Well, next week is going to be an interesting one. The NAB is BAAACK!
We got the confirmation at our Jacobs Media dinner at CES 2022 in January when new NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt told Radio Ink this year’s show must and would go on. And here we are, 14 weeks later, and we’re about to experience Las Vegas and a full-blown NAB Convention for the first time in three years.
In yesterday’s blog post, I gave you the rundown on three Sunday sessions that revolve around tech, “connected cars,” and of course, radio. And today, we honor the NAB with a new edition of our wildly popular “Junk Drawer” benchmark. In case you’re new here, the format is to gather a few interesting media stories, none of which are worthy of their own posts.
And today’s “NAB Edition” of “Junk Drawer” will not disappoint, giving you much to talk about at this weekend’s visits to the farmers’ market, little league games, or family get-togethers. So, without further adieu, let’s open the drawer in question and start rummaging around.
Item #1: Doctor, doctor, give me the news – Proving you can research just about anything, a new survey among academicians at Heidelberg University in Germany, did an unusual music test.
They had new surgeons perform laparoscopies (gut slicing surgery) with hard rock (AC/DC) versus soft rock (Beatles hits) playing over the OR speakers.
It turns out, the physicians doing their handiwork to the rock n’ roll from those lovable Australian Young brothers stitched up their patients nearly twice as fast than those who were working along with songs like “Hey Jude.”
The researchers also detected a higher level of accuracy while AC/DC was blaring. The working theory is that doctors unconsciously try to keep up with the tempo of the song, thus optimizing their task.
Among other things, this important research might stimulate patients to examine their surgeons’ playlists before going under the knife. Especially, if you’re using a doctor keen on disco.
Item #2: Grammy, Schammy – If you thought the Grammys sucked this year, you’ve got company – young company.
Nielsen actually reports viewership of the iconic music awards program actually increased, almost reaching 10 million viewers in the U.S. That represents a gain of nearly 4% over last year’s abysmal ratings.
But here’s the kicker…
…nearly 98% of 18-49 year-olds watched something else or took the night off from TV. Nielsen clocked an astonishingly low 2.24 rating among this audience.
According to Nielsen, the most recent high mark for Grammys viewership occurred a decade ago when 40 million U.S. consumers watched live as Adele, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, and Coldplay performed live.
You don’t need to be Anthony Acampora to read this chart and interpret a serious downtrend for the Grammys (and most other awards shows), exacerbated by COVID.
Is it the state of music, a global pandemic. or a mind-numbing boring awards show?
Item #3: Musta Got Lost – What’s the one thing you’re not supposed to do when you buy a record album?
Sign it and date it, of course. But try to tell that to a 13 year-old.
Way back in 1981, Lulu Baylee shelled out £3.23 to purchase an album by Boney M., “Take The Heat Of Me.”
Four decades later, she finds herself in a charity shop, Durrell’s. As she’s picking through the used records, she runs across that same Boney M. album.
The exact same album she signed way back when. Lulu told the Jersey Evening Post it was the first album she’d ever bought at age 13 (you’d remember that one).
An amazing story, but as Sean Ross would no doubt remind you, don’t sign your vinyl albums, and make sure to play the B-side.
Speaking of cool record albums, this is my last chance to remind you that “Vinylthon 2022” is tomorrow, here in the U.S. and around the world. College and commercial stations will commemorate the day by playing wall-to-wall vinyl.
And all funds raised go directly to financially help college radio students who thankfully want to make radio their careers. If you’ve ever worked in college radio and/or you’ve carved a nice life from working in the radio biz, it’s a nice time to pay it forward.
While you’re thinking about it, please head to www.vinylthon.com and make a contribution – of any size.
And thank you who have already generously given. We wish the College Radio Foundation and all those students, faculty members, and advisors the best.
Bonus junk –You may have heard the news yesterday that Warner Bros. Discovery shut CNN+ down – three weeks after it launched.
I blogged about this “epic fail” the day before, noting that with only 10,000 users a day, CNN+ was profiling more like a a mediocre station in Bakersfield, California.
How can a debacle of this proportion even happen in a media world where smart marketers, researchers, and experienced executives are at the helm? For insight, check out this analysis by Sara Fischer from Axios. You’ll instantly feel better about your company.
And some good news: I’m pleased to tell you Jacobs+ is still very much a thriving
enterprise, and will always be commercial-free with no subscription required.
The next time a PD (or consultant) whines about management pulling the plug on a radio format after three books, you might want to remind them of the Roman candle story of CNN+.
See you in Vegas.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Even though it’s not specifically Vinylthon-related, RW might still have deliberately waited until this week to post this new feature on the daily Vinyl Vault segments on Radio Nova in Dublin…
https://www.radioworld.com/global/radio-nova-opens-the-vinyl-vault
Great story, Eric. my client in Phoenix, KSLX, started a vinyl album side a number of years ago and it garnered great publicity from the Arizona Republic if I’m not mistaken. Amazing how vinyl has become a novelty. Thanks for the note.