Is all radio going to "pay to listen"

Mark Metdker · Post by **Mark Metdker** » 7 Oct 2004 2:56 am

Maybe you have, or maybe you haven't heard about the deal Howard Stern just signed. It is the biggest deal ever signed in the history of radio. 5 years, $500 million dollars. But, to hear him you will have to pay for satellite radio. I think it is about $12 bucks a month. I feel we are in the early stages of a "pay to listen" transformation in radio. I think this is only the beginning. Most of us have cable TV now, years ago we would have thought it was nuts to pay to watch TV. I think it's kinda the same thing.
Who would have ever thought people would pay for bottled water when you can get it free from the faucet!

Now, I'm gonna throw out a hot opinion. I think I would pay for radio, if I could get exactly what I want from it. The types of music I like with little or no commercials. Not a lot of talk. That's why I listen to internet radio stations when I am at home.

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Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 7 Oct 2004 7:15 am

I feel we are in the early stages of a "pay to listen"

More like mid-life stage, where fewer and fewer things are "free". TANSSTAAFL. Eventually all forms of entertainment will be labelled Intellectual Property and each listening or viewing will cost $$$. DVD's that expire, audio packaging that self-destructs after several playbacks 'cause that's all you paid for when you bought it...

It's just my 2cents but I think we're really being taken for a ride. Service oriented payments made by John and Joan Middle Class in this country are getting out of hand. There is no wealth building. Phone bill, TV cable bill, Internet Provider bill. At the end of the month, what do you have for your payment? a reciept. (That's called rent-taking).

At least when I spend $2000 on a Pedal Steel Guitar, at the end of the transaction we have $4000 worth of assets, The seller has $2k and I have $2K worth of PSG. (That's called wealth building).

Looks like Howard is depending on Sirius, Sirius is depending on Howard, and I'm depending in correctly selecting 6 lottery numbers.

[This message was edited by Ray Minich on 07 October 2004 at 08:20 AM.]

Rick Garrett · Post by **Rick Garrett** » 7 Oct 2004 8:03 am

I had satelite radio and hated it. Too many commercials and when they go to a break the volume gets louder just like on your tv at home. I still have the radio but I cancelled the service. In my opinion it just wasn't worth 10 bucks a month. Didn't try Sirius though so maybe its different.

Rick

Steve Hinson · Post by **Steve Hinson** » 7 Oct 2004 6:50 pm

Rick,the commercials are gone from XM(except their own...the"waitress"on Hank's Place,etc.)...

JB Arnold · Post by **JB Arnold** » 7 Oct 2004 6:52 pm

Actually, that's just what you get from satellite radio. 100+ stations, all the music channels are commercial free, and it's always great sound with no interference.

Howard is trying to get away from another kind of interference, namely clear channel and the FCC. He's got 2 words for them both, and in 16 months he'll be able to say them on the air.

I don't care for Stern, never have. It's not my kind of humor. Even when I'm in a mood for trash, he's too much. But Clear Channel is trying to shut him up on the corporate ownership limit tirade he's on. (he's against it. Says the government then effectively controls the airwaves, and hence can limit free speech, and he's right.) He's also lost a couple of rounds with the FCC over his content, which I believe he deliberately allowed to happen just so he could test them. Not being one who believes the folks who own the radio should be in a position to be financialy blackmailed into submission by any interest group, I'm with him on this.

Howard did not get where he is by being an idiot. He's actually very smart, and knows exactly what he's doing, and understands the media business from the top down. At Sirius, all he has to do is take 25% ( it will likely be way more than that) of his current 4 million listeners to subscription to be the biggest thing to ever happen to satellite radio-he could be it's Joe Namath.
From there he can wage war with the establishment and the FCC Non-stop with NO regulatory controls whatsoever, and no need to fear any kind of sponsor boycotts, because he won't need any. Of course the show will be mostly trash, that's Howard. But he's going to be one "Sirius" pain in the a$$ for the thought police, and they won't be able to shut him down when he tries to mobilize his listeners to vote.

There's a lot of Abbie Hoffman in Howard, and I like that. This reminds me of the stories about Wolfman Jack broadcasting in from across the border where they couldn't regulate his frequency stregnth, or some such thing. (Do I have that right, SoCal guys?)

JB

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[This message was edited by JB Arnold on 07 October 2004 at 07:58 PM.]

Eric West · Post by **Eric West** » 7 Oct 2004 8:13 pm

... and only little girls will ride horses.

EJL

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 8 Oct 2004 2:08 am

why would the minions pay now for something that they were not listening to for free ?

HS has a show that has a focused limited market share..

true..a 500 mil contract..but how many subscribers does he need to bring to the table to meet the terms ?

"Jethro..you didn't throw a touchdown last week so we're gonna have to let you go..and by the way it's in your contract that you MUST throw touchdowns"...

t[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 08 October 2004 at 03:36 AM.]

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 8 Oct 2004 5:38 am

Wall Street Journal 10/07/04 stated that if Sirius got 1 million more subscribers it would pay for Howard's costs.

Eddie Malray · Post by **Eddie Malray** » 8 Oct 2004 6:28 pm

We got our first TV in 1955. I remember my dad saying that someday we would have to pay to watch it. I thought that was ridiculous but like alot of other things he told me, it came to pass. Now I have to pay 45.00 a month to watch Fagots and commercials. The only reason I keep paying the bill is because my wife makes me so the grand kids cn watch those stupid cartoons.

Paul King · Post by **Paul King** » 8 Oct 2004 6:51 pm

Mark, That may be the radio of the future. I can guarantee I am not paying one red cent to hear Howard Stern. I really hate to see radio going that direction. It amazes me what people will come up with to make a dollar. I guess the good ole days are just about gone.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 8 Oct 2004 7:05 pm

Probably! Most regular commercial stations (radio and TV) are ruining their future with all the commercials they feature. I plain stopped watching movies on the USA network because of their 7-minute commercials regularly inserted between 9 or 10 minutes of entertainment programming. Radio stations are the same way, especially in the morning and late afternoon hours.

Yep, I'll soon be on the sat-rad too, if commercial times keep increasing.

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 8 Oct 2004 11:26 pm

It seem to me that Clearchannel radio is 100% advertising already. What you hear on the hot new country stations has been paid for by the record labels. They also charge extra to say the name of the tune after its been played. It is very, very expensive to have a tune placed on a Clearchannel playlist. It is not supposed to be legal but it is the same thing that happened with Enron writing the governments energy policy and the logging industry now being in charge of our national park system.
The Clearchannel guys just bought some politicians who change a word here and there in a regulation and viola, whatever they do is suddenly legal .

There are real good reasons why comercial radio is going down the crapper. I'm all for the XM and Sirrius radio. I hope they do well.

Bob

Theresa Galbraith · Post by **Theresa Galbraith** » 9 Oct 2004 3:17 am

I hope not!
Bob,
How much is XM & Sirrius Radio?

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 9 Oct 2004 4:17 am

...."How much is XM & Sirrius Radio?".....

It's about $1600.00 when included as optional equipment on a new car, plus the monthly cost for a contract to use it.

(It isn't worth that much to me)

www.genejones.com [This message was edited by Gene Jones on 09 October 2004 at 05:21 AM.]

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 9 Oct 2004 7:28 am

Theresa,
The going rate for a tune to be played on a Clearchannel station is around $250,000.00. The record label pays whats called an "independant promoter" who pays Clearchannel. One way the money is laundered into the radio station is, the promoter sets up a bank account and gives the radio guys access to to it. The money is deposited by the promoter guy. The radio guys can take money out of the account if its designated as a part of station maintainance on paper. They have price lists for how many times a tune is played and in what markets.

I know some of this stuff directly from the managers of some very major acts and also from people that work in the corporate side of BMG/Sony.

Another thing Clearchannel does if they want more money is the have a band play a benefit concert for a particular station. Being as they control most concert venues and most comercial radio you need to have quite a bit of juice to say no to them.

It costs no money to be played on the sattelite radio stations if that was your question.

I was wondering what any of you guys that have XM actually pay for the service ? It looks pretty simple and cheap to me. I had it in a rental car last month and it was great.

Bob

Bowie Martin · Post by **Bowie Martin** » 9 Oct 2004 8:59 am

I just bought a car that has Satelite radio, and it is the best option I have ever bought on a car. Great Country stations (old, new, ect.)clear, one song after another....I never listen to regular radio anymore...

Joe Yednasty · Post by **Joe Yednasty** » 9 Oct 2004 9:27 am

Just wait....in about 6 years, we will all be forced to buy flat-screen high definition TVs because the standard 4x3 aspect ratio won't be broadcasted anymore. The price of entertainment will always be increasing. Maybe live music will be back to how it was before we had to shell out thousands of dollars to watch or listen on expensive appliances.

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"Eskimo" Joe Yednasty
Emmons P/P S-10
Peavey Session 500

Steve Hinson · Post by **Steve Hinson** » 9 Oct 2004 10:31 am

Bob...XM is$9.95 a month...and well worth it!Did your friend get his steel fixed?Take care...Steve

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 9 Oct 2004 2:33 pm

Steve,
That S10 Emmons bolt on is the best sounding S10 I have ever heard. The work that Clem Schmitz did on it was just perfect. That old guitar plays like butter. A student has it and every time he brings it over I get all upset because that guitar should be mine !

Back to the topic:
Can't you just get one of those XM recievers for around $200 and hook it up to whatever stereo you already have ?

Bob

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 10 Oct 2004 6:27 am

There are real good reasons why comercial radio is going down the crapper. I'm all for the XM and Sirrius radio. I hope they do well.

And, if perchance they do do well, they will be bought out by the conglomerates, too, and that will be the end of the $9.95 per month, and the beginning of the $39.95 per month.

(That's what happened with cable-T.V., isn't it?

.)

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 10 Oct 2004 8:05 am

Maybe live music will be back to how it was before we had to shell out thousands of dollars to watch or listen on expensive appliances.

Maybe we'll all get back to making music on the front porch again...

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 10 Oct 2004 5:41 pm

I'm looking forward to that, Ray!

JB Arnold · Post by **JB Arnold** » 14 Oct 2004 7:50 pm

A basic xm radio that can work from your car or in the house costs anywhere from $89-$109 with all the hookups depending on what promotion they're running. It's sold at many retailers, got mine from a guy with a cart stand in the mall.

I love it. 9.99 a month, no commercials, well over a hundred stations, even in the middle of Kansas when I'm driving to the ISGC.

Regular radio is going to die a slow death.
John

------------------
Fulawka D-10 9&5
Fessenden D-10 8&8
"All in all, looking back, I'd have to say the best advice anyone ever gave me was 'Hands Up, Don't Move!"
www.johnbarnold.com/pedalsteel
www.buddycage.net

http://www.nrpsmusic.com/index.html