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Membership is FREE. The 2008 Roots Music Awards. Click Here......
One of the greatest performers of all
time Michael Jackson will truly be missed by the public and the entire
music industry around the world. His music was for all fans of music and will be enjoyed by future generations to come.
Signals for radio's future are anything
but clear
Ever since radio
eclipsed sheet music some 80 years ago, the airwaves have been the go-to
place to find new songs and fresh news. Along the way,
broadcast radio stations made money. Advertising revenues grew reliably
nearly every year. But these days,
radio faces an army of competitors — all at once. Satellite radio,
MySpace pages, iTunes. And people can talk on the phone while they
drive, all instead of scanning the radio. People are still
tuning in — Denver's stations together pull a whopping 2.1 million
listeners each week — but they are listening for shorter periods of
time. And radio is making a lot less money. Broadcasters remain
confident, however, blaming their woes on the troubled economy.
"I've been doing
this for 50 years and I've never seen anything like this," said Clear
Channel of Colorado chief Lee Larsen. They are quick to
point out that, like newspapers and local TV stations, they still draw
mass audiences. But they acknowledge that radio has joined other media
under assault by new technology. At radio stations
near and far, layoffs and low morale have become common. Citing "an
unprecedented time of distress," the gargantuan Clear Channel radio
chain this year cut 9 percent of its staff, or some 1,850 workers
nationally; roughly 20 locally. Among the disappeared: local favorites
like Pete MacKay and Steve Millin dismissed from The Mountain; and Steve
Cassidy, out at KOSI after 20-plus years in the market. Off the cliff's
edge Just four years
ago, radio was a $21 billion industry nationally. Not now. In the first
quarter of 2009, radio revenues fell 24 percent to $3.4 billion,
industry watcher MediaPost reports. Media analyst Jack Myers estimates
ad spending will plummet another 19 percent this year, and another 4
percent in 2010. Wages are frozen
companywide at Entercom, one of the five biggest radio companies in the
country and one of the big four in Denver. Denver radio fans
still mourn the loss of treasured independent station KCUV, gone last
year, along with four on-air personalities: G. Brown, Zak Phillips,
Benji McPhail and Mike Wolf. The latest station
sale sent shockwaves through the industry: Wilks Broadcasting this year
paid $19.5 million for three Denver FM properties formerly owned by CBS.
Previously, the stations would have sold for several times that.
Those high-profile
drops overshadow the industry's strength as a whole. Radio remains very
much a part of the media landscape. America Media Services reports that
64 percent of American adults listen to the radio once a day; 80 percent
say they listen while driving. "Radio is not
suffering on the ratings side; we're suffering on the economic side,"
said Clear Channel's Larsen, who oversees eight local stations.
In the most recent
ratings, Arbitron reported that 325,400 people in the Denver area spent
some time each week listening to talk powerhouse KOA. That's second only
to teen-friendly KQKS, which scored an average 366,700 listeners a week.
Radio remains a
touchstone for baby boomers who count on music sage Bret Saunders' wit
on KBCO during the morning drive, young women who roll to Slacker and
Steve's afternoon show on "Alice,"and the country fans who start the day
with Mudflap, Kelly Ford and Ed Greene on KYGO. Fledgling Colorado rock
bands count on KTCL (93.3 FM) to give their music exposure. Uncharted
territory Local executives
believe radio is suffering because its biggest advertisers, automotive
and retail, have been hit hardest in the recession. Analysts aren't as
optimistic. "There is reason to believe these media are entering new,
uncharted territory characterized by long-term declines that will
continue even after the broader recession is over," speculates media
watcher Eric Sass in MediaPost. Part of the
problem: radio is no longer the center of the audio conversation. It's
moved to downloads and the latest mobile device. Distracted, radio
listeners have begun tuning in for shorter stretches. Per week, "the
average amount of time spent listening to the radio is down
significantly, dropping 5 percent from 19 hours and 32 minutes in 2007
to 18 hours and 30 minutes in 2008," according to MediaPost, which tied
the decline to the growing popularity of MP3 players and iPods, "as well
as non-radio audio delivered via the Internet." Analysts do predict
the industry will hit bottom in 2010. But some doubt things will improve
dramatically. Another worrisome
trend for radio's future: more than 70 percent of teens have an iPod or
iPhone, according to the latest study by New Jersey-based Edison
Research. Even as it reflects
the national economy and awaits a rebound, radio is at a crossroads. Is
it your grandfather's medium? Or is radio building toward a future that
moves beyond over-the-air broadcast? Analyst Sean Ross
at Edison Research says "everyone will tell you radio will be fine, and
everyone will tell you radio will not be just on the AM-FM receiver" in
the future. Just as newspapers
will continue to be available online rather than primarily in print,
radio will move increasingly to the Web, with a tiny minority of
listeners still dependent on over-the-air transmissions. Defenders say
radio's immediacy and localism will save it. No matter how they receive
it, listeners still need Front Range news and weather. "We dropped Rick
Dees (a syndicated talker out of L.A.) not because he's bad but because
the future of radio is local," according to Jeff Wilks, whose company
acquired three Denver FM stations from CBS Radio this year. Ads are still a
bargain Broadcasters see
other good omens. For now, their best argument is that radio advertising
remains a bargain — about one-third the cost of TV. At the premium end,
the difference is even greater: A spot within KUSA-Channel 9's No. 1
late newscast costs four times as much as a drive-time spot on No. 1
KOA. "Frankly,
everybody's hurting. We've been able to negotiate better rates across
all different types of media," said Tracy Broderick, director of
audience planning at Denver's Karsh\Hagan. She adds, "You get what you
pay for." The industry mantra
is that the audience is there to be developed. Arbitron claims that 235
million Americans, or 91 percent of people over 12, listen to radio each
week. Even 89 percent of teens listen to radio, whether it's traditional
AM-FM, online, satellite or podcast. For the first time
in a decade, Edison Research says, new Top 40 stations are showing the
potential to win teens back. KONN ("Hot 107.1 FM") and KQKS ("KS 107.5")
are Denver examples of the CHR, or "contemporary hits radio" formats,
endlessly playing Beyonce or the Black Eyed Peas and drawing teens.
"Radio is
resilient. You can't kill it," said Steve Cassidy, who is between jobs.
"Talk about the original social networking — we were always the social
network." New media don't
make old media obsolete, but every new device takes attention away from
the old ones. To wit: Sheet
music hasn't gone away; it's migrated to the Web, where downloads sell
briskly. A site called
Musicnotes.com
has sold more than 5 million sheet-music downloads since its start in
2000 — at $5 a pop. Joanne
Ostrow: 303-954-1830 or
jostrow@denverpost.com
Civil Rights Groups Ask Pelosi To Look Into Performance Rights Act
WASHINGTON -- May 15, 2009: Spanish Broadcasters Association Director Francisco Montero, Minority Media and Telecommunications Council Exec. Director David Honig, and Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Exec. Director Barbara Arnwine have written a joint letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asking her to "ensure that additional thoughtful analysis and deliberation is permitted" before the Performance Rights Act is voted on by the full House. The bill, which is sponsored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI), was approved by the committee earlier this week, over the objections of civil rights groups that wanted a hearing on the potential effects of the bill., which imposes performance royalties on broadcast radio, on minority-owned radio stations. The letter says the law "would disproportionately harm present and future minority radio broadcasters and their listening communities" and could "have an equally devastating effect on the civil rights advances we as a nation have made and will be able to make in the future." The signers say that Conyers disregarded their due process requests as the committee passed the "harmful legislation," and ask Pelosi to "ensure that these issues and all policy implications are fully vetted before this legislation is scheduled for consideration on the House floor." The letter says HR 848 "would lead to severe reductions in sustaining and public service programming" and could bankrupt as many as one-third of all minority-owned radio stations, adding that the Judiciary Committee's "apparent attempt to rush this bill through the committee process and onto the floor ignore the fact that this bill imposes significant changes on radio broadcasters without any consideration for the corresponding policy changes in other committees." For example, says the letter, there has been no examination by the Commerce Committee of whether radio should be compensated for the value of airplay and promotion or examination by the FCC of stations' continued ability to serve the public interest, nor has the Ways and Means Committee looked at reinstituting the minority tax certificate. Montero, Honig,
and Arnwine write, "HR 848 is not ripe for floor consideration.
We sincerely hope you will ensure that additional thoughtful
analysis and deliberation is permitted before it is scheduled
for floor consideration."
THE TOP 10 STATES THAT PRODUCE & SUPPORT INDEPENDENT MUSIC
#1 TEXAS
#2 CALIFORNIA
#3 TENNESSEE
#4 NEW YORK
#5 ILLINOIS
#6 MICHIGAN
#7 MISSISSIPPI
#8 LOUISIANA
#9 NORTH CAROLINA
#10 PENNSYLVANIA
Results were generated from a 5
year music tracking process tabulated by Roots Music Report.
Compiled 02/15/09 To view the tabulation process Click Here.. |