Media Info Bureau

It's been an incredible two years for Billie Eilish, a 17-year-old singer-songwriter from L.A. Thanks, in part, by a song on the soundtrack to Netflix's "13 Reasons Why," Eilish's star is rising fast. But, according to the Wall Street Journal, it's come "without radio." That's not true.

Here's something that's cool, and definitely establishes Radio as the one media that can truly connect with local listeners in ways Spotify, Pandora, and even TV stations and newspapers can't do. It's all about going live -- and that includes all on-air elements, including commercials. Entercom is the company behind this "more than just a stunt" opportunity — and it's something that could get your stations get noticed, and more listener love, too.

Once the FCC has granted its consent to the sale of a station, the parties’ focus naturally turns to the closing. There always is an inordinate amount of paperwork that must be produced by the attorneys and signed by the parties to memorialize the transaction. Given the volume of paper, it is not surprising that small hiccups occur. Usually, however, the parties can work together to remedy such problems without delaying the closing. There are certain matters, however, that can seriously delay the closing or even result in the transaction falling through. The key to preventing such potentially deal-breaking problems from arising is to begin preparing for the closing as soon after the execution of the purchase agreement as possible. Five of these potential problem areas require particular attention.

Barrett Riddleberger is a sales trainer who has invested the last two decades of his life helping salespeople and sales leaders become more successful. In this Media Information Bureau column, Riddleberger offers a little "spring reading," with the 10 books that he recommends the most to people seeking new inspiration in their sales career. Only one of these books is about sales.

Rick Greenhut recommends taking the individual elements that make up your radio station and pitching them to clients as a singular brand.

One of the underused keys in radio sales is to really use your benefits of your medium and show them to your client or prospect in a way that will impact their business. I received a stat last week that jumped out at me: The use of radio in a company’s marketing campaign results in a 7.7% higher ROI than when the same companies have done a similar campaign without radio as part of their media mix.

Veteran Washington communications attorney Gregg Skall has seen it all, and his wealth of experience positions him well to project current events into the future. Click through for his thoughts on station trading, retransmission consent, performance royalties and more, including his take on where we are today on these issues, and where we’ll be tomorrow.