• ABOUT
    • Contact
    • The Team
    • FAQ
    • Use & Privacy Policy
  • ADVERTISE
  • JOB LISTINGS
MusicRow.com
  • CALENDARS
    • Album Releases
    • Single Releases
    • Industry Events
  • EVENTS
  • OBITS
  • CHARTS
    • Radio Chart (Current)
    • Radio Chart (Archives)
    • No. 1 Challenge Coin
    • Songwriter Chart (Current)
    • Songwriter Chart (Archives)
  • REVIEWS
  • ROWFAX
  • NEWSLETTER
    • Newsletter (Current)
    • Newsletter (Archives)
  • SIGN UP
  • STORE
  • Search
  • Menu

Charlie Cook On Air

October 14, 2011/in Featured, Radio /by contributor

Facing the Challenge of the Cell Phone

I was recently in a meeting with a bunch of industry executives. I snuck in. Each of us was bemoaning the condition of our individual businesses. It was like if we’re going to get kicked in the teeth we wanted to have the worst smile when it was all done.

Radio people complained about the Japanese auto manufacturers not spending money this year on radio because of the tragedy they lived through. To heck with an earthquake, what about my bonus?

Record people complained that they were selling enough music to keep the lights on but that there was real question about the water and sewer bills coming due. Again, the bonus issue came up.

Tour operators complained that acts were asking for too much money and that the live business is not what it used to be. There are not as many sheds as in the good old days.

Publishers were strangely silent. That’s for another column.

I was thinking about how I could get in on this conversation. I don’t have a bonus plan that I could discuss. Then it hit me.

What has changed in the last 10 years that has really made things unbearable for our businesses? What is sucking up the money for live events and recorded music. What is a challenge for radio listening, even in the safe confines of the car?

The damn cell phone.

The overall problem is that families are now paying upwards of $200.00 a month to outfit the household with text machines, music players and even quasi-radios that masquerade as cellphones. The darn things are portable wrecking machines on every level.

I don’t know about your family but if you add something that costs $100-200 a month to the budget, something has to give. It might be that Friday night out for pizzas. It might be a Saturday night at the movies. Though they appear to have stayed level, revenue wise. But you can’t keep track of real ticket sales because the cost of a movie has skyrocketed even before factoring in 3D ripoffs for $4 a ticket more. Do you really need to see the Smurfs in 3D? How blue is blue?

I watch TV on my cell phone. I listen to Detroit Tiger games on MLB Live on my cell phone. I could listen to music on my cell phone.

If your kid is a video game addict you’re lucky. At least he or she is not “sexting” 15 hours a day with other kids. Teens have lost interest in anything not attached to a text.

In 2003 CDs accounted for 95 percent of recorded music sales. Today CDs are down to 49 percent. What has increased more than cellphones in those nine years?

So do we all agree that Napster, the Japanese earthquake and diva acts are getting a bad rap.

It’s Verizon, ATT and Sprint that we should be pissed at. And radio would be, except telecom is the number one radio account. Oh the conflict.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
contributor
Latest posts by contributor (see all)
  • BREAKING: Radio Legend Bob Kingsley Dies - October 17, 2019
  • The Producer’s Chair: Corey Crowder - November 22, 2017
  • The Producer’s Chair: Frank Liddell - October 26, 2017
Tags: featured-2
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail
https://musicrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/MusicRow-header-logo-Mar19B.png 0 0 contributor https://musicrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/MusicRow-header-logo-Mar19B.png contributor2011-10-14 09:18:342011-10-14 09:18:34Charlie Cook On Air
You might also like
Weekly Chart Report (2/7/14)
Bobby Karl Works The Room: MusicRow's Sixth Annual Rising Women On The Row Breakfast
Weekly Chart Report 11/17/17
Miranda Lambert Earns Seventh Country Radio Chart-Topper With "Bluebird"
Average Joes Appoints Jamie Reeder Head Of New Arcade Management Division
Bobby Karl Works The Room: 2016 NATD Honors Gala

RECENT NEWS

  • Virtual Tickets Available: 14th Annual Jeffrey Steele & Friends Benefit March 4, 2021
  • Walker Campbell Signs With Banner Music March 4, 2021
  • Industry Ink: Kylie Frey, Circle Network, Intersection March 4, 2021
  • DISClaimer Single Reviews: Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, Brandy Clark March 4, 2021
  • Miranda Lambert To Become First Female Country Artist With A Bar On Broadway March 4, 2021
  • Nashville-Based Creatives Launch Rove Productions, Ink With UTA March 4, 2021
  • Special Edition Of CMA Songwriters Series Coming To BBC Radio 2 March 4, 2021
  • Shannon Leigh Keenan Rejoins Triple 7 PR, To Head Nashville Office March 4, 2021
  • The Steel Woods To Release Final Album With Late Founder Rowdy Cope March 4, 2021
  • Richie McDonald Exits Lonestar, Joins Frontmen Of Country Full-Time March 4, 2021
  • On The Row: Ian Munsick Brings The West To The Rest March 3, 2021
  • DelFest Postponed Until September March 3, 2021
  • Kings Of Leon, Yellowheart Team To Present The ‘NFT YOURSELF’ Collection March 3, 2021
  • Midland Goes Back To The Beginning In New ‘Sonic Ranch’ Documentary, Soundtrack March 3, 2021
  • Old Dominion Debuts Band Van Radio On Apple Music Country March 3, 2021

Like Us on Facebook

Follow Us on Twitter

Tweets by MusicRow
© 2021 Music Row Enterprises, LLC – All rights reserved.
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
Scroll to top