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partridge writes "Carson Daly's simulacrum is the new Max Headroom. I guess this makes Clear Channel Communications the current embodiment of Network 23? Now we just have to wait for the blipverts to start making consumer's heads explode."
That's all a lot of work. Is this guy so important he cant put in (lets say.. an hour per show, since its an hour show and the music is (supposed to be) most of it, times 11 shows) 11 hours a week? What do they pay all the guys on the soundboards doing all the work?
Whale
This is just a simple case of a radio station using technology to bring high profile talent into a market.
It's been done for tens of years. Ok, so technology now allows them to fine tune it up to every tiny little word -- that's kind of cool, actually -- but anyway, do you really think Casey Casem or Dick Clark knew anything about half the cities they were broadcasting in?
It's America's Top 40 Dance Band Stand! Broadcasting right here in Minnoke!
The union's just looking to save their local DJs some jobs. Carson Daly is not going to appear on every radio dial. The fear is, though, if people tune into this, maybe they would like more high profile talent on their other radio shows.. not local talent. Good luck unions! ugh, would hate to fight that fight..
It would be cool to hear Carson Daly stuttering over his words digitally and repeating a star's name over and over and over again.
From the article: "...members of a major broadcasting union are investigating to determine whether the techniques violate local labor agreements." Groups like the RIAA apparently are not alone in wanting to make sure new technology doesn't disturb existing revenue streams, and wanting to thwart it if it does. This kind of thing reminds me that geeks seem to live in a completely different continuum from the rest of the world.
What would things be like today if, for example, computer programmers and electronics engineers had reacted in the same way to things like code-generating tools, CAD and microcircuitry, clinging instead to the practices of hand-entering 1's and 0's and wiring everything with a soldering iron, because more streamlined methods might threaten our jobs? I envision something like the computers in the movie Brazil, coexisting with pheumatic message tubes.
A good exemplar: calling this show local content is like calling ketchup a vegetable. And that's what they've doing for all this time.
What's to stop some enterprising folk from making their own, highly subversive versions of Carson Daly from recordings of his show?
What's to stop those recordings from being either broadcast locally from pirate rigs, or injected into a Clear Channel satellite feed?
Ok, maybe state and federal laws and the wrath of the FCC, if you care about that kind of thing.
Actually I find it interesting that in this case that they went to some trouble to air this song that they didn't expect to be on the Top 10. All of their stations use pre-defined playlists anyway, so you would just expect the Top 10 to come straight from that. If some listeners actually attempt to call-in to get some song not on the playlist onto the Top 10, I would have just expected them to silently ignore their request, given their track record and motives.
Are the listeners really going to find out what happened? Especially if they are already swallowing the crap that Clear Channel is sending down their throats. If those listeners actually tried to make a stink about it, they could just claim that it was obvious that someone was "stuffing the ballot boxes" or something like that.
It's obvious that Clear Channel is not in the business of pleasing the masses, just focusing on making money.
I went to CCC's site and they had this link about a press release on music piracy (an always fun topic here at /.) so I read it, and low and behold there are some nice comments from the heads of various record companys. Some of the statements are rather bland, but a few really show the twists they want to make to common sense. Anyways, check them out.
Record Labels Speak Out
The recording industry, including the labels and their artists, lose millions of dollars a
year to Internet theft. According to information released by the RIAA, US music
shipments in the first half of 2002 were off 10% over the same period in 2001, with sales
down nearly 7%. Clear Channel's move to lead the radio industry in publicizing the issue
of music piracy struck a chord among the record labels:
*The dip in sales couldn't be from poor product, could it? just a thought. Oh, and I always thought you had to have something to "lose" it.*
Arista Records, Antonio "L.A." Reid, President and CEO
"The plague of music piracy is spreading in geometric numbers and the industry is faced
with the challenge of turning around the mind-set of a generation that thinks its 'cool' to
obtain recorded music for free. Arista Records, its staff and its artists all support Clear
Channel's efforts to bring the message across in a way that demands radio listeners'
attention and dares them to confront a serious issue."
*Ok, as a guy who grew up taping music from the radio, I would like to point out that my generation started this trend. Sheesh, give credit where credit is due.*
Atlantic Records, Craig Kallman, Co -President
"Everyone involved in music has to commend Clear Channel for partnering with our
artists to get the truth out about Internet piracy and the terrible impact that it's having on
musicians. Their PSAs are humanizing an injustice that threatens every musician's
livelihood."
*"...humanizing an injustice..."? Umm, right. If you buy this I am running a "Old Retired Senator's Fund", which aims to soften the blow of leaving public office.*
Columbia Records, Charlie Walk, Executive Vice President Promotion
"We're happy to see Clear Channel coming on board and educating young fans that music
has real value that should not be taken for granted. Artists deserve to be compensated for
the music they create, just like anyone else deserves to be paid for the work that they do."
*Education? Re-Education more like.*
Elektra Entertainment Group, Sylvia Rhone, Chairman/CEO
"Illegal downloading and other forms of music piracy have had a devastating effect on
consumers perception and value of music. With Clear Channel's enormous reach of over
100 million listeners, they possess the ideal platform to educate consumers about the
negative impact of Internet music piracy."
*This is my favorite. "..devastating effect on the consumers perception and value of music.". I think its ok for consumers to decide that your product is over-priced and lacking in quality. I'm pretty radical though.*
RCA Music Group, Clive Davis, Chairman
"Clear Channel's efforts to educate the consumer on the destructive impact of Internet
music piracy will be invaluable. We must protect our creative community even from well
meaning fans who just don't know that with every file they download or CD they burn,
they are undermining the future of the very music they profess to love."
*I don't love music. I enjoy it. Like I enjoy ice cream and a good philly cheesesteak.*
Pardon the editorials, I couldn't resist (ok, I could have if I wanted to, but I didn't).
"/. =
I don't listen to the radio any more. I'm tired of the increasingly stupid DJ personalities, the ads for stuff I'll never buy, and the same songs being played over and over. To top it off, I dislike static.
Now they are making the stupid DJ personalities even worse by making them entirely generic. Yay.
"You spoony bard!" -Tellah
The more "old" sci-fi type stuff I watch, the more erie it is how similar we've become. How long untill we're not ALLOWED to turn off our TVs? How long before our TVs watch what WE'RE doing so advertisers can see what effect they're having? How long before Max is invading MY TV screen?
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
" I just found out yesterday that one of my very best friends is moving 1000 miles away for a morning show gig at the end of the month. I'm really going to miss both him and his wife. It's just been impossible for him to land a job since Clear Channel bought up all our local stations. He's had to resort to overnight news on the weekends and waiting tables to get by. It's sad considering how talented he is and how respected he was around town."
Wow. Well, of course I wish this person and his wife well.
Technology has a way of removing jobs traditionally done by humans, it's a pity that your explanation wasn't provided in the article. I think a lot of us at Slashdot could find ourselves automated or serviced out of a job.
If this article had come from your point of view, Slashdot could have had an insightful discussion about how to handle situations like that. I have my own semi-interesting stories (I'm not even close to doing what I was originally hired to do), and I imagine other people do too.
Anyway, take comfort in knowing that everything'll end up alright. At least with the internet, you're not going to be as far from those people as you might have been.
Good riddance. The fewer interruptions of the music the better. But that doesn't mean I want syndicated Carson either. All I want is music, no interviews, contests, give-aways, station calls, DJ banter, commercials, etc. Unfortunately this is the crap with which one needs to put up in order to hear a couple of songs. Screw it. I'll just listen to my MP3 player.
This lobster was alive when it hit the frothy, boiling water.
That's where Everything2 comes into play, do a search for "In Soviet Russia" you get:
In Soviet Russia
(idea) by Andux (3.6 min) (print) ? 1 C! Sun Dec 08 2002 at 7:08:19
A joke originated by Russian comedian Yakov Smirnoff,* which, years later, turned into a meme on Something Awful (thanks, anotherone), and then spread to Fark, where it eventually attained a level of popularity great enough to necessitate filtering. In November of 2002, it was introduced to Slashdot, and by the end of the month had attained a level of popularity rivaling that of CowboyNeal.
Although the joke is often mangled by those looking for cheap laughs and easy karma (as was AYBABTU before it), it's quite possible to create a Soviet Russia for almost any occasion with just a few simple steps:
1. Take a sentence,
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
2. switch around the subject and the object (for second person imperative sentences (e.g., "Imagine a Beowulf cluster of those."), you will, of course, have to add the subject first),
The lazy dog jumps over the quick brown fox.
3. ensure that the verb(s) are in the proper tense,
The lazy dog jumps over the quick brown fox.
4. (optional) remove words and/or change spellink to create effect of Russian accent (or simply trim the superfluous crap),
lazy dog jumps over quick brown fox.
5. prepend "In Soviet Russia," and change punctuation and emphasis to taste.
In Soviet Russia, lazy dog jumps over quick brown fox!
6. Share and Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any losses of karma, tarnished reputations, lynchings, atrocities, or global thermonuclear wars that occur as a result of the use, misuse, or disuse of this writeup.
In Soviet Russia, memes node YOU!
*There's some debate as to what the original "Soviet Russia" joke was. Augusta says it was "In Los Angeles, you can always find a party. In Soviet Russia, the Party can always find YOU," while BrooksMarlin remembers it being "...television watches YOU!" Google and Yakov.com both seem to be silent on the subject.