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Wells Fargo Analyst Marci Ryvicker: 'Radio Is Doing Quite Well' 
Wells Fargo Analyst Marci Ryvicker says, "Radio is doing quite well." In her new Equity Research Newsletter to clients, Ryvicker writes, "While not all radio groups are created equal, we were surprised at the number of execs who sound pretty good regarding trends -- with Q2 up low single digits (LSD), and Q3 ahead of that (but starting to fade)." Headlined "Media: Checks Suggest Local Ad Is Quite Healthy," the newsletter covers Radio, TV and Outdoor advertising research. She adds that some of the forward-looking gain on Q3, though, is "starting to fade." Ryvicker is essentially upbeat, writing she "had the opportunity to decipher revenue trends across traditional media and [we] have concluded that the second quarter may have been lumpy, but at the end of the day, trends ended up -- relatively okay -- as a result, we left our core growth estimates relatively unchanged."
Townsquare Adds Premium Music and Entertainment Publishers 
Townsquare Media Group announced today the addition of several new and exclusive partnerships to its growing portfolio of music and entertainment-focused digital properties. "The new properties will join Townsquare Media Group's national digital business, consisting of premium music and entertainment websites reaching over 50 million U.S. monthly unique visitors," says the announcement. "The highly influential publishers include Consequence of Sound (http://consequenceofsound.net/), Dangerous Minds (http://dangerousminds.net/), Potholes in My Blog (http://potholesinmyblog.com/), Pretty Much Amazing (http://prettymuchamazing.com/), Tiny Mix Tapes (http://tinymixtapes.com/) and Wetpaint (http://wetpaint.com/)." Townsquare Media tells us, "These partners have been gaining notoriety over the past year including The New Yorker calling Pretty Much Amazing "the foremost voice in Indie music and all-around music nerdery," Mashable naming Richard Metzger, editor of music and pop culture site Dangerous Minds, one of the "Top 10 Most Influential People" on Facebook (#4), and entertainment powerhouse Wetpaint launching its patent pending Social Publishing Platform that systematically builds loyal audiences."
SoundExchange Hires Barry LeVine as VP of Industry Relations 
SoundExchange hires music industry veteran Barry LeVine as VP of Industry Relations. In this role, he will lead the organization's artist and label outreach program, along with driving strategic relationships with other organizations within the music community. LeVine has more than 25 years of industry experience in various capacities, including entertainment relations, partnership development and relationship marketing. Most recently, Barry served as global executive vice president of Entertainment Relations at Gibson Brands, responsible for maximizing relationships within the entertainment world and creating awareness of Gibson entertainment and lifestyle products in 19 markets worldwide. "I'm pleased to announce Barry LeVine will join us as our vice president of Industry Relations. He brings a solid reputation and broad set of industry and artist outreach skills to our team," says SoundExchange President and CEO Michael Huppe. "Barry's unique experience will be key in the development of new programs for the 90,000 artist and 28,000 rights owner accounts that we currently serve, as well as creating new connections and opportunities as we move SoundExchange into its next chapter."
Broadcasters Launch Campaign to Educate Public on Mental Health New Survey Highlights Need for 'OK2Talk' PSAs, Debuting This Week 
A new survey from the NAB reveals that two-thirds of young adults have personal experience with mental health problems. Although the overwhelming majority of parents and young adults are supportive of discussing mental illness more openly, more than one-fourth of young adults (28 percent) and one in six parents (16 percent) admit they avoid talking about it. To encourage these critical conversations and let people know that help is available and effective, NAB today unveiled a new public service announcement (PSA) campaign featuring teens and young adults opening up about their experiences with mental illness. The "OK2Talk" campaign includes television and radio ads in English and Spanish, and uses social media to invite teens and young adults to create the conversation about mental health. "With unrivaled reach into homes across America, broadcasters have a powerful platform to encourage young people to start talking about mental health and get the help they need," says NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith. We're told that Smith's own family has been profoundly affected by mental illness. His 22-year-old son, Garrett, took his own life in 2003, after a long struggle with depression. He and his wife, Sharon, hope that encouraging conversation about mental illness helps keep other families from meeting the same fate: "I believe that had we known better the signs of suicidal tendency, and sought help and treatment earlier for Garrett, our son would still be alive today."
Larry Wilson's L&L Broadcasting Continues Growing 
L&L Broadcasting has agreed to purchase Gospel "Joy 100.1" WSSJ-FM, Savannah (licensed to Rincon, Georgia), which is currently in receivership. The price for the station is $1.55 million. Says L&L CEO Larry Wilson, “WSSJ is an exciting addition to our cluster in Savannah and will be an excellent complement to our existing brands. The more we experience the vibrant business community and quality of life existing in Savannah and Hilton Head, the more excited we are to operate our Live and Local brand of radio serving these two markets.” L&L already has a cluster of six stations in Savannah -- Classic Hits "Big 98.3" WGCO-FM, Classic Hits “103.1 The Drive" WGZO-FM, "Rock 106.1" WFXH-FM, Country "Bob 106.9" WUBB-FM, Adult Top 40 "Y107.9" WXYY-FM, and Soft AC "1130 The Island" WHHW-AM with an FM translator. WSSJ-FM will join that cluster. WSSJ-FM has been operated by receiver Scott Savage.
Wilkes-Barre 'Mountain' to Become 'The Sports Hub' 
Entercom Classic Adult Alternative Rock "102.3 The Mountain" WDMT-FM, Pittston, Pennsylvania (Wilkes-Barre market), will flip to Sports Talk as "The Sports Hub" on August 5. This will give the market its third Sports Talk station (although the other two are each heard on multiple signals). The new format on WDMT-FM will feature mostly programming from the NBC Sports Radio network, with a thre-hour local afternoon show that's still to be announced. WDMT-FM already is the flagship station of the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. "The Mountain" WDMT-FM has aired a format that some call Adult Album Alternative while others classify as Classic Rock. Its format has been atypical of both descriptions, airing "Mountain Sets" with three or four songs with a common thread played back to back. The songs either share a word or phrase in common, or are by the same artist, but may also be related in other ways. The station plays many B-side tracks as well as music from local artists. Show hosts are referred to as "Mountain Guides" who often give background on a musician or song. But the format hasn't proven lucrative to Entercom, according to Wilkes-Barre General Manager Ryan Flynn. “We haven’t been able to capitalize on The Mountain from a sales perspective. It’s done OK from a ratings standpoint, and we have a dedicated core of listeners, but we haven’t been able to monetize that.” Flynn says "The Mountain" programming will continue on sister WKRZ-FM's HD2 multicast channel and will be streamed on the Internet. Stryker Named New Host of 'Out Of Order' 
CBS Radio Alternative KROQ-FM, Los Angeles afternoon host Stryker is named the new host of "Out Of Order" beginning the weekend of August 3-4. Stryker replaces Jed The Fish on the weekly two-hour countdown (?) of the Top 20 Alternative songs, distributed by Compass Media Networks and produced by Dial Global. But can it really be called a "countdown" if the songs air out of order? Nevertheless, Stryker tells us, "Listening to Out Of Order over the years was always part of my routine. Getting this opportunity to play and talk to my favorite bands on the show every week and do it in the Out Of Order countdown style is beyond exciting." Stryker's debut on "Out Of Order" will feature a rare in-person interview with Daft Punk, whose "Get Lucky" is currently one of the most popular songs in the world. Stryker is in his 14th year with KROQ-FM, and has hosted TV programs and specials for MTV, VH1, Fuse, and Fox Sports. He also spent a year as the on-screen DJ for "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." Rdio to Be A Livenation.com Official Sponsor Also Official Streaming Music Sponsor for Live Nation Country Music Festivals 
Live Nation Media and Sponsorship, the sponsorship and advertising division of Live Nation Entertainment, announces Rdio as an official sponsor on LiveNation.com and the official streaming music sponsor at Live Nation's 2013 Country Music Festivals. The festival partnership kicked off last weekend with Faster Horses and will continue with Watershed later this summer. As part of Rdio's advertising program, they will be powering Ultimate Charts on LiveNation.com. Rdio's sponsorship also includes advertising to music fans at Live Nation venues across the country. "Rdio shares our commitment to enhancing the music experience for fans," says Russell Wallach, President of Live Nation Media and Sponsorship. "We are delighted that they will be showcasing their services across LiveNation.com, in our venues, and at our country music festivals." Rdio CEO Drew Larner adds, "The live music audience is a natural fit for streaming music. We're excited to work with the best in live entertainment as it gives us a chance to engage music fans before, during and after the show." Rdio is an ad-free music subscription service, which is self-described as "the groundbreaking digital music service that is reinventing the way people discover, listen to, and share music" -- "with on-demand access to over 20 million songs." Sara McClure Joins Clear Channel Sacramento as VP Of Sales 
Clear Channel Media and Entertainment Sacramento names Sara McClure as VP of Sales, effective immediately. McClure will oversee the sales operations for the six-station cluster. McClure arrives from Entercom Sacramento, where she was Director of Sales for the Business Development Team. "Sara's strong reputation, proof of leadership and business development expertise make her the perfect fit to lead our sales team," says CCME Sacramento Market President Dave Milner. "We're thrilled to have her on the team and I am confident she will have a tremendous impact." EVP of Operations for Major Markets West Hartley Adkins adds, "Sara is an accomplished sales leader and her experience will be a great asset to the continued success of the market." And McClure tells us, "With my background in multimedia integrated selling, I know the timing is right to make my move to Clear Channel. I am looking forward to teaming up with Dave Milner to lead the Sacramento cluster and leverage the company's industry leading capabilities."
Behind the Microphone: The Ins and Outs of Radio Univision Radio has removed the syndicated Eddie "Piolin" Sotelo morning show from all of its stations. It's believed this is a permanent cancellation of "Piolin Por La Manana" -- but Univision Radio is not offering any explanation for the sudden removal of the show ... Programming and consulting veteran Rob Scorpio is named Operations Manager and Program Director at Rhythmic CHR KGGI-FM, Riverside-San Bernardino, California. Scorpio's resume includes PD gigs in Houston, Los Angeles and Washington DC. He replaces Jesse Duran who previously exited for a position at crosstown Classic Hits "Kola 99.9" KOLA-FM. Also at KGGI-FM, Jeff Pope exits as morning co-host. Co-host Evelyn Erives is now teamed with Johnny Magic on an interim basis, but Scorpio is expected to announce a new morning show soon ... TalkMedia.TV launches the new "My Talker 106.7" at WMYT-FM, in Wilmington, North Carolina. TalkMedia.TV was formed in February by Curtis Wright and George Bell. Wright, a Conservative Talker, will host the morning radio show. He's been heard on the Internet since late 2012 after leaving Cumulus. Bell is a former Brunswick County GOP Chairman. Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham are also part of the new lineup ... Last week we reported that Sun Broadcasting's Talk "Fox News 92.5" WFSX-FM, Fort Myers, is losing its two AM simulcasts this week. "WFSX-AM, Fort Myers, and WNOG-AM, Naples, will launch a new format to be announced starting Monday (July 22)." The two AM signals are now airing Sports Talk as "The Fan" -- carrying NBC Sports Radio network programming along with CBS Sports Radio's Jim Rome ... One week after three Power Country stations in northern Florida went silent, Newman Media has flipped Oldies WDSR-AM and FM translator W246BY to Country as "The Falcon" to fill the format gap. WDSR-AM is based in Lake City, Florida ... In honor of Mick Jagger's 70th birthday, noncommercial pubcaster WFPK-FM, Louisville, Kentucky, will be broadcasting "The Rolling Stones Radio Hour" from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Friday, July 26 from 5-6pm.
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From Mark Harris Broadcast Consulting
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Tuesday's Radio & Media News - July 23, 2013
Says LeVine, "It's exciting to join a group of individuals who are committed advocates for recording artists and rights owners. As the music industry continues to evolve to meet the demands of a digital world, SoundExchange is at the forefront of ensuring a fair and balanced approach for getting artists paid for their work. I look forward to fostering our strong relationships with the creative community so we can work together to move the music industry forward." Prior to Gibson, LeVine served in senior management roles at ShoutCrowd Media/Fan2Band Inc. and SonyBMG Music Entertainment. SoundExchange is the non-profit performance rights organization representing the entire recorded music industry. The organization collects statutory royalties on behalf of recording artists and master rights owners for the use of their content from satellite radio, Internet radio, cable TV music channels and other services that stream sound recordings.
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