Terrestrial Radio - Keys to saving it. 06/26/2009

 

YOU be a part of creating the new "Radio"... My piece on "The Keys to Saving Terrestrial Radio" evoked a lot of feelings from many corners. It also allowed me to ferret out a number of passionate folks who made me know I was on the right track and that revamping and retooling traditional (terrestrial) radio was a very worthy cause. I had to think how it would be feasible to turn things around.

We face powerful adversaries in the corporate structures who have caused this mess. Their meddling and greed has served listeners no phenomenally fantastic experience as satellite once promised. To our benefit, knowledgeable colleagues, who come from a wide range and diverse university of experiences and broadcasting, skills have many sound idea's to improve things in leaps and bounds.

I have some pretty cool idea's myself; including, giving listeners what they want, when they want it and how they want it! Let's create a totally customizable and under the complete control of the listener, radio experience.

"The economy is worse than ever. The job situation is worse than ever. Isn't it time for you to change?" Do you want to be a part of the "new terrestrial" radio?

At this time, we refuse to take on investors, period. We have a completely new, dynamic business model that will knock your socks off! It's called our Customer-Developers Team Pact. Look, let's face it, YOU know radio. You know what you want to hear and what you don't and there's a lot of people out there like you. Satellite radio is a gamble that hasn't paid off and has not brought about any significant change to make us want to "turn off the radio". "Terrestrial (traditional) radio for all it's supposed faults, has been reliable, consistent and a powerful force in our lives for a very long time.

In these dangerous times of terrorism, national emergencies, societal economic devastation and 9/11, who would you rather trust your emergency broadcast system to, the untested and unproven satellite broadcast system? Satellite radio has only about 20 million, "elitist" users as opposed to some 300 million common, everyday folk in this country who have total free access to terrestrial radio listening, should any national emergency or situation arise. And satellite radio is expensive too. Buying the expensive equipment and paying a monthly fee of more than $12.00 per month is an expensive extravagance few could make allowances for in their tight budgets today.

Aside from all of that, what do they really deliver? Commercial free programming and a dose of Howard Stern (who received about a half a Billion dollars ($500,000,000) to agree to work there. To date they keep making one calamitous decision, one right after the other. Rumor may have it that Stern won't even be there next year. How many great jocks are no longer on the air? Steve Harvey and the Steve Harvey Morning Show are gone. Tom Leykis and his brand of enigmatic talk have disappeared too. The ever affable Osmond "cousin" Rick Dee's, an LA stalwart since... is on his way out too.

No question about it, corporate meddling shares the major part of the blame. Greed, cost cutting and plain old narcissism add their skew to the mix.

Okay then. The "new" terrestrial radio will deliver commercial-free radio broadcast for FREE. This includes every form of material we address, music, talk, news etc. Under the terms of our Customer-development Team Pact, we will go much further. Our focus will be on what is important to you first locally, next regionally, then nationally, culminating with a dose of important global topics, you want to know about and yes, we'll be coming back with some soon to be celebrated, toastmaster D.j.'s and host who socially interact with their audience. We're taking "social networking " to a whole new level while solely concentrating on and giving you exactly what you want, when you want it and how you want it.

We can't reveal everything to you here yet because you haven't created it yet. The combined force of you and us together will be a formidable one. We will be limiting the number of Customer-Development Team Pact Members for one simple reason. Permanent staff will be drawn from this pool first and not from outside resources until we've exhausted it. In other words, that is one of the major perks of becoming a member now.

For your payment?(Contribution? Donation?) of $100 dollars you will become with a Customer-Developer and receive an official certificate attesting to that fact. Your function will be to work with other Customer-Developers creating meaningful and acceptable broadcast quality programming (as determined solely by producer/writer Kenny Beck, creator of this project).

As compensation you will also receive the final, fully developed "Terrestrial Radio" product free of charge for a lifetime, non-transferable.

If you want to become a Customer-Developer and receive all the above benefits you can send a certified check or certified money order to the following:

Mr. Ken Goldbeck
6513 1/2 Hollywood Blvd
Suite 32
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Administrator of the Terrestrial Radio program.



Kenny Beck
superstarcase.org Posted by Producer, writer and web content developer for the good of artists around the world, Kenny Beck. at 9:37 PM 0 comments Labels: AM, broadcast. Dj's, FM, Howard Stern, jocks, radio, Satellite, terrestrial The SSC Terrestrial Radio Blog - The Key to Survival for Terrestrial Radio

By Kenny Beck

The onslaught continues. Every day we hear about the end of an empire once flourishing under the guise of “traditional media”. A very important part of “traditional media” has been radio, under siege for the last few years. Yes the internet has changed the landscape of much we once revered, but does that mean that everything must go? A major part of the problem has been this “siege mentality”. Rightly or wrongly when terrestrial radio found themselves in the predicament of defending their turf, they folded like wilted and soiled deck of cards. Their response to XM and Sirius radio was to have no response at all. The just laid down like an old, worn doormat and allowed themselves to be trampled almost into extinction.

Part of the problem was “the Kings of Radio” (more apropos a title would have been “the Kings of Idi-ocracy”. You know them, those "multi-figured" earning purveyors of more bullshit than you can shake a stick at. Now, if my tone sounds a bit acrid, let me give you a bit of a scoop why. “Jocks”, as some of the knuckleheads who ruled the airways were once called, were regally proud to accept their new, macho, laudatory praise and accolade moniker “Jocks”. Behind the mike, they thought it gave then an air of coolness; an air of invincibility that would soon prove to be short lived. Instead of pausing for a moment and taking stock of all their surroundings, they just played it cool and decided to let nature take its course. To hell with their tyrannical station bosses who weren’t paying them like they deserved, who weren’t valuing their sweet asses as they thought they should. No sir-ee buddy. “We’ll just let them take it on the chin when Sirius and XM come-a-calling”. “When Sirius and XM come ‘round, we’re gonna get one of those Howard Stern deals”. After all, they all knew they were good enough for international syndication; when Sirius and XM came ‘round. Now look at the quandary they’ve left themselves in. How many will even have a job working anywhere next year, the prospects are terrorizing. If only they were seeing the signs amidst all the exuberance.

Almost from the very outset, the mega merger between Sirius and XM began rearing its ugly head as a “bad Idea”. In their haste (Sirius and XM) to nail the coffin lid shut on traditional radio. Not to say it didn’t deserve to be shut. Terrestrial radio and its “Jocks”, were making bone head moves all along instead of learning and being open to a metamorphosis in how to keep its bread and butter gravy train on track. Was it just supposed to happen? Maybe, just maybe, you were just waiting for that satellite gravy train to stop on by. Hint: It’s not coming. Satellite radio may be in for some serious troubles of their own. Fortunately for you, you’ve been given a 2nd chance to redeem yourself, your career and terrestrial radio (or something very close to it). Now listen carefully, I’m only going to say this once. It’s not too late, but you’d better get on your job now and you’d better hurry.

Nothing is safe, it appears, any more.

To some, this is a good thing. The setting aside of “traditional” anything, has trumpeted in an a new era of “technological wizardry”. Though fully untested & with new uncharted pathways laid before us, it seems John Q. Public has spoken. Individual, audience members want content control and the demand is here to stay (it’s gaining in popularity every day).
Its “Terrestrial radio’s” own fault (the pattern of its “Jocks” pomposity was first laid down more than 60 years ago).
By allowing “smooth elocutionist” to wend their smarmy ways into a public’s consciousness (perhaps smarmy is a bit to pitched), broadcasters allowed for the creation of little fiefdom’s between drive time hours. Sure, it was inviting, controversial and maybe even a bit sexy. Who knows where radio would have been without the silver tongued sharpies like Alan Freed (man), who put Rock and Roll on the map, Dr. Daddy’O, Wolfman Jack or the legendary Murray the K.

Las Vegas:


Barry Robert Clark is the Engineering Director of Taxi Productions. He has been a professional broadcasting engineer for some 34 years and counting. He started out in as on air talent, and then found himself splitting his time between his love for being on air and his dedication to keeping things running smoothly as chief engineer. Barry says “radio used to be the portable entertainment media. It went on picnics with you, to the beach, the ball game, even the drive in movie. Dynamically interesting solutions Barry proposes. Some of you head honcho’s at the remaining terrestrials should pay close attention to him. He’s been trying to tell it for a few years.

According to Barry (and I concur), broadcast companies who control the content need to become acutely more aware of what they should to be creating. He suggests the moment stations begin to realize the easy ride they’d been on for years was over, they should set aside all egos, get off their well comforted fannies and get on the grind. Once radio could no longer just put out anything they wanted to and the audience had to grin and bear it, Little or no chance to remedy the situation they should be creating and lining up community focus groups and panels, use their facilities as a way to stretch out their hand to their listening audience and learn from them what they truly want, what they want radio to become and how radio could satisfy them and keep them loyal listeners.

Terrestrial radio would then be able to create desired content, protecting their important source of income, the advertising dollar. How could they have been so benign that they just let it slip through their fingers without so much as a whimper.
The whole affair perplexes me and I used to work in radio. Focus groups and other sounding boards are great devices still are great for staying in tune with your audience’s current desires, but is it a bit too little, a bit too late, isn’t it? Since there is so much content out there that’s proven its metal in so many situations, shouldn’t broadcasters harness the devices that are proven winners and start developing their own apps and begin passing along this content to their listeners?

Imagine, developing their own branded, content before it becomes any later than it already easy? Do it just like the standard social network (Myspace.com and Facebook immediately come to mind). Apparently, this is just what Barry the genius engineer has in mind. He proposes setting up a series of lectures and seminars for senior broadcasters and station owners who are holding on by a skim thread. I propose something a bit more radical, which is not difficult to do at all. In earnest I’ve already begun tracking and identifying likely, receptive groups, cause’s educational institutions and other like minded individuals that would initially benefit most. Podcast and web cast are being borne as this piece is being hammered out. There is no more time for procrastination, vacillation or pontification. Time now, for real action. It’s long overdue. We put out a call to all on air talent, programmers, developers, performing artists, producers, writers, fans of traditional radio and any other interested parties to sign up with Superstarcase.org and let us rally you to the cause, by having a series of pertinent content programming kick off in the next two weeks or three weeks. We want you, your ideas, your opinions your thoughts, suggestions, opinions and resolutions. Traditional, terrestrial radio still has a lot of relevance to societies around the world, as along as it’s reshaped an cast in the image of it’s audience who want good quality, high resolution, fun content they can totally control themselves. Sound like a daunting task? No it doesn’t, not at all.

Kenny Beck

Superstarcase.com posted by producer, writer and web content developer for the good of artists around the world, Kenny Beck. at 9:33 PM 0 comments Subscribe to: Posts (Atom) FreeWebSubmission.co

 

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