Take this fun hidden negativity test to discover where you may be hiding some hidden negativity at http://www.lindamackenzie.net/hiddennegativitytest.htm and then learn how to get rid of it!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
FREE INTERNET RADIO HOSTING? Read Your Agreement
It’s always nice to get something for free but the old adage “nothing is for free” may apply to some of those Internet radio stations allowing people to air for free their internet radio, podcast or audio blog programs.
To avoid any possible pitfalls it is always in your best interest to do your due diligence. That means always read and understand all parts of any Agreement BEFORE you agree to it. You need to be aware of the full legal implications of the clauses in the entire Agreement and how they can affect you. The following are some things in Agreements to take into consideration before you agree or sign on the dotted line.
· Some Agreements might thinly disguise that they are the ones that own your programs and not you. For example an agreement might say you cannot copy or distribute or modify any part of their service – since the airing of your program could be considered part of their service – they may own your show. It may be unbeknownst to you but unless they state it specifically in the Agreement that you own all rights to your programs, they own any shows aired on their network and can do what they want with them.
This also may mean you may not be able to syndicate or simulcast or distribute your show (or any show previously aired on their network) on another radio station or even a web site unless the site is owned by you, since the content is theirs and not yours. This is true even if you actually created the show content and the show yourself.
This may also mean that if your guests distribute your programs or a part of the program and you don’t know about it that you and your guest may be liable for your guest’s actions too.
· You might not be able to use your shows for commercial purposes and if you do they can charge you for them as they deem fit. They may not even define in writing what the term “commercial purposes” means.
· They may have a clause saying that although they are not charging you fees at this time, they can at anytime, decide to charge fees, change their fee structure and even the monetary amount they charge you via 5-7 day written notice and you may have to pay. If you have built up an audience and cannot afford to pay the charges you will probably have to get off air and leave your audience hanging.
· Your storage space for past aired shows may be free but does your agreement state that it will be free forever or does it state that they can do anything , including charging you, at their discretion?
· Some Agreements may have clauses worded in such a way that at first glance you don’t recognize that if you reach a certain amount of downloadable bandwidth usage they can automatically charge you the overage because you signed their Agreement.
· Sometimes an Agreement has the perpetual right (that means forever) to distribute, license and use your program or any part of your program at any time, anywhere in the world. Seems okay if you’re trying to get listeners but what about 5-10-15 years from now when you become famous and someone takes a piece of your broadcast and misconstrues it. You have no legal right to do anything about it.
· If you inadvertently play a licensed song in your program that you do not have written permission from the artists AND the record label you are legally responsible for all the liability, legal fees, fines and payments due. Your streaming station is held harmless.
· If your streaming station decides to sell to another company they can, without your consent, turn over your already signed Agreement to the new owners or can immediately terminate your agreement at anytime, for any reason, at their discretion.
These are only a few of the things to look into and understand because each Agreement is different. If you don’t understand an Agreement - get help to understand it before you sign or agree to it so that your experience with Internet Radio can be a positive one without surprises.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
HealthyLife.Net Radio - An Oasis of Sanity
Negative Media bombards us every day. Subtly infiltrating our minds with sensationalism, controversy and negative thought which subconsciously influences our daily lives. Created to provide people an “oasis of sanity” from the typical negative broadcasting world, Manhattan Beach based HealthyLife.Net, a 24/7 ALL-POSITIVE talk and music Internet Radio network was launched in October 2002 by veteran data com engineer and radio host Linda Mackenzie.
HealthyLife.Net provides listeners with a plethora of programs topics: natural health, science, conscious business, sports, fitness, variety and the arts, inspiration, motivation, spirituality, the intuitive arts and men, women, family and pet issues. Over 40 seasoned TV, film, radio and national lecturer hosts, including Dr. Bernie Siegel, Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner Sally Kirkland, Actress Dee Wallace, Dawson Church, Victoria Moran, Lynn Andrews have flocked to the network to help people have a happy healthy life and create a better planet
A member of NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) HealthyLife.Net has live call-in shows, a show archive where one can listen to programs any time, downloadable show podcasts and a free Interactive Cyberspace Clubhouse that provides fun activities and opportunities for free giveaways. HealthyLife.Net’s listening audience is comprised of over 3 million listeners a month, with its over 25 syndicated and simulcasting partners reaches 108 countries with 82% going to 1,240 cities in all 50 U.S. States.
HealthyLife.Net is designed to be “real radio on the web” without the hype, without sensationalism and without the shenanigans. This free and informative site, is easy to listen to. Just log on to www.healthylife.net and click on the blue “Listen Live” button at the top of the home page. Windows Media Player is required.
HealthyLife.Net provides listeners with a plethora of programs topics: natural health, science, conscious business, sports, fitness, variety and the arts, inspiration, motivation, spirituality, the intuitive arts and men, women, family and pet issues. Over 40 seasoned TV, film, radio and national lecturer hosts, including Dr. Bernie Siegel, Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner Sally Kirkland, Actress Dee Wallace, Dawson Church, Victoria Moran, Lynn Andrews have flocked to the network to help people have a happy healthy life and create a better planet
A member of NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) HealthyLife.Net has live call-in shows, a show archive where one can listen to programs any time, downloadable show podcasts and a free Interactive Cyberspace Clubhouse that provides fun activities and opportunities for free giveaways. HealthyLife.Net’s listening audience is comprised of over 3 million listeners a month, with its over 25 syndicated and simulcasting partners reaches 108 countries with 82% going to 1,240 cities in all 50 U.S. States.
HealthyLife.Net is designed to be “real radio on the web” without the hype, without sensationalism and without the shenanigans. This free and informative site, is easy to listen to. Just log on to www.healthylife.net and click on the blue “Listen Live” button at the top of the home page. Windows Media Player is required.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Oxymoron: Radio Show or Podcast?
Many people are misinformed about the differences between a podcast and a radio show so I thought I would try to clear up some of the differences. Let’s start out with some REAL definitions:
A Radio Show is a show that is on a radio station or a radio network.
A Radio Station is a site that is built for sound broadcasting a group of programs aired over radio waves, cable FM, private wired radio networks or the Internet. Often radio stations are linked in to a radio network.
A Radio Network is a system which usually produces almost all of their programs and distributes them to multiple radio stations either in syndication (a way of making program content available to a variety of broadcast channels) or simulcasting (when a group of programs or an individual program is broadcast at the same time across more than one broadcast channel) or through both syndication and simulcasting.
A Radio Webcast is a controlled server streaming in real time to many recipients who receive the encoded audio content at the same time.
A Podcast is a single program sent or downloaded to a listener’s media player or computer which is either automatically distributed via an RSS feed direct to a subscriber or is ‘cast’ down to the listener when accessed by the listener.
Now that we have the definitions we see that if you are with a radio station or part of a radio network you have a radio show, if not you have an audio podcast or are webcasting. You are probably doing all the producing, marketing and promotion yourself and may be limited to how many people can listen at the same time.
Operating since 2002, the HealthyLife.Net Radio Network reaches between 1 – 3 million listeners a month. It’s taken us over 6 years of good solid programming plus daily marketing and promotion to reach these numbers, which are high in the overall industry for one network.
Although our hosts still have to actively market their show, they also get the benefit of HealthyLife.Net marketing our whole radio network, as well as, the cross-marketing effect of the overflow from our over 40 hosts that have a similar niche demographic market. Our hosts get listeners first show out.
Starting in 2004, we became proactive with syndicating and simulcasting and thus became a radio network. Here at HealthyLife.Net Radio Network we are syndicated and simulcast 24/7 on over 25 channels including: the Internet, WiFi, Microsoft, Cellphones, PDAs and private radio networks. We even have archive shows and downloadable podcasts of our previously aired shows.
With thousands of dollars in sound equipment, experienced terrestrial radio audio engineers and great producers we produce top shows with great sound quality, which is very important to make our listener’s experience the best. Thankfully we have the availability to support unlimited listeners without degradation of quality and service. We are proud to be a real radio network running 24/7 all positive talk so our listeners can feel good and get help to find a happy, healthy life.
A Radio Show is a show that is on a radio station or a radio network.
A Radio Station is a site that is built for sound broadcasting a group of programs aired over radio waves, cable FM, private wired radio networks or the Internet. Often radio stations are linked in to a radio network.
A Radio Network is a system which usually produces almost all of their programs and distributes them to multiple radio stations either in syndication (a way of making program content available to a variety of broadcast channels) or simulcasting (when a group of programs or an individual program is broadcast at the same time across more than one broadcast channel) or through both syndication and simulcasting.
A Radio Webcast is a controlled server streaming in real time to many recipients who receive the encoded audio content at the same time.
A Podcast is a single program sent or downloaded to a listener’s media player or computer which is either automatically distributed via an RSS feed direct to a subscriber or is ‘cast’ down to the listener when accessed by the listener.
Now that we have the definitions we see that if you are with a radio station or part of a radio network you have a radio show, if not you have an audio podcast or are webcasting. You are probably doing all the producing, marketing and promotion yourself and may be limited to how many people can listen at the same time.
Operating since 2002, the HealthyLife.Net Radio Network reaches between 1 – 3 million listeners a month. It’s taken us over 6 years of good solid programming plus daily marketing and promotion to reach these numbers, which are high in the overall industry for one network.
Although our hosts still have to actively market their show, they also get the benefit of HealthyLife.Net marketing our whole radio network, as well as, the cross-marketing effect of the overflow from our over 40 hosts that have a similar niche demographic market. Our hosts get listeners first show out.
Starting in 2004, we became proactive with syndicating and simulcasting and thus became a radio network. Here at HealthyLife.Net Radio Network we are syndicated and simulcast 24/7 on over 25 channels including: the Internet, WiFi, Microsoft, Cellphones, PDAs and private radio networks. We even have archive shows and downloadable podcasts of our previously aired shows.
With thousands of dollars in sound equipment, experienced terrestrial radio audio engineers and great producers we produce top shows with great sound quality, which is very important to make our listener’s experience the best. Thankfully we have the availability to support unlimited listeners without degradation of quality and service. We are proud to be a real radio network running 24/7 all positive talk so our listeners can feel good and get help to find a happy, healthy life.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Blog Catalog Directory
Our Pending Link for blog catalog directory http://www.blogcatalog.com/directory/arts/radio
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
Radio: Dirty Laundry or Clean Sheets?
Years ago many people “behind the scenes” in the old terrestrial radio paradigm will tell you that beating the competition was the way to success. To cheat, lie, steal or do anything to maintain ratings was actually applauded and encouraged.
Constant surveillance of the competitor’s programming clock and hosts with subsequent adaptation to their own programming and using the competitor’s own strategies against them was constantly done without conscience. It was the way of doing business and in some cases it is still done this way today.
Arbitron was used to extrapolate numbers for the industry to give prospective advertisers a benchmark so they could feel good that they were buying from a station that had listener numbers. The numbers were actually compiled by a sampling of a relatively small number of listeners and then statistically manipulated and extrapolated to provide the station their “audience numbers” when in fact it does not provide any real audience counts at all. It is still done the same way today.
The radio advertising buyers were told about radio ‘frequency and reach’ but were not told that the real ‘reach’ was how many times one listener hears the same message which has more to do with radio host and program loyalty than with total number of listeners to a station which were not real numbers any way.
At some radio stations, people called 'shills' were put into place. Ten percent of the monies collected from the advertiser were given to these 'shills' who would pretend they were new customers and buy the product or service, thus debunking the advertiser into believing that the ad was successful and place even more money into the advertising. The ‘shill’ process would then be repeated.
This is just some of the practices of what HealthyLife.Net perceives as the ‘dirty laundry’ of radio. The internet gives us a chance to reinvent radio in a whole new way of truly being what HealthyLife.Net thinks it was meant to be - as a service to mankind based in truth and integrity.
Since its inception in 2002, HealthyLife.Net Radio Network has made and honored its commitment to truth, integrity and fairness to our listeners, hosts and the radio industry. We decided NOT to follow the old terrestrial radio paradigm. We are not about beating the competition, duping people or just being a business after profit and power. We are about service, providing for the underlying pulse of the people with good, ethical business practices. We believe these are the core reasons by which we are still standing with an ever-growing loyal, worldwide audience and are profitable. However, HealthyLife.Net has also received its share of radio’s 'dirty laundry'.
Back in 2004, HealthyLife.Net thought that our positive programming would be embraced by satellite radio and thus put forth a proposal to one of the two satellite radio stations to carry us. The proposal information provided to them by us was somehow given to another station that was already on their satellite radio roster. Although we were excluded from this network, our tag line and program genres were used to start a new network by this station. After consulting a top profile industry attorney about the ramifications and told that we had a winning case by which we would get copious amounts of publicity and monetary benefit, we had a decision to make. We had to decide whether to take what I perceive to be the negative route of suing the satellite company and the culprit station, or just bank on trusting our audience to decide. We opted to trust our audience and believed in people. Although the culprit station had similar programs and millions of dollars invested, within 4 years the network did not make it and is no longer on air.
In 2005 we approached the other satellite radio network, which several months later turned us down, but who soon after started a similar network with big celebrity names that is doing well but has not affected our audience size and actually adds to it by default. Again we chose not to pursue litigation and follow Gandhi’s path of least resistance and to date the entire satellite radio industry is struggling for its long term survival, yet we are strong.
In 2006 a fairly well-known terrestrial and web radio ‘competitor’ found a way to get into our computer system and tried to bring our network down every Monday when one of our hosts, who also aired on their network, was broadcasting. With our backup systems and procedures we were able to minimize downtime to less than a minute until we finally figured out what and who the culprit was. After implementing a more vigorous security system, the problem went away. We thank them for showing us an unforeseen glitch in our system. After revamping and enlarging their network site they unfortunately made it harder for their audience to find their programs and have unintentionally provided us with a larger share of their audience.
From 2007 through 2008, we have had many smaller terrestrial and web radio stations try to poach our radio hosts, with little or no success.
Now it is 2009 and one of the top and biggest terrestrial radio stations in America is trying to entice our hosts away with just their big name, and though we are not publically recognized as such, we are far stronger in audience size for this market. So again we will take the path of least resistance and trust our hosts and our audience. We'll wait for the benefit their 'dirty laundry' tactics will ultimately provide us. Personally I even smile as I think “Wow, the big boys are trying to emulate HealthyLife.net! We must be doing Internet Radio right.”
What have these experiences taught HealthyLife.Net? That despite attempts of the ‘dirty laundry’ tactics we always seem to benefit in some way. We believe this is because of our ‘clean sheets’ of core values, truth and integrity without engaging in competition. Our trust in our audience and hosts is heart warming and valid. Our audience likes clean sheets! HealthyLife.Net has always been 5 years ahead of the Internet radio curve and we will continue to deliver new positive paradigms for Internet radio without the 'dirty laundry'.
Constant surveillance of the competitor’s programming clock and hosts with subsequent adaptation to their own programming and using the competitor’s own strategies against them was constantly done without conscience. It was the way of doing business and in some cases it is still done this way today.
Arbitron was used to extrapolate numbers for the industry to give prospective advertisers a benchmark so they could feel good that they were buying from a station that had listener numbers. The numbers were actually compiled by a sampling of a relatively small number of listeners and then statistically manipulated and extrapolated to provide the station their “audience numbers” when in fact it does not provide any real audience counts at all. It is still done the same way today.
The radio advertising buyers were told about radio ‘frequency and reach’ but were not told that the real ‘reach’ was how many times one listener hears the same message which has more to do with radio host and program loyalty than with total number of listeners to a station which were not real numbers any way.
At some radio stations, people called 'shills' were put into place. Ten percent of the monies collected from the advertiser were given to these 'shills' who would pretend they were new customers and buy the product or service, thus debunking the advertiser into believing that the ad was successful and place even more money into the advertising. The ‘shill’ process would then be repeated.
This is just some of the practices of what HealthyLife.Net perceives as the ‘dirty laundry’ of radio. The internet gives us a chance to reinvent radio in a whole new way of truly being what HealthyLife.Net thinks it was meant to be - as a service to mankind based in truth and integrity.
Since its inception in 2002, HealthyLife.Net Radio Network has made and honored its commitment to truth, integrity and fairness to our listeners, hosts and the radio industry. We decided NOT to follow the old terrestrial radio paradigm. We are not about beating the competition, duping people or just being a business after profit and power. We are about service, providing for the underlying pulse of the people with good, ethical business practices. We believe these are the core reasons by which we are still standing with an ever-growing loyal, worldwide audience and are profitable. However, HealthyLife.Net has also received its share of radio’s 'dirty laundry'.
Back in 2004, HealthyLife.Net thought that our positive programming would be embraced by satellite radio and thus put forth a proposal to one of the two satellite radio stations to carry us. The proposal information provided to them by us was somehow given to another station that was already on their satellite radio roster. Although we were excluded from this network, our tag line and program genres were used to start a new network by this station. After consulting a top profile industry attorney about the ramifications and told that we had a winning case by which we would get copious amounts of publicity and monetary benefit, we had a decision to make. We had to decide whether to take what I perceive to be the negative route of suing the satellite company and the culprit station, or just bank on trusting our audience to decide. We opted to trust our audience and believed in people. Although the culprit station had similar programs and millions of dollars invested, within 4 years the network did not make it and is no longer on air.
In 2005 we approached the other satellite radio network, which several months later turned us down, but who soon after started a similar network with big celebrity names that is doing well but has not affected our audience size and actually adds to it by default. Again we chose not to pursue litigation and follow Gandhi’s path of least resistance and to date the entire satellite radio industry is struggling for its long term survival, yet we are strong.
In 2006 a fairly well-known terrestrial and web radio ‘competitor’ found a way to get into our computer system and tried to bring our network down every Monday when one of our hosts, who also aired on their network, was broadcasting. With our backup systems and procedures we were able to minimize downtime to less than a minute until we finally figured out what and who the culprit was. After implementing a more vigorous security system, the problem went away. We thank them for showing us an unforeseen glitch in our system. After revamping and enlarging their network site they unfortunately made it harder for their audience to find their programs and have unintentionally provided us with a larger share of their audience.
From 2007 through 2008, we have had many smaller terrestrial and web radio stations try to poach our radio hosts, with little or no success.
Now it is 2009 and one of the top and biggest terrestrial radio stations in America is trying to entice our hosts away with just their big name, and though we are not publically recognized as such, we are far stronger in audience size for this market. So again we will take the path of least resistance and trust our hosts and our audience. We'll wait for the benefit their 'dirty laundry' tactics will ultimately provide us. Personally I even smile as I think “Wow, the big boys are trying to emulate HealthyLife.net! We must be doing Internet Radio right.”
What have these experiences taught HealthyLife.Net? That despite attempts of the ‘dirty laundry’ tactics we always seem to benefit in some way. We believe this is because of our ‘clean sheets’ of core values, truth and integrity without engaging in competition. Our trust in our audience and hosts is heart warming and valid. Our audience likes clean sheets! HealthyLife.Net has always been 5 years ahead of the Internet radio curve and we will continue to deliver new positive paradigms for Internet radio without the 'dirty laundry'.
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