Category Archives: Mentor

July 23, 2023 · 3:00 am

For Whom Does The Bell Toll?

When I heard the news that All Access would be closing its doors after twenty-eight years in business, it came as a shock to my soul, and sent a chill down my spine that foretold of a media crisis much bigger than this publication’s demise.

It reminded me of the famous poem by John Donne, For Whom the Bell Tolls:

No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend’s were.
Each man’s death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.

The Bell Tolls For Thee

The news of the coming death of All Access made each of us consider our own mortality. Fred Jacobs wrote in his blog on Monday:

“Funerals are a mandatory attendance experience where we mourn the departed, while also considering our own mortality.  We think about the deceased and try to rationalize that he/she was older than us, in worse health, had questionable lifestyle habits, or had some undesirable traits and flaws.  And we rationalize that their sorrowful outcome will surely not be ours.

But in fact, it is hard to disassociate All Access’ fate from our own.  This isn’t just about what befell Joel and his staff – it is a referendum on radio and all of us who work in it.”

The Medium Is The Message

In his seminal 1964 book, “Understanding Media, The Extensions of Man” Canadian communications theorist Marshall McLuhan’s first chapter was titled “The medium is the message;” by which McLuhan felt “that the form of a medium embeds itself in the message, creating a symbiotic relationship by which the medium influences how the message is perceived.” (University of Michigan – Digital Rhetoric Collaborative)

But did McLuhan foresee the state of media today?

The Medium Is A Mess

Bob Iger was reinstated as CEO of The Walt Disney Company in November 2022. Iger, who had been Disney’s CEO from 2005 to 2020, had retired at the age of 69. His replacement, Bob Chapek, created two years of tumult at the mouse house, and was fired.

It was in 2006, that Iger sold Disney’s 22 ABC branded radio stations and the ABC radio network to Citadel Broadcasts Corporation in a cash and stock deal valued at $2.7 billion.

Last week, CNBC reported that Bob Iger had “opened the door to selling the company’s linear TV assets as the business struggles during the media industry’s transition to streaming and digital offerings.”

On June 30th, Audacy, the radio company formerly known as Entercom, did a 1-for-30 reverse stock split to try and prevent being expelled from the NY Stock Exchange. Stock watchers called it a “stock market Hail Mary attempt to stave off financial ruin.” (elitesportsny.com)

Adding to these two company’s woes, the media industry is also dealing with both a writers strike and an actors strike, global climate change, the ongoing war in Ukraine, out-of-control wildfires that have burned over 26 million acres of Canada, polluting the world with no end in sight, and the mess we call our democracy; it’s hard not to wonder what our future holds for anyone, anywhere.

Is This Television’s Radio Moment?

That’s what the analysts are wondering at MoffettNathanson, because radio’s lackluster revenue recovery has forced that broadcasting industry to cut into its bone and consider if using artificial intelligence (A.I.) could be their savoir to keeping investors at bay.

Goodbye All Access

To Joel Denver, Perry Michael Simon and the rest of the dedicated All Access team we say “Thank You, for 28 incredible years of chronicling the business of radio, records, and the people who made it happen.”

Your work has always been at the cutting edge, maybe that’s why your publication’s death feels like a harbinger for us all…

For whom the bell tolls,

It tolls for thee.

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July 16, 2023 · 3:00 am

Expiring versus Permanent

A hundred years ago, radio was the new form entertainment that captivated the world. The radio receiver occupied prime real estate in American living rooms and families would make sure that dinner was over and the dishes cleaned before the evening’s entertainment was broadcast to their radio. This was the first Golden Age of Radio.

Television

When TV came along, the radio would lose its place of prominence in the American living room. Radio, due to the advent of the transistor would find a new home in the bedrooms of teenagers and in the dashboard of automobiles. Radio’s original stars would move to the medium of television and radio would give birth to a new type of performer, the Disc Jockey aka the DJ.

It would be a position that didn’t exist before records or radio. It required a new kind of communication skill, one filled with personality and imagination.

Expiring Skills versus Permanent Skills

One of the most popular instructors at West Point was Robert Walter Weir. Weir taught painting and drawing offering this class not to broaden a cadet’s perspective on the world, but because in the 19th century, military officers were expected to draw maps of the battlefields they fought on, and be able to record their topography quickly.

One of Weir’s best students would be Union General Ulysses S. Grant, who defeated Confederate General Robert E. Lee during the Civil War.

Drawing, it turns out, was an expiring skill, as today’s West Point offers classes in mapping software and technology, but no longer in painting and drawing.

Morgan Housel, a partner at The Collaborative Fund and an expert on behavioral finance and history, says that every field has two kinds of skills:

  • Expiring skills, which are vital at a given time but prone to diminishing as technology improves and a field evolves.
  • Permanent skills, which were as essential 100 years ago as they are today, and will still be 100 years from now.

Is Being a DJ an Expiring Skill?

Over the past month, everyone’s been talking about what artificial intelligence (A.I.), like Futuri’s RadioGPT means for the future of air personalities. Radio owners seem to be excited about A.I. but radio personalities view this new technology with trepidation.

You might be wondering if being an air personality is something that will no longer be relevant and can be replaced by a robot.

If we’re talking about replacing mindless voice tracking, maybe A.I. is an improvement, but if we’re talking about making a human connection, I think not.

Most permanent skills are human-centric, meaning that they are not something a chatbot can duplicate. Sharing of human experiences can only be done by another human. Permanent skills require emotional intelligence which compound over time.

People who spend a lifetime perfecting one skill whose importance never wanes, will be ones in demand.

The Lesson of Family Feud

The popular TV game show, Family Feud, began airing on ABC in 1976. It would be the personal charm and witty banter of host Richard Dawson that would make the Feud hugely popular with television audiences.

The show continued on after Dawson left, hosted by Ray Combs, Louie Anderson, Richard Karn and John O’Hurley, but it wasn’t until radio star Steve Harvey took over in 2010 that Family Feud saw renewed success. Ratings for the program increased by as much as 40%, and has become the fifth most popular show in syndication being renewed once again through the 2025-2026 season.

By the way, Steve Harvey hosts the #1 syndicated morning radio show in America too.

Personalities like Steve Harvey are not worried about being replaced by artificial intelligence because they have developed a useful and permanent skill in a world that is constantly changing.

Being human is something artificial intelligence will never be.

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June 25, 2023 · 3:00 am

Zombie Radio

With the debut of the first Artificial Intelligence (AI) personality on Portland’s Live 95.5, the possibility of hearing the GOATs of Radio (Greatest Of All Time) back on the air took a giant step closer to becoming a reality.

The DJ Hall of Fame

Imagine your favorite radio personality returning to the airwaves via voice cloning and the use of Artificial Intelligence. When I first wrote about this, over a year and a half ago, it seemed like something that would be five to ten years away, not 18-months.

Netflix

The most popular video streamer offers viewers content that is produced from all over the world, in the native language of the country it was produced. Netflix either has to offer this content with subtitles or voice-dubbing.

Netflix research has found the majority of its subscribers prefer voice-dubbing to subtitles. AI technology offers Netflix to have voices that sound the same as the original actors through voice sampling. Two additional benefits are that using this technology is faster than hiring actors to read and record the dialog, and it’s cheaper too.

Voice Sampling

Companies such as WellSaid have developed Artificial Intelligence technology that uses just a small sample of a person’s voice and can then re-create that voice to say anything a person types on a computer keyboard.

ChatGPT-4

Last week I had Chat GPT write an article for this blog. What was amazing to see, was the speed at which it happened.

As many readers pointed out, it broke no new ground about the future of commercial broadcast radio in the United States but simply rehashed all that has already been said.

Then Alpha Media’s Top 40 KBFF (Live 95.5) in Portland, Oregon announced it had become the world’s first radio station to use an AI DJ, made possible through the use of Futuri’s RadioGPT. Using the voice of the real Ashley Elzinga aka Ashley Z, the midday personality on Live 95.5, AI Ashley was “born”.

This is the Tweet that demonstrated how both the real Ashley Z and AI Ashley sound: TWITTER LINK  

After you’ve listened to the demo, you should take a little extra time to read all the comments that follow Ashley Z’s Tweet. Especially the ones that think the station should change its branding from “Live 95.5” to something more like “artificial 95.5”.

If the power of radio is the personal connection an air personality makes with a listener, can this connection be made artificially?

Ashley Z

KBFF’s website has this bio of Ashley Elzinga:

Ashley got her break in radio thanks to an internship with Ryan Seacrest at his famous Ryan Seacrest Productions in Los Angeles, CA. She’s been on the air in Sacramento, Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, Austin, Seattle, and now Portland!

She’s currently studying business at Harvard Business School Online and hopes to earn her MBA in the next few years.

Ashley loves to read and is obsessed with skincare and her 2 kitties, Oakley and Raspberry.

Sounds like Ashley Z has plans beyond her current radio gig, once she obtains that advanced degree from Harvard.

Dan Ingram, Larry Lujack, Robert W. Morgan, The Real Don Steele…

It seemed like 18-months ago I was “spit balling” the future, but we now can see that having radio’s GOATs back on the air and doing their thing, artificially, is closer than you might have thought. The technology to do it is here today, however the sticking point for seeing this reality, will most likely be the many legal issues over the rights to using these voices. Unlike on TV, the law in real life is a slow moving process.

Rewound Radio

Until that day arrives, I will enjoy radio’s GOATs on Rewound Radio’s DJ Hall of Fame, that airs every Saturday afternoon from 12-3pm (EST) on https://rewoundradio.com

After all, who wants “New Coke” when you can have “The Real Thing.”

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June 18, 2023 · 3:00 am

ChatGPT Writes This Week’s DTB Article

I recently sat down with a ChatGPT user to learn about how powerful this form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is. To test this rapidly growing form of AI, we asked ChatGPT to write a scholarly thousand word essay on what the future of commercial broadcast radio in five years is in the United States.

ChatGPT basically scrubs the internet for information and then puts what it finds into whatever format you request. ZDNet explains it this way:

“ChatGPT is a natural language processing tool driven by AI technology that allows you to have human-like conversations and much more with the chatbot. The language model can answer questions and assist you with tasks, such as composing emails, essays, and code.”

The following is the article ChatGPT wrote in less than a minute.

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Title: The Future of Commercial Broadcast Radio in the United States: Adapting to an Evolving Landscape

Introduction

Commercial broadcast radio has been a staple of American media for over a century, entertaining and informing listeners across the nation. However, with the rapid advancements in technology and the rise of digital platforms, the future of commercial broadcast radio in the United States is at a critical juncture. This essay aims to explore the challenges facing commercial radio and discuss potential strategies for its survival and growth in the evolving media landscape.

I. The Shift to Digital Platforms

The advent of the internet and the proliferation of digital media platforms have significantly impacted the radio industry. Online streaming services, podcasts, and music apps have gained popularity among consumers, providing them with personalized and on-demand content. As a result, traditional commercial broadcast radio has faced increased competition for listeners’ attention.

II. Embracing Technological Advancements

To stay relevant and competitive, commercial broadcast radio must adapt to the changing technological landscape. One potential strategy is embracing digital platforms and incorporating them into the traditional radio experience. Many radio stations have already started offering live streaming options on their websites and mobile apps, allowing listeners to tune in from anywhere in the world. This enables radio stations to reach a broader audience and engage with listeners beyond their terrestrial broadcast range.

III. Leveraging Podcasting

Podcasting has experienced exponential growth in recent years, becoming a powerful medium for storytelling, education, and entertainment. Commercial radio stations can leverage this trend by producing and distributing their own podcasts. By creating compelling and unique content, radio stations can attract new listeners and build loyalty among their existing audience. Additionally, podcasting opens up new revenue streams through sponsorships and advertising opportunities, ensuring the financial viability of radio stations.

IV. Personalization and Localization

In the era of digital media, consumers increasingly seek personalized and localized content experiences. Commercial broadcast radio can leverage this demand by utilizing advanced data analytics and AI-driven technologies to deliver tailored programming to individual listeners. By

understanding listeners’ preferences and behaviors, radio stations can curate content that aligns with their interests, thus enhancing engagement and attracting a wider audience.

Furthermore, commercial radio stations can strengthen their connection with local communities by focusing on hyperlocal content. Emphasizing local news, events, and personalities not only creates a unique selling point for radio stations but also fosters a sense of community among listeners. By becoming an essential source of local information, commercial radio can differentiate itself from digital competitors and solidify its position in the media landscape.

V. Collaborative Partnerships

In the face of evolving media consumption habits, commercial radio can explore collaborative partnerships with other media platforms. For instance, radio stations can collaborate with streaming services to cross-promote content and expand their reach. Similarly, partnerships with local businesses and event organizers can provide opportunities for live broadcasts and mutually beneficial promotional campaigns. By forging strategic alliances, commercial radio can leverage the strengths of different media platforms and create a seamless, multi-platform experience for listeners.

VI. Adapting Advertising Strategies

Advertising has been a vital revenue source for commercial broadcast radio. However, in the digital age, advertisers have diversified their investments, allocating budgets to various platforms based on audience demographics and reach. To remain competitive, radio stations must adapt their advertising strategies to attract and retain advertisers. This can include offering targeted advertising options based on listener data, integrating native advertisements seamlessly into programming, and exploring innovative formats such as branded content and influencer partnerships.

Conclusion

The future of commercial broadcast radio in the United States lies in its ability to adapt and embrace the changing media landscape. By leveraging digital platforms, embracing technological advancements, and prioritizing personalization and localization, commercial radio can retain its relevance and attract a new generation of listeners. Collaborative partnerships and evolving advertising strategies will also play a crucial role in securing the financial resources needed to sustain commercial radio operations. While challenges persist, the future of commercial broadcast radio in the United States is not bleak. By embracing innovation, staying attuned to audience preferences, and forging strategic alliances, radio stations can navigate the evolving media landscape and continue to be a trusted source of entertainment, information, and community connection. By evolving with the times, commercial broadcast radio can carve out its place in the digital age, ensuring its longevity and relevance for years to come.

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Let me know how you think ChatGPT did in the comments section of this blog. I look forward to reading your thoughts about this life-changing technology that is impacting our world.

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May 28, 2023 · 3:00 am

What’s Wrong With The Clock?

This past week the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), along with owners and operators of AM radio stations, were all taking bows when the Ford Motor Company reversed its decision to remove AM radio from ALL of its vehicles in 2024.

I don’t mean to rain on AM radio’s parade but something just doesn’t feel right about this quick change of heart. Let’s review the last five weeks.

April 1, 2023

News broke in the Detroit Free Press that Ford Motor Company planned to stop putting AM radio in both new gas-powered vehicles as well as electric vehicles beginning in 2024.

This sounded like it was an April Fool’s joke. However, Ford executives explained that “a majority of U.S. AM stations, as well as a number of countries and automakers globally, are modernizing radio by offering internet streaming through mobile apps, FM, digital and satellite radio options.” Ford said they planned to offer all of these alternatives for their vehicle owners so they could continue to hear their favorite AM radio station stations.

The Push-back

Alex Siciliano, senior vice president for communication at the NAB quickly responded to the news by saying, “we are certain that Ford does not want to alienate the nearly 48 million Americans who listen to AM radio, and we’ll continue to work closely with the Alliance for Automotive Innovation and individual manufacturers to keep this important service in cars.”

The NAB was joined by Massachusetts Senator Edward Markey and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Nathan Simington in urging automakers to keep AM radio in all vehicles, whether they be gas-powered or electric.

Then seven former administrators of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) wrote a letter to the Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, about how the removal of AM radio from cars will represent a grave threat to future local, state, and federal disaster response and relief efforts.

Ford Is Not The First OEM Who Thinks AM is Past Its Use-By Date

Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) around the world are always looking towards the future, building cars and trucks equipped with what demands will be three to five years from now.

BMW, Mazda, Polestar, Rivian, Telsa, Volkswagen and Volvo have all removed AM radio from their electric vehicles.

FM vs AM Listening

AM (Amplitude Modulation) radio was invented the early 1900s. FM (Frequency Modulation) radio was invented in the 1930s. The shift in listening from AM to FM started in the early 1960s and by the late 70s, FM radio listenership eclipsed AM.

In June 2015, I wrote on this blog about AM Radio & Streaming Radio. I completed a 3,000 mile road trip consisting of listening to AM radio for the first 1,500 miles, and streaming radio the second 1,500 miles. I wrote:

Small signal AM radio stations primarily identify themselves with their FM translator dial position (How’s that saving AM radio?). The “pups” are mostly syndicated, automated, religious, sports or Spanish. They aren’t very engaging, which is probably a good thing if you’re driving usually because you don’t care when you lose the signal. Oh, and just try to hear their translator FM signal; forgetaboutit.

The 50,000 watt signals on AM, like WOWO in Ft Wayne, Indiana, WJR in Detroit, Michigan, WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio and KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania are in another universe when it comes to radio programming.

While listening to WOWO, I heard a powerful morning show that was fun, engaging and tuned into the Ft Wayne area. WJR told me about Frankenmuth, Michigan while their midday show was broadcasting live from this unique resort town on the great lakes. WLW was talking about how the Cincinnati police were getting body cameras and how they were loaning them to the news folks in Cincinnati to wear and learn how they work. It was fascinating radio. And KDKA was a potpourri of information about all things Pittsburgh; thoroughly engaging and very enjoyable.

I rode each of these big signal radio stations for hundreds of miles and enjoyed listening to them every minute. Each was different, unique, fun, engaging LIVE and LOCAL.

The observation I made was that maybe the AM band should be reserved for these high power AM signals that have the bench strength to do great radio.

On my drive home I decided to see how easy it is to listen to streaming radio. Here’s what I wrote about that experience six years ago:

The day of my 15-hour drive home allowed me to listen to a streaming radio station through my iPhone4S, fed into my car’s audio system with no dropout, no buffering, and no disruption of any kind. The audio fidelity beats anything coming out of AM or FM terrestrial radio, and even SiriusXM.

On day two of my drive, I again streamed the Radio Tunes’ Smooth Jazz channel knowing that Jimi King and Stephanie Sales would be hosting a LIVE 3-hour Smooth Jazz show (they do this every Sunday). This turns Radio Tunes into a real live radio station, and I will admit that I love the channel mainly because of all the things it doesn’t do the other 165 hours a week. However, for three of the 7-hours of my second day’s drive, the companionship was really nice.

Again, I experienced no disruption to my listening as I proceeded from Maryland and through the state of West Virginia and into Kentucky. I carried Radio Tunes all the way into Lexington, Kentucky where I stopped to have some lunch.

While eating lunch it occurred to me how well my reception to streaming radio through my smartphone was. It offers excellent fidelity, no dropout, buffering or other disruptions.

Ford Decides to Keep AM Radio on All Its Vehicles

On May 23, just about five weeks after announcing that Ford would remove AM radio on all its vehicles in 2024, it reversed course and said it would not only continue to offer AM on both its gas-powered lineup but also its electric powered fleet as well.

That was an incredibly fast change of heart, but what really left people scratching their heads was that Ford also said it would restore AM radio to other Ford vehicles, via a software update, that never had AM radio in them to begin with.

About that clock…

I titled this blog article “What’s Wrong With The Clock?” and here’s why, Herb Cohen was called the world’s best negotiator and he wrote a New York Times bestseller called “You Can Negotiate Anything.” At a conference, I remember hearing Herb speak about his book and telling the story about a couple buying a grandfather clock.

As I remember it, Herb said this couple always wanted to own a grandfather clock but they were too expensive, until one day they found a grandfather clock in a store priced at $1,000. The couple had not seen a grandfather clock priced that low before and were planning to buy it at that price, when the husband thought he’d try and see if he could negotiate the price down a little. So, he said to the merchant behind the counter, “I will give you $500 for that grandfather clock.” The merchant quickly responded with “SOLD!”

The couple then wondered, what was wrong with the clock.

Negotiation is a process, that involves some back and forth, however when the process, as in the clock story, gets short-circuited, it’s human nature to wonder about your victory. That’s how I feel about the Ford reversal decision.

Moral Victory

What AM broadcasters have won in their battle with the Ford Motor Company is a moral victory. AM radio listening is in decline and there’s nothing in the cards that will change that.

If you say that someone has won a moral victory,

you mean that although they have officially lost

a contest or dispute,

they have succeeded in showing they are right about something.

-Collins Dictionary

Color me skeptical, but I sense that Ford has decided that with every AM radio station in America working to obtain an FM translator and then identifying ALL of their programming with their FM dial position, AM radio will put themselves out of business.

It’s not a beachhead Ford wishes to defend.

I also wonder how listenable AM radio will be in vehicles that don’t have the antenna systems and electrical shielding to insure good reception.

“It is much better to lose a battle and win the war

than to win a battle and lose the war.

Resolve to keep your eyes on the big ball.

-David J. Schwartz, The Magic of Thinking Big

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May 21, 2023 · 3:00 am

Radio’s Disappearing Act

Is AM radio disappearing from new cars the issue the radio industry should be focused on?

I think not and here’s why I say that.

WBZ 1030AM

I grew up listening to WBZ AM out of Boston on my daily college commute in Western Massachusetts. Carl DeSuze, Dave Maynard, Larry Justice, Mean Joe Green in the BZ Copter with Boston traffic reports and Gary LaPierre with the news. It was truly “The Spirit of New England.”

So, when Sue and I were headed to Boston for the graduation of our son-in-law from Berklee College of Music, I put on WBZ as we left our hotel in Spring Valley, New York, and we listened to this station on our three hour drive into Boston, we didn’t listen to it on 1030AM, but via its stream on the StreamS application (App). The station, which is now an all-news operation, sounded fabulous.

The fidelity was of higher quality than FM and there was no buffering or dropout of the signal.

Once in Boston, I tried listening to WBZ over my car’s AM radio and the quality was poor, with noise and interference emanating from our surroundings.

What Does a Radio Look Like?

Back in June of 2017, I wrote a blog article asking what a radio looks like today and the most likely answer to that question was a smartphone. I also addressed in that article of six years ago, I was noticing that hotels were replacing those cheap AM/FM radios with charging stations containing a digital clock, perfect for charging smartphones, tablets and laptops.

Car Radios & The Future

Then in September of 2020, I wrote about how radios first came to be an option for buyers of new cars in June of 1930. But today’s new car buyer wants Bluetooth capabilities more than they want an FM radio; AM radio is not a must-have in 2023 according to the latest Jacob’s Media Techsurvey. What do people connect in the car with that Bluetooth, their smartphones.

What I Recently Witnessed About Radio Use

After COVID began to fade, Sue and I took a trip out to the west coast to visit our children and grand children in that part of the country. What we noticed in every hotel room we stayed was a giant flat screen TV, but no radios, just more of those charging stations with digital clocks.

This prompted another article that same year titled, “Is Radio Up Schitt’s Creek?” Sue and I became big fans of this series out of Canada, that takes place in a fictional town called “Schitt’s Creek,” and takes place primarily in The Rosebud Motel, where the shows characters use televisions, computers and smartphones, but never use a radio.

When watching movies and TV shows, I often look to see if there’s a radio in sight, noticing in British productions they often are, but not in American ones.

Once It Was Radio

When Sue and I stayed in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania we visited the museum inside the Hotel Bethlehem and found that fifty years ago, a hotel having a radio in your room was cutting edge.

The Hotel Bethlehem opened in 1922, two years after the birth of commercial radio in the United States and in 1953, it announced that patrons would enjoy a brand new AM alarm clock radio in every room.

Now seventy years later, Hotel Bethlehem features fiber optic WiFi.

Where Are the Radios?

Last year, Sue and I took a road trip through Atlantic Canada. We stayed in hotels and Bed & Breakfasts (B&Bs) throughout our trip, and found WiFi has totally replaced the AM/FM clock radios.

In Montreal, our room at the Hôtel William Gray, had a Bang & Olufsen (B&O) Bluetooth speaker that easily connected to my iPhone. The fidelity of B&O equipment is legendary and it was a joy to be able to connect any of audio Apps on my phone during our stay.

Radio Set Ownership in the Home

In American homes today, 39% don’t have a single radio set in them, and radio set ownership gets worse for young Americans age 12 to 34, where that number grows to 57% according to Edison Research.

To put this into perspective, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), says only 6% of the population still lacks access to fixed broadband service at threshold speeds. Meaning, the internet is more accessible than broadcast radio.

Are Broadcasters in Denial?

Valerie Geller, who wrote the excellent book “Beyond Powerful Radio,” recently said

“You can sit down with a broadcaster who rails against podcasting and digital audio and artificial intelligence (AI). Then you get in the car with them, they’re using GPS, they’re listening to a podcast, they’ve got SiriusXM, they’ve got Spotify. Podcasting and radio co-exist now. That’s our truth.

Radio is its own worst enemy. We have not spent or invested in developing talent. Every other business has research and development (R&D) and they spend on it because they are investing in the future. I love radio, but I hate the state it’s in.

A lot of the voice-tracking I’ve heard already sounds like AI. There’s nothing human about it. It’s just a broadcaster playing an actor playing a broadcaster. AI is just as good as those voice-tracks because there’s nothing real being said.”

AM Radio Leaving the Dashboard

Automobile manufacturers removing AM radio from the dashboard ought to be alerting the radio industry to BIGGER PROBLEMS. The AM situation is a symptom of what we should be focused on, and that’s creating GREAT RADIO.

If you think it won’t happen to FM next, you haven’t been paying attention.

AM/FM radio sets are vanishing from hotels, B&Bs, American homes and big box retailers.

If your listeners aren’t up in arms about that, then losing AM radio in their dashboard won’t be a big deal to them either.

To paraphrase the great sales trainer Don Beverage:

Make your radio station so valuable to a listener,

that they want to hear your programming more

than you want to broadcast it to them.

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May 7, 2023 · 3:00 am

Where People Today Get Their Music Fix

As a boy, if I wanted to hear music, there were two choices: AM Radio & a phonograph player. Seven decades later, I can’t count the number of choices I have to listen to music, but most of them have something to do with the internet.

More than 64% of individuals primarily choose to play music

over the internet.

– International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI)

Growth In The Recorded Music Market

The IFPI Global Music Report discovered that the recorded music market grew globally by 9.0% in 2022, driven primarily by paid subscription streaming.

Subscription audio streaming grew by 10.3%.

And yes, Sue and I are among the folks who pay for streaming music subscriptions. Why do we pay to hear our music streamed? Well, for one thing, the musical genres we enjoy can no longer be heard on over-the-air (OTA) broadcast radio. Paying a small fee eliminates annoying content while allowing access to an infinite music library.

CD 101.9 FM – Smooth Jazz

What originally sent me to the internet to find a music streaming station was when WQCD, better known as Smooth Jazz CD 101.9, ceased programming this genre of music.

From August 22, 1988 until February 5, 2008, this radio station had been the greater New York City metro’s place to relax; till it wasn’t.

In fact, the smooth jazz format has basically vanished from broadcast radio in the United States but thrives quite well on the internet. My favorite streaming stations for this genre are curated by Radio Tunes. 

Broadcast Radio’s Challenge

While broadcasters are getting themselves all in a lather about “saving AM radio” and whether or not AI (Artificial Intelligence) can replace live personalities, maybe what the radio industry should be focused on is where people are getting their music in a 21st Century World. This graph really tells the story of today’s music consumer.

64% play their music over the internet.

17% listen to music on the radio.

Smooth Jazz CD 101.9 Returns

If you pine to hear Smooth Jazz CD 101.9, it’s back, but only as a streaming radio station. You can listen here: https://smoothjazzcd1019.com/ or you can just say “Alexa, play Smooth Jazz CD 101 9” like I do, when I stream music from the internet.

Music is personal and the internet allows all of us the ability to hear what we want, when we want to hear it. Knowing this, broadcast radio – now more than ever – needs engaging personalities that make an emotional connection with listeners beyond the music they play.

 “Without music, life would be a mistake.”

-Friedrich Nietzsche

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April 30, 2023 · 3:00 am

Radio Has a Passion Problem

This past week, a post from Bridge Ratings President, Dave Van Dyke, has stuck with me as I’ve read all the various news articles about trying to “Save AM Radio.” What the radio industry seems to be missing, the problem is more than AM, it’s about broadcast radio in general.

Houston, We Have a Problem

Apollo 13 had just experienced an explosion and astronaut Jim Lovell called mission control in Houston to report the problem. I think that’s exactly what Dave Van Dyke was doing when he wrote:

“With so much competition for ears over the last 22 years, radio has felt the brunt of all that new tech resulting in severe passion erosion for media that once had the playing field all to itself. Radio’s saving grace are aging boomers unless somehow, radio reinvents itself.”

And with those comments, Dave posted this chart:

CES2023

At the beginning of every new year, Las Vegas is the focus for what’s coming with the Consumer Electronics Show, known simply as CES.

Fred Jacobs shared his visit to the DTS AUTOSTAGE booth and when he asked the booth’s presenter to demonstrate the radio, the person said, “you mean satellite radio?” And then, still confused by the question, started naming different streaming services.

For me, that snippet was both, very telling, and at the same time, sad.

Maybe It’s Time to Give Away Radios, Again

Back when AM radio ruled the airwaves,  Jerry Lee was trying to build an audience to his Philadelphia FM radio station, he began giving away high quality FM only radios that were tuned to WEAZ 101.1 FM.

Working in Iowa, I remember KZIA 102.9 FM was one of the first stations to begin digitally broadcasting and promoting their new service by giving away HD Radios that could pick up the broadcasts.

Last week, Maynard Meyer, owner/operator of KLQP 92.1 FM in Madison, Minnesota wrote in the comments section of this blog:

“Perhaps if radio stations made actual radios available, people would know what they were! We sell them in the lobby at the radio station and we can’t get them in fast enough. The last time I got a half-dozen in, I posted it on our Facebook page…sold them all and had 28 more people asking for one. I sell basic little pocket size AM/FM/Weather band portables about the size of a pack of cigarettes for $20. Believe it or not, there is a demand for a basic radio receiver but they’re rarely available in local stores (one local hardware store actually has a couple on the shelf at all times. Newspapers sell subscriptions, radio stations should sell radios! Come on people, think outside the box! When you need prizes to give away…get some radios! When people come in looking for prize donations…give them radios! Ask your local stores to stock a couple of radios. If people don’t know what radios are…it’s radio’s own damn fault!”

What is radio?

Radio is sound communication by radio waves,

usually through the transmission of music, news,

and other types of programs

 from single broadcast stations

to multitudes of individual listeners

equipped with radio receivers.

-Encyclopedia Britannica

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April 23, 2023 · 3:00 am

What Is That?

One of my granddaughters, who’s 8 years old, was at our home the other evening, before heading off to dance class, when she looked into my curio grandfather clock and exclaimed, “What is that?” I walked over to her to see what she was pointing at, and saw it was one of my miniature radios. I said to my granddaughter, it’s a radio, to which she replied, “What’s a radio?”

What’s a Radio?

We’ve all probably seen the YouTube videos of young people trying to figure out what a rotary telephone is and how to use it, along with having a good chuckle along the way. But, if you’re a lifelong radio person, like me, having your granddaughter ask you what a radio is, can be rather disconcerting.

My grandkids are all connected to audio sources via their iPads, smartphones and smart speakers. The only place they may even be familiar with a radio is when they ride with their parents in the car.

Saving AM Radio

Last week’s blog was another in a series about the state of AM radio in America and if it could be saved. You can read that article HERE

As the latest monthly radio audience ratings get released, I can’t help but notice how most markets have one big AM radio station – maybe – that’s still a dominant force. In our nation’s capital, there is none.

Recently, seven former heads of FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) said “AM radio serves as a linchpin of the infrastructure behind the federal National Public Warning System, which provides emergency-alert and warning information from FEMA to the public during natural disasters and extreme weather events.” Which made me wonder if our nation’s capital is in severe peril, as AM radio listening is virtually non-existent.

However, fear not, as I’m sure that no one in Washington, DC doesn’t know that WTOP News Radio at 103.5 FM is fully staffed and ready to provide that emergency information 24/7.

AM Radio Formats

The real problem, it seems to me, is that people confuse the AM and FM broadcast bands with a particular format. The reality today is, both commercial broadcast bands are filled with music and news/talk/sports formats. What has been different, for many years now, is more people listen to FM radio stations than they do AM stations; and by a wide margin, with most of that listening taking place in people’s cars and trucks.

Car Radio Listening

Research presented this past week at the NAB Show in Las Vegas says 46% of radio listening by people over the age of 13 only takes place in the car; a number that jumps to 58% for teenagers, according to Edison Research.

The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics says that most people’s car trips are only three miles or less, so they aren’t listening for any length of time.

When asked what they listen to on long car trips, streaming jumped to 68% and broadcast radio fell to 32%.

Today’s Youth & Car Ownership

If radio’s last beachhead is a vehicle dashboard, the future for the next generation and car ownership should also be concerning.

It was only about two decades ago that 80% of American youth (18 year olds) had a driver’s license; today that number has fallen to just 60%. Here’s some of the reasons for the drop:

  • Lyft and Uber take them anywhere they want to go
  • Cost of getting a driver’s license
  • Cost of owning a car
  • Fewer teenagers have jobs compared to past decades
  • Having a car is no longer a “virtual necessity” (which the Supreme Court enshrined in law in 1977 for anyone living in America)

What Do Today’s Youth Do?

Today’s youth have their faces buried in apps and social media. It’s all about Instagram and Snapchat, YouTube and video games.

When you can easily access everything you want, from home on your digital devices, it’s easy to understand why teenagers today have little interest in getting a driver’s license and owning a car.

Digital interaction has replaced real social interaction for today’s youth.

And that’s another fly in the ointment of future radio listening by the next generation.

In my youth, there was nothing greater than putting down the top on my convertible, cranking up the radio and driving off to explore the world in my own car.

“On some nights, I still believe that a car

with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles

if you have the right music very loud on the radio.”


-Hunter S. Thompson

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April 16, 2023 · 3:00 am

Saving AM Radio

The radio trades have been full of headlines about saving AM radio, especially in the dashboard of America’s cars and trucks. Here’s some of the most recent ones I’ve seen:

NAB launches campaign for AM radio

State Broadcasters Group Ask AM Stations for Help

Can The Industry and Congress Keep AM Radio in the Dashboard?

Detroit Newspaper Looks at Loss of AM Radio in New Ford Vehicles

The National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations (NASBA) even put out an online survey “to more accurately craft the AM broadcaster owner’s message and to develop actionable items to keep AM [radio] in the dash.”

Let me tell you why everything I’ve read in the broadcasting newsletters, magazines and websites seems to be focused 180-degrees in the wrong direction.

What Features Do New Car Buyers Want?

Keeping AM or FM radio in vehicle dashboards has nothing to do with what broadcasters want, it has everything to do with what car buyers want. The lists from various sources I’ve found are all pretty much the same, though ranking positions may vary a little from publication to publication.  Here is what car buyers want:

  1. Proximity Key – a key fob that allows you to unlock (and lock) your vehicle’s doors and start it without having a physical key in your hand
  2. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – smartphone connectivity is as important as a steering wheel to today’s car buyers*
  3. USB Outlets – lots of places to charge or run tablets, laptops and other electronic equipment
  4. Blind-Spot Monitoring and Rear-Cross-Traffic Alert – to keep you informed of what’s going on around your car while you’re driving
  5. Adaptive Cruise Control – systems that adjust your car’s speed while maintaining a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you.
  6. Surround-View Camera Suite – this puts the backup camera on steroids and allows a driver to see a 360-degree view of everything around their vehicle
  7. Wireless Smartphone Charging – a place you can put your cellphone to charge while you’re driving
  8. Rain-Sensing Windshield Wipers – a step-up from intermittent wipers, these blades automatically adjust to the amount of road spray or rainfall coming at you to keep your windshield clean
  9. Automatic High Beams – No need to raise and lower your headlight power manually, these systems do it automatically for you, so you always have the most light your vehicle is capable of producing shining on the road in front of you
  10. Heated, Ventilated Seats and a Heated Steering Wheel

What you don’t find on any of these lists are people asking for a radio, let alone an AM radio to be in their next vehicle.

What Features Do New Car Buyers Feel They Can Skip?

It surprised me to find that ‘Navigation’ topped lists, but then when Sue & I rented a car a couple of years ago, I learned that rental cars no longer offer a navigation system option. What they do offer is Apple CarPlay and Android Audio that automatically connects to your smartphone and displays the navigation software you enjoy using to the car’s video screen. (And yes, that arrangement worked for us perfectly, while driving cross-country.)

So, let’s look at the features car buyers don’t mind not having:

  1. Navigation
  2. Premium Audio System – most feel the hefty costs to upgrade the standard audio system the car comes with is not worth the money
  3. Onboard WiFi Hotspot – like Satellite Radio (which most new car buyers are also OK with skipping) WiFi Hotspots require a monthly subscription fee and are deemed not worth the added expense

Your Baby’s Ugly

The real problem the radio industry has is that it lives in a reality distortion field that has it thinking it’s still 1960s/70s. In other words, it needs to put on a pair of headphones and hear it for what it is.

John Frost’s most recent Frost Advisory email, told the story of a small AM radio station that broadcast a financial talk show that he occasionally tunes into hear. John says “it’s terrible radio, but the guys are really smart, they cough a lot, have lots of room noise and give insightful advice.”

On Good Friday, the show was a repeat of Thursday’s show and so what the listener heard on Friday were invitations to call in (which they could not because the show wasn’t live), announcements that Friday’s show would be a repeat of Thursdays show (but this was Friday) and commentary about the current day’s stock market prices (the market was closed on Good Friday) and nothing is more meaningless than yesterday’s stock prices.

Sadly, this kind of thing isn’t an isolated incident, but standard operating procedure on both AM and FM radio stations across America.

No one wants to hear their baby is ugly,

but for today’s radio industry, that’s the truth.

What Should Be The Focus of the Radio Industry

What keeps running through my mind is,

if the radio industry spent as much time, money and effort on producing a great product on AM radio stations across America, might their radio listeners be leading the charge with the auto industry to keep AM radio in the dashboard?

Let’s look at what fans make happen when a favorite TV show gets cancelled. The first television program to be saved by its fans was Star Trek in 1968. The franchise began in 1966 and 57 years later, it is still going strong.

More recently, fans of the FOX series Friday Night Lights organized a Facebook group with online petitions to show the network their support for this show, having it continue for five seasons despite its less than stellar audience ratings.

In both cases, it was not a television network that tried to convince an audience to watch a program, it was the audience that convinced a network NOT to cancel a program. That’s how it’s suppose to work.

AM radio isn’t coming back, so what the radio industry should instead be focused on is making FM radio the best that it can be and insuring that it won’t suffer the same fate befalling AM radio.

To win in today’s media marketplace, you must have a product that listeners want to hear;

today’s audio consumer has an infinite number of choices available.

When it comes to what new car buyers want in their next vehicle, broadcast radio is not on their list of wants, needs or desires.

That’s a real wake-up call,

if there ever was one.

*On April 1, 2023, General Motors plans to phase out widely used Apple (AAPL) CarPlay and Android Auto technologies that allow drivers to bypass a vehicle’s infotainment system, shifting instead to built-in infotainment systems developed with Google (GOOG) for future electric vehicles. It made me wonder if this was an April Fools prank, but apparently GM is that tone death. 

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