Radio Wires (October 19, 2002)

sdradio.net to hit 100,000 this month. Details there.

Happy birthday to Mike Cook, October 18.

Former radio host Gary Allyn was kind enough to tell me that his last name is spelled with a "Y". Gary has the Adventures of OB Ranger on CD and can be bought for a memory trip ... (anybody know where we can get the O.B. Ranger CD?)

More letters from sdradio.net:

Jere Sullivan - "Sorry to hear the news about Jim McInnes ... although we've never met, I am a long-time listener. He's a classy guy and a great talent."

From Harley: "...I think the whole Jim McInnes thing at KGB sucks. 28 years! And for what? There's no future with Clear Channel. Which inspired the first update on my website TheHarleyShow.com since CC took over Hot Country 99.3."

From a radio pro in San Diego: "WORLD ROCK AND ROLL....101 KGB FM.......San Diego........THE only "class" KGB ever had was let go last week!"

Robert in the Afternoon led off the Thursday edition of The 5:01 Blues and dedicated it to Jim McInnes. Robert tipped his hat in a fitting and deserving on-air tribute.

Steve Virissimo / KPRI-FM 1976 - 1983 writes: "Jim was the most difficult to crack (beat) because he was so liked and respected not only by the listeners but by the advertisers and competitors as well. Jim is a true radio professional and a great human being." "Dr. Don" Holliday (formerly of Hot Country and KSON). "What a travesty that yet another Radio vet has gone by the wayside. Trundled off to the boneyard like an ailing elephant when we in the business know this giant of San Diego radio, namely Jim Mcinnes is the King of the San Diego rock radio jungle...Jim is a pro and he will land on his feet, if he hasn't already...Jim...if you should read this, please know that the "true professionals" in this town are behind you and ready to prop you up."

Jim Starkey from Whittier checks in: "I have listened (to KGB-FM) over the last couple of years as the station has gradually gone downhill. Maybe the 'brains' at 101.5 will start playing Best of DSC 24 hours a day. Mr. McInnes is a class act, and I wish him the best."

From D.T. "Dumb Ass Rock. 101 KG-BMF!"

Radio Wires (October 19, 2002)

Emmis Communications (who runs Power 106 here) said it plans to tell listeners about its business ties to rapper Shade Sheist whose heavy airplay on station KPWR-FM has drawn media fire. http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=entertainmentnews&StoryID=1595633
http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-fi-emmis16oct16.story

Webcasters Get Royalties Extension (October 19, 2002)

The webcasters will still have to pay up to $2,500 each in fees by Monday. But that is far less than the tens of thousands of dollars that many of them would have owed.

The extension, granted by the recording industry and performance artists Friday, came a day after the Senate recessed for the elections without approving copyright rate revisions negotiated between webcasters and the copyright holders.

The changes, unanimously approved by the House earlier this month, would have significantly reduced payment obligations for smaller webcasters, who complained that the higher rates could have put them out of business.

"From the beginning, we have wanted to work with webcasters, and this temporary payment policy is another example of our commitment to the webcasting industry," said John L. Simson, executive director of SoundExchange, the organization collecting payments on behalf of the music industry and the artists.

Only webcasters that would have qualified for reduced payments under the webcasting bill will be eligible for the extension. Simson's statement, issued late Friday, said the extension will be in effect until Congress could act on the bill.

The statement does not say what would happen if Congress never passes the bill, or if the president does not sign it, although the statement refers to "this Congress" - which adjourns at year's end. A message left with Simson after business hours was not immediately returned.

Traditional radio broadcasters have been exempt from paying royalties to recording labels and performance artists on the grounds that the broadcasts had promotional value. In 1998, Congress passed a copyright law requiring such royalties from webcasters.

An arbitration panel proposed rates of $1.40 per song heard by 1,000 listeners, and the U.S. Copyright Office halved them in June and set the Sunday deadline for payments.

Under the settlement awaiting legislative approval, smaller webcasters could calculate payments based on how much they earn or spend. For a small webcaster like Ultimate-80s, that meant owing $7,700 instead of $24,000.

Even the reduced rates are too high for some. Internet Radio Hawaii briefly went offline, although it has come back after listeners donated more than $2,000.

Hundreds of other stations had previously shut down.

Radio Wires (October 17, 2002)

Radio Wires (October 17, 2002)

North County Times - Ann Zivotsky
One month into the new television season and the challengers are already hitting the mat. ABC has canceled "Push, Nevada" (9 p.m. Thursdays) and "That Was Then" (9 p.m. Fridays). "Monk," which has done well on cable's USA Network on Friday nights, will air Oct. 31 and then move into Monday nights. "The Drew Carey Show" and "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" will move to Friday nights. If you've been watching "Push, Nevada" in hopes of winning the $1 million prize that was the gimmick of the show, check the network's Web site (www.abc.com) for details. During the first week of October, only two new shows had broken into the top 10 in the Nielsen Ratings. "CSI: Miami" (10 p.m. Mondays on CBS) was fifth in the ratings, while "Still Standing" (9:30 p.m. Mondays on CBS) was ninth. Both shows benefit from their predecessors. "CSI: Miami" is part of the popular "CSI" franchise, and "Still Standing" is part of CBS' blockbuster Monday night of comedies, including "Everybody Loves Raymond," which placed fourth in the ratings. "Friends" was No. 1, followed by "CSI" and "ER."

The San Diego Reader Blurt
Bryan Jones and others Leave 92.1

The Wires - San Diego (October 16, 2002)

The letter says: "I finally realized why I never listen to any San Diego radio stations. Since pre-1994 Q106, I just don't care for it.

"It would appear that the infinite wisdom of the FCC has allowed just a couple of companies who's bottom line is to cut costs to own and operate just about every station in the market.

"Out go the people who made the stations what they were, the funny , witty, creative air personalities. The ARB's reflect the results, audiences have tuned out and once an audience is lost it doesn't come back. All in all a very sad time in broadcasting history.

"I don't know that there is anything to be done to reverse this downward spiral except, perhaps a Program Director somewhere with the guts to hire people like me to whom an audience will look forward to hearing because they won't know what's coming next.

"Maybe just a pipe dream, but at least a dream.

"Thanks for your kind attention." -- Jon Hoffman, Acc-Q-TrafficTM San Diego (Yes I still own the name)

Zeb Navarro Update (October 16, 2002)

Hello listeners and friends,

Sorry I haven't been able to keep this group up-to-date. Just thought I'd give you an update on what's going on.

The playlists will be updated this Wednesday and Thursday. I will include playlists from the month of August until now.

This week's show will have a tribute to Ray Conniff as well as a special Cool and Strange Music Magazine segment where we play artists that are featured in the new issue of Cool and Strange Music Magazine.

Our show is now heard during afternoon drive on Fridays 3-5pm (on Oceanside's 250 watt KKSM 1320 AM).

I will try my darndest now to keep this group active. I do have health problems that I'm dealing with as well as helping campaigns and overseeing a movie project.

Well that's all for now :-)

-Zeb

Radio Wires (October 16, 2002)

Chris Says: "Gentlemen, start your rant about the RATINGS!"

They're right here in case anyone's interested:

Radio Wires (October 16, 2002)

Notable highlights: KPRI 102.1 is up. KFSD 92.1 is steady. "Boob" 99.3 is doing as poor as "Cold Country 99.3" did.

A format change for "B" 94.9 is long ovedue with ratings that low! Should they take on 933 with a better mix of Contemporary hits? They should do an adult-contemporary dance pop format instead of the all-decade dreck they've had since 2000.

Want to see who's number one according to Arbitron? Do you really care anymore?

Stay Of Webcast Royalties For Broadcasters Denied (October 15, 2002)

96% of Net Radio to Close After Backroom Deal Screws Grassroots 'Casters (October 15, 2002)

(The Register) The Internet Radio community is in turmoil. The Webcasters trade body looks likely to split over the issue of performance royalties, with many grassroots webcasters resigning in disgust at the HR.5469 bill now before the Senate.

by Andrew Orlowski, The Register

EXCERPTS (the article is three times longer on the web):

HR.5469 isn't what many 'casters had expected.

The smallest, non-profit webcasters accuse a cabal of thirteen small commercial operations of misleading Congress and the public by negotiating a deal which saves the wealthier stations from performance royalties, while many smaller operations, college stations and amateurs - the core of the grass roots broadcasters - will go to the wall. (The bill exposes educational and religious terrestrial stations to performance royalties, too.)

And privately, even members who support HR.5469 agree that it will "seal the fate of this industry to be dominated by big webcasters," according to correspondence seen by The Register.

Back room deal: Many webcasters have already resigned in protest from the body that's supposed to represent them: the Internet Webcasters' Association. The IWA was founded in 1996, has the ear of regulatory and technical bodies, international affiliates in Europe and Asia, and operates under a charter.

But the deal with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was struck not by the IWA, but by "Voice of Webcasters" (VoW) behind closed doors in a backroom deal. It was the VoW group which picked up the gauntlet and tried to negotiate a settlement with the RIAA before the royalty rates - which cost some hundreds of thousands of dollars - become due in nine day's time. The first that many webcasters knew of this was when many pages of amendments were added to a revised HR.5469 - it was expected to be just a couple of paragraphs long - minutes before it hit the floor of the House.

Over the weekend, many stations called on Congressional representatives to support the bill. What they didn't know was that VoW, a body representing 13 of the wealthier small netcasters, was cutting a deal with the RIAA.

So behind the closed doors, the two paragraph measure intended to buy the nascent industry a six month breathing space before royalties became due, was mushrooming into a thirty page royalty plan. Net casters only found out minutes before the Congress vote, giving them little time to react.

"That's what's appalled and disgusted so many people," says Ann Gabriel, who resigned from the IWA this week. "The thirteen [VoW members] were trying to save their own behinds by not having to pay retroactive royalty rates; but it set a yoke around the neck of (other) people."

"For the smaller commercial webcasters, it's a good deal," he said. "But it doesn't do anything for the other 96 per cent," Coon told The Register.

"If something isn't done by the 20th, a good 96 per cent of Internet Radio will go dark," he added.

Beethoven.com's Kevin Shively, himself a VoW member who backed the RIAA-deal, now thinks its ruinous:

"This bill, while obviously saving some companies from extinction, creates a dangerous environment for the future of our industry. In fact, it makes it so difficult to profit from this industry that I have to seriously consider whether it is the right field to be in."

But the compromised Bill has some surprising backers. SomaFM and KPIG are urging listeners to support the revised, RIAA-negotiated venture.

SomaFM, which went off the air in June, describes itself on its website as "Listener Supported, Commercial Free [our emphasis] Internet Radio."

"You don't think you could get a record/music store to pay $6 a day for a few audio ads?" he continues.

"Not for three listeners," responds Brian Hurley, who runs the Detriot Industrial Underground station. Even a couple of hundred listeners is too small to interest advertisers, agrees Coon. Hurley points out that a typical audience for a small netcaster is a dozen listeners.

Most surprising of all, Kurt Hanson of Hanson Consulting, which provides advice and consultancy to net radio stations, has been praising HR.5469 on his RAIN newsletter as the best workable compromise. RAIN had been a stalwart news source for small webcasters, and Hanson's volte face puzzled several of the webcasters we interviewed.

Every new technology medium seems to enjoy a delicious moment, between being born as a vehicle for human creativity controlled by no one, into a Pigopolistic advertising channel, controlled by very few. If you care about Internet radio, and you're American, assail your Senators today. If you don't, that moment will have already have passed.

"Cheap" Channel Beats Live365.com in Streaming Hours (Oct 15, 2002)

At least four streaming companies have passed live365.com in the number of hours of entertainment streamed, including leading radio villian Clear Channel Worldwide, which has been second to live365.com for a very long time.

MeasureCast, Inc. (www.measurecast.com), the first company to provide Internet radio broadcasters with next-day streaming audience size and demographics data, today released the MeasureCast September Internet Radio Report which shows that the 1,946 on-line stations measured last month streamed a combined total of 59,352,922 hours to 12,481,768 listeners worldwide.

Clear Channel Worldwide streamed more hours of entertainment in September than any other Internet radio network measured by MeasureCast - 4,995,393 hours. MUSICMATCH (another company I dislike since their MP3 ripper sucks donkeys) came in second place by streaming 4,577,903 hours. StreamAudio wasn't far behind with 4,035,618 hours, and was followed by Radio Free Virgin with 3,928,268 hours.

Al Lohman Dies (October 13, 2002)

Condolences to family and friends of LOS ANGELES morning radio legend AL LOHMAN, who died SUNDAY night (10/13) in PALM SPRINGS of bladder cancer at 69. LOHMAN teamed with ROGER BARKLEY in a long-running partnership in mornings at KFI-A (1968-86); he also worked at KLAC-A, KFWB-A, KRLA-A (briefly teamed with BOB HUDSON in 1986), and KWNK-A in the market as well as KIMN-A/DENVER, KBOX-A/DALLAS, WABC-A/NEW YORK, and most recently at KCMJ-A and KNWZ-A/PALM SPRINGS. LOHMAN and BARKLEY also hosted an NBC TV game show, "NAMEDROPPERS," in 1969, and a syndicated game show, "BEDTIME STORIES," in 1979.

Radio Wires (October 13, 2002)

Al Lohman, who was partnered with the late Roger Barkley for more than 25 years, is reportedly seriously ill with bladder cancer. In recent years, Lohman had been on an AM station in Palm Springs, where he now lives. He was diagnosed in February and has had several surgeries.

CANCELED

KABC/790 AM has stuck a fork in "The KABC Restaurant Show" with Mario Martinoli. Starting Saturday, 4-6 p.m., it will be replaced by "Best of Larry Elder."

Lycan Leaves the Register, But... MOVIN' ON Today's column marks the end of a 40-year career with The Orange County Register. I will continue to write this column as a free-lancer while exploring other media opportunities. It's been a fun ride, but it's time to move on to the next adventure. You'll still find your radio news here each Sunday. (source: please see above. Also note that all paragraphs below the source link are applicable to the link above until you see a new source or a new header, whichever comes first.)

Don Barrett - Los Angeles Radio People
Founding THE WAVE Staffer Exits... Chris Brodie, program director at KTWV/94.7 FM, has resigned her post at "the WAVE" to spend more time with her 10-year-old daughter. KTWV General Manager Tim Pohlman had mixed emotions when he informed his staff. "On one hand, Chris' decision means a big loss for The Wave and the Smooth Jazz format because she has been so extremely instrumental in the success of both. What softens the blow is that her decision to step down was a personal one, centered on wanting to spend more time with her daughter, Leah," he said. Chris was part of the transition at 94.7 from KMET to KTWV in 1987. A year later she was appointed program director. She became the third program director of KTWV, after Frank Cody's departure in 1988. Chris has always been known as a programmer willing to take risks. When the morning ratings were languishing, she installed a two-woman team to bolster the numbers. The experiment was unsuccessful, but trying got her high marks. In 2001, she installed smooth-jazz artist Dave Koz into the morning show. Chris will stay on until the end of the year while Pohlman searches for a replacement.

Give us 22 minutes: It had been noted that the two commercial all-news stations - KFWB and KNX - elected not to run President George W. Bush's Iraq speech while talkers KABC and KFI did. Roger Nadel, general manager at KFWB, responded with the reasons the station did not carry the speech live. Part of his justification was that the TV networks were not carrying it, though the network's local stations did.

"Wow!" KFI program director Chris Little e-mailed. "On Monday, I was telling our staff that, sadly, KFWB seems to be losing its focus as evidenced by the decision not to run the president's speech. And the point was made for me BY KFWB's admission that they were just following the lead of the several networks that did not run the president's speech. KFWB used to be a leader in news, but you can't be a leader if you follow suit. That's why KFI doesn't follow suit. That's why we ran the speech without looking over anyone's shoulder," he wrote.

Give us another minute: KPCC/89.3 FM ran the president's address. "We're getting very positive reaction from the audience for airing the congressional hearings the last couple of days," e-mailed Craig Curtis of Minnesota Public Radio and KPCC. "Sure blows out a lot of the regular schedule, but the reaction has been heartening."

Radio's future: Al Brady Law wrote a very thoughtful think piece on this site, "Radio Didn't Kill Anything," saying that essentially what is happening is the free marketplace at work (consolidation, etc). Here is one response: Louis Iaceo: "The purpose of the airwaves is to serve the public interest, as opposed to making money for the robber-baron owners and the greedy stockholders." And this from "Arrow's" Scott St. James: "The thing that jumped out at me was the point about small-market radio. I couldn't help but think that, yeah, but it's SO local, and the folks livin' there (for the most part) are SO into it and probably have met and or had dinner or drinks with the guy or gal on the air. And that's also where dreams are realized." Finally, from Craig Hines, ex-KBIG: "Product quality has diminished. Sure, there may be more things to listen to, but it just isn't as fun, unique, personable and professional as radio once was.

"Video may have killed the radio star, but so did the Harvard MBAs, corporate bean counters and researchers."