November 27, 2012

AMP WE NEED YOUR HELP




AMP STREET TEAM
Welcome to the introduction of our “Street Team”!  We hope you will take advantage of this “one of a kind” opportunity. Being a part of the Street Team gives you the following benefits:
  •    Free One Year AMP Membership/free membership is based on performance/ guidelines will be available  upon acceptance of application.
  •    Involvement in AMP Functions
  •    Networking Opportunities
  •    Free Merchandise  
  •    Opportunity to join the AMP team (based on performance)
  •    Free Selected Training
  •    Opportunity to Meet the Pro’s
If you are interested in joining the
Street Team click here to fill out an application.

StreetTeam@MyAmp.org 

November 19, 2012

Radio?


Is Radio A Dying Industry?

Since being “on hiatus”, “on the beach” (or whatever you want to call my latest “extended vacation” from being on the air), I have had discussions with many of my radio associates I have gotten to know over 30 years in many markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Grand Rapids, San Antonio TX, Detroit and Lansing. They range from air talent, programming, sales, promotions, marketing, production, consulting, management and ownership…all who have been quite successful in their own right. In all these discussions there was a common agreement…that this business we love is not doing well at all.
Ten years ago I listened to much more radio than I do today, which is a hard admission from a guy who grew up always listening to it, let alone someone whose career is in radio. Nowadays, when I do tune in, I am hearing a bland, boring medium…a much less than former shell of what it is. I am discovering that I am not alone in this opinion. The past 3 months I have heard the same from many others…from all walks of life, not just “radio folk”.
In 1986, 96-98% of the public listened to radio during a typical week. That number is now around 90-92%. Compared to network TV and newspapers, the ratio of lost following in radio is much smaller than network TV and newspapers, yet the loss is still there. 6% of 300 million people equal 18 million. That is a lot of people to lose as a following.
Radio has been taking a beating on all sides. The economy affected radio like it has the housing market and the banking industry. The 500-watt AM station I worked at in the Detroit/Ann Arbor market in the mid-1990s sold for $2 million in 1999. 11 years later, in 2010, the 4-station group I worked for in Lansing – two of those four stations being 40,000-watt plus FM stations – sold for only $4 million. Advertising revenue is way down as well. From 1996 – 2005 we had 5 – 9% growth in revenue, and since then we are losing ground to the point where we are at 10% of what it was 15 years ago.
Could this have been prevented? Certainly some of this could have. Back when things were going well in the 1990s and early 2000s radio forgot about the basic philosophies of the radio business by focusing solely on bottom-line and not the product going out over the airwaves. I’m not saying we shouldn’t focus on the bottom line. Radio should be focused on the bottom line … period. If not, bills and employees don’t get paid and you have no budget to do promotions and marketing. But quality product is forgotten and opportunities get missed if that is your only focus.
Many radio veterans with years experience and success over the past few years were unceremoniously “let go”, not because they weren’t successful in the current economic climate, but solely because the stations they worked for couldn’t afford to pay them anymore. Back in the day radio hired smart, talented people and expected them to perform, and they kept their jobs if they did. It was about performance and not process. The key to getting back to doing good and successful radio is to start getting back to focusing on the correct “P”. A part of radio’s problems have come about because it’s very much about the process today.
There have been so many so-called “radio killers” that have come about throughout the industry’s history. First TV was a radio killer, with industry heads preaching gloom and doom for radio back in the 1940s. Then it was the car record player, then the 8-Track and the cassette, then the CD, then the iPod, then satellite radio, and now Internet radio and social networking. Each time a “radio killer” came along, radio rose to the challenge and was innovative and creative in making it unique and delivering a product that the others did not. Instead of trying to be more like the competition, we need to focus on the differences and accentuate and improve those differences.
Yes, the future of radio is the Internet with its capability to allow us to network with our listeners better through streaming, blogs and social networking. Right now you can purchase a new 2011 Ford Escort with WiFi and the capability to connect online. We need to focus on embracing and developing these avenues as an industry, but at the same time not forget the core and main part of what we do…the on-air product, that still is reaching 90 – 92% of our listenership. We need to go out and make that work first. Digital is not projected to reach 20 – 30% of our listenership for another 2 – 3 years. Yet there are programmers that spend 85% of their current energy on tweaking their streaming, Facebook and Twitter and only 15% on the product going out over the air. Simple math: only giving 15% to 90% of your audience spells failure.
And just as we need to retain the veteran experienced broadcasters that have brought success, we need to allow the new generation opportunities in this business. Many interns and part-time “newbees” have been disillusioned over the past few years by the problems with radio, and some have given up. This new crop is radio’s future. These are the ones to put to the task of the new digital opportunities available to us. They know it, they understand it, and it is a major part of their lives. And with proper direction from us “seasoned veterans” radio can become strong again in this digital age.
Many have asked if I will be returning to the airwaves soon. That is a tough question to answer. Though radio, music and entertainment have been a major part of my life since I was in Kindergarten, it is not how it once was. Part of why I am not involved at the moment is because although this business realizes it is not how it once was, at the same time it is blind on how to keep the “good parts” of the “good old days” to insure its continued success. The good parts of what radio is all about have been forgotten with the current dire straits of the business today.
These things will take time to happen so that the radio business can get back on track again. But with the changing face of the media landscape and the current Madison Avenue perception of radio, it’s time we don’t have much left of.

November 15, 2012

Website or Mobile Website/ That is the question

Do you really know the difference

I speak to a lots of people on a daily basis, mostly those in the music business. You would be surprised how many don't have a clue what a real mobile website is or the benefits. At AMP we believe in mobile web so strongly to the point we have devoted an entire department to building mobile websites that are specific to the music industry. After reading this article if you would like to learn more about mobile websites go to myamp.org or contact us at gshuman@myamp.org. We will have someone contact you soon.

So, rather than sound bias and write an article about mobile websites, I just copied an article out of the NYT.. Good reading!

By ED NA
SH  (Mr. Nash is the president of Altius Management in Nashville, Tenn that
appear to be in the music and events management business.)

Web 3.0 isn't coming—it's already here. And it's all about mobile interaction.
If your company doesn't have a mobile website—a site specifically designed
and coded for each mobile platform—you're already seriously behind the times.
The marketplace demands content and the available delivery pipelines are
exponentially more diverse and interactive than ever before.

Our businesses compete in a technological environment in which
information is coming and going from every direction in all conceivable
digital forms. Suddenly, the ability to explore a fully interactive website
or a full-length video doesn't require anything more than a small hand-held
device. Wireless data delivery is faster and easier than ever, and consumers
want what they want right now—whether they are sitting in front of a
desktop, riding on a train holding a tablet, or walking down the street,
smartphone in hand.

All of these factors make the development and implementation
of dedicated mobile websites absolutely critical to success. According
to a 2011 report by comScore, fully half of the total population of the U.S.
uses mobile media—an incredible 20% increase in a single year.

World-wide, there are 1.2 billion mobile Web users. In the U.S. alone,
25% of users access the Web exclusively through mobile devices, and that
number is significantly higher in many other parts of the world, such as 70%
in Egypt and 59% in India.

Mobile Web growth stats aren't slowing down either. They'll continue to balloon,
just as network availability, access speed, software and hardware devices
will continue to revolutionize mobile interaction and ease of use.

So how can a global company survive without a great mobile website?
With stats and trends as they are, I'd rather not wait around to find out.

Case in point: A mobile Web solution was recently shown to me by a
friend in charge of marketing at a major record label. He had contracted
the development of mobile sites for several of their acts, and has been
impressed at the potential for a Web platform that is simple, appealing
and intuitive. In the not-too-distant past, fans performing a mobile search
for their favorite music artist would find themselves on a traditional website
that was barely viewable on their hand-held device, slow to load, and nearly
impossible to navigate—much less interact with.

Today's Web 3.0 is different—it is fast, easy, clean and interactive. Viewing
videos, hearing music, buying products, signing up for email lists, and checking
tour dates on a mobile device is now simple, convenient and attractive—t
he way it should be.

The solutions, despite what you might think, are not expensive. The technology
is broadly available and the process of using existing Web elements to
"skin" (i.e. optimize) a site for mobile use isn't altogether difficult.

Yet much of the business world remains woefully unprepared. I've heard from more than one large corporation that mobile Web integration is in the works for 2014—no that's not a misprint. Given the fierce competition, I truly hope that these companies can stay in business until then. If they want to survive, they need to bump up the time frame just a bit—like today.

If your company is going to compete in a web-based world, it must be broadly accessible and elegantly intuitive—Steve Jobs taught us that. The technological landscape has changed immeasurably since I started my first business over 20 years ago. In that time, I've learned that change can be very profitable for innovators and early-adopters, or very costly if you're the last to show up to the party. For those who aren't ready for Web 3.0, get your dancing shoes on—the party is already in full swing, and you're late.

Mr. Nash is the president of Altius Management in Nashville, Tenn.

By ED NASH  (Mr. Nash is the president of Altius Management in Nashville, Tenn that appear to be in the music and events management business.)

Web 3.0 isn't coming—it's already here. And it's all about mobile interaction. If your company doesn't have a mobile website—a site specifically designed and coded for each mobile platform—you're already seriously behind the times. The marketplace demands content and the available delivery pipelines are exponentially more diverse and interactive than ever before.

Our businesses compete in a technological environment in which information is coming and going from every direction in all conceivable digital forms. Suddenly, the ability to explore a fully interactive website or a full-length video doesn't require anything more than a small hand-held device. Wireless data delivery is faster and easier than ever, and consumers want what they want right now—whether they are sitting in front of a desktop, riding on a train holding a tablet, or walking down the street, smartphone in hand.

All of these factors make the development and implementation of dedicated mobile websites absolutely critical to success. According to a 2011 report by comScore, fully half of the total population of the U.S. uses mobile media—an incredible 20% increase in a single year.

World-wide, there are 1.2 billion mobile Web users. In the U.S. alone, 25% of users access the Web exclusively through mobile devices, and that number is significantly higher in many other parts of the world, such as 70% in Egypt and 59% in India.

Mobile Web growth stats aren't slowing down either. They'll continue to balloon, just as network availability, access speed, software and hardware devices will continue to revolutionize mobile interaction and ease of use.

So how can a global company survive without a great mobile website? With stats and trends as they are, I'd rather not wait around to find out.

Case in point: A mobile Web solution was recently shown to me by a friend in charge of marketing at a major record label. He had contracted the development of mobile sites for several of their acts, and has been impressed at the potential for a Web platform that is simple, appealing and intuitive. In the not-too-distant past, fans performing a mobile search for their favorite music artist would find themselves on a traditional website that was barely viewable on their hand-held device, slow to load, and nearly impossible to navigate—much less interact with.

Today's Web 3.0 is different—it is fast, easy, clean and interactive. Viewing videos, hearing music, buying products, signing up for email lists, and checking tour dates on a mobile device is now simple, convenient and attractive—the way it should be.

The solutions, despite what you might think, are not expensive. The technology is broadly available and the process of using existing Web elements to "skin" (i.e. optimize) a site for mobile use isn't altogether difficult.

Yet much of the business world remains woefully unprepared. I've heard from more than one large corporation that mobile Web integration is in the works for 2014—no that's not a misprint. Given the fierce competition, I truly hope that these companies can stay in business until then. If they want to survive, they need to bump up the time frame just a bit—like today.

If your company is going to compete in a web-based world, it must be broadly accessible and elegantly intuitive—Steve Jobs taught us that. The technological landscape has changed immeasurably since I started my first business over 20 years ago. In that time, I've learned that change can be very profitable for innovators and early-adopters, or very costly if you're the last to show up to the party. For those who aren't ready for Web 3.0, get your dancing shoes on—the party is already in full swing, and you're late.

Mr. Nash is the president of Altius Management in Nashville, Tenn.

IIIIIII
III I

November 13, 2012

connecting the pieces

Will we ever find them all

Join us and watch our new website get built right in front of your eyes. See how we connect the pieces to your puzzle..        http://www.myamp.org/

Ok, right off from the start, I'm going to assure you will never find all the pieces to this business. Why you may ask? The reason is very simple; there are new pieces added every day. So why try. I'm glad you asked! In this fast paced world we are living in, old pieces are discarded, the new ones are fitted in place right where the old ones where, and somehow it seems to work better. It's always a puzzle, and we're looking for those scattered pieces in hope of seeing the hole picture.

The more pieces you find the clearer the picture becomes. So we must find as many of them as we can as we are putting are puzzle together. What does your picture look like? Are you a singer, songwriter, artist. engineer. manager. publisher etc. Until you know what your picture looks like you will never be able to put your puzzle together. So work on your picture then the puzzle want be so puzzling.

There are many ways to find the pieces once you have identified your picture. Here are some examples;

1. Follow your passion it will always lead you in the right direction.
2. work hard
3. network
4. study your craft
5. join a professional organization
7. webinars
8. seminars
9. internet
10. from others who do what your doing

I think by now you get my jest. Use your head, not your bed! Being lazy will never get you anywhere. That's a fact. There are lots of articles in this blog you can get some fuel from. Get a mission and go after it and don't give up. The dream grave yard is full of those who quit the day before the dream.