Posts Tagged ‘ Talent ’

Ch-ch-ch-changes

June 14, 2013
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Ch-ch-ch-changes

It seems like every week, we’re treated to more and more news that our once-predictable, stable, media world is changing yet again.  And fast. Consider that this past week there were more “breaking news” stories coming out of the radio industry trades than on CNN.  (And it appears that the radio coverage was more accurate, too.) Here are just a few of the stories that everyone was talking about this week: Apple announced iTunes Radio MySpace has relaunched (again) and one of their offerings is MyRadio – yes, customized...

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What, Me Worry?

June 12, 2013
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What, Me Worry?

The long-awaited announcement that Apple is now officially playing radio – called iTunes Radio (italics mine) – simply reinforces what has long been happening in the pure-play space: Everyone’s trying to recast, redefine, and reinvent radio – except most radio broadcasters. Pandora’s response to Apple’s new baby sounded a lot like Mad’s goofy poster boy, Alfred E. Newman and his famous quote: “What, me worry?” As Pandora noted, “…we have spent the last 13 years singularly focused on redefining radio and benefit from unrivaled intellectual property, deep experience in delivering personalized...

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I Wonder

May 22, 2013
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I Wonder

For me, the journey of music discovery took a wonderful and unpredictable turn last weekend at a packed Masonic Temple Theater in Detroit featuring a local star that you may have never heard of.  Sixto Rodriguez, who described himself on stage as an “ordinary legend,” finally captured his deserved super star status – at the age of what he calls a “solid 70.” You don’t know about Rodriguez? If you didn’t see Searching For Sugarman, you missed something special – an Oscar-winning documentary film about a Detroit born musician who tried...

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Final Vinyl?

May 1, 2013
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Final Vinyl?

Last month, the Rock family lost an important person in the history of the genre – and chances are, you never heard of him.  But you are sure familiar with his work. Strom Thorgerson, the guy who designed album covers like Dark Side of the Moon and other iconic LPs from Pink Floyd, 10cc, Zeppelin (Houses of the Holy), Genesis (A Trick of the Tail), and many others.  His company, Hipgnosis, designed hundreds of album covers, elevating that genre to a true art form. At one time, I owned a...

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In The Moment

April 22, 2013
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In The Moment

Celebrities have amazing power. Everyone knows them, they are household words, and they have the ability to surprise, amaze, and enchant – often just by showing up. However, too often, much of what we read, see, and hear about celebrities is shocking.  Pop culture rollercoasters along from Lindsay Lohan to Justin Bieber to Tiger Woods.  We form opinions – right or wrong – about whether these people are intrinsically good or bad with just the limited amount of information we read or see.  Our expectations continue to drop lower and lower even...

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A Touch of Gray

April 11, 2013
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A Touch of Gray

On the heels of a recent post about interest in radio among high school and college students comes a New York Times article written by Tom Agan.  “Why Innovators Get Better With Age” speaks to a different perspective on youthful hires. As Agan points out, the move by companies to populate their cubicles with younger people has a lot of upside – less salary and health care expense lead the way. But as he also notes, “Less gray hair sharply reduces an organization’s innovation potential, which over the long...

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Going, Going, GONE!

March 8, 2013
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Going, Going, GONE!

There goes another one – Michael Smerconish announced this week that he’s taking his radio show and moving to satellite radio. According to the Associated Press, here’s the rationale behind the move: And there goes another one, in the footsteps of a growing exodus of once-broadcast radio stars who have moved onto satellite radio, podcasts, or other places that are no longer part of the tower and transmitter business. For Smerconish, it may be about politics and the way that radio embraces or rejects his style of talk.  For...

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The Concierge

February 15, 2013
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Let’s face it – Slacker had to do something. Pandora – whether it deserved it or not – has been immensely successful, leaving other Internet pure-play brands in its dust.  That forces everyone else scrambling to figure out how to climb into the minds and hearts of music-loving consumers. This week, Slacker announced a new campaign – a frontal assault at #1 – a newly redesigned website and a TV spot that looks right out of Filmhouse, taking a shot at Pandora. Strategically, this makes sense.  If Slacker can move its...

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Radio On TV

January 30, 2013
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Radio On TV

Yesterday, we talked about the impact of the Bubba vs. MJ trial in Tampa on audience and advertiser perceptions of radio DJs. I heard from a lot of you, often expressing some of the same frustration with the behavior of radio hosts and how it affects the industry’s standing. As Josh Potter, personality for WEDG/The Edge in Buffalo, commented, “In a time where talent is fighting to survive, this makes us look like the degenerate stereotype we’ve been trying to shed…” And it also got me thinking about who...

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D2D

January 29, 2013
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D2D

Last Friday’s guest post from Scott Westerman generated a lot of comments and reactions from a number of circles – DJs, managers, and even an owner.  The role of the air personality as audience ambassador and community conduit was a big part of Scott’s premise. Yet, as I was perusing the radio news sites over the past few days, it occurred to me that many of the headlines were focused on “D2D” interaction – DJ to DJ – specifically the Bubba vs. MJ trial in Tampa. And it made...

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