TALENT)Radio Reality

3-19-2013

We can monitor almost any radio station we want, anytime and from anywhere. There is a single, disturbing phenomenon to which I am exposed ? at all times, everyday, everywhere, in all formats, on major market stations and on single-stickers. Strother Martin, who played the prison farm "captain" in the movie ?Cool Hand Luke? put it aptly when he viciously beat Luke down and declared, ?What we?ve got heyah is?failure.. t? communicate!?

He had no real need to make that declaration. It was a moot point. He did, indeed, communicate ? and extremely well. His required outcome was that of complete and utter control. He communicated this quite effectively with dogs, guards, guns, beatings, and impolite commentary. He not only communicated effectively, he was, ultimately, understood perfectly.

By the time I was being fitted for my official H/R hat, I had become familiar with speech-cues that reveal much of what a person?s positions, beliefs, and values are in some context or other. What a person is saying reveals a great deal about those elements of their experience ? even as they are unaware of them. Unfortunately for most radio presenters ? on-air and commercial ? what is spoken also reveals serious limitations.

I?ll go out on a skinny, but stable ledge, and state the following: The vast majority of people in radio who either deliver or have influence over what goes on the air have little affection or respect for either the audience or the advertisers. Plus, many of these same folk go a step further and actually demonstrate a disrespect and disgust for these same groups. Some have taken the position to where they have developed a poorly camouflaged fear of, and rage towards, listeners and clients. (Hallway comments will suffice as evidence.) Strong accusation, I will admit. But then, the behaviors are there to be observed. Besides, it?s all out in the open anyway ? right there on the radio!

Now, I already have enough friends in radio to scream bloody blue murder in their own defense without my inviting readers to do likewise. I am unmoved and unconvinced by their wails of innocence, and I will soon present some of the evidence. Hamlet?s mom, Gertrude, said, ?The lady doth protest too much, methinks.? There?s a lot of that around.

Music-radio is, to my mind, the worst, overall offender. The airwaves are pervasively littered with examples. This presented derision of audiences and advertisers is, fortunately for us, just a tad below a level of awareness in these sectors. Were it ever specifically pointed out how music radio demonstrates its appalling disgust for the very people they are purported to serve, the resulting responses could get noisy ? and ugly. Disturbing, also, that radio, with the greatest reach of all major media, gets around 5-7 percent of available advertising revenue -- a clue that much of the audience and advertiser-base have already picked up on this unacknowledged-by-radio disregard for their well-being.

Without digressing, a point about audience treatment: I am not against satire, ridicule and, where deemed useful, offensive material being aired. Frankly, I often prefer it ? as a performer and a listener. What has me punching stations out is when I am, usually accidentally, insulted! Offend me all day long, but if a comment seems to be targeted at me and it insults my intelligence, I start making get-off-the-station moves. No surprise, then, that so many fingertips have impressive calluses.

As to the evidence: The first piece is easy -- and indefensible. Music radio stations make great efforts and take long strides to supply the barest minimum of quality products and services to their audiences and advertisers. This is unequivocal. The last decades of culling on-air and creative departments will long stand as indictable offenses perpetrated by a cruel, short-sighted, fearful, uninformed, and unimaginative corps of managers and ownership. These crimes have no applicable statute of limitations and everyone who is a victim of them suffers ? to this day.

Further, and I refer back to the prison farm captain -- radio stations behave as if they have authority over me and every other member of the audience. They are continuously telling me ? telling me! ? what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. Not only that, they presume to know where I am, what I am doing, with whom I am doing it, and how much I am enjoying/not enjoying it. Plus, if we listen more closely, they are also telling me what I am thinking, what I believe, and what I value.

These vocalizations are more than demonstrations of arrogance and assumptions of authority. They are also flat-out inaccurate and they are insulting. As a result, the speaker can sound like a clueless, callous, self-absorbed, and disconnected dolt. I am inclined to wonder how much of the above is a demonstration of respect or affection on the part of the speakers or the stations. Were we to take even more liberties, we would need guards, dogs, guns, and warrants to administer beat-downs with impunity.

I mention these elements as they are spectacularly glaring offenses that leave gaping communication wounds in the very people we are supposed to be serving. There are many more pieces of evidence ? more subtle but just as powerful and pervasive ? that are persuading audiences and advertisers to head for the hills. Radio is as guilty of the sins of commission as of omission. That most may not be aware of them yet will not stand up in court.

Even as advertisers and audiences are getting abused and insulted, they can and do walk away ? with no remorse or penalties. This too is a reality with which radio is, so far, unwilling to deal. Even though a lack of understanding allied with complacency can ruin everything, radio can still consider the therapeutic alternative because, ?What we?ve got heyuh is? failure t? educate!? Time to begin that process, is it not?

Ronald T. Robinson has been involved in Canadian Radio since the '60s as a performer, writer and coach and has trained and certified as a personal counsellor. Ron makes the assertion that the most important communicative aspects of broadcasting, as they relate to Talent and Creative, have yet to be addressed. Check out his website www.voicetalentguy.com

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TALENT)Radio Reality

3-19-2013

We can monitor almost any radio station we want, anytime and from anywhere. There is a single, disturbing phenomenon to which I am exposed ? at all times, everyday, everywhere, in all formats, on major market stations and on single-stickers. Strother Martin, who played the prison farm "captain" in the movie ?Cool Hand Luke? put it aptly when he viciously beat Luke down and declared, ?What we?ve got heyah is?failure.. t? communicate!?

He had no real need to make that declaration. It was a moot point. He did, indeed, communicate ? and extremely well. His required outcome was that of complete and utter control. He communicated this quite effectively with dogs, guards, guns, beatings, and impolite commentary. He not only communicated effectively, he was, ultimately, understood perfectly.

By the time I was being fitted for my official H/R hat, I had become familiar with speech-cues that reveal much of what a person?s positions, beliefs, and values are in some context or other. What a person is saying reveals a great deal about those elements of their experience ? even as they are unaware of them. Unfortunately for most radio presenters ? on-air and commercial ? what is spoken also reveals serious limitations.

I?ll go out on a skinny, but stable ledge, and state the following: The vast majority of people in radio who either deliver or have influence over what goes on the air have little affection or respect for either the audience or the advertisers. Plus, many of these same folk go a step further and actually demonstrate a disrespect and disgust for these same groups. Some have taken the position to where they have developed a poorly camouflaged fear of, and rage towards, listeners and clients. (Hallway comments will suffice as evidence.) Strong accusation, I will admit. But then, the behaviors are there to be observed. Besides, it?s all out in the open anyway ? right there on the radio!

Now, I already have enough friends in radio to scream bloody blue murder in their own defense without my inviting readers to do likewise. I am unmoved and unconvinced by their wails of innocence, and I will soon present some of the evidence. Hamlet?s mom, Gertrude, said, ?The lady doth protest too much, methinks.? There?s a lot of that around.

Music-radio is, to my mind, the worst, overall offender. The airwaves are pervasively littered with examples. This presented derision of audiences and advertisers is, fortunately for us, just a tad below a level of awareness in these sectors. Were it ever specifically pointed out how music radio demonstrates its appalling disgust for the very people they are purported to serve, the resulting responses could get noisy ? and ugly. Disturbing, also, that radio, with the greatest reach of all major media, gets around 5-7 percent of available advertising revenue -- a clue that much of the audience and advertiser-base have already picked up on this unacknowledged-by-radio disregard for their well-being.

Without digressing, a point about audience treatment: I am not against satire, ridicule and, where deemed useful, offensive material being aired. Frankly, I often prefer it ? as a performer and a listener. What has me punching stations out is when I am, usually accidentally, insulted! Offend me all day long, but if a comment seems to be targeted at me and it insults my intelligence, I start making get-off-the-station moves. No surprise, then, that so many fingertips have impressive calluses.

As to the evidence: The first piece is easy -- and indefensible. Music radio stations make great efforts and take long strides to supply the barest minimum of quality products and services to their audiences and advertisers. This is unequivocal. The last decades of culling on-air and creative departments will long stand as indictable offenses perpetrated by a cruel, short-sighted, fearful, uninformed, and unimaginative corps of managers and ownership. These crimes have no applicable statute of limitations and everyone who is a victim of them suffers ? to this day.

Further, and I refer back to the prison farm captain -- radio stations behave as if they have authority over me and every other member of the audience. They are continuously telling me ? telling me! ? what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. Not only that, they presume to know where I am, what I am doing, with whom I am doing it, and how much I am enjoying/not enjoying it. Plus, if we listen more closely, they are also telling me what I am thinking, what I believe, and what I value.

These vocalizations are more than demonstrations of arrogance and assumptions of authority. They are also flat-out inaccurate and they are insulting. As a result, the speaker can sound like a clueless, callous, self-absorbed, and disconnected dolt. I am inclined to wonder how much of the above is a demonstration of respect or affection on the part of the speakers or the stations. Were we to take even more liberties, we would need guards, dogs, guns, and warrants to administer beat-downs with impunity.

I mention these elements as they are spectacularly glaring offenses that leave gaping communication wounds in the very people we are supposed to be serving. There are many more pieces of evidence ? more subtle but just as powerful and pervasive ? that are persuading audiences and advertisers to head for the hills. Radio is as guilty of the sins of commission as of omission. That most may not be aware of them yet will not stand up in court.

Even as advertisers and audiences are getting abused and insulted, they can and do walk away ? with no remorse or penalties. This too is a reality with which radio is, so far, unwilling to deal. Even though a lack of understanding allied with complacency can ruin everything, radio can still consider the therapeutic alternative because, ?What we?ve got heyuh is? failure t? educate!? Time to begin that process, is it not?

Ronald T. Robinson has been involved in Canadian Radio since the '60s as a performer, writer and coach and has trained and certified as a personal counsellor. Ron makes the assertion that the most important communicative aspects of broadcasting, as they relate to Talent and Creative, have yet to be addressed. Check out his website www.voicetalentguy.com

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A Cold, Harsh Reality For Radio

3-8-2012

by Radio Ink Publisher Eric Rhoads

I stayed in my seat and listened politely, though I wanted to jump up and cross-examine the people onstage. Frankly, I couldn't believe what I'd just heard, and it was so important that it needed to be clarified immediately. Could it really be true? I'd been predicting it for years, but when I heard those words, it was like seeing an old friend I loved being knifed in the gut. I felt victimized.

But I also felt vindicated. The moment I am referring to was during our Radio Ink Convergence conference, held earlier this week. For two days, digital experts talked about the surprising growth of online radio listening in the past 12 months. We heard statistics and facts about significant increases. We heard that the iPad is the new transistor radio and the smartphone is the new radio receiver. We heard that Google's YouTube is about to launch a radio service like Pandora, and that Apple is doing the same. So what I heard should have been no surprise, and in a way it wasn't. But it was a shock.
For a decade or more, I have been banging my fist on the table, telling radio that a moment will come that the industry must prepare for. Some listened, but most ignored it as some "out there" prediction from an overzealous futurist. Yet what I'm about to tell you is not a prediction, and it's not a guess. It's a fact. And it was a giant shock for the people who attended Convergence.
On the stage were three representatives of the automotive industry: one from Gartner Research, a highly respected tech research firm; one from the Silicon Valley offices of General Motors, where they design interactive experiences and new technology for their cars; and one who represents an industry association for the connected car. They were on a panel moderated by Buzz Knight of Greater Media, and they talked about the direction of in-car experiences, the digital dashboard, and what will be coming next to the dash of the car -- apps, Internet radio and audio in the car, and other things we knew were on the way. Then, suddenly, this statement was heard:
"AM and FM are being eliminated from the dash of two car companies within two years and will be eliminated from the dash of all cars within five years."
Gulp. Really? Did someone really just say that?
The panelists went on to say that young people don't use radio anymore, and automakers see no need to continue to put radios in the car. The kids want Pandora, Spotify, and other audio services, and if they want radio, they can get it on TuneIn or iHeart or a similar service.
I couldn't sit quietly anymore, so I went to the stage, apologized for interrupting, and started cross-examining the panel to find out if they really meant what they were saying. I was fuming inside, because it appeared they were working from incorrect assumptions. I wanted to find out if they were backed by solid data, or if they just believe "Nobody listens to the radio."
Probing The Research
When I questioned the panelists on their statements about the lack of youth listening, I asked if that was based on data, or is just a Silicon Valley perception. After all, Arbitron listening statistics don't support their claim, and they needed to know that. Though I've seen personal evidence that young people seem to be listening less, Arbitron numbers say that's not true.

The answer I received from the General Motors panelist is that GM uses youth consultants MTV Scratch, a unit of the giant media company Viacom that consults with brands about connecting with consumers and advises GM on trends. I was told there was extensive research to support the lack of interest in radio among youth and that GM researches everything to make sure they are giving consumers what they want. When I asked who did the research, I was told these are proprietary studies but clearly show trends saying young people no longer use radio.
Goodbye, AM & FM
Now that I'd established that GM doesn't believe that youth listen to radio, I wanted to probe the statement that two car companies are pulling AM and FM radios, looking for specifics. I was told that is proprietary information, and that which two companies won't have in-dash AM and FM couldn't be shared. All they would say is that it was decided a year ago, and it will be happening within two years. The change is already in the works. This wasn't a prediction that this might happen.It was stated as a fact by a top industry researcher. And it seems GM's Chevrolet could be one of those automakers.
Will Others Follow?
Before the conference I'd heard a rumor that Ford and Toyota both believe AM/FM should be left out of new cars, and that these big radio advertisers want cars to have online radio only so they'll be able to measure their advertising reach precisely, rather than relying on estimates. Frankly, all other advertising has gone in that direction. Why not radio?
We've known for a long time that radio is losing its in-car monopoly as other music services hit the dash. But until this moment, we didn't have confirmation from anyone in the auto industry that AM/FM receivers will be eliminated -- by at least two companies, and soon.

If this is true -- and these people have no reason to mislead us -- this is the most important "unofficial" announcement in history regarding the future of broadcast radio. Though radio broadcasts will be available through distributors like TuneIn and iHeartRadio, your competition won't just be in-market stations anymore. You will be facing a world full of competitors.
Many readers will be in denial after they hear this, saying it could never happen. One commenter on our website said AM and FM will not be removed from the dash in our lifetimes, while others raised the costs of bandwidth. Most who hear this will be tempted to ignore it.
Alert: Within two years, AM and FM will no longer be offered by two automakers. According to the Convergence panel, radio will be gone from all new cars within five years. Since the automotive companies work three years in advance, these decisions are being made now. It appears that radio really will be gone from the dash unless it's heard through an Internet radio distribution platform.

What can be done about this? It depends on which camp you're in. I happen to believe that this was inevitable, and I've been warning about it for a decade. Internet radio in car gives an exact measurement of listening, and that could be a good thing.
But I am deeply concerned about two things:
1. Are the car companies operating on incorrectly skewed research, or on the opinions of a youth-oriented consulting company? It's easy to say radio is dead, but the Arbitron numbers don't support it. GM and other car companies need to understand that if they are wrong, there will be consumer backlash if they remove AM and FM from cars. People love their radios. Young people don't often buy cars, and radio is clearly stronger with baby boomers and older adults.

2. Safety is a giant concern. AM and FM radio stays available when the power goes down. Cell towers and the Internet do not. You can't communicate with consumers in their cars during a storm or a mass evacuation when the signals cannot reach the car. Plus, there are still dead spots in America where there is no cell coverage. Is a car owner in a remote community to go without a car radio that works?

This is a slippery slope.

So what can you do?

1. You need to believe this is happening. It's now a fact, directly from the mouths of the people behind it.

2. You had better start working out a strategy to strengthen your brand relationship with your audience now so they'll still seek you out when they have tens of thousands of other choices.

3. You need to be on the TuneIn or iHeart platforms (probably both), and you need to be streaming.

4. If you want to fight this, you may want to consider starting with your local congressman. Congress may wish to consider legislation to require in-car receivers for safety purposes -- though I'm not big on forcing regulation on consumer preferences. But Hurricane Sandy made it clear once again that Internet and cell signals cannot be relied upon for safety, and radio is the only means of communication that stays on the air in an emergency. Removing it from cars might not go over well with consumers for that reason alone.

5. You may consider having a talk with your biggest advertisers, local car dealers, to ask them to offer their input to the car companies. Pressure can change things quickly -- but be careful; this approach could backfire.
Whatever you do, don't ignore this. As Bill Burton of the Detroit Radio Advertising Group always says, a car is a radio on wheels. We've owned the car, and traffic has been a friend to radio listening. But it appears that, unless something changes, the AM/FM signal to the car will soon be a thing of the past. Whether these same companies will still offer HD Radio needs to be addressed -- it may or may not be part of their plans. If it is, you'll be forced to upgrade to HD to reach people in new cars.

Most people at the conference found this very unsettling, and I suspect it will create quite a ruckus in our industry, forcing the issue and bringing more details to light. Let's hope so. We need all the facts so we as an industry can properly respond.

Eric Rhoads
bericrhoads@gmail.com

(3/9/2013 7:32:45 AM)
Arbitron data is flawed. Very few young adults spend any significant amount of time with radio. My children and their friends ( aged 15 to 20) do not listen to am/fm at all. That's about the same sample size you get from Arbitron for the demo. I'm surprised arbitron listening measurements are accepted as credible data.
(3/9/2013 4:44:57 AM)
This is BS, as it is an attempt to make push for HD Radio by Eric. I don't believe a word of it.
(3/9/2013 12:27:27 AM)
As a young person who loves radio and has never used anything other than AM/FM, this is depressing. Radio is how I hear new music. I listen to WFMU and a local college station every day and it's worlds better than letting a computer tell you what it calculates you'll like. Sadly, most people in my generation are pretty lazy and apathetic when it comes to how they get their music, and I don't think many of them will care about losing their car radios if it means having pandora instead.
(3/9/2013 12:17:06 AM)
Radio can stay put, transfer to other platforms or participate in some combination.
That's hardly the issue.

The biggest concern is (or should be) whether radio can retain any credibility over time when considered as just another option among many.

Music-radio, especially, suffers from a lack of desirability on the part of audiences. It may be only that we are so accessible that keeps us from being tuned out in favor of other media. I should also add we are still the only passive medium.

The point, however, remains. Unless we get our programming and commercial-production acts together, we are likely to become also-rans.

(3/8/2013 9:32:25 PM)
"Whether these same companies will still offer HD Radio needs to be addressed -- it may or may not be part of their plans. If it is, you'll be forced to upgrade to HD to reach people in new cars."

I knew Eric would have a pitch for HD Radio! Eric - HD Radio doesn't work and all it is doing is causing major-grief for dealerships. So, this was Struble's plan all along! LOL!

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(UPDATE) How Did MERLE-FM Get on Reality Show

Yesterday we told you about the story of how a small radio station in Tennessee became the subject of a TV reality show. Today we hear from the President of Merle-FM (WMYL) about how the whole thing came about. In this short interview with Radio Ink Ron Meredith explains how he got the call, what Hollywood has in store for the station and how he is loving life as a small town radio operator.

(1/25/2013 3:19:46 PM)
Aren't we lucky to have a "local" broadcaster of Ron's caliber in the Knoxville, Tn market. Gosh, without Ron the market would be overrun by us city slickers who make a living by lying to our clients.
(1/24/2013 5:47:45 PM)
Love the old school look of the facility. Transmitter site-studios that used to dot the landscape. Not some cluster of brands inside a business park.

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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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Bravo's 'Platinum Hit' Seeks To Turn Songwriters Into Reality TV Stars

by Phil Gallo  |   May 30, 2011 10:00 EDT

NBC Universal's Bravo cable network has found its success in competition shows by making stars out of the magic-makers behind the curtain. Chefs whose names still appear in small print on menus, fashion designers without a personal label and hair stylists will soon be joined by yet another group of creatives working behind the scenes: songwriters.

"Platinum Hit," a 10-episode songwriting competition that premieres May 30, assembles 12 unknown songwriters competing to win a music publishing deal with Sony/ATV and a recording deal with Sony's Jive/RCA label. The competitors have backgrounds in multiple genres-country, pop, R&B, hip-hop-and "Platinum Hit" forces them to work in areas foreign to their experience.

"We relish the creative process," says Shari Levins, the show's senior VP of production at Bravo. "This felt very much [like] our signature shows-we're not afraid to show people being as different as they are, and the judges are great and credible." Singer/songwriter Jewel serves as host and a judge, and former "American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi heads a rotating panel of established artists that includes Leona Lewis, Natasha Bedingfield, Donna Summer, Jermaine Dupri and Taio Cruz. RCA/Jive Label Group senior VP of A&R Keith Naftaly is a recurring judge.

In each episode, contestants are given a songwriting task. The judges select a few winners and then create teams to finish and then perform the song. In the premiere, the challenge is to write a chorus about Los Angeles in a half hour, from which four hooks are selected and teams of three complete the tune. "Collaborations are essential to the show," Jewel says. "It's a battle of ideas to a complete song. The awkward moments that [arise during the collaborative process] are essential to making it watchable."

Kara DioGuardi Sets Tour Dates, Talks 'Idol' vs. New 'Platinum Hit' Show

Jewel and DioGuardi say the real-life nature of the tasks were the reasons they were attracted to the show. Both describe the life of being a collaborator in very specific terms-meeting your new partner at 11 a.m. and finishing a song before lunch and a few more by quitting time-and say the show serves as a wake-up call for contestants.

"The songwriters we have use more inspiration than craft," says DioGuardi, a co-writer on Ashlee Simpson's "Pieces of Me" and Christina Aguilera's "Ain't No Other Man," who is currently working with a number of country artists.

In the premiere, contestants' eyes roll when one of them semi-melodically shouts "love it or hate it" with little sense of craft or emotion. But to DioGuardi, the catchphrase was much more of a winner than any of the other earnest melodies reminiscent of Billy Joel, Elton John or modern country.

"The concepts are the big thing-a genius title that expresses an idea or emotion that you would not ordinarily say," DioGuardi says, mentioning Katy Perry's "E.T." and Ke$ha's "Blow" as examples. She adds that one song that came out of the collaborations was strong enough to be considered for pop singer Charice's second full-length album. But it didn't make the cut.

"Platinum Hit" was shot last winter by True Entertainment and is one of six new shows airing on Bravo this summer. Glenda Hersh, Steven Weinstock, Evan Bogart, Tim Bogart, Faye Stapleton and Marvin V. Acuna are the program's executive producers.

Like all competition shows, "Platinum Hit" will dismiss contestants, but the premiere supplied by Bravo didn't include the final scene, and Jewel was hesitant to share the show's goodbye line. But she did hint that it might go something like this: "Songwriting is a hit or a miss. That was a miss."

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