Art Bell

[Art Bell]

People have been eulogizing radio for a long time, but it seems like the end really is nigh. The whole industry clung to an outdated business model, and when ad revenue dried up, they responded by cutting costs to the bone. Now they're at the point where they've eliminated every cost they reasonably can, and the only thing left to do is sell off assets at fire sale prices, which iHeart is doing as fast as they can on the way to bankruptcy court. Cumulus is doing the same thing - the only thing they'll be able to do to stay afloat in the next couple years is acquire CBS Radio to dilute their massive debt, and even then they're just buying time.

Bateman your a smart dude.

Art

[pyewacket]

Art- Isn't it nice to be ahead of the game!

This thread gets more entertaining by the day. I like a good cat fight. You can always sense  when they're desperate- they've got that caught in the corner, no where to go type smell. 

[Art Bell]

I went to a Talkers Convention Years ago with the President of Clear Channel and the President of Premiere were there and gave pretty much the same speech but  added that I wonder where the next Rush or Art would come from because all the time slots in all the markets were occupied by us, so how does new talent emerge? I never got invited back.

Art

[rzr1911]

Why's Rush even so popular? The guy is just a raving lunatic, or worse - a propagandist for whoever pays him.
PS. I don't listen to his show, I only know the guy from some clips on youtube.

[Art Bell]

Because he has Talent.

[Sumthins Goin On]

Will the last one to use the AM band please turn off the light.

Assuming 100% efficiency (an optimistic figure) for a PDM solid state transmitter, that's watts in watts out. 10KW is a big bill for a small tx. Now for the remaining low budget market tube transmitters with filament supplys that efficiency is ~70% on a good day. Lots of wasted power to get a signal out, let alone restricted audio bandwidth and not always 100% modulation, fading signal etc. FM or internet is the "new" way.

[Eddie Coyle]

"Prick in a vacuum?"  Hope Eddie Coyle doesn't read that.

   Hey, I haven't done that since I was 11...or 27. Or 34.

[bateman]

Bateman your a smart dude.

Art

Thank you! 

[Art Bell]

Will the last one to use the AM band please turn off the light.

Assuming 100% efficiency (an optimistic figure) for a PDM solid state transmitter, that's watts in watts out. 10KW is a big bill for a small tx. Now for the remaining low budget market tube transmitters with filament supplys that efficiency is ~70% on a good day. Lots of wasted power to get a signal out, let alone restricted audio bandwidth and not always 100% modulation, fading signal etc. FM or internet is the "new" way.

Agree, it is already starting, as the numbers shrink the smaller markets will go first, simply not worth the power bill. Even the large 50K stations. One big indicator is stock prices of the big guys, dropping like a rock.

Art

[lonevoice]

Because he has Talent.

Plus, who else has ever had UPS deliver an alien in a cardboard coffin to your house?  Was that before or after he appropriated your intro of "The Chase"?  I remember you responding by grabbing his intro music from "My City is Gone".  Such fun!

[Camazotz Automat]

Child of the future: Daddy, what does AM/FM mean?

[jazmunda]

I was an avid listener of AM radio in Oz until I found you. There was simply nothing like your program here. When I returned to Australia from the US I found you on the internet and substituted listening to your show online at home through my computer instead of listening to AM radio here on my stereo or walkman.

Being the late 90s that didn't solve my problem of listening to you in the car. I still had to listen to boring politics during the day or the babysisters for the insomniacs at night. If I could have driven around town with my heavy suitcase sized laptop with a long extended ethernet cord back to my house I would have. Sure I could just have put a music tape or CD in but I love talk radio.

Then came the invention of the iPod and I was finally able to download some of your shows and take them with me on the road. It had limited space but over the years the storage grew and I could take more of the programs I liked with me instead of listening to the drivel served up to me on radio. Finally I had a choice of what I wanted to listen to whether it be your show or my favorite music. I wasn't chained to what was being served up to me.

Then the smartphone revolution came and I finally had the internet in my hand. I could now drive around and listen to any radio station in the world in real time. I could listen to any show, any music, anything I wanted to. The shackles had finally been lifted and I was free.

Then came the podcasts and the independent internet radio shows and I was now truly spoiled for choice.

The point is we now have so much choice available to us that I don't see the need for having a radio in our cars anymore. Radio is dead. I will mourn for it but I will and have moved on. Long ago.

[Sumthins Goin On]

I also forgot about Clear Channel's "all in" with the iBiquity HD Radio debacle. They are all in for every AM station to go HD. Just think of what that would sound like, especially that it doesn't work well or at at night.
Your ship is sinking Clear Channel.

[rzr1911]

http://youtu.be/Fxa3J--g0hc

would you consider this to be a good intro song for your radio show, Art?
(Saki Kaskas, Callista) (callista means "most beautiful" in Greek)

[Camazotz Automat]

People have been eulogizing radio for a long time, but it seems like the end really is nigh. The whole industry clung to an outdated business model, and when ad revenue dried up, they responded by cutting costs to the bone. ...  they're just buying time.

But no matter what/watt, we will always have WKRP Cincinnati.

[attachimg=1]

[Art Bell]

But no matter what/watt, we will always have WKRP Cincinnati.

[attachimg=1]

What a great show!

[Heather Wade]

What a great show!

Yeah, my office is alot like Les Nessman's.  He was an early inspiration. 

[Low Key]

Art, do you forsee  what impact the "net neutrality" legislation will have on this genre of talk internet/radio?

[VegasI15]

In my mind the beginning of the end for radio was deregulation.  This allowed big companies like Clear Channel to own several stations in the same market.  To cut costs and promote their big programs, a lot of local talent and programming went off the air.  So instead of a variety of shows and talent,  cookie cutter programming was the result. 

For music stations owned by big companies it also resulted in computer generated playlists.  Dj's were no longer allowed to play the music they wanted to.  Rather program directors followed specific formulas and playlists that were designed to maximize ratings.  Then they hire a DJ that just has to push a button and act like they are having fun.  Because of this, you could listen to a same genre type station in any part of the country, and they sounded almost identical.  Boring! 

Fast forward to ipods, internet etc. etc.  Who doesn't want choice and interesting personalities to listen to?  A lot of those who produce podcasts, have replaced those quirky local radio shows that were taken off the air.  Some of them are of great production quality, while others not so much.  But like in the old days it adds variety and many of them are fun to listen to.  Ironically the big radio companies set themselves up for future failure by greedily buying up all those stations.

[zeebo]

....Fast forward to ipods, internet etc. etc.  Who doesn't want choice and interesting personalities to listen to?  A lot of those who produce podcasts, have replaced those quirky local radio shows that were taken off the air.  Some of them are of great production quality, while others not so much.  But like in the old days it adds variety and many of them are fun to listen to. ...

Yep this is the flipside of the demise of the big radio stations.  For me, the good thing about podcasts/streaming is that it brings back more freedom and originality which makes it more fun than the corporate broadcasts these days.  Also with the lower costs we can get content that isn't filled with wall-to-wall ads which are so common now on AM radio.

[nooryisawesome]

It is just desperation. and now most are worth pennies on the Dollar. I saw this coming a long time ago. They are playing a juggle game with debt that is about to crush them
Art

Thos sounds like student loan debt!

[albrecht]

I'm a luddite because I still like AM, SW, and even CB sometimes but I can see the writing on the wall. All one has to do is listen to a CB and you will find truckers are talking like it was still '74, if you hear people at all. SW is all Spanish, commie countries sending number-stations, or Holy-Rollers. I love U7 (and etc) for getting old programs and also the OTR stuff and listen on my phone constantly. Still nice to be able to have an old transistor radio playing a ball game etc in the garage while working though.

What I want is for the phone companies to release us and activate the FM receiver in most smartphone chips. I had an old Nokia flip-phone a decade ago I could listen to FM on. I hear Sprint is going to do so. This frees us up from the battery-drain of WiFi and Apps to listen to radio. Also many AM stations are simulcasting onto FM these days.

My only comment is there still are places where cell phones, even LTE etc can't be used and that is why like SW, AM, etc. In the mountains, on ships, in National Parks, on long desert highways, etc. And those places are sometimes the BEST to listen to Art Bell late at night......

[paladin1991]

Child of the future: Daddy, what does AM/FM mean?

Future dad's answer:  ART Magic and Fuckin' Magic.

[Art Bell]

Art, do you forsee  what impact the "net neutrality" legislation will have on this genre of talk internet/radio?

Not even sure it will happen, BUT never underestimate Govt's ability to screw up something that would have thrived without their boot on its neck.

Art

[Art Bell]

They are also getting ready to hit Radio stations with really big fee's for music, so that will add to the speed of their demise.

Art

[VegasI15]

They are also getting ready to hit Radio stations with really big fee's for music, so that will add to the speed of their demise.

Art

Dumbest thing ever for the music industry.  This translates into less awareness of music they want to promote.  They sure don't want free promotion.  No sympathy from me about low music sales.

[Pam J]

And you too, Paladin.  I guess you are another gutter mouth.  Sorry for you, too, another dumb poor baby.

Good lord crazy person.  I read u love Art.  And Art is here so you're here.  But realistically you do NOT belong on this site!

[Pam J]

Being that upset over a cuss word is pretty unusual. I'm sure there's some other underlying issue that's the actual problem. It always seems to be the case.

Here's a smart cat though.

Ah!  That is just precious!!!

[b_dubb]

Ever since I was a teenager all the way through now, I have always believed overuse of cuss words was exhausting and pointless. I don't even appreciate comedy that does it.. But there's times and places for it.
however, I was always fine with Art's rules on this.

If you go back and watch Eddie Murphy Raw you probably wouldn't laugh once.  In contrast you could watch George Carlin's first HBO special from the early seventies and have a good time cause that guy was just funny.

[Pam J]

Don't let it effect you its just Lisa trying to stir the pot....hi Lisa!

Art

She needs to smoke the pot not stir it!