Wednesday Blogs

30° - scattered clouds at 7:20am

It is what it is. XM/Sirius merger approved by DOJ. FCC can't be far behind. As Dave Martin points out here:

"Mel and pay radio will end up needing more than a good deal with the commission, they're going to need a radically different business model. Firing the majority of staff, outsourcing to the lowest bidders and restructuring deals won't even begin to get it done. The last published account of their combined ad billings was less than the annualized billings of one successful FM station. As written here previously, in the very best possible case, pay radio will be to audio what HBO is to video. A modest niche business, nothing more."

In his blog this morning, Fred Jacobs observes:

"...while satellite radio is an irritant, it has been losing momentum for a couple years now. We've seen evidence of this in our Tech Polls, conducted among 25,000+ rockers each year - just the kind of consumers that XM and Sirius have been targeting. In our newest poll, we're already seeing that when XM or Sirius ends up in the new car or truck you buy or lease, one's propensity to renew the service is much lower than average. And overall, we're only seeing about a 56% absolute commitment to retain XM or Sirius among current subscribers - not exactly the numbers they want to see, merger or no."

Lastly, Fred adds:

"There's a future out there for AM/FM radio, and while satellite radio just got a second wind, the true forces that will most clearly impact traditional broadcasters are far more ominous. But radio has the opportunity to play in the new media sandbox, if it focuses - once again - on creating great content, while providing multiple distribution outlets for that content."

And speaking of content - consultant Alan Mason writes here:

"...what does your radio station do so well that it will cause listeners to come back again, and bring some friends? Every station has to decide on it’s own what it does best, but I can tell you one thing. It’s not creating share holder value."

My take: long-term shareholder value is created when great products are created that attract consumers. The need for quick short-term results for the next quarter is whats killing us.

Added: Saw this from Seth Godin over my second cup of coffee:

"A career putting out fires never leads to the goal you had in mind all along. I guess the trick is to make the long term items even more urgent than today's emergencies."

Seth's entire piece here.

The Weekend Classic Rock FM

32° - light snow at 3:15pm
Left: Looking out my front door this afternoon...

Home today. Not feeling well yesterday and sneezing evolved to fever last night. Nothing that sleep/rest won't quickly solve.

Catching up on my reading:

Fred Jacobs & Keith Cunningham. On his blog - Fred Jacobs shares an article written for R&R by Keith Cunningham on air talent and PPM. A great read here.

Fred prefaces Keith's piece:

"Clearly, there are aspects of PPM that will unfortunately lead programmers down the path of eliminating interruptions and content in the hope of creating a seamless listening environment. But at what point does consistency begat predictability which begats boredom which begats turnout?"

I couldn't agree more. Which brings me back to comments I wrote here about the shift in formatics at WMMS/Cleveland back in September. I can't fault anyone for trying something different and new. I get it - but (still) don't agree with it. Where are the surprises? Isn't this one of our advantages?

Dave Mason. The San Diego radio icon - most recently mornings at KOGO; prior to that PD of Kool 99.3 - in comments attached to this Paragon Media Blog piece - writes:

"Y’all can clearly see that the answer to bad radio isn’t more bad radio. It’s fixin’ what you have and making it better. Time and time again I see the answers HERE — but it must be the sound of money being poured down the drain on making broadcast radio sound just like the Ipod, Internet and Satellite recievers…without the compelling nature of any of the 3."

Yep. Thank you Dave. But wait...there's more. Mr. Mason adding:

"By the way, anyone listening to Westwood One’s coverage of the NFL over the weekend would’ve heard a lot of Sirius spots voiced by Howard Stern - telling people to turn off their radios and get the Satellite service. Yes this was on BROADCAST Radio."

Wonderful. (not). Somebody at Westwood One needs a spanking. At least some terse notes from WW1 affiliates.

Dave Mason one of the best in the business. He's also longtime host - to this day - of "The Beatles Radio Show" airing Sunday Mornings 8-10am Pacific on KGB-FM/San Diego. He knows his "Fab Four".

Dave also currently station manager of "SignOn San Diego" internet radio.

Tipped by Dave Martin: Harve Alan - most recently with NextMedia - is now blogging with his new Harve Alan Media organization. Read Harve here.

I do believe that I met and chatted a bit with Mr. Alan on a dinner cruise in San Diego during my Capstar-AM/FM days along with Dave Lange and many other respected names.

More over the weekend. Is it "feed a cold, starve a fever" or the other way around?

Sunday Morning Odds & Sods

43° - overcast at 1pm

Listening this morning - to the music of Neil Young being featured on WDRV's Rock & Roll Roots. Walk On. Like A Hurricane. All good stuff.

Christmas. I've seen a lots of stations testing their holiday music; and I've come to believe that the audience expects to hear it.

There's nothing wrong with Classic Rock and Classic Hits embracing selected holiday music - although I didn't always feel that way.

Thanksgiving weekend isn't that far away and a great time to kickoff. My wife was in Target yesterday and said it was apparent the shopping season has begun.

The Buzzard Book. It didn't come out in time for my birthday - but if anyone is looking for a Christmas present for me it might be John Gorman's new book: "The Buzzard: Inside the Glory Days of WMMS and Cleveland Rock Radio.

John Gorman was Program Director of WMMS (The Buzzard) from 1973 to 1986.

From Amazon:

This rock and roll radio memoir takes you behind the scenes at the nation's hottest station during FM's heyday, from 1973 to 1986. Sex and drugs, music and merchandising--it was a wild time when the FM airwaves were wide open for innovation.

John Gorman led a small band of true believers who built Cleveland's WMMS from a neglected stepchild into an influential powerhouse. The station earned high praise from musicians and even higher ratings from listeners.

Gorman tells how WMMS remade rock radio while Cleveland staked its claim as the "Rock and Roll Capital" by breaking many major international music acts. The fun may have died when FM went corporate in the late 1980s, but it was a hell of a ride while it lasted.

Filled with juicy insider details, this fast-paced story will entertain anyone who listened in during those glory days when FM delivered excitement and the Buzzard ruled the airwaves.

Looks fantastic - and available through Amazon here. Perhaps I'll just get myself an early Christmas present.

Mel. Will sue the FCC if the Sirius/XM merger isn't approved. Read here.

I can only think that others interested in one of the two satellite radio licenses might sue too if the merger is approved. I could be wrong.

While there is plenty of competition under of the broad definition of "audio entertainment", I do feel that satellite radio is a unique distribution platform that deserves two competitors. Every other distribution platform is open to competition.

Let them merge - but force a surrender of one license and award it to another.

Wednesday Blogs & Programming Notes

57° - overcast at 10:52am

Welcome to Wednesday. From my blogosphere:

This morning Dave Martin reminds the class that there's only nine days until the fall semester begins. Well...the fall book. And this morning he offers nine ways to get your talent performing at their best. A better report card. And it starts with calling in sick. Read here. And thank you Dave!

Dave Lange. Dave blogs today on "TSL Realities for PPM and Diaries". Part 3 of his series on The realities from PPM that apply to everyone. Dave offers some excellent suggestions on increasing TSL. Read here.

Defending our turf. Fred Jacobs writes here this morning on how radio continues to be strong despite the "over-hype" of new media; and suggests that "radio needs to start doing a little "hyping" of its own".

"Radio still has an incredibly powerful story to tell."

Tom Taylor. In his newsletter this morning - Tom writes about the reaction he's getting over a new Radio Shack spot running on network radio. The copy: "Turn off the radio commercials and come to Sirius."

Consultant Kevin Robinson is quoted: “I heard this spot on a client station and nearly choked on my eggs."

One station operator justifies carrying the ads: "Sirius is a perfectly legal product. Radio Shack wants to spend money, so why should that money be refused? Oh, because people might not listen to our station any more? They could change their minds for any of a number of other reasons."

Fair enough. I guess he wouldn't refuse a buy from a crosstown terrestrial competitor either.

And while we're on the subject: why does a lot of radio carry advertising for products and services that are the subject of many consumer complaints? Yes, rhetorical.

There's spots I hear that resemble the get-rich schemes often posted on Craig's List. Or ones that prey on consumers with poor credit. These are primarily national ads.

Quoting Dennis Miller: "Now, I don't want to get off on a rant here..but..."

I've been at stations that have run 'em. And I've always dreaded the occasional listener phone complaint about getting ripped off. In the category of "things that shouldn't happen."

Yes - its a buyer beware world - but shouldn't we be an advocate for the listener? Before the fact?

Just asking. Yes, I know decisions to run such are usually out of the hands of PDs; but worthy of discussion. Stepping off my milk crate now.

And yes, I feel better.

Afternoon Update

"Overnight we have scores of PPM experts offering station and group folks assistance. Some of these same experts would have us believe they are qualified to confront Arbitron and take the lead in what amounts to an ongoing ratings police action. My opinion is most of these so-called experts are not qualified to discuss the subject matter at any serious depth." - David Martin.

Read Dave's post here.

All Access reports: "the cumes for an in-tab based on the partial sample that was improperly processed was just about the same as the full properly processed sample."

Meanwhile: Paragon Media has been updating readers on the Arbitron Consultant Fly-In with its new blog. A recap of yesterday posted this morning; I'd expect another one soon. Read here.

Other notes of interest:

You Tube: Using embedded You Tube videos on your station site? Google's new You Tube ad strategy is now kicking in.

Do you mind their ad inventory on your website? Something to ponder. Your mileage may vary. Jaye Albright on that topic here.

btw: kudos to Google for monetizing its You Tube investment in a user-friendly way. More from Mark Ramsey here.

Satellite merger update: All Access reporting (Wednesday) that Entravision has told the FCC that if the Sirius/XM merger were to happen "the agency should allow existing terrestrial licenses to form a consortium and proceed to establish and operate a qualified competitor".

The company also "asks the FCC to require SIRIUS and XM to relinquish their spectrum so that competition can resume".

Giving up half of the combined spectrum entered my mind early into this merger talk. (this last piece reposted from yesterday; it wound up on my "bumped" list. I was "oversold". Poor inventory management on my part...oops...LOL)

Wednesday Blogs

Wednesday already. From my blogosphere:

Satellite Radio interest appears to be slowing - at least with listeners of rock radio. This morning Fred Jacobs discusses findings from the latest Jacobs Media Tech Survey on his blog. See graphs from the satellite portion of the survey on the Jacobs website here.

Meanwhile...in Our Nation's Capitol: Yesterday, Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin made another apperance in Washington to answer more questions about the proposed Sirius/XM merger. David Martin reviews his performance here.

Streaming. Appeals have been filed against the new royalty rates announced by the Copyright Royalty Board. Kurt Hanson's RAIN has been providing excellent coverage on this issue. Read the latest here.

The Secret To Making Them Smile. Some thoughts on how its getting more difficult to shock an audience without crossing the line - and how "simply delighting them with effective service" might be the better path.

Lessons for radio programming here from ChaosScenario.

E-Diary. While much has been written about Arbitron's PPM rollout; the new E-Diary affects almost everyone right now. McVay Media's Dave Lange discusses on his blog here.

Latest Favorite Quote: "I would have made this shorter but I didn't have the time." - David Martin. Have a great Wednesday.

The Weekend Classic Rock FM

Happy weekend. Caught some great writing this past week:

Dave Lange of McVay Media - a wonderful mind who helped me in a competitive battle years ago - writes about about Anna Nicole, Britney and XM/Sirius here.

Alan Mason - of Good Ratings - who I don't know but wish I did - quotes Mark Ramsey and writes about your station's community here.

Lee Arnold on two of radio's best here.

Radio Wars in Denver. Its country, not classic rock. But there's always something to be learned from watching any format battle. Jaye Albright has it here.

FMQB reports that Van Halen is apparently not getting back together (for now). And The Police sold out Madison Square Garden twice in 15 minutes; now doing another show at Giants Stadium on August 5th. Tickets for that show go on sale Monday.

Heard from old friend Jay Blackburn this past week. Jay was the mind behind the original WLUP/Chicago (pre-Heftel/Lee Abrams) and his work there was a big influence on my career (although he didn't know it until years later). Jay has written an autographical-based novel on "radio wars of the '70s as seen through the eyes of a couple of midlevel consultants. It's the whole story, from '70 to '79."

Knowing Jay's history, this should be a great read. Jay says it will be out mid-summer; once a firm release date is set, we'll pass it along.

Serious: XM and Sirius to become one

A merger. Reduced staffing. I can only imagine lots of nervous folks at both companies. We're going to be watching Lee Abram's blog.

Read the release from XM here.

Tuesday Morning update: Observations from Paul Jacobs and Mark Ramsey. Remarks of radio CEOs at Inside Radio.