Did I miss something here?

I'd like to introduce a new term to this blog: PUBE. It's an acronym for People for the Use of Broadcast media Ethically , and I'll now be using it to collectively refer to organizations such as the Parents Television Council, Morality in Media, the American Decency Association, etc.

EDIT: By the way, I'm pronouncing that "P-U-B-E", not the more obvious interpretation. But the reference is obvious (similar to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories' Consider Our Kids Every Day anti-drug organization).

Apparently they all caught something I didn't. Every search I've run has turned up nothing, and I don't recall any huge "indecency" happenings late this year, but for some odd reason...

The FCC has released its quarterly report on informal consumer inquiries and complaints for third quarter 2006, and radio and TV complaints rose from second quarter's 53,352 to 194,468, led by indecency issues, which generated 193,504 complaints (163,553 of which came in SEPTEMBER). The report does not indicate how many of the complaints were generated by organized campaigns, as most have been in the past.

That report coming from AllAccess.

What triggered that massive onslaught? Well over a 100% jump in complaints from last quarter... and I can't think of a single thing that happened in September. There's no way on Earth that I'm that tuned-out (believe me, it's just the opposite).

Anyone care to explain this?

Merry Christmas!

I thought this up before work the other night and figured you might enjoy it! Presenting...

The Twelve Days of Christmas
(As Experienced by CHR DJ's)

On the first day of Christmas my PD gave to me
One track to rip from CD.

On the second day of Christmas my PD gave to me
Two VT sessions
And one track to rip from CD

On the third day of Christmas my PD gave to me
Three remotes
Two VT sessions
And one track to rip from CD

On the fourth day of Christmas my PD gave to me
Four liner cards
Three remotes
Two VT sessions
And one track to rip from CD

On the fifth day of Christmas my PD gave to me
Five caller lines!...
Four liner cards
Three remotes
Two VT sessions
And one track to rip from CD

On the sixth day of Christmas my PD gave to me
Six thousand watts
Five caller lines!...
Four liner cards
Three remotes
Two VT sessions
And one track to rip from CD

On the seventh day of Christmas my PD gave to me
Seven sheets of copy
Six thousand watts
Five caller lines!...
Four liner cards
Three remotes
Two VT sessions
And one track to rip from CD

On the eighth day of Christmas my PD gave to me
Eight mixing buses
Seven sheets of copy
Six thousand watts
Five caller lines!...
Four liner cards
Three remotes
Two VT sessions
And one track to rip from CD

On the ninth day of Christmas my PD gave to me
Nine screaming preteens
Eight mixing buses
Seven sheets of copy
Six thousand watts
Five caller lines!...
Four liner cards
Three remotes
Two VT sessions
And one track to rip from CD

On the tenth day of Christmas my PD gave to me
Ten-song sets
Nine screaming preteens
Eight mixing buses
Seven sheets of copy
Six thousand watts
Five caller lines!...
Four liner cards
Three remotes
Two VT sessions
And on track to rip from CD

On the eleventh day of Christmas my PD gave to me
Eleven spots to mix down
Ten-song sets
Nine screaming preteens
Eight mixing buses
Seven sheets of copy
Six thousand watts
Five caller lines!...
Four liner cards
Three remotes
Two VT sessions
And one track to rip from CD

On the twelfth day of Christmas my PD gave to me
Twelve EAS tests...
Eleven spots to mix down
Ten-song sets
Nine screaming preteens
Eight mixing buses
Seven sheets of copy
Six thousand watts
Five... caller... lines!!!...
Four liner cards
Three remotes
Two VT sessions
And one track to rip from CD!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

If You've Ever Done Voice Work...

You know the pure torture this is.

Then again, if you've been the producer, you know how necessary it might be.

It's All About the Spins

I should start off this post by saying thank you to everyone who has waited and waited for me to get back online.  It's been to long since I've had a chance to actually sit down and write something out in one shot, and I know a lot of you have been wondering if I was ever coming back.  Today's the day.  I bought myself a brand-spankin'-new computer and I'm ready to get going again.  Hold on tight... it'll be quite a ride!

Let's get back into it with a little talk about why radio still (seemingly despite it's best efforts) remains relevent.

Drudge posted a Variety article yesterday about the #2 debut of Taylor Hicks' self-titled album.  The article explains how previous Idol winners have run the gamut from superstars (i.e. Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood) to one-album wonders (Ruben Studdard) and near-flops (Fantasia Barrino), but it fails to point out the real reason why Hicks didn't hit the 300,000 mark in his first week.  The closest it comes is the following:

Yet a single from his self-titled Arista/19 debut has yet to chart in the top 50 -- a key reason Hicks didn't storm the chart last week. It wasn't for lack of promotion as Hicks has been making the TV rounds for nearly a month, appearing on "20/20," the American Music Awards, "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," "Good Morning America" and "Live With Regis and Kelly." Since the album's release, he has been making the rounds in syndication and cable, appearing on "The View," MTV's "TRL," "The Martha Stewart Show," "Dr. Phil" and "The Megan Mullally Show."

And therein lies the problem.  How many radio stations do you see on that list?  How many stations have you heard spinning any of his singles, or even giving any of them a chance?  Can you find any of his music on the Yes.com station charts (I only show two stations airing "Do I Make You Proud": WWZW in Roanoke and WEKZ in Madison)?

Radio is still the foremost medium for presenting the public with new music.  Television is not.  I don't care if you hit every television talk show in the world on your promotion tour; if you don't get the spins, your album isn't going to be that #1 hit you want it to be.

That's not to say he didn't try.  I've seen the ads on All Access.  There's no doubt in my mind that his label sent copies of the first single to radio stations worldwide.  But for whatever reason (and I won't speculate about that in this post, though I've often done so... I just don't feel like it today), MDs and PDs just haven't been turned on to Hicks music.  The fact that he's gotten next to no airplay whatsoever has definitely impacted his debut.

Radio still has the power to make and break careers.  It all depends on the spins.

Just as an aside, Hicks is extremely talented, and I don't think we'll see him quitting anytime soon.  I have no doubt the album will grow in popularity and radio will eventually be forced (dragged kicking and screaming though the case may be) to play his music.  Take a look at Beyonce's "Irreplaceable."  Everyone in the industry thought it was too slow to catch on and passed it over, yet it became her next big hit.  It just goes to show you that even in this world of corporate-mandated playlists and whim-of-the-consultant decisions, listeners do still have a say in what gets airplay... but only when they choose to take the opportunity to speak out.

Items of Notice

Item 1: There are now all of four (count 'em) ways to show love for your favorite blog over at the CafePress Radio Blog Shopping Center! There is, of course, the women's cap sleeve T-shirt (which I've always happened to find attractive on the ladies), a plain white T-shirt and a golf shirt. And what Radio Blog-branded apparel line would be complete without a hat? A trucker hat, to be exact, which is a style I've always found to be more comfortable and breathable while doing remote broadcasts in the hot sun. Hint hint.

Item 2: In the words Dave Barry gave us, "I swear I am NOT making this up." When I loaded up the ol' blog today to make sure my last post went through correctly, I stumbled upon this ad in that little Google ad box up there. Again, this has not been altered in any way.

I think Borat have little too much of the time on hands, no?

Ah, the joys of working third shift!

Some of you have been wondering, "Hey, Josh!  Did you fall off the face of the planet?!  Where the heck are ya?!"  The answer is either one of two possible responses deending on the time at which you ask me.  If you ask between the hours of 10:00 AM and 5:00 PM, the answer is "I'm asleep." If you ask between the hours of 5:00 PM and 7:00 AM, the answer is "I'm at work."  The free time?  Usually spent getting ready for work.

Yes, I'm gainfully employed (going on four months now) at WLR.  No, that's not a radio station.  I'm sure you can figure it out.  But because of the time I work and the fact that I don't have an Internet connection at home (yet), that's made things difficult for me in terms of keeping this blog up-to-date.  Despite the fact that my posts may from time to time appear to be the nonsensical ravings of a lunatic mind (thank you, Gene Wilder), I do take the time to sit down and think them out before posting them.  The problem?  That time is spent sitting at a computer, typing and revising as I go.  Since my current computer is neither Internet-connected nor actually functional for the time being, that makes thing rather hard.  Until starting my third shift job, I had the ability to go to the local library, get on a computer and go.  Unfortunately, the library is only open between 10 AM and 5 PM... the hours I'm now asleep.

"But Josh," you're saying, "This post is marked for Monday morning... shouldn't you be asleep?"  Actually, Monday is one of my days off.  I usually spend most of the day online catching up... I just haven't posted anything because I've been working on other things that have demanded the majority of my time.  What little time that hasn't been spent on those things has been spent roaming the various message boards I frequent (three of which are linked on your right).

I would like to write a catch-up post now, but (surprise, surprise!), I don't have the time to do so just yet.

HOWEVER!

One is in the works, I assure you.  I'm actually writing it out on paper for the time being, and I'm buying a new computer, complete with a Wi-Fi receiver (thankfully there are several public hotspots that reach my apartment), this Thursday.  Once I get it all set up, you can be comforted by the fact that I'll be back online regularly, giving you the news, my perspective on it and, of course, the reasons why I'm right and everyone who disagrees with me is wrong.

Believe me, I have no intention of giving that habit up anytime soon!