NTR (NON-TRADITIONAL REVENUE)

With the economy still sluggish and advertising flat or only slightly increasing for most radio groups, NTR is quickly becoming a new sought after stream of revenue. There are all kinds of NTR events ranging from Expo's to theme cruises to annual anniversary concerts and some of these NTR events can generate up to one million dollars in revenue for a company.

There is one particular NTR event I think is appealing to any radio group and is attractive for more than just one or two reasons. This event appeals to all demos, sexes and races, can be executed across all formats and has multiple streams of revenue.

I'm talking about a Yard Sale/Garage Sale event idea. Where you have the opportunity to make money from multiple sources including early bird passes, entry fees, booth sales, commercial booth sales, title sponsors and other creative sponsorship opportunities like a performance stage sponsor, children's area sponsor and even a collection sponsor to collect any unwanted goods from vendors at the end of the event.

We executed this exact event in Birmingham last year (www.birminghambiggestyardsale.com) with over 300 vendors and 3000 listeners attending in the first year.

I can't say that every cluster will experience the same success with this event that we did in Birmingham, but I will say if your cluster is looking for a great event that you can execute across all the formats in your cluster that has multiple streams of revenue, then you owe it to yourself to at least discuss this one.

Lj

PANDORA, REALLY?

It amazes me how people taunt Pandora as better than radio, even going as far as to say it will replace radio. Before I get into Pandora, lets look back at all the inventions that were supposed to replace radio... eight tracks, cassette tapes, CDs, satellite radio, and mp3 players. Some of these inventions have come and gone and others have been around for years and have yet to replace traditional radio. You know why? Because radio is free and convenient. You just push a button or turn a knob and your radio is on. No opening, attaching, plugging in or paying.

Now back to Pandora which I think is just another fad and will fade off into the night like Black Planet, My Space and Blackberry. It's a new way to experience music but it's not as easy to use as radio. You pick your first song but Pandora picks the rest of the play list and some of the songs don't even fit or match, you're limited to the number of songs you can skip if you don't like a song Pandora chooses and it's not even commercial free.

Pandora won't last but the Internet will and the Internet is just another great source traditional radio can use to reach listeners. Radio isn't going anywhere and will only evolve with technology. And with that, not only are you able to listen to your favorite station through a traditional radio but now you can listen online and on even on your mobile device.

Lj