JIM STEEL passed away YESTERDAY

With a heavy heart, I am sad to report CLEAR CHANNEL/OMAHA OM JIM STEEL passed away YESTERDAY afternoon around 4:30 after a 5 year battle with ALS (LOU GEHRIG's disease). The funeral is set for SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1st at 3p (CT) at Shepherd of the Hills Church, 6901 Panama Road, HICKMAN, NE 68372

Reception after funeral at THE CORNHUSKER HOTEL, (402) 474-7474. In lieu of flowers, donations to: Get In The Game, c/o KARIN LYLE, 1527 Meadowlark Road, LINCOLN, NE 68521.
Jim was a class guy, a fine programmer and a pal. He will be missed.
(Pictured:Jim Steel with his wife, Karin, and daughter, Delani.)

"LONG TAIL" IS SOOO LAST YEAR

Great article in the new ADWEEK:

"Buy American" and "Long Tail" are just so last year; marketers are all about good old-fashioned customer satisfaction and retention.

That's according to an elite group of marketing executives, members of the Marketing Executives Networking Group, recently surveyed by Anderson Analytics. Membership in the group is by invitation only, with a screening process that requires a salary of at least $150,000. More than 80% of members are senior executives, C-level executives or owners of companies involved in strategic planning, marketing, advertising and sales. More than 600 of the group's 1,657 members responded to the survey.

The top buzzwords for this group are traditional concepts such as segmentation, brand loyalty and competitive intelligence. (MORE)

Bejing Rocks!!!

AS she would anywhere in the world, Karen O of the arty New York rock band the Yeah Yeah Yeahs strode onto a festival stage here last month in costume, looking like a wild, futuristic harlequin in her cape of silver wings and blue-and-green striped tights. Shouting to 10,000 mud-soaked fans who shouted her lyrics right back at her, she thanked them in gasps of Mandarin: “Xie xie ni!”

A couple of days earlier the Brooklyn rapper Talib Kweli was at a gleaming new club across town. And last Sunday, Linkin Park, a group of rap-rock titans with worldwide sales of 45 million, played in Shanghai to a sold-out stadium crowd of 25,000.

They are among the latest in a growing tide of Western acts hoping to crack the vast new entertainment market of China. Once largely closed to foreign music, the country has gradually loosened restrictions and — at a time when record sales in the West continue to plunge, and new sources of revenue have become essential — emerged as a crucial territory on pop’s global map.

“China is on the tip of everybody’s tongue,” said Peter Grosslight, worldwide head of music for the William Morris Agency. “There’s 1.3 billion people there. It’s becoming a much wealthier place. How can we ignore that?” (MORE)

Alice's Restaurant (1969) - Trailer

Flashback. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Video of Arlo performing his Thanksgiving Classic (HERE)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!

Classic WKRP Turkey Drop segment. Have a great weekend, Surround yourselves with those you love. Eat, laugh, love.

SCREW THE TO-DO LIST

Back in 1971, Mike Lyons was my Music Director at Legendary AOR WORJ in Orlando. We worked together at 98Rock in Tampa and for a number of years he joined me here in Milwaukee as my Triple A specialist at Lee Arnold Marketing. Mike is one of the Great Minds in radio and an amazing social critic in the tradition of Gonzo journalist, Hunter S. Thompson. Did I mention he is a multiple winner of of the Miami Herald's Annual Best DJ in Miami Award During his years as DJ/MD at Zeta in Miami. He is a TRUE TALENT and a good friend. He writes a terrific weekly piece for TRIPLEARADIO.COM called "The Forest". A weekly MUST READ.
Here is preview of this weeks column:

I was lucky during my quarter century of radio. Along with the chance to program during the original free-form days and then the consultant driven days, I eventually segued into morning drive for the last few decades of my career. A few weeks back, my work schedule changed and I had a new opportunity to check out several AAA morning shows streaming on the Web. I checked out a few commercial veterans along with a couple of non-commercial veterans and after listening I came away with one impression.
Don't overwhelm your audience with instructions.
Overall, the stations delivering a AAA format in the morning were very topical, interesting and played great music.
But every once in a while, AAA's participated in the new standard of on-air material that's swept the radio business. Constantly giving listeners instructions as the punchline/final topic in any break.
"Go to our Web site TerminallyHugeCorp.com. Type in Call Letters. Click the icon for Music News. Fill out the form. Enter the contest. Be at Doctor Midnight Motors tomorrow at 3PM. Wear the shirt. Present the blood sample. For Christ's sake BE THERE before the AE drives me nuts."
This isn't terminal yet for AAA's but it IS definitely getting annoying on the majority of music radio stations in the USA since the industry started to self destruct after deregulation in 1996.
We used to billboard the next artist. Now we suggest folks DO stuff.
Sometimes I hear it on AAA's that could present the information better.
In the current radio age when talent has been either eliminated or ground down to a safe, generic standard, AAA has to be aware of the possibility of becoming just as soulless and irrelevant to daily life as the rest of the radio stations across the street from them.
Of course contests and promotions and station news can be relevant as presented on a AAA station. But be sure that one presents the information with an appropriate tone of voice and sincerity. A pulse perhaps.
Because in today's world, I'm busy. I have plenty to do. And when I turn to my radio station, I want them to gave me something. Besides the music, tell me when the Radiohead album is coming out. Hell, tell me who did that last song. Explain why this Interstate is crawling. Dow up or down today?
In 2007, I'm looking for radio to provide something for ME.
I don't need to be given instructions on what radio wants ME to do.
Relate.
(READ MORE FROM MIKE HERE)

Lee Abrams' Blog is always a good read. Here's a sample from his latest posting:
Cell phones re-invent themselves every six months. While that re-invention is often technology driven, Joe Citizen doesn’t care. All he knows is that these things in their lives keep improving. Local TV and Newspapers haven’t noticeably improved in decades. Time to get in the “ongoing improvement” game. Compared to the glory days of newspapers when things changed on a slow basis…things today change practically daily. To stay in sync, the SWAT mentality needs to be engrained. Revolutions are about “we”. The leaders need to engage EVERYone. And EVERYone needs to engage the cause. You are either WITH the revolution or AGAINST it. You will either be embraced by the company and win or the company will beat you. No middle ground. If you are IN—cool—Bear down for battle.
If you are OUT---Cool—Good luck with your future. Just figure out where you want to be… Middle ground wastes EVERONES time. Need to create FANS not just users. Fandom isn’t necessarily a sports or music thing. Fox News has FANS. It would be revolutionary in itself if management talked to the general staff in real talk not business speak. In fact, I think most business speak creates an eye roll effect upon the rank and file. Verbal empathy instead of “the voice from the top floor that doesn’t understand me” (MORE)

Stream your Radio station on I PHONES

Stream your Radio station on I PHONES and other internet capable phones.
Go to TVERSITY. This is pretty cool.

CAN FIND MY WAY HOME

"On the heels of a stunning collaboration at the Chicago Crossroads Guitar Festival in July of 2007 and after much speculation, Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton announced today three eagerly anticipated concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden. In what will be one of the must see shows of this decade Winwood and Clapton will perform together February 25th, 26th, 28th, 2008." (via where's eric)

Both Winwood and Clapton have long and prestigious musical careers with countless honors and awards to their names. Their musical paths connected in 1969 with the formation of Blind Faith, a group that pioneered the fusion of rock and blues into tremendous studio and stage success. Despite critical and popular acclaim, the band was short-lived with only one album and a brief 1969 tour that debuted July 12 at Madison Square Garden and ended August 24th in Hawaii. Since that final show, Winwood and Clapton have remained friends, but have only performed together a few times over the years for an occasional song at a charity event. The 2008 Madison Square Garden shows will be the first full Winwood-Clapton concerts in almost 40 years. The duo has said that no set list has been discussed and they will spend rehearsal time deciding which songs will be featured at these shows.

Steve Winwood is currently signed to Columbia Records and will have a new album out in early 2008. Eric Clapton's current album Complete Clapton is available now on Reprise Records.

These shows will be produced by Ron Delsener for Live Nation. Tickets will be available in advance to American Express cardmembers.

Ticket On-Sale Information

Tickets will go on-sale first to American Express cardmembers through a special pre-sale, beginning Monday, November 12th at 9am (EST). Tickets can be purchased via ticketmaster.com.

If tickets remain, a general on-sale date will follow on Monday, November 19 at 9am (EST).

The Almost-Impossible Rock & Roll Quiz

Rolling Stone Magazine puts you to the test.
You may know the original title of Metallica's Kill 'Em All, but are you sure you can name the final retail cost of Tom Petty's 1981 album Hard Promises? Challenge yourself to four decades of the trickiest, weirdest and most off-the-wall trivia questions ever in our fifty-eight question quiz, and tabulate your own rock & roll IQ. I got a 29.(Whiz)Beat my score. (Here)

Led Zeppelin concert postponed, Page breaks finger

LONDON (Reuters) - Led Zeppelin have postponed a one-off comeback concert in London because guitarist Jimmy Page has broken his finger, the promoters said on Thursday.

The concert will now take place on December 10 and all tickets for the original concert on November 26 will be valid, a statement said.

The injury happened last weekend and Page will not be able to play guitar for three weeks, a statement quoted a specialist as saying.

"I am disappointed that we are forced to postpone the concert by two weeks," said Page, 63.

"We feel that this postponement will enable my injury to properly heal and permit us to perform at the level that both the band and our fans have always been accustomed to."

Led Zeppelin split in 1980 after the death of drummer John Bonham and last took the stage 12 years ago at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The concert venue takes up to 20,000 fans and many die-hard Zeppelin fans had organized trips from around the world to attend the concert this month.

Tickets were allocated by ballot and more than 1 million fans registered for a chance to see the legendary rock group.

Page will be joined by singer Robert Plant and bassist John Paul Jones, and Bonham's son Jason will be the drummer.

The show will be a tribute to the late founder of Atlantic Records, Ahmet Ertegun, who signed the group in 1968.