How soon we forget.
I’ve spent the last several days in Vegas at the NAB where a crowd of 65,000+ ran around the exhibits and meeting rooms at the Las Vegas Convention Center, took the amazing Tesla Loop and its underground network of tunnels, ate too much food, and hung out lots at the Encore and Wynn bars. In fact, the 2023 NAB Show felt very “normal.”
Hardly anyone was wearing a mask. It was like COVID never happened. Hand shaking, hugs, no social distancing, and lots of crowded places. I remember thinking back in 2020 what it would like to feel “normal” again. Well, now we know. But in the process, perhaps our short memories are already playing tricks on us.
Today’s Throwback Thursday post is a short trip back in time to April of 2021. Back then, the virtual version of Joel Denver’s All Access Summit took place. Well, next week the 2023 version will happen, and Joel has elected to stay virtual, giving more people an opportunity to participate in the conference, both from the “stage” and in the “audience.”
Meantime, this blog post talked about how Blockbuster was replaced by Netflix, as well as the notion that nothing lasts forever. We’ve watched that happen in the last couple quarters as the mighty Netflix has suffered a serious of setbacks. Falling subscriber numbers, reduced content budgets, and the recent disaster in the company’s efforts to perfect “live”‘ programming events. The fail of “Love is Blind” is another in a series of Netflix disappointments, all hard to imagine two years ago when this post first published. And to make matters worse, its first quarter numbers released this past Tuesday continue to point downward. Nothing is too big to fail.
I hope to “see” you at the All Access Audio Summit next week. I’ll be debuting Techsurvey 2023, and there are some key findings I know you’ll appreciate. – FJ
April 2021
Yesterday’s post about Netflix hitting a speed bump came up on one of my many Zoom calls yesterday. A friend scoffed that while Netflix, in fact, had its worst first quarter in memory, we shouldn’t be shedding tears anytime soon over the fortunes of this SVOD giant. As he admonished me, “They’ll be around forever.”
Will they?
If you believe that, you perhaps were skipping class all last year, because 2020 was a cruel object lesson for nearly all of us that life, careers, fortunes, businesses, industries, and entire countries are, in fact, transitory.
For millions of us, the demise of Blockbuster Video in just a few short years is a harsh reminder that in the world of media and entertainment, success is fleeting. Many of us remember those “Blockbuster Nights,” perusing VHS videos (and later, DVDs) trying to find the perfect movies for the kids, date night, or killing a long weekend.
Lori Lewis sent me one of those dynamic Twitter videos that graphically shows the rise and fall of Blockbuster, from one store in 1986 to up to nearly six thousand – and now back to one.
Blockbuster stores over 30 years:pic.twitter.com/rDfiO07525
— Jon Erlichman (@JonErlichman) April 17, 2021
Ironically, there’s a new documentary, The Last Blockbuster, that is getting strong reviews, celebrating that last remaining store. It’s a Kevin Smith film, and the irony is that it’s showing on (wait for it…)
Netflix
In a recent interview, director Taylor Morden had this to say about Blockbuster’s fortunes, as well as all the other “things that would never go away.”
“I never thought Blockbuster would go away, or Toys R Us, or Circuit City. After making a movie about how one of the biggest companies in the world went away, I am fairly convinced it could happen to any company. Nothing lasts forever.”
I thought about all this yesterday while watching session after session at the All Access Audio Summit. It was one of the best conferences – virtual or otherwise – I’ve had the pleasure of attending.
Why?
Because it put the spotlight on the zeitgeist of the moment: survival in 2020.
Whether it was Perry Michael Simon’s survival guide for podcasters, Joel Raab’s session featuring Country star, Jason Aldean, or Steve Reynolds/Steve Oshin’s session about life after getting fired, the conference touched on issues virtually everyone in radio has been thinking and feeling.
But perhaps none was better than “Light at the End of the Tunnel,” a one-on-one conversation with Lynn McDonnell – former record exec and now life counselor – and Kevin Ryder, ex-cohost of the “Kevin & Bean Show,” an institution in L.A. radio for decades.
For any personality who believes they’ve gotten a rough deal – or even screwed – by broadcast radio (and doesn’t that cover just about everybody?) – McDonnell’s tête-á-tête with Ryder was revealing, riveting, and honest through and through.
As you probably know, Ryder isn’t just an accomplished air talent. On KROQ, he was one of the most successful in the history of Southern California radio, inducted in the Radio Hall of Fame in 2019. But when Bean left the show that same year, a reformed show was unceremoniously let go precisely when the COVID lockdown began.
After a year of wandering round the desert during the Year of COVID, an old friend – Doug “Sluggo” Roberts – introduced him to KLOS PD, Keith Cunningham. The two debuted last month on KLOS, and this chapter has a happy ending.
But Kevin’s story of being crushed, regrouping, and ultimately, redemption is a more important psychology session than anything else you’ll see in radio. Why? Because it’s a reminder it can happen to anybody at anytime without warning.
But life is like that, global pandemic or not.
Maybe we all just needed a year like 2020 to remind us what’s truly important.
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hifi5000 says
I looked at this article and thought about a pet theory I have that could happen if things line up right.
With the current trend of “cord cutting”,I think there is a possibility we could see the end of cable TV service as we know it.With people going to their smartphones for entertainment and people going more and more to streaming services instead of linear TV,this could happen.
Look for many cable service companies to end linear TV service and go all-internet. I know there will be some fighting with municipal and state entities over the TV part,but I believe rules can be changed to allow this.
Fred Jacobs says
We shall see. Thanks for the comment.