A storm is brewing that could very well drastically change the way we do our jobs in radio, records, and as recording artists. For radio stations in small markets, it could prove to be the beginning of the end. Legislation is currently being considered in Washington for radio stations to pay artists for airplay. Currently all licensed radio stations pay royalties to songwriters, and with the current economic conditions, it has been tough to make a buck on the street lately. Groups of owners and independent station owners are vowing that if this legislation passes, radio stations could turn around […]
A radio group announced last month that they were severing ties with Arbitron, citing problems with measuring audiences in smaller markets and rural areas, and was going with a telephonic measuring system called the Eastlan group. New Northwest Broadcasters owns over 30 stations in four western states- Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Alaska. In my opinion, this move is like going from playing music from hard drive back to throwing two turntables and bringing back 45’s and 33’s into a smoky studio with live on-air talent 24/7. In other words, they’re going backwards technologically, and logically, this move makes absolutely no […]
Right now, today, there are five easy things you can do that can make your radio stations sound better, and improve employee morale. Of course, many of you may do all of these things, and to you, kudos. You’re doing many of the right things to make you a winner. But, most PD’s that multi-task (have more than one station to program) can sometimes forget that even ONE station is important enough to keep it on and critique it. Though we’ll never be able to listen with “listener’s ears”, here are some great, simple ideas that can help you. 1. […]
About a year ago, I received an e-mail from a listener of our classic rock station from Wagga Wagga, Australia. We stream our signal on line, and through a website that gives people a menu of stations that fit their listening habits, Jeff found our station and loved the music mix. Through correspondence of e-mails, I found Jeff to be very funny, down to earth, and knowlegable about music. But, there are obvious differences in how the English language can be interpreted. Still, he promised one day that the next time he visited the United States, he would stop by. […]
There seems to be an award show every weekend of the year now. I even got a flyer in my junk e-mail box this week about an award show for SHOELACES coming up in December. Not joking. Maybe it’s because of one too many elbows to the head in crowded places on my vertically challenged frame, but I’m not big for real crowded places. I deal with them. And there is a crowd at the New Music Awards. It’s just a different crowd. This show is unique in the aspect that it gives you the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, […]