Hardball

Saga, Ed Christian, and Steve Goldstein rank high on my list of the most admired, fastidious and committed radio broadcasters. 

What a shock to read that they've gone from being leading members of the Arbitron Affiliates Advisory Council to the subject of a lawsuit by the ratings giant.

If Saga is guilty, who among us isn't guilty of something that Arbitron's attorneys decide is worth making business life difficult?

Anyone who knows Ed and Steve has to be aware that they run one of the tightest ships in radio, so if ARB has decided to send a message to the industry that when it comes to business matters, they're not at all concerned about being friendly and cooperative to all of their customers, they chose a great target.

This one is going to be worth watching, and yet most Arbitron legal actions against non-subscribing stations are kept under wraps, so we may never know the outcome in court.

Meanwhile, the list of generonyms just grew by one more word. 

Don't even think of calling it "an ARB bonus" in internal staff memos or employment contracts unless you are an Arbitron subscriber!

Pat Pending

Once upon a time in radio a name like the above would probably have been nothing more concerning than the "nom de plume" of your all night jock.

The closest to copyright law we got was the annual reminder not to say the words "Super Bowl" on the air in connection with a promotion without getting the NFL's approval.

Ditto with the word "Olympics" every four years.

Then, thanks to Mission Abstract Data, suddenly every owner, GM and Chief Engineer has been forced to bone up on copyright law over the last few years.

Recently, due to major group consolidation even formerly settled brand name and position statements that stations have used on the air in their marketing for many years have been changing and new claims to service marks have emerged, now asserting ownershio of even "pictures, cartoons, drawing type, typeset words, letters, numbers" that radio companies have been using for a long time.

Lawyers for these radio stations, after reviewing the paperwork, have been advising in many cases to pay the new claimant for use of the marks as cheaper than engaging in a protracted and expensive court battle well before you have invested advertising time and money to make the names extremely valuable to you.

Can you say "Samsung?"

Yes, it can cost several thousand dollars to do a service mark, brand name, trade mark, copyright search.  So, it's tempting to cut a corner when choosing a name for that new talent, benchmark, position statement, brand name and just put it on the air, hoping that you can later demonstrate "first use," since it seemed at the time like you originated it.

Don't do it.

It can cost even more to aggressively protect a name that you did trade mark and feel you own, but if you don't spend that money, you risk losing it.

So, you must do it.

If you're in the business of mental warfare, whether you want to be or not, you are in the copyright, service mark and trade mark game too.

An Unconventional Method Of Letting Everyone Know You're #1

Lots of radio stations call themselves #1.

It used to be that young programmers were advised by the savvy old pros "the more you say you're #1, the faster you'll be #1.

Now, to be believed, your claim must resonate as truth with listeners. Otherwise, their BS detector blows louder than your claim.

Getting sued by Arbitron is one way to make sure everyone in your town knows that it's true, it seems, since ARB says that it wasn't the fact that KMX 106.7 said on their air "Thanks for making us the most-listened to radio station in the Wiregrass...” why they hit the station's owner with a $350,000 copyright infringement lawsuit. It was because the claim was true in the latest Arbitron survey.

KMX is a very unconventional radio station as their latest TV spot on You Tube shows.



A&O was the very first in our business to call our annual perceptual reports for clients, "Roadmaps" more than eight years ago.

However, if we ever hear from an attorney for Rand McNally, they'd have our full attention.

Something tells me that WKMX feels the same way right now.

I guess it's OK to say you're #1. Just don't BE #1 at the same time?

TK Wins "I Love This Bar" Copyright Suit

A copyright infringement lawsuit brought against country big dog Toby Keith by folk singer Michael McCloud has been dismissed, and "I Love This Bar" scribe Keith has issued a statement regarding the favorable outcome:

"It is an awful thing to be accused wrongfully of copyright infringement. It goes to the core of what you are as a man, a singer/songwriter and an artist," Keith said. "You know it is being done to you by some greedy lowlife opportunist who just wants to get rich off you. In fact, Michael Snyder a/k/a Michael McCloud publicly bragged this lawsuit would make him a rich man, that I would buy him a comfortable life, retirement, house, car, 'big' boat, Harvard education for his children and other things. While he was talking, I was put in the terrible position of not being able to defend myself until the trial and I just could not wait for that day to come. I knew it would take no time at all for the case to be dismissed and it was, of course, with prejudice which means: He had no case whatsoever. I don't have a problem taking heat for my politics or my music. You can like my songs or not but they mean everything to me. I have always said that I may not always be a performer but I will always be a songwriter. So when this lawsuit was filed, it pissed me off. And no matter what it took, I was going to fight it. It was just too wrong. This guy can't sue me again for copyright infringement according to the judgment and I feel that maybe I landed a blow not only for myself, my reputation but for other artists as well. I hope so. As I said, the case was dismissed with prejudice. I didn't pay him or his lawyers a thing." -- Toby Keith

It's too bad that this kind of thing happens to artists, making it harder and harder for them to review any unsolicited new material by budding songwriters who try to hand them music and lyrics everywhere they go.

Anyone who knows TK knows that he could probably take you to the bar in Oklahoma which inspired him to write that song. Or, as Toby Keith says himself....

"I’m a man of my convictions.

Call me wrong; call me right

But I bring my better angels to every fight.

You may not like where I am going

But you sure know where I stand."