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EMF Buys WKLU - Staff receives notice

Keith Kidd said:
RDO said:
I still remember the day when my boss told me back in 1987 about a company called Satellite Music Network that was getting started. My reply was, "It'll never work." :p
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That's wild man, because the Satellite Music Network had already been started years before that and was going strong by the time 1987 rolled around. It was already working. I remember listening to Dennis Jon Bailey on that network as a matter of fact. DJB worked there around '83 or there-a-bouts during its infancy, before they moved to Dallas.
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OK. So I guess they were doing a big marketing push at the time. I was just starting in radio, so I didn't know much about things like satellite formatted stations. I was still into the live and local, big personality thing.
 
At the end of it all, listeners want to hear their favorite music, not much talk and to maybe get something in return for their faithful listenership. This is why XM and Sirius have been so big: They shut up and play music that people want to hear regardless of the format of the particular channel.

With all due respect Jonathon, your mantality is the reason our business sucks right now. All the listeners want is music huh?

Lee Abrams and Dave Logan trained us at XM, and I can assure you that the "less is more" rule and all others that applied to Terrestrial Radio for that matter, were tossed out the door.... along with other programming crap that had been bestowed upon us through the years. If we had something compelling to say about the music, the artists, our lives etc... it was a free for all. So your theory of shut up and play the music ...and that being what made XM so big...sorry so incredibly off base.

Our listeners DO want to know about our lives.... the phones and emails and twits light up when your life hits the airwaves. I know this.... 30 years of knowing it.... and that hasn't changed. It's just that the smart folks who are surviving jobs today....are the good boys and girls whom adhere to the rules... and wouldn't think about breaking them in this corporate environment... hey... more power to you... you are the one with the job now...NOT ME.

Do you think for a second that I could get by with SPIKING A RECORD anywhere in todays corporate wonderland? However, at XM, If I were talking about Michael Jackson on the 80's channel, and it were something compelling like... having his manager on the air with me etc.... or one of his siblings... and I followed up the interview with spiking THRILLER... do you think that I would have lost my job over that? I can assure you that I could have lost my job at XM, had I NOT spiked the frickin' record.

And one more thing... I think radio is a wonderful way to get into the heads of people. TV is too easy.. the picture is provided for you, but those of us who LOVE Radio.... love theater of the mind... and that part of the industry does not have to go away. Technology has beaten us at the relavance game... but the creativity game is still there for us to play... only on a bigger scale. INTERNATIONALLY... on the web. Soon, every city on earth with be WIFI'd .... and that makes my imagination go off to Neverland.


Crystal McKenzie
http://myspace.com/voiceofcrystalproductions
 
I think a few of us need to kick off a classic hits station, file for a 501(c)3, bring Jesus into he format and play CSN, Cass Elliot, Joni Mitchell and the like. Rake in them donations and forget about dealing with the ad agency's and fighting for the next big account. Wouldn't matter really exactly how many were listening, not really, as long as we can rake in sizable donations we'd have it made. Hell, we could have only 50 people listening at any given time, and if those people or businesses donate big amounts, we're in man. We're a charity, Jesus loves us! We can end up writing ourselves some sweet salary's if we expanded.

Jesus loves me this I know, for he helped me rake in dough... yeah baby.
 
Crystal you're right BTW, It has been found that people do not listen to the radio solely for the music. People who want to hear just music (their favorite songs only) and nothing else, are in a different mind set and do not turn the radio on for this, and instead resort to their CD players or MP3 players. People who listen to the radio want to be entertained in a different fashion, they're in a different mood.
 
Keith Kidd said:
Crystal you're right BTW, It has been found that people do not listen to the radio solely for the music. People who want to hear just music (their favorite songs only) and nothing else, are in a different mind set and do not turn the radio on for this, and instead resort to their CD players or MP3 players. People who listen to the radio want to be entertained in a different fashion, they're in a different mood.
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I agree with you guys on this. If it weren't for a few of the personalities on Sirius, I wouldn't listen as often as I do (and I'm all radio-jaded!) The couple that come to mind are Madison and Kayla... They revel in their freedom, speaking relevantly about artists, current events and their own lives. It's foolish to think that people don't want to relate to the jock on the radio. What's correct as well, unfortunately, is that we don't get to do that anymore. Focus Groups and Auditorium research have skewed the thinking of those at the top of these horrible conglomerates and the personality is being dismissed as unnecessary.

And to say that the imaging is purely for "us" is off the mark, too. A well-produced station "sounds" better to listeners than one that isn't. They may not be able to tell you WHY, but I assure you that it makes a difference. Furthermore, let's give credit to PDs who know what they're doing - creating radio that sounds good is a full time job... and that's another fact lost on the dopes with the money who consider the position nothing more than a glorified music director.

And one final note - I saw a note implying WKLU's "out of town owner" didn't care about his employees losing their jobs and about radio itself, just the $$... if there's one thing that is indisputable about Russ Oasis, it's his passion for radio as an artform... He made many decisions in his tenure in Indy that were for the good of the station when he could have gone another way to save the bottom line. He is a "programming guy" and while this may have resulted in a bad result this time (and as has been reported here all too often, also resulted in many hotline calls), I think it comes from a place of pure passion for radio and in this case for the music of the format. You can debate how this might not be in the best interest of a radio station, but you should not doubt his passion for radio.
 
PPM, however, seems to be showing a different story, with almost all talk elements being a tune-out on music stations. I do know people who push the button the instant a jock comes on.
 
Keith Kidd said:
Crystal you're right BTW, It has been found that people do not listen to the radio solely for the music.
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Not knocking jockette or kidd, and certainly valid points - but quite frankly - yes they do. Just because several people call in to your shift doesn't mean the city in tuning in to YOU. We all want to feel someone has an interest in us, but they listen to a country station for what? the Jock? no. They want country music. If FMS goes to a break, and you're driving, you're switching to Hank. If Q goes to a break, you're switching to Jack. If 950 goes to break, you're switching to NDE or FAN (okay, no one listens to the fan - but you get my point).

And the comment about 'people that only want music listen to iPods' is also WAY overstated by radio insiders. I LOVE my iPod, but how do I find out about new music? Or get ideas about what to put on my iPod? I listen to the radio to hear what's out there. And I go from X to Q to FMS to ... etc.

Credit Oasis for TRYING to put live jocks on, but he screwed the pooch by limiting what they could say and made them sound like voice-tracking. He could have recorded them all and it would have sounded exactly the same.

And jockette - I'm guessing MOST of your 'interested' callers were male?
 
radioho said:
They want country music. If FMS goes to a break, and you're driving, you're switching to Hank. If Q goes to a break, you're switching to Jack. If 950 goes to break, you're switching to NDE or FAN (okay, no one listens to the fan - but you get my point).
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Id Rather Listen to the Fan or NDE than getting anywhere near XL. there is a reason why XL isnt even blipping on the Arbitrons. no one is listening. Fan and NDE have more listeners than NDE and XL had when the Fan wasnt around
 
gr8oldies said:
PPM, however, seems to be showing a different story, with almost all talk elements being a tune-out on music stations. I do know people who push the button the instant a jock comes on.
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To your comments above and those of RadioHo:

I think the problem is more that there isn't anyone to listen to. Going back to previous points that air talent is no longer allowed to be the type of personality that keeps folks from turning the dial. We all know people who turn the dial when a jock comes on and we can expect that people are likely to punch out during a stopset, but if there is interesting content between the songs, it adds to the station and can become a vital part of the sound of the place.

But this is all a pipe dream. I simply don't see a reversal of course by ownership - the ship has sailed and now every station's jocks are interchangeable, heavily formatted, reading liner cards, etc.

And it's not a question of whether people listen to music radio for music... of course they do. But it's my belief that a station's sound can be enhanced by "personalities" and not simply voiceover artists. That's what got FM radio going back in the day and sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't, but it was a heck of a lot more fun to listen to than what we've got now.
 
That could be considered a low blow or true depending on who you talk to about all of us.

Channel 13 needs a sweeps story : The addiction to Radio. Just like hookin. A bad habit that those in the business can't shake. Money for emotion. Details tonight at 11. (right after everyone falls asleep with Leno).

Which station? Bruce/Mitzi will you let them use HUM? We could all get some press from this.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. He made CSN so he does like them that much. No argument from me. Peace sign? If it works for you okay? Rip my shirt off? Nah.
 
[

I can agree to a point. It just seems that listeners who want talk go to talk, as most morning shows are all talk. Problem is there are more on-air people who think they can talk extemporaneously and be entertaining than actually can. There lies the problem. Then again, did either Stern or Bob and Tom ever say "Mr. Bossman, can I talk dirty on the radio". They pretty much just did and the act caught on.











To your comments above and those of RadioHo:

I think the problem is more that there isn't anyone to listen to. Going back to previous points that air talent is no longer allowed to be the type of personality that keeps folks from turning the dial. We all know people who turn the dial when a jock comes on and we can expect that people are likely to punch out during a stopset, but if there is interesting content between the songs, it adds to the station and can become a vital part of the sound of the place.

But this is all a pipe dream. I simply don't see a reversal of course by ownership - the ship has sailed and now every station's jocks are interchangeable, heavily formatted, reading liner cards, etc.

And it's not a question of whether people listen to music radio for music... of course they do. But it's my belief that a station's sound can be enhanced by "personalities" and not simply voiceover artists. That's what got FM radio going back in the day and sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't, but it was a heck of a lot more fun to listen to than what we've got now.
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gr8oldies said:
[

I can agree to a point. It just seems that listeners who want talk go to talk, as most morning shows are all talk. Problem is there are more on-air people who think they can talk extemporaneously and be entertaining than actually can. There lies the problem. Then again, did either Stern or Bob and Tom ever say "Mr. Bossman, can I talk dirty on the radio". They pretty much just did and the act caught on.
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I agree with the second half of what you say, no doubt about it... but to be clear, I am not talking about 45 second talk breaks here... I am talking about short breaks, running the course of the show (now referred to as a "shift" since the "show" has long since left the industry). As hard as it is to believe, copy points can be interlaced with personality... it's not an all or nothing concept... but if you give a guy or girl 7 breaks an hour and then you give them 6 things they must push in that hour... well, there goes the personality. It stems in part from the corporations demanding instant success and therefore insisting on branding and awareness RIGHTNOW... so the programmers have to spend all the time selling the station and no time at all developing a rapport, a style and a community with the audience. That takes too much time, by their standards.

So no, let's not have talk radio with a few song sprinkled in... lets do it like we used to... play lots of music and enjoy the job, be ourselves (or whomever we wanna be) and play for a living. I refuse to believe we cannot do it all... in theory... but the corps are interested and that leaves nothin' for the little guy... they can gobble up the ad dollars when they bundle up their cluster and blow stand-alones and other small organizations out of the water.

It's a shame.
 
Herschel Sills said:
radioho said:
Keith Kidd said:
Crystal you're right BTW, It has been found that people do not listen to the radio solely for the music.
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Not knocking jockette or kidd, and certainly valid points - but quite frankly - yes they do.
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if people can get MUSIC anywhere. I-Pods, internet radio,XM and hundred of other places there must be a reason people are tuning into RADIO! and that reason is PERSONALITY! its true, its not as easy to find anymore, and maybe its as simple as the sound of friendly voice or the fact that the person on the air is from their home town talking about the weather, or a local concert. and don't forget people are also tuning into radio for more than music, on TALK-RADIO.

Is radioho street talk for radio whore?
[/quote
Don't ask.
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http://sradio.tv/live/1831

A radio station in Paris that never plays the same song twice in a given year... for those of us who LOVE this business. World Class. All genre's... All artists...all languges... Amazing. Just a treat, no rhyme or reason to put this under the EMF/WKLU thread.

Crystal
 
djockette said:
http://sradio.tv/live/1831

A radio station in Paris that never plays the same song twice in a given year... for those of us who LOVE this business. World Class. All genre's... All artists...all languges... Amazing. Just a treat, no rhyme or reason to put this under the EMF/WKLU thread.

Crystal
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hehe i bet as the love to Call Jack the trainwreck format. that could really be a train wreck
 
djockette said:
http://sradio.tv/live/1831

A radio station in Paris that never plays the same song twice in a given year... for those of us who LOVE this business. World Class. All genre's... All artists...all languges... Amazing. Just a treat, no rhyme or reason to put this under the EMF/WKLU thread.

Crystal
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Keep the thread going as long as possible, after Oasis makes his last trip to Indy - this board will be BORING!
 
radioho said:
djockette said:
http://sradio.tv/live/1831

A radio station in Paris that never plays the same song twice in a given year... for those of us who LOVE this business. World Class. All genre's... All artists...all languges... Amazing. Just a treat, no rhyme or reason to put this under the EMF/WKLU thread.

Crystal
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Keep the thread going as long as possible, after Oasis makes his last trip to Indy - this board will be BORING!
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you probably know when that will be, so my advice for Mr. oasis, extra security.
 
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