Like thousands of you, I have become addicted to the bluntness and relevance of Jerry Del Colliano's INSIDE THE MUSIC MEDIA daily blog. It predicted the mess several major companies are in this minute. With a keen eye towards the future, I caught up with Jerry Del Colliano, former publisher of INSIDE RADIO.
1.) You cover a compendium of subjects, you have a real gut and keen sense of direction
for radio, why don't you run a group?
No consolidator would want me. I don't think like they do and I see the digital future in exciting terms not something to be feared.
However, if I ran a group I would:
1) Employ local management at every station (not even cluster management)
2) Run 80-85% local content
3) I'd mandate news and involvement
4) One commercial per stop set
5) Reinvent commercials -- spot radio is dead
6) Have salespeople sell solutions not spots
7) Make weekends different
8) Make radio the best I can for the available older radio audience.
9) Put talent under contract
Then,
1) Develop 50 podcasts and build franchises for them (as I do now for my podcasting clients)
2) Pull the terrestrial stream and develop niche streams that may only have one hour of content a week (repeated).
3) My stations would build Internet streams for clients and we would lease them
4) Teach everyone how to brainstorm "USC style"
5) Ask everyone to learn generational media
6) Build a business around Apple apps
7) Create local social networking sites for involvement and profit
There's more -- but the moment I walked into a PPM market and said we are no longer going to identify our station every few minutes, they'd kick me out.
2.) What is the disdain for Clear Channel?
A lot of folks assume disdain for Clear Channel because we traded $100 million lawsuits eight years or so ago. That's behind me and has been for a long time. I mean, what more could I ask for but to get The Evil Empire to settle the suit for lots of money. But I have always had a lot of friends at Clear Channel and I want to see no harm come to them. The way the Mayses profited from their Wall Street play sickens me. And Lee & Bain have no clue what they are doing. I met John Hogan once when we were trying to settle our lawsuits and I was an unimpressed with him as I am sure he was with me.
It's not personal.
I don't even dislike Randy Michaels. Never did. He's a program director. That's my mentality. He tried to knock me off the air and knocked himself off first. We're both fine.
3.) Citadel and Cumulus?
Farid Suleman and Lew Dickey are part of the problem with radio today. They overcharged their corporate credit card buying stations and now can't pay the debt. Dickey is smart but doesn't seem to read trends well. Neither sees that they have no future without the next generation and the next generation has moved on beyond radio.
4.) Tell us about your projects and what you do?
I taught at USC for a number of years -- Professor of Music Industry and commuted every week from Scottsdale to my home in LA. What I learned from the students has changed my entire view of the future and I know that they will never be radio listeners. Generational media is what I taught -- it is what Steve Jobs has in his DNA and the rest of us must learn.
I advise clients looking to the future. Have had some real success building franchises for podcasting. My friend Barry O'Brien has joined me to help market some of the one-day brainstorming seminars I am doing. We do custom private brainstorming seminars for clients. I advise on new media trends.
I am writing a book on success, happiness and dealing with people. Tested a lot of the material on my students. It is a non-media book but I expect to add this to my topic list as I am also a speaker.
Inside Music Media which started as a private blog for USC students now attracts 100,000 visitors a month and is earning a reputation for keep it real and keeping new ideas coming.
5.) You are not afraid to speak your mind and the blog is terrific, keep up the
good work.
The Clear Channel lawsuits and ultimate settlement were a near-death experience for me and my family. I fear lots of thing less after getting a second chance at life in the media business.
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Jerry Del Colliano
Advisor to New Media & Broadcasting
Consultant to Higher Education
Clinical Professor Music Industry
University of Southern California (04-08)
Phone: 480-998-9898
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