CRTC Cancon Hearings Begin Monday

General Radio News and Comments, Satellite & Internet Radio and LPFM

Postby Glen Livingstone » Sun May 14, 2006 11:31 am

At a time when the CRTC should be seriously looking at abolishing the archaic regulations governing radio airplay by Canadian artists, the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting is lobbying to increase Cancon from its current 35 percent to 40.

Meanwhile, Canadian Association of Broadcasters president Glenn O'Farrell says "Radio faces unregulated competition in an open field of media and entertainment services."

This group seek to level the playing field by among other things introducing a bonus system of credits to encourage airplay of emerging artists and a reduction of Cancon levels to 25 percent for stations playing music recorded before 1985 - ie "oldies" stations.

And- oh yeah - the CAB would also like to see stricter guidelines on licensing new stations.

The two organizations will meet with the CRTC on Monday to make their pitches.

I have no sympathy for either of these groups of whiners.

First of all - to the FCB, this is 2006, not 1970.

Back in 1970 it was pretty tough to make a record in Canada. Recording studios were few and far between and there was little or no infrastructure to support Canadian musicians.

Today, for an initial investment of a few hundred bucks you can set up a high quality recording studio in your basement, burn your own CD's and upload them to any number of websites devoted to indie bands.

Your music will have instant exposure to anyone anywhere who has a computer and an internet connection.

But that's not good enough for FCB spokesman Ian Morrison who wants 25 percent of his proposed 40 percent minimum designated for "new and emerging genres and artists."

Here's a message for you Ian; if want to be exposed to "new and emerging Canadian genres and artists" I'll seek them out myself. I don't need idiots like you lobbying the CRTC dolts on my behalf.

As for the CAB; radio profits in 2005 reached their highest levels ever, and this at a time when member stations have cut staff and increased voice-tracking and infomercials.

Their own actions have helped to speed up the emergence and acceptance of new technology like iPods and satellite radio.

So a pox on all three of your houses CRTC, CAB,and FOB.

Oh, and you can toss the CRIA in there too.

Have your little "hearings," postpone any new policy changes while the world continues to evolve without you, and don't let the door slam you on your fat asses on the way out.
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Postby arthurdent » Mon May 15, 2006 7:45 am

Hey Pluto, is this your own stuff? If not, who is the source? If radio has just had its most successful year financially, then it really is in trouble. Total income is still under $1 billion for almost 300 properties.

I would definitely scrap Cancon for some formats (oldies especially) and institute a level of 10 to 15 per cent for either new music or local bands.

The ownership issue is a dog's breakfast. The CRTC opened the door for more stations (more choice, they said) so what we got were a bunch of niche operations that couldn't make a go of it on such a narrow slice of the audience...so then the CRTC allowed for multiple license ownerships in one market so that a collection of niche stations could combine for enough critical mass to actually have a cumulative audience to sell. Has any economist looked at the radio biz? Has the CRTC or any owner ever spoken to an economist?

There are lots of issues lurking in the background as radio struggles...and some of them are very important and dangerous in the broader scheme of things.
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Postby Glen Livingstone » Mon May 15, 2006 8:29 am

arthurdent wrote:Hey Pluto, is this your own stuff?  If not, who is the source? 


Commercial Radio Station Profits Soar

Friday, 12 May 2006

Profits in the Canadian commercial radio industry soared in 2005 according to a report released this week by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

The governing body reported that profits before interest and taxes (PBIT) experienced a growth of 23.8%, rising to nearly 277 million dollars in 2005.

The numbers which are drawn from the financial statements of Canadian commercial radio station show that overall 2005 revenues for Canadian radio stations increased by 8.7% over 2004 to 1.3 billion dollars.


FM radio revenues, which accounted for about 75% of those revenues, grew by 11.8% to a little over one billion dollars while AM radio revenues decreased by 0.7% year over year to $300.4 million in 2005.

Local advertising brought in $987.3 million in 2005 for the radio stations, an increase of 5.3% over 2004, while revenues from national advertising increased by 18.5%, to $322.1 million.


FM radio?s PBIT increased by 19.6% to $263.3 million while AM profits increased over 300% from $3.4 million in 2004 to $13.6 million in 2005.

The Canadian commercial radio industry employed 9,303 people in 2005, compared with 9,071 in 2004.

Source: digitalhomecanada.com
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Postby tuned » Mon May 15, 2006 9:32 pm

If radio is such a lousy, tough business why are guys like Jim Pattison expanding their holdings? The busines of radio has never been more lucrative for the few large corporations that own the majority of radio stations in this country. Technology has allowed them to cut costs while consolidation has given them the leverage to increase rates and lower wages. My very first radio job in 1974 at a mom and pop outfit in the valley paid me 25 bucks for a six hour shift as a board op. That's 107.75 or almost 18 bucks an hour in 2006 dollars. How much are they paying today? Probably half that amount. Where's the difference going? Broadcasters in Canada are the equivalent of lumber barons that used to clearcut our forests with impunity. They are milking a scarce public resource for private profit and Canadians are oblivious. If the so-called Friends of Canadian Broadcasting wanted to make themselves useful they would demand an end to voicetracking and syndicated programming in major markets. Instead they are trying to ram more Cancon down our throats.
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