Inside Music MediaJerry Del Colliano

Clear Channel, Cumulus and those who believe you can cut your way to success have squandered their best assets – you.

If you’re still toiling for them, then you likely already know that.

If you’re free to move on, you also know.

This is going to be a big year.

The consolidators are in debt.  Cumulus just refied $2 billion at unfavorable rates and they’ve got their knife out again.  They’re looking for a Charleston Sales and Marketing Manager.  Apparently we missed the victim who got terminated there, but the “lucky” replacement gets to do both jobs for less than his predecessor (they rarely hire women, so I said “his”). 

And bringing your brain to work is not necessary.

Clear Channel is now up to just shy of $21 billion in debt – more than the city of Detroit that is filing for bankruptcy.

You don’t even want to know how drastic cutbacks are going to be there next year.

It’s not a big year for them – they’re in real short pants.

It’s a big year for you if you do something to sharpen your skills for the digital space.  Come on down!

Even if you elect to stay in radio, why not ready your skill sets for a better, happier and more prosperous future.

• Learn how to really, truly disrupt the media business because digital competitors are already disrupting it and will continue to.  Make big moves – Google and Apple style.
• Master digital to start a second stream of simultaneous cash flow along with radio.  As radio revenue declines, digital takes up the slack.  And if you wait for streaming to be your digital play, you’ll go broke first.
• Social media upheaval is ahead and yet almost every radio station relies solely on Facebook and Twitter as their main connection to social networks.  Jump on a new crop of alternatives.
• Find a new mission for radio because on-demand is its replacement.  The end of radio.  Not for those who can see some exciting new roles for terrestrial stations.
• Rush into short-form video where all the money is going.  It doesn’t matter that you’re in the audio business, the money is in video.  You’re lucky, you can have both.
• Make up with Millennials 80 million strong and coming of age.  Can’t be in media without them and repetition, hype and lack of discovery isn’t going over well.  There are things Millennials would turn to a radio for – you need to know what they are.
• Time-shift radio:  Turn radio into on-demand content or be left out at your tower with no one to broadcast to.

If you will invest one day – March 26 – in working with me side by side at my next Media Solutions Conference in Philadelphia.  I will bring you up to speed on winning strategies that will make you a better radio executive or a future digital entrepreneur.

Here’s how to reserve a seat