From Webnoize: "EMI plans to sell downloadable music
beginning July 1, but full-length albums and singles 
will
cost no less than physical CDs. It's no surprise; company vice
president Jay Samit has long maintained that costs associated
with digital distribution are about the same as with traditional
distribution.... Meanwhile, Sony is selling downloadable songs
on its web site for $2.49, with a plan to raise the price to $3.49.
"These price points are suicide for the first phase of the
majors' efforts, likely to scare off curious dabblers, and make
experienced MP3 buffs laugh. To build a viable market for commercial
downloadable music, major record companies will have to add value
to the experience that makes piracy not worthwhile...
"Look for music fans to greet legitimate $3 song files with
a yawn and a click -- over to Napster."
Read the full story at Webnoize (subscription required)
here.
From the Chicago Sun-Times: "Great news, boys and girls:
Your charming and delightful Ol' Uncle Lar is coming back.
"Thirteen years after he signed off from WLS-AM (890) and
said he was retiring from radio for good, 'Superjock' Larry
Lujack is ready to ride the local airwaves again.
"WUBT-FM (103.5), the 'Jammin' Oldies' outlet also known
as 'The Beat,' is expected to announce any day now that Lujack
has agreed to a short-term deal...
"Although he projected a cool nonchalance about his job,
he was a meticulous professional 
who
worked harder than any of his peers and spent hours preparing
each and every show. His signature bits, including 'Animal Stories,'
'The Cheap, Trashy Show Biz Report' and 'Clunk Letter of the Day,'
were gems of comedic timing--as were his uncanny use of pregnant
pauses, self-mocking fanfare and audible paper shuffling..."
This story has no Internet aspect as far as I know, but the
return of Mr. Lujack is such excellent news for anyone
who grew up listening to Chicago radio in the 1970s that I thought
it deserved a mention anyway. (Like many others, I might not even
have gotten into radio if it weren't for the influence of listening
to Mr. Lujack.)
The really bad news would be if you've moved away and you
can't hear Mr. Lujack's shows -- which are supposedly going to
be four weeks of being a Thursday co-host of the morning show
plus a role as the new station voice -- because The Beat doesn't
stream its audio. And I can't find a "Listen live" link
on their website (here).
Read Robert Feder's full column in the Sun-Times here.
 |
| May
15-18 |
Radio
Ink Internet Conference, Boston
-- SOLD OUT!* |
* The Radio Ink Internet Conference may be sold out, but
if you were still thinking about attending, fortunately for
you, RAIN has anticipated your needs! You're
in luck! Before it sold out, we purchased a small block of
seats for those RAIN readers who make decisions at
the last minute. Interested in attending? E-mail us here
for details. |
| May
22-26 |
Real
[Networks] Conference 2000, San Jose |
| June
12-14 |
Streaming
Media East 2000, New York City |
| June
14-17 |
R&R
Convention 2000, Los Angeles |
| June
14-17 |
PROMAX
& BDA, New Orleans |
| July
13-16 |
Upper
Midwest Conclave, Minneapolis |
| August
3-5 |
Morning
Show Bootcamp, New Orelans |
| September
20-23 |
NAB
Radio Show, San Francisco |
| October
5-7 |
Billboard/Airplay
Monitor Seminar, New York |
| November
5-7 |
NAB
European Radio Conference, Berlin
|
Readers
respond to yesterday's article...
BY KURT HANSON, reporting from
Los Angeles
Exactly one week ago, in an "Open Letter to Mel Karmazin"
(here),
I suggested that it might now be time for the CBS/Infinity stations
to begin streaming their audio.
Two business days later, Infinity-owned KLSX/Los Angeles
started offering some of their programming, in an odd hybrid of
live and archived programming, for two hours a night. (Read yesterday's
story from RAIN here.)
To quote Bullwinkle J. Moose, "Guess I don't know my
own strength!"
All right, all right, I admit that of course it was pure coincidence,
but still yet... In any event, lots of RAIN readers had
thoughts to share on this new development:
| "You
can't blame them for waiting..." |
Great to
see Infinity taking a step towards streaming. You can't blame
them for waiting. Look at all the people who got rich at broadcast.com
by taking advantage of all of those stations who just wanted to
get their product up on the web without really thinking about
the business aspects of it.
Like I have always said... Don't partner with anyone, but don't
ignore it, become the Internet! The Internet can make AM radio
younger again with a "double address" ID, and maybe even get younger
demos. The key is to hire professional Internet people and add
to that the good radio people you already have, and then things
could get interesting!
On a personal note, having more stations streamed makes it easier
for on us radio consultants who must either tap into listen lines
via long distance or travel to the market.
--
Frank Murtagh, Murtagh Marketing & Media
| "I
hope they can get a solid 24/7 schedule into place..." |
It is great
that CBS/Infinity has finally started streaming as we receive
calls from their stations who are biting-at-the-bit to compete
for their share of the Internet listeners.
A streaming radio station needs to promote their site and have
a compelling reason to have the listener tune in and most of all
keep coming back for more. I hope they can get a solid 24/7 schedule
in place or they will reluctantly be dissappointed in their results.
Thanks,
--
Denise Sutton, WarpRadio
| "I
know half a loaf is better than none..." |
Seriously
though -- I know half a loaf is better than none, but crumbs?
Either you're doin' it or you're not -- I cannot imagine listener
levels growing with this tactic...after all how much of the population
goes to the library? Too many allusions, too little action.
--
Harvey Mednick, OnRadio
| "What
could the holdup possibly be?" |
When everyone
else is streaming, or about to stream, what could the hold-up
possibly be? Why not stream live and offer archival material?
Streaming audio from radio stations is about thinking globally,
not locally. If someone in LA wants to listen to KLSX, they can.
When I have the ability to split my signal, and sell spots locally
for on-air, and nationally for online, it's a great revenue stream.
Here I am in market #163, and we're thinking that way already.
And when has is NOT been about generating revenue?
--
Joe Turner , WRBR-FM
Add
your opinions and observations here.
If you're hiring for a position that's radio- and Internet-related
this week, we'll post it -- free!  Simply
e-mail the job description here.
If
you're looking for new opportunities that involve
the Internet, you can take a look at the first three
available positions here.
|
New
and improved!
| xxx |
 |
|
Try it
out! Explore
the wide world of Internet audio by clicking the screenshot above.
Miss an issue?
Visit the RAIN News Archives here.
