Summer Newsletter
Audio Will Continue to Drive Drive-Time
With every new media comes the predictable discussion of an older media’s demise. However history has shown that new technology expands the media landscape presenting greater opportunities for bold and innovative marketers.
Since the advent of television, much has been written and said about the death of radio. Search any media blog site today and when the discussion turns to radio, the death tolls sounds loud and clear. A few years ago, my mentor and former employer Bill Young published the book “ Dead Air, The Rise and Demise of Music Radio ”. Bill’s background was in programming, lending his considerable talents to radio stations throughout Texas. In his book, Bill explored how technology, specifically personal music devices, together with unimaginative programing had taken the personality out of music radio, furthering its decline.
The future of radio may not be broadcast, but audio will continue to drive the content of drive-time.
“ Once the Internet got in the car, and the car is half of where all listening is, it was going to dramatically change not only the way people listened to audio, but the way it was created, organized and delivered,” said John MacLeod, the founder and CEO of Rivet Radio, a news radio startup.?? The connected dashboard is proof that information delivery and interactivity via audio is not just nice to have, but a must have that extends to every home, car, business, building and system in the world. If your call doesn't already have it, your next dash will sport media services from iHeartMedia, Spotify, Pandora as well as new programming from local programmers. The City of Cuyahoga Falls recently partnered with the city school district launching a new low power FM & streaming service, joining new entrants in Kent, Wadsworth and Cleveland. While there may be less local content from terrestrial radio, innovative programmers are filling that space as listenership continues to grow.
A 2014 an Edison Research study estimated that 94 million Americans over the age of 12 listen to online radio each week. And the potential for a younger demographic continues to show promise as seventy-five percent between the ages of 12 and 24 listen and half of all 25-54 listen online weekly, the study found.
As delivery mechanisms improve and content continues to increase, internet radio, digital streaming and broadcast will provide opportunities for national, regional and local advertisers to reach those listeners?As marketers these are exciting time to create innovative content to reach a growing audience.
Meet The Voices: Scott Ross
Scott is a multi talented creative resource with whom we have we worked with for nearly 20 years as a voiceover artist, composer, singer and musician.
One of our first projects occurred at the The Indians were making a run for the World Series in 1995. Scott and I produced an original composition entitled “Whoop It Up, Tribe Fans”.
Scott’s many talents have been showcased on radio, television commercials and narrations for clients as diverse as Kinetix, Camelot Music, Metro RTA, Summit Racing, Avery Products, Invue, Sherwin Williams and more.
Scott brings a youthful energy to his delivery and is always ready with a suggestion that will help the copy connect with its audience.
Sound Design for Video: Getting The Right Mix:
Everyday clients turn to us to cast, record and produce voice tracks that bring their creative to life. But with more video production being finished in-house and mixed in a less than ideal environment, savvy producers know its the mix that can make all the difference.
At Audio Concepts, we’ve created the right environment for your video mix. We have the tools to ensure your broadcast mix is compliant with today’s television standards and have built the room and the monitoring systems to insure that what we hear is how your audience will receive your creative.
We recently team up with HFA for a Liquid Nails project working with a great voice. Our process when working with video is to record flat and adjust the voice in post production, providing the greatest flexibility in the final mix.
Once music was edited to final picture, we were provided all elements to create the final mix so that so every nuance in the talent’s delivery made the impression the client wanted.
Kirk Norris: Producer, HFA
created at Audio Concepts
Audio Concepts Sound Design & Production Sizzle Reel
Window Systems Radio & TV
Window Systems Radio
Written & Produced by Mike Hudock
Voices: Paul Tapie & Mark Cardnella
audioTrends:
The next best thing to being at Audio Concepts
How do you direct talent when your schedule just won’t let you attend the session.
At Audio Concepts, we have always been searching for a higher quality alternative to the plain old phone patch and with Source Connect Now we have it. While we’d love for you to sit in with us as we record and craft your creative, we understand that sometimes its just not possible. But now you can hear every nuance as the voice talent delivers, make better judgments about music, sfx and levels as we work all from your laptop.
Last year we reported that we had been selected as a beta site for Source Connect Now. One year later, clients have embraced this exciting technology. In addition to keeping you connected with the production, we also use Source Connect Now to record participants for audio newsletters, podcasts as well as connect with voice talent worldwide that can’t connect with ISDN.
What’s entailed. All you need is a laptop, good internet connection and Google Chrome. When you book you session and let us know you will be working remotely, we take care of the rest.
Stay connected with your creative from anywhere…your vacation, the beach even between meetings at your office with Audio Concepts.
Personally Speaking:
Hope your summer is off to a great start. If you’re like me and thousands of other Cleveland fans, what an exciting spring we’ve enjoyed with the Cleveland Cavalier. And while we have been somewhat sleep deprived these past few weeks, it was well worth it.
As some of you may know, in addition to my day job, I am in the midst of settling my parents estate and cleaning out my childhood home. While the task can be somewhat daunting, we keep going as we find the hidden gems each week; long forgotten pictures that fill in some blanks of family history or reestablishing great relationships with friends and organizations to which my parents were deeply committed.
Last month, I had the opportunity to meet some of the great people from Summit County Habitat for Humanity and hear their incredible story. We choose Habitat as the recipient for the large donations because of my father’s association with the local chapter and while we knew of their great mission, we had no idea just much they do throughout our community.
The ReStore, of course, is a open to the public for donations and purchases and along with the houses the build each year the public face for Habitat. But as a woodworker and someone who is concerned about the amount of waste that ends up in the landfill, the rest of the Habitat story is especially compelling.
Each year, Habitat is actively involved in the reclamation of older homes throughout Summit County, working closely with the City of Akron to tear down dilapidated houses and helping to restore neighborhoods. The relationship between Summit County Habitat for Humanity and local municipalities is a model for other local chapters throughout the country.
The fascinating part is he journey the wood travels after its is reclaimed. The wood is sold to, Rustbelt Reclamation in Cleveland and is used to manufacture new high end furniture. Rustbelt Reclamation places inlays within each piece of furniture a source coin with the location from which the wood is harvested. Wood used to build houses 75 - 100 years ago lives on. What a great use of this valuable resource.
Have a great summer.
