Conglomerates, Brandmeier and The FCC

19° - mostly cloudy at 9:13am

Me and the boys living the bachelor lifestyle last few days with my wife out of town; makes one wonder how single parents pull it off day after day.

Calendar: couple of dates coming up yet this month: President's Day next Monday (2/18); and there is a February 29th (a Friday) this month too...a "leap day". Any special music/programming features around these dates? BTW: Spring book begins April 3rd.

Surfing the blogs: Chicago AM drive producer-writer-author Rick Kaempfer sums up Jim Cramer's recent comments on radio:

"The conglomerates will have to sell and then local operators have a chance to reclaim a lost medium. At least that's my hope..."

I've had the same passing thought; Rick's blog here.

Tipped by Rick: Mr. Kaempfer points me to Robert Feder's column in the Chicago Sun-Times. Feder writing about "the pride of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin", Jonathan Brandmeier. It was 25 years ago that Johnny B hit the Chicago airwaves. Read here.

Legal Stuff: The FCC yesterday opened its comment period (until March 14th) for proposed new radio rules that will - among other things:

• Whether radio and television stations should be required to maintain and consult with permanent advisory boards of officials and other leaders;
  
  
• Whether radio stations should be required to fill out, place in their public files, post on the Internet and submit to the FCC the same type of standardized disclosure form information about programming and “ascertainment” that will soon be required of television stations;
  
  
• Whether radio and television stations should be required to maintain main studios within the corporate limits of their communities of license rather than be allowed to locate those main studios some distance from their cities of license; and
  
  
• Whether the FCC should reinstitute renewal processing guidelines that are based on quantitative minimums for different types of programming.

Details here. No doubt your ownership is aware but sometimes stuff like this doesn't trickle down. Added: Many of the FCC's current proposals, if adopted, could make tight budgets even tighter.

Thank you - to SBR Creative Media's John Bradley who had some kind words about this blog in a recent email.

Also to WKLH/Milwaukee Rock 'N Roll Roots host Steve Palec, who's been kind enough to link me from his blog (do check it out!).

Have a good night.

The Weekend Classic Rock FM

This morning, I'm listening to the Bob & Tom Show (via the web) and an interview/acoustic studio performance with REO Speedwagon. Great radio.

I remember playing these guys on the radio starting with the REO/TWO album in 1973. They've got a new CD package hitting stores in April that includes a DVD.

Streaming Rates Explained. Boulder's SBR Creative Media has put together a white paper PDF read on how the new copyright rates affect webcasting. Its a great reference piece. Find it here.

Meanwhile - Mark Ramsey writes here about "The Coming Internet Radio Boom".

We noted a few days ago the passing of Calvert DeForest. Check out this classic 1983 Larry "Bud" Melman clip from Late Night with David Letterman.

More here Sunday.

Sunday Morning Odds & Sods

The Sky looking west over Michigan's State Capitol Sunday Morning 9:20am.

As I write this morning, I've got the stream of WDRV/Chicago cranked up - listening to Bob Stroud and his "Rock & Roll Roots" program. This week Bob is playing the music as heard on the radio this week in 1969. "The Letter" by The Arbors was wonderful. Thanks Bob.

Random ramblings:

Streaming worries. There's no question that radio needs to stream as the broadband world expands. Can online ad revenues keep up with the increasing costs? See the complete breakdown of the new streaming royalty rates set by the Copyright Office - courtesy of Kurt Hanson's RAIN here. Jaye Albright with more here. added: Mark Ramsey's post.

Daylight Savings TIme Reminder. We spring ahead early - one week from today (March 11th). Four weeks earlier than it used to. Not all computers are ready. Work with your technical staff and automation vendor now. (I've always made an early morning trip into the station twice a year to make sure everything is on time....no sleep well otherwise).

Wisdom. From SBR Creative's website - a collection of great quotes on radio, marketing and music here.

History. Progressive rock signs off in the Milwaukee suburbs circa 1979.. Its WZMF. Listen to the last hour here.