From Radio Business Report…

There is no doubt in the mind of a musician who was displaced to Little Rock from New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina that all artists, including musicians, are underappreciated. But Ted Ludwig isn’t sure that getting a performance royalty from a radio station would be better than simply getting ON the radio station. He realized that the name recognition necessary to make a comfortable living as a performing artist mainly comes from radio.

Gannett’s CBS KTHV spoke with an exec with local radio group Crain Media, who knows that his stations help get musicians’ names out there. He also knows that the imposition of performance royalties will make being able to do that a much dicier proposition. “All companies are going through a hard time and the more that they put a burden on us as far having to pay for these fees the harder it’s going to get for everybody involved,” Crain’s Sonny Victory told KTHV.

RBR-TVBR observation: The Ted Ludwig Trio has two CDs out, and is hardly a household name. What would be better, a tiny check months down the road from the labels – if they can find him – or some free spins on local radio that may help inspire people to attend his local appearances? The Ted Ludwig trio is not a household name – is it not obvious that the free promotion is worth light years more than Ludwig would be able to pay with his royalty check, which would most likely amount to less than a dollar? Labels and big name acts are the only ones who will benefit from PRA. The losers will be radio, any musician who is not an established headliner, and fans of both music and music on radio.

As you may have heard, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the Performance Royalty Tax legislation yesterday. This is a long way from being decided, however. There are 251 members of the U.S. House and 26 in the U.S. Senate that disapprove of this legislation and support local radio – including Representative Mike Capuano.

So many members of our delegation have not committed to either side of this debate. This fight is far from over. We’re asking everyone report how this tax would impact your station programming, personnel and business – as well as your commitment to local communities.

Examples of effective information:
What record companies and artists get for their airplay is the amount of time a song is on the air multiplied by the advertising rate, for instance, multiplied against an ROS rate. Could you have your program or music director add up all the minutes that songs are playing on one of your music stations on one day from 5 am to midnight, and multiply it by the station’s ROS rate and get the lump sum figure? That number represents the free advertising that the artists who were played that day received.

Or simply stated: The tax would force me to let go of three employees, change one of my stations to an all-talk format or discontinue coverage of our local high school sports, etc.

Please report this information to your local represenative and to Senator Kerry’s office – and please share it with us as well. This is your chance to show Congress the good work you do as broadcasters and how these fees would truly effect your station, employees and the public service you provide every day.

And remember, there are a number of resources available including on-air spots, etc. here: http://www.noperformancetax.org.

A new radio project by Mass Broadcasters Hall of Fame founder and President as well as former broadcaster, Art Singer, seeks sales rep. Looks like this may be a great opportunity for someone so we offered to share it on his behalf. Contact Art for more information or to apply at artsinger@comcast.net.

CURTAIN UP!

Seeking a broadcasting sales individual to rep this new program series through commission.  We are partnering with Jerome Press (Show of the Month Club) and have interest from several potential sponsors. WBZ Radio is enthusiastic about airing the series.

Product

A one-hour weekly radio show and active web site covering what’s going on in theater and the arts in Boston and the surrounding area.  News, calendars, audience recommendations, ticket giveaways, interviews with performers, writers, producers and directors, and Broadway news and information as well. Punctuated with music of the theater. Over time, related dinner and theatre events, trips to NYC and London. Our goal: to help theater goers decide what show(s) they want to see over the next week or weeks. And to get others out to the theater!  Our website, Curtainup.info, will provide direct links to Bostix, etc.

Principals

Barbara Brilliant and Art Singer. Together they have extensive major market Radio and TV experience in production, on air, management, and marketing.  Barbara is a former professional musical theatre singer, award winning producer and television host. She is the managing director of Basically Broadway, a composer, voice coach, and an entertainment columnist. Art is a former public TV/ public radio CEO, marketer, fund raiser, radio host, and author. He is a management consultant and President of the Mass. Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Goals  

To celebrate musical theater, inform and entertain theatergoers, advance Boston’s local theater companies, actors, directors, etc., and to make a small profit.

Target audience

Theatergoers who enjoy the live theater experience, the arts, and the world of show business. This market skews older, but includes college students and young adults. The 55 plus portion are frequent restaurant goers, shop upscale stores, buy luxury cars, vacation and travel, and contribute to the arts.

Evidence of marketplace interest

Attendance at shows. Though the current season is a challenge, in the long run, Greater Boston remains a great theater town. (In a recent national study, Boston had the highest percent of respondents outside of NYC who had attended at least one theater performance in the past twelve months.)  Philanthropic support of local theater and the arts. Participation in Show of the Month Club. Readership of Boston Globe, Herald, TAB, etc. for reviews and profiles. Boston.com.

Audiences’ needs

Theatergoing is high on their list for entertainment and insight. Timely information on what’s playing, what’ coming, which shows have received positive reviews, how to get low price tickets, where to eat near theaters, etc. They also enjoy hearing show songs.

Audiences’ unmet needs

More word-of-mouth on shows before making decisions on what to attend. Finding reasonable priced seats.  Web access to information.

Related interests

Opportunity to learn more about the theater, hear directly from actors, producers, directors, composers, musicians, enjoy gossip and behind the scenes stories.

Current providers

WERS’ student-hosted Standing Room Only radio show for music, occasional studio performances, and ticket giveaways. Cable and dish TV music services. Newspapers for reviews, calendars and ads.

Their competitive advantage 

Long standing readership and listenership. For music, the web and dish channels are 24 hours.

Their limitations; needs they aren’t addressing

Newspaper readership is in decline and offers one-way print communication only. WERS is 90 per cent music. Cable and Dish services are 100 per cent music, but only music. Curtain Up! covers all aspects of theater and theater going.        

Our advantage(s) in comparison

Local. One-stop shopping. More information. Interactive. Fun. Knowledgeable hosts. Interesting guests. Active web site. 

Advertising Opportunities

We have twelve (12) minutes of time to sell each hour.  Ten-minute exclusive segment sponsorships are also available.  Spots will be selling at competitive prices.

What station will carry Curtain Up!? When will it air?

We are currently negotiating for carriage on three stations (WATD-FM, Marshfield, WCAP-AM Lowell, and WJIB AM Cambridge). This “network” carriage will blanket Greater Boston, the North and South Shores, and the Merrimack Valley. We are planning a September launch.

Offsetting other costs

We hope to obtain modest grants from donors, foundations and organizations that support theater and Boston theater in particular.

Marketing Plan

Publicity. Trade Advertising in Playbill, other program books. Special events. Web Marketing. Word of mouth.

As we wrote in an earlier Advisory, the FCC adopted an order in April 2009 revising FCC Form 323, its Ownership Report form for commercial stations. It also expanded the types of entities and licensees required to file Form 323, announcing that owners of all commercial AM, FM, TV, LPTV and Class A TV stations would need to file the new form by November 1, 2009. The FCC later suspended its existing biennial Ownership Report filing requirement for stations that were to have filed in June, August, or October of 2009, since those stations would have to file the new Form 323 by November 1, 2009 in any event. At this time, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has not yet approved the new Form 323 for use by the FCC. In response to numerous calls from station counsel and industry representatives, the FCC today announced that it is suspending the requirement that stations file the revised Form 323 by November 1, 2009. Instead, stations will be required to file the new Form 323 by a date to be later announced by the FCC that is at least thirty days after the release of a public notice of OMB approval of the new form. In the meantime, the FCC announced that it will continue to suspend the filing of biennial ownership reports on existing Form 323 until the new form is available. While the FCC originally required that the ownership information submitted in the new Form 323 be current as of October 1, 2009, today’s Order announced that when the revised Form 323 is available for filing, stations should include ownership information that is current as of November 1, 2009. The FCC also announced that this delay does not affect future filing dates of the biennial Ownership Report, which will fall on November 1 of all odd-numbered years going forward. The FCC’s full order is below: Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the matter of Promoting Diversification in the Broadcasting Services 2006 Quadrennial Regulatory Review – Review of the Commission’s Broadcast Ownership Rules and Other Rules Adopted Pursuant to Section 202 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 2002 Biennial Regulatory Review – Review of the Commission’s Broadcast Ownership Rules and Other Rules Adopted Pursuant to Section 202 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 Cross-Ownership of Broadcast Stations and Newspapers Rules and Policies Concerning Multiple Ownership of Radio Broadcast Stations in Local Markets Definition of Radio Markets Ways to Further Section 257 Mandate and to Build on Earlier Studies MB Docket No. 07-294 MB Docket No. 06-121 MB Docket No. 02-277 MM Docket No. 01-235 MM Docket No. 01-317 MM Docket 00-244 MB Docket No. 04-228 ORDER Adopted: October 2, 2009 Released: October 2, 2009 By the Chief, Media Bureau: 1. On April 8, 2009, the Commission adopted a Report and Order and Fourth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the above-captioned proceeding. In pertinent part, the Report and Order revised certain requirements for filing FCC Form 323, which provides ownership information about broadcast facilities. The Report and Order enlarged the class of broadcast licensees required to file FCC Form 323 biennially, and it substituted a uniform biennial filing deadline for the current system of rolling filing deadlines that are tied to a station’s renewal anniversary. Pursuant to these new requirements, all commercial full-power AM, FM, TV, LPTV and Class A stations, as well as entities with attributable or reportable interests in them, are required to file the revised FCC Form 323 on or before November 1, 2009, with information current as of October 1, 2009, and to file biennially thereafter. 2. On May 29, 2009, the Media Bureau suspended the filing requirement for the existing Form 323 for licensees who would otherwise be required to file biennially between the date of the Order and November 1, 2009. The Bureau considered it in the public interest to relieve filers from the burden of biennially filing the existing Form 323 within the six months prior to the new November 1 biennial filing requirement. In addition, the Bureau stated that if the Commission has not received OMB approval for the new Form 323 by the November 1, 2009 filing deadline, all filers who would have been required to file Form 323 biennially between the date of the Bureau Order and November 1, 2009, but whose filing obligation was suspended by the Bureau’s May 29th Order, would be required to file the existing Form 323 by November 1, 2009. 3. On our own motion, we are extending the initial November 1 biennial filing date for the new Form 323. Accordingly, licensees and other filing entities are not required to biennially file revised Form 323 on November 1. When the Commission receives approval from the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) for the revised Form 323 (Control Number 3060-0010), the Media Bureau will issue a Public Notice establishing a filing date for the revised Form 323 that will be no earlier than 30 days after the date of public notice of OMB approval. We will also extend the date as of which information submitted on the revised Form 323 must be accurate from October 1, 2009, to November 1, 2009. We believe these deferrals are necessary in order to provide licensees and other entities with sufficient time to review the new form and gather the information needed to complete it. The filing deadline extension and the November 1 cut-off date for ownership data will apply only to the initial biennial filings. Beginning with the 2011 filing, the form must be filed no later than November 1 with data current as of October 1 of the filing year. 4. We will also not require licensees excused from filing by the Media Bureau’s May 29th Order to file the existing Form 323 on November 1, 2009. We believe that it would be an undue burden on licensees and other entities required to file Form 323 to prepare the existing form on November 1 and then prepare and file the revised form soon thereafter. 5. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, that pursuant to authority under Sections 4(i) and 303(r) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 154 and 303(r) and pursuant to authority delegated to the Media Bureau pursuant to Sections 0.204 and 0.283 of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.204, 0.283, the filing requirements as described above ARE EXTENDED, sua sponte. 6. For additional information, please contact Mania Baghdadi or Amy Brett, Industry Analysis Division, Media Bureau, at (202) 418-2330. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION William T. Lake Chief, Media Bureau

The Obama administration has proposed weakening a media shield bill that could protect reporters from being jailed if they decline to reveal their confidential sources.

The bill, co-sponsored by Sens. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Arlen Specter (D-PA), includes The bill includes safeguards that would require prosecutors to exhaust other methods for finding the source of the information before subpoenaing a reporter, and would balance investigators’ interests with “the public interest in gathering news and maintaining the free flow of information.” The bill includes exceptions in matters involving criminal conduct or matters of national security.

The administration’s proposal, however, would exclude leaks of a matter deemed to cause “significant” harm to national security. Moreover, judges would be instructed to be deferential to executive branch assertions about whether a leak caused or was likely to cause such harm, according to officials familiar with the proposal.

Sen. Specter told The New York Times that the proposed changes are “totally unacceptable,” saying they would gut meaningful judicial review. And in a statement, Sen. Schumer said: “The White House’s opposition to the fundamental essence of this bill is an unexpected and significant setback. It will make it hard to pass this legislation.”