Very Cool Mr. Hager!

On Tuesday, this blog posted a piece inspired by a recent Sean Ross article on "The Show After The Show" - read here.

With Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band in town tonight, WGRF/Buffalo (97 Rock) PD John Hager sets the bar a little higher with this post-concert feature:

It will be a great night for 97 Rock listeners - who will not only experience a great concert; but will also continue the moment with a great drive home with the car stereos cranked up to WGRF.

I'm certain Little Steven's Underground Garage affiliate guru Mark Felsot played no small role in this either. Congrats to both John and Mark (as well as Mr. Van Zandt) for putting something truly memorable for 97 Rock listeners.

Awesome radio!

Wednesday Blogs - Afternoon Edition

91° - sunny and 52% humidity at 6pm

Good afternoon...

Posting delayed today with Blogger being unavailable this morning - and then other priorities took over the day.

PPM in Houston: Lots of talk about Arbitron's PPM troubles in Houston. Both consultant Randy Kabrich and Cox Radio President Bob Neil were quoted on All Access yesterday expressing concerns about quality control.

Yesterday consultant Harv Blain wrote on his blog: "I will be at Arbitron for a two day conference on PPM starting tomorrow. You think that may be a topic of discussion in the hallway and in the conference room?" More Harv here.

Meanwhile: McVay Media's Dave Lange writes: "Before you work with any research or ratings data the most important analysis tip we can pass on is LOOK AT THE SAMPLE. How far off of the population estimates is the return?"

More: "Are you feeling real good about gains that were more the result of a few diaries weighted way up that will disappear in the next report? Or are you looking at a downturn that's really an illusion?" Read Dave's complete piece here.

Having spent much time in small markets, I've had great books and bad books - some I never believed one way or another simply because the in-tabs were so small. Of course, we still celebrated the wins with the staff regardless!

Paragon Media Strategies is now blogging on PPM and more. They've got ten PPM "rules" (so far) for programming. Rules that make good sense PPM market or not. Read here.

Music: This weekend Little Steven's Underground Garage will debut the new single ("Radio Nowhere") from Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band. Sweet!

Steven is asking affiliates to resist the temptation to lift and air the song from the show ahead of time.

Mr. Van Zandt says "HIS Boss will really be pissed at him if the song gets played before it premieres on The Underground Garage." And we know who his boss is, right?

Added: At least one outside monitoring service already has the song in its database ready to detect airplay.

Wednesday News and Blogs

76° - very cloudy at 2pm

Good afternoon from Michigan.

Imus. Lots of speculation about where he'll turn up next now that him and CBS have settled.

Is Citadel Broadcasting in his future?

Added - from All Access: "Employment is a large driver of ratings in a PPM world. In examining MEMORIAL DAY ratings, employed respondents showed much lower listeneing levels versus non-employed respondents. Much can be attributed to their non-commute on a holiday and no in-office listening." PPM market or not, Classic rock is ready-made for long weekend specials to keep your at-work audience listening. Here.

Royalties. The NAB drove a point to members about the discussion of performance royalties for terrestrial radio by sending a mock invoice to its members. Read the NAB release here.

Steven Van Zandt said it best a few weeks back: "I am a songwriter and a performer and I own record companies and publishing companies and I do not believe radio should pay anything to anyone. And I mean every kind of radio."

Meanwhile: RAIN reports that the new internet streaming royalties are in effect - even though Sound Exchange may not be enforcing them pending ongoing negotiations. More here. Danger Will Robinson: liability for the new rates has begun and is very real.

Little Steven on WCBS-FM: "...don't tell us WCBS is back, implying that it's back the way we remember it—we being the demographic that you decided meant nothing when you blew it up and now you're praying is still there."

(from Steven's upcoming column in Billboard later this week).

More Management. Consultant Gary Begin writes this week on All Access about "Managing Beyond The Basics". Some great thoughts. See "Consultant Tips".

This piece also found on Gary's website here.

Fred Jacobs wrote yesterday about an experience I've had more than a few times in my career...while dining with management and staff.

Share this with your GM or sales manager.

Have a great day.

Steven Van Zandt on Radio & Records

67° - rain at 9am

Steven Van Zandt. Radio host. Musician. Record producer. Actor. Writer. I'm certain thats an incomplete list.

Last night - Mark Felsot - who handles affiliate relations for Little Steven's Underground Garage - e-mailed an advance copy of Steven's "Garage Rock" column for the July 21st issue of Billboard. Steven addresses the illogical move by the record industry to demand payment for airplay.

Some great quotes from Mr. Van Zandt: "I do not believe radio should pay anything to anyone. And I mean every kind of radio."

"..radio stations and concert performers shouldn't have to pay for promoting our music and helping us sell it. Radio is the greatest thing that ever happened to us all, not counting Les Paul sticking that pickup on his guitar—which also worked out quite well."

And my favorite: "We have talked about, right here, the new ways people hear music and its significance especially for young bands: ads, videogames, TV, movies, ringtones, car horns, whatever. But can any sane human being think all that can ever replace a great radio station?"

I simply love that.

This morning Dave Lange posts the entire Little Steven article and offers some additional commentary. Read here.

Our Generation?

From Mark Felsot - who handles affiliate relations for Little Steven's Underground Garage...and all-around great radio guy:

"This is a great video and version of My Generation that’ll give the song new meaning"...