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Skip Pizzi / The Big Picture
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Technical developments in the digital arena, consumer electronics and new media bear directly on the success of traditional radio broadcast. Insightful commentary on these and other trends from Radio World Contributing Editor Skip Pizzi.
Until our new data system is fully integrated, please
click here
for articles prior to September 1, 2006.
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Moving on Up to Digital Audio 3.0
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Digital Audio Technology Is About To Enter Its Third Generation
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by Skip Pizzi, 7.04.2007
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Show of hands: Who can remember the launch of the CD format?
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WZLX: Programming a Surround Station
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Reports From an Early Adopter Provide Insight on How to Fill a Format With Surround Content
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by Skip Pizzi, 6.20.2007
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One of the primary concerns over surround-sound radio broadcasting has been the lack of music content produced in 5.1, making it difficult if not impossible to fill the multichannel format in anything close to a full-time fashion.
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Is It Lights Out for Webcasters?
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As the Effective Date for New Royalties Approaches, Webcasters Explore Their Options
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by Skip Pizzi, 6.06.2007
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The new Webcasting royalty rates scheduled to go into effect on July 15 are already having an impact — both online and in Washington.
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Webcasting Royalties Loom Large
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Webcasters Are Looking Closely at What New Rates Will Mean to Their Operations
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by Skip Pizzi, 5.23.2007
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Last time we discussed some of the changes in the digital music industry that could affect radio, including the Copyright Royalty Board’s recent action that increased the royalties paid by online radio services for use of published music by U.S. statutory license. This time we will continue our exploration of that topic.
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Charting the Digital Music Changes
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How Will Radio Be Affected By Recent Shifts in the Music Industry?
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by Skip Pizzi, 5.09.2007
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In case you haven’t noticed, there have been a number of groundbreaking moves in digital music of late. The traditionally close business relationships between the music and radio industries have prompted some to ask how these changes might affect the emerging digital radio market.
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Digital Radio Rules, Dude!
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The Overdue FCC Action Signals Full Speed Ahead for IBOC
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by Skip Pizzi, 4.25.2007
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It’s been a long time coming, but the FCC’s recent approval of (almost) final rules for U.S. digital radio is being welcomed widely by the industry.
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Turning Partners Into Competitors
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Directions Being Contemplated in the Digital Music Industry Could Be Detrimental to Radio
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by Skip Pizzi, 4.11.2007
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First, recall that there has been plenty of posturing lately on Digital Rights Management (the "other DRM" to those in the radio technology business), much of it generated by an open letter by Steve Jobs a few months back in which he called for the music companies to drop their demands that digital music downloads be protected by such technologies.
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Fusing the Satellite Radio Babies
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by Skip Pizzi, 3.28.2007
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The wisdom of Solomon will be required in deciding whether to allow XM and Sirius to merge.
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An HD Radio Deployment Scorecard
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A Look at What's Needed Next for the Digital Radio Rollout
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by Skip Pizzi, 3.14.2007
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As we approach the annual media pilgrimage to the American desert known as NAB2007, it's a good time to take the pulse on progress of the U.S. radio industry's transition to digital broadcasting.
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Portable IBOC May Be on Its Way
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A New Prototype Chip Provides Hope That Portable HD Radio Receivers Will Be on Store Shelves Soon
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by Skip Pizzi, 3.01.2007
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A recent Radio World editorial (Jan. 17) lamented the absence to date of portable HD Radio receivers, and cited their importance to a successful transition to digital for the U.S. radio industry.
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Exactly the Same, Yet Completely Different
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There Are Important Similarities and Contrasts Between the Early Days of FM and Those of IBOC
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by Skip Pizzi, 2.14.2007
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Comedian Steven Wright has a routine in which he asks listeners to recall the feeling one gets when leaning back in a chair a little too far.
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Radio's Royal Family Redux
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Wherein We Meet the Twin Occupants of a Modern Throne Room
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by Skip Pizzi, 2.01.2007
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You've no doubt heard the familiar refrain “Content is king,” which has become a touchstone of ultimate truth in the digital media world.
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Where Will Radio Go in Web 2.0?
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The Role and Value of Online Radio Broadcasting Are Evolving
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by Skip Pizzi, 1.17.2007
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You've probably seen an increasing number of references to “Web 2.0” recently, and there's been a good deal of confusion over what it really means.
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NRSC Surround Recommendations Expected Soon
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A Two-Year Study of Options for 5.1 Radio Broadcasting Is Nearing Completion
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by Skip Pizzi, 1.03.2007
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At CES 2007, the NRSC is expected to consider the report from its Surround Sound Audio Task Group, or SSATG, perhaps approving it for final publication.
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Farewell Fritts, Frist and Friends
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2006 Saw Changes in Many Washington Leadership Positions That Affect Radio
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by Skip Pizzi, 12.20.2006
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A year that began with the retirement of NAB head and Washington fixture Eddie Fritts will soon end with the departure of Bill Frist, Senate Majority leader, along with many of his congressional colleagues.
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Remake, Remodel and Re-record
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The Contemporary DJ Culture Has Created a New Genre of Musical (Re)Expression
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by Skip Pizzi, 12.06.2006
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A while back I took my wife to a funky little dance club in Geneva, Switzerland, with which I had become familiar over several previous solo visits there.
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Doing the Digital DJ Dance
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A Club DJ’s Tools and Techniques Used to Be Much the Same As the Radio DJ’s. Not Anymore
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by Skip Pizzi, 11.22.2006
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Anyone from the radio business who’s been to a dance club lately may have noticed that the equipment used by the DJs looks pretty unfamiliar.
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AES Convention Appeals to Radio
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This Year’s AES Show in San Francisco Was Weighted Heavily Toward Broadcast And Surround Sound Issues.
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by Skip Pizzi, 11.08.2006
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I should have known it was going to be a surprisingly radio-centric AES show when the movie on my flight to San Francisco was “A Prairie Home Companion.”
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What a Wireless World It Will Be
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Will the Wireless Internet Threaten or Enhance Broadcast Radio?
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by Skip Pizzi, 10.25.2006
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The promise of a broadband wireless Internet future has been hyped for several years, yet in the United States, it remains elusive, just beyond the grasp.
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Radio's Sustainability Sweepstakes
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The Fate of Today's Emerging Technologies Depends on Risk Management, Diversification and Scalability
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by Skip Pizzi, 10.11.2006
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Our anonymous colleague Guy Wire raised some eyebrows recently when he suggested that terrestrial radio might buy up satellite radio interests.
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