The Jacobs Media Blog

Smart speaker growth has stalled, and at the center of this trend is Alexa, Amazon’s once wildly popular voice assistant. But marketing snafus and unforced errors over the years have halted Alexa’s growth. Last week, a wild new rumor blew up online like a tech conspiracy theory: Alexa can now bring voices back from the dead. Today’s blog post traces Alexa’s checkered marketing history, and makes the case for why strong smart speaker sales are the best thing that could happen to AM/FM radio since the Walkman. “Alexa, click on READ MORE.”

Since automakers started installing radios in cars, broadcasters have benefitted from drivers habitually turning on their favorite stations, shows, and personalities when they get behind the wheel. But in recent years, those habits have begun to erode. Part of the reason is COVID, but another culprit is tech companies going after radio’s habitual listening. Today, radio broadcasters need to ask themselves some key questions about what they need to own and market. And that’s the topic of today’s JacoBLOG.

The July 4th holiday is approaching, and chances are you’ll be attending a live concert sooner rather than later. That’s why we’ve returned to the JacoBLOG junk drawer. We rummaged through the treasure – and the junk – and came up with three great concert stories to amuse and amaze. No lines, free parking, and no one standing in front of you yelling “FREE BIRD!!” Enjoy.

If you read this blog post on a regular basis, I’d prefer to think of you as smart, learned, confident, and talented. But I’ve learned that in radio, you can be a five-tool stud program director and still be brought to your knees when “the book” comes out. Today on JacoBLOG, it’s ratings rituals. I’ve checked in with some of the best in the business to hear their superstitious ratings day quirks. What are yours?

There have been changes galore over the decades in radio: new technologies, exponentially more competitors, and a changed media landscape. But one thing that hasn’t changed a bit is the value of talent. If anything, it’s reached an even higher peak in recent years, so much so that pretty much every industry is obsessed with growing stars. Mike Stern sits in for me today with a great guest post.

A funny thing happened when Netflix dropped its fourth season of “Stranger Things” last month – an odd song from the mid-80’s started climbing the pop and streaming charts, reborn for millions of new fans. How music’s changing platforms is impacting radio is the topic of today’s blog post.

Do you need a college degree to be a success in radio? That’s the issue debated over the weekend, and it’s a compelling one. It’s not difficult to think of some of radio’s biggest success stories – many are people who never graduated from or even attended college. So why do so many radio companies demand that degree when hiring? And for radio’s long-term future, will an education be necessary in order to compete?

More than two years after the COVID outbreak, many downtown office buildings in the nation’s biggest cities still sit half empty. The American workforce is spoken, embracing work from home. And research reveals it may be less about “work/life balance” and much more about despising their bloody commutes. There are many different schools of thought here, but for radio broadcasters, many may be secretly pulling for Elon Musk’s ultimatum to his Tesla team to work.

Apple CarPlay continues to be more in-demand for new vehicle owners. At their Worldwide Developers Conference yesterday, Apple unveiled its more comprehensive dashboard ecosystem yet, controlling virtually all the vehicle’s operations from climate control to infotainment. So where does broadcast radio fit into this new CarPlay version, how is it accessed, and how is it displayed in the dash? We’ve been waiting for Apple announcement, and now we have all those answers. Buckle up.

As our world continues to careen into places unknown, all media struggle to find their “news voice” – cable news, internet websites, social media, and of course, radio. Over the years, public radio has made great strides in the ratings, But the political news cycle these past few years have made coverage and tone a challenge. During this time, CNN has perhaps struggle the most to find its lane. And now their new boss is putting new policies in place that may impact the entire journalistic space, including public radio.

In yesterday’s blog post, we talked about the high price of concert tickets, especially for Classic Rock shows. But how much would fans pay to see a concert with their favorite band as they were in their prime? Technology is moving quickly, and at the forefront of this trend is none other than ABBA. Mama mia!

You think the price of gas is out of control? Have you seen where concert ticket prices are going for these days? But here’s something you may not know: the type of music you love may be a determining factor in setting the price of concert tickets. Can you guess which music genre charges the highest prices a for a live show? And the style that brings in the fewest amount of money? As we hit those summer months, this is a topic we’ll be talking about again and again.