Let Me Second That Motion

The announcement from Country Radio Broadcasters that Jeff Smulyan will be given the 2015 Tom Rivers Humanitarian Award during the opening ceremonies of Country Radio Seminar 2015 is another great decision from the seminar's board.

If you want to peruse the many, many wonderful giving works Jeff has spearheaded and been involved in, click here to read the complete press release listing a lot of them.

I'd like to add a personal reflection on what Jeff has created for the people who work for and with him, which in today's corporate radio competitive environment is another level of humanitarianism.  As their company website notes:  "Emmis is the 9th largest radio group in the U.S (based on listeners) and has been voted the Most Respected Radio Company in a poll of industry CEOs."

Other owners wishing to establish a positive productive "family" environment for their employees would do well to go to click around Emmis.com and learn about a winning culture. 

He purchased my hometown baseball team, reunited two guys named Griffey and turned a losing ball club into a winner, though it wasn't a winner for Jeff.  He used radio marketing tactics and rallied a community to the team's side, getting attendance up after years of apathy by local fans.  He lost money on the deal, but made baseball fun again for Puget Sound fans.

That's when I first observed that this was a guy who did the right thing first and worried about bottom line secondarily.

"Emmis" is the Hebrew word for “truth," and I first got a chance to work with the company when they purchased "KIX" (now "The Arch") in St. Louis from Zimmer.  

We had a very good run and thanks to a wonderful group of people, managed to make a pretty good showing against a powerful incumbent.

In Nashville I was a fly on the wall when they made their first presentation to the Music City community after buying the now defunct KZLA, which was very impressive.  

Of course, from Terre Haute, Indianapolis and many other legendary radio stations, they have shown their ability to win long term in many markets.

I brought up the no-doubt painful Mariners, KZLA and KIX situations for two reasons, having seen Emmis' greatmedia.greatpeople.greatservice^® mission in action for a very long time, even in situations where circumstances led them in the infamous "other direction."   

Their people and the culture Jeff and his team have innovated show "class" even in places where it's not easy to do so, living Eleven Commandments of doing business with a humanitarian tone indeed.

Charitable works are terrific, and Jeff has performed many, but the way you live your life in all aspects is even more noteworthy.

Our entire industry is better because of the values exemplified every day by Jeff Smulyan.

Has Country Radio Reached The Christmas Music Tipping Point?

"One last listen to the 2013 Holidays" (report) serves up one final piece of Christmas pie and makes it clearer why upper-demo targeted radio stations post such astronomical shares each December.

Overall terrestrial radio listening appears to be going down in PPM measurement during the same period, so it seems that getting a bigger slice of a smaller pie is at least part of what's happening.

I have used these charts before and I apologize for trotting it out again, but it's a good time to ponder how country radio users felt about the tactic seven years ago.

Back in 2005 and 2006, Edison Research did a massive national online database study for Country Radio Seminar and asked country listeners about it.

Kansas City in 2013 was a case study of what we may see more and more of in 2014.  The older-targeted country station was up after jingling musical bells, while the other two - targeting under 45 - were also both up and ranked in the market's top five, by carefully not doing the same thing.

As that 2005-2006 study showed, the decision for country programmers on whether to cavort with elves and Santa's helpers or not has always been a difficult one, but it's going to be even tougher - and important to know who else is going to do it - in the coming year.

Young Country Fans Are More Likely To Consume Broadcast Radio

At a time when broadcast radio is increasingly challenged for younger listeners, there's good news for radio from younger Country fans.

12-to-24-year-olds who say they listen frequently to Country music are significantly more likely to have listened to FM radio in the last week than the 12-to-24 demo overall. But 12-to-24-year-old Country fans are also more likely to use other types of audio as well.

Hopefully, you saw that headline which received a lot of coverage in all the trade media.  Megan Lazovick's Edison Research press release on the newest research on the music and media habits of 12-to-34-year olds contained a few other juicy info-tidbits as well, some of which didn't get the coverage the headline received:

• 12-to-24-year-old Country fans listened to “traditional FM radio” more than the demo overall, but their other audio usage was also disproportionately higher as well, including listening to personalized online radio such as Pandora.
• While the amount of listening to FM is higher than the amount of personalized online radio listening, 12-to-24 Country fans were more likely to have listened to personalized online radio in the previous week than all 12-to-24s.

Edison surveyed 1,550 12-34-year-olds, including nearly 900 respondents under age 25. In addition, they conducted face-to-face interviews with Millennials about their attitudes towards Country music, Country radio, and music listening and media habits in general. Those interviews will be unveiled for the first time at the Country Radio Seminar presentation.

“Even as their choices expand, Country listeners of all ages have often been among the most loyal to broadcast radio, and 12-to-24-year-olds are no exception,” says Edison Research president Larry Rosin. “This study shows, however, that with the strength of today’s Country music, Millennial listeners are eager to consume it on many platforms.  We hope our CRS presentation will give programmers the tools they need to maintain their advantage with younger listeners.”

The full survey will be unveiled February 19th in Nashville by Edison's Larry Rosin and Megan Lazovick, along with Jayne Charneski, an expert on "Millennials." A follow-up session will be held February 20th.

The Negotiator

He's not William Shatner, but for people like A&O&B clients he may be even more fun, enlightening and entertaining when he speaks to our annual client get-together in Nashville.

Attorney James L. [Jim] Varnell, who for the past 42 years his wide-raging law practice (all the way up to the bar of the United State Supreme Court) has encompassed all types of trials, agreements, negotiations, entertainment law, the concert business, talent contracts with major radio groups and networks.


Jim in his usual tongue-in-cheek, yet straightforward, manner lists as his most significant career achievements:

• running a paper route with Kentucky coach Joe B. Hall and his 2 brothers in Sewanee, TN., in 1951; 
• playing a flawless bass guitar at a Seattle festival with members of Garth Brooks' band in 1998;
• and escorting songwriter Dean Dillon to George Strait's bus at a Knoxville, TN., concert in 2005.

He promises to make use of at least a dozen great country songs as the thread to tell stories of his experience, while sharing many of the lessons he has learned as he has dealt with major celebrities, promoters, agents and all facets of the music business.

Albright & O'Malley & Brenner will present our 20th annual Pre-CRS seminar Feb. 18 at the Ford Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame. 

This is your formal invitaton to these yearly sessions on personal career growth, important topics facing Country radio and even new music from sponsor Republic Nashville. 

A&O&B's 9th annual perceptual study "Roadmap 2014" will show country P1 trends in music, digital consumption, social networking and more.  

The full agenda and presenter list will be announced over the next few days.

Please come! RSVP here.   

No, you won't need a Jim Varnell to negociate your way in to this private meeting, since admission is free to A&O&B clients as well as anyone else not in a competitive situation with A&O&B stations.  

And, since it's at the Country Music Hall of Fame, you do NOT need to be registered for CRS to attend (though of course we hope to see you at Country Radio Seminar as well)!