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Name: National Association of Broadcasters
Age: 88
Occupation: broadcasters association
Last Seen: Washington, DC
Bee-otched For: losing one
Age: 88
Occupation: broadcasters association
Last Seen: Washington, DC
Bee-otched For: losing one
As Trent Reznor used to say, "bow down before the one you serve, you're gonna get what you deserve."
For years, the NAB has invested in the interests of terrestrial broadcasters big and small.
But in the case of one broadcaster, who just happens to be the general manager of one of the most-boring rock stations ever in the history of man, the NAB has become useless.
Charlie Ferguson, the GM of that station, 97.5/98.9 WKLT, classic hits 94.3/92.5 WFCX "The Fox" and talk WSRT 106.7/105.5 "You FM" - all in Traverse City - has dropped his affiliation with the organization, citing the fact that the NAB is for higher royalties for songs played on the radio.
In a statement, Ferguson stated "As the General Manager of our company, I cannot continue to pay dues to an organization that sells out to the record labels on the Performance Tax issue. FM chips in cell phones is a red herring and your organization can no longer represent our company and our Radio stations in any matter of financial or political importance."
The NAB and an organization called musicFIRST which lobbies for higher pay to artists and labels every time a song is played, is in a dispute over royalties. Last week, the NAB released a term sheet in which musicFIRST felt troubled with. The terms basically state that radio stations would pay up to 1% of their total revenue just to play music.
Earlier this year, Ferguson dropped the AC format on 106.7/105.5 with a talk format featuring liberal Stephanie Miller, conservatives Dave Ramsey and the outgoing Dr. Laura and independents Jerry Doyle, Michael Smerconish, Lou Dobbs and Doug McIntyre. He claims that since they dropped music for syndicated talk, he's saving $40,000 per year. It's also worth noting that around five years ago, WKLT dropped most of their currents from their playlist, becoming pretty much a 99% classic rock station. Despite a shallow playlist loaded with geezer rock, KLT is generally #2 in the ratings.
Ferguson's company, Northern Broadcast is a division of Northern Bottling Co., which is the Pepsi bottler in Minot, ND. Both companies are owned by the Gokey family; they have been in the northern Michigan market since 1984 when they purchased WKLT. Weakened regulations on ownership rules allowed Northern to purchase additional stations over the years. In all, Northern owns six stations. However, WKLT, WFCX and WSRT have one repeater each, so technically, it's three physical stations.
Ferguson's not alone. Holland radio station WHTC 1450 dropped its long-time AC format not long ago and replaced it with a talk format due to troubles with the royalty rates. Another AM station, Ionia's WION I1430 is urging listeners to fight the performance tax, which they claim would cost the station an extra $5,000 per year. Mind you, WION is out in the sticks and never makes the Arbitron ratings. But, overall response to the station is quite good. The station has even banned political ads from their station this year, claiming that many of the candidates are for higher taxes for radio stations.
Now, I should point out that like I said, Trent Reznor is right and these radio stations - especially Ferguson's - are getting what they deserve. Remember, the NAB had lobbied against the merger of Sirius and XM since they sided with local radio stations, claiming that it would make things harder for smaller stations in terms of competition. As many of you long-time Chuck69.com followers know, I'm no fan of Ferguson's or Northern Broadcast for that matter. Much of it is due to the fact that KLT is a station aimed for losers who barely graduated high school who don't mind hearing Foreigner's "Cold As Ice" 12 times per day. It's also sad that back in the 90's, the station had the opportunity to play bands that changed rock forever like KoRn, Tool, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine and others, but they've always played the "play it safe" card. It's also worth noting that many - like me - are also angry over the fact that the once-popular 106.7 The Peak was dropped for AC in the first place and things only got worse when it flipped to talk, especially when they started airing Dr. Laura and her n-word-infected rants. Oh, yeah! It's sad that when Mark Elliot left The Fox, the station's coolness went with him.
But'cha know? Thank Jebus for Sirius. Last time I was up north. I got sick of listening to the moldy, shitty-assed classic rock that even the only station in town playing new rock - Real Rock 105.1/95.5 - was playing. Sorry. Four stations that OD on 'Skinner, Stones and ZZ Top is too much for me. Sometimes, I find it sad that thanks to northern Michigan's vastness, you have to have two stations to get numbers in Arbitron, leaving less choice on the dial. But since Sirius has the bandwidth, it's northern Michigan radio's loss.
It was people like Charlie who wanted the NAB to represent him, but in the end, it's his loss. The world of radio's a sad one, and in the long run, the real loser's the listener who sticks to good 'ol FM for their music. In the end, they get more commercials, lack of good music and jocks that know nothing about their hometown since they're voicetracked out of Omaha. Many of those listeners leave to MP3 players and Sirius and yes, even the station owners, big and small, lose. BIG TIME.
No wonder why Sony no longer makes the Walkman.
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