KBRJ, Anchorage Gets The Kind Of Ink You Can't Buy

... except by being remarkable on the radio! (click to read the Daily News release): "Studded tires, K-BEAR keep mail moving!"

"63 miles every day, roughly 4,500 pieces of flat mail six days a week and 104.5 on the radio!"

Keith Urban Appears On Saturday Night Live On 2/10

I recall that the last country star to appear on SNL was Garth Brooks back in 1999, so this is very, very big.

Here's today's press release:

Grammy Award winner Keith Urban and Oscar Nominee/SAG Award Winner Forest Whitaker are set for Saturday Night Live, February 10th. Both will be celebrating their first appearances on the groundbreaking program.

Urban, who has amassed seven No. 1 singles and 12 Top 5's, is slated to perform two songs. His latest album, "Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing," debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Album Chart, giving him his second consecutive No.1 album. The first single from the album "Once In A Lifetime," set a record as the highest debuting song in the history of the Billboard Hot Country Singles Chart and his latest, "Stupid Boy," recently entered the Top 10. It was not known at press-time whether he was to appear in an acting role.

One of the most accomplished actors/directors/producers working today, Forest Whitaker is having a banner year. For his work as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland," he has received practically every critic's award: a Golden Globe and SAG award as Best Actor and has been nominated for an Oscar for the role.

Whitaker, a veteran of numerous films since his debut at 21 in "Fast Times At Ridgemont High," has appeared in such diverse studio and indie movies as "Panic Room," Clint Eastwood's "Bird," "The Crying Game,"
"Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai," "Smoke," and "Good Morning, Vietnam." He's also directed the features "Waiting To Exhale" and "Hope Floats," and served as producer on countless other productions,
including the award-winning telefilm "Door To Door." In addition, he has delivered critically acclaimed turns on the Emmy-winning TV dramas "The Shield" and most recently NBC's "ER."

For more information:
Marc Liepis for SNL/NBC

Paul Freundlich for Keith Urban/PFA

$$$uper Bowl Hangover, But Save Some For Valentine's Day Too

It costs employers $162 million for every 10 minutes workers spend:
* chatting about the Super Bowl
* checking the Internet about the Super Bowl
* planning who is going to buy the beer for the Super Bowl.

..So reports outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The company also says 6% of workers nationwide take the day off after the Super Bowl.

PS: Countdown To Cupid: Valentine's Day Spending To Grow 20%
Sarah Mahoney reports the average consumer will shell out $119.67 this year to celebrate Valentine's Day. Marketers are ready with ideas for young and old. - Read the whole story...

KUPL's "Bowling With Bubba" Raises $10,000.. That's A Lot Of Pins

CBS RADIO/KUPL, Portland PD John Paul reports that they recently raised over $10,000 in their fifth annual BOWLING WITH BUBBA charity event for SHRINER's HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN, featuring BBR artist CRAIG MORGAN performed.

20 Years of Superbowls Yielded 1400 Commercials and 1.72 Billion Ad Dollars

According to TNS Media Intelligence, advertising during the Super Bowl game has accounted for 682 minutes, over 11 full hours, of commercial time throughout the past 20 years (1987-2006). Those 11 hours represent 221 different advertisers, more than 1,400 commercial announcements and translate into $1.72 billion of network advertising sales.

The top five Super Bowl advertisers of the past 20 years have spent $613.4 million on advertising during the game, accounting for 35 percent of total advertising dollars spent in the game.

Alyssa Lies Charts Top 10

Jason Michael Carroll tells Country Forever's Neil Haislop that every new success that song makes, makes him feel more vindicated that he held his ground when there was pressure for him to rewrite the song.

"They did. A couple people came to me and said, 'We wantyou to get with this writer, or that writer, and just try to fix it a littlebit.' And, it was exactly as it is today what everybody is listening to onthe radio." Jason Michael says he figures the reason for their concern was that the song was dark, without a happy ending. "So, finally I agreed to do it with one writer that I respected and I remember going into that session and five minutes before were to set down and start writing I said, 'Man I can't do this. This song is very important to me and it is what it is for a reason, I can't explain why but I don't think we need to touch it. I told him where I was coming from when I wrote it and he said, 'You know, I think you're right, we should just leave it alone."

Keith Urban Gets Award Down Under, EMI Rep Accepts It

Radio New Zealand reports New Zealand-born country music singer Keith Urban has won an award for outstanding achievement. He has been honoured at a ceremony in Tamworth, in New South Wales, by the Country Music Association of Australia.

Urban, who was born in Whangarei and raised in Australia, recently announced that he had completed an alcohol rehabilitation programme in the United States. He is planning a tour to promote his new album.
The award was collected last night by a representative of his record company, EMI.

Other Aussie country music awards are detailed by the Sydney Morning Herald today: "Kernaghan the king of country music ... and Beccy's the queen"

Valuing Core Listeners' Core Values

Eric Corwin at Impact Target Marketing asked A&O to submit an article for his new "Radio Muse Letter" e-zine, showing that he gets the concept that our article was all about: what you do says more about your service than what you say you do.

Many thanks to Eric and Impact for providing us some of their space to express our viewpoint and be a part of his e-community!

Billboard's Ken Tucker Hits Reuters With Country/Hispanics CRS Study Preview

And, this morning, the Post picked it up: And what of Nashville's historically lily-white record labels? Might they add non-white artists to diversify their rosters? (well worth a click to read it all!)

"That just isn't the way it works," Warner Bros. Nashville chief Bill Bennett says. "If you find someone with real quality music, you don't care what ethnic background they're from. We have Cowboy Troy and Rick Trevino, but not because they're ethnic. We have them because they make great songs."

WKIS, Miami PD Bob Barnett sees things differently.

"I think the degree of difficulty in marketing a black or Hispanic or Latin artist to country radio may initially be too unfamiliar and too overwhelming for most on Music Row. The labels are more likely to choose the path of least resistance, but there may be an opportunity for a renegade independent label to take that risk. The potential payoff could be huge, but obviously not without great challenge."

PS: Another Post article worth clicking: Douglas Brinkley's review of the very pro-radio book by Marc Fisher (Random House, $27.95) "The Rise of Radio, How an amazingly adaptable medium broadcast new messages to America" in the Sunday, January 28, 2007 edition.

New Keith Urban Tour '07 Dates

The first leg of his "Love, Pain & the whole crazy World Tour," takes to North American soil on Friday, June 8th when the tour hits Phoenix, Arizona's US Airways Center. The 33-city, 36-performance arena tour promises Urban's trademark electrifying concerts combined with world-class production for a show that will feature the hits from his recent multi-platinum release, "Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing," as well as many of the #1's which have defined his career.

Tickets for "Love, Pain & the whole crazy World Tour" are set to begin to go on-sale to the public on Saturday, February 3rd. Members of Keith's online community, Monkeyville will have first access to advance tickets through keithurban.net beginning on Monday, January 29th. Retail giant Target, in most tour markets, and country radio listener clubs in all markets, will offer advance ticket access as of Tuesday, January 30th. For more information on specific concert dates and on pre-sale offers go to www.keithurban.net.

"I'm looking forward to getting back on the road, to reconnecting with everyone and to doing what it is that I love to do," said Urban. "To finally be able to present the songs from "Love, Pain (& the whole crazy thing) live, is something that I've been looking forward to doing since recording the album."

Urban's "Love, Pain & the whole World Tour" will feature the songs that have made Keith one of the industry's most respected musicians. Sure to be included in the show, along with some surprises, will be the #1's: "Better Life," "Days Go By," "Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me," "You'll Think of Me," as well as the record breaking songs "Somebody Like You" and "Once In A Lifetime." The music is sure to be what will highlight another in a line of critically acclaimed Urban concert experiences.

"Love, Pain & the whole crazy World Tour," will also mark Keith's first arena performances in his native Australia, as well as concerts in Germany, England and Canada. In what has been a relatively short period of time Urban has amassed 7 #1 singles, 12 Top 5's and has firmly established himself as an electrifying and prolific talent. He's received accolades and recognition from The Grammy Awards, The American Music Awards (AMAs), The Billboard Music Awards and is the 2005 Country Music Association (CMA) Entertainer of the Year, as well as the CMA and Academy of Country Music (ACM) Male Vocalist of the Year.

I'm Still Here. How About You? Next Year?

Have you re-read What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Nelson Bolles? Lately? I go through it and Bolles' great website JobHuntersBible.com at least once a year. I tell everyone I talk to about it because in these times it's key to do an ongoing skills inventory to be sure that the abilities which served you so well LAST year are still in demand next year.

Then, comes this press release today from outplacement tracking firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas:

The number of planned job cuts in the U.S. media sector surged 88% last year. .For all of 2006, the media industry announced 17,809 job cuts, up from the 9,453 cuts announced in 2005. The trend is expected to continue this year, according to John Challenger, CEO of the firm: "Already this year we have seen job cuts announced by Time Inc and the New York Times Company. These organizations will continue to make adjustments as their focus shifts from print to electronic." As readers spend more time on the Web, advertisers are not far behind in moving their marketing budgets online. While most companies in the industry are building up their Internet sites and distribution to capture the growth, that has yet to offset weakness at their mainstay print or broadcast businesses. For the first half of this month, there have been more than 2,000 planned job cuts already announced. Since the beginning of 2007, Time Inc. said it would cut 289 jobs and The New York Times announced plans to shed 125 jobs and close foreign bureaus for its Boston Globe newspaper. NBC Universal announced late last year a 750 million cost cutting move in its NBC2.0 overhaul, cutting nearly 700 jobs. "Until they can figure out a way to make as much money from their online services as they are losing from the print side, it is going to be an uphill battle," said Challenger.

You KNOW that the 'growth' part of the radio business is online, podcasts and in HD channels, yet you tell yourself that there's no time to develop compelling content-driven programming for the new media side of our business due to the time demands of your current responsibilities. I feel for you, because I feel the same way at times.

What Color Is Your Parachute?

It's time to rethink your priorities! We're in a great business - the audio entertainment business (NOT the radio business!). The platforms you can perform on are multiplying. It's either a problem or an opportunity, depending on how you deal with it.

ARB's Syracuse Surprise

I suppose it would be wise not to comment on things I don't fully understand or have any knowledge beyond what has been publicly reported, especially since our A&O Clear Channel/Syracuse pals at WBBS have another great #1 book and a nice 12.2-11.7-11.2-12.4 12+ trend and their best book in a year to celebrate, but heck voicing my opinion based on news reports and gossip has never stopped me up to now, so why should I start being "fair and balanced" today??

In November, the meteoric and sometimes opinionated Ed Levine of Galaxy Communications reportedly resigned from the Arbitron Affiliates Advisory Council, charging that ARB had an arrogant attitude. Within just a few weeks, at the ARB Consultants' Fly-In, the company's CEO Steve Morris said he failed to understand why Levine would say such a thing.

Now, from Inside Radio's Tom Taylor comes this report:

"Is this Arbitron’s punishment in Syracuse? It’s a selective embargo for non-subscribers.“Selective embargo” is our term for Arbitron’s startling new policy — but some radio operators may have more colorful language when they see some stations missing. Galaxy CEO Ed Levine — who publicly deserted Arbitron for Eastlan in early December — tells Inside Radio “The merging of Arbitron’s business interest with their research data is troubling and potentially explosive, with far-reaching results.” He says the partial numbers are misleading to the public. And from what we can tell the set of numbers Arbitron released to the press doesn’t indicate that some stations have been deleted. Interestingly — Arbitron does list the Galaxy outlets in another market (Albany). But not the Galaxy-owned stations in Syracuse such as classic rock WTKW (a 6.9 share 12+in the Summer book), “K-Rock” WKRL (a 4.2) and “Classic Country” WSCP (a 1.8). Here’s what Arbitron tells us — “This is a new policy for the trade press. It applies to two other markets besides Syracuse — Lincoln, NE and Burlington-Plattsburgh, NY.” They’ll be released in a couple of days — but minus some of the usual call letters. “Only subscribers get to see the Arbitron numbers” in Syracuse and two other markets. Yep, that’s the new policy — and the company tells us “This was an Arbitron decision. We did not consult with the Advisory Council on this matter.” If it sticks — watch the next moves of Galaxy CEO Ed Levine. In less than two months he’s gone from being a subscriber and the holder of a seat on the Advisory Council to an ex-subscriber whose Syracuse ratings can only be seen by subscribers at the station and agency level. He tells Inside Radio“This should be a wakeup call to the entire radio industry. Arbitron is not primarily a research company, they are a sales organization.” As for the delisting — “Today it is a non-subscriber in Syracuse. Tomorrow it may be anon-encoder in New York. This industry needs an alternative.” Arbitron’s occasionally embargoed entire markets. But this is different. In addition to watching Levine you should stay tuned to the Radio Advisory Council. This isn’tjust about some numbers on a page — it’s dollars and billing."

Replacing Levine on the AAAC is our longtime friend and trusted ally Michael Osterhout, the COO of Morris Radio Group. We could not have a better advocate. And, judging from ARB's reported stance in the above action and response, we absolutely need a great one a whole lot right now! If anyone has the courage to tell truth to power at ARB, I know that Osterhout is our guy.

George Jones University

Donald Trump, Vanderbilt Chancellor Gordon Gee and radio personality Gerry House are being given credit for sparking the creative juices that today launched Nashville’s latest "hall of higher learning."

Billed as a no-nonsense, straight - ahead institution dedicated to teaching students the basics of how the music industry works and how aspiring applicants can deal with the challenge of breaking into the business, George Jones University will assemble its first 3-day instruction session in late March. The school will convene each quarter of the year thereafter and will have a 5th comprehensive reunion of students to celebrate and receive diplomas plus share music with each other.

For updated information as it develops, contact Tandy Rice - 615-329-4345 or Matthew Wilkes - 615-329-4347 .

Cruising With Kenny Chesney (Last Year) And, Now, Tim McGraw

Chesney capped a four-night cruise to the Bahamas last winter that included a private, beach-side performance by Chesney, Dierks Bentley and "Big Kenny" Alphin of Big & Rich).

This year, Tim McGraw (will board a cruise ship in Nassau where he'll perform two shows and do a Q&A with passengers).

Associated Press Writer John Gerome reports that they are among a new breed of Nashville artists combining sun and sea with an intimate concert experience for die-hard (and well-heeled!) music fans.

"It's the ultimate VIP ticket. Anyone with a dedicated, loyal fan base is fair game for this." -- Ray Waddell, who covers the concert industry for Billboard magazine.

What's different now is that top-shelf acts are hopping aboard. Besides McGraw and Chesney, the Dave Matthews Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Sammy Hagar and the Barenaked Ladies all have set sail recently. The artists get a guaranteed take, and a cruise to boot.

"It's a low-pressure gig. I'm used to doing a big production. To do some small intimate shows is appealing. "We'll talk back and forth, maybe throw a request out every now and then." -- Tim McGraw

While McGraw declined to divulge how much he will make from the cruise, he said it's comparable to what he'd make for an arena concert. He'll bring his band with him and try out some new songs. Industry experts say the trend is driven by concert promoters, who are attracted to a new niche market: hardcore fanswilling to shell out for a vacation package built around their favorite musical acts. For the Country Cruise Getaway with McGraw, Live Nation, one of the country's largest promoters, chartered the 2,974-passenger Carnival Liberty. The three-night cruise departs Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Jan. 28, and also features Little Big Town, Cagle, Jamie O' Neil, the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, Jypsi and the Nashville Hitmakers. Tickets start about $1,100 per person and top out at $2,100.

"It's still on a small scale because chartering a ship takes a lot of moxieand money. You have to have a big name to get top dollar for tickets and draw people." -- Jay Shapiro, owner of Five Star Travel in Fort Lauderdale and a member of the Cruise Line International Association

The cruises come at an unsteady time for the concert business. Attendance was up 14 percent last year, but that followed years of decline, including a 3.8 percent decrease in 2005. Billboard writer Waddell said concert cruises are yet another way promoters are tapping the discretionary income of hardcore fans.

"Fan club entry, special merchandise and ticket deals, all these things they do to capture the really hardcore,super-dedicated fan has increased a lot and these cruises are an extension of that."

Darryl Worley To Perform At AFC Championship Game

Worley will perform two of his hit songs during the “Salute to the Troops” halftime show at this Sunday’s AFC Championship game at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Colts take on the New England Patriots. Kickoff is at 6:30 PM EST.

100 troops, representatives from each branch of the military, will join Worley on the field as he sings his current hit radio single, “I Just Came Back (from a War),” and “Have You Forgotten?” “I Just Came Back (from a War),” currently Top 15 and quickly climbing, is striking an emotional chord across the country and garnering national media attention with its message of compassion and understanding. The song was inspired by a Marine that Worley met who was having a difficult time adjusting to life back home after being at battle.

Greg Gillispie in FMQB: Great Advice For Turbulent Times

"There are so many ifs, ands, and buts. We are our own best competition is the best way to operate. Rather than focusing on what anyone else is doing, why not look inside and do the best you can do."

"Today society is consumed with complex technologies; yet desires simplicity. Robbie Blinkoff, managing partner of Context-Based Research Group has coined the term, “simplexity.”"

"Faith Popcorn says, “Personalized media technologies are spawning a ‘networked self,’ which will shape society at large.” The industry must know society is regaining control of its life. People know what they want, when they want it, and how they want it. Rather than being consumed with consuming properties, the industry needs to be consumed with its consumers."

"Approaching ownership from a small business perspective creates a stronger bond with and allows more free movement in serving the community. The hope is owners, be they new, revitalized, or existing, take this approach in many markets that have been neglected or operated as a small piece of a monstrous puzzle. The good news is smaller companies are widening the performance gap with bigger companies in small to mid-size markets. Analysts indicate increased Wall St. attention. The bad news is the cost of acquiring platforms in these markets could have the same effect as restructuring."

I worked with Greg back in the Burkhart-Douglas 1980's and at Jacor in the mid-1990's and then again at McVay Media in late 1990's, so when his byline shows up, I get to readin'. You should too. (click for some great intelligence and insight!)

CBS Radio's Winter Group Contest - Plasma TV

The Y108 website says the Pittsburgh station "has teamed up with CBS Radio stations across the country to give you a chance to win a 42" Panasonic Plasma HDTV 10 times a day! Just listen between 8am and 8pm for the cue to call and be the 110th nationwide caller at 1-866-EASY-WIN, 1-866-327-9946!"

Listeners Blame Both The Contestant And The Station

What to do in the wake of the terrible Jennifer Strange/Entercom-Sacramento tragedy?

For the majority of us - the bystanders and witnesses, fortunately the answer is of course to have sympathy for all involved and resolve now to learn from the incident.

* A Sacremento TV station's web poll show that only one in four people feel like the safety of promotions is the contestant's responsibility...
* A "MAC" forum's users wonder why the station didn't have medical attention for all contestants...

Sure, I've done stunts, and I am sure you have too, so there's more than a little bit of "there but for the Grace of God go I" in my mind as I read these accounts and reactions.

Let's add one more resolution to our list for '007: as we all plan and organize stunts it's mandatory to get legal advice in advance, liability insurance riders of course, but even more importantly think through all of the potential risks, understanding that the only good stunt is one which resonates with the values of the target listener. Safety and security is paramount.

Inside Radio's Mike Kinosian Scoops Me On Country's Hispanic Challenge

When I saw that A&O's longtime friends Charlie Cook, Programming VP of Cumulus, and Edison Research's Larry Rosin were undertaking a study of Hispanics and the country format to be presented at this year's CRS in Nashville, I noted it on this blog in a line or two and mentioned that I thought country's narrative storylines would probably prove to be a strong suit, but the format would need to enlarge its perspective beyond a few hundred miles around Music City and left it at that.

I am asking myself now, "Why didn't I call Charlie? Why didn't I interview Larry?" And, the answer HAS to be: because I could not have done a better job of it - including a terrific analysis of country station share trends - than Mike just did.

Before you go to CRS in Nashville, click here and print his report out. It's simply terrific, worth thinking about in light of the CRS '07 research project to come.

..The ONLY thing I don't like about it is that I regret that I didn't do it! And, on top of that, if I had done it, it could not have been any more thorough and objective than Mike's is!

Props (!!!) to Inside Radio and Mike Kinosian.

Dierks Bentley's Amazing Use Of Video

Knowing that almost nine out of ten country album sales have historically been driven by radio airplay, I have always wondered why artists spend the big bucks it takes to produce country videos, given the still quite small penetration and average quarter hour audiences of the two country video channels, especially now that CMT is doing more longer-form shows.

Dierks Bentley just gave me a lesson in '007 media, with his highly anticipated video for current single "Long Trip Alone" which doesn't even world premiere on cable until TODAY, (January 18th) on CMT's Top 20 Countdown at 4:00pm ET. The video, which will take your breath away and is certain to win creative awards, was filmed in Mexico City at the end of December. Neil Haislop reports that it has already created unprecedented online buzz among fans, making me wonder what YOU are doing to use online video to drive hits to your website:

"When the video was posted online (click to watch it) exclusively for Bentley's fan club last week, the average number of daily hits to the site skyrocketed from 100,000 to over 990,000 in just 24 hours."