Ok, I’m the first to admit, it’s been too long since my last Blog but even I didn’t expect it to be this hard to simply find time to update my pages. So why the long break…ok… I underestimated the work-load at College during the back half of the 1st semester and other projects including this blog ended up on the backburner. One new process I implemented this fall at school was ONLINE testing. Think of it the way you might think of entering Music into a Scheduling program, or building a database…a lot of time and effort up front so that you can reap the time savings down the road. Here’s hoping.
So much to cover…..… so let’s jump right in with 5 items to wrap up 2009.
5) For Christmas…….Santa Leigh-Anne gave me a Tom Tom GPS Navigator, which I have to admit is a gadget I’ve never thought of before. What’s cool is how eerily accurate it is. My GPS is the voice model that talks as you drive. As we were zipping down the 101, I noted on the screen some non-existent sideroads I thought had to be errors..wrong... they were actually old logging roads, and yes they were cleary visible on the GPS navigator. Until I’m actually lost, it’s a cool novelty but I’m sure that day will come soon enough. Check it out. Oh and from voiceskins.com I’ve already downloaded Homer as my Tom Tom Navigators Voice..along with Snoop Dogg…know what um sayin !
Now as you read this we may be in the early days of 2010 so it's time to take a quick look ahead. Everyone loves PREDICTIONS so let’s have some fun and look into this bright but really fuzzy Radio & Audio Crystal ball for my top 4 for the year ahead.
4) Low Power FM will make another big leap ahead this year. Though Canada still lags way behind the U.S., we’ll see more CRTC applications for Low Power FM’s in 2010. It’s all being driven by a huge thirst for micro-local programming both in the air and online. Stateside, the American Senate recently passed the 2nd last hurdle for a wave of new Low Power FM Commercial Radio Stations. Yes, ‘commercial’ LPFM stations, to serve small communities and large neighborhoods. While large American corporate interests are scoffing at the idea, it’s clear that the Micro-Local programming sector will mark a healthy growth curve for terrestrial and online Radio. Only in the states you say, don’t bet on it, this trend will head north.
3) Don’t panic, but in the first half of 2010, expect several corporate Radio bankruptcies in the states. Widely proclaimed by several industry critics, most of these meltdowns were predicted over a year ago. In almost all cases, these are large scale operations involving companies with hundreds of Radio stations, most of which over the past decade were 1) hugely over-valued and 2) strongly embraced network feeds from large centre’s into smaller cities and towns with repeater style doses of voice tracked non-local programming. Expect to see the first of these stories in the U.S. financial pages in January. Now why should this even interest those in Canada? Because for decades, many Canadian Broadcasters have invested heavily in either American Consultants or in training top management using resources from the most competitive radio market in the world, that’s right… the Red White and Blue. Just like Apple’s Steve Jobs.. if we’re really smart, we’ll watch and listen.. and then we’ll act on others mistakes applying what we have learned. Hmmm…then again, how many of us think like Steve Jobs ?
2) Speaking of Apple, this could be the biggest year yet for the propellerheads on the Infinite Loop in California. Real simple…it’s the iPad or maybe they’ll name it the MacBook Touch or the iTablet. I think iPad. I wrote about this months ago and I believe it’s going to be huge. Watch for the announcement and it could be as early as the last week in January. This new product from Apple is going to dominate the geek podcasts in 2010 and it has the potential to be bigger than the iPhone. As I write, the Apple iTunes site is being revamped in preparation for the arrival of this new tablet device. Why will this be THE tech-story of 2010 ? This device’s screen will be physically bigger than the iPhone but smaller than the Notebook, with the highest resolution for a screen it’s size and with eye-friendly text for reading what will be a coming torrent of online books. But Dave, what about the Kindle ? Are you kidding ? And by using a new revamped iTunes store, it will become THE portal for Video, Audio, Text and yes even PDF’s. Now imagine, no more heavy textbooks to haul around with all those expensive new text editions to buy every second year. Simply purchase online through the new iTunes store and download the entire textbook in beautiful color to your iPad. And yes, watch for Newspapers front and centre when the new Itunes and the iPad launches. Apple I'm sure has been sealing deals with the top papers for months and I’m guessing with Network Television too. Finally, if you thought Apps for the iPod was an industry unto itself, just wait until this new product launches. My biggest regret, Jerry Rideout told me to buy Apple stock back when it was around $150 a share.. Dang it !! Watch it soar toward $300 and beyond in 2010.
And finally my number one augury for 2010.
1) Online Content will be King. And simply put, who is in a better position than anyone else to dominate audio content in 2010 and into the next decade ? …Creative Radio professionals that’s who. And I don’t mean just the radio program streaming online, actually the ‘live-stream’ is simply the foundation on which everything else needs to be built above. Too many in the radio industry know that Radio has got to move online and fast but our medium remains sitting on it’s hands. How many can name 3 Radio Stations consistently podcasting their top features every single day….my point exactly. 2 weeks ago at Future Shop, one salesguy told me their biggest seller in the large iPod accessories section were the iPod Charge & Play Docking kits for automobiles. How many Radio stations have a full time Webmaster, or a full or even P/T Videographer ? What local information is your favorite Radio station capable of creating that no one else has AND that an audience would be willing to pay for? I know of one service in Halifax I'd pay for right now...that no one has jumped on…with a HUGE growth potential for listeners and profits. You can see some of the many questions we need to be asking right now, and there are so many more.
By the way.. on a final personal note to NSCC Radio students. Thank you to those I have the pleasure of working with each and every day for providing the inspiration to remain excited and passionate about the craft of Audio Production and Radio. Those students who have the R factor and for them this is exactly what they have chosen to do. It’s unfortunate that too often they're overlooked or not recognized for what they truly are, and that’s an energetic creative force and a tremendous resource who own the power to push and move Radio where it needs to move in this new decade. Tap in..cut them loose and listen to their ideas. They are the future…and ‘their’ technology, which is now ‘our’ technology is now driving the Radio bus.
Raise a glass of Merlot & Happy New Year ! I sincerely hope 2010 is a prosperous, safe and an exciting year for each of you. Let’s go !
Great Audio is Visual.
David '0db' Bannerman
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