What's Good For Public Radio, Is Good For You Too

"Essentially, we're raising the number of segments per hour," Arvid Hokanson, deputy program manager for KUOW tells Morning Fizz, in an attempt to keep up with the way audience surveys say people listen to radio—in short bursts, while they're making breakfast or in the car. "Our frequent listeners now are people who listen more times per day."

KUOW will effectively condense four hours of daily local programming into two.

Do the math.  If you want to keep up with a top-rated public radio station in PPM, it's time to say the same things in HALF the time!

How To Make Money At Music

94.9 KUOW/Seattle's Steve Scher snagged me with a teaser to his show yesterday:

"...industry analysts and executives have bemoaned the imminent death of the music industry ever since the birth of the Internet. In reality it's only the record business that's in peril. Album sales once built musical empires. Now touring is the cornerstone of an artist's financial success. Bands who make the road their home are not just insulated from the drop in record sales — they can be profitable! How can you succeed in the modern music industry? Tune in to find out."

The podcast is worth a listen as local booking agent Ali Hedrick talks about the end of record labels and the beginning of management companies/360 deals. Ali brags that she always tries to have tickets to her events available at venues so fans can buy them with no service charges as well (though of course the majority of tickets still sell including "convenience" charges).

Then, this morning, "Lee Brice" emailed to offer to sell me tickets direct from the artist to his shows, cutting out yet another "middle man."

It will be interesting to see if this "added value" approach can provide a long-term business model that keeps musicians playing and music buyers smilin' - while getting more dollars into the hands of creative types as well as lower prices or a better experience to the consumer with less of a "cut" for agents, brokers and traditional exec's.

I can dream, can't it?