There are days when it feels like the gold rush. The hunt for money in the new frontier of streaming, podcasting and just about anything online. This week, it's one for the sales department as we are introduced to the world of monetizing podcasts with Sean Carr, who is a co-founder of Los Angeles based Art19 that is exploring podcasting advertising solutions and has recently taken the steps to enhance audience measurement beyond downloads. Sean is originally from Montreal and sees Canada as fertile territory for podcasting. A new feature on the podcast! "Yup! There's a Podcast for That!" In our inaugural edition, Mac Prichard tells us about his podcast called "Find Your Dream Job". There are episodes dedicated to helping people overcome their short comings to help them find the job they have always wanted. Although the website and job listings are local to Portland, Oregon, the information he provides is universal. If you would like to have your podcast featured, please e-mail me. I would like to thank our sponsor Karta House Stationery & Design for making this episode possible. If you need business cards, a logo, or stationery for your business, please consider them.

Jessica Rhodes books guests for podcasts. Think of her a matchmaker between podcasters and guests. You've heard the expression, it takes two to tango? She is a firm believer that podcasters have to have sharp interview skills years beyond a list of questions and answers; and guests must provide passion and power in their answers. Radio, depending on format, has long had its policies on guests, what works and what doesn't work. The rules for podcast are indeed different when it comes to booking guests on podcasts. Formats and subject matters can be so niche that the wrong guest could turn your core away from an episode; a few of them and it's for good. Jessica's Interview Connections gets the right fit for podcasters and those wanting to do more than the podcast guest circuit. Also, traditional radio talk show producers should consider using her business to ease the pain of finding guests for your talent. What makes a good guest? What makes a bad guest? And a Remedial Media session on what you can do when you are told to interview someone that has nothing to do with your program. Finally, a flashback to that time I was a guest with Humble and Fred in April. They have just moved into their new digs in Toronto and have found life beyond terrestrial radio with a daily Sirius/XM show, podcast and repurposing their show for a few terrestrial stations. (Yes - that's the future. The best content digitally will find its way to terrestrial) In the coming weeks, Humble and Fred will come on the podcast to tell us about terrestrial radio's afterlife; both the heaven and hell parts. Listen Now: TAKE ME TO THE PODCAST PAGE

It was at 9:11am at The Conclave Radio Learning Conference when the question was asked: "Name something your station has done in the last six months that is innovative." When no one responded, I felt a little embarrassed for our business. I reminded myself that this was about learning; and I just learned that radio hasn't been innovative for years. Let's be clear that this is not about the 4 people who were on stage because you could switch the cast with anyone in radio and produce the same non-result. If you are yelling at your computer right now and saying, "That's not true! Our station did something incredibly innovative last year!" Then click here to book yourself a place on my podcast and tell the world about it. Radio spends too much time targeting current radio listeners, but no time getting people to listen to the radio. Radio is responsible for both parts of the equation. Over the course of the next year, challenge yourself to use the medium in a way that hasn't been done before - then tell everyone. On this week's podcast, Perry Michael Simon discusses the lack of innovation in radio and what it's going to take for radio to get there. Also, my good pal Hal Anderson who is the 34th Greatest Canadian of All Time interviews Steve Faguy from the media blog Fagstein about job cuts in Canadian media. The interview was recorded last January for MyToba.ca but remains relevant today. #innovation #radio #conclave

I spent last week in Chicago at the Podcast Movement. A little under a year ago, I was going fishing with my cousin, Kingman Gordon who told me his co-worker was a podcast fan and was attending the 2015 version of this conference in Dallas. “What the f#@k? There’s a podcast conference?” Read that blog here. The first thing I did was make attending this conference apart of my podcast strategy. As a radio consultant, I get a lot of questions about podcasting. It is one of the biggest questions I get asked from programmers and general managers. Once they hear there is little to no money in the venture they stop asking - which is a mistake I will write about in the future. The second thing I did was start a podcast. Another media group who walks that walk is The Jacobs Media Strategies. They launched 2 of 12 episodes of their podcast “Dash: Future of the Connected Car." The first thing I noticed was how the conference is unlike traditional radio gatherings. The conference has about 80-90 percent of the attendees directly involved in podcast; that’s a lot of talent in one room. Secondly, no one has figured out how to monetize the medium; which leads to many shared ideas about marketing, promotion and revenue opportunities. A number of podcasters are resigned to not making any; satisfied with the branding and exposure for themselves, guests and clients. Because the medium is an open canvass, everyone's monetizing strategy is going to be unique to their podcast. The same goes for your radio station: One station's best use for podcast is not going to be the same for another. Some observations: * A lot of podcasts do not do a great job of retaining listeners. Steve Goldstein's session "They aren’t listening to your entire podcast - 7 ways to fix it", was an eye opening experience for podcasters. Read more here. *Keynote speaker Kevin Smith doesn’t make money from podcasting and considers it his truest form of expression. He encouraged all podcasters to express themselves deeply to attain the best results. * Podcasters have yet to land on a universal method for measuring listeners. For now it’s downloads but go have a look at your Apple Podcasts App and check out the number of downloaded and unlistened shows. I’ll bet it’s over 50%. * Much like YouTube Channels, there is the “long tail” where the majority of podcasters reside. Unlike YouTube, there is no money residing on the tail. Jeff Vidler from Audience Insights who was also in attendance, described the long tail for podcasting as such: "The current reality is that podcasting, at least as it now stands, represents the very definition of a long-tail medium. When we asked listeners to podcasts and streamed audio programs which shows they listen to most often, only eight programs were mentioned by 1% or more of all listeners—the most popular shows were “This American Life” and “TED Talks,” each receiving a whopping 2% of all mentions. It’s a diverse universe that extends from public radio shows to comedy, and pretty much all points in between. * While 21% of Americans, have consumed a podcast within the last month, many have no clue how to access one. Operating a radio is still way easier than locating, retrieving, downloading and then listening to a podcast. With more radio people than ever in attendance, one traditional radio session made an appearance. The Aircheck! Hosted by Seth Resler from Jacob’s Media and a panel consisting of Valerie Geller, Tom Leykis, Rob Greenlee (Spreaker) and Doug Berman (NPR). Two podcasts were brave enough to put themselves out there for critiquing from these heavy hitters. The two biggest criticisms are things all too common in any radio show; role definition and too many words to get to the pay-off. This is a session all podcasters should attend and I hope the organizers of Podcast Movement can put more emphasis into podcasters critiquing and self checking their end product. Next year the event is certain to have more radio people than ever in attendance. Podcast Movement 17 will take place in Anaheim next August 23-25, 2017! More Reading from Jacobs Media: Here's what a group of 17 broadcasters had to say about the conference. More Reading from Jason Barrett: (SportsRadioPD.com): Takeaways from the Podcast Movement Conference.

I am looking forward to the next few weeks which will be full of meeting great people, working on projects and having conversations about the future of audio and digital media. First, I will be heading east to meet with new clients and ingratiate myself with their people. I love working with new stations and sharing the ideas that will make for great ratings. I documented a lot about what goes on during these trips in a blog last year. The greatest success about these trips is found in the feedback we give one another. (Yes there's a blog about that too) Last year I wrote in fascination about the Podcast Movement that had taken place in Dallas. I had no idea such a thing existed until my cousin, who works outside the industry, said a co-worker was attending. I spent a good chunk of my fishing trip wondering if I should be in Dallas instead of Northern Quebec. Once I managed to hook my hand, I resolved that I would go to Chicago for Podcast Movement 16. Radio has largely ignored this conference until this year. Now radio is beginning to figure out that anything involving audio needs to be considered for their brand purposes. If you are in radio and don't believe that the next generation of radio talent is either podcasting or in attendance, you are part of the problem. July 13-July 15 I will be attending the 41st Conclave in Minneapolis. A more traditional radio conference with a keen eye on the future. I am very much looking forward to the podcast session, Stephanie Friedman discussing the latest on streaming insights and catching up on website presences with Socast who have done an amazing job with many radio station websites around the world. Finally, I recently launched a podcast called the Sound Off Podcast. Please subscribe on ITunes and if you have idea you would like discussed on the podcast - please e-mail me here. #radio #podcast #podcasting

Kate McCallum and Adam Doolittle were let go from their radio jobs in the spring of 2015. Overworked and exhausted, the couple made the unique decision to go RVing. Full time. Kate penned a blog entitled "Goodbye to Radio" in 2015, but held onto it until early this year when she decided the content fit into their new careers at Full Time Canada. As Kate put it on their site: "I didn’t write this to give a middle finger to the industry or those that let me go. I wrote it because I was truly sad to say goodbye. Unfortunately, the negatives outweighed the positives of what used to be a great industry and it was time to move on." We spend some time this week on the podcast letting Kate tell the story of making the decision to go full time RVing. They are actively looking for people across this great nation to partner with them. E-mail them here if to get in touch with them. Also on the podcast this week: Tracy Johnston writes about a Mexican restaurant that waters down the soup to the point where it becomes a frustrating experience. Tracy points out that there are a lot of radio stations that are being run the same way. Annually, managers need to make budgets, and then make them work. Read more of his perspective here. #radio #RV

My first day in radio was a Sunday morning in a 50,000 person market. I was nervous but excited to get on the air and crank out those Sunday morning non-hits on FM radio. (You need to live in Ottawa or Quebec or be over 45 to know what "non-hits" are. Seriously, that's a blog for another time) On weekends, and after hours, it was our job to answer the station's main switchboard, along with two contest lines we carried. By 9:00am, the station had shifted into Foreground programming and I went next door to the AM country station and asked, "Is it like this every Sunday?" (See, I did it again with Foreground programming) Every third call was to ask what the 6/49 numbers were, if Bingo was still on, or to vent about the afternoon announcer. I had a lot of fun on my first shift, but the phone left me a little exhausted. I mean, if you wanted the 6/49 numbers it's in the newscasts which run at the top and bottom of the hour, and in your paper which has arrived or will arrive. Over the years, I grew to know, love and understand that people had this immense connection with the station because it's alive. I met everyone and listened to people tell stories about themselves. I have made at least 5 valuable friendships through the radio station phone that continue today. You can read my favourite one here about my friend Chris who is really going through a hard time right now. With the devasting news of Gord Downie's diagnosis, people are sharing their Tragically Hip stories. Today, I was tagged in a post on Instagram: It recounts that other age old struggle of lining up to buy concert ticket. It appeared as follows: This marks the only time I have been called a legend outside of the program director who said I was, "a legend your own spare time." I remember that it defied convention that someone could be first in line at a local mall and wind up in the second tier. If only we could fast forward two decades and see how much better it is now. (Yes that was sarcasm) It turns out that this was the future. Today, it's a more (emotionally) disconnected world. People e-mail more, phone less and get their bitching done in 140 characters or less. They also put up with way more bullshit than 20 years ago. Imagine if it were 1995 and your land line "lost connectivity" as much as your cell phone does today. You would be hitting "0" and telling the operator to get it together. Calling people out of the blue basically freaks people out now. When I read about someone's plight on Facebook and called to ask them how I could help, they asked me two questions: "How did you get this number?" and "How did you hear the story?" The answers were, "the phonebook" and "you posted it on Facebook". And yes, to my surprise, yesterday an actual phonebook arrived at my door. Sadly, I didn't make the cut and am not listed. Go ahead. Freak people out. Call them. Put them on the air. Get them to tell their story. And if you really want to know what foreground programming is and what non-hits are all about just call me at 204-414-5541. And yes - I'll call you back. #tragicallyhip #radio #hotline

Up until two years ago, I had worked inside a radio station since I was 18 years old; most recently as a program director. I had always had access to a microphone and a recording studio. After doing airshifts on the radio, I would wait for a production studio to become available and then fiddle with every button to see what magic would happen. In the summer of 1989, the station's sales manager, who had a production company on the side, asked me to audition for a few commercials as an actor. You know that look when someone you are auditioning for says, "You're not getting the part"? Well that's what his expression expressed. I was a little disappointed because it was the first time I had ever struggled in the moment. I really believed my abilities could extend into voiceover, but that day it wasn't to be. What I learned was that voiceover and voice acting are polar opposite to being an on air personality. The goal on air is to be yourself. The goal in voiceover is to be the copy. As years went by and I worked at radio stations where the music was Tool, grunge, Goo Goo Dolls, grunge, grunge and Rob Zombie, producers would ask me to reach for a smile in my voice. I had no idea what they were talking about until I actually did it and it sounded better. I had a number of paying voice gigs over the years but never treated it as business as much as an extension of my job as a radio program director and on air personality. When I was let go from my job in 2014, someone asked me what I was going to do, and I said, "Whatever the fuck I want." That was all well and good, but there was no microphone. Over the next few weeks I researched, listened and asked people in the know about buying microphones, building studios, software and the voiceover business. The business itself was not totally foreign to me. I had hired many voiceover artists to image radio stations, and I evolved into writing and working directly with producers and voiceover artists to craft the right sound for a radio station. Having voiced some things well (and a few other things not so well) I wanted to find my place in the voiceover world. The time was right to build a studio. One of the smarter things I did was invest in a "Pay-to-Play" membership on an online voiceover service. Now I understand these companies are hot button topics in the industry, but when you need the practice every day to get to know your studio, your microphone and your abilities, it serves a positive purpose in terms of process, practice and client relations. The next smartest thing I did was operate without the membership to gain even more knowledge. Those P2P places aren't for everyone. One radio station I consult has an announcer who is padding out his income pulling in an extra 20k a year. This is nothing short of phenomenal for him as there isn't any other voicework available in the mid-west logging town of 60,000 he works in. Inversely, there are a number of professionals who are less than thrilled with the practices at one company in particular. My greatest take away from working and speaking with people is how everyone takes time to help one another out and pay it forward. I love how people share ideas about what works, and ask for solutions to problems they encounter. It is something that is lost on the radio business since people probably fear that sharing, discussing or venting might lead to dismissal. While radio might be tightening its belt in a few places, the demand for audio on the planet has increased. My day feels a lot like the canoe trips I used to take during my summers in Algonquin Park. The non-stop cycle between canoeing and portaging was one where I yearned for the other while you were dealing with the moment. I still spend half my day consulting radio stations, and working with radio programmers and talent to develope their stations and talents. But after consuming audio, it is a joy to shift gears for the next half of the day and bring people's copy to life. If you need anything voiced, I would love to audition for you. My webpage has my most recent work samples and quotes are assembled expeditiously. #voiceover

[Note: This was originally written for Mytoba.ca back on May 3rd] The first industry to feel the effects of the digital revolution was the music industry. It was feltl the effects because the product could be packaged into a 3 to 5 MB mp3; perfect for peer-to-peer exchange. Napster became the conduit and what transpired became the text book for how an industry should not react to a digital disruption. I remember those heady days of 2000 when Metallica's contribution to the Mission Impossible soundtrack made its way across Napster before the record company could service it. Once I saw a handful of stations jump on the song, I didn't hesitate to play it on my afternoon show I was doing at 100.3 The Bear in Edmonton. On February 12, 2000, I had Art Alexakis of Everclear on my show and we had it out on air about the effects of Napster. The conversation was not unlike this skit from the 2000 VMA's. Art's argument was very clear: "If I rent a car from Hertz, should I tell them to give it to me for free because it happens to say Hertz on the side?" The comment is ironic that so much content online today is provided for free. (Like this column for example) All that is beside the point. The music industry's reaction to Napster is what killed the business. They were so hellbent on putting Shawn Fanning's Napster out of business, that they overlooked the obvious which was to buy Napster outright rather than do a deal with the devil. (The devil in this case being Apple) What ensued was a commodity that cost $1.29 a song, relinquished control of distribution. Others have argued that the music business could have salvaged their losses simply by getting a financial piece of the iPod. The lesson here: Don't jump over a twenty dollar bill to get a five. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana (1952) Some Canadian cities like Winnipeg that have yet to be invaded by the alleged ride sharing app Uber. (It's not "ride sharing" if one of you is charging money) The Winnipeg Taxi Alliance has an opportunity to keep them out for good by incorporating the things Uber does well, rather than wasting time arguing over the ethics, regulations and legality of Uber. You know, that opportunity to just do better. I love Uber. I love the record keeping, rating drivers, the fare estimates and competitive rates. I love that I can account for my employees whereabouts and that I can justify their expense reports. (Try doing that with those poorly scribbled receipts you get from Duffy's. I love that there is no mysterious $1.50 charge for using a debit card, like the one Unicity served me up last month. In fact, there are no cards or cash at all because Uber is cashless. I also love having the option of using UberPool at a 30% where other riders get picked up along your route. I do not even mind when there are price surges because they have the decency to warn me that there are price surges. My advice for politicians, the Winnipeg Taxi Alliance and their coalition spokes person, Luc Lewandoski: Get your house in order. Get innovative and get ahead of this. The recent Unicity App is about 50% of the way there, but it still needs a number of add-ons. Take the best parts of Uber and give yourself to the end of the year to institute it. Get a cashless method where my Paypal or credit card works. Let me rate the drivers and let them rate me as a passenger. (Maybe drivers won't be so hesitant of those late night pick ups where there is an identity behind the passenger) E-mail me a receipt of the route the way Uber does and reimburse me when the driver takes a wrong turn. Allow me a few buddies to split the fare to the Jets game on the app. Let me order the car I want on the App. Something that works for the number of people traveling with me. See above where I wrote about what "I love" about Uber? What do people "love" about Unicity or Duffy's? Are the things you are fighting for the things your customers love? Every time I ask someone what they love about taxis in Winnipeg, I get a horror story about poor service. Go ahead - ask someone. My story will check out. Maybe in the end you will find the way to keep Uber out of Winnipeg the way the music industry took down Napster. However, if you remember what happened next, there was Limewire and Kazaa, and the commodity that was once $21.99 at HMV become $1.29 on Itunes. Lyft is already outperforming Uber in some Asian markets and Kangaride is already up and running on long distance hauls to and from Winnipeg. Uber has effectively given you the play book; all you have to do is execute it. #uber #apple #metallica #napster

I was invited on the Radio NL morning show to discuss the new phenomenon of Binge Watching, which has hit an all time high according to Deliotte's Digital Democracy Survey. Binge watching actually started when box sets of entire seasons first appeared at your local HMV store. A friend lent me Seasons 1 & 2 of the Sopranos back in the late 90's and I pulled the curtains shut and felt like a capo on Tony's crew by the end of the weekend. But it recent years, it has become the way we consume the show. While Netflix seems to love doling out all the episodes at once, there are costs to it that they probably don't care about, but will affect the legacy of these shows. I pointed this out in an earlier blog, before the release of Season 3, but with all the episodes being released at once - mass media cannot talk about their viewing experiences without having their viewers scurry off the station to avoid spoilers. That means no "Who Shot JR?" type hysteria. Netflix is willing to give up all that free publicity in lieu of binge watching. By the way, Kristin shot J.R. and everyone watched it together. For better or worse, there's not a lot of shared Netflix experiences. With fewer water cooler talk about what happens on these shows, you get more people missing out on subtle plot twists and less people with the ability to recall favourite episodes. Whatever happened to that Russian guy on the Sopranos? And was the Pine Barrens the best episode of the series? If Seinfeld were released on Netflix, could you control yourself to not talk about the "Master of your Domain" episode? With less people talking and recalling the finer points of each episode, viewers are less likely to fall in love with characters on the show. And that will affect its legacy. You can hear the full conversation with Peter Olesen of Radio NL 650AM right here. REPORT A TYPO #Netflix #NLRadio #TV