own comments.

A great read here.


"We can think we know what the listener wants, but you’ll only know when you start talking with them." - Consultant Alan Mason writing here.

In the news:

Bruce Springsteen: Streetpulse - via All Access reports the new CD #1 based on Tuesday sales. Very nice Boss!


Bill Figenshu. Congrats. Just announced new job as President/Broadcast Operations & Development for Peak Broadcasting - a relatively new company with stations in Fresno & Boise.

I don't know Fig - but I know his background and reputation. A one-time "progressive rock" jock. Brilliant Programmer. Later ran Viacom Radio. His resume here.

In comments posted today both on All Access and (in-depth) on Mark Ramsey's Hear 2.0 - Fig offered these thoughts post-NAB:

"The leaders of radio companies are looking very tired. Seven years of creating no value for their stockholders and investors is taking the toll. Other than DAN MASON, radio companies need to put operators in charge again. It will be a hard decision for current CEOs to give up some power, but until creative people start to run radio companies again, with a vision beyond sales and revenue, there will be more of the same. Revenue is important, but we are being challenged creatively, and have not responded effectively."

"Radio is good at serving it’s communities every day. Radio is bad at positioning itself. Radio people are great at positioning their stations, bad at positioning themselves."

"The press has created stars out of financial operators. We have made company leaders personalities, who now believe they can operate radio from the budget line, not the content line. Senior executives with creative content ideas, on-air and online, will be the trend in 2008. Not bankers."

"Radio must start paying attention to trends of young people. On-line and on-air, they are telling us about song repetition, format diversity and lack of local content. We talk about it, but we don’t go far enough. The content must get better. In 2008 and beyond, it will be about quality, not quantity."

Let's hope. And thanks Fig.

Condolences: To family and friends of well-known air talent Tawn Mastrey - who passed away yesterday. Click here.

I recall Tawn's work from radio syndication (Westwood One) and MTV. Her resume includes KNAC, Pirate Radio/LA, KSJO, Sirius Satellite and others.

Wednesday Blogs

60° - light drizzle at 9:19am

Left: Eagle Harbor off Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula this morning. current image

Good Morning from Michigan.

From my blogosphere:

Southern Fried. Edison Media Research has a great blog in The Infinite Dial; and Edison's Sean Ross is in Charlotte for the NAB. While there he's blogging his impressions of Charlotte radio. Here's his notes about classic rocker WRFX:

"At a time when many Classic Rock stations have gotten older and softer, they were relatively crunchy in middays: a Don Henley here or an Elton John/"Rocket Man" there, but also AC/DC "Shoot To Thrill" into Styx/"Renegade," as well as the Southern Rock that you'd expect--Allman Brothers, ZZ Top, and a Charlie Daniels Band threefer!"

Jaye Albright. Jaye Albright explores what Clear Channel could do to get some PPM numbers for its country HD2 product in New York City. An interesting read here.

Could similar tactics work for other market "exclusive" formats that are only available on HD?

Jaye also shares some great words on branding here; its about artists - but very relevant as you think of your radio station as a brand.

Wisdom from David Martin: "Arbitron PPM is about getting into places, it's about penetration of personal and public spaces; you need to be played to be exposed and to be played you're going to need to be invited. Getting invited requires you to be known and "findable."

Read Dave's complete post from Friday here.

Bruce Springsteen. Amazon debuts another song/video from "Magic" - scroll down here; and Clear Channel station websites give fans a preview of the album. See/listen here.

Bogus Led Zep tix. From Radio & Records: "QPrime Management has alerted R&R that there are unethical scalpers offering Led Zeppelin concert tickets that they don’t actually have for the band’s show in London on Nov. 26 at the 02 Arena."

Flying with a Poophead. Consultant Harv Blain shares an airline experience with an computer executive here. Harv: "Do you have any spoilers that would tarnish your brand?"

Have a great Wednesday.

Sunday Morning Odds & Sods

77° - sunny at 10:38am.
left: there's nothing like football in a college town. MSU wins the season opener yesterday here; 55-18 over Alabama-Birmingham.

Good Morning.

Listening: This morning to Bob Stroud on WDRV/Chicago via the web. His final spotlight on the "Summer of Love" - playing music from this weekend in 1967. Just heard Arlo Guthrie's "Motorcycle Song". Cool.

New Classic Hits in Portland. Clear Channel tries again with 105.9 - dumping smooth jazz for Classic Hits as KOOL 105.9. Call letters KPKL are reported to be pending.

Primarily 70s based with a good dose of 60s and 80s (noticed "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" on the playlist).

Edison Media's Sean Ross takes a first listen and writes here.

Added: Listening this AM. Musically somewhere a mix of oldies, classic hits and a little "Jack". Very pop-based "feel good" presentation - easy on the ears. Using jingle package with Charlie Van Dyke as image voice.

Heard Dobie Gray's "Drift Away" segued into Todd Rundgren's "Bang The Drum". Listen live here.

Speaking of Clear Channel/Portland: Advertising Age gives details on the strategy and early success the cluster has had selling "keywords" to advertisers on station websites. Here.

Next week: Anticipate the beginnings of fall book promotions; and perhaps some more pre-book format moves. Fall Arbitron begins September 20th.

Have a great Sunday.

Wednesday Blogs & Beyond

80° - sunny at 9:40am Left: webcam shot of light tower on Lake Michigan at Muskegon this morning. current image

Good Morning.

From my blogosphere:

Defining Classic Rock. Edison Media Research's Tom Webster: "What is it? So, here is my question--and I'd love the rock programmers reading this to chime in with comments--what defines "classic?" Popularity? Importance?"

Read and comment here.

A "40-something" cab driver talking radio: "The eye wants the new, but the ear wants the familiar." Mark Ramsey goes for a cab ride here.

Your station website. Some thoughts and resources from Jacobs Media's Tim Davis here.

Added: Lee Arnold with a post about CBGB owner Hilly Kristal - who passed away yesterday. Read here. CBGB - and the music that came out of it in the mid 70s - stirs thoughts of a great era in my head.

Beyond the blogs:

Ted Nugent on Bill O'Reilly tonight on Fox News Channel (8pm ET). Nothing new here. I'm a bit ho-hum on Ted's shtick. Wears thin fast.

Springsteen Tour. Kicks off in Hartford October 2nd. See the dates here.

Another hot promotional opportunity for classic rock this fall.

More Labor Day Weekend: WDRV/Chicago is repeating their "Live Drive Weekend" - live tracks all weekend long.

KZEP/San Antonio kicks off "Zeptember" (celebrating the station's namesake) this weekend starting with a Led Zep A to Z. Here.

Less personality: Overnights go jockless in Chicago - on two stations owned by Emmis. Read Robert Feder here. Sorry to hear this; there's always been something very cool & intimate with a live voice talking to the third shifters, insomniacs and freaks of the night.