Radio

Hillary Rosen vs. the RIAA

May 17, 2006 by Kirk Biglione

According to today’s LA Times the RIAA is suing XM over it’s new device which allows subscribers to record up to 50 hours of XM broadcast on a portable player. It’s sort of like TiVo for radio, but it’s also the digital equivalent of what many of us did as kids back in the pre-digital era.

You’d think that the battle against taping music off of the radio would have been settled long ago but, as we all know, content is so much more valuable once it’s been digitized. Apparently all pre-existing licensing and copyright law must be abandoned in an effort to save content from ~~pirates~~ consumers who simply want to time-shift and consume content on their own schedule.

‘Loper Challenge! Test Drive Pandora

April 25, 2006 by Kassia Krozser

Way back when, I wrote about the future of radio (there was a Part Two as well), and I discussed how services like Pandora are opening up new ways to find cool new music. I also discussed some of the regulatory issues that make services like Pandora…frustrating. Let me quote from a Chicago Tribune article on the topic to remind of just a few:

Where Have All The Howard’s (Fans) Gone?

April 12, 2006 by Jim Connelly

A recent article in the LA Times asked the question: where have all of Howard Stern’s listeners gone? As Howard himself complained to Entertainment Weekly, not enough have followed him to Sirius, and as the early ratings have shown, many didn’t stick around to listen to Adam Carolla or David Lee Roth.

I can’t speak for the 9,999,999 listeners who didn’t go to Sirius, but as a Stern detractor who became a listener who became a fan over the past decade, I can tell you why I didn’t go to Sirius and why I’m probably not helping Adam Carolla’s ratings.

Podcasting Versus Fundraising: The Public Radio Challenge

April 7, 2006 by Kassia Krozser

Wired has an article on an idea I floated a few weeks back, discussing the way podcasts are changing the public radio landscape. Then I only touched upon the idea that podcasts of popular programs both dilute and expand audiences. Since the idea is in the air — and, of course, since it’s pledge season — let’s talk more about this revolution.

There is nothing more annoying than public radio (or public television) fundraising. I’m a member of my local station, but I’ll confess to changing the channel during the fund drives. I only have so much time during the day to access world, national, and local news, and I’m going to maximize my own limited resources.

And, gods, those pleas for money are painful.

Et Tu, Indie?

April 6, 2006 by Jim Connelly

Indie 103.1, broadcasting somewhere on the Southern California coastline, is a radio station that is an absolute blast of fresh airwaves. It is one of the few radio stations out there that seems to take it as a mission to surprise its listeners.

Which is exactly what happened this morning, when I heard something which has bugged me for the rest of the day.

[Read more…] about Et Tu, Indie?

Satellite Radio: The Game Is In The Bottom Of The First

April 3, 2006 by Kassia Krozser

Two of the MediaBistro Fishbowls recently provided similar, but different, coverage of the satellite wars. In one corner, we have CBS eyeing (ha!) the purchase of XM*. In the other corner, we have the apparent trouncing of XM by Sirius.

Of course it’s too early to declare a winner, and given the fact that it’s a big planet, we don’t really need a winner (though at least one ‘loper has predicted a merging of the two satellite providers, at which point, you really will need a “Super-High Intensity Toggle Controller”).

Radio Killed The Radio Star, Part Two

March 22, 2006 by Kassia Krozser

Part Two: The Role of The Curator, Or Why Disk Jockeys Could Be More Relevant Than Ever

Continuing analysis of the SXSW panel called “The Future of Radio”. Panelists included moderator Kevin Smokler, Celia Hirschman of Downtown Marketing and KCRW, Roman Mars of WBEZ, Elise Nordling from SomaFM, and Tim Westergren of Pandora, bringing together lifelong radio listeners, public radio professionals, Internet radio stars, and purveyors of social networking applications. Part One is here.

New services (like, oh, Medialoper) are designed to help consumers sift through the mass of media being thrown their way. In the past, disk jockeys served as curators of music. In today’s world, the increased level of programming makes the curator process even more important. This means aligning consumers with trusted sources of information. A trust relationship develops between the two parties — without that trust — in taste, quality, integrity — the consumer goes away.

Radio Killed The Radio Star, Part One

March 20, 2006 by Kassia Krozser

Part One: The Music Industry Doesn’t Have A Clue, And The Government Isn’t Helping Either

Remember when it was just video killing the radio star? Today, it’s the Internet and satellite and the iPod and, let’s be frank, general boredom with the medium. Does radio have a future in a digital world?

This was the topic of a SXSW panel called “The Future of Radio” (perhaps it’s a sign of the times that the podcast doesn’t seem to be online yet, but the video is — link below). Panelists included moderator Kevin Smokler, Celia Hirschman of Downtown Marketing and KCRW, Roman Mars of WBEZ, Elise Nordling host of Indie Pop Rocks from SomaFM, and Tim Westergren of Pandora, bringing together lifelong radio listeners, public radio professionals, Internet radio stars, and purveyors of social networking applications.

Before the session started, I eavesdropped on a conversation between two long-time radio professionals. At one point, the man said, “I’m very, very interested in podcasting.” And I’m thinking, “So you should be, so you should be.”Â

RIAA: Stop Taping Songs Off of the Radio!

March 11, 2006 by Jim Connelly

When I was a kid, I used to place a handheld Panasonic cassette tape recorder (with a condensor mic!) next to a transistor radio to tape songs off of KYNO-AM. Not yet having the the money to go out and buy every single song I liked; these recordings were key to how I connected deeply to pop music, on which I’ve since spent a huge amount of my disposable (and not so disposable) income.
Little did I know, that in the eyes of the RIAA, my 10-year-old self was a thief, and they were itching for a way to keep me from stealing their songs. And now, with the advent of digital radio, they may have found a way.

A History of the Ricky Gervais Show

March 7, 2006 by Jim Connelly

As these things go, I’m a relative latecomer to the podcasts of The Ricky Gervais Show: I only got ’round to listening to them a couple of weeks ago.Â Better still, I came into it totally cold, not knowing what to expect, and I was instantly hooked on the mad ramblings of Karl Pilkington.Â So much so, that as a matter of fact, I have no issues with paying for the podcasts of the second season.

It totally passes my Blackjack test:Â do I anticipate getting more pleasure out of this than playing a single hand of Blackjack?Â And in this case, the answer is a resounding “yes.” To be fair, Ricky was on Letterman last week, and explained that they are charging for this season to recoup the hosting and bandwidth costs for all of the downloads.

However, for those of you who don’t want to pay for your monkeynews, or you want to see to find out what the buzz is all about Â prior to Â paying — it looks like the Podcast Series Â 1 archive will also cost $5 to grab in one fell swoop — I’ve discovered a secret online stash of dozens of episodes of The Ricky Gervais Show.