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GOLDSTEIN: Podcast Categories With The Most Titles? You May Be Surprised

THE MOUTH, DECEMBER 12TH, 2017 –– Amplifi Media's Steven Goldstein writes in his latest blog: Last week we did an X-ray of the top 200 podcasts from Apple’s podcast charts and divided them by subject matter. The findings were revealing and created a good deal of chatter. Just 4 of Apple’s 16 categories are responsible for over 2/3rds of the Top 200. This time, we were curious about the types of shows that comprise the 420,000 podcasts on Apple Podcasts. We picked a random day in October. The chart below shows what may include a few surprises.

Religion & Spirituality tops the 16 major podcast categories in Apple Podcasts with over 58,000 titles Religion & Spirituality tops the 16 major podcast categories in Apple Podcasts with over 58,000 titles. Given the arcane rules of music licensing in podcasting, we were surprised that music is the 3rd biggest category - Expected titles such as "Song Exploder" are here, along with lots of mix shows and time-shifted radio shows. I don’t want to even think about the rights infringement that is occurring among these 41,000 titles. You might want to refer back to the most-read blog post we have ever run; "Why can't music be played in podcasts?"

News & Politics - This category drove the second highest number of shows in the top 200 (34) analysis we did, yet is far down as the 11th category in terms of podcast titles. For some perspective, that's almost 2/3 fewer than the number of titles in Religion. We surmise, this has to do with the relative cost of creating effective content in this sector. READ BLOG HERE

Apple Confirms It Has Acquired Shazam

THE MOUTH, DECEMBER 12TH, 2017 –– Apple announced yesterday that it has acquired Shazam reports The Verge. As first tipped by TechCrunch, the deal is reportedly worth $400 million. “We are thrilled that Shazam and its talented team will be joining Apple,” an Apple spokesperson told The Verge. "Apple Music and Shazam are a natural fit, sharing a passion for music discovery and delivering great music experiences to our users. We have exciting plans in store, and we look forward to combining with Shazam upon approval of today’s agreement."

Verge says, " Despite its low revenues, Shazam can help Apple in a number of ways. The most obvious would be with Apple Music, where Shazam’s team could help improve the experience of the service. If Apple decides to shut down the app, it would also take away referrals to Spotify, which together with Apple Music gets 1 million clicks per day from Shazam. Also, Shazam’s music and sound recognition, which is already integrated with Siri, could gain a deeper integration with iOS, much like Google has done with its song recognition feature on the Pixel." The deal should close in the coming weeks pending regulatory approval.

SYNDICATION: Woody Goes To Wichita

THE MOUTH, DECEMBER 12TH, 2017 –– iHeartMedia’s ALT 107.3, Wichita’s Alternative Rock, announced today the debut of The Woody Show, effective immediately. “We left a toothbrush, and have been getting our mail delivered to ALT 107.3 for a while now, hoping that one day they would pop the question,” said Woody. “Finally, that day has come and today, December 11th, they are making an honest show out of us.” “Wichita has been in need of something like The Woody Show for some time now,” said Manny Cowzinski, ALT 107.3 Program Director. “The city has never had a morning show like this one – it’s as authentic as it gets.

NETWORKS: Checkpoint Radio Growing In Major Markets; Bloomberg Tax Tips

THE MOUTH, DECEMBER 12TH, 2017 –– Westwood One and Checkpoint Radio, the first, nationally syndicated radio show dedicated to the world of esports and gaming, has added more big market stations to its growing roster, including KTCT-AM/San Francisco, KKFN-FM/Denver, WOKY-AM/Milwaukee, and WNSR-AM, Nashville. Hosted by Nate Bender, Robbie Landis, Norris Howard and Joe Sloan, Checkpoint Radio is an esports talk show featuring insights, news, interviews, and updates designed specifically for the video game and esports fan.

In addition to the weekly show, the Checkpoint crew also produces a podcast featuring exclusive content not heard on the radio program. This one-of-a-kind, two-hour weekly show airs Thursday afternoon anytime through Sunday. In addition, Checkpoint Radio also produces the Esports Minute, which airs which airs daily, Monday-Friday, between 6 am – 7 pm. Stations interested in Checkpoint Radio and/or the e-Sports Minute can contact Rich Burg at rburg@westwoodone.com or (212) 824-2994. Learn more at checkpointradio.com.

-- United Stations announced that Bloomberg Radio will once again be providing an original series of “TAX TIPS” to be broadcast during the height of the 2018 season. The full series of “Tax Tips” are slated for broadcast starting on Monday, February 5, 2018 and will be provided to stations daily (Monday through Friday) up to and including Friday, April 13th, just before the annual tax filing deadline. Margaret “Peggy” Collins has been covering personal finance and wealth management for Bloomberg News since August 2009, and she now leads Bloomberg's U.S. investing coverage. Prior to Bloomberg, she was a multimedia editor for MSN.com and a reporter for the Bergen Record newspaper in New Jersey. - For more info, contact Andy Denemark - United Stations Radio Networks (212) 536.3603 andyd@unitedstations.com

Stephen Quinn Named Host of New CBC Radio Morning show

THE MOUTH, DECEMBER 12TH, 2017 –– Stephen Quinn will be the voice of The Early Edition on CBC Radio One starting on January 2 reports The Georgia Straight The most frequent fill-in host will soon take over the permanent reins of The Early Edition, which is CBC Radio One's flagship morning show. The paper says Cluff has generated superb ratings in his 20 years hosting The Early Edition. During Quinn's tenure at On The Coast, there was also a significant increase in ratings in the afternoon. This likely made him a shoo-in to be Cluff's replacement.

Replacing Quinn on the afternoon show from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. is Gloria Macarenko, a long-time TV news anchor on CBC. She currently hosts the midday B.C. Almanac radio show as well as the Our Vancouver TV show on CBC. The public broadcaster has not yet named a replacement for Macarenko on B.C. Almanac, which is a province-wide call-in show.

MORE JOY: WJR'S Mitch Albom Delivers Record $1,258,000 For Detroit Charities

THE MOUTH, DECEMBER 12TH, 2017 –– Cumulus/WJR's beloved Mitch Albom (inset and buried in floating bills at top right) held his 6th Annual Mitch Albom S.A.Y. Detroit Radiothon last Thursday and raised a record $1,258,000 for Detroit charities. The 15-hour show was hosted by Albom with dozens of celebrity guests including: Dr. Phil, Hugh Jackman, Hank Azaria, Matthew Stafford and more. 100% of the funds raised will support the Mitch Albom Charities, www.mitchalbomcharities.org and other Detroit charities. Albom hosts "The Mitch Albom Show" from 5-7PM weekdays on News Talk 760 AM WJR.

The photo above was taken at Cumulus Media-Detroit studios when the final amount raised was announced on-air.

... And There's More

-- Over at Beasley's 99.5 QYK Country Cares for St. Jude’s Radiothon, they raised $300,620 for St. Jude Kids. The event wdas held last Thursday, December 7th and Friday, December 8th. ABOVE PHOTO/Left to Right: 99.5 QYK Show Hosts Marc & Veronica, Afternoon Host Cadillac Jack, Program Director Tee Gentry, St. Jude former patient Abby and St. Jude Regional Representative Sarah Potter.

---Entercom Philadelphia’s 16th annual 98.1 WOGL Loves Our Kids Radiothon raised over $300,000 for The Children’s Miracle Network at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The Radiothon was broadcast live on Thursday, December 7 and Friday, December 8 from the Ryan Seacrest Foundation’s “Seacrest Studios” located in the Colket Atrium at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Donations were taken by phone, online and in person. 98.1 WOGL-FM hosts Marilyn Russell, Harvey Holiday and Nicky G. presented the check for over $300,000 to Children’s Hospital.

-- Magic 94-9 (WWRM) Tampa held their 18th Annual Magic Toy Drive with the Marines, collecting donations for Toys for Tots, Friday, December 8th. Danielle (shown horizontally), from Magic Mornings, did a live broadcast for 14 hours as they collected 4 U-Haul trucks full of new, unwrapped toys for local kids. And, Christmas came early as 98º stopped by the Magic Toy Drive to chat with Magic 94-9’s Danielle.

SNAPS: Sterling Show Delivers Proposal

THE MOUTH, DECEMBER 12TH, 2017 –– Walter M Sterling - aka Walter Sabo, host of the syndicated 'Sterling On Sunday, aired its special 'Radio Storyteller Series' last Sunday from the Entercom broadcast center in Philadelphia. Joining Sterling were (l-r) Douglas Henderson Jr, Michael Tearson, Denny Somach, Gary R'Nel, Tommy McCarthy, Rasa Kaye, AJ Essington, Lee Harris, Ross Brittain, host Walter Sterling and Allen Shaw. On the couch is Judy Anderson and Neil Pohl who had a major announcement: He asked her to marry him live on the air. She Said yes! - Sterling on Sunday airs on WPHT Philadelphia, WLS-A Chicago, WMAL-A/F Washington DC, KMOX-A St Louis, WCCO-A Minneapolis. For more info, contact Stuart Greenblatt at 212.419.2946.

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[WATCH] Rocker Josh Homme Issues Apology After Kicking Photographer In Face During Station Christmas Event

THE MOUTH, DECEMBER 11TH, 2017 –– Queen's of Stone Age Frontman Josh Homme has apologized after kicking a photographer during KROQ/LA's 'Almost Acoustic Christmas Concert reports huffpo. "“Thanks to joshhomme I now get to spend my night in the ER,” posted Chelsea Lauren (L) on Instagram along with shown photo above. Lauren, a photographer for Shutterstock who was covering the band’s performance in the L.A. area, wrote on Twitter. “Seriously, WHO DOES THAT?!?” Lauren wrote on Instagram that she was suffering from a bruised eyebrow, sore neck and nausea. “I was where I was allowed to be, I was not breaking any rules. I was simply trying to do my job,” she wrote. She told Variety she was “pretty excited” when Homme walked toward her as she had never photographed his band before. “The next thing I know his foot connects with my camera and my camera connects with my face, really hard,” she said, adding: “He looked straight at me, swung his leg back pretty hard and full-blown kicked me in the face. He continued performing. I was startled, I kind of stopped looking at him. I just got down and was holding my face because it hurt so badly.” Lauren went to the press room, then returned to the area in front of the stage to continue photographing the event before seeking treatment for her injuries. She told Variety she was planning to file a police report. WATCH HERE

Lauren posted on Instagram, "Assault in any form is not okay, no matter what the reasoning. Alcohol and drugs are no excuse. I was where I was allowed to be, I was not breaking any rules. I was simply trying to do my job. I hold nobody accountable for this but Josh himself. KROQ has nothing to do with this and I will always support them."

Homme released a video statement late Sunday apologizing again: “I’d just like to apologize to Chelsea Lauren. I don’t have any excuse or reason to justify what I did. I was a total dick, and I’m truly sorry, and I hope you’re okay. I made a lot of mistakes in my life and last night was definitely one of them and I apologize for that to you. I want to be a good man but I think last night I definitely failed that.” WATCH HERE

SOURCES: Apple To Soon Acquire Shazam

THE MOUTH, DECEMBEWR 11TH, 2017 –– Apple is acquiring music recognition app Shazam sources tell techcrunch.com. The tech source says they've heard that the deal is being signed this week, and will be announced on Monday, although that could always change. Shazam launched back in 1999, well before the days of apps, as a service you reached by way of a SMS code — in fact, its first name was 2580, after the number you typed in the UK to access the service.

Techcrunch adds that it’s notable that much of what Shazam does is very synergistic with what Apple is working on already: AR, and more features to attract more users to the Apple Music platform. Apple has made dozens of other acquisitions, and one of the biggest has been in the area of music: it acquired Beats for $3 billion in 2014, which became the basis for Apple Music. That service has around 30 million users as of September of this year. As a point of comparison, Spotify has over 60 million paying subscribers, with 140 million overall. We’ve reached out to Shazam and Apple for comment. We’ll update this story as we learn more. PHOTO/allmy-shutterstock

iHeartMedia’s Denver Region Announces Programming Changes For Rock Stations

THE MOUTH, DECEMBER 11, 2017 –– iHeartMedia’s Denver Region announced new programming changes in its Denver, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs markets. KBPI’s “Rocks the Rockies” programming will simulcast on 106.7 in Denver, 107.9 in Fort Collins, and 107.9 in Colorado Springs, effective December 11. The station’s programming includes Your Morning Show with Willie B, on-air personalities Beardo and Colfax, as well as a variety of Rock music from artists. KBPI’s heavy involvement in each of its listening communities will be reflected by refreshed programming and promotions, including local news topics, community events and regional concerts. In addition, iHeartMedia Denver’s 107.9 KPAW, The Rock of Colorado, will move its programming to 92.9 KYWY, a stronger signal that will allow its programming to be enjoyed by more listeners than ever before. The station’s programming lineup includes on-air personalities Uncle Nasty, Alicia, Nate Wilde and Willie B’s Garage, and will play a range of Rock hits

“I’m excited to bring revamped rock programming to rock fans across Colorado,” said Tim Hager (R), President of iHeartMedia’s Denver Region. “The opportunity to take The Bear heritage brand and serve a larger Northern Colorado footprint and simultaneously take the heritage brand of KBPI to truly ‘Rock the Rockies’ across the entire state will serve our listeners, partners and the community in a tremendous way!”

BUSINESS: Cumulus Inks Longterm Extension With Nielsen

THE MOUTH, DECEMBER 121TH, 2017 –– Nielsen announced that Cumulus Media, one of the largest media companies in the US, has signed a multi-year extension for radio ratings services for all Portable People Meter (PPM) and radio diary measured markets. Westwood One, the largest radio network in the U.S. and the national-facing arm of Cumulus Media, is also included in this agreement. This multi-year agreement provides Nielsen’s radio and network radio ratings services for Cumulus and Westwood One’s 446 radio stations across 90 local markets.

“Despite the abundance of media options, radio continues to lead the way in reach and ROI. We are excited to extend our agreement with Nielsen so that we can continue to leverage their vast datasets and analytical insights to provide the proof that we do indeed deliver the highest ROI of any local media to our advertisers,” said Bob Walker, Executive Vice President Operations, Cumulus Media. In addition to extending Nielsen’s core audio ratings services, Cumulus and Westwood One will continue to have access to local qualitative behavioral data from Nielsen Scarborough, enhanced talent analytics from Nielsen N-Score and national networks ratings from Nielsen RADAR. As part of the agreement, Westwood One will extend its use of Nielsen Marketing Cloud and Pointlogic for enhanced purchase-based marketing and media planning functions.

ON-AIR: Jordan Takes Over Mornings On Z107.7 St. Louis; WAPE'S Mark Kaye Adds 1-Midday Shift On N/T WOKV

THE MOUTH, DECEMBER 11TH, 2017 –– Z107.7, St. Louis announced the debut of “St. Louis’ Most Hit Music in the Morning with Jordan, ” effective today, December 11. “Jordan is one of the best radio talents in the industry,” said A.J., Senior Vice President of Programming for iHeartMedia St. Louis. “ Moving him to mornings will help write the next chapter in Z107.7 history. During his time in St. Louis, Jordan has had tremendous success with afternoons and we are very excited for him to host a fun, compelling and local morning show for St. Louis.” “To say that I’m deeply humbled to have the opportunity to lead mornings on Z107.7 would be an incredible understatement,” said Jordan. “ To our passionate iHeartMedia St. Louis family, thank you for your trust and belief. This sure is a dream come true.”

-- CMG's WAPE-FM/Jacksonville dynamo Mark Kaye (R) is spreading his talents across the hall to sister station 104.5 WOKV for a 1-hour daily show. He tells Jockline, "Yes I’m starting a second talk show this morning on our sister station News 104.5 WOKV. It’s a one hour daily show that airs 11-Noon, just before Rush Limbaugh. I've been filling-in for Herman Cain the past few years and contributing to his show. Cox saw this as an opportunity for me to try something new and exciting for the talk format on a regular basis."

STUDY: Music Streaming And Podcast Makes Large Strides In 2017

THE MOUTH, DECEMBER 11TH, 2017 – It’s been quite a year all around reports Bridge Ratings, but our digital lives have certainly flourished. In Bridge Ratings’ new year-end study they show that Music streaming consumption continues to grow. Top Line Music Streaming and on-demand streaming in particular continues to make grandiose strides with streams increasing another 40% over 2016. Hip-Hop/Rap is not only the leading music genre consumed it increased its share of listening with 100 Billion streams. Music radio adoption of music streaming data for programming purposes increased from 22% to 35% of programmers we polled.

Podcasting broke through big time this year in both the number of listeners (44% having ever listened) and ad revenue ($250 million projected 2017). Podcasting advertising cost-per-thousand increased 20% year-over-year. Traditional radio is a primary source of audio on voice-enabled smart speakers. It's been another fantastic digital year with growth in both consumers and advertising revenue. SEE REPORT HERE

EVENTS: Jingles, Jingles All The Way

THE MOUTH, DECEMBER 11TH, 2017 –– It's simply not possible to keep up with the enormous amount of fundraising and holiday events underway at radio this time of year, but here's our latest sampling: At top is WZPL's top-rated Smiley Morning Show featuring Dave Smiley, Toni Williams, Nikki Reed and Producer Will who just raised $706,145!!!! in its #zplWish.

-- At left center, Beasley Media Group took over the Park Central Hotel in midtown Manhattan near Times Square on Thursday, December 7th to host the company’s big client Holiday Soiree! The evening included special performances by Republic Records Artist SEAL and EMI Nashville’s Brothers Osborne.A fun time was had by all! PHOTO/Wendy Moger-Bross

-- At right center, iHeartMedia’s nationally syndicated The Bobby Bones Show raised nearly $1.7 million as part of the program’s two-day St. Jude Radiothon on December 7 and 8, 2017. As donations continue to roll in, the 2017 Bobby Bones Show Radiothon has already surpassed last year’s fundraising total of 1.3 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®. “Our listeners always come through, every single time, and always in a massive way for St. Jude,” said Bones. “We’re so thankful to them, as well as the artists and affiliate stations, who went above and beyond to support this worthy cause.”

--At bottom left, WIMZ Knoxville's afternoon personality, Billy Kidd, spearheads its Camping for Cans with help in its Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee. Shown is Billy Kidd with WIMZ's Bethany

--At bottom right, Radio 104.5, Philadelphia, hosted Weezer who headlined the fourth annual Movember Gala which took place Friday, December 1 at The Block inside of Harrah’s Philadelphia. The gala was a culmination of the Movember Mondays fundraisers that happened throughout November. All proceeds from the station’s efforts were donated to the Movember Foundation. The total amount raised was $27,603.00.

CONDOLENCES: Longtime KLAQ 95.5 El Paso Host 'Big Al' Jones Passes Away

THE MOUTH, DECEMBER 11TH, 2017 –– "Big Al" Jones, longtime morning co-host on KLAQ 95.5, has passed away. At the station's Facebook page they wrote: "It is with great sadness we share news of the passing of “Big Al” Jones. Many of our staff stayed close with Al since he left the Q, and appreciated his continued friendship. Al fought some rough health battles over the past years and we hope he is now at peace."

According to elpasoproud.com, Jones previously had been program director for KLAQ and its sister station, KSII-FM 93.1. KLAQ's owner, Townsquare Media, posted this message on Facebook: "Big Al Jones was a big part of KLAQ’s success. He, along with partner Courtney Nelson, will always be part of the KLAQ family. He was a big man in life, a big personality on the radio, and a friend of mine -- and a friend to many. RIP Big Al Jones. Time to start rocking the clouds. Until next time, peace."

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