Y&R CCO to Judge Mercury Awards

12-19-14

Chief Creative Officer at Y&R Jim Elliott will be the Chief Judge for the 24th annual Radio Mercury Awards awards competition. The awards are being held in New York City on June 3, 2015. RAB President and CEO Erica Farber said, "We're so privileged to have Jim Elliott as this year's Chief Judge for the Radio Mercury Awards. Jim has a true appetite for exceptionally creative radio and has shown a commitment to transport the medium to new levels of excellence." Also, radio stations, production companies, colleges, universities, and advertisers can now submit their creative spots and ad campaigns for the 2015 awards.

Nineteen prizes will be awarded in the following categories: Five Agency Production Single, Two Radio Station Produced Single, Student Produced Single, Public Service Announcement, Spanish Language Single, Five Radio Campaigns, Spanish Language Campaign, Best Use of Radio in an Integrated Campaign with Radio, Best Innovative Use of Radio, and Best Radio Promotion of the Year, along with the $50,000 Best of Show. The deadline for this year's call for entry is Monday, April 6, 2015. This year's awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, June 3, 2015 in New York City. For more information regarding rules, guidelines, entry fees, and entry deadlines, log onto www.radiomercuryawards.com.

Jim Elliott joined Y&R NY as Chief Creative Officer in June of 2011 where he has overseen work for such internationally known brands as Land Rover, Campbell Soup Company, and Dell. Prior to Y&R, Jim served as Group Creative Director at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners SF, where he spent five years working on key clients including H?agen-Dazs, Hyundai, Denny's, HP, Netflix and Yahoo! Along the way, he earned the distinction as one of the agency's most awarded creatives. His work for Hyundai helped turn the struggling car manufacturer into one of the most successful car companies in America during one of the worst economic climates on record.

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A Federal Judge Says We Are Radio

4-25-14

Pandora executives wanted to make it clear yesterday that, in its battle with ASCAP, a federal judge declared that Pandora is defined as radio and should be treated like it's radio. Although nobody really gets to declare Pandora is radio, clearly the consumer could care less what you call Pandora, they love it. Auto dealers look at Pandora the same way they look at radio, entertainment the consumer now expects when they slide into their vehicle and push a button on the dash. Pandora has increased its spotload from 4 ads per hour to 6 ads, so it's getting closer to sounding just like radio. Whether or not Pandora is defined as radio does have many implications.

If it is radio, why should Pandora pay anything different than radio does to ASCAP and BMI? If it is radio, why shouldn't Nielsen deliver measurement numbers, side-by-side with radio, using one, easy-to-understand metric so advertisers can make an informed decision based on the behavior of the consumer? Does anyone really believe a 24-year old ad buyer has the time, or desire, to rifle through Nielsen number, Triton stats, ComScore figures to try to figure out where to spend an advertising budget? Pandora CFO Mike Herring says, "We are radio has been our argument all along."

(4/25/2014 9:04:52 PM)
if Pandora were really "radio", then it would be saddled with debt and rebuke innovation. It wouldn't sound as good and it would be losing its best young salespeople.
(4/25/2014 3:37:16 PM)
And you must be a Pandora shill.

Well this website and their associated magazine is called "RADIO" Ink, which is a trade publication for legitimate broadcasters. So yeah, I work in radio. You know... that medium that reaches 92% of the population every week. I work in a media that's free and yet has all those commercials. Oh yeah, our stock price didn't drop 7.8% yesterday. We're profitable. Our business model doesn't have us paying 60% of our revenues to one line item on balance sheet either.

(4/25/2014 2:48:25 PM)
You must work in radio Jimmy. Enjoy the expense of those towers. And the rare times I listen to radio, I usually hear 6 commercials during one break, not in an hour.
(4/25/2014 1:01:22 PM)
Pandora is Radio? Really? Sounds like a red herring to me, pardon the pun. What RADIO frequency do I tune in to listen to Pandora? What are their radio call letters? Can I visit their tower sites? I wonder what sort of transmitter they have? Can I see their public file? Hmmmmmm. Are they really radio? I don't see anyone asking these rhetorical questions! When will Radio Ink, other responsible industry journalists or analysts start asking Mr. Herring these very questions?

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Judge Andrew Napolitano to Address Forecast 2014

10-2-13
Radio Ink is pleased to announce that Judge Andrew P. Napolitano will address Forecast 2014, set for November 20, 2013 at the Harvard Club in New York. Judge Napolitano, Senior Judicial Analyst for Fox News Channel, offers a legal veteran's views on constitutional issues, including those that will be crucial to the future of the broadcast industry.

While on the bench from 1985 to 1995, he presided over more than 150 jury trials, and sat in all parts of the Superior Court -- criminal, civil, equity, and family. Napolitano has been with Fox News Channel since 1998 and provides legal analysis on FNC and Fox Business Network throughout the day, Monday through Friday.

Radio Ink Publisher Eric Rhoads said, "We are honored to have Judge Andrew Napolitano address this year's Forecast. His judicial background and experience will provide a unique perspective on a number of issues, including those impacting business and broadcasting, that are currently generating headlines."

Judge Napolitano has written seven previous books on the U.S. Constitution, two of which have been New York Times best sellers: Constitutional Chaos: What Happens When the Government Breaks Its Own Laws; The Constitution in Exile: How the Federal Government Has Seized Power by Rewriting the Supreme Law of the Land; A Nation of Sheep; Dred Scott?s Revenge: A Legal History of Race and Freedom In America; Lies the Government Told You: Myth, Power and Deception in American History, and It's Dangerous to Be Right When the Government Is Wrong: The Case for Personal Freedom. His most recent book, Theodore and Woodrow: How Two American Presidents Destroyed Constitutional Freedom, argues that presidential violations of the Constitution 100 years ago have brought us many of our woes today. His eighth book, Suicide Pact: The Radical and Unconstitutional Expansion of Presidential Power After 9/11, will be published by New York University Law School as a law review article and by Harper Collins as a book in the spring of 2014.

Napolitano's works have also been published in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the New York Sun, the Baltimore Sun, the (New London) Day, the Seton Hall Law Review, the New Jersey Law Journal and The Newark Star-Ledger. His weekly newspaper column is seen by millions each week, and he lectures nationally on the Constitution, the rule of law, civil liberties in wartime, and human freedom. At Fox News Channel he's known for reporting on government overreach as the government infringes on both liberty and property.

Streamline Publishing EVP/Radio Deborah Parenti notes, "Judge Napolitano brings a constitutional focus to today's national debates. No matter where you sit, his insight should provoke thoughtful discussion at Forecast about how the radio industry will be affected by constitutional interpretation of issues faced today."

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Judge Rules For Cumulus in Birmingham

2-8-2013

A judge has ruled that former Cumulus PD (WJOX-FM) PD Ryan Haney cannot work for Cox (ESPN The Zone) until more evidence is heard in a breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by Cumulus. The Judge set another court date for March 4th. Cumulus claims Haney had a non-compete that prevents him from working for another Birmingham station for one year if he left WJOX, a station he has been with since 1998. In addition to Haney, Cox has been trying to hire popular sports talker Paul Finebaum. Finebaum is sitting out a non-compete after his contract with Cumulus expired.

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Judge Rules Against Cumulus in Syracuse

10-31-2012

Scott and Hunter had been doing mornings in Syracuse for Cumulus' 95X for two years. They resigned on October 16th and were hired by Ed Levine's Galaxy Communications two days later. New York State Supreme Court Justice Deborah Karalunas decided not to issue a temporary restraining order that would have taken them off the air. Cumulus requested the temporary restraining order.

According to Syracuse.com the judge listened to arguments in chambers from attorneys representing both sides and issued a decision 15 minutes later. Karalunas said the two radio hosts cannot use three phrases she said they coined on the air at 95X: Beer Friday, The Show and Chalk Dust. She also said they cannot solicit other employees of Cumulus.

Syracuse.com says a copy of the lawsuit says the morning team violated their former employers' contractual right of first refusal as well as non-solicitation and "other post-employment obligations." The morning hosts have said, in local media, that their contract expired and no offer was made to them. Another court date was set for November 21st.

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Judge Rules Pandora Did Not Violate Michigan Privacy Act

Ruling Goes Pandora's Way

A federal judge in OAKLAND, CA has handed PANDORA a legal victory. U.S. District Court Judge SAUNDRA BROWN ARMSTRONG has dismissed a lawsuit that claimed PANDORA violated a Michigan privacy law by sharing information about FACEBOOK users' music choices. In the ruling, BROWN ARMSTRONG found that a 20 year old MICHIGAN's law only applies if companies lend, rent or sell music, and in PANDORA's case, that the law doesn't apply to companies that stream music online.

The lawsuit came out of FACEBOOK's "instant personalization" program that PANDORA participated in during 2010,

MEDIAPOST.COM notes, "MICHIGAN resident PETER DEACON, was irked enough to file suit. He argued that PANDORA's integration with FACEBOOK violated MICHIGAN's Video Rental Privacy Act. That law prohibits companies that rent, lend or sell music (as well as books and videos) from disclosing customers' identities without their consent. MICHIGAN lawmakers enacted the law more than 20 years ago, at around the same time that Congress passed the federal Video Privacy Protection Act -- which prohibits video providers from disclosing information about consumers' movie-viewing history without their written permission."

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Judge Approves Settlement With BMI

8-28-2012

Judge Louis Stanton, of the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York, has approved a settlement that ends two years of litigation between the Radio Music License Committee and Broadcast Music, concerning the fees payable by the U.S. commercial radio industry to publicly perform the more than 7.5 million plus musical works in the BMI repertoire through 2016. The RMLC represents the vast majority of the nation?s radio stations.

Christian said, ?This is a gratifying result for the radio industry. The new BMI license reflects the reality of our industry?s economy and puts the industry back on a sound footing insofar as its licensing relationship with BMI is concerned. We appreciate the good will which BMI has demonstrated in working with our industry to get this resolution.?

The new BMI license covers the period January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2016 and includes the following: :
? A $70.5 million industry fee credit against 2010-2011 industry payments that is immediately available to the industry (this, in addition to the industry?s retention of $40 million in fee reductions that had been voluntarily agreed to by BMI at the interim fee stage of litigation in calendar year 2010);
? A 1.7 percent of gross revenue fee structure for stations on the blanket music license format, less a standard deduction of 12 percent for revenue derived from terrestrial/analog and HD multicasting broadcasts and a 25 percent standard deduction for revenue attributable to new media uses;
? Retention of the program-period license that benefits many ?news-talk? format stations, with a base fee of 0.2958 percent of gross revenue, less the same standard deductions; and
? Expanded rights coverage to accommodate the industry?s developing new media platforms related to Internet websites, smart phones, and other wireless devices.

The impact of this settlement was reflected in BMI?s June 2012 billing statements that reflected substantial fee decreases. For many stations, the resulting credit balance will carry through to the end of 2012 before it is exhausted. New BMI license forms will be made available to the industry shortly.

The radio industry had faced a serious challenge in terms of restoring reasonable license fee levels during difficult economic times. License fees had ballooned to some 3 percent of industry revenues for both BMI and ASCAP in the post-2008 environment. The settlement approved by the court today effectively rolls back annual industry fees payable to BMI by more than $80 million for 2012 (as against where they stood at the end of the prior license in 2009) and provides for a return to a revenue-based fee structure at a level of 1.7 percent of gross revenue. In addition, the new agreement covers (at the same 1.7 percent rate) the range of new media platforms in which the radio industry is increasingly engaged.

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Judge in Emmis Case to Rule August 31st

8-1-2012 (8:30 PM Update)

U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker will wait until August 31st before making a ruling in the Emmis vs. preferred shareholders case. Barker listened to two days of testimony, then asked both sides to try to work it out one more time. The preferred shareholders are owed millions in back dividends and Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan wants to make that go away so he can continue to rebuild the company and reduce debt.

Preferred shareholders want the judge to block a shareholder vote that was scheduled for August 14th. That vote will be delayed, according to Smulyan.

John Barrett of Corre Partners Management LLC, which controls the plaintiff fund, told Radio Ink last night, "We think our attorneys did a terrific job in presenting our case the past two days and we're very optimistic that judge barker, when she weighs our arguments and the compelling evidence we submitted, will see the strong merits of our case. We're looking forward to judge Barker's ruling at the end of the month.  Our group still just simply wants the Emmis crusade to stop so that we can continue to own the preferred securities with all the accompanying rights we purchased in the market. We believe there is substantial upside potential for both Emmis and our securities, in spite of Emmis' attempts to prevent that."

The judge appeared to show some sympathy for the preferred shareholders. According to Bloomberg she said, ?Let?s say all requirements were satisfied. There is no doubt that Mr. Barrett and his group were victimized when they failed to sell their shares to Emmis and Smulyan. They were left holding an empty bag." The preferred shareholders allege that Emmis did not properly disclose its intent. Smulyan told Radio Ink last night he was very happy with how the hearing went.

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8-1-2012

Bloomberg reports that a federal judge will hear more arguments today after Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan, COO Pat Walsh and representatives from the preferred shareholders group testified Tuesday. The investors want the judge to block an August 14th shareholder meeting from taking place. It's at that meeting where millions of dollars in preferred stock dividends might be wiped away. Smulyan told the judge he did not have plans to take the company private, which is one of the accusations being made by the preferred shareholders. They are also worried they are about two weeks away from losing millions of dollars. 

According to Bloomberg, Emmis attorney Richard Kempf said, ?Emmis management is fulfilling its responsibility. It?s impossible for every constituency to be satisfied.? Smulyan testified he did not have plans to take the company private. He tried that and doesn't want to go down that road again. ?I?m worn out from two years ago. I just don?t want to do it. I can?t foresee a situation in which that would change.?

John Barrett from Core partners told the court that Walsh warned him last year Corre risked its investment being rendered worthless if it didn?t participate in the swaps program, according to the Bloomberg report. Barrett said he came away from that conversation believing Walsh had effectively said, ?I?m going to annihilate you.? When asked about that conversation, Walsh said he did not attempt to threaten Barrett ?There?s no coercion. I?m not allowed to coerce."

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(TALENT) How To Judge Your Benchmarks

7-16-2012

By Randy Lane and Angela Perelli

Kramer, from That Guy Kramer, asked us a great question after a benchmark mapping article we wrote. He asked, "What kind of TEST to put features through to actually determine whether they are A, B or C?" Good one Kramer!

Here's your answer, divided up into two categories, Listener Feedback and Internal Feedback.

Listener Feedback:

1. Ratings: Check the ratings or hour-by-hours to look for spikes or drops for fixed-time features. It is extremely important to review several weeks or months of data to get an accurate reading. Looking at just one or two weeks could be deceiving.

2. Callout/"Perceptuals": Some callout or online music research allows you to get verbatim comments from listeners about why they think the station or morning show is improving or declining. Look for unaided comments from people about aspects of the show. "I love Bad Boyfriend Poker!" is an indication that it's cutting through.

3. Unaided Listener Feedback: What kind of response do the show's features receive on your social media platforms and at appearances? (Facebook can be tricky though. Treat feedback on Facebook like requests. Facebook show fans, like regular callers, are mainly P1s and may direct you toward content that is P1-, rather than cume-friendly.) Too much "inside" content and you're not inclusive anymore, so be careful.

4. Listener Panels: In-house listener panels can give you a sense of what specific elements of the show are connecting with your P1s and P2s. Here are tips on how to conduct your own listener panel.

Internal Feedback:

 Once you've gathered whatever external feedback you can, conduct a meeting with all the show players, program/brand director and anyone else directly related to the morning show. Put each benchmark through the following filter.

-- What is the listener feedback (from all the above places) on the feature? You will know the "keeper" benchmarks right away. For all other benchmarks, ask yourself these questions:

-- Is it still RELEVANT? (For instance, "Are you smarter than a 5th grader" might have run its course.) 

-- Is it consistently ENTERTAINING and fresh?

-- Does it contain a built-in element of TOPICALITY that keeps it fresh? 

-- WHAT DOES YOUR GUT TELL YOU? Typically in meetings where we conduct this exercise, when show players start focusing on their show one benchmark at a time, they just know. Trust your instincts most of the time. Occasionally a show will tire of a feature LONG before the audience does.

Email randy@randylane.net
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Angela Perelli is a SVP at the The Randy Lane Company (www.randylane.net). She can be reached at angela@randylane.net  www.facebook.com/TheRandyLaneCompany  www.twitter.com/TheRandyLaneCo

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Ludwig Named Chief Judge For Mercury Awards.

1-30-2012

The Radio Advertising Bureau says Campbell Ewald Chairman and CEO Bill Ludwig will be the 2012 Chief Judge for the Radio Mercury awards. RAB President and CEO Jeff Haley said, ?We?re excited to welcome Bill back to the Radio Mercury Awards as Chief Judge. Bill brings a passion for strong creative executions and national to local communication, both of which are key factors to creating successful advertising campaigns.? Ludwig said, ?As the media landscape continues to evolve, brands are using radio in new and innovative ways to make a very personal connection with the consumer. These groundbreaking ideas are those we look forward to recognizing this year.?

READ OUR RECENT COVER STORY WITH BILL LUDWIG

Mercury awards will be handed out in the Agency Production, Radio Station Produced, Student, PSA, Spanish Language, Radio Campaign, Integrated Campaign, and Best of Show. New to this year?s awards, a Radio Innovation prize will also be awarded.  This new award will seek out ahead of the curve, groundbreaking, out-of-the-box, revolutionary radio creative work. For more information on the Radio Mercury Awards, log onto www.radiomercuryawards.com.

Throughout Ludwig?s creative career he was responsible for developing several iconic campaigns and now leads the Agency with a roster featuring many of the most recognized brands in advertising including General Motors, OnStar, Alltel Wireless, Kaiser Permanente, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Postal Service. Ludwig is a member of the American Advertising Federation Hall of Achievement and recognized as a true visionary and strategic leader in advertising. He also serves on the Ad Council?s Board of Directors and has served as the Radio Mercury Award Chief Judge in 2002.

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Report: Stern May Become Reality Show Judge

You never know with Howard. This could be a publicity stunt in the end. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Stern is "in serious negotiations" with NBC to be the next judge on "America's Got Talent." Piers Morgan is leaving the program which leaves an empty seat at the table next to Howie Mandel and Sharon Osbourne. The Journal says Howard's asking price is $15 million a year and, the paper says, the program might even be moved from California to New York to accommodate Howard.

Howard continues to air his long-running successful morning program on SiriusXM. Read the entire journal article HERE

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