BE A LEADER, NOT A BOSS

Ok, I normally try to come up with orginal posts and not "cut and paste" something someone else did.  But this is too good not to share.  Someone posted it on Facebook.  It's pretty self explanitory and is totally true.

  

COUNTRY GOLD WITH RANDY OWEN

This is a show that I've been working on for several months and helped create. I'm really excited for it's national debut July 7/8th.  E-mail me if you want to learn more.  jpaul@dialglobal.com.

-John Paul
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For Immediate Release:

COUNTRY GOLD BRINGS COUNTRY SUPERSTARS BACK TO THE RADIO

                 Hosted by Randy Owen, front man from the legendary group Alabama

NEW YORK, NY, June 12, 2012 -  Whatever happened to songs by Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Vince Gill and Alabama?  They have millions of fans.  But you hardly hear their music on the radio anymore.

That’s about to change!  Dial Global (NASDAQ: DIAL) announces the debut of Country Gold with Randy Owen, a four-hour, music-intensive show hosted by the front man and lead vocalist for the iconic band ALABAMA.  In addition to its extensive playlist, Country Gold will also feature anecdotes from a guy who ruled the country music charts during its golden age….and Randy’s got the stories to prove it.   

Country Gold is packed with at least 13 songs per hour and spotlights classics from the 1970s through the mid-90s.  Core artists include Garth Brooks, George Strait, Johnny Cash, Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, Randy Travis, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Clint Black, Merle Haggard, Travis Tritt, Dolly Parton and, of course, Alabama.

Randy Owen is a country music legend, with 43 number #1 singles, more than 75 million albums sold, 150 industry awards--including eight ACM and CMA "Entertainer of the Year" honors--two Grammys and 23 American Music Awards.  He is also a proud member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.  

“I’m looking forward to visiting with the fans and playing some of my favorite songs and the greatest songs ever recorded,” says Owens.  “Hosting Country Gold is going to be fun and exciting for me.  I hope listeners request songs they want to hear and feel a personal connection with my show.”

 John Paul, Dial Global’s VP Programming, comments “Country Gold is designed for Mainstream and Classic Country stations.   It’s the only place to hear those ‘lost’ country music stars from 1980-1995 that rarely get played on country radio.  Yet listeners still love that music.  So this is a specialty show, a destination for fans to hear those classics.”

Country Gold with Randy Owen debuts the weekend of July 7-8, 2012 and is available from Dial Global on a market-exclusive basis.

Country Gold with Randy Owen replaces the current Country Gold and Rick Jackson’s Hall of Fame programs.  The new show features a finely tuned music mix, contemporary imaging and, now, a superstar host. 

For more information, Call 212-419-2926 or Email findoutmore@dialglobal.com

About Dial Global

Dial Global produces over 200 news, sports, talk, music and entertainment programs, services and digital applications, jingles and imaging.  As America’s leading provider and distributor of audio content to more than 8,500 radio stations nationwide, Dial Global defines great moments in sports, news and entertainment through our radio networks which are heard by over 225 million listeners a week.   For more information, visit www.dialglobal.com

TALK LIKE TODAY

I constantly hear personalities using words and phrases that are yesterday.  Some are old, overused cliches, others aren't.

Here are five things that I still hear on the radio that makes the jock sound dated and out of touch. 

1)  "Don't touch that dial."  Whose radio still has a dial?

2)  Saying "WWW" before a website address.  Anyone who is online knows that you don't need to put in "WWW." 

3)  "Dial me up on the phone."  Using the word "dial" when telling listeners to call you. Who owns a phone today with a dial? I'm sure it's not your listener.

4)  Using any and all cliches.  Let's start with stopping the use of "Hump Day." 

5)  Asking your listeners to fax you anything.  If you are still telling your listeners to "fax your entry" or "fax us your PSA", you sound dated and out of touch.  It's no longer 1995.

These are just five simple things you can stop saying today and you'll sound more relevant tomorrow.

If you can think of more, I'd love to hear them.  Comment below and tell me the out dated words and phrases that you still hear on the radio.

RANDOM THOUGHTS ON BRANDING YOUR SHOW ONLINE

I'm on the road traveling this week for work, so I asked "Marconi, The Night Ninja" to write me a BLOG. 

You can hear Marconi all over the country live at night on "Rock 2.0", a Dial Global Radio Network 24/7 format.

Find our more on Marconi here

http://marconibologna.com/
http://spreaker.com/user/marconibologna 




Today when it comes to marketing and branding in broadcasting, it is smart when naming anything to check to see if the URL, Twitter and Facebook names are available first. 

I have seen so many radio stations name something and have to have some long URL or weird hard to remember twitter name.  It seems silly when you can give your product or station a name that's easy to remember without having an underscore or add a frequency or a dot FM/US, or worse DOT NET!!

I have several URLS that I use for branding. My main sites are http://MarconiBologna.com, http://MFPod.com, http://altraindie.com/.  All of them have matching twitter and Facebook accounts. I also own http://RockRadio101.com.

Even when I am just playing around with an idea for naming something, I check for availability of ALL social media names.

Having a last name like mine isn't easy and for spelling most people butcher it.  Most people I know aren't even sure how to spell Bologna either.  Since I use my real last name and most things Marconi are already taken, I have done my best to adapt at least with a online brand name that is catchy and "clever" enough to be remembered.

I also find that companies always want to create apps that will cost them tons of money when almost everything they are paying for can be found for free online. 

I use all things FREE!  My tumblr page looks better and functions easier than most radio station websites. Best of all I can post to it from my phone and connect it to many social networking sites.

For my streaming I use Mixlr.com and a laptop I bought at a pawn store. My music playlists are made on Spotify which with my premium account covers RIAA and other royalty fees. Plus I spend no time uploading music into an automation system and can update my playlists on my phone.

For my podcast I use Spreaker.com. It was created by an Italian inventor (not related to this one). It includes a DJ console where I can upload imaging, news clips, songs or anything else I might need for my podcast. I can login from any computer with a microphone and do my podcast LIVE. When I'm done it automatically uploads to SoundCloud.com which posts to my twitter, facebook and itunes feeds. Best part, wait for it...I can broadcast LIVE from my phone! The audio quality sounds like a marti unit.

For free I can go for 30 minutes or for $20 I can go up to three hours live.  I also use Mixlcloud.com to post podcasts with bigger guests because the embed display looks really cool on my blog.

Finally, STOP using YOUR OWN VIDEO PLAYERS! YouTube is the best and yours is NOT better.
So unless you can make things that look and function better than these free apps, you really have no reason to spend $$ on expensive apps that function like a product from the 80's.

-Marconi