ACM Awards Rocked Vegas: This year, I had the privilege of viewing the show from the comfort of my living room. Reba as host struck just the right notes. Faith Hill never sang better. The Reba/Kelly Clarkson "event" truly was one. The highlight for me though was Taylor Swift singing "Tim McGraw" to Tim McGraw with Faith Hill looking amused. One large point that should be noted: For the most part, the stars sang hits. And there was tempo. I don't recall any back to back ballads. Even the out of place TV stars didn't really bother me this year. They're at OUR party, so welcome! Independent record labels were acknowledged with awards: Equity's Little Big Town and Curb's Rodney Atkins. I do wonder though if the block voting hurt Big and Rich and Rascal Flatts who lost the Album of the Year Award to an equally deserving Carrie Underwood. How cool was it that the great Vince Gill, who hasn't a big hit in years rocked the house, too. I'm sure there were flaws in the show. This time, I chose not to notice them.

Too Hip For The Room?: Podcasts, uploading pictures and video. We're all moving in that direction if we're not there already. Do not assume however that your listeners understand your hot new contest which requires uploading or other technical skills. Bottom line is that we have to bring much of our audience along with us. Like too much unfamiliar music, too many unfamiliar technical requirements can doom your station's promotion or message. Relevancy is key. We must balance the need to sound connected to today's technology while helping the audience understand how to use it. Let's not get too hip for the room.

Finding The Next Big Thing: In the world of Country music, if you don't move to Nashville and starve there for a few years, you don't stand much chance of being noticed by the decision makers on Music Row. There is something both good and bad about a music genre's hub being in one city. The good is that you know where to go (perhaps after being told where to go)to get noticed if performing is your aspiration. The bad is that great talent in places all across America may be missed because that person has not ventured out of his or her own city.

Country music historians remember a time when there were two different cities with their own sound; Nashville and Bakersfield. In the 1970's Buck Owens had a recording empire that strongly competed with Nashville with tremendous raw energy.

My point is that both the music and radio industry can work together to find the next big thing. As I noted in an earlier blog we haven't had one for a few years. For radio, let's look in our own back yards. For the music industry, look beyond the backyard. Let's open a dialogue about how we can work together to take Country music all across the Country and find the Next Big Thing.

Imus Firing: If there was some positive in the Imus firing it was that radio as an industry captivated the headlines for nearly a week becoming front and center in the national conversation and reinforcing our relevance.

Here's my prediction for Imus. He will (wisely) take a year rehabilitating his image, if not his own psyche, and will start his own radio network and or end up on the Fox News Channel. Where there's money to be made, we'll see and hear Imus again.

By the way, the two best stories I've read on this subject were yesterday's (4/14) Wall Street Journal chronology on the events leading to the firing and Frank Rich's column in today's (4/15) New York Times.

Is Country Dead? Noted writer Chet Flippo explores the notion on cmt.com's "Nashville Skyline" in a thoughtful article. The reality is that we are three years away from the last big thing. Gretchen Wilson, Big and Rich and others from the "Class of 2004" are having mixed success. When the next big thing comes along, CD sales will recover and the format will again gain coverage on 60 Minutes, Newsweek and other mainstream media.

I can't help but wonder if the chase for crossover success is not once again slowing us down in more ways than one. While the new Big and Rich song is terrific and possibly bound for crossover success, has the music in general gone too soft? When was the last time Montgomery Gentry gave us a dose of their famous turbo twang? Anyone trying to schedule music on a radio station these days knows how difficult it is to maintain tempo. The good news is that there ARE great Country songs of all styles and tempos to choose from. Let's not be afraid to play the good ones, or we risk Music Row retreating and focusing on the Hail Mary crossover strategy. As always, your thoughts are welcome.

Here's a link to the "Is Country Dead" Chet Flippo article:

http://www.cmt.com/news/articles/1556504/20070405/mcgraw_tim.jhtml

Gretchen's Back: Had a chance to preview Gretchen Wilson's new CD. Sounds like a number of potential hits. This is not only good news for her, but good news for the Country format. While radio has been cautious regarding her recent material, she still has a willing and eager fan base that's ready to rock (or twang-out) to her new stuff. I've always maintained that Gretchen Wilson is the real deal. An authentic talent who doesn't sound or look like anyone else. Welcome back, Gretchen.

Country And Hispanics. Now What? Larry Rosin of Edison Research did a great presentation on how we can and should maximize Hispanic listening, especially in major markets with large Hispanic populations. In a perfect world, we would devote resources in those markets to converting that lifegroup; a group that expresses interest in our format. Here's the catch 22. I don't have to tell you how tight marketing budgets are right now. We often don't have enough money to pursue those with a natural proclivity to listen to our format. Where will this extra money come from? Conceptually, Larry is dead on. We have to address the change in our nation's population. The trick will be to do it ways that maximize our limited resources.

To see the study: www.edisonresearch.com/home/archives/2007/03/hispanics_and_c.php

XM Gets Sirius: A merger of "equals"... two companies that, equally, have lost a lot of money. I know a lot of good people who work at both companies and you know that if this goes through, layoffs of equals will ensue. Bottom line: Satellite has a long way to go to get close to FM/AM radio in terms of reach, influence and most importantly, profits.

Too Many Hoops To Listen Online: With more and more stations streaming everyday, we do our listeners (and potential listeners) a great disservice by making them jump through hoops to access our stream. When you turn on an FM radio, do you have to fill out a form to listen? It is a mistake to use the web stream as a carrot to sign listeners to our databases. What we should do is make the audio stream one easy click from our website, and then entice those listeners to sign up for all the goodies our stations have to offer. Let's encourage, not discourage more listening of our brands on the web. What do you think?

Not Everyone Hates Commercials: In today's NY Times, there's an article about how TiVo users actually WATCH the commercials! This research confirms what I've always believed: GOOD commercials are informational, and properly programmed and positioned, don't have to harm your programming. Here's a link the article:

Viewers Fast-Forwarding Past Ads? Not Always

Just For Fun: Can't be serious all the time...What songs are cousins of other songs? In other words, which songs have "borrowed" the melody of others. Some that come to mind: "Tim McGraw" by Taylor Swift bares a melodic resemblance to "Paint Me A Birmingham" (lyrics of course are very different); or how about the beginning of Keith Urban's "Better Life"? Play it next to the Bee Gee's "Jive Talkin" (though that's where the similarities end). Here's a stretch. The "hook" of Faith Hill's "This Kiss" ("it's the way you love me, it's a feeling like this...") sounds remarkably like the hook from the 1963 Top 40 hit "Sukiyaki" by Kyu Sakamoto. Country radio veterans remember Ronnie Milsap's hit "I Wouldn't Have Missed It For The World" bares a strong resemblance to "I Never Knew Love Like This Before."

They are all "so fine" aren't they, my sweet Lord?

Which ones can you think of?

Streaming: Two Things. First, as Rock consultant Fred Jacobs pointed out at the Consultant's Fly-In at Arbitron, we are facing a ratings issue as more and more of our listeners tune in to our streaming. The problem is that reported listening to streaming does not count in Arbitron ratings if your stream cuts or changes over the air commercials. Big problem. And I echo those who say we must resolve this issue.

Second, for those who stream, some are doing a great job on the internet cutaways, while others are not. Remember, that when listeners tune into your stream, make sure everything is up to date including fill music, promos, positioning, etc. There are other tips I have reserved for paying clients to help them maximize ratings during the stream. Bottom line: Sound great on and off line.

Symbolic Thought: As many of you already know, I'm a fan of the Wizard Academy's Roy Williams. The following is from his weekly memo, always a worthwhile read. This week he delves into four kinds of thought, according to Dr. Ricardo Gattass:

Verbal Thought is hearing a voice in your mind.
Analytical Thought is deductive reasoning that seeks to forecast a result.
Abstract Thought includes fantasy and all things intangible.
Symbolic Thought reconciles the pattern recognition of the right brain with the deductive reasoning of the left-brain to connect the unknown to the known.

If you will educate, encourage, or persuade, you must symbolize the abstract by pointing to a concrete thing that shares an essential attribute with the abstraction you're trying to describe.

This can be done using:

(1.) Words.
"Your life and her life have become intertwined like two ropes, joined in a knot. And that's a good thing. It gives you both something to hang onto. If you're in love, you know exactly what I'm talking about." These three sentences were the opening lines of a radio ad that sold thousands of a specific item of jewelry.

"What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade." Jesus gave the farmers of his day a glimpse of another realm by comparing it to a seed with which they were all familiar.

(2.) Pictures.
In his book, Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud uses graphic sequential storytelling to illustrate how we attach complex meanings to the way simple lines relate to one another. He's not talking about comic books. He's talking about visual symbolic thought. Grasp what he's teaching and you'll hold a lever that will move the world.

Buy the book. It's one of those rare, breakthrough books that will make you suddenly see things that have long fluttered at the edge of your consciousness.

Know Your Catchphrases: (from RBR Business Report) Fresh from the coiner of metrosexual is a list of ten phrases or terms which may get, and generate, buzz during the year ahead. It is of the utmost importance for those in the communications business to be ahead of the curve when it comes to language usage issues, and it's even more important, whenever possible, to be ahead of the curve on the cultural trends underpinning the evolution of the language. Here then, are the 10, from Marian Salzman, EVP and chief marketing officer at advertising agency JWT: Adultescence, Bangalore Envy, Brand Sluts, Churchonomics, Cougars, Gastroporn, Microgeneration, She-E-Os, Truth Lite, and Unilanthropy. The list comes from Salzman's "Next Now: Trends for the Future," written with Ira Matathia. Does the list have you scratching your head? Are you wondering what they're talking about but don't want to wait for the book? Click here to get the definitions:

http://www.rbr.com/epaper/pages/january07/07-7_news2.html

Bring On The Stars! 2007 is starting with a bang, as three of the formats biggest acts are kicking off the year with uptempo, strong songs. Kenny Chesney's "Beer In Mexico", Tim McGraw's "Last Dollar (Fly Away)" and Sugarland's "Settlin'" are giving programmers extra reasons to celebrate the New Year. Carrie Underwood's "Wasted" and Rascal Flatts "Stand" sound like mid-tempo hits, too.

Is Country the new Top 40? Check out some of the 18-34 numbers the format is generating lately. What do you think?

New Year's Resolutions: I thought it would be fun to start the New Year sharing the musings from some of today's current and budding Nashville stars:

Trace Adkins: "I quit doing that years ago because I never kept any of them. I said, 'Why keep humiliating myself and defeating myself?' "

Blake Shelton: "Lose weight."

Michelle Branch of the Wreckers: "To Drink More Water."

Eric Church: "To not have any more resolutions. If I want to change something, I'm going to change it today. And if I want to accomplish something, I should start trying immediately."

Nashville Star co-host Cowboy Troy: "My New Year's resolution is to take over the world one eardrum at a time ... you'll understand when the new record is released. Hopefully it will inspire each of us to be kind to each other." (www.tennessean.com)

On Vacation: Have a great holiday and New Year. Please check back in in 2007.

Radio Legend Passes: Cleveland radio legend Joe Finan passed away. I worked with Joe for two years as his program director from 1981 to 1983 at the leading Country station in Cleveland, WHK. He was a consummate pro. A very talented, creative and versatile guy. As a young program director, I learned a great deal from him, especially about true personality radio. He knew then that great content between songs was going to get you further than playing jukebox radio. WHK in the early 80's was one of the last successful AM music stations because we had great personalities like Joe Finan. To read more about this radio legend click:

Joe Finan, DJ, talk show host left imprint on Cleveland radio

How Hot Is Country?: While music sales overall are down 5%...Country as a genre is UP 5%. Much of that increase is fueled by the crossover success of Rascal Flatts who have one of the top selling CD of all genres for 2006 in Me and My Gang, selling over 3 million copies. To read more, check out this article:

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section_id=10&screen=news&news_id=53714

What Time’s Person of the Year Means to Radio: “You” are the Person of the Year. That’s because, as Time notes, “You control the information age”. And that includes media choices. More than ever for radio to remain relevant and rise above the plethora of media choices, we will have to connect to our audiences in more meaningful ways. Over the next few months I’ll be talking with my radio station partners about the “how” of creating and sustaining communities of listeners through more relevant programming. The challenges are enormous, but make no mistake, radio has the edge if we don't squander it. Some would say it’s our game to lose. I say it’s ours to win. 2007 will be pivotal year. Let’s make it the best!

Here’s a link to the Time cover story. It’s a must read: www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1569514,00.html