JacoBlog - Jacobs Media's Blog

Your Wildest Streams - Part 4

Now that AOL and CBS Radio have hooked up in what CEO Dan Mason says is a merger that "has instantly doubled our daily audience of listeners," it's another victory for strong brands.  For years, AOL has offered generic streaming radio stations that were as exciting as wallpaper.  Now with 150 CBS Radio stations to choose from, AOL-goers can actually find a better radio listening experience - or can easily find a radio station they've heard from during their travels around the U.S.

The player (shown below) is nice looking, and provides album art in-sync with what's playing, the chance to rate and/or buy the song (or the album), as well as designate the station as a pre-set or share it with someone else.  On the left is a list of the CBS stations available.  Of course, there are no fewer than 8 Jack-FM stations on the list, and it's not always easy to find a station that you're searching for.  (Maybe list them out by markets - or at least offer that as an option, so the user can look through NYC stations, for example.)  The stream sounds good technically, and as we've discussed in this space, that's not always the case.

Overall, this is another indicator that big streaming brands will easily best "generic radio stations."  With its personalities, production, and elements that you could only get from a real radio station, this plan should be a big winner for both AOL and CBS, especially if it can generate significant web revenue.

CBS is positioning its terrestrial radio stations for the future by offering them up to a much larger web audience.  This bodes well for traditional broadcast companies as they seek out smart alliances moving forward.

I Mel-ed Them To Death

While watching a recent streaming video segment from CNBC - "The Business of Innovation" - featuring Mel Karmazin, it reminded me of Mel's talent for proofing ideas and forcing his people to exercise logic, strategy, and fiscal sense.  In the clip below, Mel talks about how Sirius came up with the idea of streaming television (Nickelodeon, etc.) for mini-vans in a deal they put together with Chrysler (starting at about 7:35 into the clip) .  He refers to his "devil's advocate" method that demands sound answers for a plan, and notes, "I Mel-ed them to death."  Of course, when his team was able to justify the plan, he green-lighted it.

>Click For The Video<

If you ever asked Mel for a music test or to hire a particular jock or to even change formats, Mel would put you through the ringer.  It wasn't always pleasant, but it forced you to think the strategy through, from beginning to end.  In the process of honing your own thinking in order to "do battle" with Mel, you ended up crafting the best argument for going forward - or in many cases, not bothering to pitch a mediocre idea in the first place.

As the radio industry constricts and belt-tightens, too many good ideas aren't seeing the light of day.  And too many positive and important components of radio success are being blindly cut in order to reduce expenditures.  Perhaps the "Mel Method" - forgotten by many, but still a very valuable exercise - is a great litmus test for the evaluation of "best practices."  (I still hear his voice in my head.)

No Limits

Struggling Chrysler is trying to do just about anything to get your attention - and to stimulate you to buy their vehicles.  The offer of $2.99 gas, while appealing on a very basic economic level, is apparently not moving cars and trucks off the lots.

But in all their new '09 vehicles, wireless Internet may be a motivator for some adventurous buyers.  It's a platform called UConnect Web, and it opens up the Internet to consumers on the road.  For radio people, it's the inevitable announcement that all content in cars is fair game.  And it's coming to Chrysler showrooms in September.

According to Keefe Leung, a Chrysler engineer for this initiative, "There are no limitations in content."

That's a quote that should be posted in cubicles and offices throughout our industry.  The excuses for not streaming or for offering a substandard stream are coming to a swift end.  Radio is in a great position to brand and market its streams because as mobile WiFi becomes as ubiquitous as wireless laptops, there will be no limits on access.  The best known brands in local markets - KLOS, KBCO, WRIF, WMMR, KQRS - will have a decided edge.  But only if radio realizes what's at stake and steps up.

Your Wildest Streams - Part 3

We heard from a number of you about our streaming blogs last week.  R&R's News/Talk/Sports Editor (and former Jacobs Media staffer) Mike Stern writes today's entry:

Radio people don’t seem to realize that listeners don’t understand or care about the legal and talent issues that affect streaming.  All they know is that when they stream their favorite station, they hear the same four PSAs over and over again, or the stream regularly goes dark for a few minutes or, on one station I stream periodically, the annoying message “This station is in a commercial break and will return to normal programming in a few minutes,” plays over and over and over.  Programmers would never permit this on their terrestrial signals, but accept it on their streams.

To take the issue a step further, at the R&R 2008 Talk Radio Seminar, Andy Lipset, managing partner at Ronning Lipset (which is essentially a national rep firm for major online radio providers including AOL Radio, Yahoo! Music and who recently took over national sales for all CBS Radio online streams) suggested stations and advertisers take the commercial efforts on their streams a step further.  While admittedly challenging in the face of budget cuts and reduced staffing, Lipset suggested advertisers run separate spots on streams that are more appropriate to the medium.

Working from the assumption that streaming listeners have the player minimized on their screen, he suggests writing specific copy and providing graphics, links and special offers that will engage a streaming listener, get them to open the player and click on a link to the advertisers site or a special page on the station’s Web site.  He says streaming is about engagement.  Terrestrial listeners have to fire up their computer and search, or pick up the phone and dial, to access an advertiser’s brand.  Streaming listeners are two clicks away – a click on the player and a click on a link.

Your Wildest Streams - Part 2

In Part 1, we talked about all the weird and lame reasons why many stations still aren't streaming.  I'll bet the majority of you who read this blog smugly read that post, comfortable in the knowledge that your station has been streaming for years.

Well, I'm here to tell you that many broadcast radio streams aren't ready for prime time.  Recently, a programmer we worked with invited me to check out his station during a special feature his station was presenting.  It was one of the worst streaming experiences I've ever had because the stream would run for a couple of minutes, and start buffering.  Or I'd have to refresh and even sign back in.  It was not a user-friendly experience, and I started thinking about all of the accessible, quality streams his station competes against.

If you don't believe me, do what we do here at Jacobs Media, and check out your station's stream on a great pair of speakers.  Is it steady and reliable?

Does it fade in and out, or start "buffering" every so often?  Does it sound like a tinny, phased-out signal?

Just like how good programmers "drive their signal" by jumping in a car and driving around the market looking for "picket fencing" and nulls, do the same with your own stream.  You may be surprised by what you hear, and if that's the case, consider the consumer experience.  Even if you love a station, you're not going to put up with a stream that comes and goes or is of rotten quality.

When you consider that more and more consumers are listening to digital streams on great speaker systems or on Bose headphones, ask yourself whether your stream is ready for prime time.

Streaming your station is now the equivalent of having a high school diploma.  It's mandatory, but it's not going to get you anywhere.  Having a quality player, an easy-to-access experience, and a quality, reliable stream are the necessary next steps in the process.  Just test drive your own stream for a couple hours, and tell me I'm wrong.

Your Wildest Streams - Part 1

As streaming capability rapidly makes its way into phones and cars, I think about the odd and meandering course that radio has been traveling during the past decade.  Slowly, but surely, most stations and companies have reluctantly thrown in the towel and begun to stream - as if they've been forced to do so.

And amazingly, there are still operators in radio who continue to question the wisdom of streaming.

This belief flies in the face of every bit of research provided by the Arbitron/Edison Internet studies (aren't they up to #78 by now), as well as our four annual Tech Polls, each of which points to the increased listenership that comes with providing a stream.  For too long now, we have argued on behalf of providing a quality stream, equating it to erecting a different transmitter and tower that is capable of reaching an entirely new audience.

Over the years, I have heard many excuses for not streaming, and here are my favorites:

1. "Until it pays for itself, we're not doing it."

2. "Why should I give my content away for free?"  (I still don't understand that one.)

3. "It won't help us in the Arbitron."

4. "I don't want to pay for listeners in Belarus."

5. "You make the choice - a music test or we stream.  We can't do both."

6. "If I let you guys do it, everyone else in the group will want to start streaming, too."

7. "Our station doesn't sound good enough to stream."

8. "I've never streamed anything so why would anyone want to do this?"

9. "Many of our listeners don't have computers."

10. "Our salespeople can't sell it."

I'm sure many of you have heard other excuses, reasons, and rationales for not providing a stream.  But consider this:  when everyone will have the capability of streaming everywhere they go - from their cars to their computers to their phones - what streams will they listen to?

In spite of radio's reluctance to invest in this technology, most of our listeners would prefer to stream the brands they know.  If you live in Philadelphia, you could opt to stream that cool station in London, that public radio station in L.A., or that service that allows you to create your own radio station.  But the odds are better that you'll take the easy and simple way out, and choose WMMR, WMGK, and other local stations that you know and love.  If you don't believe me, just check out the data.

The "Excuse Train" has left the station.

CVC TV

If you haven't checked out Hulu.com, take some time over a weekend or a slow evening.  But you'd better prepare to spend a couple of hours watching some interesting television - or perhaps, better referred to as video.  A product of NBC Universal and News Corporation, Hulu is the next wave of video streaming, and the selection is pretty cool.  It may not upend YouTube, but unlike that network - loaded with home videos shot by consumers - Hulu is actual television shows, from right now to the past.  The commercials are unobtrusive, and the variety is steadily increasing.

We talked about the whole Control-Variety-Choice model during "The Bedroom Project," and that's exactly what Hulu is about.  The television networks are buying in, despite the growing pains of revenue generation.  Even though "old media" is struggling to find a revenue model that's very effective, these forays into on-demand online content are signs that the media world is changing rapidly. 

Where does radio fit into this model?  We are woefully out of the CVC race, save for podcasting - the one area where our content can be accessed - and sponsored.

This year's Tech Poll has some encouraging data in that regard.  iPod ownership is now closing in on the 60% mark, and podcast downloading has doubled every year since '06.  Whether you agree that iPods are good or bad for radio, there's no denying that they've replaced the Walkman in the portability race.  And now that three-fourths of Alternative fans own one, how can broadcasters take advantage of this phenomenon?

NPR is well on the way to figuring it out.  Their podcasts stats - downloads and sponsorships - are downright impressive.  While public radio may have more available content than the average music station, the basic model is proof that radio can play in the CVC sandbox. 

Work Ethic

The new Arbitron/Edison study tells us that the more things change, the more they stay the same.  It reports that online listening at-work continues to grow.

Correspondingly, listening on-the-job on a standard terrestrial radio has slipped.

Of course, Jacobs Media has been proponents of streaming from the beginning - in spite of the corporate excuses that "we won't give our station away on the Internet" or that "it costs too much" or that "we can't sell it, so why do it?"

Why stream?  Well, in 2008, it's a no-brainer, isn't it?  As new devices allow consumers to stream audio on their phones and (soon) in their cars, streaming is an essential.  And not just any stream, but a product with a strong player, great quality, and reliability.

But it goes beyond that.  The at-work component continues to play a large role in radio's overall place in the media hierarchy.  As one of the few entertainment/information sources that can co-exist with many on-the-job activities, radio remains the great companion - whether the source is a clock radio, a boom box, or an online stream.

Way back in '97, Arbitron and Edison partnered for their first groundbreaking study about at-work listening, and our consultancy was transformed in the process.  That research showed that Rockers are big consumers of the radio while they work.  As a result, we created, mobilized, and championed many promotions and contests - think Workforce - that were designed to capitalize on the opportunity.  Most of our clients are still very much engaged in at-work contesting today because it works.

And now, the wisdom of that strategy, combined with this new Arbitron/Edison study, point to continued success in PPM.  Inside their new methodology, Arbitron has clearly uncovered a listening edge for stations that have cultivated a gainfully employed audience.  Unlike the diary system, those who work - and make a nice living in the process - spend more time listening in the metered world.

Streaming and at-work - two more ingredients in radio's "secret sauce."

W.T.D.A. Gaining Traction...

W.T.D.A.?  They get it, do you? 

Well, maybe not everyone...

What's The Digital Application? - find out more at jacobsmedia.com

The Selling of Music - 2008 Style

What an exciting time for the record industry.  Consider these recent news headlines:

• iTunes has now passed Wal-Mart and everyone else to become the top music retailer in the U.S.


• Universal, Sony BMG, and Warner Music Group will offer their catalogues in a joint project with MySpace

This is big news for a business that has been plagued by self-inflicted misfires, mistakes, and misadventures in the digital world.  After all this time, they have discovered that indeed there is a "there there" to stream, distribute, and sell music via a variety of different digital sources.  Good for them.

In the meantime, the RIAA continues to downplay radio's role in the exposure and selling process.  But ask yourself this:  how do most consumers discover the music they choose to stream, download, and/or purchase from all these new distribution outlets? It's still about the radio.

Yes, it's great to get a song on Grey's Anatomy or on that new GAP commercial.  Satellite radio is another outlet that the labels vigorously pursue,  but as we see in our new Tech Poll, let's not forget about how the vast majority of Americans still find out about new music:

Now, critics will chime in that this survey is a self-fulfilling prophesy because it is conducted among radio listeners.  But since 90%+ of the U.S. falls into that category, there's not much of a skew to this data.  Hey, if it makes you feel better, subtract 5 or 10 percentage points from FM radio and look at this chart again.  If I was a new band with music to expose and sell, my chips would still be on good old FM radio.  Why the record industry would criticize the incredible power of this traditional medium defies logic. 

What would an artist rather have?  A song in this month's slasher movie soundtrack or a solid add on Z100?  A song featured on Scrubs or strong airplay on KROQ? 

Just asking.