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Radio & Records, 1973-2009, R.I.P.
June 5, 2009
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"While watching 'That Thing You Do' recently with a friend of mine, he asked me if it was ever as easy to get a record played at radio as the film might suggest. The answer of course is no, but I did explain that at one time, label promotion people and radio's Top 40 program and music directors actually worked TOGETHER to find the best new music to benefit both the radio station and record sales. And, it was actually fun doing what we had to do."
-- From 'Once Upon A Time In The Record Business,' DISC&DAT, March 8th, 2007For those of you who haven't already heard, Radio & Records, one of the industry's leading publications, ceased publication this week. I received several e-mails almost simultaneously from readers about the news and one said 'What a shocker!" I must admit, I wasn't shocked at all; I was simply sad and upset.
When VNU (now the Nielsen Company, and owner of ACNielsen, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, many other publications and Nielsen BDS airplay data) bought R&R back in 2007, I wondered how long it would take for them to fold a lot of the radio charts and information into Billboard. With both the radio and record industry going through their most challenging times in history, and profits decreasing year over year, it doesn't take any amount of strategic financial analysis to see that the overhead costs of similar two trade publications had to be a great deal higher than the advertising revenues generated and necessary to sustain operations.
The hardcore realities of doing business in such instances means lots of red ink on the Excel spreadsheets on all the financial people's computers, and then hard decisions are made. That's the way it is in the business world ... always has been, always will be, whether we like it or not. Of course, none of us like it, but there is little we can do about it when corporate monoliths roam Wall Street in search of new targets to fatten their portfolios and please investors. Calvin Coolidge said "The business of America is business." I don't know what else Calvin said that might ring true today, but he hit that one right out of the park.
The loss of Radio & Records represents a whole more than just the shuttering of another industry publication. First of all, when R&R took hold, it became the most valued publication at radio for great news and information about music at all formats of radio. More important, the newspaper's founder, Bob Wilson, made it a point to hire great radio people as editors in each format, so they could dialogue with program and music directors weekly about what was happening in their markets.
But Bob also encouraged his staff to dialogue as frequently with label people, and almost all label people created long-lasting relationships with the newspaper's editors, ad people and more. In essence, R&R was a publication that reflected the best of the symbiotic relationships that existed at the time between radio and the record industry. Labels at the time were quick to embrace the feedback R&R supplied about up-and-coming stations in secondary markets; labels would also feed the newspaper their information about stations that were creating noise in their markets and R&R would take note and investigate so they could keep their panels, in all formats, as meaningful as possible.
It was, indeed, the best of times in the industry, and R&R always brought the best out at their annual conventions as well. I remember talking to so many radio people who would say "no matter what, I'm going to be at R&R ... even if I have to pay for it myself!" They came because it was the radio and record industry's biggest annual get-together, where friends could see each other, go to lunch, dinners, the suites, the shows, the parties.
It was the PEOPLE at R&R who made the newspaper and the conventions so successful. It was the PEOPLE who separated the publication from any and all others. It was the PEOPLE in radio and the PEOPLE at the labels who used to be the industry collectively. Together, we all worked hard because we loved the MUSIC.
Magazines, newspapers, other industry publications and labels may come and go, but sooner or later (hopefully a whole lot sooner), a whole lot of companies will understand that it's the PEOPLE who make the difference.
I still retain friendships with many ex-R&R people, and John Schoenberger, R&R's AAA Editor until this week, has been a close friend for over 38 years. John and started out as local promo men in Miami, and when I went to MCA in 1983, I sought John out to be my AOR promotion head. As R&R's AAA Editor, John has gained well-deserved industry notoriety.
To all those ex-R&R friends I want to say I'm sad a great publication is coming to an end, but happy I had the chance to work with you all. You were the best of the best.
(I also encourage all to read Jerry Del Colliano's INSIDE MUSIC MEDIA post about R&R as well. You can read it here: http://tinyurl.com/mumu9b )
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 2
COUPONS NOT JUST FOR THE GROCERY STORE ANYMORE
Need more proof that it's time to lower the prices on CDs?
According to Coupons.com, entertainment advanced to the No. 3 spot on the list of most popular online coupon categories printed in April. Advancing from No. 6 in March, the Entertainment category includes products like magazines, games and DVDs.
Steven Boal, CEO of Coupons, Inc., says "Consumers are spending less on non-essentials during these tough economic times ... many are cocooning ... to save money on in-home meals and entertainment... "
You can read the report here: http://tinyurl.com/mzvs27.
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 3
FOLLOW-UP TO 'MAYBE THINGS NOT SO TERRA FIRMA?' FROM LAST WEEK
Despite Elio Leoni-Sceti's telling all that all is well within the hallowed halls at EMI, this week a NY POST column by Peter Laurie talks about possible conflicts between Terra Firma's Guy Hands and Leoni-Sceti.
From the article, "The relationship between EMI chief Elio Leoni-Sceti and his boss, Terra Firma's Guy Hands, is so strained that whispers around the record label's halls are that Leoni-Sceti could be gone before the year's out, The Post has learned. "
Read the article here: http://tinyurl.com/mazhvq.
Industry Watch: We're With the Band
The music industry has never been more challenged -- okay, threatened -- in its entire existence than it is now. Still, creative marketing and a return to grassroots has given it new hope. From Radiohead's groundbreaking decision to let people download their album online and decide how much they want to pay, to John Mellencamp and his label focusing on exposing his work through commercials as opposed to radio, the business and the artist are, believe it or not, bouncing back.
Brian Grunert, Grammy-winner for packaging and a longtime associate of musician Ani DiFranco, says musicians, labels and management have to forget about many of the ways they used to make money. "The days of a label putting a CD at $15, emptying the wallets of the consumer, and then giving the artist a dollar of that, are long gone," he says, not completely lacking an air of satisfaction. "The labels went too far and the album buyer got them back with Napster. Now the middle ground has to be found." Not to say it wasn't a challenge for Grunert as well, but he's found much of the marketing advantage comes from offering the buyer many ways to digest their favorite band's work.
"The same group that might have sold a million records will sell 200,000, but it doesn't bother them because if they bypass the record companies, they're getting four times the amount of the cut anyway. The other strategy is having different levels of offerings. Maybe the basic offer is just the songs and that's it; the second level is cover art, the highest level may be autographs from a band member. There's also more of a willingness for bands to be involved, because now it feels more like their direct business instead of being left in the dark," says Grunert.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Online Video Fastest-Growing Medium In The History Of The World
Having gone from zero to mass market globally in three short years, online video is the fastest-growing media platform in history, according to a new report from social media research consultancy Trendstream and research firm Lightspeed.
In one week in January, 97 million Americans viewed a streaming clip online -- as many as are tuning into any major broadcast network -- according to a recent survey of 1,000 U.S. active Web users ages 16-65. What's more, with 72% of U.S. Web users watching clips online, Web video outstrips both blogging and social networking, and is now the leading "social-media platform."
Read more about it by clicking here.
Viewers 35+ Drive Long-Form Video Streaming
According to Nielsen Online, YouTube continued to rank as the No. 1 video Web brand with 5.5 billion total streams in April. Meanwhile, Hulu continued its explosive growth, increasing 490% in total streams year-over-year, from 63.2 million in April 2008 to 373.3 million in April 2009, making it the fastest growing brand among the top 10.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Here Comes Google ...Watch Out Twitter
If only as a developer preview, Google on Thursday revealed what it's billing as "the e-mail of the future." Named Google Wave, the experimental project is the result of a multiyear initiative to reinvent digital communication by blending e-mail, instant messaging, and content sharing into something resembling a cross between Twitter, Facebook and your standard e-mail platform.
Google Wave, which is expected to be released later this year, will "combine conversation-type communication and collaboration-type communication," Lars Rasmussen, a software engineering manager at Google and the project's co-founder, said during the Google I/O conference last Thursday.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr Unveil "The Beatles: Rock Band"
"Who ever thought we'd end up as androids?" laughed Sir Paul McCartney, giddily strumming the air guitar onstage this week alongside fellow Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr for a select crowd of journalists and technology trendsetters in Los Angeles. On-hand to promote The Beatles: Rock Band, the pair joined Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison onstage at Microsoft's press conference, held in advance of annual game industry confab the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3.
Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/kt2efs.
See the bigger screen trailer for the game here.
Sony's 'Classic' Catalog To eMusic
Subscription music site eMusic has inked a deal with Sony Music to bring selections from the label's catalog -- "classic" recordings that are at least two years past their release date -- to the online retailer starting in a few months.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Special Report: The Future Of File Sharing
By Bruce Gain for Intellectual Property WatchThis is a great read, and I highly recommend it!
Digital content owners continue to emphasize enforcement and protection of intellectual property. However, the impact that litigation and legislation have had with the purpose of limiting illegal file sharing remains questionable, thus setting the stage for new economic models and approaches that could serve as a remedy.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Tapping the Enormous Potential of Mobile Apps
BusinessWeekApple's App Store has paved the way for competitors like Google, Research in Motion, Nokia and Sony Ericsson to follow up with their own application stores. Many of these apps are games, like Tapulous's popular Tap Tap Revenge, which requires clicking on moving lights to the beat of a particular song. This particular game has been downloaded more than 10 million times. Tap Tap Revenge is a free app, although users can also download a paid version which comes preloaded with music. Tapulous' best selling app, Tap Tap Coldplay, has sold more than 150,000 copies. "That would be pretty decent success for an album these days," says Tapulous CEO Bart Decrem.
Other apps focus on productivity. Viigo, a free news and information app sold on BlackBerry's App World and Microsoft's Windows Mobile, has been downloaded more than 450,000 times since App World's launch a month and a half ago. It plans to make money in one of three ways: by selling highly targeted advertising, by causing users to make transactions inside the app itself, and by selling a corporate version to large companies. Says the company's CEO, "We really felt that the winning strategy has yet to be revealed and we weren't going to make a Hail Mary play against one particular approach."
But that's what makes the mobile software business interesting, says BusinessWeek's Arik Hesseldahl and Peter Burrows: "No one is quite sure exactly how much money can be made, but given the market, the potential is enormous."
Read more about it by clicking here.
Millennials Among Those Who Don't Appreciate Twitter
Millennials -- 18- to-26-year-olds -- don't see value in Twitter, although they spend hours daily texting friends and communicating on social networks in real time, according to a study released Monday from the Participatory Marketing Network (PMN). Some might suggest Millennials aren't the only ones who don't see the point of the microblogging service.
"Twitter has a problem on their hands if they want to become a long-term viable player," says Michael Della Penna, PMN co-founder and executive chairman. "Part of that communication of value must speak to Gen Y and show them the benefit of using Twitter."
Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/mvj7m7.
And more...
Study: 10% of Twitter Users Account for 90% of Messages
Silicon Alley Insider
A study from the Harvard Business Review finds that 10% of Twitter users account for more than 90% of the messages sent over the microblogging service. Silicon Alley Insider's Nicholas Carlson points out that that's an even more lopsided ratio than Wikipedia, where 15% of the editors account for 90% of all edits.
Carlson says the HBR study implies that Twitter is "more of a one-way, one-to-many publishing service than a two-way, peer-to-peer communication network." Indeed, according to the study, half of all Twitter users tweet less than once every 74 days, and "the median number of lifetime tweets per user is one."
Other interesting statistics from the HBR report show that men have 15% more followers than women; the average man is almost two times more likely to follow another man than a woman; and the average woman is 25% more likely to follow a man than a woman. -- Read the whole story...
LIVE NATION TICKET DEAL
On June 3rd, Live Nation will drop the service fees on 5 million lawn tickets at amphitheater shows for a 24-hour period in an attempt to lure money-conscious consumers. Affected shows include gigs by Phish, Coldplay, Blink-182, No Doubt and Nine Inch Nails/Jane's Addiction.
OSCAR WINNING IDOL EXPECTING
Rumors that Jennifer Hudson is pregnant were confirmed last weekend when one of the singer's friends told the Chicago Tribune that pals threw Hudson a baby shower this weekend.
UNDER PRESSURE
If you haven't already heard, International YouTube singing sensation Susan Boyle did not win Britain's Got Talent (she placed second to a dance troupe) and has reportedly been hospitalized for an "emotional breakdown."
COMPLETING THE CIRCLE
The Beatles made history when they performed the first-ever concert at Shea Stadium on August 15, 1965, and now Paul McCartney will break in the New York Mets' newest home on July 17th and 18th. Tickets for the first-ever shows at Citi Field in Queens go on sale June 15th at 10 a.m. ET exclusively at 507TIXX.com and the Mets' ticket-charge line, 718-507-TIXX.
CHER SUES
Cher has filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group claiming the label owes her money due to accounting mistakes related to 1999 comp "Cher: The Greatest Hits" and 2002's "The Very Best of Cher."
BIG OPENING, NOW SETTLING DOWN
After Monday night's big debut, ratings for Conan O'Brien fell 30% with "a 5.0 household rating and 12 share." The new show still bests Letterman in overnights at this point.
CONGRATS TO
Sammy Hagar and his new supergroup, Chickenfoot (which includes former Van Halen bass player Michael Anthony, guitar-legend Joe Satriani and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith), on selling out all the dates scheduled on their tour, requiring them to book even bigger venues.
Quotes of the week
"In New York, people would come up to me on the street and say, 'Hey, Conan!' Here in Los Angeles, the only way I'm going to meet new people is if I accidentally get into their car."
-- Conan O'Brien, about leaving behind the Big Apple to take over hosting duties on The Tonight Show, to PEOPLE"I'm not somebody who is going to declare either way if I'm absolutely going to or I'm absolutely not going to have children. I have no idea. I'm still young. I have an unbelievable life. In some ways, I have the life that I have because I don't have children."
-- Cameron Diaz, on whether she'll have children, in the new issue of Parade. As if we were all waiting for this revelation."The fact that I'm into women, they're all intimidated by it. It makes them uncomfortable. They're like, 'I don't need to have a threesome. I'm happy with just you.'"
-- Lady GaGa, opening up about her bisexuality in the new issue of Rolling Stone"The funny thing is that everyone who quits the band always claims they got fired by me. Hey, I'm not the bad guy here. When [Sammy] Hagar left the band, Mike went with him. Then when we get back together with Dave, and all of a sudden, he wants back in. It's like, 'No, dude, you quit the band.'"
-- Eddie Van Halen, talking about former Van Halen bass player Michael Anthony in Rolling Stone"I never 'quit.' I never once said, 'I'm out of here.' It never happened. That's the weird thing right now, for Eddie to be trying to paint himself as 'not the bad guy.' Why would I have quit Van Halen? It never happened. And what's weird is, he was being asked about Chickenfoot (Hagar's new band), whether he had heard us or not, and suddenly he launches into this thing about me quitting the group. What does one thing even have to do with the other?"
-- Michael Anthony answering Eddie Van Halen's comments in Music Radar
The B-Side - 'Blips'
THE ONION (www.theonion.com) STORY OF THE WEEK:
Vindictive Movie Studio Threatens To Make 'Coyote Ugly' Sequel
BURBANK, CA-Telling the movie-going public that it had "better start falling in line," executives at Touchstone Pictures announced Monday that if they do not immediately see a significant increase in box-office receipts they will not hesitate to produce a sequel to the 2000 film Coyote Ugly.
The original movie-which follows a small-town girl who supports her songwriting dreams by taking a job as one of many scantily clad barmaids at a New York City hot spot-was widely considered by critics to be a vapid cultural travesty. According to Touchstone Pictures president Peter Zaiff, however, if the nation doesn't continue to blindly accept all products distributed by the entertainment industry, he'll produce a sequel to the film that "makes the first Coyote Ugly look like "On The f***ing Waterfront."
Read the rest here and laugh: http://tinyurl.com/rb4w2k.
THE RADIO INTERVIEW on 'THE AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE' - From newsblaze.com
"Steve Meyer is on the front line of global music sales and distribution which he expects will soar to pocket-bursting levels. What's more, he shares his insight and ingenuity with us. Steve gives us both historical perspective and futuristic vision as he chats with Judy about the love of his work, trends of the business and his personal points of view about success, happiness and blending life with the lust for life. Steve joins Judy and helps us discover the thrill of having it all with a sense of balance and purpose. "
You can listen to an interview I did with Judy Piazza of 'The American Perspective' by clicking here: (It runs about 15 minutes)
http://www.thesop.org/index.php?id=10306.
The Blogs
Check out Jerry Del Colliano's (the founder of INSIDE RADIO) daily blog, by clicking here: http://www.insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com