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Are You Killing HD Radio?

Controversy always surrounds HD Radio, and after this article I'm sure I'll hear from a few dozen readers who will tell me that HD is a farce, it can't do anything for radio, and it should be killed immediately. Even though I released an HD product called Mighty Red last Christmas (and sold out a couple of thousand units), I too am critical of HD. There are issues, including some technical issues. But, frankly, most of the issues are not with the technology, or with the iBiquity people. We, the industry, are the problem with HD Radio.

 
HD Is A Throwaway
Thankfully, most radio groups have embraced HD Radio, but I dare say many of the HD2 and HD3 subchannels are throwaways. If HD is to gain any consumer interest, there must be a good reason to buy the technology, especially if the technology is a lot more expensive than a non-HD receiver.

In the 1970s, FM radio was commercial-free, was hipper and cooler, was playing album cuts instead of the top 40, and had alternative-sounding DJs. That approach, thanks in part to FM pioneers like Lee Abrams, Jim Donohue, Buzz Bennett, Jerry Clifton, and others, was about knowing what the young generation wanted, finding a way to reflect that, and putting it on FM. But what are we putting on HD Radio today? And does it appeal to the generation most likely to embrace something new?
 
Splat, Splat, Splat
What is the advantage of HD Radio? It sounds better, and it can do some cool digital and interactive things. But does it sound that much better than FM? Enough that a consumer can tell a difference? I'm not sure the difference is as noticeable as AM vs. FM was, but the better sound could still be an advantage. 

But many of the stations I'm listening to on HD are playing MP3s instead of higher-quality .WAV files, making the difference in sound less noticeable. Somewhere along the line it was not communicated that if your source is an MP3, with the sound of splattering highs and drums, your HD signal will output garbage as well. (Frankly, no FM should be playing MP3s either. They don't sound good.)

Radio's Biggest Advertiser
Though quality is a starting point, a bigger issue is that the extensive marketing isn't getting noticed. The stations I've heard running HD Radio spots don't seem to be touting what the difference is with HD. Nor are they trying to use their existing HD listeners as a viral tool to sell more interest in the technology to others. Yes, many stations are running spots, and the HD Radio Alliance was one of radio's biggest advertisers last year, but most consumers still don't know or care about the technology  There is a disconnect somewhere.
 
Nothing Worth Listening To?
HD Radio is the unwanted child of FM. Most managers I talk to run it because they are told to run it, but few believe in it. Too many HD channels are sub-content from a more mainstream format (for instance, a specific decade). Or they're formats that can no longer make it in the mainstream, or dog formats that may appeal to a small segment of an FM's audience.

And most HD subchannels are an afterthought. Most are automated (and sound like it), most get no attention from their PDs (who are already low on time), and few are using live talent, because of course it's not cost-effective to put live personalities on a channel with no listeners. That would be the cart before the horse.

Maybe HD isn't taking off because there is simply nothing worth listening to?
 
The Unwanted Radio Child
In the 1940s-1970s, FM was the unwanted child of AM. No one could make a dime on an FM station, and they were considered just a nuisance (sound familiar?). Thankfully, there were some young, brash programmers who talked some owners into letting them try something new. They brought about the real birth of FM, after it had been a wasteland of elevator music for 30 years. Where are those young, brash programmers today, and why aren't we letting them invent something new for HD?

It seems to me that if we came up with something that is not researched to death, that is as radical as FM was in its early days, and that gives HD the feel of being "underground" or offering something you can't get anywhere else (and that a large audience actually cares about), HD could take off. Go steal some college radio programmers and let them dazzle you. Innovation rarely happens in big corporations, which tend to be risk-averse. If today's owners were in charge when those bold young FM pioneers were begging for a chance to try their formats on the FM wasteland, I fear FM would have never taken off and we would be an industry of AM stations today.
 
If You Build It, They Won't Come
Last week iBiquity CEO Bob Struble stated that HD can help radio grow. He's right, but HD won't move the needle unless there is compelling content. At the moment, HD is nothing more than an annoyance to some GMs and owners, just like FM was, and I've even heard rumors that some groups have turned off their HD signals just to save power (if this is true, let me know).

HD Radio has the potential to be as big or bigger than FM was and to create new interest. But only if there is compelling content.
 
It's The Content, Stupid
Struble is right, but radio isn't buying it because they're focusing on the wrong things. HD Radio success isn't about the distribution method, what it can do digitally, or even its improved audio fidelity. It's about the content, and how much attention we pay to the content. Features don't make money unless there are audiences attached. Programmers have proven that a crummy fringe signal can be number one in a market if the content is better than everything else.
 
Cart Before The Horse?
Too often I hear "We will pay more attention to HD Radio once there are more HD receivers in the marketplace." Many said the same about FM too. I know one man who turned his FM back to the FCC because he thought it was useless to own. But a few brave souls created great radio brands, some of which have lasted 40 years now, because they put content first. Why not go to the local college, find some kids who want to change the world, turn the HD signal over to them and say, "Anything goes, as long as you don't lose the license"?
 
Building The Car Without Going To The Race
What radio company is really behind HD? Signing up, going to the expense of converting to the equipment, increasing your electric bill, and having one more format to be responsible for is a commitment. But it's not enough of a commitment. It's like buying the best race car and forgetting to show up at the race.

Every radio company with HD Radio should be promoting it to death, finding a way to get compelling content on the air, looking for a way to create something listeners can't get anywhere else, and seeking an edge that will make HD channels appeal to youth culture.

They should be in the face of every retailer who can sell HD, making sure units are available and that retailers understand what the benefits are. I'd hold seminars for every salesperson at every electronics store to educate them about HD in each market. When I go to stores and ask about HD Radio, no one even knows what I'm talking about. If you promote it and make it compelling and unique, you will get an audience.
 
I'd love to hear examples of stations with actual HD successes, but frankly, if they're out there, I've heard nothing. As an industry, our priority is still survival, and HD is just another thing to go on the back burner -- until it finally burns out.

While some will applaud when HD dies, I think it would be an opportunity lost. What about you? Have you given up on HD? Are you paying proper attention to your HD channels or just letting them ride on autopilot? Don't let the opportunity pass. We're in a digital world, and HD allows radio to do things with digital that can't be done with a radio signal alone. We should not let it die because of our apathy.

Eric Rhoads
 


 
PS: We have a killer lineup at our Convergence Conference,  June 3-4 at the Microsoft campus in Mountain View, CA:
Guy Kawasaki returns with a new, expanded session on "The Art Of Social Network Marketing"
Best-selling author Jeffrey Eisenberg, on the real strategies for social media success
Promote A Book founder Michael Drew's acclaimed "Pendulum" presentation explains how entrepreneurs can take advantage of cyclical the shifts in societal attitudes
Rob Curley of Greenspun Media Group and the Las Vegas Sun,showcases innovative new ideas for hyperlocalism
Kurt Hanson, founder and Publisher of RAIN and CEO of AccuRadio, with his highly anticipated "State of the Industry" talk
Mark Ramsey lays out his vision for radio in the days ahead
Gordon Borrell, with the facts on who is doing the best at bringing in interactive revenues, and how they're doing it

PLUS: We've added tech guru Eric Greenspan as emcee, and musician Andy Grammer will join us to add some color to the event.

Click here to register for Convergence 2010, or call 561-655-8778.


 
AND....
 
Did you know we have a pre-Convergence conference called the Radio Tech Summit? It's being held right before Radio Ink Convergence and will deal with the issues of HD Radio and other technical issues related to radio. Please join us. We start on June 2. To learn more, go to www.radioink.com/techsummit, or click here to register.  

Quick, Get On A Plane

What if I told you that radio won't die, as others are predicting? What if I told you that it will never go away? You'd feel pretty good, right?

But what if I told you that the horse and buggy still exist, and you can send a telegram if you really want to. Suddenly, your perspective changes.

I'm not one to shout about the death of radio. Unlike newspapers, we still have an audience, and if we remain relevant, we won't lose it. So radio can't die, right?

Before we get too cocky, let's not forget one important thing: Without advertising revenues, we can't survive on our current model no matter how much audience we have. And if advertisers perceive that radio is no longer useful as an advertising medium, no matter how big our audiences are, we won't have sufficient revenues.

Radio's future is not dependent on its audiences. It's dependent on the person who makes advertising decisions. In my career, almost every buyer I ever met at every agency was 25 to 30 years old. Advertising is a young business with young account executives, young planners, and young creative people influencing decisions. Today's 25-year-olds have never known life without the Internet, without websites, without MP3s, without e-mail. Do you honestly think they believe in radio as much as we do?

Radio's biggest challenge is perception, not reality. The first true Internet generation is in control of almost every advertising dollar in the world. Where do you think they'll place their advertising budgets?

At our Forecast conference in December, one of the advertisers said, "You people in radio have your head up your butt. I'm sitting here listening to your gibberish that as long as you have audiences, you'll be strong. It's simply not true. Every advertiser we have, and we're the largest agency in the world, is telling us to shift most of their budgets into the interactive space - Internet, online, digital video, and social media. If your argument is that you can drive website visitation with radio, you're focusing on the wrong thing. Here's the reality: If you can't offer clients radio plus robust digital interactive products -- and I don't mean website banner ads -- you will lose the game of selling advertising."

Three hours later, many of the group heads who hadn't heard that man speak, said, "Radio's big advantage is that it can drive traffic to websites."

Reality Bites

Life would be a lot easier if we didn't have to relearn how business is done, but if you plan to be in radio, you need to. That is exactly why I hold our annual Convergence conference. Instead of all the usual industry insiders, we bring outsiders in to tell you what's happening in the world to jolt you, stimulate your thinking, and help you craft a plan you can take home. We give you the knowledge and tools to reinvent. Every year at least a dozen radio managers tell me that they resisted coming, got talked into it, and are happy they came because, "It's the best conference in radio, because it's not really a radio conference." Past attendees will tell you they clung to every vital word, and understood after the fact that they had been living in the past.

Will you stay relevant as the advertising world shifts around you? What if the ads we used to get don't come back, because our stations don't have robust digital offerings? Whether or not you attend our conference, I encourage you to study the massive change going on around you - and embrace it.

A Moment of Embarrassment

A very important message about the state of radio
by B. Eric Rhoads, Publisher of Radio Ink

I cannot remember ever being as embarrassed as the day I sat down in a meeting with one of the leading technology firms in Silicon Valley. I had just completed the first of many rounds of financing for my venture-funded tech company, and I found myself with my key team members in a large conference room, with about 30 people around the table. The CEO of that company threw a question at me that I couldn't answer. Nor could I bluff it through. I simply had to say, "I don't know what that means."

Long, deadly silence.

All eyes were on me, and I imagined all 30 people wondering how I could ever have been placed in the position of CEO for a technology company when I didn't know this basic terminology. It would be like a supposed radio person being asked about the transmitter and not knowing what a transmitter is. I imagined all those people snickering inside. I was embarrassed. Even though I was there to build a company and had surrounded myself with experts who had the answers, I knew at that moment I had blown it.

A Defining Moment

This was a defining moment. I knew that from that point forward I had to be better prepared. Here I was, meeting with companies like Cisco, Intel, Apple, Microsoft, Oracle, and now that I was the CEO of a technology company and doing business with these people, I had to be better informed. It was an important lesson, and I swore at that moment that I'd never allow that to happen to me again.

What about you?

You can do radio in your sleep. If I were to awaken you from a dead sleep and throw a question at you about running a radio station, you would give me the right answer. But could you answer important questions about what is occurring in the advertising world as it relates to digital media?

Most people I know in the radio industry couldn't answer even basic questions on that topic. In fact, most of the managers and owners I know have fallen seriously behind in their knowledge of digital media and how it is impacting their business. Yet to advertising executives who focus on digital media, it would be hard to believe people in other media don't understand these basics.

No Need To Be Embarrassed

Frankly, you have a great excuse. Let's see.... you're running a cluster of stations when you used to only run one. You're operating at record speed, doing more work than ever, and you're doing it with fewer people and resources. Then, of course, there is the pressure from the top, the paperwork, the budgets, the meetings -- all of which you have to tend to before tending to your own staff and customers.

Or perhaps you're not running a cluster for a big corporation. You're running an independent operation on limited resources, with reduced spending because of the state of the world and a lot more to do. In any case, you have a great excuse.

Of course, maybe when you're asked questions, you're answering them to the best of your ability -- and maybe the people on the other side of the table are quietly snickering at you. I hope not.

Why It Matters That You Understand Digital Media Now

I don't claim to know everything going on in the world of radio, but I try to stay very close to it. I speak with loads of managers weekly, loads of advertisers, and loads of digital people. I can count fewer than 50 people in this industry who really have a grasp of what is happening to media, and to radio. These are the same people who roll their eyes in frustration when they hear most radio people talk about a "digital strategy" that they know is not even close to being a real strategy that will hold up.

The Frightening Radio Perspective

Radio people I speak with mostly believe radio isn't really changing all that much. Most simply don't see it and feel as though the status quo will carry them through to retirement. Yeah, some have a real digital strategy, and a few are way ahead of the others. Most, however, don't know what they don't know.

The Concerned Agency Perspective

The advertisers I speak with are a different animal. Most will tell you that their clients are demanding the lion's share of media spending go into digital. Pepsi recently spent $25 million on social media and generated huge results, with very little radio and TV to accompany the campaign. Agencies know advertisers are shifting dollars, and they also know that if they're not up on the digital space, they will lose the business. One major, old school, established mega-agency in New York told me it has lost 50 percent of its business to a small, digitally focused upstart agency.

The Lofty Digital Perspective

Digital people, of course, think radio is dead because there is no longer a need for transmitters and digital delivery offers such a robust interactive experience. When they hear us clinging to our transmitters, they think we're living in the dark ages, just as we think they're way out there because they think radio could possibly die.

The Practical Local Business Owner Perspective

The other day at a street fair I saw a bunch of young people in lime green T-shirts promoting something. I saw them hop out of a hip, well painted van, and naturally I thought it was a radio station promotion. As I walked closer, I realized it was a team from a national Internet company that sells to local advertisers in the market.

There was no radio station promoting at this street fair that almost everyone in town attended, but an Internet company was out there. Naturally, I took one of their flyers, signed up for their service, and get their daily e-mail with wonderful local business offers. I also received an e-mail saying they are looking to hire a couple of dozen media salespeople in the market and offering perks, a great base salary plus commission, and a $10,000 signing bonus. Gulp. This is radio's new local competition.

I've told many people about my neighbor Andy, who stopped his local media advertising and shifted his budget to Google search. He claims he gets better results and saves 75 percent of his budget. He used to be a big local media advertiser. Do you see where this is going?

Local advertisers are no longer just hearing from radio, TV, cable, newspaper, shoppers, and direct mail companies. They are hearing from local Google and Yahoo reps, plus reps from dozens of local and national digital media companies. When I click open Facebook, I'll see a relevant advertiser in my neighborhood. The other day I listened to a radio station streaming from France and an ad popped up on the player for a local plastic surgeon in my town. The targetability is incredibly efficient.

I'm not saying I've lost an ounce of faith in radio. I am saying we're being assaulted from every angle, and using a digital strategy that amounts to "radio is great for driving traffic to websites" won't cut it anymore. Your station needs to be able to compete on a whole new level, or the revenue losses will be staggering. Most traditional media companies think the recession alone drove the declines in business, but it's deeper. There is a giant shift taking place.

Me, The Ostrich With My Head In The Sand

I'd rather stick my long feathered neck into the sand and avoid all this change. But I know that it's my responsibility to remain relevant, to understand the trends, and to help radio take action. Far too many managers and owners also have their heads in the sand, hoping to pop out someday when everything is back to normal. The "new normal" is frequent change. Sticking to our knitting will render us irrelevant in the eyes of most advertisers, including local advertisers.

The Inside Of A Bottle

Roy Williams, who writes for Radio Ink and is a brilliant marketer and author, used to talk about how most business owners see the world from inside the bottle and how the only way to thrive is to see yourself as the world sees you, from the outside. Peter Drucker always said innovation is next to impossible from insiders, and that innovation always comes from someone who doesn't understand the industry.

Meanwhile, those inside the industry are always caught saying, "How could they possibly succeed? They don't understand our industry." But look at how many industries have been displaced in the last 20 years alone. Ask Kodak about their business. Ask a travel agent, if you can find one.

Why Outsiders Rule

I don't claim to have all the answers for radio, but I know Drucker was right. Therefore I see my role as helping you gain new perspectives so you don't become unemployable, irrelevant, or the one your advertisers are snickering at. It's why I do my Convergence conference and why I bring in outside names to speak to you and open your eyes. Maybe you've heard of some of them, others you'll never have heard of, yet I'm bringing people I believe you need to hear. I'm trying to make your head spin. I want to take you out of your comfort zone.

Radio Ink has lined up four outside keynote speakers for Convergence 2010: Speaker, author, and social media guru Guy Kawasaki; best-selling author and Internet marketing pioneer Jeffrey Eisenberg; Promote A Book founder Michael Drew; and Greenspun Media Group/Las Vegas Sun Sr. Editor/Digital Media Rob Curley.

These people have things to say that you need to hear. And yes, we have many other brilliant minds; more outsiders and some great insiders who will give you survival skills and help put a strategy in your brain so you can return with an arsenal of practical ideas.

You may return from Convergence as the only radio person in your market whom clients can truly count on to understand the digital media landscape. Can you say ADVANTAGE? In fact, if I were you, I'd bring my top five clients along. You'll look smarter than ever.

Don't miss your chance to be part of it.
Early registration ends at 5 p.m. today. Register now, and save $200.

Call and ask about our team discount so you can bring the whole team: 561-655-8778.

Eric Rhoads

P.S.: You won't find us playing the old "We've extended our early bird pricing deadline" game. Not only does it really say "Things aren't going well," but in the case of Convergence, we have sold out every conference since we began. We limit attendance to 250 people, and there are exactly 250 seats in the Microsoft auditorium in Silicon Valley. You should probably pick up the phone now, because the price goes up $200 more after 5 p.m. Eastern today.

Oh, and don't delegate this to someone else. Leadership requires understanding. Bring your team. We have several CEOs attending this year, when last year there were only two. The word is finally getting out that you can't lead what you don't understand.

Please e-mail this to everyone you know in the industry with the comment, "I'm going. Are you?"

Eric Rhoads
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This year for the first time Radio Ink will present a special pre-Convergence event, the Radio Tech Summit, hosted by Radio Ink Technology Editor Skip Pizzi. The Tech Summit will bring together the best and brightest engineers, IT professionals, managers, station owners, and more to focus on radio technology's next steps toward capturing and monetizing tomorrow's audiences. The Radio Tech Summit is set for June 2-3 at the Convergence venue. Find out more at www.radioink.com/techsummit.

To register for Convergence, go to www.radioink.com/convergence, click here, or phone
561-655-8778. Discount when you register for both Convergence and the Radio Tech Summit.
Seating is limited.

 

The Art Of Breakout Success

"You've got to see this! This is so cool, so much fun," said my buddy, a prominent radio consultant. When visiting his home, I commented on how well the station he was listening to was programmed, how vibrant it sounded, and how it had the life of stations I've heard him program in the past -- frankly, something I haven't felt when listening to the radio in a while.

"Is it a local station you're consulting?" I asked. "Or are we listening to the stream of one of the stations you're consulting elsewhere?"

"Neither," he said. "I can't get anyone in the radio industry to allow me to do what I want anymore, so I decided to create my own Internet radio station. I love to program great radio stations, and no one wants to be great anymore."

He went on to tell me how his life as a successful programmer has changed and how the thing he does best, which is build great, fun-to-listen-to, engaging radio stations, is no longer wanted. Oh, don't get me wrong. His business is thriving. But his clients simply don't want to take any risks. Instead, the clients, many of which are run by MBAs, want formulas they can replicate. As a result, they get modest success when they could be getting wild breakout success. This programmer so loves what he does that he's doing it online, just to do it somewhere.

In his book Linchpin, Seth Godin makes a statement that accountants and MBAs cannot understand art because they cannot quantify it, measure it, and package it to fit into their box. Yet, he says, in this world of small margins and product sameness, it is the "art" that will stand out in any business. It is the "art" that soars to wild success. Art, Godin says, is the gift of excellence and risk to please yourself in everything you do, whether it's creating a product or serving a customer.

A producer/director friend of mine in Hollywood tells me the film business is being run by MBAs and accountants and that they are desperately trying to create formulas for success. Breakout films, however, never come from formulas, and most meet with incredible resistance from big film conglomerates unwilling to take risks. It is the breakout successes that bring in the big money and the high margins, but most studios want to remake past successes and not experiment with new scripts.

Breakout success rarely happens in radio anymore. Rarely do we see high risk that results in high reward. Few are willing to take risks because the art proposed cannot be quantified. But we're not alone. Risk-averseness is present in film, in print, in television, in cable, and in radio. Each of these businesses is highly leveraged, and it's rare to see a breakout success. When it does occur, it happens because some bold leader took a risk against the wishes of her spreadsheet-driven superiors.

Godin reiterates that breakout performance rarely comes from the insiders -- those who are trying to protect the way things have always been done. It's difficult to see a different viewpoint when you've lived in one perspective for decades. That is what's killing the newspaper business. The record labels killed themselves trying to defend their tired business model rather than embracing change. The tendency is to defend the old methods (and profits), cling to our past, and resist change. As a result, we simply are not seeing a lot of art when it comes to creating great, compelling media properties

My MBA friends will respond to this message with, "Eric, you just don't get it. It's just too risky, you're naive." What I don't think they understand is that it's riskier to strip the art out of these industries. Though everyone wants the success of Avatar, most are not willing to take the risk to make it.
Art is desperately needed in the media business. There are artists sitting on the sidelines who know how to make great radio, TV, cable, film, and even print projects that -- if given permission to get wild and creative with few restrictions -- will blow the doors off and create breakout hits. But these people are a challenge to deal with and impossible to control.

Years ago, in the radio business, I was checking references on a morning DJ I wanted to hire. One manager I spoke with said, "This guy is a nightmare. He has a drug problem, and I had to bail him out of jail every other week. Yeah, he does great radio, but I'm not sure it's worth it." Sounds like Hollywood.

I hired the guy, and my ratings soared. And, yes, I had to take him to rehab and bail him out of jail, but I never had anyone bring me better ratings. Great talent is hard to rein in, and when you do, they aren't so great anymore. That's a hard sell to an MBA, because "This is a business, and we cannot tolerate that kind of behavior." But media is, for the most part, entertainment first. Great breakout success is built around great writers, great producers, great programmers, and great talent. But it's a lot easier to follow a formula, which is why media has become so boring.

Can you create a formula for breakout success? Yes. It's a lot like the venture capital model, where you can count on one in 10 or 20 to succeed and all the others to fail. Hire insanely creative people, cut them loose, and let them take lots of risks. Though they won't all work, the ones that do will be spectacular successes, and media -- all media -- will be better off for it.

Targeting Talk Radio

Alex Jones is a Truther. He believes the U.S. government orchestrated the 9/11 attacks.

When I visited Jones in his Austin studios and interviewed him (you can hear the full interview here), I asked him if he is ready for the mainstream, and if program directors and managers will embrace his conspiracy-theory content. Alex believes in his heart of hearts that he is telling the truth. Is he delusional? Does his evidence support his theories? Read the interview and make your own call.

I took a lot of heat for doing this interview, and I'm not taking a position about Alex Jones because it's not my job. It is my job to expose you to alternatives.

I mentioned to Jones that when Dr. Laura started, she had only a handful of affiliates. Following her Radio Ink cover interview, she landed over 400 within a few weeks. She made her career, we didn't. I remember talking to her syndicator at the time, and he was trying to overcome some misperceptions held by the market. The interview addressed her issues, and the market was satisfied.

Jones pointed out that one of the biggest problems he has is that people make up their minds based on what other people have said. Lately, we've heard slams on Limbaugh, Beck, and Hannity as promoting violence, when they insist they don't, and anyone who listens would know that.

Because talk radio tends to lean right, it is demonized by other media and by the government. Though direct regulation would be too bold, there seem to be a lot of attempts to position everyone in talk radio as right-wing extremists. If that is the case, then the audience figures are an indication that a high percentage of Americans are also right-wing extremists.

I don’t often take my political opinions to the pages of Radio Ink, because this magazine is about radio, not politics. But I would happily interview a left-wing extremist as well. Whether the right is demonizing a left-wing talk host or the left is demonizing a right-wing talk host, I believe we all need to stick together on a single principle: free speech.

Polarization is the game in politics today, and I despise it. What concerns me is chatter from White House czars about fines for media people who believe there is no such thing as man-made global warming (yes, the discussion of these fines is documented), or discussions about laws against "hate speech," defined as anything that goes against the current party line.

Whether you support Alex Jones or not, he reaches millions online and claims an audience larger than Anderson Cooper of CNN. And he does it from a small office complex in Austin, with a staff of 16. True democracy is occurring on the Internet, and no longer does a person need a giant media company to reach millions. In our interview, Jones makes a call for talk radio to "hang together" in the interest of preserving free speech. He's right about that, and everyone in radio need to support free speech at any cost.

Currently a write-in candidate for Congress is spewing vile references to blacks and Jews in his ads. I don't like it. But if he is a legitimate candidate, I stand up for his right to say what he wants on the radio, despite how ugly it is. If someone wants to spew hatred, it is his right to do so.

For those of you who think Alex Jones is over the line, that same right must be preserved -- as it should be for any talk host, promoting any party or any theory. It is the biggest thing that differentiates America among all other countries, and we must fight as an industry to preserve it.

Take A Ride In My Time Machine

I know it's a busy day, but join me for one minute in my time machine as I visit you in the past, present, and future. Let's start out visiting you today, in May 2010.

"I'm moving twice as fast these days, checking e-mail at all hours, under severe budget pressure, trying to keep my station afloat, dealing with whining employees, time-wasting corporate paperwork, and a recession, and there is always some advertiser who needs attention -- and you want me to talk about myself on Facebook at the end of the day? Social media is a time-waster. It wastes my time, and it wastes the time of my employees. If I catch them on Twitter or Facebook on my time, they're fired!"
I hear that a lot.

Let's travel backward now.

Rod Stewart's "Tonight's the Night" was the top song of 1977.
Let's hear what you were talking about:

"Did you hear about those two guys in a garage in San Jose? They call it a 'home computer.' Computers are for spaceships. No way will anyone want computers at home. They don't need them."

In 1983, you said this:

"Why would anyone want a portable phone when they can be reached by pager? At $4,500 for the phone and a dollar a minute, that will never catch on. Plus, they can never make a battery that will last for more than an hour."

I always loved the '80s. I had a perm then and owned some stations in Salt Lake and New Orleans. Let's land the time machine in the year 1985 to hear you talking, as Wham plays "Careless Whisper" in the background:

"Compuserve and this AOL thing are a giant waste of time. There is no one on them. Why should I bother? This is for the geek engineers. Steve Case -- who's that, anyway? Some geek?"

Traveling to 1994:

"Internet radio? Why would anyone listen to radio on the Internet when they can listen on a radio where the quality is better?"

Setting the time dial to September 1995:

"They want to broadcast ball games through the Internet? What does Mark Cuban know about broadcasting? And who would ever listen to something called Audionet? He's a former computer salesman. He'll never make a dime on that."

Fast-forward to 1996:
"Electronic mail is for hobbyists. What a waste of time. I don't think the U.S. Post Office has a thing to worry about."

1998, at the first Radio Ink Internet Conference:

"Netscape? I don't get the whole browser thing anyway. Why would a radio station need a website?"

June 1999:
 
"Napster, huh? Yeah, like some kid in a dorm knows anything about the music business. People will never download music files and not pay for them. People want the experience of going into record stores to get CDs. They need to hold it in their hands."

Time traveling to October 2001:

"He calls it an 'iPod,' and he thinks he's going to revolutionize the music business. What is he smoking? MP3 players have been around for years. I think this will be Apple's downfall."

2002:

"They call it a 'Blueberry' or something like that -- as if I'm gonna check e-mail when I'm away from the office. Who's gonna take their private time to look at e-mail on a tiny screen?"

January 2007:

"iPhone? It's just a phone with an MP3 player and a bunch of games. They're in the computer business, not the phone business. What a joke. The people at Nokia are laughing."

April 2010:

"The iPad? Cool gadget, but I already have a laptop. It's just a toy. Besides that, tablet computers came out five years ago and bombed. This won't catch on."

Time travel is a wonderful thing. I can even make it go forward to 2011:

"How could I have been so blind to social media? I can't believe I ignored it, and I can't believe the amount of business it's generating. I also can't believe the extent to which it has revolutionized our listener communication and become the single most important connection with our listeners. It's become such a critical tool in communication with advertisers and for sales of advertising and other products. And I thought it was a time-waster.

"And who could have ever predicted that more Web browsing would take place through applications than in browsers? I can't imagine life without apps and the income they're generating."

My little time machine can fly far into the future. But frankly, the future isn't relevant when you're busy trying to run a radio station.

That's why our Convergence conference isn't trying to predict the future and why it's focused on what you can, and probably should, be doing today. Yes, we talk about where things are going, but only to help you gain an advantage so you're ready in six months when it hits.

Why Managers And Owners Should Go To Convergence

Have you noticed that things are changing? Traditional advertisers who were spending before the recession have become enamored with social media and the Internet. When I spoke recently at the Cumulus corporate meetings, I told the group that my neighbor, who owns a small business, has stopped his traditional advertising and invested in SEO, and he claims to be getting better results at a quarter of the budget.

Though radio is already seeing a return of business following the financial drought, many experts, myself included, believe that thriving in the radio business will require managers and owners to fully understand the digital world and how to offer digital solutions to your advertisers.

Warning: If you're thinking your digital strategy is a website with banner ads, you may be stuck in 2007.

As a manager or owner, you have a responsibility to remain relevant in the world of advertising, and Radio Ink's Convergence is a great way to get up to speed fast. It's the only conference in radio focused solely on digital solutions for radio.

The 100% Money-Back Guarantee Has Never Been Used

We have always offered a 100 percent money-back guarantee. If you don't feel you got your money's worth, we will refund the cost of your conference ticket. Though we've had some naysayers attend, expecting to take us up on it, they always walk away thrilled. Wouldn't it be refreshing to go to a conference where you actually learn something you don't already know?

Group Discounts Allow You To Take The Team

The most frequent complaint we hear is, "I wish my manager was here to hear this. Without her blessing we cannot make any change, and there is no way we can translate what we've learned at Convergence." It's true. Roy Williams always said it's like a firehose pointing into a teacup. The information is gushing out, and not only is it hard to grasp it all, it's impossible to take it home and repeat it all.
 
That's why we encourage teams and team leaders to come. It's why we offer a team discount. We even recommend you hang at the hotel an extra day as a team so you can create an action plan while things are fresh in your mind. We believe Convergence will revolutionize your thinking. For team discounts, call 561-655-8778.

No Time Machine Required:
Designed For Maximum Impact And Limited Time Away

Yes, you're busy. We've designed this conference so you can get in and out with only two days out of the office from almost anywhere in the U.S. We start after lunch on day one, giving you time to fly in that morning. We end in time to catch flights back home. West Coasters can even drive and take no more than two days away. We don't lollygag. We pack lots of sessions in our day and keep our breaks and lunch short so we can pack your brain with new information without requiring you to lose more than two days in the office.

A Conference Before A Conference
Of course, we have our first pre-Convergence conference this year, the Radio Tech Summit with Skip Pizzi. Bring your engineer. This conference is designed to meld the worlds that engineers, IT people, and managers need to deal with. It starts at noon the day before Convergence and ends right before lunch the day Convergence begins. Book both. We have a dual-conference discount.

Why Silicon Valley?

I get asked this a lot. Why not something central? Short answer is that we pull great minds from the local tech community who are not radio people. Our goal is to bring a lot of great minds and non-radio viewpoints.

Are You In Denial About Your Time Machine?

Chances are you've said some things about technology that turned out to be wrong. We all have. Or are you in denial (or out of touch) about what is going on in your market? This is a chance to get ahead of the curve so you can lead your radio station up the road to digital success. You will learn of companies who have added almost 10 percent in new revenues with digital offerings. You will learn ideas that are making money today. If you still think radio stations are not making money online, we will prove differently.

We require our speakers to put practical applications into every session so you go home with a game plan. You'll look back on these two days as the time you regained relevance in an ever-changing world. If your company won't send you, send yourself so you can remain relevant and employable. Your head may spin, but you'll be reinvigorated and re-excited. This will help you make radio fun again.

Don't overthink it. Sign up now.

Three Windows Are Closing
1. Convergence (get all the information and agenda at www.radioink.com/convergence) is limited to 250 people, and we're pacing ahead of last year. We added 50 extra seats this year, and it looks like every seat will be sold. (Maybe it's because attendees can buy Microsoft software at employee prices at the company store!)
2. The host hotel window is also closing, and it could soon run out of space.
3. Now is the time to book airfares before the rates go up for last-minute travelers.

Book your seats this week:
Book online: https://checkout.fmwmall.com/zriw/Convergenceconference.asp
Book by phone: 561-655-8778 (9 a.m-5 p.m. Eastern)
Book by e-mail: Simply hit return and write, "Have someone call me to book my seat." (Note: We will not hold any seats without credit cards.)

Waiting list policy: So we avoid "issues," individuals wishing to be on the waiting list after we sell out will need to provide a credit card (which will not be charged), and registrations will be issued on a first come, first served basis.