Radio continues to try to be...relevant? Helpful?

And honestly, this may indeed help out.

Here's a story from Radio & Records:


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Originally Posted On Sep 8, 2008 5:05 PM ET
Song Tagging Technology Comes To FM Radio

By Mike Stern

A group of nine broadcast companies have announced their commitment to providing electronic data that will enable consumers to tag songs they hear on FM radio for immediate purchase bringing the music discovery and purchase processes closer together than ever. The first device to make use of this data will be the Microsoft Zune as part of a new set of features for the MP3 player.

Stations operated by Beasley, Bonneville, CBS Radio, Citadel, Clear Channel Radio, Cox Radio, Emmis, Entercom and Greater Media will be broadcasting the song tags enabling consumers to purchase music heard on over 450 radio stations across the country at the outset with more rolling out soon.

The impetus to pursue this idea came from radio broadcasters. "We approached Microsoft about this," says executive vice president of distribution development for Clear Channel Radio Jeff Littlejohn who was deeply involved in the project. "But it didn't take much selling."
The technology uses song "tags," unique identifiers for each individual song that are encrypted and sent over an FM radio signal. Consumers with devices that can capture the identifier can either immediately purchase the song via digital download or save the information for purchase later. With the Microsoft’s Zune having an integrated FM tuner and wireless connectivity, the purchase can be essentially immediate if the user is in a Wi-Fi hot spot.

"It's a great way to make a simple radio really interactive," says Littlejohn. "Radio has been interactive through Web sites for a long time, but radio itself has not been interactive before. The idea of linking music discovery in just a couple of clicks to actual purchase is revolutionary."
A recent Microsoft study showed that 61% of respondents say radio is their primary source for discovering new music. “Radio is one of the primary ways people discover new music, which is why we have built an FM tuner into every Zune portable media player,” said Chris Stephenson, general manager of Global Marketing for Zune at Microsoft. “The leadership of these radio broadcasters has played an integral role in enabling millions of Zune users to tag and purchase songs directly from FM radio.”

While Microsoft will be the first to utilize the technology, it is not restricted. "This is able to be more than just Clear Channel, more than just HD Radio, more than just Apple or Microsoft," says Littlejohn. "It is a way for the entire industry to enable interactive music purchasing." He continues, "It can go beyond music as well. There are other things that could be tagged. It could also go beyond MP3 players. It's not a large leap to see FM radios starting to make their way into cell phones which are connected and would enable instant purchasing."
The technology, which uses RDS coding, is similar to that being used for HD Radio tagging which has been heavily promoted recently. The difference is in the wireless connectivity which allows FM tagging to be used without needing a cabled internet of any sort while HD tagging works with a docking station.

"From a radio broadcaster's standpoint this gives listeners a reason to come to my radio station and a reason to come back to my radio station," says Littlejohn. "It gives them an interactive feature they haven't previously had."

Quick bit of Audio News

I'm in the middle of adminstering the second unit exam to the IFS class. I can't believe how hard these guys have been working, and how much ground we've covered in 10 days!

I'll be posting some of the (quite impressive) data that the research groups collected during their lab days over the next few posts.

But, for now, I thought I'd pass on a story of a big radio conglomerate--one that often gets bad press as the evil empire--doing good.

Story (thanks to Media Week): Clear Channel creates The Pink Channel.

Here's the XM page for The Pink Channel

And then There Was One

Today, as expected for several days, the final vote was cast by the FCC signing off on the merger between XM and Sirius, the two satellite radio services.

You can read a story about the swing vote here.

Those of you who, like me, are subscribers to one of the current services may be interested in what the two companies promised the FCC they will provide in exchange for merger approval.
Read the conditions that were provided by the companies earlier in the summer and approved virtually unchanged today (at least, that's what the B&C story says).


We'll see if it's too good to be true or if the wording is vague enough that consumers get the short end of it.

It's Hotter Outside than it is in Radio Sales

When the economy is bad, people cut back. I know, because at $4.19 a gallon, gas is too expensive for me to use to drive to the local Panerra to have lunch with a friend. I rode my bike. Yup, it's 90 degrees out with 90% humidity. Yup, I was a sweaty mess when I arrived, and had to bring another shirt. But, it's part of cutting back when times are tough.

Businesses cut back too, and one of the first places to feel the ax is advertising and marketing. Radio is feeling the pinch to an even greater extent than forecasters thought.

According to a new study by the Radio Advertising Bureau, local advertising sales was off 10% in June compared to last year. National radio plummeted 13%. Of course, much of this is an indication of radio advertising being perceived as less efficient than other forms. Posting of actual ratings performance for advertisers to actually evaluate (something which radio has never done) may help confidence in the future. But, for now, buyers aren't buying.

Spring Break Storm Reminds Me of Music's Influence

As my friend Sam Bradley wrote in a recent blog posting, one of the things you get by living in the midwest is and unpredictable, cold, and snowy winter. Here's how my family and I spent Saturday...the first full day of Spring Break.

The storm actually came through Friday morning...starting while I was waiting to meet a friend at the Bloomington Bagel Company when the power went out. There were about a dozen or so of us sitting around there...a few of us "regulars" who know each other primarily as faces we recognize we see several mornings a week as we take advantage of their good bagels/muffins/coffee and free wi-fi. Three was the chatter of people making or filling orders and talking amongst themselves. And, as usual, in the background was the music of XM Radio. They usually have The Loft playing.

So, anyway, after a subtle 'pop' sound all the power went off and we sat there in only the natural light and silence. After about 45 seconds the power came back on, allowing the sound of orders being placed and filled. The chatter started up again....but something was wrong. What was it? It was the music. It was absent. And the place just wasn't the same. The energy seemed the drop down about 20 notches! It was amazing. I've recently been thinking more and more about the influence of music. I've published a piece with Francesca Dillman Carpentier in Media Psychology on tempo as a structural feature in music. Plus, I've been reading a great book on the topic recently...a title that I hope to finish over break.

But, this personal experience really drove it home.

Great history piece on Border Radio

My students will tell you that I claim history isn't something that really interests me.
I know it's important, but I just rarely find books about history that keep my attention.

Well, maybe what I need to do is investigate more auditory history pieces.

You will certainly enjoy this piece from WNYC's On the Media about how early radio broadcasters who ran afoul of US laws escaped them altogether by heading to Mexican stations that BLASTED their signals into the US and allowed their broadcasters to say just about anything they wanted.

Now, I knew that Wolfman Jack had gotten his start on an "x" station...but I never had it in context. Great job by Jamie York.

Listen to it here:

Great Alumni bring Knowledge to Current Students

One of the reasons that I love working at IU is that we have great alumni. In fact, the IU Alumni Association boasts of being the largest in the world…

And, luckily, the alumni from the IU Department of Telecommunications are terrific when it comes to giving back to their alma mater. I’m talking about giving of their time and knowledge to students and faculty. I have been on the receiving end of an abundance of such giving over the past couple of weeks. So much so that I’ll need to give it to you in two blog posts. Here’s the first:

It started with a visit from Mark DeBoskey who is the General Manager of Jazz 88.3 in San Diego. Mark has spent most of his career in SoCal working in radio. But, he got his start at student radio WIUS-FM. He came to town two weeks ago for a board of directors meeting for that station (now known as WIUX). Luckily for me he contacted our department’s director of alumni relations, Legene White, and told her he was coming to town. Legene knew that, with my background in radio, I’d enjoy meeting with Mark, and she was right. The three of us spent about an hour in my office listening to his station’s stream, talking about challenges associated with creating a successful (non-NPR) non-commercial station, and how much Bloomington has changed…and how much it has stayed wonderful old Bloomington…in the years he’s been away.

Then, this past Monday, I had a double-dose of alumni relations as two former students from the department were back on campus to visit with my current students. The first was Brad Holtz, the Program Director of WTTS-FM, an Album Adult Alternative station in town broadcasting to the Indianapolis market. Early this semester I had asked him to visit my T344 class and he graciously agreed. It was tremendous. He talked about the role of a radio Program Director being that of brand manager—responsible for not only the music on the air, but also the events, concerts, live broadcasts and web content. He also was able to discuss the role of consultants in radio…which is why I love bringing in alumni to talk to my classes…they talk about stuff I would never have brought up.

The students thought Brad was great, as the line up of students getting his business card afterwards indicates. I’ll certainly ask him to return in future semesters of T344.

Later that day Norbert Mundorf was a guest in the ICR-lab meeting. Norbert received his Ph.D from our department in 1987 and I first met (face-to-face, anyway) at that meeting where he discussed his research on self-efficacy and its impact on tendency in college students to report heavy-drinking behavior. Later, I took him to the ICR in Eigenmann. When he was in the ICR, working with Dolf Zillmann, it was located in a house on Dunn Street. And, interestingly, he lived in Eigenmann! Here's a picture of Mundorf with our department chair Walt Gantz.

Now, my alumni experiences continued this week when, on Wednesday, I took a flight to New York City! I’m actually finishing writing this on Friday…sitting in the Atlanta airport waiting to fly back to Indy. More on my NYC experience next time…

It's The Audio Prof...Not the Radio Prof

I have mentioned earlier that I am in my tenure year...and happy to report that the faculty of my department have voted to send my case up to the next levels of consideration. While that is a cause for momentary celebration, it is only the beginning of a LONG process. There are, indeed, next levels...seven of them (assuming I haven't forgotten one).

The case now goes to:
The College Committee
The Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences
The Dean of Faculties Committee
The Dean of Faculties
The University Provost
The University President
The Board of Trustees.

It's a long year. But tenure is a big deal--not only for the faculty candidate (trust me, it IS that), but also for the institution. So, they want to make sure that all those with a stake have a peek at every candidate.

Part of the documentation that the candidate must prepare is a personal statement explaining primarily how they came about their area of research interests...what they have done so far during their research careers...and what they will do later. So during that process I have been reminded of how important my experiences with radio were in guiding me to what I now do. Radio was an important companion for me as a child. It was an early career choice and what started my interest in exactly what attributes of radio messages can capture peoples' attention.

But, when I was a graduate student at IU, one of the most respected scholars in communication came to visit our department and give a talk to our lab group. His name is Byron Reeves, a Professor from Stanford. As is typical during informal talks like this one was, each grad student gave a brief introduction of their work. As you might expect, my introduction talked all about radio--explaining how I was interested in how radio messages capture attention, how we can make them more memorable, etc.

After I was through, Professor Reeves told me that I should not describe my interests as being in radio. Actually, what I was interested in, he taught me, wasn't the "box" called radio. It wasn't the delivery system...it was what was being delivered...it was AUDIO.

That was great advice. It took me a long time to break that "radio" habit. But eventually I did.

Not only did writing my tenure statement make me remember this formative event...but so did this article describing how even ad agencies are no longer saying they are interested in radio...with satelite and ipods and websites and radio all being used to deliver audio information. It's not just radio anymore.

That's why I'm not the Radio Prof.

A peak behind the curtain--audio editing makes us sound better

Okay, first of all, there is nothing worse than being sick in the summer time.
I have strep throat!!

I'm really bugged about it...because not only can't I swallow or eat...but it's gorgeous outside and I'd much rather be doing things with my family than stuck inside wondering how long I can wait until my next nap.

GRRRRR. I haven't had this since I got my tonsils out at age 7.

Anyway, being mostly stuck inside has allowed me to do some podcast listening, and that reminded me of a piece I heard recently on ON THE MEDIA, a show out of WNYC in New York.

The piece was called "Pulling back the Cutain" and was produced by John Solomon. It's all about how much editing occurs on the audio obtained via interviews for a show like OTM...or any radio news show for that matter. To give you a sense of what I'm talking about, listen to this exerpt from the story which gives an example of how OTM/Advertising Age critic Bob Garfield sounds during the taping of an interview compared to how he sounds afterwards.

Part of the reason why this story fascinated me is because I always thought I was pretty good at noticing edits in audio stories. Local radio news doesn't try to hide when an edit takes place. The ambient sound doesn't match, the speaker's inflections are going in different directions at the point of the edit, etc. But with OTM, I never even THOUGHT about it. That's largely to the credit of the show's editor (and co-host) Brooke Gladstone. But, it's also due to increased sophistication in technology. When I first started editing audio it was done using magnetic tape as the source material...not digital bits. Edits were done by finding the beginning and ending point of where you wanted to cut out, marking it on the back-side of the tape with a grease pencil, and then cutting it with a razor blade...only to tape the two ends back together. If you messed up...you guessed it...you had to tape the whole thing back together and start again. Almost as much a pain in the neck as strep throat.

These days, editing is all done electronically using programs like Pro Tools or Saw or the one we use in the ICR Lab, Adobe Audition. These programs make editing downright fun. Try an edit...if it doesn't work, Ctrl-Z gets you right back where you were! I remember when working on the Double-Units clutter study I needed to edit down commercials from 60-seconds to 30-seconds in length while still keeping the original meaning and information. If I had to do that with a razor blade and splicing tape, forget it. With Audition, it was actually something I looked forward to doing.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Today is the Internet Radio Day of Silence.
It's to protest huge increases in the amount of royalties that these audio outlets would have to pay, retroactively, on July 15.

Read more here, on the Radio and Internet Newsletter Site.

No Radio for the Audio Prof

I've just spent a week on vacation with the family. It's good to get away...and more than I have in years I truly tried to leave work behind. In the past we have spent up to 6 weeks on the road in our home state of Washington. When on the road for that long of a stretch...it was almost mandatory that I bring my laptop and reading along and try to carve out some hours to write while the family went to the lake, or swimming, or whatever.

But, this year, with the length of our visit cut back drastically for a variety of reasons...the laptop was primarily brought so the kids could watch movies on the plane. And it truly was a chance to just unwind. (Although I did have to spend a little bit of time finishing my grades for T340).
One of the ways this trip was differrent than my previous ones back to WA is the fact that I barely listened to broadcast radio at all. Now, you may have to know me pretty well to understand how big a deal this is. We spent time in the town in which I grew up...Richland Washington. Listening to the radio there during the 1980s while in high school was one of the reasons why...during the summer before my senior year...I sent letters to all the General Managers and Program Directors in the Tri-Cities (of which Richland is one...the others being Kennewick and Pasco) asking for any opportunity to be a part of their station operations. I eventually got an "internship" of sorts at a no-longer-existing country station: KOTY-AM and KHWK-FM.
I recognize voices of disk jockeys in the Tri-Cities, still. Enjoy hearing the tweaks in formats and positioning statements. The same is true for the Spokane Market...where I worked in formats ranging from CHR to jazz to sports talk. And so, every trip back would include listening to hear what was going on in my old stomping grounds.

But, like I said, this trip was different. No long periods of listening. No listening at all, to speak of. Why? Two reasons that perhaps highlight why my students similarly report NO radio listening. The first was my ipod, and the podcasts that I've been diggin' recently like (The Business, This American Life, On the Media, Radio Lab, and Science Talk).

But, the primary reason for my lack of listening was The first was that the rental car had XM satellite radio. Although I was surprised that several of the stations had COMMERCIALS in them...I was certainly only a few clicks away from music in the vein of the mood I was in due to their alignment of channels by genre (if I was listening to 80s and didn't like a song, checking out what was on the 90s channel one click away usually sufficed. When Nashville** went to commercials...Highway 16 or US Country had something on it that would do nicely). I can only imagine that my listening would have skyrocketed on the talk stations if the family hadn't been in the car...and I probably would have imposed the sports-talk stations ON my family if it was NFL season, not baseball season.

So, there really wasn't any reason to impose myself to commercials...voice-tracked DJs...or songs that I didn't want to hear. Even the nostalgia of listening to stations from my past didn't over-ride the easy entertainment that new technologies allowed me.


** Interestingly, when I was getting links together for this blog, I went to XM's page...of course. The Nashville channel (channel 11)... which was the most irritating in stopping for STUPID national commercials for dating services or car insurance...isn't listed as an option on their website. Wonder why?

Creating Buzz can certainly backfire...or can it?

Two stories have captured my attention recently.

Summertime is a big season for radio.

People are out doing fun stuff outside...and in order to stay in front of listeners, many stations run billboard campaigns figuring people will be outside driving to the beach (or whatever), the sun will be shining, people will be happy, and what better ways to get your call letters in front of potential listeners.

But then, marketers want to be creative. Can't just put up the call letters on a billboard! Gotta come up with something that will create "buzz" to show how edgy we are.

Here's one example, for a morning show that is syndicated right in my backyard The Bob & Tom Show.

Women in Boise thought the billboard was exploitative. I like the Bob & Tom show...it makes me laugh...and they have certainly done some crazy boards before...ones that were equally in poor taste as this one. But, this one caused an uproar...and resulted in terrible PR, right? Right? Well, that's a tough call because the target market for a station like 96.9 The Eagle ,the station in Boise that posted the boards, may feel a sense of solidarity with the station as it weathers protests from the local community. Plus, the show does have PLENTY of sexual inuendo and the board fits right into that theme. Should it come down? Yes, and it has.

This next one, though, leaves me shaking my head.

Here's a board posted in Cincinnati by News/Sports Talker WLW

The station isn't a Spanish station. It's a news/talk station. A station that shoudl be striving to build credibility in the market. Puns? Ethnic Puns? Makes no sense to me at all.

And boy is it creating buzz.

Grammy Red Carpet Humor

One of the best things about being a professor is when favorite students keep in touch after they graduate.

When I was on the faculty at the Telecommunications and Film Dept. at the University of Alabama, I was also the faculty advisor for the student radio station, WVUA-FM.

In that role, I met Demitri Ravanos. He was the promotions director for the station...and eventually took Audience Analysis and Marketing & Promotions with me. He has kept in touch since he graduated...and since I moved to IU.

He's a part of a morning show (#1 in the male demo...or so he claims) at 96 Rock in Raleigh NC. I appreciate his emails keeping me--and other 'Bama friends--updated on what he's doing in his life and his career.

Now, the other day...here's the email he sent us:

Howdy friends,

Today I want to share with you the hilarity of Rhett and Link. These
are two college students from Raleigh that we sent to the Grammys in
LA to be 96 Rock's official correspondents. All we provided were
plane tickets and a hotel room. Everything they did on ther own.

I whole-heartedly believe that these guys have the talent and
motivation to be famous for what they do. I hope Conan, Letterman, or
the Daily Show see this and give these guys a break. Enjoy their grammy video:


Go check it out!

I couldn't agree more.
My favorite part...the look on Al Jarreau's face.

Let me know what your favorite part was.

Boston Bomb Scare=Another Promotion Gone Bad

Recently I've been posting on a radio promotion gone wrong (see here and here).

Well, check out another example. This time (thank goodness) without any fatalities but what surely inconvenienced thousands of people in Boston. Be sure to watch the video link if you've got a high-speed connection.

Incredible. Could it be that our cluttered advertising environment has led to situations where marketers lose their common sense in desperate attempts to cut through?

One nationally syndicated disk jockey thinks so, check it what Mancow thinks here.

Reunions of two 80s bands in the works?

Some interesting news found on a current swing by a website I rarely visit--FMQB.

Apparently there is a very good chance that The Police and Van Halen might be (separately) planning reunions. That would be pretty interesting..especially considering what one of my favorite artists said in a recent New York Times article. Bloomington's own John Mellencamp (who, by the way, I saw coming out of the Dept. of Telecommunications the other day!!!) says that these are difficult days for "old school" rock acts like Tom Petty and himself. Wonder if Sting and Diamond Dave are counting on trying to get airplay for any new material...or will the just stick to reunion tours?

Sounded good on paper--a radio promotion goes terribly wrong

A radio promotion director's job--especially at a Top 40 or Alternative station--is to do the outrageous in an attempt to create "buzz" in your market. You know, get people talking about what crazy stuff your statioin is doing. It's even better if you get buzz while also giving away something cool and highly desired by your target audience.

On paper...the contest called "Hold you wee for a Wii" seems exactly what a the station KDND was looking for. Edgy. You bet. Do people in the target market for a top 40 station want Wiis? Of course.

Sounds perfect.

But, something went wrong. Tragic. Read it here.