SFF Audio Now Podcasting!

Only several years in the making (hehe!) - my friends Jesse and Scott over at the best blog for sci-fi audio news- SFF Audio- have finally been bitten hard enough by the podcast bug!

Here's what they say about this momentous occasion:
"Hey look! We’ve got our own podcast. This is the very first one, which includes SFFaudio founders Scott D. Danielson and Jesse Willis talking about audiobooks, audio drama, and cease and desist orders. We won’t desist podcasting if you won’t cease downloading them - whatever that means."

Why, it means awesome! You can grab the feed right here:

http://www.sffaudio.com/?feed=podcast

Cool Radio Project For Teens

Thought this little piece of audio news from my end of the planet was pretty neat.
~Dani

Radio project lets teens air their ideas, concerns

Tony Ganzer
Special for The Republic
May. 26, 2008 12:00 AM

Editor's note: This article was submitted by Tony Ganzer, Morning Edition producer for KJZZ-FM (91.5). Send your education news to lori.baker@arizonarepublic.com.

In my limited experience, there's an unfortunate truth when it comes to how and when people communicate with teenagers.

You may have seen them in the mall, or maybe they've cleared your table at the local burger joint, but it seems rare to hear a teenager's point of view about issues that matter to them, in their own words.

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Earlier this month, the Valley's NPR news station, KJZZ-FM (91.5), gave airtime to a few hard-working teens. Along with my duties as KJZZ's morning producer, I also steer the Sonic Roots program. I introduce students to public radio and to the skill of creating a three-minute, sound-rich radio feature. The topic is chosen by the students, and interviews are conducted mostly by the students (with a follow-up question or two from me.) And after the work, the students make it to air. The shows can be heard at kjzz.org/news.

Matt Butson, a student at Coronado High School in Scottsdale, is soon heading to college, and this transition has left him feeling confused, nervous and isolated.

"I'm not sure that I want to be a starving college student," Butson says in the feature.

That's why Butson chose to speak on the air with an educational psychologist about whether his confusion is "normal" and to Arizona State University's dean of admissions about how important choosing a major really is.

Butson offered a candid view of a young adult finding his way.

"Speaking with these professionals helped me focus on my future," Butson says in his story. "Bring it on."

Two students from Dobson High School in Mesa provided a look at Valley transportation issues. Rebecca Bever and Jessica Testa spoke with representatives from the Arizona Department of Transportation, Valley Metro, Metro light rail and their own peers, exploring how teens get around and how the system should change.

"Many teens, in our informal survey, feel that a more fluid mass-transit system is the Valley's answer," Bever and Testa say in their story. "Until better options come along, students are bound to keep doing what they have done."

These students chose to represent their peers' concerns through this project and to show that the younger generation is thinking about larger issues.

And one of my goals for Sonic Roots is to let students know: That's a good thing.



The Sonic Roots project encourages teenage civic engagement by giving them a voice in the media. It was funded by a grant from the Carstens Family Fund and Mike Minor.

New 7th Son Project Coming Soon!

If you are like me, and a 7th Son fan, then you have been going through withdrawals over the past few months since the crazy wicked awesome trilogy ended. I was able to relive a few moments when hubby began listening and would talk to me about the story. Even that was short lived though, as he went through all three books in about a week.

THEN I see this awesome news, via Twitter! Obsidian is coming! From author JC Hutchin's blog:

"7th Son: OBSIDIAN is an audio short story anthology that chronicles a crisis that took place in 7th Son, Book Three: Destruction. In that novel, the United States fell victim to a coordinated terrorist attack. Power stations across the country were destroyed, and the U.S. was plummeted into a country-wide blackout. In the timeline of the trilogy, this blackout occurred in mid-November 2007.

While this blackout was described in the trilogy, the story never focused on its true victims: average Americans.

7th Son: OBSIDIAN does just that."

He's got some of the most well-known names in podcasting lined up to create these stories. You know, with first names we all recognize like Evo and Mur and Tee... and he has some names that made me cock my head to the side and think "hmmm..." I have no doubt I will be pleasantly surprised at hearing a different side from podcasters, and am SO looking forward to this new project!

Get all the details right here! Will let you know when the first story premieres, which should be in May.

Colonial Radio Theatre Venturing Into SciFi!

Was traveling through the series of tubes this evening and found this goodie posted over on SFF Audio! Then I immediately went to the Colonial Radio Theatre Blog for more! Jerry Robbins writes:

"In all the years we have been producing radio plays at CRT, we have never done science fiction. Even the three productions we have done with Ray Bradbury were not quite sci-fi ... more fantasy I would say.
Well, that will change this summer! I am VERY excited to tell you all that we are going to produce BUCK ALICE AND THE ACTOR-ROBOT. This was a book written by Walter Koenig in 1988. Walter played Pavel Chekov in TV's STAR TREK, as well as in seven of the motion pictures. He also is known for the role of AlfredBester in Babylon 5."

More of Jerry's thoughts HERE! Very exciting news indeed! Knowing the high-quality in all Colonial's other productions, this is sure to be a great listen! Especially with Koenig appearing in it as well!

Why Radio Sucks

From Wired Magazine:

Unless you enjoy hearing the same insipid Fergie song a dozen times a day, chances are you loathe mainstream radio. And for good reason: The FM band between 92.1 and 107.9, where commercial stations reign, is mostly a desert of robo-DJs and pop pabulum.

The sad decline of conventional radio is an Econ 101 lesson in the consequences of artificial scarcity — and a B-school case study on the limits of scientific management. The scarcity is the fault of the Federal Communications Commission, which decided in the mid-1940s to confine FM broadcasting to its current frequency range, roughly between 88 and 108 MHz. The FCC's spectrum-allocation rules, designed to prevent station signals from interfering with one another, further limited the number of broadcasting licenses it granted in any one market.

By the '70s, thanks to a fecund period in popular music, a generation of audacious DJs, and cheap radios, FM had become wildly popular. That made stations valuable properties — so valuable, in fact, that only large companies could afford to buy and manage them. "The legal cost alone of getting on the air is enormous," says Jesse Walker, author of the radio history Rebels on the Air. The government could have eased this situation by allocating more spectrum for radio use and increasing the number of licenses, Walker argues. Instead, Congress chose to relax the rules regarding the number of stations any one entity could own.

That's where the scientific management comes in. The biggest barriers to building a radio audience are the polarizing power of music and the plethora of choices on the dial. So, when corporations like Clear Channel started buying up stations in the late '90s, they set about building a lowest-common-denominator product that would be attractive to the most listeners. "There's this idea of the perfect playlist," Walker says. "Find it with research and attract the perfect audience." But it turns out that the most lucrative audience is really just "people who will not change the channel during the ads." The result: watered-down programming designed primarily not to offend.

So bored consumers are just tuning out. Listenership among 18- to 24-year-olds is down 20 percent over the past decade. Stations have responded not with bold programming but by cutting costs. They've also expended considerable resources to squelch competition from low-powered FM stations and Internet radio. Not that it has helped — 85 percent of teenagers now discover new music through sources beyond the FM dial. Even the biggest radio fans envision a grim future for the medium. One bright spot: The inevitable shift to digital radio could create more room for more types of content.

--

Definitely makes sense, although there are a few independent stations here and there who keep kicking, and aren't half bad. Getting the range and the listeners are a lot of work, though. Especially listeners, when radio is now also battling the ever-growing podcast.

Check out the link to the article, there are many other things that suck- a list of 33!

Podcasting for Dummies 2.0: Expert Podcasting Practices

Months ago you say, Mr. Terra?

Sheesh. This is way more exciting than Macworld... to this PC girl at least!

Unfortunately, the photo on Amazon (which I shamelessly swiped) doesn't include third author Ryan Williams. But you see it on the cover in Evo's cute pic!

I'd say this is a must have for any podcaster, or wanna-be podcaster. Unlike the MacBook Air, which I bet you have to pump like a Nike. ;-)

Colonial Radio's Next Big Thing- Zorro!

Jerry Robbins just amazes me. As soon as Colonial Radio Theatre comes off one production, he just seems to take a quick breath, and dives right into the next big endeavor. Captain Blood, Dandelion Wine, Something Wicked This Way Comes...I'm not even scratching the surface of all the Colonial productions out there. What's up next? Zorro! From the Colonial blog:

"...Colonial has teamed with producer John Gertz to bring ZORRO to the world of audio drama! Mr. Gertz owns the copyright to Zorro (which was aquired by his father in 1940 from Zorro's actual creator,Johnston McCulley), and he was co-producer on the recent motion pictures with Antonio Banderas. The book I am dramatizing for audio is ZORRO AND THE PIRATRE RAIDERS, and let me tell you - this is going to be one exciting story! I am finishing up the script now, and I hope to start production in January for a Springtime release. The show is being produced in episode form for radio, and will be released as a 2 CD set for retail."

By now you all should know the high quality productions of Colonial Radio, and this will be no different I'm sure. I'm excited for this- get me on a pre-order list!

Online Marketing Rising- Could Be Good News For Podcasters

From EMarketer:

The numbers are soaring.

Choose an adjective: Epochal. Momentous. Historic. Whatever the label, US online advertising spending is entering a new era.

eMarketer projects that US online advertising will more than double as a percentage of total media, rising from only a 6% share of total media in 2006, to slightly more than a 12% share in 2010.

In roughly the same period, online spending will nearly triple, rising from $16.9 billion in 2006 to $42 billion in 2011.

According to David Hallerman, eMarketer Senior Analyst and author of the new report US Advertising Spending, these four milestones mark the change:

“First, US Internet ad spending surpassed $5 billion in Q2 2007, the largest sum recorded in any quarter according to research from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers.”

eMarketer projections suggest that, in Q4 this year, spending will leap past the $6 billion mark.

“Second, while 69 of the 100 largest US advertisers put smaller budget shares into four traditional media—television, radio, newspapers and magazines—in 2006 than the previous year, 70 of the same group put larger shares into Internet advertising.”

Furthermore, 58 did both—decreased their traditional spending share and increased the Internet share.

“Third, even as the credit crunch pulls ad money off the total media table, the Internet looks to be more resistant to economic turmoil,” says Mr. Hallerman. “To put the obvious into figures, online advertising contributes more and more to the total ad spending universe every year.”

That share will be 7.4% this year, approach one in ten dollars next year, and will likely reach at least 13% by the end of 2011.

Finally, Mr. Hallerman notes, “Data from both eMarketer and TNS Media Intelligence indicate that 2007 Internet ad spending will be higher than for radio, as reported in August. That is the first time online ad spending will be greater than for any of the four traditional measured media.”

The average ad spend per Internet user is also growing. In fact, 2007 marks the first year that marketers will spend more than $100 to reach each person online. And, by 2011, advertisers will be spending nearly $200 per user.

To see further into the future of ad spending, peer into a copy of the new eMarketer report, US Advertising Spending, today.

Playing games with Sonic Cinema

Awesome news from the Sonic Cinema front! Shamelessly cut and pasted:

"Sonic Cinema Productions has just announced a partnership with Dave MacLean and Ben Macwilliam who are creating an amazing new online game called Neoastra.

SCP will provide the audio drama portion of this game, using their stable of actors and production techniques to add a full resonant sound quality. Neoastra promises to be a really exciting experience that will be available for everyone to play in the next year!"

Sounds like a fun deal! You can get more information from the Sonic Society website!

A new contributor!

I realized the other day that I'm busy. Not "too much on my plate" busy, but I do have my fingers in a whole lotta pie.

Don't get me wrong- I luuuv pie, but I'm not giving this place the attention it deserves. I get plenty of email with all you awesome audio drama folk asking me to listen to things- and one person just can't do it all. (Honestly, even if this were the only thing I were doing, I still couldn't get to it all- which is awesome!) With the increasing popularity of the blog, however, I decided to see if I could hunt down other audio addicts to give me a hand around here.

I found a sucker- erm, a fellow addict in Chris Moody, who hosts the interview show Podio Media Chat. He's interviewed plenty in the audio/podio world, including audio cinema greats Gregg Taylor, Jack Ward, and just recently Jonathan Patrick Russell!

Welcome Chris- we all look forward to your contributions to the Addict's blog!

If anyone else has an interest in being a contributor, please send an email my way at tsdiva@gmail.com. The pay sucks, but the hours and great and the boss is a REAL push-over. ;-)

Another Podiobook To Be Made Into Movie

Recently I cross-posted awesome news about a podiobook author getting a shot at the silver screen. Well now we have two. Matt Wallace's Failed Cities Monologues was just acquired by Australia's Precision Pictures Pty Ltd., along with another short story written by Wallace.

From Podiobooker:

“It ain’t Rogue Pictures,” Matt says, referring to fellow Podiobooks author Scott Sigler, whose novel Infested was recently optioned by the Universal Studios subsidiary, “but I’m definitely excited. Mostly because it excuses me from getting that job at Kinko’s for another couple of months, at least.”

Congratulations, Matt!

Diversity and Radio Ownership

Very interesting study on radio station ownership I wanted to share:

The results of this study reveal a dismally low level of minority and female ownership of radio stations in America that has left two-thirds of the U.S. population with few stations representing their communities or serving their needs. Racial or ethnic minorities own just 7.7 percent of all full-power commercial broadcast radio stations, though they account for 33 percent of the U.S. population.

• Latinos own just 2.9 percent of all U.S. full-power commercial broadcast radio stations.
  
  
• African-Americans own only 3.4 percent of this country's full-power commercial broadcast radio stations.
  
  
• People of Asian descent own less than 1 percent of full-power commercial broadcast radio stations.
  
  

Listen to the press conference announcing the release of the report featuring FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and Johnathan Adelstein, Gloria Steinem, and Civil Rights leaders.

Our previous study, Out of the Picture, found that minority ownership of broadcast television stations was similarly anemic -- people of color own just 3.3 percent of stations.

These groups' level of radio station ownership is only slightly higher, despite the fact that the cost of operating a radio station is dramatically lower than a TV station. Moreover, radio station ownership is very low compared to the levels seen in other commercial industry sectors.

---

Minority-Owned Stations Thrive in Less-Concentrated Markets

Our analysis suggests that minority-owned stations thrive in markets that are less concentrated. Markets minority owners have fewer stations per owner on average than markets without them.

• The probability that a particular station will be minority-owned is significantly lower in more concentrated markets.
  
  
• The probability that a particular market will contain minority-owned station is significantly lower in more concentrated markets.
  
  

Allowing further industry consolidation will unquestionably diminish the number of female- and minority-owned stations. The FCC should seriously consider these consequences before enacting any policies that could further concentration.

---

Ownership and Programming Diversity: A Case Study of Talk Radio

Though the focus of this study was on structural ownership, recent controversy surrounding remarks by two prominent talk radio hosts —Rush Limbaugh and Don Imus — spurred an examination talk radio programming on minority- and female-owned stations. We found:

• No minority-owned stations aired "Imus in the Morning" at the time of its cancellation.
  
  
• All minority-owned stations and minority-owned talk and news format stations were significantly less likely to air "The Rush Limbaugh Show."
  
  
• Having a minority-owned station in a market was significantly correlated with a market airing bothconservative and progressive programming.
  
  
• Overall, markets that aired both conservative and progressive hosts were significantly less concentrated that markets that aired just one type of programming.
  
  

These results suggest that diversity in ownership leads to diversity in programming content. This result may seem obvious. But policymakers may have forgotten the reason behind ownership rules and limits on consolidation: Increasing diversity and localism in ownership will produce more diverse speech, more choice for listeners, and more owners who are responsive to their local communities.

There are more links to the actual studies and how to defend media diversity at the link below. Good info this audio addict likes to be aware of. :-)

Round One of Public Radio Contest Ending

UPDATE: Round One voting is ending at midnight eastern time TOMORROW! Those who have entries, make sure your contact info is up-to-date, as they are contacting the 10 finalists on Monday!


From 5/8/07:
How do you know you are an audio addict, and love to listen? When you've spent 2 hours straight on the Public Radio Talent Quest site (click john Hodgman) listening to entries! Honestly, they are so much fun, and really gives you a sense of all the talent out there just waiting to be discovered!

What I also love seeing there are all the podcasters and audio drama folk who are also submitting entries. Podcasters such as JT Shea, and Christiana Ellis, as well as audio drama enthusiasts Sherman Sleeves and BK Turning all have posted audio on the site.


Do you see why two hours can fly by so quickly listening to two-minute entries?

Head over and listen for yourself, or- join in the fun and submit your own! The deadline to submit entries is fast approaching- Monday May 14th! (Sorry my global friends, it's only open to chatty folk in the US). The voting however, goes until June 1st.

And oh yes, this addict has an entry too. ;-)

Podiobook to be made into movie

From Chris Miller's blog:

Scott Sigler’s book, Infested, previously released at the podiobook Infection, is going to be made into a movie by RH Films…

The deal was arranged by RH Films president Peter Gethers and the co-presidents of Rogue, Andrew Karpen and Andrew Rona. Random House Films will also get filmmaking rights to the unpublished second novel in Sigler’s series, which Crown has already signed. Infested, which Crown senior v-p and publisher >Steve Ross said is expected to be one of the imprint’s biggest books for next spring, follows a CIA specialist and Centers for Disease Control scientist >trying to contain a bioterror threat in the form of a fast-spreading parasite that turns its victims into serial killers.

Well holy CRAP! Congrats to Scott, for this great news, and for bringing new hope to authors podcasting their books everywhere!

Script Competition Winners Announced

Inaugural Future Classics radio script competition

A Victorian and a South Australian have triumphed in the inaugural "Future Classics" radio script competition.

From January to March, Adelaide-based radio theatre company, Insight Presents, sought new half-hour radio play scripts for their inaugural radio script competition.

Forty-seven scripts were entered, narrowed to seven finalists and,
eventually, two winners whose work will be performed and recorded before a live audience at the Reynella Memorial Hall in Adelaide, South Australia on 15 July.

Julie Thomson from Naracoorte in regional South Australia scored with her rural comedy, “Down the Road”, set in the 1950s in the lead up to a disastrous church fete. Typically Australian, with loveable characters and familiar situations, the play provides a gentle stream of chuckles and captures the essence of country Australian life.

From Ascot Vale, a suburb of Melbourne, John Papadatos also found success with his outlandish, futuristic farce called “Time’s Justice”, about a mobile court of the future that accidentally mistakes dull Mr Smith from Earth for a notorious galactic gangster.

Canadian radio thriving- quite well, actually

Shamelessly swiped from Tod Maffin's Blog at the CBC:

Canada’s commercial radio stations revenue increased by 5.7% in the last year, going from $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion. Profit margins went up too by 2.7% to 20%.

• Commercial AM radio experienced stronger growth in revenues between 2005 and 2006 than at any other time in the last five years.
• Revenues for commercial FM radio stations in Canada have been steadily increasing over the last five years.
• The Canadian private-radio industry employed 9,763 people in 2006 and paid a total of $577.8 million in salaries.
  

Wow. Maybe I should rethink this whole "moving to Canada for political reasons" thing? At least I know I would have a good chance of finding a job in radio. ;-)

A Baby Panda is Born!

I know the postings have been scarce here the last week, as I've had a houseful of guests and have not had much blogging (nor breathing) time- but I had to jump in and give a HUGE congratulations to our foreign correspondent Gregg Taylor and his wife Clarissa of Decoder Ring Theatre on the birth of their first child, Maxwell!

He's adorable- and I am sure he will be fitted with his red mask soon. :-)


So.... CONGRATULATIONS!

Afterhell Volume Three Now In Production

Copied from SFF Audio. But hey, I wrote it, so it's not technically cheating, is it?

The amazingly horror-ific series by the extremely creative folks at Ollin Productions have just started production of Volume Three of their Afterhell series. If you have never heard of Afterhell, you are missing out on an eargasm of multiple proportions. No better way to explain the series than to read it from the source itself:

"This is your gateway to a nightmare world of the ear and the mind.

There, horrors have been set loose on the world. Planet Earth is changing to fulfill a new role in the universe. It is the new Hell. Madness and evil are everywhere. In everyone. In everything.

All over the world, civilization has fallen. Cities burn with lunacy and brimstone. Science can't explain it. Faith can't account for it. The human race is under attack from its own shadows, sins, and deepest fears. The survivors face a surreal existence where only the darkest dreams come true. No one is safe. And everyone is on trial.

Poetic justice and naked cruelty. Personal demons and infernal beasts. It's all here. This is the home of the damned. This is AFTERHELL."

I heard Volume One where else? The Sonic Society during their first season. It caused me to purchase Volume Two, because I couldn't wait for Sonic Society to air it. Being the horror/gore fan that I am, I have never heard anything to make me cringe as much as this series does. It's wonderful!

The best part of this is, Volume Three is going to be released first through a podcast sometime in May! How much better can this get? I'll keep you posted on the details. Here is a promo for Volume Three:

http://media.libsyn.com/media/audioaddict/Afterhell_Vol3_Promo1.mp3

Listen to Afterhell: Dark Descent through the Sonic Society archives:

Part 1

Part 2


See you in Hell!

Podcast Pickle Upgrades Good For Audio Cinema

On April 6, the newest upgrade of the Podcast Pickle directory, Pickle 5, was launched, sporting a new look and several new features. The features are designed to make the Podcast Pickle experience even more user-friendly, and a one-stop resource for both the podcaster and the listener alike. The upgrades include:

* A newly-designed podcast player, with the look of an mp3 player, designed to fit in any blog margin. It streams through your podcast feed, so your listeners can listen to any episode directly off of your podcast site, or any website you wish.

* A “tip jar”, in which listeners can opt to leave a few dollars for their favorite shows. (This option can also be removed by the podcaster.)

* A direct link to your Amazon or Ebay store.

* Rss for any blog you wish to feed into your Pickle page.

* For the listener, especially those who listen through their computer, all of your favorite shows can now be played on the “My Pickle” player. This feature is located directly on the Podcast Pickle homepage. It opens up a player containing every one of your chosen favorites.

Pickle 5 is still beta, with many threads and discussions in the Pickle Forums for feedback on glitches that still may be in the system. Site owner Gary Leland and team appreciate and ask for all feedback regarding any portion of the website.

I've tried most of these things out, and have found no kinks thus far.

Now I know, I'm a total cheerleader for this website. However, when you look at these features, and how inclusive and supportive they are to the podcasting community, how can I not be?

With so many audio cinema groups now podcasting, along with collectives like the Sonic Society and the endless array of pod-books out there, the pickle player would be an asset to their websites. It not only has the look of an mp3 player, but also works in the same fashion. People who hit your site do not have to search the archives for your content- it's all right there in the player. An example? Well, none better than mine, since I haven't searched around to see who else is using it yet (yes, you can customize the color).

Take some time to play around with all these features, you will definitely find they will work for you, whether a listener or a podcaster. :-)

EU price probe into Apple iTunes

Just an article I found I thought would be of interest to the musicians who read:

iTunes is the market leader in downloaded music

The EU has launched an inquiry into what Apple's online music store iTunes charges users across Europe, accusing it of restricting customer choice.

Brussels believes agreements between Apple and record companies violate EU laws by preventing users in one country buying music from a site elsewhere.

The move follows a complaint by UK body Which? that British users have to pay more to download songs than others.

Apple said it wanted to offer a single European service but faced obstacles.

Different pricing

The Commission's move is unrelated to an agreement, announced on Monday, between iTunes and EMI to make the latter's music available online without piracy protection.

Brussels has written to Apple and a number of unnamed record companies to notify them of their objections to the way music is sold, the first step in formal proceedings.

We were advised by the music labels and publishers that there were certain legal limits to the rights they could grant us -Apple

Media reports speculated that it had contacted each of the "big four" record companies - EMI, Sony BMG, Warner Music and Universal Music.

The Commission said Apple established customers' country of residence through their credit card details and only allowed people to buy tracks from the website for that country.

"Consumers can only buy music from the iTunes online stores in their country of residence and are therefore restricted in their choice of where to buy music," said EU competition spokesman Jonathan Todd.

ITUNES PRICING PER DOWNLOAD UK: 79p Denmark: 72p Germany: 66p France: 66p Belgium: 66p

Research by Which? in 2005 found that UK users paid 79p (1.16 euros) to download a song, compared with 66p (99 euro cents) in France and Germany.

Apple said it had always wanted to offer a fully pan-European service, but was restricted by the demands of its music partners.

"We were advised by the music labels and publishers that there were certain legal limits to the rights they could grant us," it said in a statement.

'Restricting competition'

The companies targeted by Brussels have two months in which to respond to the charges.

Which? welcomed the investigation, saying the benefits of the European single market should be available to music lovers in all member states.

"This investigation proves that iTunes is overcharging its UK customers, who are paying substantially more for their music," said Alena Kozakova, its principal economist.

"The announcement means that companies can no longer hide behind intellectual property rights to restrict competition for consumers."