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We saw it loud and clear in this year’s Jacobs Media Tech Poll III.  Most listeners simply haven’t actually heard HD Radio and/or don’t know anyone who owns one.  Unlike XM and Sirius, available through car rental companies, it is actually difficult to sample HD Radio without going into an electronics store.  And consumers don’t […]

Two headlines on a slow pre-holiday Tuesday: 1. FCC Passes Controversial Cross Ownership Rules 2. Oasis Dries Up, KOSS Now KIIS Simulcast So, on the one hand, the FCC passes the measure allowing media companies to own both a newspaper and a radio or television station in the same market.  And on the other, Clear […]

In a recent CNNMoney article, Electronic Arts CEO, John Riccitello, outlined some of the lessons he’s learned during the past ten years since he took over that mega-gaming empire.  If you didn’t know better, you’d think he was talking about radio. 1. Embrace change even if it costs a lot.  Riccitello talks about how the […]

Madonna and the Dave Clark Five are among the 2008 inductees in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Do you think perhaps the concept is getting somewhat watered down?  In another year or so, I may finally get over the fact they’re located in Cleveland and not here in the real rock capital, Detroit. […]

Madonna and the Dave Clark Five are among the 2008 inductees in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Do you think perhaps the concept is getting somewhat watered down?  In another year or so, I may finally get over the fact they’re located in Cleveland and not here in the real rock capital, Detroit. […]

This past week provided us with another "radio petri dish" in the form of the Led Zeppelin reunion show at the O2 arena in London.  Agree or disagree, but I would submit this was the biggest event in Rock n’ Roll in at least the last two decades. So how did Rock/Classic Rock radio deal […]

Talk to the parents of young kids, and they’ll tell you that one of the biggest challenges of this season’s holiday shopping trips isn’t crowded malls or finding the best deals.  It’s locating safe toys for their children. So you can imagine what the Toys For Tots folks are going through.  Because of all the […]

This week’s announcement that Bubba the Love Sponge is returning to commercial radio (on WHPT/Tampa and WFYV/Jacksonville) will elicit the usual response – from happiness to shock to dismay.  After all, Bubba’s "shock jock" persona always generated lots of talk and buzz. It’s noteworthy that at the end of 2007, Bubba and Don Imus have […]

Leave it to Warner Music CEO, Edgar Bronfman, to ruefully look back at the past several years and realize how shortsighted the record industry has been.  Lauding Apple – especially the iTunes and iPhone innovations, Bronfman explained to the GSMA Mobile Asia Congress Conference in his keynote: "We used to fool ourselves.  We used to […]

Leave it to Little Steven to take a major step designed to engage young people to appreciate Rock and its rich history and heritage.  While it’s great that video games like Guitar Hero glorify the music, or that TV programs like CSI and half the commercials we see use Rock music as their soundtracks, our […]

Newsweek.com has announced it will launch a weekly web TV show about politics, produced by the former producer of MSNBC’s Hardball, Tammy Haddad.  As Newsweek struggles with its ad page revenue (down nearly 9% through the first three quarters of ’07), they are turning more and more resources to the digital space.  After all, they […]

Another day, and another "big" satellite radio announcement.  This time, it’s XM Led, a channel devoted to Zeppelin that will be on the air through the beginning of May.  The press release sounds tasty, as the channel will contain many cool Led Zeppelin features. So why does broadcast radio simply stand by and allow satellite […]

Buffalo’s John Hager talks about how Led Zeppelin was essentially the "bumper music" for Monday night’s great NFL game between the undefeated Patriots and the upstart Ravens.  It’s a testament to the timeliness of the upcoming Zep show and the power of Classic Rock. And if that wasn’t enough, the NFL announced that Tom Petty […]

Bill Jacobs shares his thoughts on the passing of one of radio’s "good guys," Jim Steel: That’s something you hear about most people when they pass away, but it’s 100% true when you’re talking about a guy like Jim Steel (real name:  Jim Lyle).  The word came down yesterday that, following a tough five-year battle […]

What’s the secret to Wal-Mart’s success?  Low prices, many locations, those friendly greeters? More and more, Wal-Mart is benefiting from a website that draws amazing traffic – and revenue.  The company estimates there will be 800 million visits before the year is out, as customers use the site to do product research, check out sales […]

Jacobs Media’s Tim Davis considers whether it’s the medium or the message – or both: No matter where you land regarding the ongoing Writer’s strike, one thing that most agree with is that it has raised awareness of what’s at stake in terms of content development in the digital future. The essence of this strike […]

An open letter to Don Imus, from Jacobs Media’s Dave Beasing: Dear Mr. Imus, Welcome back to radio!  For your listeners, mornings just haven’t been the same.  Comedy isn’t easy, nor was the way your career at WFAN ended.  It’s difficult to consistently be funny without offending someone, and you didn’t deserve to be depicted […]

The video game buzz continues to intensify with the release of Guitar Hero III, and the great news if you’re in Rock Radio is that it’s all about you.  After all the "Rock Is Dead" articles you’ve had to explain away to your sales people and your jocks, the gaming industry continues to glorify the […]