Radio Innovators

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radio-info.com :: september 2008 // nab austin // letter from the publisher

I’d like to welcome you to the NAB Radio Show Austin, and invite you to read our first Radio-Info.com publication, “Radio Innovators.”

In this publication, we’re spotlighting ten of the industry’s best people, products, and companies, whose vision for the future of radio has them leading the way in new technology, programming concepts, and business models. Our hope is that Radio-Info.com will also play a role in radio’s future, with our vision for an online community where radio professionals and enthusiasts can find news, information, analysis, discussion, and valuable resources.

I’d also like to invite you to visit our website, www.Radio-Info.com, if you haven’t already. And if you have, you may not know all of our history; Radio-Info.com was my son’s vision and began in 1999 - and survived his tragic death in 2005. It’s built on the popular messageboard framework Doug Fleming created and today which provides both information and the lively industry gossip that radio thrives on.

With online traffic exceeding 3 million page views per month and growing - we think Doug would be proud of what he started.

In 2006, inspired by our son’s passion for the radio industry and committed to honoring his legacy, my husband Rick and I devised an ambitious new business model for a media company that would move well beyond the original web-based discussion concept.

Today Radio-Info.com has been transformed into a dynamic business with 25 employees dedicated to providing services important to the radio community. Tom Taylor and Dana Hall, both seasoned radio journalists, were hired in May of 2007. Tom, Executive News Editor, writes a daily e-newsletter, Taylor on Radio-Info, which is provided free of charge to a rapidly growing base of readers who subscribe because Radio-Info delivers the news first and accurately. Dana Hall, Executive Editor, brings her years of experience to manage the 24/7 world of radio information, and commentary available on Radio-Info.com.

I am honored by the breadth of visitors who come to our site, who include CEO’s, CFO’s, station owners, managers, programmers, consultants, talent, vendors, and enthusiasts.

I look forward to meeting and talking with you during our stay here in Austin, and hope that you will become part of “Radio’s Online Community.”

-Diana Fleming

DIANA FLEMING

Letter from the Publisher

in3media, inc.

65 EAST WACKER PLACE | SUITE 305 CHICAGO | IL 60601 | 312.857.9700 publisher: Diana Fleming editorial staff: Tom Taylor, Dana Hall graphic design: Andrew Wilson information technology: Kevin Forsyth sales: Len Besinger | Director of Sales June Barnes | Account Executive Cushmeer Singleton | Account Executive administration: Sarah Cowser Jim Fitzpatrick

inside

RADIO INNOVATORS letter from the publisher

[3]

dan mason mike agovino bill moore kurt hanson steve jobs hipcricket ronning-lipset kexp targetspot google

[7]

interview with fcc chairman kevin martin

[8] [ 11 ] [ 14 ] [ 17 ] [ 19 ] [ 21 ] [ 24 ] [ 26 ] [ 28 ] [ 30 ]

速

SESAC is CUTTING EDGE COUNTRY REAL ROCK CONTEMPORARY JAZZ COOL

HIP HOP/R&B TRADITION AMERICANA SOLID CHRISTIAN INNOVATION AC

Everything Music Licensing Should Be ... SESAC is!

N A S H V I L L E / L O S A N G E L E S / N E W Y O R K / AT L A N TA / M I A M I / L O N D O N / W W W. S E S A C . C O M

dan mason /// CBS RADIO

ronning-lipset kurt hanson

targetspot

/// RAIN

steve jobs

hip cricket

/// APPLE

bill moore /// RADIOTIME

kexp

mike agovino /// TRITON MEDIA

google

RADIO INNOVATORS Radio-Info.com spotlights 10 of the industry’s people, products, and companies leading the way.

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RADIO INNOVATORS

DAN MASON

[ DAN MASON ]

1975.

Louisville native begins radio career at WZGC, Atlanta, after graduating from Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, KY

1977.

Moves to WPGC-FM, Washington, D.C. as both the station program director and also National Program Director for First Media

1979.

At age 27, moves to KTSA/KTFM, San Antonio for his first VP/General Manager position. Dan later returns to First Media – this time as Executive Vice President

1988.

First Media morphs into Cook Inlet Radio Partners, and Dan becomes President

1993.

Joins Westinghouse as President of Group W Radio

1995-2002.

President of Group W Radio successor CBS Radio

2002.

Leaves CBS Radio, begins busy consulting career. Clients include CBS Radio

2007 [April].

Returns as President/CEO of CBS Radio – just as the Don Imus “nappy-headed hos” controversy was breaking

2007 [May].

CBS corporate acquires Last.fm, music discovery network, another indication corporate is now aggressively seeking digital assets. CBS announces new “collaboration” between the two divisions in April 2008

2007 [July 9].

WCBS-FM, New York drops adult hits “Jack” format on 101.1 to return to former classic hits/ oldies presentation

2007 [Oct].

Mason announces re-structuring of operations. He takes direct oversight of Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. EVP Scott Herman to oversee other markets. Mason also brings over Michael Weiss from Interep’s CBS Radio national rep, as President of Sales

PRESIDENT AND CEO // CBS RADIO

“Radio provides more local content than any other medium...”

Déjà vu Dan? Mason’s the rare example of a radio executive who left the top job and then came back to it, years later. His roots are in radio programming, but he’d earned his first general manager’s job when he was just 27. Now – he’s charged with leading America’s second largest group (by revenue) into the digital age, while keeping the shine on its famous terrestrial radio brands.

As Dan began his second tour of duty at CBS, he gained some immediate fans by restoring the classic hits/oldies to New York on WCBS-FM (101.1) by shelving “Jack” there. There have been notable deals with outside partners on the digital side, too – most famously with AOL Radio, in a deal that’s already bringing new listeners to CBS Radio stations that stream, and to the coffers at CBS, which now benefits from having AOL properties to sell. And there seems to be a special sense of urgency to Dan, this time around.

Now: 5 Questions with Dan Mason#1, You seem to be a man on a mission, this second time back as the President of CBS Radio What’s the mission?

Dan: “To put added emphasis on programming. We have brought back a few stations with strong brand names and developed new ones to create breakthrough programming.” #2, CBS Radio is pushing hard into webcasting through the AOL Radio deal and many other digital initiatives - Is radio in danger of missing out on the digital revolution?

Dan: “Radio provides more local content than any other medium, and digital applications are giving radio a whole new look. To be able to put pictures with our audio is revolutionary.” #3, Where would you like CBS Radio - or the radio business overall - to be, by 2010? The industry’s concerned about the NAB/RAB “Radio 2020” project, in honor of radio’s 100th anniversary - but how about 2010?

Dan: “We believe the economy will improve to a better place by that time. We will be in a strong position to capitalize on any opportunity it would present.” #4, For the overall business, what should radio’s priorities be?

Dan: “Serving our local communities is huge, whether small, medium or large. We should call listeners to action for the good of the community in any way we can. Externally, we have to stay in front of advertisers with creative copy and new ideas.” #5, Since this is about innovation Is there something you wish somebody would invent, or do?

Dan: “I wish there were several tech companies that were established to create and explore alternate uses for FM Spectrum.”

-TT

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RADIO INNOVATORS

[ MIKE AGOVINO ]

// TRITON MEDIA

“Frogs”? Mike says they’ve tried kissing “hundreds of them”, to identify the right “best of breed” services and partners to bring to radio and other media, so they’re equipped with the platform, the content and the know-how to be online and in mobile media - and to make money there. Agovino says “It’s impossible to deliver against your business plan as a Market Manager, PD or VP of Digital, if you’re taking 15 vendor meetings a week. Radio is not participating (less than 2% of local online revs go to radio companies) in the battle for local online advertising. The Triton Platform and suite of intelligent solutions, when properly deployed, changes that. We look at the gap between where you are now and where you want to be and we deliver the technology, tools, curriculum and expertise to activate your strategy and attain your goals.”

and monetize an audience on-air, but online and in the mobile world.

People need to understand that what drives on-air ratings and what drives unique visits, page views, total listening hours, on-demand and podcast listens/views can be very different things. You are not trying to be just a station with a website, but rather a local digital media brand with a loudspeaker.”

Agovino, a former President of Katz Radio and Katz Interactive, former COO of Clear Channel Radio Sales, and former co-COO of Interep National Radio, says candidly that “In the last 15 years, most large market radio advertising time has been bought, not sold. There’s been a lot of salespeople taking orders and feeling entitled to that six-figure income. We need as much reinvention in our sales ranks as we need with our content offerings.”

MIKE AGOVINO

“We’ve kissed all the frogs”, so stations don’t have to.

was a great platform for me. Anxious for change and believing in the power of the internet, Gerry Boehme, Mitch Kline and I launched a streaming media rep firm back in the late 90’s. We were having a great time and were learning a tremendous amount, but given how early we were to the party, the venture was never really given a chance. We closed up shop within two years of launch.

TRITONMEDIA “ Triton Media calls itself “The convergence partner for local media brands”, and that arises out of the vision of CEO Neal Schore and Chief Operating Officer Mike Agovino. As Mike tells Radio-Info: “We can go to radio and they say, ‘Wait a minute - I can just deal with you guys, and it’s turnkey, and you’re also going to build a business plan for me and show me how I’m going to make money?”

But it’s not all milk and cookies: Mike says radio “has got to get past the protect-the-status quo-at-all-costs mentality, to a point of technological acceptance, comfort and competence.” This needs to happen very quickly and it involves “re-inventing some roles so that the new blood understands not only how to build

You are not trying to be just a station with a website, but rather a local digital media brand with a loudspeaker.

”

So how did Mike and Neal wind up with backer Oaktree Capital and a lot of companies and partnerships and expertise? Here’s Mike’s story “I was inside Katz all those years, from the mid 1980s through 2000. The rep business is a great 50-yard line seat on radio. You see all the markets and the evolution and creation of formats, you get to know many of the groups and their management teams, so it

“After Clear Channel bought the company [Katz], I was asked to launch a new rep firm that would sell all 1,200 stations. This opportunity really changed my career and forced me to reinvent myself. The expectation was that we would develop meaningful advertiser-direct relationships and create value for them via the CC footprint, which included the Outdoor and Entertainment unit assets. We were playing Lewis & Clark - chopping down trees - to make cross-platform sales, and we had some success.

We did some really innovative things, built great advertiser relationships, and more than anything else we had fun and learned a lot.

“Following the Katz Interactive and Clear Channel experiences, I knew what I wanted to do if the opportunity ever presented itself.

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RADIO INNOVATORS

[ MIKE AGOVINO ] “The first time Neal Schore and I got together, we started talking about what was going to happen with convergence and the technological challenges the radio industry would face. We knew there would be only a handful of radio companies that might have the resources to try to execute against this opportunity, on their own.

Where there is “attention, money will go. ”

“We felt that if we could get in the space early, especially for the middle of the market and the long tail of the industry - we could provide an indispensable service. I’d never had any experience raising money but Neal did, and he was able to create this great partnership we have with the folks at Oaktree. From Day 1, they’ve been just unbelievable partners.

Now in just 24 months - it’s hard to believe that’s all it’s been - we have a company of more than 600 people and we’ve completed north of 10 business deals. This would include companies we have bought, or invested in, or partnered with.

content delivery.

“We’ve witnessed in the last 12 months or so a shifting mindset.

Whereas prior to that we’d be talking about one particular application or service, now stations are wanting a complete set of solutions. Digital has clearly moved from an opportunity to a necessity, and most of the marketplace recognizes that they need help going to battle.

“We can deliver an app or service a la carte, as we do with our streaming solution for CBS and others. However, most broadcasters are choosing to partner with us more deeply.

“Radio needs to do this. We all lived through 2001 and the challenges it presented, but this is a different kind of perfect storm. There are all the macroeconomic issues, and all these challenges that new media presents.

When times get tough and belts have to get tightened on the advertiser side, they’re going to put their money where they can track it most closely.

Many of the ways are imperfect, but they exist. From an accountability standpoint, the medium has to move not just to PPM but beyond, to build the relationship from a one-to-many to a one-to-one.

// TRITON MEDIA

that’s the great opportunity for radio.

Beyond all other media, we have these high affinity scores. But we need to do a much better job of cultivating new talent into the platform and bringing our audiences into the conversation.

“We’re going to have to be aggressive about using technology as a friend. With every other innovation that’s gone on in the media landscape, the legacy companies have participated in a big way, and that will absolutely be the case again.

going “toWe’re have to be

aggressive about using technology as a friend.

”

“But: We’re not challenging aggressively enough those competency levels in the building. Start from ground zero, and ask: ‘If I didn’t have anybody in the building, what kind of people would I want? Would I re-hire these folks?’ I don’t see us attacking that issue aggressively enough.

A knife won’t work in a gun battle.

TRITONMEDIA “For example: We own Dial Global, Jones, MJI Interactive, Radio Companion and Fusion Innovative Marketing. We have equity stakes in StreamTheWorld, MusicToGo and Mass2One Media. In each case we’re the largest outside shareholder and provide strategic services back to the company including affiliate sales management and activation. There are also some companies we’ve partnered with, like Ando Media for ad-serving and analytics, Slipstream for side channels, Nowlive for social broadcasting and Airkast for mobile

“Version 1.0 was the website. Stations thought they basically needed a brochure of what they do on-air.

But it is not simply gaining new distribution for an existing on-air brand, it’s taking that in a bunch of new directions. People are starting to get that, which in turn generates attention and traffic. Where there is attention, money will go. We’ve seen that time and time again with every new form of entertainment. The missing ingredient in others is an environment of trust - context matters – and

“We love radio. We believe in it.

We’ve bet a lot on it. We have about 3,500 affiliations for our applications, our services, our content, and that grows aggressively every week.

We’ve got some clients that are doing north of 5% of their overall business through our tools. And there’s no reason why the industry can’t get to a double-digit digital percentage of their business in the next couple of years.”

-TT

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RADIO INNOVATORS

[ BILL MOORE ] PRESIDENT, FOUNDER // RADIOTIME.COM

BILL MOORE

ed software companies: Efficient Networks and Network TeleSystems. His goal with RadioTime, as a radio-lover himself, has been to help other radio-listeners. What he realized early on was the challenge facing those who loved listening to the radio on the internet: How to find the right programming at the right time. Here’s what he came up with:

Right now, the majority of radio listening is still done the old fashioned way—by listening to a station over the air on your radio receiver. Listening to radio over the Internet is by no means overtaking that – at least not yet. With the way our world is headed, that could likely change in the near future. It’s also likely that most users will choose to listen to terrestrial radio that streams, as opposed to Internet-only radio— if we give them a way to find it quickly and easily.

One of the companies we’re spotlighting in this Innovators publication is RadioTime, an internet tool that will help listeners to find the stations and the programming they want to hear, via the wireless web. Ultimately, it will also help broadcasters and advertisers as well.

The visionary behind RadioTime is founder and CEO/President Bill Moore. Moore is not a “radio guy,” but we should claim him as one of our own. His background is in technology and over the course of his career, he’s led two self-fund-

RI: What is RadioTime, and how does it work?

“ Our goal is to be part

of people’s gadgets and widgets, and on their blogs and social networking pages.”

Bill Moore: It’s like a TV Guide for radio on the Internet. It makes it easy for users to find the radio programming they desire. The thing is, it’s a much harder problem to solve than it is for a television guide. On the Internet, there are more than 60,000 radio channels in over 100 different languages. Over the past six years since we started, RadioTime has been figuring out exactly how to organize this information, focused on the listener, rather than the broadcaster or the advertiser.

The company originally started with the “TiVo for radio” model, and that remains a feature, but gradually it grew into being more about the guide to radio. By doing so, it becomes easier for Internet companies to make RadioTime a feature on their websites. Our goal

is to be part of people’s gadgets and widgets, and on their blogs and social networking pages. It’s about sharing the information to grow the audience. Today, we get about 2 million visitors to the site per month.

RI: How has RadioTime grown in the six years since its inception?

Bill Moore: We’ve partnered with a few companies to utilize the RadioTime tool in various consumer products. Kodak has a series of products for home HD theater viewing and listening. You can hook up your camera to the television and share your pictures, but it also has a tool to listen to music via the web. RadioTime is offered on the product so you can find radio on the net, and then listen through this HD theater sound system.

We’ve also partnered with Logitech for a table-top radio player that’s called a Squeezebox which allows users to listen to radio via the internet without a computer.

And we’re featured on Charter. net, a cable company which has a local page on its website in which RadioTime is featured. Users can see and find all the radio stations in their particular market, and then listen to them through Charter.net.

RI: Who can be listed with RadioTime?

Bill Moore: RadioTime lists all licensed stations that stream, including HD2 and HD3 channels.

Each station profile is updated by our team, with the help of input from users and the stations themselves. We also list network

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RADIO INNOVATORS

[ BILL MOORE ] PRESIDENT, FOUNDER // RADIOTIME.COM programming and syndicated programming. Stations don’t have to do anything, or pay anything to be listed with us. It’s our goal to list all stations. We’re not a competitor to radio, we’re a tool to service them.

RI: What are the implications for terrestrial radio, as people start to use the Internet more for finding radio broadcast choices?

Bill Moore: With Wi-Fi, consumers are no longer exposed to just local radio. But that doesn’t mean that local radio will die. In fact, it could flourish on the web. Whether they get the programming through AM, FM or the Internet is secondary to them. They want to find their favorite programming, whatever it’s broadcast on. The thing we need

to remember is that broadcasters have been doing this for over 100 years, so they are the best at creating relevant content for the consumer. Look at some of the most popular podcasts available on iTunes. They’re all content from traditional radio. This is about the distribution of the product that you’re already the best at creating. And broadcasters know how to monetize what they offer. Internet-only radio hasn’t really accomplished that yet.

RI: If you met a broadcaster today who was not streaming their station, or even had a website, what would you say to him/her?

and cart to deliver your products, but the competition is starting to use trucks. You think automobiles are too expensive. The horse and cart work just fine, there’s no need to change. Well, pretty soon, the horse and cart guy is out of business and the guy using the truck has all the customers.

The reality is, the value of your FM footprint will fade over time. But what you put on that footprint is the real product. How are you going to get it to the consumer?

-DH More about RadioTime at www.radiotime.com

Bill Moore: Let’s say it’s 100 years ago. You’re using a horse

Powerful video tools for your website Listener Generated Video engage your audience increase your traffic create new sponsor revenue

www.CELLit.com

Radio-Info.com Welcomes you to the NAB Radio Show 2008, in Austin.

• Visit us at the Radio-Info.com booth • Pick up a copy of our daily e-newsletter, Taylor On Radio-Info • Enjoy our first-ever, conference publication “Radio Innovators”

w w w. ra d i o - in fo. co m

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RADIO INNOVATORS

[ KURT HANSON ] Kurt Hanson brings a unique profile to the discussion about radio’s future, because he lives in both the broadcast radio and Internet radio communities.

of just filming a play. It’s good customer service, and you should do it, but it’s not taking advantage of any of the strengths of the new medium.

He’s the founder and publisher of RAIN: Radio and Internet Newsletter, and the Founder/CEO of “the leading customizable multi-channel Internet radio property targeting persons 2554, AccuRadio.com.” He was also the founder and CEO of Strategic Media Research, which he created as he earned his M.B.A. in marketing from the University of Chicago in 1980. His vivid demonstrations at past radio conventions about the margin of error in ratings (using marbles), and his servings of Chicago deep-dish pizza, became legendary. And out of left field – or is it another galaxy? —Kurt’s graphic skills landed him on the crew of the “Star Trek: Insurrection” movie as a graphic designer (he’s responsible for the animated computer monitors for the Son’a starship).

Just as films can do things that plays can’t, Internet radio can do things that broadcast radio can’t – it can have a nearly infinite number of channels, have a “skip” button, and allow the consumer to personalize the programming.

Radio-Info: You’ve done “regular” broadcast radio and you’ve been a real innovator with the online AccuRadio. What have you learned about the differences?

Kurt Hanson: If I’ve learned one thing it’s that the difference between the two mediums — broadcast and Internet radio — is huge. It’s as big as the difference between, say, stage plays and movies.

A stage play is terrific, and as you know, you can place a camera in the back row of a theater and film it. But that doesn’t make much of a movie!

It doesn’t take advantage of any of the strengths of the medium of film - being able to go outdoors, having close-ups, using montages, having background music.

Similarly, just throwing your AM or FM signal on the Internet is the equivalent

Each form of radio can and should be used to complement the other, because each has different strengths: Broadcast radio is primarily live and local, the brands are usually associated with a genre of music (or a personality), and on-air talent is important to bind the whole product together. But Internet radio, on the other hand, in its most popular form, is primarily database-driven and national. Brands are not about a genre of music but rather about a user interface. And visuals, rather than air personalities, tie the whole product together.

Just throwing your “AM or FM signal on the Internet is the equivalent of just filming a play.

”

Absolutely, if you’re running a local AM/FM radio station, you should offer your station’s stream online. But products specifically designed for the Internet, with incredible amounts of choice and control, are those that will get consumers excited in the long run.

I continue to read quotes from corporate group heads saying they don’t know how to make money online or from streaming. But the problem is

KURT HANSON

FOUNDER AND PUBLISHER // RAIN

not that there isn’t a business model — it’s just that it’s a different business model than they’re used to, and they don’t want to adjust! Frankly, it’s not even that different a model: You have a lot of fixed costs and a few variable costs, and you’re selling advertising, and if you grow your audience to the point where your advertising revenues cover your fixed costs, from that point on you make a lot of money.

RI: What is it that broadcasters don’t understand about the Internet?

Kurt Hanson: Primarily, I think most broadcasters believe that Internet radio’s opportunities are only a way to reach the “next generation,” and that’s not true!

Arbitron PPM data is proving what those of us in Internet radio have known for years: Streaming is a P2554, even a P25-64, phenomenon.

(Caveat: This is true today, when most Internet radio listening is at-work.

However, in the future, as Internet radio migrates onto cell phones and into game systems, the demographics will expand younger.)

If you want to reach P18-24s nowadays, I’m not saying that an Internet product isn’t the way to do it. Of course it is. But if you want to reach P35-44s or P55-64s, then the best op-

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RADIO INNOVATORS

[ KURT HANSON ] FOUNDER AND PUBLISHER // RAIN portunities are also via the Internet!

RI: What should radio managers be thinking about right now, as their priorities?

Kurt Hanson: Whether you’re a station manager or a group head, the majority of your profitability for years to come is going to be associated with your terrestrial signals.

So that’s where I suggest you need to put the majority of your efforts: Localism, personalities and promotion are all critical, and you have to make sure you’re doing a good job of delivering on that.

But almost all of your growth potential from now on is going to be on the Internet. So you’ve got to make sure you’ve got an initiative going there as well.

As I said a moment ago, your Internet initiative has got to be more significant than just re-broadcasting your local signals. You need to take your local radio brands and go online with them in a big way, offering Internetspecific versions that take advantage of all of the benefits of the medium of Internet radio.

To put it another way, if you’re a GM or PD or group head and 80% to 90% of your business is in an almostinevitable long-term slow decline (albeit nicely profitable), you’re going to want to draw the attention of your bosses or shareholders to the 10% to 20% of your business that’s growing. And I’m not suggesting smoke and mirrors – I mean that you actually need to have some genuinely positive initiatives going on!

And I believe you should consider pursuing some of the larger national opportunities as well. Most broad-

casters are ignoring the fact that the web is a national medium – actually, really, a global medium. Focusing exclusively on locally-focused products, simply because radio stations historically have had 50-mile coverage radiuses, is short-sighted and unnecessary. There are a huge number of opportunities: You can super-serve specific musical tastes. You can target specific distribution channels (e.g., Nintendo Wiis). You can launch brands aimed at specific demographic or lifestyle groups.

To date, most radio broadcasters have barely begun to even look at such opportunities. But they’re there, and many of them are ripe for the taking!

“Almost all of your

growth potential from now on is going to be on the Internet.”

RI: How do you see the next 2-3 years playing out for radio?

Kurt Hanson: First, I think the PPM rollout is going to be good for the industry; ratings are going to be a lot more detailed, a lot more stable, and a lot more accurate in the aggregate.

However, it’s going to have mixed value for individual radio stations: Given the number of meters that are going to be out there, and the margin of error associated with that, when the first PPM results come out for a market, about one-quarter of radio stations are going to get a sweet lucky break and about one-quarter of stations are going to get royally screwed. With diaries, this happens every week, so over the course of a few weeks it averages out. With PPMs, though, if you

get a break or get screwed, it’s going to continue for almost a one-year horizon – until the panel refreshes itself!

So the PPM rollout is an overall plus, but with a caveat.

Second, I believe that something’s got to give when it comes to HD Radio. Broadcasters have probably already invested $1 billion or more on this initiative, between equipment purchases and on-air promos, and it would be a shame to see that expenditure simply thrown away. On the other hand, it’s got to become clear to broadcasters pretty soon that the existing approach – offering a small handful of hidden, clumsily-numbered “channels-between-the-channels” in each market – isn’t resonating with consumers and isn’t going to.

As you know, the current marketing campaign is “HD Radio: It’s time to upgrade.” I would argue, “HD Radio: It’s time for Plan B.” Third, I hope radio industry’s leaders will take my advice and be more inclusive in their definition of what “radio” is. If “radio” means local terrestrial AM/FM broadcasts, then radio is an industry in decline. (Albeit slowly, and albeit still nicely profitable.)

But if “radio” is defined inclusively to mean all forms of radio, including satellite radio, radio on cable systems and satellite TV channels, and Internet radio in all its many forms, then radio is undergoing an amazing renaissance. It’s more popular than it’s ever been!

From a PR standpoint for the radio industry, that would be a much better story. And, more importantly, it’s true.

-TT Read more about Kurt Hanson and RAIN at http://www.kurthanson.com

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RADIO INNOVATORS

STEVE JOBS

[ STEVE JOBS ]

1955 [Feb 24].

Steve Jobs is born in California

1976.

Jobs co-founded Apple Computers, along with Steve Wozniak, with a concept to build easy-to-use personal computers

1984.

The Apple Macintosh is introduced; plans for the first MacWorld Expo are in the works

1985.

Jobs and the Apple Board of Directors clash, forcing Jobs to resign from the company as CEO; in response, he founds NeXT, a computer platform development company

1986.

Acquires the computer graphics of LucasfilmLt, and spins off his own company, Pixar Animation Studios

1996.

NeXT buys Apple Computers, bringing Jobs back to the company he started

2001 [Jan].

Apple introduces iTunes, an online music store for downloadable music

2001 [May].

The first Apple Stores are opened in Tyson’s Corner, Virginia and Glendale, California

2001 [Oct].

Apple introduces its first iPod, a portable device to listen to downloadable music and content. By 2007, 150 million iPods have been sold worldwide

2007 [June 29].

Apple introduces its first iPhone, a multi-media smartphone; Jobs is named the most powerful person in business

by Fortune Magazine

2008 [July].

The Apple iPhone 3G is introduced, taking personal mobile Wi-Fi to the next level

CO-FOUNDER, CHAIRMAN AND CEO // APPLE He was a leader in revolutionizing the personal computer—the Macintosh. Later, he changed how we buy and listen to music with the introduction of iTunes and later the iPod, at the same time forcing the record industry to re-think its business model. Now, with the introduction of the multi-media smartphone, the iPhone—and its latest superfast edition, the 3G— Steve Jobs is changing how we think of delivering radio content to our listeners.

As the CEO and Chairman of Apple, Inc., Jobs is and has been a controversial person. And he’s also a controversial choice as an “Innovator in Radio.” Many in broadcasting may argue that Jobs isn’t a leader for radio at all, and will cite the fact that the new iPhone does not offer AM and FM bands for listening to the radio. Well, at least not in the traditional sense. You can listen to any station that streams—anywhere, anytime.

That’s where the controversy emerges. The fact is Jobs—with his iPhone, iPod, and iTunes—is showing radio, alternative choices in delivering content. Let’s face it, putting the FM dial on an iPhone would, in a sense, be like offering a Walkman radio. And isn’t that so ‘80s? Apple is all about the future, not the past.

But some very well respected broadcasting executives still question the economic viability of offering our content through alternative ways. When the news broke that the new Apple iPhone 3G would not offer FM radio, Emmis Communications Chairman and CEO Jeff Smulyan was not so happy. The Indianapolis Star recently reported that Smulyan would like to see cell phone companies offer AM and FM tuners on their “sticks” for a cost of 40 cents per pop.

In a recent letter to the Internet Radio trade publication RAIN, Smulyan responded to a piece on the likelihood

of getting FM radios in cell phones.

His focus is on economics, and expanding the terrestrial signal’s reach: “…Giving consumers what they want, when they want it. This is a proposition all of us can agree on. However, it is simplistic to assume that giving people every conceivable channel that is available through streaming is a business model that can ever make sense to us.”

Smulyan continues, “If our goal is to cater to every conceivable consumer taste without regard to economic viability, then we have a different business rationale. If our goal is to create viable businesses for the benefit of our employees, our audiences and our communities, then expanding the reach of our terrestrial signals to different methods of distribution seems like a much more rational solution.”

But not everyone from the world of radio sees it the same way. Veteran radio industry publisher Jerry Del Colliano says in his blog entry, “The FM-Free iPhone”, that “Unfortunately, radio’s ‘leaders’ are burying their heads in the sand. They want to return to yesterday so much that they refuse to look up and see the future for an industry with all the skills to dominate mobile content.

It’s just that mobile content for radio is not ever going to be continuous live stations — not now, not ever.

Apple knows it. The sooner radio does, the future will be accessible on a mobile device.”

While opinions continue to differ in the world of broadcasting, companies like Apple, led by Innovators such as Steve Jobs, will continue to provide multiple choices to consumers on how to receive their entertainment and information content. Radio just needs to decide how they are going to utilize these choices to its advantage, and best serve listeners in the future.

-DH

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IVAN BRAIKER

RADIO INNOVATORS

HipCricket is one of the leading mobile marketing companies used by broadcasters today. Since launching in 2004, it has been connecting radio one-on-one to its listeners through producing interactive mobile marketing campaigns. It has helped take radio from getting feedback from a couple of hundred callers, to getting responses from thousands and potentially millions of text users.

And it’s not just about touching more listeners. These campaigns generate new revenue for clients, which in addition to radio includes television, name brands, and agencies. Names like Clear Channel Radio, Premiere Radio Networks, Cumulus Media, Triad Broadcasting, Perry Broadcasting, Sandusky Broadcasting, Katz Media Group, Beasley Broadcast Group, Bonneville International, Cox Radio, NBC, Coca Cola, Staples, and others are all on the HipCricket client list.

In the four years since launching, HipCricket has implemented more than 17,000 mobile marketing campaigns. These campaigns help to increase listener and consumer loyalty by tapping into the behaviors and interests of 136 mil-

lion Americans. HipCricket is an Innovator in radio because is has helped change the playing field, allowing radio to compete on multiple platforms for revenue.

Radio-Info.com talked with one of the founding members of HipCricket, CEO Ivan Braiker. A 30year veteran of the broadcast industry, Braiker has managed and owned radio facilities and networks.

He shares his thoughts on the role HipCricket—and mobile marketing in general—has played in moving our industry forward.

RI: When you first considered the concept of mobile marketing, what was your initial vision for how it could be used for radio broadcasting?

What I saw in mobile “ marketing was a way

to serve both goals: programming needs and be revenue generating.

”

Ivan Braiker: When it was first presented to me by [Director of Sales] Graham Knowles, and Iain Simms I thought it was amazing and envisioned the potential power it could have as a sales tool.

That was in late 2003, and we still didn’t have cross carriers [text messaging that could translate between different carriers]. But as soon as it was available, the reality of mobile marketing was born. I thought this would be a way for radio to stay in contact with its listeners and at the same time, create compelling interactive elements with advertising. This would be interactive without the web. It would be immediate communication between a station, a

listener, and a marketer.

There has always been this tension between programming and sales in radio. What I saw in mobile marketing was a way to serve both goals: programming needs and also be revenue generating. Programming loves it because it’s a touch point to stay connected with the listener, while the advertiser also gets something positive from it.

RI: How has mobile marketing transformed radio broadcasting in its short history? How do you see it being used and changing radio in the future?

Ivan Braiker: It has been an evolution, and it will take more time to see its full potential. For some stations, they saw the potential and adapted the tool very quickly into what they were already doing. For others, it may take longer for them to see the benefits of mobile marketing. One example of a success was in a relatively smaller market, Evansville, IN. We did a quick-start, intensive training program with the sales team, on how they could use the tool to better serve advertisers. In one week, they had written up a half million dollars in mobile campaigns. The great thing about a mobile campaign is that it can be a sales-only tool, and programming never has to be involved if it doesn’t want to be, but I haven’t run into a programmer yet who didn’t “get it” and want to use it.

At HipCricket, we also took a multiple department approach, talking to programming and sales both, not just one or the other. For most stations, NTR is where the revenue growth is. And both programming

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RADIO INNOVATORS

The first cross-carrier of a SMS shortcode campaign is used by the Lebatt Brewing Company SMS (Short Message Service) becomes available to cell phone customers in Europe and Asia

2000

2002

Approximately 300 million text messages are sent per day in the U.S.

2002

2003

and sales are involved in some aspect of NTR. In the future things like mobile marketing and other NTR will be the standard form of revenue.

RI: Who are the greatest beneficiaries of mobile marketing? —Radio, the clients, or the users?

radio, it’s about “For utilizing one of its

most valuable assets: its data base.

”

Ivan Braiker: The truth is, the user, and that is what makes it so good for the radio station and its clients. It gives the user the ability to have an immediate call to action. It’s not like they call on the telephone, and get a busy signal. They can get a coupon immediately, just by texting. It’s fast, immediate and convenient. We’ve all heard that today’s generation want their information, their music—whatever it is they want—now, on their time, not on anyone else’s. That’s why we see things like TiVo, and On Demand becoming so popular.

For radio, it’s about utilizing one of its most valuable assets: its data base.

Radio used to sell the data base.

Now broadcasters are realizing they have more to offer marketers. So, in

WPOW “Power 96” Miami, conducts a school spirit contest using HipCricket’s mobile marketing services, and receives over 4 million responses from listeners.

Cross-carriers become standard, allowing texting between users of different cell phone companies HipCricket is formed by founders Ivan Braiker, Graham Knowles, and Eric Harber

2004

that sense, radio is a beneficiary as well, because this new service is illustrating just how effective radio is to reach consumers—whether it’s over the air or in other delivery systems.

Everybody talks about Social Networking and its interactive potential.

Well, radio is and always has been the biggest social network out there.

Radio is the most personal of all the mass media out there. Let’s use it to our greatest ability. Marry the radio with the mobile device—everyone has one.

2008

Approximately 2.5 billion text messages are sent daily in the U.S.

Today

sponsor all text contesting for the next year. In Knoxville, a client station started using mobile marketing as an ad tool to sell to clients, and they wrote up $100,000 in business in one day.

Radio is the most “personal of all the

mass media out there. Let’s use it to our greatest ability.

”

RI: Can you tell me some of the most interesting and successful campaigns HipCricket has been involved with?

RI: In what ways do radio broadcasters fail to embrace new ideas or innovations?

Ivan Braiker: People have heard about the School Spirit Contest that WPOW did in Miami. They had over four million listeners text in—and doubled their data base in about two weeks.

Ivan Braiker: Radio has been so beat up the past few years. When you go to them and discuss the capabilities and possibilities of a product, they are excited. You tell them, it will cost you X amount of dollars, but you could end up making XX amount of dollars. But because it’s going to cost them, the excitement wanes.

They are afraid of spending any money for fear of losing their jobs. The innovation is out there, but broadcast companies need to take a chance and invest in their future.

-DH

The station that I mentioned earlier in Evansville—in addition to the half million dollars they brought in, they also brought in 40 new accounts over the subsequent weeks. In Salt Lake City, Simmons Media did a campaign for Brad Paisley tickets. Listeners could text in, and they got a response, which was an ad from a client. The advertiser received an 80% return response and so they decided to

More about HipCricket at www.Hipcricket.com

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Eric Ronning and Andy Lipset were at different Internet companies and then in 2003 “we met for lunch in Bryant Park – and the lightbulb went off” about connecting national advertisers with online radio. They were old friends from the radio repfirm wars of the 1990s, and they realized “This is our shot – we can put our names on the door.” They talked themselves and then their families into it, and off they went.

Read the story of how their unique rep firm grew along with a fledgling business – and read their diagnosis of the mistakes that many broadcast stations are making with their online strategy.

But first, this is a story about Internet radio – and how it was almost ignored at first, but has grown to become a “radio” service just as real as the local AM or FM station to many users, some of whom don’t even need a computer to listen.

Ronning says “In the 1990s, we were working in traditional radio, at two national radio rep companies.

Andy was at HNWH and I was at Durpetti when they were merged into D&R Radio in 1993, and we formed a friendship out of the molten metal, because what Ralph Guild at Interep had done was put two competing companies together. But about a year into it, Andy and I found that we were doing presentations, pitches and strategy together, and we’d become a team.”

Lipset – “That was a time when rep

ANDY LIPSET

ERIC RONNING

RADIO INNOVATORS

firms competed with each other for business, and everything was done at the GM level, where you fought to build a rep firm.

“By 2000 Eric and I had both left the traditional radio biz - Eric moved over to Yahoo and I joined AOL. And within a couple of years we noticed mounting evidence at each company that showed that people were using the Internet as a music device. They were really looking at the Internet as a music discovery and experience tool. LAUNCHcast, Yahoo’s product, and AOL Radio were starting to capture some significant listenership. We were privy to the surveys and saw there was a lot of listener satisfaction.

formula for creating “ The a successful terrestrial radio station is bringing in lots of listeners and combining that with listener satisfaction.

”

“The formula for creating a successful terrestrial radio station is bringing in lots of listeners and combining that with listener satisfaction. Eric and I would meet every now and then, and we’d have these conversations about AOL Radio and LAUNCHcast like: ‘Wow, are you seeing the same things I’m seeing?’ We both went back to our companies and said, ‘You know, there are a lot of reasons why we should be looking at these radio services, these online radio as-

sets, to monetize them.’ They both had similar responses – ‘You know what, guys, it’s a great idea, but we don’t have the resources or capabilities to do it.’ And that’s how the idea for Ronning Lipset Radio was born. We were very upfront with the companies about starting the business. Many people do the conspiratorial thing and drop the bomb on their employers. But we didn’t want to do it that way.”

Ronning adds: “There was a moment for both of us – when both companies said we think there’s an opportunity there, and the lightbulb just went off. We met for lunch in Bryant Park, started talking, and it very quickly escalated into exploring real possibilities. If Yahoo is being used like a radio station, and AOL is being used like a radio station, we could see it coming. We just talked each other into it. We grabbed the opportunity, and started off with AOL and Yahoo as our first two customers.”

Lipset explains, “My wife was pregnant, we were building a house from scratch, living with parents for a while, and Eric and his wife had just had their first child. And maybe 5% of the total U.S. population was using streaming radio on a regular basis, and streaming radio was not well-known by our non-tech-friendly wives. Fortunately, they have worked in the advertising business and had enough knowledge of the space to to say ‘This makes sense, you should do it.’

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RADIO INNOVATORS

“People are adding more time to their audio day [for internet radio], and the ad community is getting this. We still need to educate, still need to talk about the audience, but it’s much easier than it was five years ago, and it’s still very much about Ronning Lipset being the first in the door.

other things that need to be done in terms of getting that audience engaged in different ways. It’s not just having a website to have a website.

They need to be doing things that are topical. They have personalities and local content, and leveraging those things will be a very, very big part of a successful online strategy.

“But people are still using traditional terrestrial radio, very, very heavily.”

“But you can’t be experts in everything. It’s the same thing for terrestrial radio – know what you know, know what you don’t know, and then hire experts.”

“I see over-the-air stations trying a lot of things when it comes to their online presence, and I’m very happy to see that. Their unique proposition is the localities, the personalities, the entertainment mix of the station as a whole. They’re starting to get a sense of the station and to have respect for themselves. And they understand that content really matters. But it’s still a new business for everybody.

“CBS did the right thing by sitting back, and learning, THEN implementing a very well thought out interactive strategy. That’s very insightful, and we hope others will follow that lead.

‘You ask ‘How are terrestrial stations falling short with their online initiatives?’ Well, a web strategy needs to be much more involved than simply streaming a broadcast. There are

“ There’s still a lot of excitement about radio, and it’s still a really effective medium.”

Ronning asks: “Where’s it all going?

First and foremost – there will be massive access to wireless Internet.

Being connected will be easy, ubiquitous. You see it with the iPhone, Wi-Fi networks and so on. Devices are becoming easier to use.

“Consumers do want to create their own experience, and they want to get it when they want it. The online space has been built around those

expectations, but not terrestrial. It’s a very different type of experience – [it’s] less restricted to a single programmer saying ‘Here is your 24hour clock.’ It’s more, ‘Here is what I provide.’”

Lipset adds, “It’s not that people aren’t listening to morning shows in the morning. But the interactive nature of the web gives people the ability to take that morning show and put it on in a different daypart.

Radio has some of the best programming out there, with compelling personalities, music and so on.

So how do you transfer that?”

Ronning gets the last word: “There’s still a lot of excitement about radio, and it’s still a really effective medium. Now people are looking for ways to kick it up a notch. How do you make radio even more exciting as an advertiser? You spice it up by adding something new to the pot.

“Radio is still very much alive and well, and adding this digital element opens the door to a whole new world of possibilities and keeps the listeners engaged. It proves that radio is interactive – and adds some spice for advertisers.”

-TT More about Ronning Lipset Radio at www.rlradio.com

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& Associates, Inc.

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Consulting services for Terrestrial News, Talk, Sports. Digital Convergence, Internet broadcasting, Turn-Key Digital Audio Strategies featuring Customized Branded Content.

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RADIO INNOVATORS

1972.

The University of Washington launches album rock 90.5, KCMU on a 10kw transmitter serving the college community

1981.

The University cuts funds, forcing KCMU to look to listener support to continue operating, and evolves its programming to “modern rock”

1982.

KCMU increases its power to 182 watts, reaching beyond the college campus for listeners

1985.

KCMU expands its music playlist by adding such genres as hip-hop, jazz, reggae, roots, blues and more

1986.

The station moves to its current signal, 90.3, and its transmitter relocates to Capitol Hill, increasing its power to 400 watts and extending its reach 15 miles

2000.

KCMU starts streaming over the Internet

2001.

KCMU changes its call letters to KEXP, and increases its power to 720 watts and builds a state-of-the-art studio in downtown Seattle, while partnering with Experience Music Project

2004.

KEXP is nominated for a third Webby, and wins for Best Radio Station Website for its KEXP.Org

2006.

KEXP increases its power to its current 4700 watts

2008.

KEXP partners with WNYE New York to share programming for the show “Radio Liberation” and KEXP.Org wins its second Webby

We could argue that there hasn’t been a lot of innovation in radio programming in recent years. Sure, every couple of years we have a new “format du jour”—Jack, Movin’, Rhythmic Oldies, FM Talk—some of which last, and others that don’t.

Let’s be honest, broadcasters are “rewarded” for creating formats that generate the most revenue and draw the biggest audience and not for being different, unique, inspiring or innovative. That’s just the nature of this business.

But what if there was a way to generate revenue and be all of those things as well? What station can others learn from, as we move our business forward? While some might consider a non-commercial outlet an unlikely candidate, KEXP (90.3) Seattle, owned by the University of Washington, is just the station. As well known for its website as it is for its eclectic on air programming, KEXP has led the way in streaming on the web, providing content on-demand via its website, and has created inventive on-air programming shared by New York City non-com WNYE (91.5). That’s why Radio-Info.com considers it one of Radio’s Innovators, today.

While KEXP may not generate revenue in the same manner or to the extent of a commercial outlet, it has figured out how to serve its users and how to extend its brand across the web and across the country. The station plays a conglomeration of music, including modern rock (heard from 6 am to 6 pm weekdays), along with genre-specific shows that feature hip-hop, blues, reggae, rockabilly, American roots, punk and more, through-out the evenings and weekends. The music is primarily programmed by the station DJs. Earlier this year, KEXP partnered with New York City-owned WNYE

for a cross-country music endeavor called “Radio Liberation”, a program which airs on both stations, and which features local artists from both the thriving Northwest and New York music scenes.

But the two-time Webby award winning KEXP.Org is where the station truly spreads its wings, giving us a bird’s eye view into where radio is headed in the near future. KEXP.Org was way ahead of most commercial outlets when it started streaming the station in early 2000, and was the first station ever to offer uncompressed streaming of live radio. Being part of the University of Washington has also allowed KEXP to do things that other broadcasters may not have the technology or knowhow to do. It is a testing ground for the university’s Computing and Communications department.

On its website, KEXP also offers a variety of “Podcasts” or what will soon be referred to in our industry as Radio’s on-demand content.

These include in studio live performances, a streaming archive, and electric music mixes for listeners to download at their leisure.

KEXP.Org also offers a blog, which features music and concert reviews, and an interactive community for users to offer their opinions, pictures, videos and more.

Finally, KEXP.Org also offers a learning vehicle, through documentaries, produced by famed director Michael Myers in association with the Seattle Partnership for Popular American Music, the University of Washington Music School, and Experience Music Project. The series features popular artists and is offered to schools, teaching facilities, and public forums across the nation.

-DH

To advertise with us, contact Len Besinger at 630 372 8722

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RADIO INNOVATORS

DOUG PERLSON

anyone that wants to utilize streaming as an advertising vehicle.

As radio moves forward, the industry is forced to figure out new ways to grow revenue. While broadcasters are still figuring out the best ways to handle the website-component of the equation, streaming—because it’s audio—is almost a no-brainer. Yet it is still a different product from selling your on air broadcast. There may be different demos, reach, areas, etc., to consider. In steps a new and innovative service, TargetSpot, to help radio provide to all its advertisers, as well as potential new advertisers, a way to reach all those consumers. RadioInfo.com spoke with the TargetSpot founding CEO Doug Perlson to find out more.

RI: What is TargetSpot, and how did it come to be?

Doug Perlson: TargetSpot places advertising in the streaming of a network of stations, which we can target demographically, regionally, and by zip code. It originated as an idea within CBS Radio to bring a self-service component to selling streaming on the web and make it affordable to smaller businesses. At the same time, I was working independently on a similar idea. We came together, along with software vendor Oddcast and a group of private investors, to create TargetSpot. After we put the plan together we realized we could serve larger clients and agencies as well as small “mom & pop” businesses. Basically

Coming from outside of radio, I’d heard some of the criticisms and concerns that buyers have had in the past about the medium: the lack of accountability, the inability to target at a granular level, and how smaller businesses can’t afford to advertise on the radio in larger markets. With an online network approach, hopefully we’d solve some of those problems. At the same time, we could grow a radio station’s client list to not only include the traditional advertiser, but also online marketers, the yellow pages advertisers, those who want to do visual advertising.

RI: Broadcasters are still grappling with how to sell online, whether it be their website, on demand content, or their streaming. Why do you think that is?

Doug Perlson: For some broadcasters, there is a concern that [embracing the web as a product] could open Pandora’s box. There’s the concern that if you have a sales person selling both your on air as well as online streaming advertising, they may run into some questions from advertisers about traditional radio, that a lot of broadcasters don’t want to answer.

But I truly believe their fears are unfounded. What I hope they will see is that the web is a great tool for advertisers, and it may open the doors to marketers who have never used radio in the past.

RI: How does a broadcaster get involved? Is there a cost to them?

Doug Perlson: There is no cost to work with TargetSpot. A broadcaster simply allocates inventory to us, and we sell it for them. The stations can screen the ads to make sure they’re up to station standards. We try to make it a seamless process for the station and the advertiser.

That being said, Radio needs to make a fundamental decision to invest in new media. Streaming is an investment at this point in time. A station needs to invest in a good quality company to stream online, using the best technology available.

RI: You offer the ability to do audio, banner, and video ads. How important are visuals now, with the introduction of web advertising for broadcasters?

Doug Perlson: It is very important for every audio ad that runs to have some kind of visual component. This allows the advertiser to interact with the listener. Of course, not every audio needs to be “seen.” In fact, many listeners choose to listen to streaming with the audio browser minimized.

But with an audio ad, you can have a call to action to the listener, inviting them to click on the media player to get a coupon, or directions to the store, or even win something. Again, this is another tool that will bring new advertisers to radio which hadn’t chosen the medium in the past, because no visual was possible.

RI: How do you see TargetSpot evolving in the future? And how will radio evolve?

Doug Perlson: We believe that radio online advertising is going to grow tremendously over the coming year. If you look at the online ad network in place now, you can see it encompasses all kinds of services from Googletype search engines, to display ads, to value-click advertising. With current streaming tools available, as well as streaming to be made available on mobile devices like the iPhone, the role that radio could play in the online advertising world is limitless.

-DH More about TargetSpot at www.targetspot.com

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RADIO INNOVATORS

What does Google want – and specifically, what does it want with radio?

Ever since Google paid $102 million (plus future incentives) to acquire dMarc Broadcasting’s ad-sales platform in January 2006, that question has been asked by group heads, by Wall Street analysts, and by GMs, PDs and sales managers. The very smart folks at Google in Mountain View, CA obviously see potential in bringing new ad dollars and new advertisers to traditional media like radio, TV and newspapers – and Google Audio Director of Product Management Jim Woods is kind enough to lay out the big picture in this 5 Questions interview for Radio-Info.com— RI: Radio sees Google’s great dominance online and wonders - why is Google interested in radio?

Jim Woods: Radio, TV and Print are the dominant media consumed worldwide. While online is growing quickly, people still spend a great deal of time listening to the radio, watching TV and reading newspapers and magazines.

They are also very complex media to buy and measure. We believe we can bring technology to the table and enhance this complex process of planning, buying, placing and measuring radio. This benefits both broadcasters and advertisers, by streamlining a complex and time-consuming process. More importantly, we are working to provide the industry with new measurement tools. These tools (such as call reporting, sms reporting and integrations with online analytic tools) will allow advertisers to “dial” in radio campaigns and utilize radio more effectively. All of this benefits existing advertisers, but most importantly for the industry, it makes it easier for new advertisers to make radio part of their media spend.

RI: Some radio groups like Emmis were early adopters for Google— how’s the recruitment process going?

Jim Woods: We continue to add stations to our network. We have been focused on the advertiser side of the equation for most of this year and will continue to move back and forth between adding advertisers and adding broadcasters. We do continue to have a great deal of interest expressed by many broadcasters.

“All of this…makes

it easier for new advertisers to make radio part of their media spend.”

RI: With products like Google AdWords - what’s in it for radio?

Jim Woods: All of Google’s products are (and would be) available to radio broadcasters whether we were in the audio ads business or not. We see digital ad networks developing for all media platforms and are bringing that efficiency to the radio industry.

RI: Jim, what’s the feedback from radio, so far?

Jim Woods: As with all new ideas and the products built to deliver on them, we have had our successes and our challenges. Google is very committed to the radio industry and is taking the long view to building a system and business, which works for both broadcasters and advertisers.

The underlying system is performing

very well. The ad campaign system (www.google.com/audioads) has evolved substantially since we were generally available in June of 2007.

Since then, we have incorporated a great deal of input from advertisers and broadcasters, making the complete system more intuitive and easy to use. Where we have brought new advertisers to the table, radio broadcasters are happy. Where demand has been soft, they would like to see us deliver more revenue. All in all, our broadcast partners continue to be very supportive and have been experimenting with a number of new ideas with us.

RI: And what’s the feedback from advertisers?

Jim Woods: The advertiser story is very similar to the broadcaster story.

We have had a great deal of success with thousands of advertisers running campaigns over the last year or more. Many of them continue to run campaigns on a recurring basis. As we collectively run more and more campaigns, we are getting better at dialing in campaign performance and optimizing on the fly. This type of active campaign management appeals to some advertisers, but not everyone. So, where an advertiser wants to actively manage their campaigns, they are generally very happy with their experience.

-TT

Reach Google Audio Director of Product Management Jim Woods at 650.253-0101 and tjwoods@google.com Read the basics of Google’s AdWords here: www.google.com/audioadsinfo

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RADIO INNOVATORS

KEVIN MARTIN

AN INTERVIEW WITH FCC CHAIRMAN KEVIN MARTIN

Chairman Martin was kind enough to answer questions for this special NAB Radio Show publication of Radio-Info, and you’ll see that he believes radio is at its best when it focuses on being a local medium.

That’s led him to sponsor a Localism proposal – which many in radio call “re-regulation” – and with that, he’s clearly giving heed to some of radio’s critics. Some see his “Localism” as a response to how broadcasters supposedly performed during the now-famous Sunday night 2002 train derailment in Minot, ND. Clear Channel has endured criticism at Congressional hearings for its allegedly tardy reaction to that emergency, while it defends itself, point-by-point, in the “Know the Facts” section of ClearChannel.com. Our thanks to the Chairman for giving us some valuable one-on-one time RI: So many things have changed in the business since you first became a Commissioner, and then Chairman. iPods didn’t exist, for example - but still the 88-year-old radio business is chugging along.

Chairman Martin: What radio broadcasters do is provide not only a means of entertainment but of important information. There is increasing competition among the different platforms, but the core of what broadcasters provide, in terms of local news and local information, along with entertainment – that’s going to continue, even in the future.

RI: Radio’s weighed down by increased competition, revenue challenges and other factors, yet the

“I still think there’s some

exciting times ahead for radio” Commission is considering a “Localism” initiative that some broadcasters say will make it harder for them to serve the public. Why did this issue come up now?

Chairman Martin: There has been a significant amount of radio consolidation, in the last 10-12 years, since the 1996 Telecommunications Act was adopted, which removed a lot of the radio caps and changed a lot of those rules. And I think there are some people that have been concerned that broadcasters continue to provide the kind of local news, information and entertainment that people appreciate in broadcasting.

RI: So radio’s doing this already, but you’d like to see more of it?

Chairman Martin: I think most stations are doing it already, but we do want to make sure there isn’t too much of a movement away from being able to insure that broadcasters continue to provide that kind of local content.

RI: Watching the DTV experiment in Wilmington, NC - where TV owners switched off their analog signals earlier this month - you’re using radio there.

Chairman Martin: Absolutely – as I said, radio’s critical in getting out important information to people on a localized basis. We’re using radio to do public service announcements, to highlight the upcoming DTV transition. [U.S. television broadcasters are switching off their analog signals and going 100% digital in early 2009.

Wilmington volunteered to be the Petri dish and went digital on September 8.]

RI: There’s always a natural tension

between an industry and its regulator. How do you see that? You meet with broadcasters from time to time and listen to their concerns…

Chairman Martin: What I would point to is that whenever there’s issues of controversy in front of the Commission, I think the industries are always better off when they come forward with their own proposals, instead of just opposition. They’ll always be in a superior position than we are in the government about how we can achieve that goal.

RI: How do you see the future for radio?

Chairman Martin: There’s certainly going to continue to be competition for people’s time and attention, from all these other platforms and opportunities for news and information and entertainment. But I think radio has, at its core, a unique service that it provides. I still think there’s some exciting times ahead for radio.

North Carolina native Kevin Martin joined the Commission in July 2001, taking one of the three Republican seats, and he was elevated by President Bush to the Chairmanship in March 2005 when Michael Powell left. He was re-nominated for a second term as in April 2006. Martin’s a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, earned a masters in public policy from Duke and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

He practiced law at Wiley Rein & Fielding and first worked at the FCC in the 1990s as an advisor to Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth, then served on the Bush-Cheney Transition Team in 2000-2001, and was Deputy General Counsel for the Bush campaign in that election.

-TT

Four things you’ll hear about at the NAB Fall Radio Show.

NextMedia Group

Archway Broadcasting Group has agreed to convey the assets of

has agreed to convey the assets of

WCGQ(FM), WKCN (FM), WRLD (FM) and WRCG(AM)

WKXB (FM), WILT(FM), WAZO(FM), WSFM(FM), WLGD(FM)&WMFD(AM)

Serving Columbus, GA

Serving Wilmington, NC

to

to

PMB Broadcasting

Capitol Broadcasting Company

for

for

$7,200,000

$12,000,000

Dos Costas Communications Corp.

Entercom Communications Corp.

has conveyed the assets of

has agreed to convey the assets of

KDUC (FM), KDUQ (FM), KXXZ (FM) and KSZL (AM)

WRMM-FM, WZNE (FM) & WFKL (FM)

Serving Victor Valley, CA

Serving Rochester, NY

to

to

California Communications of Barstow, LLC

Stephens Media Group

for

for

$4,300,000

$13,250,000

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