Industry News

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Edward G. Atsinger III has transitioned from CEO to executive chairman of the board of directors at Salem Media Group, a move that was announced in late December.

David Santrella becomes CEO, promoted from president of broadcast media. David Evans moves up from president of digital media and publishing to COO.

Chairman Stuart W. Epperson has resigned, and Stuart W. Epperson Jr. joins the board.

“These changes reflect the board’s ongoing succession planning and are designed to provide leadership continuity as the company continues to execute its strategic initiatives,” the organization stated.

Edward G. Atsinger III

Salem said Atsinger “will continue to be engaged full-time and focus more of his attention on macro strategy and planning, M&A, external relationships, government affairs and leadership development.”

“Since founding Salem in 1974, Mr. Atsinger, along with his brother-in-law Mr. Epperson, has grown the company from a single radio station into America’s leading multimedia company specializing in Christian and conservative content,” it stated. “He has been a driving force in Salem’s mission to serve the company’s audiences nationwide with content that is unavailable through mainstream media channels.”

[Read the full statement.]

The post At Salem Media, an Orderly Transition appeared first on Radio World.

It’s a newly created position for Patrick Butkus, who was most recently Director of Acquisition Marketing at Discovery streaming products discovery+ and GOLFTV. He’ll be responsible for building and enhancing recognition of the Acast brand, products and services globally.

Lizzy Pollott, Acast’s SVP Marketing Communications and Brand, said, “Pat is a really important addition to our growing global marketing team, and will allow us to get the Acast brand in front of thousands more creators, listeners and brands, all around the world.

Butkus added, “The name ‘Acast’ is one I’ve heard more and more over the past couple of years, and it’s easy to see why it’s become such a high-profile player in the creator economy — this is an innovative, ambitious podcast company with the leadership and vision in place to become the world leader. I’m looking forward to playing my part in making that happen.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Lerman Senter has added a Member to the firm, and it is a woman who first joined the communications, technology and media-focused PLLC on L Street NW in April 2020 as Counsel.

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A Senior Director of Content Strategy and Inclusive Journalism has been selected for the Local Media division of The E.W. Scripps Company. It’s a new role that the company says “will help all Scripps television stations better connect with their audiences.”

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Radio imaging, voiceover, programming, podcasting and jingles company Benztown has appointed an East Coast Director of Commercial Production.

It’s an individual who was previously Creative Services Director for iHeartMedia radio stations in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, where she’s been for the last nine years.

Taking the position is MJ Bloch, a role that will also see Bloch serve in the position at Benztown client Yamanair Creative.

Dave “Chachi” Denes, President at Benztown, said, “We’re excited to have MJ Bloch join
our all-star team as East Coast Director of Commercial Production. Her incredible talent
and deep experience as a producer make her an industry go-to, and our client
Yamanair Creative and their customers and listeners will love what they hear. The fact
that MJ has done contract work for us in the past and knows our systems is a definite
advantage and makes her a terrific fit for this position.”

Bloch added, “I am overjoyed to join the incredible team at Benztown. They
have been family and friends for years, a trusted name for quality wherever I was
working, and now, I get to be part of that team! It’s a dream come true! We look forward
to continuing to super-serve our clients and produce incredible branding and advertising
campaigns for radio stations across the globe.”

Dave “Chachi” Denes, the President and co-founder of radio imaging, production library, programming and jingles company Benztown, is the latest audio content and distribution industry executive to share why he’s attending CES 2022. What is Chachi looking forward to by traveling to Las Vegas to the mega-conference and expo? Is there one thing in particular that radio industry executives should keep their eye on? Chachi shares his thoughts in this InFOCUS Podcast.

Private equity firm Banneker Partners acquired industry facility management software firm Xytech Systems, the latter announced. Terms of the acquisition were not available.

“We see this as a strategic investment to accelerate Xytech’s ability to enhance their solution offering and operational delivery capabilities in this key market segment,” said Kenneth Frank, partner at Banneker Partners, in the announcement, which was made with Xytech CEO Richard Gallagher.

Gallagher said Xytech has worked to “bring facility management into the next generation” to help media companies become more efficient and productive.

He said Banneker has an investment focus on software solutions aimed at specific verticals “and willingness to invest to scale operational delivery, product innovation and sales and marketing.”

Banneker Partners is an enterprise-software-focused private equity firm based in San Francisco.

Last April, Xytech acquired the ScheduALL brand of enterprise resource management software.

More information is available on the company’s website.

Submit business announcements to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Banneker Partners Buys Xytech appeared first on Radio World.

TASCAM is updating its firmware for the Mixcast 4 Podcast Station with built-in recorder/USB audio interface. The Mixcast 4, suitable for podcast creation, live streaming, event production or voiceover work, offers enhanced audio production capabilities, the company said.

The V1.20 update enables users to apply a global voice effect to any or all four mic inputs. This can be useful for raising or lowering the timbre of one’s voice for dramatic effect or for creating a podcast featuring various character voices.

V1.20 will allow input gain control for the USB, Bluetooth and 3.5 mm (1/8-inch) auxiliary input for outside calls or an additional input. To prevent audio feedback, the update also features automatic mute on monitor out when the Mixcast 4 microphone inputs are active.

Three additional enhancements complete the update.

The audio level display is indicated in decibels, as opposed to the green/red color-only indicators, giving users a more accurate reference for signal strength. The audio ducking control is applied to the sound pads for automatic ducking when speaking over musicbeds or when effects are played from the sound pads. And, lastly, front-panel channel buttons are assigned as a Jump function for quick access to individual channel settings.

TASCAM plans to have the Mixcast 4 V1.20 update available in February. It can be downloaded here.

The post TASCAM Updates Mixcast 4 Firmware appeared first on Radio World.

In mid-December, noted Washington communications attorney David Oxenford shared details of a new joint letter posted on the Radio Music License Committee website that shed light on a possible settlement with Global Music Rights (GMR) that would settle   their long-running litigation over the royalties that the commercial radio industry will pay for the public performance of music written by GMR composers.

A “conditional confidential settlement” has now been distributed to RMLC members that outlines a member station’s ability to obtain future licenses from GMR to avoid potential copyright infringement.

Asked for comment, RMLC Executive Director Bill Velez said, “At this juncture, neither side is commenting beyond what has been transmitted to radio operators.”

But, what was sent to RMLC Members contains important information concerning a conditional settlement of antitrust litigation that dates to late 2016.  The battle was bruising, with RMLC striking first in November 2016. A month later, GMR countersued, assailing the RMLC as “an illegal cartel.”

At long last, those war cries appear to be squelched, as RMLC has offered instructions to its members on their ability to continue to obtain a GMR license after the current one expires.

Importantly, an election is required by January 31.

“GMR will send each broadcaster a direct communication about the settlement, which is confidential and should not be discussed outside your radio group,” the RMLC said.

It added, “The conditional settlement recognizes a shared desire by both sides to resolve these disputes and to find a way for radio stations and GMR to work together on a long-term basis without repeatedly resorting to litigation. The resulting conditional settlement reflects a commitment by GMR to treat all similarly situated radio stations consistently
and to ensure that radio stations … have access to the performance rights you currently need as well as those you may need in the future as your business evolves and grows.”

The conditional settlement also reflects changes in the licensing landscape, including growth in GMR’s roster, since the parties filed these lawsuits five years ago, the RMLC says.

The settlement opens the door to long-term license agreements to commence on April 1, 2022. However, there is one important — and large — caveat.

The settlement is “conditional” because it will be finalized only if a sufficient percentage of radio stations opt into the settlement by signing the form license agreement that
RMLC and GMR negotiated. The negotiated form license agreement, with member
stations’ annual license fees, will be sent directly by GMR via e-mail.

What happens if a significant number of RMLC members say no to the settlement?

“While it is ultimately your decision whether to enter into the license, we strongly
encourage your company to consider this negotiated settlement offer if your
stations desire to continue publicly performing songs in the GMR repertory,” the RMLC advised. “It will put an end to five years of litigation between RMLC and GMR, and give radio stations the opportunity to perform GMR works for several years with rate certainty. If an insufficient percentage of radio stations accept the negotiated license with GMR, the settlement will not be finalized and the litigation will continue.”

Thus, the RMLC has issued to its members a “take it or leave it” notice. A “no” to the settlement means more litigation, and GMR has made zero commitment to offer any other license to Radio once the current interim license expires at the end of the first quarter of 2022.

“[If] this settlement fails and the litigation continues, there is no guarantee GMR will make another license available to your stations at all, much less at the prices in this settlement,” RMLC warns.

Some of the NAB’s best technological minds are giving their predictions about breakthrough technologies will arrive in 2022.

The forward-looking forecast from NAB technologists points to greater use of artificial intelligence in broadcasting, as well as the expansion of all-digital AM, among other breakouts.

John Clark, executive director of NAB’s PILOT, sees an explosion of voice-based services in the year ahead. “Whether it’s a car, TV, radio, phone or appliances in your home, you’ll find that you’re talking more than ever,” Clark said.

Clark envisions a day when those conversations will be more natural as consumers become more comfortable talking with multiple interfaces.

Meanwhile, the rollout of artificial intelligence will continue to have an impact on broadcasting, playing a more significant role in the industry, said Sam Matheny, chief technology officer at NAB.

“It could take many forms — ranging from content creation and conversion, inventory analysis, relationship management, weather forecasting, automated captioning, translation, asset recognition, or some other application,” Methany predicted.

Methany wrote on the predictions post at NABPILOT.org that he doesn’t see “fully enabled, self-contained solutions,” but rather incremental AI tools that, “when combined with human expertise, deliver measurable operational improvements.”

David Layer, VP of advanced engineering for NAB, foresees the expansion of all-digital AM in the United States with more stations launching the service now that AM broadcasters in the U.S. can replace their analog AM with an HD Radio all-digital AM signal.

“A handful of broadcasters made the leap in 2021, and my prediction is that we will see more stations do the same in 2022,” Layer said.

Layer cited a number of benefits to all-digital AM, including improved audio quality, reduced adjacent-channel interference, expanded coverage and support for metadata, such as song title and artist information and artwork. Of course, Layer said, the flip side is all-digital AM signals are not receivable on analog radios.

All the AM stations switching to all-digital have FM translators or affiliated FM radio stations, Layer noted, which means their signals are still receivable on analog radios. “However, as the number of automobiles with HD Radio receivers continues to rise over time, whether to switch or not will become an easier question to answer,” Layer said.

Jeremy Sinon, vice president of digital strategy at Hubbard Radio, offered that hybrid radio dashboards — with streaming audio and OTA displays — will end up being the catalyst to finally seeing HD subchannels having true potential as they are no longer buried in dashboard interfaces.

“Demos of Hybrid Radio-enabled dashboards rolling off new car lots show HD subchannels sitting in the same tier as their HD-1 counterparts. Consumers using these dashboards will not know the difference between a main station and subchannels,” Sinon said.

However, Sinon wrote, the “true pay-off [for broadcasters] won’t be available for years to come as hybrid radio prevalence is a ways away.”

The post NAB Tech Experts Look at Innovations for 2022 appeared first on Radio World.