Feature: Music, Media & Copyright
by Doug Wood
This is a very informative Q & A by Doug Wood, who is a composer, producer and founder and CEO of Omnimusic. He is the author of the Composer's Guide to Music Publishing Agreements, and a frequent guest speaker about music and copyright issues. Doug is a member of the Board of Directors of ASCAP. Many questions about copyright issues regarding music and commercials are answered in this article, which is also available on Doug's website at www.omnimusic.com/copyrightqa.
Interview: Jason Phelps, Clear Channel Creative Services Group, Atlanta, GA
by Jerry Vigil
The 23rd Annual Radio And Production Awards proved to be another presentation loaded with exceptional work in all categories. One name that kept popping up in the Large Market Commercial category was Jason Phelps, one of the members of the creative team at Clear Channel's Creative Services Group in Atlanta. Jason picked up the 1st place trophy along with a couple of runners-up awards and a slot as a finalist. He was hours away from leaving for a most likely well-deserved vacation when we contacted him for this interview. We weren't able to get him on the phone for a full-length interview, but we did manage to squeeze a few email questions out of him before he left.
Notes Off the Napkin: Negative, Not!
by Andrew Frame
I'll go out on a limb here (that's a metaphor, folks), and say most of us would agree there is a lot of negativity in society. We have crime in general, nations picking fights, elected legislators ignoring their constituency, families backbiting on television, and that yappy little dog across the street that has the most amazing ability to go off on a barking tirade just as I'm about to step into the booth.
Radio Hed: How to Create Commercials Using Lists
by Jeffrey Hedquist
1. Lists are a great way to break writer's block. 2. Lists are a unique way to tell a story. 3. Lists are a proven way to market to your prospects. Lists have been the basis for best-selling books: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, 50 Shades of Grey. Songs: Twelve Days of Christmas, 99 Ways To Die, Fifty Ways to leave Your Lover Endless direct marketing pieces: Do You Recognize the 7 Early Warning Signs of High Blood Pressure? 10 Ways to Beat the High Cost of Living. 5 Mistakes Almost Every Investor Makes.
Outside The Box: The Cardboard Box
by Erik Cudd
Robert Cudd Jr., or Bob as he is known to his friends and family, will turn 72 years old this year. He's been a widower since 1995. Bob served six years in the Navy right out of High School and then went to work in Retail, Finance, and Collections. He now lives in an Assisted Living facility and often video chats with his son on Skype. Bob got a new All In One HP computer, and checks e-mail, surfs the web, plays solitaire, and reads almost every paper in the country when he isn't in Physical Therapy or shouting at the Television News Anchors. Bob is a quiet and likeable guy. He forgets things from time to time and doesn't get around like he used to. He still has a great laugh, knows how to flirt, and can still light up a room. Bob, if you haven't guessed yet is my Dad.
Technology: How to be a Good (Web) Host
by Steve Cunningham
I have found myself up to my ears dealing with web services recently. This most recent foray into the glitzy and confusing world of domain names and web hosting was driven by a desire to cut the last of my ties to GoDaddy's services. Without going into a rant about all the things I dislike about this particular web hosting company, let me just say that they're a bit the AOL of web hosts -- flashy, easy to use, and economical on the outside, but troublesome, gritty, and expensive on the inside. It was a great place to start in 1998, but I'm done with it. I moved the last of my sites a couple of years ago, but am just now moving some of my oldest domain names, mostly because that meant also moving long-standing email accounts.
"...And Make It Real Creative!": The Mystery Box
by Trent Rentcsh
I'd like to make a confession. It's been nearly 13 years and there are still unopened boxes. My move from South Dakota to North Carolina, while not rash, was a fast transition. Hard choices were made, lifetime treasures landed in the garbage bin (I still mourn the loss of the 45's I had collected since childhood), others were awarded what little space my car afforded, and those that I could neither bear to part with nor cram in my bulging trunk, ended up in boxes to be stored in my parent's home until I could retrieve them.
Personal Computing: Taking Care of Your Eyes at the Screen
by Reid Goldsborough
One of the less appreciated concerns about using, or overusing, digital technology is the effect is has on your eyes. Whether it's a desktop PC, laptop, netbook, e-reader, tablet, portable media player, smartphone, or game console, staring at it too long can lead to "computer vision syndrome." Experts aren't in agreement about the long-term effects, whether this and other forms of close work can cause or aggravate myopia, or near-sightedness, which is the ability to clearly see things near to you but not things far away. Among the incontrovertible short-term effects of too much screen work are dry and itchy eyes, eye redness, blurred vision, double vision, temporary inability to refocus your eyes, sensitivity to light, and headaches.
The Monday Morning Memo: Facebook and Twitter For Traditional Retail and Service Businesses
by Roy H. Williams
I feel a bit like the boy in the Hans Christian Andersen tale of The Emperor's New Clothes, though I'm not nearly so brave as he. You remember, don't you? Two weavers promise an Emperor a new suit of clothes that will be invisible to those unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent. When the Emperor parades before his subjects in his new clothes, a boy cries out, "But he isn't wearing anything at all!" The Internet is the parade we're watching and Facebook is its emperor. I've seen "naked" and this emperor sure looks it, but I hesitate to shout it out loud because this would be tantamount to a confession of professional incompetence. Let's face it. Those weavers have spun a pretty loud buzz with "Facebook and Twitter."
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