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From Radio Insight: Nielsen continues its releases of the December 2024 continuous diary market and Fall 2024 biannual ratings surveys today. Today’s markets include June monthly ratings for Dayton, Fort Myers, Grand Rapids, Metro Fairfield County, Tucson and Tulsa. Spring ratings for Danbury, Fort Smith, Kalamazoo, Lima/Van Wert, McAllen/Brownsville/Harlingen, Muskegon, New Haven, and Sarasota. The next three releases will feature: On Thursday, January 16: December monthly ratings for Albuquerque, Allentown/Bethlehem, El Paso, Fresno, Honolulu, Knoxville, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Fall ratings for Johnson City/Kingsport/Bristol, Las Cruces, and Williamsport. On Friday, January 17: December monthly ratings for Akron, Bakersfield, Charleston SC, Harrisburg/Lebanon/Carlisle, and Omaha/Council Bluffs. Fall ratings for Canton, Hagerstown/Chambersburg, Lancaster PA, Lincoln, Myrtle Beach, New London, Wilmington DE, and York. On Tuesday, January 21: December monthly ratings for Columbia SC, Des Moines, Greenville/New Bern/Jacksonville NC, Little Rock, Monterey/Salinas/Santa Cruz, Spokane, and Springfield MA. Fall ratings for Gainesville/Ocala, Hot Springs, and Stockton. more

From Radio Online: National Public Radio (NPR) appoints Ryan Merkley as its new Chief Operating Officer. In his new role, Merkley will oversee a broad portfolio including Member Partnership, Network Growth, Technology Operations and Distribution, and Product and Audience Technology. This position also places him at the helm of More...

From Radio Online: KQAC-FM/Portland, OR, known as All Classical Radio, has received a $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support its upcoming Access Recording Project. This initiative is designed to lower financial hurdles to quality recording and performance facilities for artists and groups from More...

From Radio Online: In her final meeting as Chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Jessica Rosenworcel delivered a heartfelt address, reflecting on her tenure and the agency's achievements under her leadership. After four years at the helm, Rosenworcel's parting remarks were filled with both nostalgia and a More...

From Radio Online: Veteran radio personality Greg T. has introduced his latest venture, a weekly podcast entitled 'Greg T. LiVE,' which made its debut on January 13. With a rich background in the radio industry, Greg T. is set to captivate his audience with his characteristic wit and charm in a new format. 'Greg T. LiVE' will More...

From Radio Online: As California battles widespread devastation due to relentless wildfires, local journalists are demonstrating what can only be described as heroic efforts in their coverage. Reporting tirelessly, often for days without a break, these professionals exemplify dedication and compassion, serving communities More...

From Radio Online: A new study by Edison Podcast Metrics has revealed significant insights into the media habits of weekly podcast listeners, particularly in the context of the 2024 U.S. general elections. According to the findings, YouTube emerged as the top platform where podcast listeners ages 18 and over engaged with More...

From Radio Online: The Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWMF) is extending the submission deadline for the 50th Gracie Awards, in response to the ongoing wildfires affecting the Los Angeles area. The new deadline for submissions is now set for February 6, with the regular deadline remaining on More...

From Radio Insight: A huge thank you to everyone who has been reading, commenting, sharing and inquiring about our weekly piece. It’s fun putting this together because of all the different data points, discussing radio and hearing what others think about certain artists or songs. We?ll always do our best at presenting the facts without bias and opinion in hopes that we are able to entertain, challenge and expose you to important new information. Let’s find out what’s hot this week! Lola Young –*“Messy”:*It has exploded in the past three weeks, at #4 on Shazam and #14 on Spotify in America (if you exclude the Bad Bunny songs) and broken into the Liveline top 20 requests this past week (#16). It’s about her struggles with ADHD and her last relationship, feeling good about yourself one day and then losing all hope and confidence the next. It?s showing the major signs of becoming a massive hit. Currently #34 on Top 40 radio, up from #52 last week.* Now on Z100, KIIS, KMVQ (30x), WXKS and most of the iHeart stations. What an incredibly relatable, fresh, unique and song from this 24 year old likely-to-be superstar. Signed with Island Records in 2019, she released her debut single “6 Feet Under” followed by the EP “Intro“. In the past year, she collaborated with Tyler, the Creator on his succesful “Chromakopia” album. “Messy” came out in May of 2024 and didn’t really blow up until social media stars Jake Shane and Sofia Richie posted a clip of them dancing to the song on TiKTok, followed by a lip-sync video from Kylie Jenner. Bad Bunny –*“DtMF”:*From his album*“DeB? TiRAR M?S FOToS“, the world’s 17th most-streamed artist currently occupies 17 of the top 50 slots on Spotify in America. “DtMF” isn’t even the single, yet it’s the one getting more attention than any of his others. Currently #1 on Spotify in America and globally, #2 on Shazam in America and #3 globally. He is an amazing performer, easily the biggest Latin artist of the past 15 years. He blew up at the Superbowl halftime Show 2020 performing with Shakira. It was just announced that he would begin a 21-show residency at Coliseo du Puerto Rico in San Juan on July 11th.* As we’ve stated, you might get the impression that we just endorse or any song that’s doing well on Spotify. While streaming charts often show early passion and hit-potential, most people don’t investigate the reasons behind their exceptionally fast-rise popular songs. Bad Bunny is a great example of someone with a very niche, but passionate and large fan base. His album came out on January 5th, so it’s always good to wait a solid two to three weeks for the early hype and hardcore fans to disperse. That’s when you’ll see which songs from the album are*really*the most beloved by the broad audience if any. Rhythmic radio has embraced a few of his songs in this past, but Top 40 never did much with him except for the features on “K-POP” with Travis Scott, “I Like It” with Cardi B and “MIA” with Drake. On Liveline, we’ve had no requests for any of his songs yet. Buried Treasures of the Week Daft Punk –*“One More Time”:*O In his latest treatise on the state of Pop radio, the esteemed Guy Zapoleon bemoans the state of pop music, now in the fifth year of a ?doldrums rut? with no variety of styles and everything essentially formula pop.* The surprise breakout of the David Guetta/Ava Max redo of the 1985 chestnut ?Forever Young showed an appetite for variety and EDM. ?One More Time? was voted as the greatest dance song of all time Daft Punk’s signature track was released in 2000 when clubs, techno music and anything longer than 4 minutes was actually cool. It never went away. All this time later, it’s one of the few from that era which stand the test of time. It’s used in so many mashups, mixshows and heard at parties with people of all ages who just*love*this song. Everyone knows this song, despite the fact it only reached #61 on Billboard and #33 on Pop radio. Their album “Discovery” is a pioneering piece of dance music history and generated tons of iconic dance-chart-topping hits like “Digital Love“, “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” (sampled in Kanye?s ?Stronger?)and “One More Time“, for which requests still come in for. John Garabedian’s Open House Party radio show was quite possibly the reason for it’s success in America, as he heard it in a club one night and started playing it for his millions of listeners on over 175 affiliates, with top ten requests as a response.* Pop Radio sadly limited it to night airplay. The song became an “Open House Party staple until John’s departure from the show in 2017. Daft Punk broke up in February 2021. RIP. No Top 40 station has played this song more than once in the past two weeks. Worth considering for your music test and to add some cool variety. Avicii –*“Levels”:*After the December 31st Netflix release and success of his wonderful, shocking and beautifully produced “Avicii – I’m Tim” documentary, many of his massive EDM songs spiked in streams and popularity, including “I Could Be The One“, “The Nights“, “Hey Brother” and the his biggest hit “Wake Me Up“. The film is stacked with concert footage, details on his early life and interviews with legends like Nile Rodgers, David Guetta and Chris Martin of Coldplay. It takes you through the timeline of how his career came to be, in-studio footage, backstage moments, the pressures of touring and pleasing everyone, which led to his drug problem and the shock of his eventual suicide at 28 in April 2018. “Levels” was the song that started it all for him. It is this generation’s “Sandstorm” (which is still huge) and has generated dozens of requests in just the past few weeks. Definitely a good song to spike in Gold. Everyone knows the words! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Liveline with Mason more

From Radio Insight: NPR has announced the appointment of Ryan Merkley as its new Chief Operating Officer. NPR’s Member Partnership, Network Growth (including the NPR app and New Platform Partnerships), Technology Operations and Distribution, and Product and Audience Technology team will report to Merkley, who will also oversee its AI strategy. Merkley previously was CEO of biotech non-profit Conscience that uses AI and collaborative science to address areas of market failure in drug development. He has also held roles as Senior Technology Fellow at the Aspen Institute, Chief of Staff of the Wikimedia Foundation, CEO of Creative Commons and Mozilla Foundation, Director of Corporate Communications for the City of Vancouver during 2010 Winter Olympics, and a Senior Advisor to Toronto Mayor David Miller. Merkley commented, “”I believe deeply in collaboration – especially things we can only do together – and I’ve spent my career in organizations that do just that. Public media is a collective effort, beginning with communities and local stations across the country, and connecting across the network. Public media and its unique mission of service is essential to give people the information and context they need to make choices about their lives and their families, and to understand each other at home and around the world. We need that connection and understanding more than ever, and I’m so inspired by this team and our mission to ensure we protect and grow it.” NPR CEO Katherine Maher added, “Throughout his career Ryan has demonstrated a commitment to the public trust, leading organizations that prioritize universal access to the common good. He has a proven track record in helping companies with ambitious missions achieve high-performance outcomes, and his success working with complex distributed network organizations and fluency in product and emerging technologies make him an ideal COO for NPR at this moment in time. I look forward to working with Ryan to build the NPR Network into a truly national public media network with local audience services at its core, and to develop and sustain the technologies that make this work possible.” more

From Radio Insight: Gateway Creative Broadcasting’s Christian Hip Hop “Boost Radio” network based at 95.5 KXBS Bethalto IL/St. Louis has announced the return of Bryan ‘Yoshi’ Harada to serve as Program Director. Harada, who has been APD/MD at Hope Media Group Christian AC 89.3 KSBJ Houston since September 2022, previously spent six years at Boost and sister Christian AC “99.1 Joy-FM” KLJY as Director of Promotions and Listener Engagement and KXBS Music Director and morning co-host. He also has spent time at “NGen Radio” KXNG Houston and “Spirit 105.3” KCMS-FM Seattle in promotions roles. He takes the day-to-day programming reins from Operations Manager Mike Couchman. Couchman said, ?Our listeners loved hearing Yoshi on Boost during his first round with us, and our team loved working with him. He?s the God-given perfect choice to lead Boost into the next season and to help us build even deeper relationships with our amazing audience.? In addition to St. Louis, “Boost Radio” is currently heard on HD subchannels and/or translators of Educational Media Foundation owned stations in Austin, Chicago, Fayetteville NC, Lansing, Memphis, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, and Portland OR. more

From Radio Insight: Jeffrey Jennings? Storm Broadcasting launched Variety Hits “95.1 Great-FM” KKGT Jacksonville TX after the holidays. Positioning as “Great Times, Great Music”, KKGT is featuring pop hits from the 1970s through early 2000s. Jennings, who used the on-air name ‘Michael Storm’, was a programmer and morning host throughout the 1990s and 2000s with a long stint as PD/morning host in the nearby Tyler/Longview market at CHR “Mix 107.3” KISX followed by time at Hot AC “Star 105.9” KSTE-FM and CHR “Z100” KKRZ Portland, Hot AC “Mix 100.5” KPSI Palm Springs, and CHR 104.3 WZYP Huntsville AL before moving into his family’s business in 2008. Jennings acquired the former Silent 95.1 KEBE-FM in December 2023 for $66,000. more

From Radio Insight: In my quest to bring you the new, new thing, I probably should have written about Hit Radio AI as soon as its creator, veteran programmer/engineer Dave Solomon, brought it to my attention around Labor Day. ?All AI-generated hit music from average people ? 150 artists and about 400 songs,? he wrote. By the end of September, there were 50-100 submissions daily. Even then, he wrote, ?I have seen make amazing progress in just a few months, and know that a year from now, it will be incredible. Devices that can create songs based on your mood, etc. Music will become much more personal.? In recent months, the mainstream hit music pipeline has slowed to a crawl. It?s exciting to CHR programmers that the first apparent hit of 2025, SZA?s ?BMF,? emerged within days, not 2-3 weeks. On Jan. 2, 2025, Hit Radio AI added 22 songs. Less than week later, on Jan. 8, it added another 35 titles. Solomon has built a community of creators who promote the station on their social media. He’s also created a podcast. I knew Solomon through his work in Oldies/Classic Hits, then through an AI/radio Facebook group. Through that time, the controversy among ROR readers was more about the prospect of AI personality in radio. (Hit Radio AI is jockless, but Solomon says AI tracks will start soon.) On broadcast radio, the initial public efforts at AI jocks seemed only to confirm the value of human contact. In 2024, there was surprisingly little to report and the consensus seemed to be that AI would be of more value to radio in other ways. The issue of AI-generated music has been equally galvanizing among creators. In a companion piece this week, S-Curve Records? Steve Greenberg suggests that readers think of AI in the way that they came to accept sampling, as a creator?s tool. He also suggests that labels are more willing to allow existing music to inform AI, as long as they?re compensated in the way they would be for sampling. That it took me a while to write about Hit Radio AI was, in part, trying to wrap my head around both the concept of AI music, and trying to ingest a body of music that sounded mostly like the hit music we know, but was 100% unfamiliar. It took me a while to put it in perspective. A lot of the songs I heard on Hit Radio AI remind me of hit music from the late ?00s: often with a similar mix of trappy and ethereal. To some extent, it makes sense that AI-generated music would be an extension of bedroom pop, especially if it?s being created there. But I also heard songs that sounded like late-?00s turbo-pop, like late-?80s Eurodance or hair ballads. Its creators? idea of hit music was wider than what Top 40 accommodates now. When I first listened to Hit Radio AI in September, it felt like most of the songs could be Shazamed or found in streaming. (There?s a station Spotify playlist of songs from around that time.) When I listened this week, there seemed to be a higher percentage of songs that stumped Shazam or weren?t yet available in streaming, an indicator of how fast the music is proliferating. Here’s Hit Radio AI just after 11 p.m. on January 7. I?ve tried to convey the best sense of what a dozen songs likely unfamiliar to you sound like without resorting to the A&R or label promo person?s oft-reductive ?a cross between Artist A and Artist B.? As with the sound coding of music by radio people ? in which no two people make the same decisions about even familiar megahits ? the artist might have a very different take, or you would. Kuda, ?Dive In? ? trappy, but melodic male pop Josh Ray, ?Father of the Revolution? ? melodic rap, seemingly Hamilton-inspired, in which the narrator takes the POV of George Washington Atom Bites, ?Bitcoin Bandit? ? reminiscent of ?30s jive or the ?90s swing revival. but with decidedly timely lyrics Kade Noir, ?Feel Some Way? ? pop/R&B ballad definitely reminiscent of the late ?00s Morning Star, ?Be You? ? affirmative female teen pop; a modern-day Radio Disney song Voices of Melbourne Florida, ?Chasing the Clouds? ? female-sung/rapped vocal; ethereal intro. An act that had new music added to the station last week and this Amira Uwu, ?Skin Care? ? R&B ballad, one of the year?s first adds Arizto, ?Untouchable? ? the turbopop throwback and the most melodic, uptempo song in the stretch I heard; I like to think that the resemblance in the act?s name to the lost ?70s hit ?Eres Tu? is intentional AI.Ka & Inkaz, ?Love Is Gone? ? the song with the ?80s Euro feel. The act is on Shazam and the artwork self-identifies the act as ?AI.KA Digital Singer? Angel Warrior, ?Last Goodbye? ? the late-?80s-style epic hair ballad Triad, ?Locked Away? ? female singer/songwriter pop Mr. Bazeman, ?Hide and Seek? ? ballad with a Country feel and lyric about missing childhood After several listens, I haven?t heard the song that I would have recognized as blatantly AI-generated out of context. That?s much different from radio?s stilted early jock breaks, although chances are those have improved in the last year too, and we may be hearing some less awkward ones that aren’t being flagged for us. On the station, I heard only a lyric or two that might have had the awkward wording of an AI chatbot-generated lyric. And some artists play up the AI aspect, such as the act currently playing, (AI)n’t Real. In the stretches of Hit Radio AI I?ve heard, there have been songs that I enjoyed. I haven?t yet encountered the song that I would have taken into a label A&R meeting. But, as happened when I did A&R and listened to random submissions, I have encountered creators whose next song I would want to hear. Also, to be fair, I also might not take a lot of the music coming from TikTok seriously without the built-in cachet that we give it as an industry. When you take a listen, I?ll be interested in your reactions. Greenberg?s positioning AI as just another in a succession of artist tools that once didn?t exist ? the electric guitar, the synthesizer, the sample ? makes me more open to its uses.* Greenberg is also clear that the tool needs a human POV to validate it, which in turn makes me more dubious about the concept of AI voice-tracking at radio, since it replaces the work of people, instead of augmenting it. In the meantime, Hit Radio AI?s debut means that when we look at Intriguing Stations of 2024 next week, there will definitely be something that truly didn?t exist last year. * more

From Radio Online: The 2025 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show, scheduled for April 5-9 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, is now open for registration. This annual event is set to highlight significant trends in the media and entertainment industry, focusing on sports, artificial More...

From Radio Insight: Cumulus Media Conservative Talk 820 WBAP Fort Worth/Dallas and 93.3 WBAP-FM Haltom City has cut ties with evening host Chris Krok. All references to Krok have been purged from WBAP’s website. It is unconfirmed at this time as to whether Krok’s exit was tied to since deleted social media posts made on Friday about the Los Angeles fires associating it with gender identity. Neither Krok nor WBAP have addressed his exit. Krok had hosted 8pm-12am at WBAP since 2012 following a two-year run in afternoons at sister 570 KLIF Dallas. He has also hosted at WMAC Macon GA, WSB Atlanta, KSTP Minneapolis, WTDY Madison, and KLIK Jefferson City MO. more

From Radio Insight: Cumulus Media Country ?Kissin 92.3? KIZN Boise has added Bret Connor to its newly minted “Connor & Chris” morning show alongside Program Director Chris Matthews. Connor moves to KIZN from mornings at sister Soft AC “Magic 97.9” KQFC and also serves as cluster Production Director. He joined KQFC in 2018 as afternoon host during its former Classic Country format and remained through its flip to Soft AC the following year. A native of Boise, he spent the majority of his career in Salt Lake City with stints as Production Director for Cumulus and morning co-host at Bonneville Classic Rock “103.5 The Arrow” KRSP. Connor is also public address announcer for Boise State University basketball after a long run in the same role for the University of Utah. Matthews has been with KIZN since October 2019 after previously holding roles as PD/afternoon host for iHeartMedia?s ?92.5 The Bull? KBEB Sacramento, APD/MD/morning host at 107.9 KMLE Phoenix, Director of Marketing and Promotions for Cumulus Tucson, and a previous stint in Boise at ?104.3 Wow Country? KAWO. Connor replaces Alana Lynn, who stepped down from her role as APD/MD/morning co-host in December for a position outside of radio. more

From Radio Insight: United Stations Radio Networks has announced it has taken over representation and distribution of the nightly “Liveline” hosted by Mason Kelter. The live weeknight program and separate “Party Songs Weekend” edition is being targeted to CHR, Hot AC Bright AC and Adult Hits stations. Produced and developed by John Garabedian, the show features the top hits, latest trends, celebrity gossip, and emerging artists in an interactive phone-driven show. Liveline debuted in 2020 shortly after Kelter joined then Garabedian owned CHR “Y101” WHYA Cape Cod MA. He began his career as a production assistant/social-media advisor on Garabedian?s “Open House Party” in 2015 as a freshman in high school and ran his own online station. Garabedian said, ?The transition from traditional radio to our 21st-century world has been challenging for many. We developed LIVELINE to provide stations with fresh, engaging, and relatable LIVE talent in an era where so many shows are pre-recorded and disconnected. LIVELINE reestablishes that authentic LIVE nighttime connection with listeners!? Gemini XIII and USRN?s VP of Entertainment & Special Projects Scott Meyers, who will be spearheading the syndication of LIVELINE stated, ?I?m thrilled to work with both an exceptional talent in Mason and with John Garabedian, a legend in the radio business. I love that the show is LIVE; it?s truly a unique differentiator. Since its launch, we?ve expanded The TJ Show to over 80+ stations, experiencing continuous exceptional growth. Now, we?ll have an outstanding complementary nighttime program with LIVELINE that our radio partners can use to bookend their day.? more

From Radio Online: United Stations Radio Networks (USRN) launches "LIVELINE," a new live broadcast targeting CHR and Hot AC formats. The show promises a fresh approach by broadcasting entirely live. It will be available both on weeknights and weekends, providing flexibility for stations to syndicate either or both formats. More...

From Radio Online: Kelly Orchard, a veteran broadcaster and FCC consultant, is set to release a new novel titled "Dead Air: The Day the Music Died" in March. This psychological thriller captures the intense 24-hour period following a shocking takeover of 100 radio stations across five major U.S. cities by a group of More...

From Radio Insight: Compass Media Networks and Connoisseur Media’s “Anna & Raven” morning show has announced the addition of four new affiliates. Anna & Raven have debuted on Rome Radio Partners’ “Q102” WQTU Rome GA, Brewer Broadcasting Classic Hits “101.7 The Point” WQLK-HD2 Richmond IN, Jacobs Radio Programming Classic Hip Hop “107.3 The Beat” KWCQ Kennewick WA, and Akamai Broadcasting Oldies “Wowie 97.9” KWOE Maui HI. Anna and Raven commented, ?Work hard and be nice to people! That?s the goal, always be available to our affiliates, create partnerships that last, and make some pretty good friends along the way. We can?t wait to see where 2025 takes us and our partners!? Rome Radio Partners Managing Partner Howard Toole said, ?We recently moved Anna & Raven to our AC station because they did a great job in Morning Drive on our Top 40 station! If you’re looking for a Morning show that’s entertaining, fun, with audience interaction, and family friendly with a contemporary feel, Anna and Raven checks all the boxes. Great team to work with! ? WQLK-HD2 PD Dave Paxton commented Dave Paxton, “Anna & Raven?s topics are fun to listen to, and the listener interactions sound fun and exciting. They make every break appointment-listening.? more

From Radio Insight: Benztown’s “Sunday Night Slow Jams” hosted by Randy ‘R Dub’ Williams has announced the addition of nine new affiliates bringing the show to over 200 stations. The new affiliates are Audacy Hot AC “The New 96.5” WTDY-FM Philadelphia, iHeartMedia Rhythmic CHR “Jam’n 107.5” KXJM Portland, Midwest Communications CHR “Hot 96” WSTO Evansville IN, Bryan Broadcasting Adult R&B “Magic 97.3” KAGC College Station TX, The Voice Radio Rhythmic CHR “Power 101.7” WZEB Salisbury MD, Equinox Broadcasting Hip Hop “Hot 92.9” WCDW-HD3 Binghamton NY, Penelope Inc. Rhythmic CHR “Jamz 98.1” WQJM Pineville KY, Bicoastal Media’s Hot AC 107.3 KOOS Coos Bay OR, and Pentagon Communications’ Rhythmic CHR “Hot 96.3” KZXL Lufkin TX. Producer/Host R Dub said, “A huge thanks to all the believers and PDs that understand the importance of engaging, appointment-setting radio. It’s an honor and a privilege to serve your radio stations with a product that showcases your listeners on the air with me every night. Thanks for allowing me to help bring life and passion to your airwaves five nights a week!” Benztown Affiliate Sales Mark Wilson commented, “Sunday Night Slow Jams is a show concept that continues to offer engaging programming to radio listeners nationwide across various formats. This product has been and always will be “appointment programming” that offers unquestionable interactivity through R Dub!’s ability to connect with the audience.? iHeartMedia Portland SVP/Programming Michael LaCrosse stated, “Sunday Night Slow Jams is one of the great success stories of radio of the last 30 years. I have loved having R Dub! and Slow Jams on my stations in multiple markets. Congratulations!? more

From Radio Online: Syndicated weekend show, "Sunday Night Slow Jams," continues to widen its audience base, as Benztown announces the addition of nine new affiliates to its network. This addition underscores the program's growth, marking its presence now in over 200 stations across key U.S. markets, including Los Angeles, San More...

From Radio Online: JC Fernandez has announced his departure as co-host from the "Mercedes in the Morning" show on Audacy's Hot AC KMXB (Mix 94.1) in Las Vegas. Fernandez, who has been a staple at KMXB since 1998, began his tenure at the station as a producer for the "Mark andamp; Mercedes" morning show before stepping up as co-host More...

From Radio Insight: Nielsen continues its releases of the December 2024 continuous diary market and Fall 2024 biannual ratings surveys today. Today’s markets include June monthly ratings for Albany/Schenectady/Troy and Syracuse. Spring ratings for Augusta, Bangor, Burlington/Plattsburgh, Concord, Hudson Valley, Lebanon/Hanover/White River Junction, Manchester, Montpelier/Barre/St. Johnsbury, Newburgh/Middletown, Portland ME, Portsmouth, Poughkeepsie, Utica/Rome, and Watertown. The next three releases will feature: On Wednesday, January 15: December monthly ratings for Dayton, Fort Myers, Grand Rapids, Metro Fairfield County, Tucson and Tulsa. Fall ratings for Danbury, Fort Smith, Kalamazoo, Lima/Van Wert, McAllen/Brownsville/Harlingen, Muskegon, New Haven, and Sarasota. On Thursday, January 16: December monthly ratings for Albuquerque, Allentown/Bethlehem, El Paso, Fresno, Honolulu, Knoxville, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Fall ratings for Johnson City/Kingsport/Bristol, Las Cruces, and Williamsport. On Friday, January 17: December monthly ratings for Akron, Bakersfield, Charleston SC, Harrisburg/Lebanon/Carlisle, and Omaha/Council Bluffs. Fall ratings for Canton, Hagerstown/Chambersburg, Lancaster PA, Lincoln, Myrtle Beach, New London, Wilmington DE, and York. more

From Radio Online: "The Anna andamp; Raven Show," a morning program in Connecticut and Long Island, is expanding its reach into four new markets. The show will now air on Hot AC WQTU-FM (Q102) in Rome, GA; Classic Hits WQLK-FM-HD2 (101.7 The Point) in Richmond, IN; Classic Hip Hop KWCQ-FM (The Beat) in More...

From Radio Online: ESPN Radio is set to enhance its programming with a new lineup, beginning Monday, February 10. Clinton Yates, a familiar voice from KSPN (ESPN LA 710) and various ESPN projects, will helm "Clinton andamp; Friends" weekdays from 10am-12pm ET. The show will feature Yates along with a rotation of guests, engaging More...

From Radio Online: WEEI-FM andamp; AM in Boston unveils several programming changes, including the introduction of a new afternoon sports talk show. Starting January 21, the show will feature three-time NFL champion Ted Johnson, alongside Andy Hart and Nick "Fitzy" Stevens, airing weekdays from 2-6pm ET. More...

From Radio Insight: Audacy Sports 93.7 WEEI-FM Lawrence/Boston has revamped its afternoon show as former New England Patriot Ted Johnson and Nick ‘Fitzy’ Stevens will join Andy Hart starting Tuesday, January 21. Johnson will also co-host ?WEEI Football Sunday? with Christian Arcand, Meghan Ottolini, Chris Scheim, Tom E. Curran, Stevens, Hart and Jermaine Wiggins during the NFL season. With the addition of Johnson and Stevens to afternoons, Christian Arcand will move to nights from 6-10pm. Hart joined the WEEI afternoon show alongside Arcand last August. A longtime columnist covering the New England Patriots, Hart has been with WEEI since 2019 as a writer and making regular appearances across the station?s programming. He previously has been assistant editor for Patriots Football Weekly, writer for Patriots.com, and contributor to NBC Sports Boston. Hart also co-hosts Audacy?s 6 Rings and Football Things podcasts. Johnson had been a contributor and fill-in host at Beasley’s “98.5 The Sports Hub” WBZ-FM since 2018. He retired from the NFL in 2005 and previously hosted pre and postgame shows for WBZ-TV as well as weekend shows on CBS Sports Radio. Johnson said, ?I had the good fortune of playing on some incredible teams in my 10-year career, and now, 30 years later, I’m thrilled to announce I’ll be a part of another great team at WEEI. I’ll never take for granted the relationships I’ve formed and the awesome experiences I’ve shared with the fans here, and I look forward to strengthening those connections through the WEEI airwaves. I appreciate the unique opportunity Mike Thomas, Mark Hannon, Jeff Sottolano and Ken Laird have given me. I look forward to talking to y’all soon!” Stevens joined WEEI in the summer of 2019 and has hosted shows across every daypart at the station, including ?The 6 Rings Postgame Show? with Hart after every Patriots game. Audacy Boston SVP/Market Manager Mike Thomas commented, “?Ted not only hoisted the Vince Lombardi trophy 3 times as a Patriot, but he also played alongside new Patriots Head Coach Mike Vrabel. After his playing days, Ted honed his broadcasting skills in Houston and back here in Boston. He has entertaining stories and valuable information that all Boston sports fans won’t want to miss. Fitzy has been an asset to the station and we?re excited to expand his role to ?WEEI Afternoons? with his knowledge as a die-hard Boston sports fan.? more

From Radio Insight: ESPN Radio will debut on new weekday lineup on Monday, February 10 with the launch of new shows from 10am-12pm and 12-3pm. Clinton Yates will host “Clinton & Friends” from 10am-12pm Eastern replacing “Greeny” hosted by Mike Greenberg. Yates will be joined by a rotating group of regular guests “to provide unique insights and perspectives on the top stories of the day, blending breaking news, and audience interaction”. Yates has been with ESPN in multiple roles including columnist, radio host at KSPN Los Angeles, and television analyst since 2016. He previously was a columnist for the Washington Post, news anchor for Pacifica Foundation’s WPFW Washington, commentator for 103.5 WTOP, and co-host ESPN Radio’s “The Morning Roast” weekend morning show. With Chris Carlin’s move to middays at “ESPN New York” 880 WHSQ, Joe Fortenbaugh will now be joined by Q Myers for “Joe & Q” from 12-3pm Eastern. Myers, who is based at ESPN’s Las Vegas studios, moves up from hosting “GameNight” in evenings. The remainder of the lineup remains the same with “Unsportsmanlike” hosted by Evan Cohen, Chris Canty and Michelle Smallmon remaining from 6-10am Eastern, Freddie Coleman and Harry Douglas from 3-7pm, Amber Wilson and Ian Fitzsimmons from 7-10pm, and “GameNight” with a rotating group of hosts including Emmett Golden, Victoria Arlen, Courtney Cronin, Myron Medcalf, Aaron Goldhammer, and Gabe Neitzel from 10pm-1am. Greenberg, the longtime host of “Mike & Mike In The Morning”, will give up his daily radio show due to his expanded roles on other ESPN platforms including hosting “Get Up” and “NFL Sunday Countdown”. He will also continue to host the “First Draft” podcast with Mel Kiper Jr. and Field Yates. ESPN Executive Vice President, Executive Editor, Sports News and Entertainment David Roberts said, “With the additions of Clinton & Friends and Joe & Q, ESPN Radio continues to deliver compelling personalities and insightful conversation that resonate with sports fans nationwide. We?re excited to expand our talent roster and provide a dynamic listening experience for our audience.? more

From Radio Insight: S-Curve Records president Steve Greenberg is an A&R veteran, a keen observer of the music landscape, and a previous contributor to Ross On Radio. His annual year-end essay focuses primarily on the emergence of AI as a music creator?s tool, but his top songs of the year playlist is always a highlight as well and can be heard here. Image Created Using CraiyonHappy*2025! The turning of the new year means we are exactly 500 years away from arriving In The Year 2525, the dystopian future described in*Zager & Evans? 1969 #1 hit.*Let the countdown begin, and let?s hope we surpass expectations as a species. Much has been written this year about the potential impact of generative AI on music creation and the music business, and I imagine 2025 will be the first year where consumers begin to notice that they?re regularly and knowingly interacting with music that has been created using AI. So I would like to devote this year?s essay to the future of musical creativity in an AI world. (This essay is adapted from a talk I delivered at Dartmouth University this fall. The entire talk can be found*here) One critique I often hear levied at AI-generated music at this early stage that AI-generated music is not ?real? music, as it?s been ?artificially? created by technology. *So, let?s start with the question of what is real music, anyway? With the exception of the human voice itself, and I suppose playing percussion by clapping and stomping your feet, pretty much all other music created by humans uses some technology invented by humans. And pretty much all of those new technologies whether they were drums or electric microphones or flutes or synthesizers caused listeners a little bit of confusion at first encounter. So too with AI. Ultimately, every one of the above-named innovations changed the way music was played and introduced new types of music that*could be played. It?s no coincidence, for instance, that the electric guitar was invented just a couple of years before the dawn of rock ?n? roll. In the ?60s and ?70s, synthesizers were developed that created new sounds that literally no one had ever heard before in music. At the time they were considered weird novelties, but today they?re very much part of the palette of popular music.**The same is true of digital sampling that became popular at the dawn of the hip-hop era. And autotune on vocals at the dawn of this century. Autotune originally was invented as a way for singers who were less than perfect to cheat on their recordings, but now it?s just a tool, the way an electric guitar is a tool that makes an interesting sound and causes different music to be made than would?ve been made without it.*New technology inevitably leads to new forms of music. And we generally can?t guess in advance what they might be. While AI will have a profound impact on the future of music, it is likely that its real contribution won?t be deep fakes like the 2023 Drake/Weeknd mashup, the cause of much fear in the music industry upon its release.**While there?s novelty right now to the idea of being able to make music that sounds just like your favorite recording artist, I suspect that ultimately imitating famous musicians will be akin to imitating famous painters. If I told you that I made new paintings that have perfectly imitated the style of Picasso or van Gogh, you might be curious for a second, but you wouldn?t hang them in a museum.*Nobody values forgeries. While you could imitate famous musicians, you couldn?t really do it in a way that was genuinely creative or as moving as the genuine works created by those actual people. Songwriters and recording artists don?t work in a vacuum. A person might write a song about flowers, but maybe that songwriter just had an argument with somebody, or maybe they stubbed their toe or just read something in the news that upset them or delighted them, and a million other things, and all those things at that moment impact the songwriter?s mood and the mood of everyone else involved in the creative process, and that impacts the song–that stuff of life is what humans bring to the equation. So, telling AI to write a song about flowers in the style of Taylor Swift? Well, Taylor Swift never wrote a song in a vacuum and there?s no such thing as a generic Taylor Swift song, but that?s what you?d get, and that?s what the Drake/Weeknd mashup was. Every piece of creative work generated by any creative person is generated within a complex series of specific circumstances being experienced by the artist and their team at that moment. Certainly, using synthetic vocals or music generated by AI in the style of a famous artist can have value if the human creator brings something new and exciting to the table. This kind of creative endeavor might even come to be considered the musical equivalent of fan fiction. Did you make a song with generative AI using, say, the voice of Elvis Presley as an interesting-sounding texture, or maybe that voice is singing the hook to a style of music that didn?t exist in Elvis?s lifetime? In that instance, Elvis?s voice becomes similar to when you*sample a drum break from a James Brown record and loop it, and use it as the foundation of a hip-hop record. But that sort of usage is ultimately the sideshow. What?s the real use of generative AI going to be in music? How will the technology be used to create something that could not have been created before? For instance, the major labels are envisioning a future where a majority of the music featured on social media platforms like TikTok will not be professional music, but will be user generated music, done with the involvement of AI. I?m not referring here to users making things that sound like Taylor Swift, but rather users just making their own original music, no matter how good or bad it is, by feeding prompts to AI programs.*That will likely be a major new form of expression for average music fans, Users will be able to make all those new songs for their TikToks because generative AI is potentially the most powerful utility ever put in the hands of musical creators. It is a utility whose sheer computing power allows the creative process to unfold much more quickly, and in some cases that enables doing things that would be far too daunting for a human to even attempt alone. Cassie Kozyerkov, Google?s former chief decision scientist, explained it to me another way: She suggested that generative AI is like a drug for a creative person, allowing the artist to put on a pair of goggles that allows him or her to see things in a whole new way by presenting the artist with a potentially endless number of possibilities to consider, that the artist never would have imagined on their own. In my lifetime, the single biggest evolution in music-making was the switch from analog music to digital music. We transitioned from playing music which required physical skills? you had to actually learn to play a guitar or a piano or a trumpet and that required some physical skill that you had to master, using some part of your body, and suddenly with digital music you didn?t. These days, any music you can imagine can make happen on your computer?and the new additional tool, AI,*will further broaden what you could do, using even fewer physical skills. But while you won?t need physical skill, what you will still need to make truly great music is creative talent.*Just as you still need talent to make worthwhile music on your computers, you?ll need it when you use AI if you want to make something that has the ability to truly move people in an original way. Greatness still requires spark. And taste. I discussed this recently with Amanda Goodspeed, Meta?s former head of creativity, who emphasized how crucial taste is to the creation of art. In fact, taste is what ultimately makes an artist. It?s as important as pure musical skill when you?re trying to make music of value. And that?s because art is mostly about making choices. Generative AI can make thousands of choices incredibly quickly, but it can?t exercise artistic taste.**At least not yet.**So, as humans and generative programs begin to collaborate more, it?s likely that AI will start to serve as a kind of sounding board for human ideas as well as making its own musical suggestions. Part of a feedback loop. Both the human and the AI will be making and evaluating each other?s suggestions. AI could easily spit out some catchy soundalike Taylor Swift song on its own?and we know it?s already creating the kind of low-engagement music that gets used behind scenes in TV shows or in YouTube advertisements. But on its own, it?s not producing music that comes from the heart?the music that results from the creativity and skills of talented people coming together. Not everybody agrees about this point, by the way. Chris Mattman, a former NASA engineer who I spoke with recently, believes that generative AI will eventually learn the creative process itself. He believes that if you give AI the infinite catalog of songs that it will, over time, internalize the very idea of taste and begin to emulate it. What generative AI will certainly lead to is new genres of music, and maybe even new musical sounds. AI can generate lots and lots of terrible ideas really quickly that can then be dismissed by the AI or a human creator until something with promise emerges, and then the human can work with the AI to refine that, so it becomes a sound that might be appealing to people. I could, for instance, say to a generative AI program, I want you to come up with a brand-new musical instrument sound that no one?s ever heard before, but that people will really like. And there?s a chance that at some point in the process of doing this, a new musical sound will emerge that will change music the same way the electric guitar or the synthesizer changed music.** What does this creative revolution mean for the music industry? Generative AI is able to create new music because it has ingested millions of pieces of musical information by scraping the Internet for any musical sounds it can get access to. A lot of this music is under copyright and owned by someone. So, even if a generative AI program created a brand-new piece of music that didn?t sound anything like Drake or The Weeknd or Taylor Swift, or any existing artist or piece of music, that AI program was still trained on lots and lots of copyrighted music. *And that?s why music companies will want to get paid for all those future new songs created by average music fans for TikTok using AI. One way to describe all the music that goes into the creation of AI music is by thinking of AI music creation as sampling on steroids. Essentially, AI is using micro samples from countless songs to come up with something new. Instead of a few samples on a record, like in hip-hop, there?s millions and millions of them and you can?t even identify them because they?re so numerous and so micro, but they are there.*The music industry long ago figured out how to get paid when artists use their material as samples in new recordings. And now the industry is determined to get paid for the raw material that goes into the training of generative AI. Remember, it doesn?t matter if the output resembles your copyrighted music. What?s important is what went into the program. Imagine a giant pile of cement, that just looks like a big dust pile?and then imagine a skyscraper. That pile of cement looks nothing like a skyscraper, and yet the skyscraper couldn?t have been made without using the pile of cement. And the builder, presumably, has paid for the pile of cement. Right now, the music industry is highly focused on getting paid for their pile of cement. The concept of whether using large data sets of copyrighted music without permission in order to train*AI would be permitted as fair use under US copyright laws is currently being tested in court via lawsuits, including one suit by Universal Music Publishing, and a few other music publishers, who?ve sued Anthropic for infringement. But it?s unclear how these suits will be decided. But rather than relying on lawsuits, the major music companies? emerging position is one of ?OK we?ll give you permission to train your models?and you?re going to pay us. We?ll license our music to you and we?re going to get a royalty on every piece of new music that gets generated.? And because so much new music is going to be generated, even that micro-royalty is going to add up to a significant revenue opportunity for the music business. That?s what?s most tantalizing about this imagined future: It?s all going to happen at scale. In the next few years, much more music is going to be created than was ever created in the entire history of mankind. We?re going to experience new sounds and new genres, and at a certain point the question will be ?what?s the rate limit for the human ear?how many new genres can we consume? How do we sift through it all?? The NASA data scientist, Chris Mattman, believes that pretty much anything you can imagine will ultimately come into being with generative AI because the difference between AI and you and I is that AI is all the humans, and you and I are each only one human. Generative AI has been trained on all the humans and on all pieces of art. It?s been trained on data that?s not even public. It?s been trained on real people and on fictional characters. One thing that?s certain is that there will arise a new generation of music creators who will have direct access to the public, the same way that a generation of amateur video creators did a few years back, which really wasn?t possible before Youtube came along. And now, over 50% of all video consumed in the world comes from user-generated sources–a seismic change. For creative people, being in a collaborative process with AI will almost certainly be the dominant mode of engagement. Just as it?s no fun watching two computers play chess against each other, people who are interested in being creative won?t want to outsource that experience to machines. They?ll want to use machines as tools, not as replacements. The only people who are likely to want to turn over the entire process to generative models are people who in fact can?t offer much creativity in the first place, or don?t need what they?re trying to make to be very creative. The opportunity here for the music companies is that they already own the best databases of copyrighted songs. One course of action for them is to make their own AI generative model: *Turn their copyrighted material and metadata into very structured data in the form of tables with rows and columns, and then either sell that data to AI companies?sell bricks instead of cement?or start their own businesses that put that data to work. The six largest companies in the AI field, all tech companies, will have spent approximately $30 billion in the next 12 months acquiring data or licenses to intellectual property. So that?s the real opportunity for the music companies, not suing the AI business. And on top of the foundational AI models, we can imagine people building apps that will be compatible with those models. Today, the App Store is a $1 trillion economy, so you will absolutely see enormous amounts of revenue generated by new applications that get built, new consumer experiences, novel forms of entertainment, different business models. In 2023, there were 20 billion pieces of generative AI content created and during the first 90 days of 2024 there were nearly 100 billion creations using generative AI tools. We?re barely beginning to scratch the surface, the volume of AI created works is exploding, and it is likely that just as with video and user generated content, a majority of the music we consume in the near future will at the very least have been co-piloted by AI. Finally, for all those still worried that human beings will eventually be cut out of the creative process, let?s consider this: *Because so much AI generated music will exist in the future, there is a fear that in the future the only new music AI will have to train on is AI created music. That would create a very big problem, called model collapse. AI models trained on human text or human sound can create high quality new products, but when you look at the statistical properties of those new songs or bits of text, you can tell they were produced by a model and not a person. Simply put, model collapse is when you try to train AI on things that were AI created, and at that point it all breaks down mathematically, because there aren?t the correct statistical properties to the inputs and you end up with degraded outputs. So, there?s an ongoing need for new human data. Thus, there will always be a role for new artists with new tastes, creating new music in new genres, with that music then being licensed out to train future AI models. You?ll always have to go back to humans for music to continue to move forward, or music will just stagnate. I don?t foresee a future where humans forfeit the music making process entirely to machines. Rather,*the question that concerns me is: In the future will generative AI be a utility used by creative and talented humans, or will talented humans become a utility used by generative AI programs to provide fresh raw material? With that, I wish us all peace and happiness in 2025, and over the next 500 years, as well. more