Mutterings (May 16, 2009)

What if all broadcast radio stations staged a one-day protest by not playing any ASCAP/BMI music to get the listeners involved in stopping the Performance Rights bill? Anyone wish to organize? I don't have the energy for that project.

Digital TV Converter Box Reviews Website (May 16, 2009)

The Wires (May 16, 2009)

Inside Radio: Radio One fights royalty full-throttle. Organizing protests outside congressional offices and flooding switchboards are just two ways Radio One has taken a more aggressive stance fighting the royalty than any other group. There are signs it may have convinced some, though at least one congressman accuses it of "spreading hysteria."

Kurt Hanson.com: Yesterday's House Judiciary markup hearing on the Performance Rights Act -- which would require radio broadcasters to pay performers and copyright owners of the song recordings they use -- raised two important issues, both which demonstrate how Internet radio is treated differently (and many say, unfairly ) than other types of radio. First, the royalties a small webcaster is obligated to pay are 20 times that what is being proposed for similarly-sized broadcasters. Second, the apparent switch in royalty-setting standards (from "willing buyer willing seller" to "801(b)(1)") in the Performance Rights Act would once again leave Internet radio as the only form of radio whose digital music royalty rates are determined using the copyright-owner friendly "willing buyer willing seller " standard. Also: RAIN has learned, contrary to our analysis yesterday, that the "Manager's Amendment" to the Performance Rights Act (H.R. 848) would change the standard by which royalty rates are decided for Internet radio . Previously, webcaster royalty rates were set using the "willing buyer, willing seller" model. The amended Performance Rights Act would change all that, inserting a modified version of the more widely-used "801(b)(1)" standard .

TV Tech: FCC Starts Final DTV Countdown Push. The FCC has launched an all-out drive to prepare the nation’s off-air television viewers for the planned end of analog broadcasting.

TV Tech: Grants Available to Convert LPTV Stations to Digital. NTIA is making $44 million in grants available to help upgrade LPTV and translator stations to digital.

TV Tech: 'CBS Sunday Morning' Goes HD May 17. It will be the third major CBS News program to make the HD leap.

Inside Radio: Activists to Pelosi: Stop royalty bill. A coalition of minority and civil rights groups are asking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to hold-off bringing the proposed Performance Rights Bill to the floor for a vote until a royalty's "devastating effect" on minority broadcasters as been "fully vetted."

TV Tech: Consumer Reports Criticizes Cablevision DTV Transition Ad Pushing Cable TV. Cablevision has a special offer for you, alright.

Idaho Press: Longtime radio programmer and author of "Censorship: The Threat to Silence Talk Radio," Brian Jennings joined local KBOI host Nate Shelman in Boise Thursday to discuss what he sees as an attempt to create a "new Fairness Doctrine" - Media Matters writer Eric Boehlert criticized Jennings as an alarmist, arguing that no such push to censor talk radio exists.

Mel Phillips: Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse for terrestrial radio, it just did. Still mulling the ramifications of the possible enactment of the Performance Rights Act, along comes interim FCC head Michael Copps who proposes shorter broadcast licenses for terrestrial radio. “We still need to get serious about defining our license renewal process” says Copps at a summit sponsored by the Internet advocacy group Free Press.

Radio Ink: Civil Rights Groups Ask Pelosi To Look Into Performance Rights Act. The Spanish Broadcasters Association, Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law have written a joint letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, saying the Performance Rights Act "is not ripe for floor consideration." The bill to impose performance royalties on broadcast radio passed in committee earlier this week.

Radio Ink: Four More Sign On To Local Radio Freedom Act. A day after the Performance Rights Act passed in committee, the Local Radio Freedom Act -- a resolution opposing performance royalties on broadcasters -- adds the support of four more members of the House. That brings the number of supporters to 196.

Radio and Records: Minority Note to Pelosi: Pass Performance Rights Act, Hurt Civil Rights. In a rather dramatically worded two-page letter sent Thursday (May 14) to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a trio from civil-rights and minority broadcasting groups warn that House approval of the Performance Rights Act will have "a devastating effect on the civil-rights advances we as a nation have made."

The Wires (May 15, 2009)

Detroit News: The Michigan Broadcasters Association vowed to defeat a bill passed Wednesday by the House Judiciary Committee, charging it could cost stations in the state more than $63 million annually and threaten the survival of African-American radio outlets.

Ad Age: Why People Won't Pay for Online News the Way They Pay for HBO.

Inside Music Media: Citadel won't make it past the serious problem of renegotiating its new debt agreement by the end of this year. Citadel may not even make it to the end of the year. Yesterday, Citadel went silent on financial info. No more press releases or conference calls. They're just going through the motions now because there is no longer an upside to the radio industry and in particular, their stock. Bankruptcy is inevitable.

George Johns: I think radio's only shot is to go bankrupt. That way it can be all redesigned for the new market place with new leaders who know how to do that- When did it start that you have to wait in line for some service while the people behind the counter finish discussing what they did last weekend and what they are going to do tonight - I've noticed lately that Starbucks is now trying to up sell me every time I order my tall non fat two splenda latte. It kinda spoils the ambiance for me and sort of signals the beginning of the end I think.

The Wires (May 14, 2009)

Inside Music Media: There's iPod, iPhone, social networking, YouTube, Hulu, texting, smart phones, filesharing. Now -- there is something on the horizon that may be coming along within months -- certainly within the year -- that will pose a new threat to traditional media -- radio, television and the music industry. It's a product that Apple is said to be working on right now.

John Gorman: Since introducing his vocal-not-local programming initiative for Clear Channel’s radio group, John Hogan, man of slogan, has increased the spot load at his radio stations to a minimum 22 units per hour, which must run in two spot breaks, twice per hour. Not three. Two.

Mel Phillips: The Webcaster Settlement Act of 2009 would provide commercial webcasters with an additional opportunity to obtain financial relief from the Copyright Royalty Board’s 2007 Internet radio royalty decision. This bill would give webcasters the right to implement royalty rates for Internet music broadcasting that are similar to the rates set for cable and satellite radio broadcasters. Holy Marconi! Wait till terrestrial radio finds out about this. The cost for being a plain, ole terrestrial radio station just got costlier.

Randy Dotinga: Questions and Answers (supposedly fake)

Allaccess.com: locally based liberal talker Jon Elliot is moving from the Air America network to local station San Diego 1700 AM as of next week. He'll air from 3 to 6 p.m. weekdays.

Kurthanson.com: The House Judiciary Committee today discussed the new Webcaster Settlement Act of 2009 (H. R. 2344). The new bill, which passed committee, would give SoundExchange and webcasters 30 days to negotiate a royalty rate . The previous bill, the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2008, gave SoundExchange and webcasters until February 15, 2009 to hammer out a royalty deal. However, agreements were not reached with some webcasters by that date, including "pureplay" webcasters, small commercial webcasters, and religious broadcasters.

Radio-info.com: Jim Richards becomes the – well, who knows how many former Jacor and Clear Channel people are now toiling at Tribune? I believe the number now runs well over 30. Jim was a programmer for Clear Channel in San Diego and a regional VP of programming until last Fall, and Randy Michaels-run Tribune has punching the clock at Tribune Interactive, on a music project

"Clarissa" and "Sabrina" Star to Open Yogurt Store (May 13, 2009)

For readers in the Los Angeles area, a TV star is getting into the yogurt and treats business.

Melissa Joan Hart, actress and producer with her company, Hartbreak Films, is expanding her horizons when she opens a yogurt store in the Sherman Oaks area on May 30.

The store, called, well, SweetHarts, is located at 13704 Ventura Blvd in Sherman Oaks, California. The website is http://www.sweethartssweets.com

The grand opening of the store will be happening on May 30th from 2-5 for free froyo (aka. Frozen Yogurt). They will also have ice cream, gelato, coffee, cakes and baked goods, and nostalgic candy as well as a great party room.

The Wires (May 13, 2009)

Times Dispatch: Recent job cuts at Clear Channel Communications radio stations are a symptom of the economic pressures on the radio industry that also are driving the airwaves toward more generic programming, some broadcast industry experts say

Inside Music Media: Variable pricing has been in effect for months now. The results? All legal music sales are decreasing as a result of the variable price shift. Digital Music News was quoted recently as saying sources close to the major labels including executives told them anonymously that the strategy is failing: "In the initial weeks following the pricing changes, including a move towards top-end, $1.29 downloads, overall revenues are moving downward. Lower unit sales can still result in greater revenues given the higher pricing tiers. But according to the figures shared, unit sales are dipping far enough to produce aggregated revenue declines compared to the pre-variable position". You can just imagine these label execs scratching their heads. Can't be us. Must be the kids.

Radio Ink: Hedgecock Heads Free Speech Group. Talk host Roger Hedgecock, who heads up a new group called the American Radio Free Speech Foundation, has called the British government's barring of Michael Savage from the country "a frightening preview" of what could happen in the U.S.

SIRIUS XM RADIO will offer XM SATELLITE RADIO subscribeers a free week of HOWARD STERN's two channels MAY 18th-25th in a promotion to draw more subscribers to take the "BEST OF SIRIUS" package that includes HOWARD 100 and HOWARD 101.

The Wires (May 12, 2009)

NY Daily News: For those keeping score at home, Sean (Hollywood) Hamilton admits he may have finally maxed out. He's doing two daily afternoon drive radio shows, one live with Goumba Johnny on WKTU (103.5 FM) and one voice-tracked on MyFM 104.3 FM in Los Angeles.

C Net: What about Howard Stern? His megabucks contract is nearing its end; can Sirius XM hang on to the former terrestrial radio god now that he's faded into near oblivion? Hunkered down on satellite radio, Stern's visibility ain't what it used to be. But if the 2 million Stern fans paid an extra $2 a month for the privilege of hearing his semi-daily genius, would that help Sirius XM show its first-ever profit?

Inside Music Media: The original say one thing and do exactly the opposite is being implemented with a passion at Clear Channel. Publicly, President John Slogan Hogan is saying the company is all about local radio while he spearheads its replacement with nationally syndicated Repeater Radio. Publicly, Hogan says local management gets to opt in to Repeater Radio ("Premium Choice") but there is no evidence these decisions are being made locally. Publicly, Clear Channel has made a holy war out of promoting its "Less Is More" concept of fewer commercials, more music and better rates while secretly mandating its FM stations carry up to a whopping 22 commercials an hour in two -- count them -- two commercial breaks. Hogan's Hypocrites are now some mid-level managers who are fighting to keep their jobs even as they lose their credibility and honor.

The Wires (May 11, 2009)

Tom Taylor of Radio-info.com: For the first time, Sirius XM reports fewer subscribers. Fewer than the quarter three months earlier, that is. Meaning that Sirius XM reported 19 million subscribers at the end of 2008 – but 18.6 million at the end of this year’s Q1. That’s never happened before. The churn rate was higher at 2.2% and while the only satellite radio operator added 1,338,961 new customers – it lost 1,743,383.

SDNN: Union-Tribune announces 192 layoffs across company

SDNN: Hacksaw Hamilton: ‘Lucky’ learned life’s hard lessons

ZDNET: Taskbar Shuffle is a tiny, portable, lightweight utility that adds drag and drop ability to the Windows taskbar and system tray. License: Free. OS: Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista

TV Tech: Cable Lobby Calls Retrans Gains ‘Borderline Obscene’. The American Cable Association put the blame for rising cable bills squarely on broadcasters.

TV Tech: FCC to Ask for National DTV Test May 21. Broadcasters have voluntarily conducted such tests on a local basis since 2008 but this would be the first test conducted nationwide.

Ad Age: Online viewing may eventually displace over-the-air, CATV and satellite viewing.