I've been banging on it for some time now, but I received word from the printers today. My book: Radio Advertising. A Sound Investment. 10 Key Principles for Maximising Returns will be in-store and on Kindle from 15th September. It will also be available on Kalahari.com in print and as an e-book.The retail selling price is R159.95 for the printed version and R125.95 for the e-book.

I am available for workshops and am looking to do one on "How to prosper from radio in a slowing economy" I am available for most of September and for one week in Oct from 20th Oct to 27th Oct.

A new Apple patent, granted on Tuesday allows users to skip unwanted broadcast segments, including commercials and on-device content such as songs, podcasts and other media. It's another game-changer from the world's most valuable company. Apple doesn't make money from ads, unlike Google. Nor does Apple care if you skip songs on online radio or other platforms. Apple makes money from the sale of devices.
I predict that this will be another winner from Apple, but bad news for advertisers.

First came Tivo in the US and PVR in South Africa that allows viewers to skip TV commercials. Now we'll be able to Zap ads on other devices. I don't believe that people inherently hate ads, they hate bad, boring and irritating ads. The ball is firmly back in the creative department to come up with ads that people will actually want to watch or listen to.

Online radio in its current incarnation is basically music that you can download in the genre of your choice, or if you like you can elect to have your music curated for you as in terrestrial radio  (AM/FM) where program managers and music managers selected the music. What's lacking is theatre of the mind. However, some online stations are playing video ads.

 Check out great radio on You Tube. One of the best radio personalities of all time is Gary Burbank. one of his best characters is Gilbert Gnarly.
An interesting development in the US is the migration of leading radio personalities to the internet. Watch this space.

Digital music revenue in the US will overtake physical sales for the first time this year, and that trend is powered by streaming.

US teens listen to music on You Tube more than any other source according to Nielsen

And if you don't think Google is set to rule the world think again. In case you didn't know, Google owns You Tube

Radio spots are still hit and miss.

What has happened to theatre of the mind in the creation of radio spots. If you're trying to sell someone something, remember that every sale is personal and that's what makes radio so powerful. Where radio writers get it wrong is in not using theatre of the mind to evoke emotion, the vital ingredient. Spot writers are not painting pictures in the listener's imagination that evoke emotion. Make the listener sad, or angry, or happy, but evoke some kind of emotion. Every sale requires an emotional component.

It's easy to see why. Writing for radio is the most difficult of all media. You're dealing with one sense only, hearing, which leaves out the bulk of the communication spectrum.

The worst spots on radio currently are those that involve dialogue. If you're writing dialogue at least make sure that that's how normal people converse, otherwise it sounds stilted and contrived..

Here is the cover of the book that will be launched in September in both hard copy and ebook format:

What  you can expect from this book entitled: Radio Advertising. A Sound Investment. 10 Key Principles for Maximising Returns.

This book is essential reading if you want to make money by mastering the art and science of radio advertising. It will give you a thorough understanding of how a commercial radio station can generate revenue and profit for itself and for its advertisers. The knowledge contained here has been gathered, tried and tested, and distilled over a period of 35 years. Master the principles and you will have the edge over marketers who are still playing the old game of “spray and pray”.