KEEP YOUR TURNTABLE BECAUSE VINYL STILL MATTERS • NEW INFO ABOUT THE PRPD CONTENT CONFERENCE

Thirty-five percent of respondents to the latest Jacobs Media Tech Survey 13 say they own a vinyl record turntable. According to Tech Survey 13, a significant portion of younger respondents do too.

All Access Media Group [link] has been releasing daily nuggets of information from Jacobs Media Tech Survey 13 to promote the upcoming Worldwide Radio Summit (WWRS) later this week in Los Angeles. The complete results of Tech Survey 13 will be presented Thursday, May 4^th at the WWRS. To see the complete WWRS schedule, click here.

Not surprisingly, survey respondents from the Boomer generation have the largest percentage of turntable owners, 47%. But, as you can see in the chart on the right, 36% of survey respondents in Generation Z, the post-millennial folks, also own a turntable. Gen Z is comprised of people born in the late 1990s and early 2000s, long after the vinyl record album heyday.

According to Jacobs, the vinyl revival is being driven been by people who already own or have recently purchased a turntable.  Jacobs commented:

“Turntable ownership continues to grow, and it’s remarkable to see how widely popular they’ve become.”

Why do vinyl records have so much staying power? According to roots rocker and producer Jeff Tweedy, one reason is how well the sequence of album tracks can capture a story. Tweedy told the Guardian in 2015 [link]:

Jeff Tweedy

I’m not a curmudgeon, a luddite or anti-modern technology doomsayer. I just want to listen to the album and have a feeling that one part, has ended, and now I can take a little breather before I listen to the second part.

An album is a journey. It has several changes of mood and gear. It invites you into its environment and tells a story. I enjoy albums, and I assume that if I enjoy them there must be others who feel the same.

The decline of the album began with the advent of the CD. The maximum amount of music on a vinyl album is 50 minutes over two sides. The CD format is much longer. I don’t think there are many pieces of music – my own records included – that can sustain interest over 40 minutes without a break, and leaping around from idea to idea for that amount of time gets exhausting.

I still listen to whole albums and play them over and over. I think about records that really hit me as a kid.  Also, CD artwork also reduced the album’s impact.

I also like vinyl and I have a nifty collection of albums.  I prefer the full-spectrum quality of the sound. Digital files are often over compressed, something that is very noticeable when you crank it to 11.  Plus I am a believer in WXPN’s motto: Rhythms not algorithms.

JACOBS PUBLIC RADIO TECH SURVEY 9 IS IN THE PIPELINE

Jacobs Media is now in the process of compiling Public Radio Tech Survey 9 (PRTS 9), the noncom cousin of Jacobs Media Tech Survey 13.

PRTS 9 will ask many of the questions to listeners of public radio stations. According to Jody Evans, CEO of PRPD, this year Jacobs is adding new questions about podcast usage, Smart Speakers such as Amazon Echo, headphone/earbud usage, streaming habits, and apps.  

This year’s PRTS 9 also will focus on listener usage and perceptions of NPR One.

 

Last year, 69 public radio stations participated in the survey and more than 29,000 listeners were in-tab participants.

PRPD WANTS YOUR IDEAS FOR THE 2017 CONTENT CONFERENCE

Jody Evans

Jody Evans says the Content Conference is now accepting proposals for sessions at this summer’s conference August 15-18 at the Marriott Marquis [link] in Washington, DC.

Evans says that folks who are Interested may submit their ideas by email to info@prpd.org before the closing date of May 15, 2017. Here is short list of the requirements:

Proposals MUST follow the criteria below or they will not be considered:

• Subject line of email reads “2017 Content Conference Session Submission”

• Proposed session should be one hour in length

• Include a session title in ten words or less

• Include a description of the session in less than 100 words

• Include the name, title and company for any speakers you envision as part of the session

• Designate a moderator and panelists for panel submissions

• Include your full contact information (name, title, company, address, city, state, zip, phone and email) at the conclusion of your submission

• Folks wishing to nominate themselves as a potential speaker not associated with any specific session can do so by email to info@prpd.org between now May 15, 2017

Speakers will only be considered if the following criteria are met:

• Subject line of email must read “2017 Content Conference Speaker Submission”

• Include a list of no more than three areas of expertise you would feel comfortable speaking on.

• Attach your bio as a Microsoft Word attachment and not as part of the body of the email

• Include a brief explanation (50 words or less) as to why you would be a good speaker at the Content Conference

• Include any external links such as LinkedIn or company website in the body of the email

• Include your full contact information (name, title, company, address, city, state, zip, phone number and email) at the conclusion of your submission

Submissions will be considered only if they meet the above criteria.

The Content Conference and PRPD reserve the right to accept or reject:

• Any portion of a submission, or  an entire submission

• The Content Conference and PRPD reserve the right to utilize any idea or suggestion submitted, but not necessarily those parties that made the submission.

• Late submissions will not be accepted.

• All parties that have made submissions by the deadline will be contacted and informed as to whether or not their submission has not been selected for the Conference.

• Contact will be made via email no later than June 1, 2017.

• If you have any questions, please email info@prpd.org and include the subject line “Content Conference Submission Question.” 

• Don’t track mud into the house.  Tuck your shirt in. Don’t talk back to mommy.