Globe article on WJIB's dilemma

[raccoonradio]

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/li...ing_fee_deal_is_not_beautiful_music_for_wjib/

"...a recent deal negotiated by licensing groups BMI and ASCAP with the Radio Music License Committee meant that, as of the beginning of 2007, fees began to be based on ratings and market size (Boston is the country's 11th largest market). For Bittner, that meant a jump from approximately $5,200 for all of 2006 to an estimated $33,000 for the upcoming year."

 

[burnedout guy]

sorry I can't feel sorry for "WJIB". It has nothing to do with what radio was, but everything to do with what radio has become. I mean gee, having all those vhs tapes with music on them, what's he gonna do? I do miss the old 740am, WCAS, "wiccus island" it was playing that music with live jocks, it had a news department and a sports department AND THEY SOLD SPOTS! WJIB on the FM was about quality sound, not just the music, and had a killer top of the hour ID. Hey BOB, wanna keep "radio alive" turn it into a learning experience for future dj's and news and sportscasters, and broadcast sales people, even go sell on your own! Then I'll care!

 

[raccoonradio]

>>a learning experience for future dj's and news and sportscasters, and broadcast sales people, even go sell on your own! Then I'll care!

Interesting...by the way if you haven't been to the Salem State campus lately, the "Central Campus" has some spiffy new dorms, business classrooms, and an "Enterprise Center" where businesses can be "grown".

( http://www.enterprisectr.org/ )

They start up in one of SSC's buildings, maybe employ some SSC students who earn money pr intern for college credit, and learn how to run a business, and then move out as they get bigger and bigger. Anyway a rumor had it that WMWM could have been put down there. That would have been an interesting setup: we could have had donorships (run within limits, as we are
non-commercial) and trained people in radio...helped to publicize (again, donorships not ads) local
businesses, and made it a learning experience but the college changed their mind and kept up where we are
in the Campus Center on what is now called the North Campus (corner Loring & Lafayette)

anyway if something could have been set up for WJIB to broadcast interesting music, train new DJs/
sales people/production, etc...

though Bob likes playing the music he and his listeners enjoy and so far he hasn't run into too much trouble.
Then the licensing fees went WAY up...As we've said before he does not want to run ads, hire sales people, etc. Doesn't have time to act as a salesperson himself. If he doesn't
make a half decent amount by June 30 he has said he'll take a different course of action.

Which means I wonder if we'll start hearing brokered religion or foreign on 740?

 

[JIBGUY]

brokered religion? heavens no! / ethnic? nada.

But I am pleased to say that WJIB's fundraising effort has been no less than phenomenal so far. Not surprised really, since ratings are higher than at any time in the past 35 years.

And in response to burnedoutguy.... the reason I own 740 is because of suggestions like yours.... too many staff members, too much costly things going on... inter-staff back-biting,...greed for higher wages.... all drove it into bankruptcy. DJ's should have known back in the late 70's and early 80's that WCAS-740 (like many small stations) was a place to play artsy trendy music, not a place to earn a living wage.

 

[burnedout guy]

Sorry Bob, smaller stations like WCAS were places where DJ's, news people and sports people could get their start and hone their craft before moving on. At that level it was never about the money, it was about the love of broadcasting. The small stations were more of a family, we were all poor, but somehow didn't care. I speak not from a listener standpoint but a broadcaster one and not a broadcast management one either. What you've done is with a "cookie cutter." I have heard your station not only is it no JIB, it is no CAS. Do what you have to do, but not under the guise of what radio once was. And what drove 740 to bankruptcy as well as many stations like it was improvement in technology, the emergence of FM and now, ipods and the internet and the same thing that took out small town movie theatres and newspapers - the economy.

 

[argytunes]

I've often wondered improved technology is "a fair trade off" for good programming?

Do you think that tunes played off an lp or cd (with an occasional scratch or a skip) actually bother a listener? If they have the chance to listen to a vocal or intrumental that's not normally played...but doesn't have the 21st technology does this automatically cancel out a man or woman's desire to listen to it?

argytunes

 

[pqgeorge]

>>And what drove 740 to bankruptcy as well as many stations like it was improvement in technology, the emergence of FM and now, ipods and the internet and the same thing that took out small town movie theatres and newspapers - the economy.<<

Not exactly. Back in 1980, it was greed, plain and simple. It was even off the air for several days in 1980 thanks in part to a staff that pulled a backdoor way of getting "their way" to a new owner. That's what drove 740 into bankruptcy. It never truly recovered. It wasn't until after nearly 10 years of "loss" operation with the "Reverend" (yuh!) and the bankruptcy court, that Bob bought it and put a mainstream format on the air did the station once again thrive. Let the man continue doing what he is doing. And what he does with his station is his business, not yours.

 

[JIBGUY]

Hello BurnedOutGuy and others: I respect your opinion even tho it has many fallacies.. You say the WCAS "family" was there for the love of music, and was OK to be poor? The first part is quite true, I'm sure, but the second part doesn't explain the unionizing attempt with a majority of (music-loving/OK to be poor) DJ's saying 'yea' to such, around the time that it was owned by Mel Stone and Dan Murphy.

Aside from the music I play, I have never never ever claimed that I am running the station like in 'the good ol days'. In fact, one could say I'm even hogging it for myself. But I also have a station that is amongst the most efficiently-run, and economically-sound, fiscally-responsible radio stations in America, and serving more people who claim its their breath of life than probably any other station in America. (WHLI in Long Island may be on top there). - It is more important to me to have 100,000 listeners a week, many who say just that [breath of life] than to have 5 full-time DJ's with all the risks that come with them; which could easily topple the station. - You may laugh at the "most economically-sound" comment I just made, in view of asking for listener-support. It's still economically-sound, because no matter what happens, I have always come up with a successful idea to keep it going well.

As to cookie-cutter? How can a locally-programmed station that plays 30% vocal album tracks be cookie-cutter?

And I stopped using VCR's 5 years ago.

Be more infomed.

 

[kneegroan1]

Bob is the man! His station and its music is a reminder of what this country once was. I cant tell you how many people hear me playing it and start to enjoy.... Let the slithering snakes have the rest of the dial, as long as Bob keeps one staition safe.

 

[burnedout guy]

nice to hear you are giving the vhs tapes a rest. No, I am not well informed about the innerworkings of your station but at the start I did admit to a degree of apathy. But you are only focusing on one part of the WCAS history and given your anti-labor stance, only care about once side of the story that again was a small part of the station's history. But I am talking about small stations in general in the 60's, 70's and early 80's. The poor part was a temporary trade off for experience that led to riches, (hopefully), elsewhere. No it is never okay to be poor but it is okay to sacrifice to better yourself. As far as your brag about how financially lean you are running WJIB, (are you sure you aren't trying to go back in time with radio?), I wouldn't mention that at a DJ convention. A television network made the same brag, unemployed hundreds of talented people and ran infomercials. Thats broadcasting? You don't even like that. About sound quality? Yeah I think people do care about it, like they do video quality. I would hate to think that all this fuss over IPODS is so people don't have to listen to spots. Congratulations on your ratings but again comparing it to the past, CAS was a 250w daytimer and chose to focus on community service. You may or may not know that WCAS stood for Watertown, Cambridge, Arlington, Somerville and they always added Belmont. So with a wider reach, and better signal I would hope you are doing better. Don't get me wrong, I hope you succeed with your audience participation plan. I am a big fan of music of adult standards and it is nice that someone is playing them. But one thing I have learned on this board from you that WJIB, (are you sure you aren't trying to go back in time with radio?), appears to be anti-labor. Maybe after reading your thoughts that it is a good idea that there are some protections for the talented and hardworking individuals in this nutty business. Perhaps if you had an announcement that you wanted volunteer DJ's, Newscasters and Sportscasters, there would be a line up at your door. But as I said on my first post there is a degree of apathy here so I have said my piece and it is time to move on. PS cookie cutter....your other stations? Or did you sell the ones in NH and ME?

 

[webcastboy]

Hey BOB, wanna keep "radio alive" turn it into a learning experience for future dj's and news and sportscasters, and broadcast sales people, even go sell on your own! Then I'll care!

Why would Bob want to duplicate the experience available at no fewer than a half-dozen college stations around Boston already? Oh, I know, because those ventures aren't fiscally viable and depend on significant subsidies from their parent colleges to survive. Not to mention the enormous headache of dealing with young, fresh-faced students/recent graduates that think they know everything and don't want the man telling them what to play. ;D I don't think WJIB is anti-labor so much as Bob realizes he doesn't need the hassle and there's really no need.

Bob is "living the dream" many of us have - he gets to have lots of fun and also has total control over his little station, playing what he likes to hear. The fact that his favorite music happens to be a format that is underserved in Boston, and thus gives him surprisingly good ratings? That's just gravy. Bob can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he'd do what he does even if only 10 people were listening.

And to be blunt, I don't think WJIB could possibly generate enough revenue to support a complete staff of professionals like you're suggesting. Even if Bob "sold out" on his guiding programming principles and did everything possible to maximize revenue...staff are expensive and WJIB just ain't that big a signal. Christ, look how badly most of the big stations in Boston pay their people - and they take in $88000 of revenue every other day.

Speaking of fundraising...that's great news that the response has been good Bob!! I confess that I don't entirely agree with Bob's approach to fundraising (i.e. the aversion to credit cards and online donations, etc) but if what you're doing works, I'm not one to argue with success!

 

[Eli Polonsky]

Bob is "living the dream" many of us have - he gets to have lots of fun and also has total control over his little station, playing what he likes to hear. The fact that his favorite music happens to be a format that is underserved in Boston, and thus gives him surprisingly good ratings? That's just gravy.

Not only playing what music he may want to hear personally, but I think Bob has done some research, referencing listener responses, and perhaps some insightful speculation on what music can work on a Standards station in this quirky area, and his increasing ratings for an AM station of it's relatively small size and power reflect that.

I was driving on Commonwealth Ave from Brighton to Newton yesterday, and I heard the 1967 Frank & Nancy Sinatra hit "Something Stupid" blaring out of the car next to me. I threw on 740 to check, and sure enough, the guy was listening to WJIB!

I plan on sending a modest contribution to the fund drive later this week, for a truly unique and enjoyable independent station (especially in wideband AM stereo).

 

[JIBGUY]

Well, if I only had 10 listeners after 16 years of building a format, then I WOULD change it, of course. (If) Having only 10 listeners (2 posts above).... that would tell me that my frequency is not serving the public need, and in fact wasting spectrum. - As for WJIB-format being my favorite music; partly true.. it;'s one of my two faves. ...the other being 60's-70's rock (and ANYthing Moody Blues!). - To BurnedOutGuy: I'm not anti-labor (an easy sour-grapes name for you to throw about since I never hired you), just the opposite... I believe heavily in the theory of collective bargaining, where such is needed to counter-balance big corporate greed.

 

[raccoonradio]

>>if I only had 10 listeners after 16 years of building a format, then I WOULD change it

I'm not sure how many listeners each ratings point represents in the Arbitrons, but take that number (if
someone here knows...?) and multiply it by the number you see under the current 12 plus results
at radioandrecords.com
You'll see Bob has quite a few listeners...and we've heard he's getting pretty good response to his
request for donations.

(btw on the radioandrecords site the figure given for 12 plus population in the Boston market is:
--3,838,300--
Divide that by 100 to get what each point represents; now, I'm not sure if they mean each ratings point
represents how many percent of people who happen to be listening to radio--since not everybody is at any given moment--or if it means percent of people in general, but...

 

[NO DAG]

WJIB AM 740 seems to have gained a good following, and the 'numbers' keep showing success. One option to consider would be to market a small amount of advertisers, perhaps make this exclusive, limited only 8 advertisers at $15,000 per year. (Which is a drop in the bucket for most legitimate advertisers in the 740 signal area) That would amount to $120,000 in revenue, more than enough to keep the lights on as they say. Give these 8 advertisers all the created avails whether hourly or every other hour, and the owner should not have to put his hand through the speakers and ask for money.

You can't get away from advertising, but the owner could totally set his own rules into how commercials run to minimize the clutter factor, and provide a huge and appreciated value for being associated with WJIB. I'd have to believe the advertisers are out there to make this fly..

 

[raccoonradio]

I am reminded of some tapes I heard of a Canadian public radio station, Jazz FM 91 (CJRT-FM Toronto) which sounded a lot
like public radio but did run some ads. You'd hear jazz music, the OCCASIONAL ad, and some requests for
donations. This type of station is allowed in Canada (wikipedia: "The radio station has since had to support itself entirely by corporate and private donations and by limited commercial revenue. Its licence from the CRTC prohibits it from running more than four minutes an hour of commercials.")

Now that may be not exactly what WJIB is--it is licensed as a commercial station--but note the "four minutes
an hour of commercials". Using NO DAG's idea, Bob could run his musical programming, solicit donations, and
have maybe 4 min./hr of ads from select sponsors. No snake oil miracle cures, no informercials, no
What's-In-Your-Wallet? plugs for credit cards. Interesting..

 

[DanStrassberg]

I am reminded of some tapes I heard of a Canadian public radio station, Jazz FM 91 (CJRT-FM Toronto) which sounded a lot
like public radio but did run some ads. You'd hear jazz music, the OCCASIONAL ad, and some requests for
donations. This type of station is allowed in Canada

Four or five years ago, CJRT used to stream. That was before the big flap about royalties for streaming took down CJRT's stream and most others from over-the-air stations. Aside from the pleasantly restrained presentation (which had kind of a "Public Radio" sound), CJRT's music selection was a lot closer to what WBOQ was then playing (this was before the flip to Good-Time Favorities) than to what WJIB played at the time or plays now. If Boston had a station that sounded like CJRT did back then--whether or not it ran commercials--I'd contribute (as I have to WJIB), and I'd listen to it quite a few hours a day. Unfortunately, even though there must have been tens of thousands of people in Metro Toronto who listened to CJRT, I gather that I am the ONLY person in Metro Boston who likes that kind of music (light jazz--NOT, ugh, smooth jazz--which is NO kind of jazz and which I can't stand).

 

[WLYNWAZNgm]

Hats off to WJIB for doing "old-school" radio. We don't go into this business (well, we SHOULDN'T)
for the fame/money. The adrenaline rush of an On-Air light - it just gets under your skin. It's an itch that you just have to scratch! (skiing does the same thing, for me...). Dump the consultants, the market research, the canned formats. Forget the technology - just park me between a couple of turntables, give me a stack of vinyl records to play, and cut me loose. Like Bob, I would always find a way to sneak Moody Blues records into the mix! (I used to do this as an intern at the old WBZ-FM).

Whatever it takes to keep your station the way you want it to be - DO IT! Have that "smile in your voice". If you are having a good time, listeners will sense this, and join in...

Bob - we need to meet sometime over a couple of cold ones and discuss!

 

[webcastboy]

Well, if I only had 10 listeners after 16 years of building a format, then I WOULD change it, of course.

LOL! I was being mostly rhetorical there, Bob. If you had only 10 listeners, you'd be a college radio station (on a good day). :