Archived News and Articles - March 2005
Archive Date - March 31, 2005
EMPTY WORDS FILLED WITH DELUSION
Defining "brand" should be job No. 1 for marketers who want to get their ideas straight. Otherwise, they're just blowing hot air
Christopher Kenton – BusinessWeek
It looks like I finally touched a nerve with marketers. The suggestion in my last column that the litmus test for judging good marketers is the clarity of their definition of "brand" sparked a flood of polarized e-mails I haven't seen on any other marketing topic (see "What, Exactly, Is a Brand?"). It appears that not only is the concept of brand so muddied that no two randomly selected marketers will define it the same way, but many don't agree that this is even a serious problem.
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Archive Date - March 31, 2005
U.S. STILL DOMINATES TRADE IN "CULTURE GOODS"
Broadcaster
The United States continued to dominate Canada's international market for culture goods, although its share of Canada's market has shifted reports Statistics Canada. The estimates deal with culture goods such as books, compact discs, films and paintings. Culture services, intangibles such as performances and broadcasts, are not included in these estimates
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Archive Date - March 31, 2005
FILE-SHARING SHOWDOWN AT SUPREME COURT
Grokster case likely to depend on VCR precedent
Andy Sullivan – Reuters
When Internet file-sharing services and the entertainment industry square off in the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday, the outcome will likely rest on a nearly obsolete technology -- the videocassette recorder.
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Archive Date - March 31, 2005
MOTOROLA MAKING MUSIC EVEN MORE MOBILE
Howard Wolinsky – Chicago Sun-Times
It's back to the future for Motorola Inc.
The Schaumburg tech company made its mark 75 years ago with the first car radios, leaving the business in 1987. And in 1937, it entered the consumer tabletop and console radio market, ultimately surrendering to pressures from Japanese electronics companies and abandoning AM/FM radio in 1972.
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Archive Date - March 29, 2005
BOB, JACK, MEET HANK IN INDY
Ken Tucker – Billboard
Bob, Jack, meet your country cousin, Hank. Emmis adult top 40 WENS Indianapolis flipped to country hybrid “97.1 Hank FM, He plays anything country” at noon on March 24. It’s believed to be the first country station to employ the all-encompassing format.
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Archive Date - March 29, 2005
NEW COPYRIGHT PLAN MORE BALANCED
Michael Geist – Toronto Star
Last spring the Canadian Heritage Standing Committee conducted a series of hearings on copyright reform. Listening to a steady stream of rights holder groups, the committee virtually ignored the public interest as it issued an embarrassing report featuring recommendations devoid of any sense of balance.
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Archive Date - March 29, 2005
THE MEDIA LIFE OF 8 TO 18 YEAR OLDS
Jack Loechner – Center for Media Research
Traditionally, data about children’s media use have been in the domain of marketers and media companies, the result of proprietary surveys conducted for commercial purposes and not available to the broader public. The Kaiser Family Foundation recently released a report which they describe as “publicly available, reliable, and objective data documenting the patterns and trends of media use among young people.
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Archive Date - March 29, 2005
THE DECENCY POLICE
A year after Janet Jackson, activists and Congress are revving up their drive to clean up the airwaves. Now cable may be next. Has TV gone too far—or have its critics?
James Poniewozik – Time
The Parents Television Council believes that too much prime-time TV in the States is indecent. So indecent that it never misses a show. In the group’s Alexandria, Virginia, offices, five analysts sit at desks with a VCR, a TV and a computer. They tape every hour of prime-time network TV, and a lot of cable. CSI. The Apprentice. God help them, even Reba. And they watch. Every filthy second.
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Archive Date - March 29, 2005
THE MALLS HAVE EARS
MobilTrak and Navigauge aim to give advertisers sharper eyes ... and ears.
Gil Kaufman – MTV
You're a 17-year-old girl who loves Usher and Diet Pepsi, shops at Target and listens to the R&B station in your city. Imagine your surprise when you walk into the local Target and a clerk hands you an exclusive Usher single with a Diet Pepsi coupon and tickets to a show sponsored by your local station.
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Archive Date - March 29, 2005
MUSIC INDUSTRY WELCOMES COPYRIGHT REVISIONS
Broadcast Dialogue
The Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) praised legislators today following an announcement that revisions to Canada’s copyright law will be introduced to Parliament this spring.
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Archive Date - March 29, 2005
CLEAR CHANNEL PLANS WEB PERFORMANCE SERIES
Brian Garrity – Billboard
Clear Channel Communications plans to make a big push into the Internet radio space next month with a new performance series that will be syndicated weekly to hundreds of its local-station Web sites across the United States.
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Archive Date - March 28, 2005
INTERNET & MULTIMEDIA 2005
Edison Media Research
How have users of iPods or other forms of on-demand audio changed their radio listening habits? Will Howard Stern help satellite radio achieve traction? Those are just a few of the questions answered in Edison Media Research and Arbitron’s new study: “Internet & Multimedia 2005: The On-Demand Media Consumer.”
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Archive Date - March 28, 2005
CRTC PUSHES DIVERSITY STRATEGIES
Broadcasters must file annual reports - Multiculturalism a growing niche
Sharda Prashad – Toronto Star
The federal broadcast regulator has rejected a task force's recommendation to stop requiring private broadcasters to file cultural diversity strategies, saying annual reporting will guarantee accountability.
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Archive Date - March 28, 2005
88% OF LISTENERS STAY THROUGH ADS
Katy Bachman – Mediaweek
Radio listeners stay tuned through commercials more than you might think. According to the latest findings from Navigauge, a research service which tracks in-car radio listening, 88.3 percent of audiences that tuned in at the beginning of a commercial remained tuned in through the end of it.
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Archive Date - March 28, 2005
CSR TO BROADCAST MULTICULTURAL CONTENT
CSR Release
Canadian Satellite Radio (CSR) and EthnoWorks today announced a content distribution agreement for CSR's proposed Mosaic channel. Mosaic, the first-ever multicultural radio offering to be broadcast North America-wide, will showcase the diverse programming content of Canada's ethnic broadcasters.
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Archive Date - March 28, 2005
THE GLASS CEILING'S IRON GIRDERS
Despite the good work celebrated at advocacy group Catalyst's annual award dinner, the fact remains: Few females hold top-tier jobs
Diane Brady – BusinessWeek
Every year, some of Corporate America's heaviest hitters gather in a hotel ballroom to fete one another on their efforts to promote women. The occasion: the annual awards dinner for Catalyst, the country's leading research and advisory group specializing in helping companies advance women. The 30th edition, held this year at Manhattan's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on Mar. 24, attracted heads of General Electric, Texas Instruments, Xerox, Tyco, Raytheon, McDonald's, General Motors, Allstate, Alcoa, and KPMG.
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Archive Date - March 28, 2005
WISE UP
Cleveland Wheeler – RadioDailyNews
Will Congress re-write the 96 Telecom Act to accommodate the digging of a bigger hole for radio real estate? When will the authors of RADIO IS DEAD articles offer solutions? When will operators wise up, take the solutions offered and take a leap to revolutionize the medium in the face of extinction? Where do we come from and how do we fit in with the New World mediums?
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Archive Date - March 28, 2005
WHAT RADIO REALLY NEEDS
Larry Stoler – RadioDailyNews
Over the past several months, many articles have been written and surveys have been done regarding the state of radio in America. This concern has come up throughout radio's history except this time, the competition comes from different sources.
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Archive Date - March 27, 2005
CAN APOLLO TAKE FLIGHT?
Joe Mandese – MediaPost
Arbitron and VNU are expected to announce plans to conduct a pilot study that would answer many of the questions big marketers have concerning a new media and product usage measurement system the two researchers have spent much of the past six months pitching them on. The pilot proposal is the direct result of a meeting Arbitron and VNU held in New York on Tuesday on the eve of the Association of National Advertisers' Television Advertising Forum to answer questions and to cajole some of the biggest national marketers to get on board what some are calling the Holy Grail of marketing and media research, but which others fear may be a gaping money pit.
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Archive Date - March 26, 2005
CAN CLEAR CHANNEL STOP FM EXODUS?
David B. Wilkerson – MarketWatch
Clear Channel Communications and other large radio station groups say listeners are responding favorably to their efforts to reduce commercial interruptions on its stations -- but some industry experts are skeptical about whether there is still any measure that can get disenchanted music listeners to return to FM radio.
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Archive Date - March 26, 2005
INTERNET RADIO, WIRELESS WILL OUTPACE SATELLITE
Radio & Records
New Bridge Ratings research suggests that by 2010, XM and Sirius could have a combined user base of 35 million (with XM maintaining a 2-to-1 advantage over Sirius). But Internet radio is projected to grow from its current 50 million users to more than 187 million consumers, and wireless Internet penetration — currently a few million — could reach 160 million people in the same time frame.
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Archive Date - March 26, 2005
IFPI: GLOBAL MUSIC SALES FLAT IN 2004
FMQB
According to a report just released by IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), global sales of recorded music were flat in 2004, with a slight reduction in physical audio sales offset by growing sales of DVD music videos and a sharp increase in sales of digital music (up more than tenfold from 2003 in US, UK, France, and Germany). 2004 also saw strong markets in the US and UK and a slowing rate of decline in other major markets.
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Archive Date - March 25, 2005
CELLPHONE SCOURGE
It's not a question of whether but when viruses come calling - Yet wireless providers say they'll be ready
Rachel Ross – Toronto Star
The infection has spread. Viruses are no longer relegated to traditional computers. Cellphones are targets too.
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Archive Date - March 25, 2005
FROM THE DESK OF DAVE VAN DYKE
Bridge Ratings Release
Dear Radio Executive: There's been so much discussion in newspapers, trades and at the water cooler regarding the competitive state of the radio industry that it's already beginning to be difficult to determine the realities vs. the fiction.
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Archive Date - March 25, 2005
LARGEST STUDY OF COUNTRY LISTENERS
Edison Media Research Produces Pleasing Results
Edison Media Research
This year’s Country Radio Seminar® Research Study featured the largest sample of Country P1’s ever surveyed with over 11,000 respondents. A P-1 listener is defined as a radio station’s most important audience. They are the listeners who are already highly engaged and contribute most of the listening done to Country radio.
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Archive Date - March 25, 2005
AGE GAP IN BLOG READING
Jack Loechner – Center for Media Research
According to a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, relatively few Americans are familiar with the phenomenon of blogging, in which individuals post running narratives of their thoughts and observations on whatever interests them.
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Archive Date - March 23, 2005
GREATER MEDIA BIRTHS BEN IN PHILLY
Ken Tucker – Billboard
Greater Media adult top 40 WMWX Philadelphia flips to all-encompassing “95.7 Ben-FM,” a Philly-branded cousin to Jack and Bob.
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Archive Date - March 23, 2005
RTNDA CANADA PRESIDENT'S AWARD
RTNDA Release
Tayler Parnaby, a veteran reporter, commentator and newscaster with 50 years in broadcasting, has been named the recipient of the 2005 President's Award by the Radio-Television News Directors Association of Canada.
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Archive Date - March 23, 2005
POLS: PROSECUTE CABLE, SATELLITE PORN
Todd Shields - Mediaweek
As Capitol Hill entertained proposals for dealing with televised indecency last week, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) came up with perhaps the most startling pitch: Prosecute cable operators and others, including hotel chains, that relay obscene material.
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Archive Date - March 23, 2005
MUSIC GOES ON SIDE A AND FLIP SIDE IS A DVD
Robert Levine – NY Times
When Matchbox 20's lead singer, Rob Thomas, was planning his first solo release late last year, he thought about ways to make the album a better value, in part to entice consumers who might be tempted to download his songs illegally.
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Archive Date - March 23, 2005
HIP HOP'S GOLDEN YEARS
There's no reason why hip hop shouldn't last, as it ages with its audience. After all, someone's got to be the next Mick Jagger
Jose Lourenco – Toronto Star
Two summers ago, a week before the Rah-Rah-Let's-Forget-About-SARS concert, I was discussing the lineup (AC/DC, The Rolling Stones) with my friend Andy. The essence of our talk came down to one conspicuous and harsh detail. "Andy," I said, "There's nothing sadder than an old rock and roller."
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Archive Date - March 22, 2005
HOME SWEET STUDIO
Jon Pareles – NY Times
There’s a tambourine in Adam Pierce's bedroom, two upright pianos and some Balinese gamelan instruments in his living room, a Celtic harp near his television set. Piled up next to the basement stairs are four drum kits in their cases. Take a left at the laundry room and there's the recording studio, a low-ceiling den where drums, a guitar and a vibraphone are set up and battered amplifiers and reverb units are stacked against a wall. The control room, where Mr. Pierce records nearly everything on an old 16-track reel-to-reel tape recorder - 13 of the tracks still work - is a few steps away. It smells a little dank, since bathroom pipes run behind the mixing board.
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Archive Date - March 22, 2005
ACTIVIST WHO TOOK ON CHOI-FM WINS YOUTH AWARD
Broadcast Dialogue
Mirlande Demers, a young woman who formed a coalition to take on a Quebec radio station for its racist slurs has won the top youth Award of Excellence for individual achievement in antiracism handed out by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF) at the launch conference of the National Youth Antiracism Network (NYAN).
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Archive Date - March 22, 2005
LOCAL RADIO, TV ON DIFFERENT GROWTH TRACKS
Tony Sanders – Billboard
It’s better to be in local radio than in local TV right now, according to four Bear Stearns analysts. Their report, titled, “Stark Contrast in Tone in Local Radio and Local TV,” is an analysis of presentations made by various media groups at the brokerage firm’s own annual media conference. As the analysts put it: “Local radio seems to be ‘settling in’ while local TV, especially at the affiliate level, looks comparatively weak.”
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Archive Date - March 22, 2005
MUSIC FROM THE HEAVENS
Satellite radio gaining popularity, but market impact remains unclear
Jay Wilson – Decatur Daily
The owner of two local radio stations and the manager of four corporate radio stations insist they are not worried about satellite radio taking listeners and profits.
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Archive Date - March 22, 2005
NEW FCC CHAIR KEVIN MARTIN TALKS TOUGH
Todd Shields – Mediaweek
Kevin Martin, the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, arrives on the job with a reputation as a brilliant regulator, an attentive listener and an advocate of even tougher stands against broadcast indecency than his predecessor Michael Powell.
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Archive Date - March 22, 2005
INFINITY BRINGS JACK TO LOS ANGELES
Bram Teitelman – Billboard
At 5pm on March 17, Infinity flipped classic rock KCBS Los Angeles to the eclectic "Jack" format. Operating under the "Playing What We Want" slogan, the station's playlist consists of over 1,200 songs by artists ranging from Prince, the Rolling Stones, R.E.M., the Cure, and No Doubt. Infinity Los Angeles VP of programming Kevin Weatherly will continue to program KCBS.
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Archive Date - March 21, 2005
MEDIA: BREAKING UP IS EASY TO DO
Viacom, Disney, and Liberty Media are all spinning off businesses. It may just be the only way to recapture the Street's respect
Tom Lowry and Ron Grover – BusinessWeek
The media moguls built them up, and now they are breaking them apart. After a decade of unprecedented consolidation, massive media conglomerates with stagnant stock prices are looking to break off pieces of their companies in an attempt to unlock value.
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Archive Date - March 21, 2005
HOW TO WRITE A SPEECH
Susan Whiting, CEO – Nielsen Media Research
Select a powerful, attention-grabbing topic that no one can afford to miss: “The Challenge of Change.”
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Archive Date - March 21, 2005
DETROIT STATIONS DIVE INTO INTERNET STREAM
From music to talk, broadcasters reach out to listeners who have computer connections.
Susan Whitall – Detroit News
Detroit radio stations are jumping on the Internet streaming bandwagon -- or jumping back on -- faster than weeds grow in April.
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Archive Date - March 21, 2005
MUSIC INDUSTRY FINANCIER BUYS 'AMERICAN IDOL'
Ben Sisario – NY Times
Robert F. X. Sillerman, the music industry baron who recently bought Elvis Presley Enterprises, added another big prize to his vault of media holdings yesterday, acquiring the British company that owns "American Idol" and its many lucrative franchises around the world.
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Archive Date - March 21, 2005
WHO WANTS SATELLITE RADIO?
Most say They Just Don't Know Enough About It
Market Wire
With all the recent buzz about satellite radio resulting from the defection of terrestrial radio talent, like Howard Stern, 18-34 year olds are the satellite providers #1 age group for current subscribers and also for those planning on buying in the next 6 months according to BIGresearch's March Consumer Intentions and Actions survey of over 7,000 consumers. The satellite radio questions were developed in collaboration with MarketStar (www.marketstar.com).
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Archive Date - March 21, 2005
LIL' KIM CONVICTED OF LYING
Associated Press
Grammy-winning hip-hop star Lil' Kim could face years in prison when she is sentenced in June for lying about a shootout outside a radio station.
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Archive Date - March 19, 2005
CSR AND CKUA FORM PARTNERSHIP
Broadcaster
Canadian Satellite Radio (CSR) and CKUA Radio Network today announced a content agreement that will see CKUA produce original, specialized programming for CSR's proposed originally produced Northern Lights channel.
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Archive Date - March 19, 2005
MARTIN ASCENDS TO FCC CHAIRMAN
Bill Holland – Billboard
President George W. Bush announced today (March 16) he intends to pick Kevin J. Martin to be the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
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Archive Date - March 19, 2005
VIACOM CONSIDERS PLAN TO SPLIT IN 2
Geraldine Fabrikant – NY Times
Viacom said yesterday that it was weighing a plan to divide its businesses into two public companies, a move that would unravel years of empire building by the chief executive, Sumner M. Redstone, while resolving the company's succession issues.
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Archive Date - March 19, 2005
MUSIC BUFFET: LOADING UP FOR TAKEOUT
Wilson Rothman – NY Times
A Napster commercial on TV offers the following comparison. On top, there is a single iPod. The cost to fill it, Napster says, is $10,000. Beneath it are three MP3 players: the Dell Pocket DJ, the Creative Zen Micro and iRiver's new H10. With Napster to Go, the commercial says, you can fill all three with almost any song you can think of and you're out only $15.
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Archive Date - March 18, 2005
QUEBEC CITY RADIO HOST LEAVING CHOI FM
Broadcaster
The controversial radio morning man whose popularity soared despite the scorn of federal regulators and a lawsuit said he's hanging up his microphone.
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Archive Date - March 18, 2005
BILLIONS AT STAKE OVER SPORTS ON SATELLITE
Angelo Bruscas – Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The new world of satellite radio is reshaping an ages-old medium and turning it into the hottest new vehicle for sports fans, no matter how far they roam or what time zone they're in.
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Archive Date - March 18, 2005
SATELLITE RADIO CONCERNS LOCAL STATIONS
Advertising, ratings could be affected by national airings of local teams
Angelo Bruscas – Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Sports broadcasters in the Seattle market are not yet sure what to make of satellite radio and the battle between XM and Sirius.
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Archive Date - March 17, 2005
ROCK OF AGES
As this year's inductees prepare to enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, how is it that the old-fogey pop form has still not been overtaken by a younger rival?
J.D. Considine – Globe and Mail
This evening, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will conduct its 20th annual induction ceremony, adding the members of U2, the Pretenders and the O'Jays, as well as singer Percy Sledge and bluesman Buddy Guy, to a pop pantheon that includes Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and the Beatles. A host of glittering, greying rock stars will be in attendance, and a number will jam. Naturally, the proceedings are taped for later TV broadcast.
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Archive Date - March 17, 2005
WHAT, EXACTLY, IS A BRAND?
Christopher Kenton – BusinessWeek
Don't believe the mystifying, long-winded explanations of trendy marketers. The answer is much simpler -- and absolutely essential to grasp
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Archive Date - March 17, 2005
U2 JOINS ROCK 'N' ROLL'S ELITE IN HALL OF FAME
Elysa Gardner – USA Today
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame left its teenage years behind Monday night, throwing itself a 20th birthday bash at the Waldorf Astoria hotel.
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Archive Date - March 17, 2005
LOVE OF RADIO ENDURES FOR RANDY MICHAELS
Radio & Records
The former Clear Channel Radio CEO, now President of start-up broadcast company Radioactive LLC, made his first public appearance since leaving America's largest radio-station owner at a TRS keynote luncheon held Saturday. Michaels was honored with the R&R 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award for his role in the development and evolution of Talk radio, and he said radio of the spoken-word variety is still his favorite. "If you want to communicate something that moves people inside, spoken-word communication is they best way to do it," Michaels said. He also downplayed recent attacks on the radio industry by the media by saying, "People are down on radio. But if it's over I'm in good company! Radio is dead, but it's always changing. There is no question that today's radio model is a leaky bucket."
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Archive Date - March 17, 2005
5 MILLION INTERNET LISTENERS A WEEK IN JANUARY
Jack Loechner – Center for Media Research
Arbitron Inc. and comScore Media Metrix, released the online radio ratings for January, which for the first time include Live365. The ratings revealed that Live365 reached an average of 438,000 people per week during the January 2005 survey period.
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Archive Date - March 15, 2005
POINT: NEW METHODS OF ADVERTISING
Marketers' Greatest Potential Is In Cutting-Edge Technologies
Scott Donaton – AdAge
My god, these are exciting times in the business.
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Archive Date - March 15, 2005
COUNTERPOINT: ESTABLISHED METHODS
Marketers' Greatest Problem Is Poor Quality Ads
Rance Crain – AdAge
You can’t have it both ways. Two stories in last week’s issue had consumers and marketers going in opposite directions. Influential consumers seem to want to be wooed in traditional media, while marketers are gearing up to hit them and everybody else when and where they’re not expecting ad messages.
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Archive Date - March 15, 2005
CANADIAN BROADCASTING CRISIS
CBC in danger of becoming a second-rate in battle for sports
Bill Lankhof – Toronto Sun
Nothing has been the same since Mr. Rogers left the neighbourhood. In fact, if many more Chris Cuthberts and Bob Coles disappear there won't be enough bodies left for a decent street hockey game. These may not be desperate times at the national sports broadcaster, but they are definitely changing times.
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Archive Date - March 15, 2005
R&R TALK RADIO SEMINAR UPDATE
Summaries from TRS 2005
Radio & Records
FEMALE ATTRACTION TO TALK A HOT TRS TOPIC
In a Friday afternoon TRS seminar moderated by ChickChat Radio hosts Heidi Hanzel and Lara Dyan, panelists discussed the varying aspects of female-targeted radio shows. Hanzel and Dyan first asked the panelists why they believe in female-hosted talk radio. ABC Radio Networks executive John McConnell commented, "Call it gut or as plain as the nose on all our faces: There is nothing better for Talk radio than what this room now represents. In 1996 our company determined to define what talk radio should be about, and we moved it from News to News/Talk. The industry followed. Since then this format has seen unprecedented growth. In 1999 our company thought national Sports Talk might have a market and we chose to launch the ESPN Radio Network. Naysayers said it couldn't be done and we're now at 347 stations. Talk radio targeted to women is in its infancy now, and it will explode to become the most profitable format in the history of the format."
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Archive Date - March 15, 2005
NORTH AMERICA SHOULD BE SINGLE TRADING UNIT
Beth Gorham – Canadian Press
Canada, the United States and Mexico should become a single trading space surrounded by a strong security barrier to ensure North America's prosperity, an independent task force says.
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Archive Date - March 14, 2005
RADIO PROGRAMMING
John Rook
Radio’s need to finally invest in programming should be on the agenda next. Over the years it’s been no secret top management rising from the sales department has usually believed programming a radio station came by “flying by the seat of your pants” with virtually no understanding how a programmer’s “gut” delivered the ratings.
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Archive Date - March 14, 2005
SAD RAP: TRASH POLLUTES AIRWAVES
Nat Irvin – Winston-Salem Journal
I could not have been more wrong when, in a column in 1994, I wrote with conviction and confidence that "rap was running out."
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Archive Date - March 14, 2005
RADIO AT IT’S BEST… AGAIN
A PSA from EZ Rock, Edmonton
A quiet afternoon in a town where pretty much nothing happens just west of Edmonton. A peaceful little burg that nobody outside of our area would even know about much less visit or even care about. Until last Thursday.
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Archive Date - March 14, 2005
CHILDHOOD MEDIA SATURATION
Sen. Hillary Clinton Uses Data to Criticize Marketers, Media Companies
Ira Teinowitz – AdAge
The typical American schoolchild now spends more time engaged with media each week than the average adult spends working full time in that same period, according to a new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
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Archive Date - March 14, 2005
LITTLE STEVEN TAKES HIS CRUSADE TO SATELLITE
Larry Mcshane – Associated Press
Little Steven Van Zandt has a problem with pop culture.
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Archive Date - March 14, 2005
GATES STILL FIRST ON RICH LIST
Paul Bond – Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
With $46.5 billion, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is still the world's richest person, while Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, worth $12 billion, is the wealthiest media tycoon and Jeffrey Katzenberg and Martha Stewart are newly minted billionaires, according to just-released data from Forbes.
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Archive Date - March 14, 2005
TALK RADIO HOSTS CALL FOR MORE FOCUS ON TALENT
Radio & Records
The 10th annual R&R Talk Radio Seminar got underway yesterday at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, and the opening Talk Radio Roundtable session featured four leading Talk show hosts who declared that unique talent will determine the future of terrestrial radio: Premiere Radio Network's Phil Hendrie, Westwood One's Tom Leykis, Talk Radio Network-syndicated WKQX (Q101)/Chicago morning host Mancow and KZOK/Seattle morning man Bob Rivers.
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Archive Date - March 12, 2005
GUNS AND POSES
David Hajdu – NY Times
Down at the crossroads of Hudson and West Houston Streets, where the radio station WQHT, Hot 97, broadcasts hip-hop programming, music and violence seem inextricable. Last week there was a sidewalk gun battle between the entourages of the rising rap star known as the Game and his former mentor, 50 Cent, while the latter was in the studios doing an interview to promote his new CD. Meanwhile, in a Manhattan federal court, testimony continues in the trial of rap artist Lil' Kim, who has been charged with perjury and conspiracy for her responses to questioning on the matter of a 2001 pistol fight outside the WQHT offices between her followers and those of a rival, Capone (born Kiam Holley).
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Archive Date - March 12, 2005
ARBITRON DELAYS PPM RATINGS COMPARISONS
Tony Sanders, Paul Heine and Katy Bachman – Billboard
Due to a problem with 1% of the Portable People Meters being tested in Houston, Arbitron said on March 9 that it would delay delivery of PPM radio ratings comparisons by one month. Arbitron VP of communications Thom Mocarsky tell Billboard Radio Monitor there was a malfunction in the connection between the microphone and the circuit board in 1% of the units. As a result, the company has recalled all the meters and plans to re-engineer them.
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Archive Date - March 11, 2005
MUSIC FANS REACH FOR THE STARS
Edna Gundersen – USA Today
With infinite capacity and far-flung communication links, the Internet has opened a universe of options to music enthusiasts.
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Archive Date - March 11, 2005
THE NIMBLE SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH – PT. 1
When economic and technological revolutions change the landscape, its the agile and adaptable outfits that survive -- and maybe even thrive
Steve McKee – BusinessWeek
In my last column, I discussed my firm's nationwide study of fast-growth companies, in which nearly two in 10 had fallen from previously lofty heights to flat or negative sales growth ("Why Companies Go from Hot to Not"). The study also identified seven factors that cause growth to stall. These natural market forces affect all businesses at one time or another, and staying cognizant of them is critical in mitigating their potentially destructive impact.
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Archive Date - March 11, 2005
RATHER'S WISH FOR VIEWERS IS STILL 'COURAGE'
Alessandra Stanley – NY Times
Dan Rather resigned as CBS News anchor with the same closing exhortation that brought him such ridicule soon after he took over from Walter Cronkite 24 years ago to the day: "Courage."
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Archive Date - March 11, 2005
THE SEED OF APPLE'S INNOVATION
CEO Steve Jobs says among other practices, it's "saying no to 1,000 things" so as to concentrate on the "really important" creations
Peter Burrows – BusinessWeek
In an era when most technology outfits have tightened their belts to adapt to a slower-growing market, one company stands out for forging ahead on innovation: Apple Computer. Others have slashed R&D and focused on incremental advances to existing product lines. Not Apple.
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Archive Date - March 10, 2005
CEO'S JUST DON'T GET MARKETING
Good Execution Can't Save Bad Strategy
Al Ries – AdAge
Marketing is in trouble. Marketing is getting squeezed between the top management function and the advertising function.
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Archive Date - March 10, 2005
AND NOW, HERE'S JULIE
Keith Berman – Radio & Records
R&R AC/Hot AC Editor Julie Kertes has returned triumphantly from her first-ever trip to Canada, which she made specifically to attend Canadian Music Week and moderate a panel there. She liked the country so much, she may return someday. [Ed. note: Folks, batten down the hatches if she ever comes back.] Congratulations to all the CMW Music Industry Award winners!
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Archive Date - March 10, 2005
WOULD YOU PAY 5 CENTS FOR A SONG?
McGill academic has a plan to end file swapping and save the music industry
Guy Dixon – Globe and Mail
An academic at McGill University has a simple plan to stop the plague of unauthorized music downloads on the Internet. But it entails changing the entire music industry as we know it, and Apple Computers, which may have the power to make the change, is listening.
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Archive Date - March 10, 2005
LESSONS LEARNED THE HARD WAY
Rob Mise - Broadcast Dialogue
My 16-year-old son, “Magic” Matt, says he wants to get into radio. He passed on to me the following: Did you know that your grandchildren may live to be 120 years old? And that their children may live to be a 160?
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Archive Date - March 10, 2005
2005 CMW MUSIC INDUSTRY AWARDS WINNERS
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Archive Date - March 10, 2005
2005 CANADIAN RADIO MUSIC AWARDS WINNERS
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Archive Date - March 10, 2005
LIM CAUSING RIPPLE EFFECT ON RADIO MARKET
Katy Bachman – Mediaweek
Although demand for radio advertising is not increasing, Clear Channel’s push for reduced spotloads and 30-second commercial units as part of its “less is more” initiative is having a ripple effect on the radio market. According to Harris Nesbitt’s new report of commercial spotloads in February, unit rates could be up between 4 and 6 percent in first quarter.
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Archive Date - March 10, 2005
PARAGON: LISTENERS NOT NOTICING FEWER SPOTS
Paul Heine and Katy Bachman – Mediaweek
A new survey of 401 respondents aged 15-64 conducted by Paragon Media Strategies found that radio listeners have not perceived a reduction in the amount of commercials on the radio. According to Paragon CEO Mike Henry, “Listeners still perceive more commercials on radio than two and five years ago, not less.”
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Archive Date - March 9, 2005
560 CFOS CELEBRATES ITS 65TH BIRTHDAY
ByrnesMedia congratulates our client station on their milestone
CFOS Release
March 1, 1940, the World is gripped in the clutches of World War II, Canada was preparing for an election and among the headlines of the day in the Owen Sound Sun Times this one stood out “Officially on Air with Friday Program; Reception is Very Clear.”
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Archive Date - March 7, 2005
SAY GOODBYE TO BAD RADIO
Gary Dunford – Toronto Sun
RADIO REVOLT? A pal got his nifty new XM Radio this week. Pure music feeds from the sky. He's not waiting for the CRTC to get off the dime. Have we been here before people? Buddy wants tunes. Now.
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Archive Date - March 7, 2005
INTERNET RADIO 101
Want to podcast your own "station" or listen to the new medium's pioneers? Here's a guide to the Net's exploding choices
Heather Green – BusinessWeek
Tired of listening to the same old playlist on your iPod? Want background music at work that's more in tune with your tastes than the local radio station? Hankering to listen to talk shows on your own time? If the answer to any of these questions is "yes," then it's time to try radio, Internet-style.
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Archive Date - March 7, 2005
CRS LOOKS INTO RADIO'S "CRYSTAL BALL"
Ken Tucker – Billboard
While terrestrial radio is faced with increasing competition from satellite radio and iPods, not to mention DVDs and video games, there are measures that can be taken to stem the tide. That was the message that came out of “Country's Crystal Ball: What's Next and What Can You Do About It,” a panel at the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville.
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Archive Date - March 7, 2005
THE NEW RADIO REVOLUTION
From satellite to podcasts, programming is exploding -- but the fight for profits will be ferocious
Heather Green, Tom Lowry, and Catherine Yang – BusinessWeek
How fast is technology turning radio upside down? Ask Brian Ibbott. Last September, when the wannabe Denver deejay started playing music on the Internet, the term for what he was doing -- podcasting -- had been around for two weeks. These days the 35-year-old produces a half-hour show of popular songs called Coverville. Some 9,000 devotees download it three times a week to play on -- what else? -- their iPods. And if they tire of Coverville, they now have 3,500 other podcasts -- and counting -- to choose from.
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Archive Date - March 7, 2005
CLEAR CHANNEL ENDORSES MUSICRYPT'S DMDS
Industry Leading Digital Distribution Company Installs Clear Channel Radio Stations
Musicrypt Release
Musicrypt Inc., the industry's leading developer of user-friendly and secure media distribution, today announced it has received the endorsement of Clear Channel Radio, the largest radio broadcaster in North America, with over 1200 radio stations in the United States. Musicrypt's patented Digital Media Distribution System (DMDS) is an easy to use, web-based system that requires no expensive software or hardware. DMDS delivers music simultaneously to all intended destinations and is available 24/7. Its advanced technology allows record labels and broadcasters to control the delivery, receipt and use of their music.
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Archive Date - March 6, 2005
SATELLITE TO HAVE $2 BILLION IMPACT IN CANADA
New survey reveals up to four million Canadians would subscribe to satellite radio services in the next year if licence approved
Canada News Wire
A new consumer survey commissioned by Canada's two satellite radio applicants, Canadian Satellite Radio and Sirius Radio Canada, suggests that there is significant commercial potential for satellite radio in Canada. Highlights of the survey, released today, shows that almost one-fifth of Canadians, or up to 4 million people, would express an interest in subscribing to a Canadian satellite radio service within the next year if it were to become available.
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Archive Date - March 4, 2005
POSSIBLE DECENCY LIMITS ON PAY TV, RADIO
Jeremy Pelofsky - Reuters
Two top U.S. Republican lawmakers on Tuesday said they want to apply broadcast decency standards to cable television and satellite television and radio to protect children from explicit content.
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Archive Date - March 4, 2005
RADIO IS CONSISTENTLY PERVASIVE
Center for Media Research
Radio Today, a report from Arbitron in 2004, looks at the evolving relationship between radio and its varied listeners to 13,800 radio stations currently broadcasting around the country. The report concludes that radio continues to be one of the most popular and pervasive forms of media among Americans, reaching more than 94 percent of the U.S. 12+ population each week.
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Archive Date - March 2, 2005
NEWCAP REVENUE UP 6% IN QUARTER
Broadcaster
Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited (NCC), reports that revenue grew 6% in the fourth quarter, while EBITDA improved 9% to $5.3 million.
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Archive Date - March 2, 2005
MUSIC LABELS SEEK HIGHER DOWNLOAD PRICES
Success of Apple has some in industry worried
Scott Morrison & Tim Burt - Financial Times
Some leading music labels are in talks with online retailers to raise wholesale prices for digital music downloads, in an attempt to capitalize on burgeoning demand for legal online music.
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Archive Date - March 2, 2005
THINGS I HATE ABOUT THE NET
Seana Mulcahy – OnlineSpin
I was with a group of non-advertising related people this weekend and thought about this. As much as there is to love, there's a lot to hate about the Net. So here goes (in random order):
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Archive Date - March 1, 2005
BYRNESMEDIA CLIENTS NOMINATED
We congratulate our clients on their CMW Industry Awards nominations:
- Rock 95, Barrie - Station of the Year (Secondary Market)
- Lite 92FM, Regina - Station of the Year (Secondary Market)
- Daryl Holien, Lite92FM/The Wolf, Regina - Program Director of the Year (Secondary Market)
Click here or on the title above for the complete nomination list.
Archive Date - March 1, 2005
‘MILLION DOLLAR BABY’ WINS BEST PICTURE
Other winners include Jamie Foxx, Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood
Associated Press
Tough was enough in Clint Eastwood’s strong-and-silent early days as a scruffy Old West gunslinger or a modern vigilante cop.
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Archive Date - March 1, 2005
HOST CHRIS ROCK COMES OUT SWINGING
Comedian takes shots at Tobey Maguire, Colin Farrell, himself
Associated Press
Apropos for an Oscar ceremony in which the boxing movie “Million Dollar Baby” was the big winner, host Chris Rock came out swinging Sunday night, unleashing his acerbic wit on anyone and everyone in Hollywood — including himself.
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Archive Date - March 1, 2005
MANUFACTURED COOL
Advertisers know little about youth, but still want their attention and money. But twentysomethings are balking at being force-fed images
San Grewal – Toronto Star
When it comes to marketing to youth, it's usually worse to aim at the demographic and miss, than it is not to advertise at all.
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Archive Date - March 1, 2005
RADIO DAYS FADE; NET TURNS UP VOLUME
Earnings take hit; new formats pose threat
Leon Lazaroff – Chicago Tribune
Not long ago, the radio industry was enjoying something of a renaissance.
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