Revenue Will Shift To Digital Thanks To Nielsen

1-9-14

MediaPost cites a report released by Wall Street analyst, J.P.Morgan?s Doug Anmuth, called "Nothing But Net." The report says as Nielsen rolls out its online measurement service, ad budgets will be driven from TV and radio to digital. Anmuth wrote, ?Just as we are seeing a shift in digital video measurement with YouTube, we expect streaming music providers including Pandora to gravitate towards partnerships with traditional measurement providers. Nielsen is deeply engaged in developing the technology to measure streaming radio and it is working to fully integrate Nielsen Audio.? Anmuth says TV buys will be impacted by YouTube with Nielsen now measuring that online service.

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Many Look Great At The Prom Thanks To Cumulus

5-8-13

Kudos to Cumulus-owned WZNS-FM in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. For the past nine years, WZNS has provided new, and almost new, prom dresses to local high school girls whose families may not have the financial means to afford one. With over 450 dresses to choose from, this spring 111 young ladies from 17 high schools received prom dresses, many with the tags still on them -- over $22,000 worth of dresses this year.

The station partners with a local mall, which provides store space and dressing rooms, and a dry cleaner which provides free cleaning services. The ladies are also treated to makeovers. Every year, the campaign impacts different families and every year the circumstances are different...from a bad economy, to students displaced by Hurricane Katrina, to families whose savings have been depleted by medical bills. Prom dresses are expensive and are not a necessity...except to young ladies who may only get to experience one or two high school proms. "It's a very rewarding program for our staff, our station and the local community," said a station spokesperson.

What are you doing that's "SPECTACULAR" in your community. Send all the details with pictures to edryantheeditor@gmail.com

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Tim McGraw Thanks Crook & Chase

2-27-2013

Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase were among the 2013 class inducted into the Country Radio Hall of Fame this year. One of the longest-running broadcast duos in Country music, Crook and Chase were introduced by Country superstar Tim McGraw, who took the opportunity to thank them for helping launch his music career in 1993.  McGraw credited Crook and Chase for "?believing in me when there wasn't much to believe in." 

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Debt Free Thanks to Radio

12-14-2012

"I'm debt free thanks to radio." Those are the words of Roof Life of Oregon CEO Patrick Morin. When you listen to Morin speak, he makes you think he's a paid spokeseman for the radio industry. Radio has done that much for his business and his life. Morin tells Radio Ink that eight years ago he started advertising on one station in Oregon with an annual budget of $30,000. Today, he spends $500K on up to nine stations. He has only one location and radio has propelled his business from 7 employees and $1 million in annual revenue to 60 employees and $6 million in sales.

Morin understands the power of radio. He understands how to use radio. And, most importantly, he understood the key to his success was the creative. If radio had more Patrick Morin stories, 7% of an advertiser's budget would never be an issue for the industry again. Morin will be featured in an upcoming issue of Radio Ink magazine. Here's part of his story.

RI: What can you say to advertisers? The radio industry is having a hard time getting advertisers to believe in it the way you do. What would you say to people who say there is no way to tell how radio works or if they are getting their return on their investment?
Morin: Everyone is going to start at some level. But, if you understand how it works, it's going to take 4 months for the marathon runner, called radio, to start bringing you constant, never-ending growth. Never go off, because if you go off, you have to go back down the mountain and start up a different one. Just add to it. Or hold the line.

It's a science. Marketing comes before sales. Sales come before production. Then it goes down the train. I see a lot of businesses that don't have an engine. They are thinking, "I do referrals. I have a store front." They come up with all sorts of reasons to fail. But, the reality is, if you are not consistently telling somebody how you can make their life better, more peaceful, more beneficial, all the things that you can do with your position, they are not going to call you.

RI: You talk about how important creative is. It sounds like you spend a lot of time making sure the creative is right.
Morin: I spend a lot of time finding someone who understands my position and knows where I want to go. Then, I let them go. I don't bug them. I don't talk to them. We meet once a year for 5 hours. We strategize and then I leave the creative people alone, because truly, creative people are odd. They are different. Creative people are not strategists. They are creative. I am not creative. I wrote the best commercials I could with what I could learn. Mastering the language, the art of persuasion, the art of the English transference of emotion is what a good ad writer can do. I can't do it. I've been smart enough to learn that point right there and then go find them.

RI: Give radio sellers advice on how they can be more confident about the power of radio?
Morin: I think if you go to a business owner, you have to talk in the language of a business owner. They want to grow their business. If they would just go out with a consistent message of "we can help you grow your business by talking to your clients about relevant issues that you have to offer that will make their life better." When they get a business owner to consider, they cannot deliver crap. That's the reputation that I ran into. You have to have writers that understand the heart of each business.

With all the stuff that goes on in a radio station, you have to get good writers. Account reps are not writers. I would be a great account rep. I would go and I would dig in. But they wouldn't see me very often. I would have a team of writers that would know how to write. If you could do that consistently, it will help move the business owner's "who gives a rip" meter. 

Morin says the fact that radio works is a "gimme". It's whether you are willing to use radio correctly and use it at a level that will bless your life, he adds. "It has changed my life. We are a 100% debt-free company. We have a lot of money in the bank. We plan for growth. We take care of our people. It's amazing how putting the train of marketing in front of your company and using radio and the power thereof has radically changed our company."

It's important to note that a big part of Morin's success is the fact that he's a student of the teachings of Roy Williams and credits a lot of his success to the path Roy and his extended team have put him on. More about that on Monday in the headlines.

(12/15/2012 8:54:01 AM)
HD Radio and DRM get "poor" test results in Brazil:

http://tinyurl.com/bqt8akl

(12/14/2012 7:12:16 PM)
Meanwhile, I have to wonder if the "glass cage" reference is not pervasive... and another example of toxic positions held internally in the business.

In fact, I have a great deal of sympathy for the radio sales force, given the lack of quality of the material they are taking to the street.

(12/14/2012 6:19:28 PM)
Yes, Mel. I tried to actually sell radio...back when it was easier. And I still couldn't find my butt with both hands. And yes, to Jerry. That was the correct interpretation. I mean, a few or 4 spots per week would be kinda silly. I meant: get everybody 3 or 4 times a week.
(12/14/2012 2:59:08 PM)
With due respect to Mel, and in defense of Ron, it appears Ron is suggesting a campaign to reach a station's cume (every listener) with a weekely frequency of 3 or 4. That would be a pretty healthy schedule, would it not?

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Thanks for The Memories And You're Fired

5-16-2012

Excluding Jerry Lee of course, life can be difficult for stand-alone stations in major markets when there are clusters up the road that can do more with less and cut expenses and still operate during recessions. Independently owned WFNX has been competing in the Boston market for nearly 30 years. Until yesterday that is, when Stephen Mindich notified his staff he was selling to Clear Channel. He then fired 17 of the 21 employees. Mindich said, "Despite its celebrated history, its cutting edge programming , its tradition of breaking new music, its ardent fans among listeners and advertisers, for some time it has been difficult to sustain the station  -- especially since the start of the Great Recession." Read the entire Mindich memo below.

Clear Channel owns four stations in the Greater Boston area, including WXKS-FM (KISS 108), WJMN-FM, WXKS-AM and WKOX-AM. Clear Channel CEO John Hogan said, "This was a great opportunity to expand our footprint and our listenership in Boston, a key market with millions of fans who love radio as much as we do. We look forward to adding 101.7 to our Boston broadcasting family." The purchase price between the two parties was not announced.

More coverage on the story HERE and HERE

Here is the memo Mindich putting an end to it all at WFNX-FM
Dear Members of the PM/CG Family:

Because this is an emotional announcement to make, let me cut right to the chase. This morning I met with the staff of WFNX  to announce the pending sale of the station to Clear Channel Communications.

Over the years, WFNX has done spectacular things. Since 1983 the station has played an historic role in bringing new music to audiences in and around Boston. We introduced Nirvana and Pearl Jam to wider audiences in 1991. Together with the Boston Phoenix we staged the notorious Green Day concert at the Hatch Shell in 1994. Three years later, FNX and the Phoenix organized a group reading and broadcast of Allen Ginsberg?s controversial poem Howl, featuring talents as varied as rocker Peter Wolf and Poet Lauriat Robert Pinsky, along with civil liberties attorney Harvey Silverglate and me. We?ve formed creative partnerships with local museums and many other important not-for-profit organizations such as the AIDS Action Committee. In addition, for years we broadcast One In Ten, the only program on a commercial radio station in the nation dedicated to the issues and lifestyles of the GLBT community. And throughout it all, FNX has continued to break new music, most recently the work of Foster the People, Fun, and Gotye -- to name just three. 

Here comes the catch....

Despite its celebrated history, its cutting edge programming , its tradition of breaking new music, its ardent fans among listeners and advertisers, for some time it has been difficult to sustain the station  -- especially since the start of the Great Recession.

And that is why the station is being sold.

The mechanics of the situation are this:

WFNX will the file the paperwork necessary to trigger the license transfer with the Federal Communication Commission later today.

WFNX will remain on the air during the time it takes to complete the FCC process.

Events and concerts -- such as the Best Music Poll (June 13th) and the Seaport Six (June 14th) -- will take place as scheduled. The best place to get news about the last round of FNX happenings will be to stay tuned to the station itself.

In closing, let me salute the scores of immensely talented and dedicated staff who sold the ads, promoted the events, programmed and played the music, and did so many other things that made WFNX a national force in modern rock and -- most important of all -- a force, an outlet, and a sponsor for the music that defined Boston for nearly 30 years. It was a great run and I will miss the station.

Thank you all,

Stephen M. Mindich

(5/18/2012 3:54:44 AM)
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(5/17/2012 12:14:52 PM)
I can't imagine such a short viewed person. The people on that station made it worth listening to, for those who did. If he had any decency, he would leave the stsation intact, even down to the janitor, as it was turned over to its new owners. Clear Channel would likely given them the boot, but maybe not. Point is, don't wreck it as you turn it over.

'My' station was done that way... Owner died, someone new took over, and got rid of everybody. She had no knowledge of broadcasting, but insisted she knew more than anybody there. The station is not being 'profitable'. But SHE got her way.

(5/17/2012 11:23:39 AM)
Don't know the station. Don't know the personalities. Don't know the market. Don't know the owner's circumstances.
I do wonder, however, if the station could deliver some decent Books and how well their ad-clients made out.
I mean, there's nothing like boxcar numbers and deliriously happy advertisers to keep an outfit trundling along quite nicely.
(5/17/2012 11:05:16 AM)
Stephen Mindf*ck does it again!
(5/17/2012 10:34:46 AM)
It is sad to see another great independent station sold off as well as talented people out of work. My prayers for everyone to be well. It was a great run! Thank you!

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Arbitron Revenue Up Thanks to Price Hike in PPM

2-14-2012

Arbitron reported revenue of $120.1 million during the fourth quarter of 2011, an increase of 7.6 percent compared to revenue of $111.7 million during the fourth quarter of 2010.  Revenue in the quarter benefited from the continued phase-in of contracted price increases for the Portable People Meter and increases in the sales of discretionary services.

Arbitron President and CEO Bill Kere said "In 2011, we made significant progress toward achieving the objectives we outlined during last year's call: growth in our core revenue, improved margins in the wake of the full commercialization of our PPM radio ratings service, and entry into new markets in the US and overseas. Importantly, we were able to expand our margins while making investments in both the quality of our core services and in our growth strategies such as digital radio, cross platform and mobile measurement."

"For 2012 and beyond, we see our basic strategies as unchanged. We will pursue opportunities to improve performance and deliver compelling returns by leveraging our existing PPM and diary platforms, by continuing to seek out cost efficiencies and by deploying our financial and other resources to cultivate new markets. We will pursue these strategies with the goal of building long-term value for our customers, our employees and our shareholders."

Costs and expenses for the fourth quarter increased 7.3 percent, from $92.7 million in 2010 to $99.5 million in 2011.  The increase was primarily due to increased cost of revenue associated with providing PPM and Diary services, operating costs incurred by Arbitron Mobile, as well as year-over-year increases in performance and share-based compensation.

Net income for the fourth quarter of 2011 was reduced by a $3.5 million pre-tax, non-cash impairment charge associated with the Company's minority stake in a privately-held media research firm as well as a $2.1 million pre-tax operating loss for Arbitron Mobile Oy (previously known as Zokem Oy), which was acquired in July 2011. Net income for the full year 2011 increased 19.8 percent to $53.3 million compared with $44.5 million in 2010.  GAAP earnings per share (diluted) for the full year 2011 were $1.93 compared with $1.64 per share (diluted) in 2010. 

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Clear Channel Rev Jumps Thanks To Traffic

Clear Channel saw a 7% jump in Q3 revenue thanks to the recently purchased Westwood One traffic division. When you back out Westwood One, revenue was up 2% for the quarter. National revenue was also up, so when you read between the lines, it sounds like local advertising was either flat or down for the quarter. Of the $55 million revenue increase in the radio division, $41 million came from the traffic division and $13 million from national.

The national revenue increase was lead by restaurants, automotive, utilities, financial services and healthcare. The company also reported the 4th quarter looks flat compared to 2010, "bookings for the 4th quarter are challenged and visibility is limited."

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Nicki Minaj Thanks Her Fans with 'Did It On 'Em' Video

by Erika Ramirez, N.Y.  |   May 30, 2011 2:00 EDT

To thank her dedicated Barbs and BarbKens, Nicki MInaj released an Internet version of her video for, 'Did It On 'Em.' The DJ Scoob Doo directed video is a montage of tour footage shot while on Lil Wayne's 'I Am Music II' tour. 'Did It On 'Em' captures Minaj performing, signing fans' bosoms and piggyback riding on Drake. 

Put your number twos in the air.

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