CES, HD Radio punta tutto su traffico e navigator

In occasione del salone dell'elettronica di consumo di Las Vegas, il CES, Ibiquity presenta una linea di nuovi prodotti quasi tutti focalizzati su un nuovo aspetto applicativo della tecnologia di radio digitale HD Radio: la navigazione in auto e la trasmissione di informazioni sul traffico in tempo reale. Così come per il DAB, anche HD Radio è un sistema che consente il trasporto di informazioni digitali più ricche rispetto ad alternative tradizionali come il sistema RDS-TMC. Nessuno potrebbe affermare il contrario. Senonché, il fatto che la tecnologia supporti un certo tipo di servzio, non implica necessariamente che ci sia qualcuno che sia in grado di offrirlo e quindi di consumare, il servizio in questione. Questa distanza tra la tecnologia e il mercato, che c'è sempre stata ma che nel caso della radio digitale non è mai stata del tutto colmata, è un tema fondamentale e faremmo meglio a ricordarcene sempre quando leggiamo i comunicati stampa
Detto questo, i dettagli sui prodotti che Ibiquity presenterà a Vegas insieme ai suoi partner, sono molto interessanti.

HD Radio Technology Enters Real-Time Traffic Category with Three Personal Navigation Device Form Factors and In-Dash Head Units


Traffic Data Detail and Capacity Over HD Radio Broadcasts Far Exceeds Other Delivery Platforms

Prototypes to Be Unveiled at International CES 2009 Include Dual Aftermarket Head Unit, Visteon Advanced OEM Platform, and Prototypes for Built-In Receiver, Cigarette Lighter Adapter and Cradle Product

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- International Consumer Electronics Show -- iBiquity Digital Corporation, the developer of digital HD Radio technology for AM and FM audio and data broadcasting, today announced a significant milestone in HD Radio advanced data services by entering into the real-time traffic category with two branded in-dash head units and three personal navigation device (PND) form factors. Receiving traffic data over HD Radio broadcasts provides a significant improvement in speed and road condition details as opposed to radio data systems-traffic message channel (RDS-TMC) and satellite. At the 2009 International CES (January 8-11, 2009), five prototypes will be unveiled, including a built-in receiver, cigarette lighter adapter, a cradle product, a Dual in-dash unit and a Visteon advanced OEM platform. These demonstrations will be unveiled at iBiquity's booth #9034 in the Las Vegas Convention Center's Central Hall.
"The radio industry set a precedent by coming together in 2005 to accelerate the adoption of HD Radio technology and the rollout of real-time traffic service over HD Radio broadcasts has been a collaborative effort among radio broadcasters and PND software suppliers," said Joe D'Angelo, Vice President, Advanced Services, iBiquity Digital Corporation. "HD Radio technology is now at the size, power, form factor and functionality that can deliver on the promise of digital radio as a base for PNDs and navigation platforms. 2008 was the year of development for this service and this year is all about the commercialization."
Real-time navigation devices using HD Radio technology deliver traffic and concierge services like gas station prices, movie listings, sports scores, stock quotes, school closings, and emergency alerts. Prototypes of the PNDs to be demonstrated at CES include:

• Dual-branded PND touch screen with HD Radio receiver built into the platform
• PND cigarette lighter adapter using HD Radio technology
• PND with HD Radio receiver in cradle
• Visteon advanced OEM platform head unit with external navigation (will be demoed at Visteon's LVCC booth CP13 - Central Plaza)
• NAVTEQ Development Platform that displays traffic and concierge services including gas prices, weather information and advertising data
• iBiquity Advanced Development Platform

Two groups have announced that they will offer HD Radio real-time traffic data in the near future: Clear Channel is currently offering a real-time traffic service nationally. In 2008, a group of leading radio companies formed the Broadcaster Traffic Consortium, which is working with NAVTEQ to build a nationwide broadcasting network to distribute local traffic and other concierge data services via radio.

Vent'anni fa la chiusura delle radio illegali irlandesi

Vent'anni fa, racconta questo articolo dell'Irish Times speditomi oggi da Andrea Borgnino, le autorità irlandesi mettefano fine al fenomeno delle emittenti illegali, bandendo le licenze di quelle che sarebbero divenute le nuove stazioni radio commerciali indipendenti. Era il capodanno del 1988 e una settantina di stazioni decisero di chiudere gli impianti per evitare pesanti sanzioni. Alcune di queste radio "pirata" erano molto seguite, addirittura autorevoli, come Sunshine Radio. E molte delle loro personalità si ritrovano oggi alla radio e alla televisione, nel servizio pubblico come nel privato. L'ennesima testimonianza del difficile compito del regolatore in un'area in cui molto spesso la qualità - e guarda caso anche il seguito di pubblico - non nascono dalle regole. Ma dalla loro assenza.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

When pirates ceased to rule the airwaves

New Year's Eve 1988 marked the end of one of the more fascinating and turbulent periods in Irish broadcasting, writes Patsy McGarry*

SOME 20 years ago, at about this time of year, Irish radio became altogether less colourful when an estimated 70 pirate stations went off air voluntarily.
New Year's Eve 1988 marked the end of one of the more fascinating and turbulent periods in Irish broadcasting. It is a period fondly remembered by many established names of TV and radio today.
The then Independent Radio and Television Commission had invited applications for broadcast licences but stipulated that anyone on air illegally after December 31st, 1988, would forfeit any chance of securing one.
Illegal broadcasting in the State went back to the 1940s at least, when there was a radio station called "Killeen Road Home Service" in Dublin's Santry. By the 1960s there was Radio Galaxy and Radio Dublin. By 1970, ARD was broadcasting from Cabra, remaining on air until 1980.
Big D broadcast from Chapel Lane off Parnell St in 1980/81 and Southside Radio, based at the Victor Hotel in Dún Laoghaire, was on air from 1979 to 1981.
Radio Leinster, based near Lamb Doyle's in Sandyford Co Dublin, closed in 1983 after two years, in anticipation of long-promised legislation allowing for independent broadcasting in Ireland. Other Dublin stations then included Capital, Radio City which lasted from 1979 to 1982, and TTTR, the city's only specialist (country) music station, which went on air in 1981.
Outside the capital one of the bigger pirate stations was Radio Carousel in Dundalk, on air since 1979. In Cork, both ERI and South Coast Radio were very successful. In fact, there was hardly an urban area in Ireland without its own pirate station.
Midnight on New Year's Eve 1988 also meant an end to the sole surviving "super-pirate" in Dublin - Sunshine Radio. It had been on air since 1980 when it was set up by Robbie Robinson and Chris Carey. Both had worked on Radio Caroline, the pirate station which in the 1960s broke the monopoly in British broadcasting. Caroline was started by Dubliner Ronan O'Rahilly.
A reported "sabotage attack" on Sunshine's aerial - causing £5,000 worth of damage - prompted Chris Carey and Phil Solomon, both among the station's major financiers, to pull out. But Robbie Robinson carried on. Purpose-built studios were soon ready in Portakabins behind the Sands Hotel and the standard of broadcasting set a template for all other pirates throughout the State.
A major breakthrough came in November 1980 when Aer Lingus decided to advertise with it. The station's unexpected success meant Chris Carey had a rethink and was soon back in Dublin setting up "clutter-free'' Radio Nova. He brought in a powerful FM transmitter and nothing was ever the same in Irish broadcasting after that.
Advertisers loved the "no chat, greatest hits" formula. And RTÉ got mad. They began to jam Nova and Sunshine, now also on FM as Sunshine 101.
In November 1982 the new Fine Gael-Labour coalition promised a crackdown on the pirates under pressure from unions at RTÉ. On May 18th, 1983, Sunshine's broadcasting equipment was seized. Similarly, Nova was put off the air, which brought Robinson and Carey together again as they mounted a hugely successful popular campaign with thousands of young people protesting on the streets of Dublin. Soon both stations were back on air to survive further jamming by RTÉ.
It was much the same following raids on other pirates stations across the State.
At Nova there followed a bitter dispute with the NUJ which helped bring about its closure in 1986. Sunshine continued to broadcast right up to December 31st, 1988, and was widely expected to get a licence the following year. It didn't. Carey also applied for a licence and was not successful either.
Later, in the UK, he devised decoders to unscramble satellite television stations and sold them for a small fortune. He was arrested in 1996 and got a four-year sentence. Four months later he walked out of his open prison and fled to New Zealand but was tracked down and received an additional 15-month sentence for absconding. In July 2000, at 53, he had a stroke from which he recovered. He has since died.
Failing to get a licence in 1989, Robinson went to live in Lanzarote with his wife Stella, where they remain today.

*Patsy McGarry was head of news at Sunshine Radio from 1983-1987

Memories of pirate radio

ANNE CASSIN (RTÉ)

I was very low down the food chain when I worked as a researcher for the early morning news service in the early 1980s on Radio Nova. I was paid £100 a week.
Preparing the news, of course, involved the shabby practice of taping RTÉ Radio 1's early morning bulletins, re-jigging them, and handing them to Bob . It was plagiarising of course, and I had sporadic bouts of guilt about the practice, but hey, this was Ireland in the 1980s and there were no jobs.
The fact that I was working on an illegal radio station, a pirate, never troubled me - in fact it was thrilling to be part of something that was taking on the establishment and winning. My big broadcasting break came when I filled in for newsreader Sybil Fennell who had slept it out! I was awful.

AIDAN COONEY (TV3)

I was lucky enough to work for both Nova and Sunshine. Some of my fondest memories as a pirate come from the days spent in the Portakabins where Sunshine Radio flew its Jolly Roger.
The term "good old days" comes readily to mind, but I think it was more the fact that we were young, free and single and willing to work long hours in an exciting new industry. We never dared believe that one day we might be working for companies or corporations that might have an actual licence to broadcast.

BRYAN DOBSON (RTÉ)

Let me be absolutely honest and admit that, while I had two hugely enjoyable years in Radio Nova and that it was an experience which changed the course of my life, I couldn't get out of the place quick enough. Nova was a great radio station that produced some great broadcasting and outstanding broadcasters . . . Most important of all it demonstrated a public demand for an alternative to RTÉ.
But while I loved radio and loved working in Nova, I hated being a "pirate". I could see no future for illegal broadcasting.
We had already been closed down once by the government and it could happen again.
I am glad I escaped the world of pirate radio when I did. But I am also proud that I had the good fortune to begin my career in one of the best radio stations ever to take to the Irish airwaves.

Azerbaidjian, ritorno forzato alle onde corte

L'eco delle polemiche suscitate dalla decisione di sospendere dal primo gennaio di quest'anno la ritrasmissione di Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty sulle frequenze FM interne all'Azerbaidjian, ha fatto molta strada nei media occidentali. Nelle scorse settimane, le autorità della nazione caucasica hanno formalmente negato a Radio Azadliq (Libertà) ed altri broadcaster stranieri, BBC compresa, la licenza di trasmissione sulle frequenze locali. All'emittente, i cui programmi sono finanziati da RFE/RL, è rimasta solo una risorsa, oltre al satellite: le onde corte. Descrivendo gli eventi che hanno fatto seguito alla chiusura di Radio Azadliq in FM, Radio Free Europe riferisce che all'improvviso, nei negozi di elettronica di consumo di Baku e dintorni la richiesta di ricevitori in onde corte è alle stelle, la gente si accalca per procurarsi uno strumento che mezzo mondo ha dichiarato obsoleto da un pezzo.
In questi giorni di tensione e morte in Israele e a Gaza, con un amico siamo rimasti a lungo davanti a CNN e al BBC World Service televisivo, rimpiangendo le notti trascorse ad ascoltare notiziari e corrispondenze con le nostre semplici radioline. Avete mai provato ad andare a letto con un notebook? La cosa più scomoda del mondo, anche con Wi-Fi, eppure è quello che siamo costretti a fare oggi se vogliamo ascoltare, in streaming Web, un notiziario da Israele o da qualsiasi altra fonte, perché le voci sulle onde corte si stanno spegnendo una dopo l'altra, con il pretesto della "razionalizzazione" della spesa. Il caso Azerbaidjian dimostra che quando si tratta di informazione, di pluralismo, di libertà, al gioco della razionalizzazione perdiamo tutti.

January 02, 2009

RFE/RL Listeners In Azerbaijan Angry Over Closure Of Azadliq

“They shut you down, but it's too late. I already know what liberty is, and that liberty is possible. Thank you for that.”
That's what one listener wrote to Radio Azadliq [Liberty], the Azerbaijani service of RFE/RL, after the government ordered the closure of all foreign broadcasters in the country: BBC, Voice of America, and Radio Azadliq.
Rauf Mirkadirov, an analyst who writes for the newspaper "Zerkalo," echoed the listener's comments. “Radio Azadliq’s error is obvious. It makes people think," Mirkadirov writes. "If people think, they suffer, because they understand that the truth is not what the pro-government media shows: [a picture of] a country with economic growth and stability. They understand how bad the situation really is.”
Radio Azadliq started receiving messages of support on October 31 when Nushiravan Maharramli, the head of the National Television and Radio Council, announced the plan to stop foreign broadcasts on national frequencies.
The messages are still arriving. Radio Azadliq’s offices in Baku and Prague received thousands of phone calls, mobile text messages, and emails, while independent and opposition newspapers published commentaries regretting the government’s decision.
“I don’t understand this decision, and I don’t want to understand it,” wrote Vagif Samedoglu, a prominent writer and member of parliament. "They should not forget that these radio stations helped us, made our voices heard in the world in our bad days.... Especially Radio Azadliq.”
“Everyone would listen to Azadliq, from taxi drivers to housewives. This was enough to shut down the station. Where else you would hear alternative voices?” Mammad Suleymanov wrote in an opinion piece in "Bizim Yol."
Alternative voices are still being heard through Radio Azadliq -- but fewer people are able to hear them. Azadliq is still able to broadcast on shortwave frequencies, and shopkeepers say the demand for radios that receive shortwave has skyrocketed in past days. Others tune in on Azadliq's website, where they can hear not only current broadcasts but also older ones from the archive.
Most listeners, however, express grave concern not only about the fate of their favorite radio station, but about what the development means for Azerbaijan.
“Radio Azadliq would always inform us about different views. Now alternative information will be available only at funerals and mosques -- from the mullahs. These are only places where you don’t get arrested for listening to something other than the government’s propaganda,” said Elshan Poladli. Poladli is an activist of the Dalga youth movement, and has been arrested several times for organizing public protests against corruption, oil pollution, and restrictions on freedom of expression.
In his commentary, Suleymanov writes that “the restrictions placed on Azadliq will end up with bringing freedom to the people, because their unexpressed anger will build up and explode."

La ionosfera si abbassa

Ho letto solo oggi, con qualche settimana di ritardo una notizia che riguarda i primi risultati ottenuti da un satellite lanciato lo scorso aprile per studiare la ionosfera e i suoi fenomeni. Il satellite CNOF/S, Communication/Navigation Outage Forecast System, fa parte di una missione dell'Air Force americana con la collaborazione di NASA e università il cui obiettivo è fornire dati sulle possibili alterazioni nelle comunicazioni alle alte frequenze, in virtù di fenomeni perturbativi come le "scintillazioni", che disturbano le operazioni terra-satellite anche nelle UHF e in banda L.

Secondo le ultime analisi effettuate con gli strumenti della missione CINDI, Coupled Ion-Neutral Dynamics Investigations (qui trovate delle interessanti animazioni), la ionosfera si starebbe abbassando di quota. La regione di transizione tra ionosfera e spazio, teoricamente collocata intorno a quota 950 chilometri durante il giorno è stata misurata a 800 chilometri. Nelle ore notturne il limite si dimezza, scendendo a 420 chilometri di quota contro i 640 misurati da terra.
I due articoli che seguono, ricavati dal sito Space Mart e dal sito della University of Texas Dallas (cui è affidata la direzione scientifica della missione CINDI) riassumono questo e altri risultati, tra cui per esempio il rilevamento di un livello termico ionosferico assai più basso del previsto. La ionosfera è più fredda e meno alta. In teoria, una quota più bassa implicherebbe una riduzione dei percorsi propagativi per chi ascolta in onde medie e corte. Ma in realtà sospetto che i dati raccolti in questi mesi dalla missione C/NOFS-CINDI siano piuttosto uno strumento di conoscenza aggiuntivo, più preciso di quelli, molto circoscritti e limitati, di cui disponevamo finora. Il ritratto della ionosfera che sta emergendo non è "diverso", ma "nuovo". Il che non lo rende meno interessante per noi.

Contraction Of Boundary Between The Earth's Ionosphere And Space

The C/NOFS mission gives scientists a new tool for forecasting space weather. The CINDI instrument aboard C/NOFS specifically studies the major elements that influence space weather near Earths equator.

by Staff Writers (Credit: NASA) Washington DC (SPX) Dec 19, 2008

Observations made by NASA instruments onboard an Air Force satellite have shown that the boundary between the Earth's upper atmosphere and space has moved to extraordinarily low altitudes. These observations were made by the Coupled Ion Neutral Dynamics Investigation (CINDI) instrument suite, which was launched aboard the U.S. Air Force's Communication/Navigation Outage Forecast System (C/NOFS) satellite on April 16, 2008.
The CINDI suite, which was built under the direction Principal Investigator Rod Heelis of the University of Texas at Dallas, includes both ion and neutral sensors and makes measurements of the variations in neutral and ion densities and drifts.
CINDI and C/NOFS were designed to study disturbances in Earth's ionosphere that can result in a disruption of navigation and communication signals. The ionosphere is a gaseous envelope of electrically charged particles that surrounds our planet and it is important because Radar, radio waves, and global positioning system signals can be disrupted by ionospheric disturbances.
CINDI's first discovery was, however, that the ionosphere was not where it had been expected to be. During the first months of CINDI operations the transition between the ionosphere and space was found to be at about 260 miles (420 km) altitude during the nighttime, barely rising above 500 miles (800 km) during the day.
These altitudes were extraordinarily low compared with the more typical values of 400 miles (640 km) during the nighttime and 600 miles (960 km) during the day.
The height of the ionosphere/space transition is controlled in part by the amount of extreme ultraviolet energy emitted by the Sun and a somewhat contracted ionosphere could have been expected because C/NOFS was launched during a minimum in the 11-year cycle of solar activity. However, the size of the actual contraction caught investigators by surprise.
In fact, when they looked back over records of solar activity, they found that C/NOFS had been launched during the quietest solar minimum since the space age began.
This extraordinary circumstance is providing an unparalleled opportunity to study the connection between the interior dynamics of the Sun and the response of the Earth's space environment.
CINDI is a NASA sponsored Mission of Opportunity conducted by the University of Texas at Dallas. NASA's Explorer Program at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., managed the CINDI mission. The Explorer Program provides frequent flight opportunities for world-class scientific investigations from space within heliophysics and astrophysics.
The CINDI investigation is carried out as an enhancement to the science objectives of the C/NOFS satellite undertaken by the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Space and Missile Command Test and Evaluation Directorate.

***

UT Dallas Project Helps Fill Out Picture of Earth’s Ionosphere

Researchers’ Instruments Reveal Surprises About Size and Shape of Electrically Charged Layer

Dec. 16, 2008

A space weather satellite with Coupled Ion-Neutral Dynamics Investigation (CINDI) instruments aboard have for the first time revealed the size and shape of the gaseous envelope of electrically charged particles that surrounds the globe.

Called the ionosphere, this essential border between Earth and space has now been mapped at its upper boundary and shown to occupy less height than expected.
Measurements from CINDI instrumentation have made the first map of the ionosphere’s upper surface. It expands and contracts from day to night but has much less height than expected.
A collaboration among NASA, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the University of Texas at Dallas, CINDI is revealing what happens during periods of low sunspot activity, when the upper atmosphere cools off.
The ionosphere plays a particularly important role in satellite communication and any type of technology that uses space-based communications. GPS systems used by ships, trucking companies, and airplanes depend on reliable, uninterrupted streams of information from satellites, which must punch a signal cleanly through the ionosphere.
“Any radio or location system signal that utilizes space-based communication has to go through the ionosphere,” said CINDI Principal Investigator Rod Heelis, director of the Hanson Center for Space Sciences at UT Dallas. “On its best day, the ionosphere just bends that signal rather like water bends light. On its worst day it can completely distort that signal so that it doesn’t make it out the other side.”
Predicting when these disturbances might occur is a key goal of the CINDI project and its satellite, the Communication/Navigation Outage Forecast System (C/NOFS).

CINDI reveals for the first time:

• A view of the ionosphere never seen before, during solar “quiet” times.
• A map showing the size and shape of the Earth’s ionosphere.
• That the ionosphere is up to 100 degrees cooler than previously thought.
• That the effective thickness of the ionospheric shell is less than expected.
• A link between the extent of the ionosphere and solar activity levels observed at solar minimum.
• A view of the daily expansion and contraction of the ionosphere around the equator.
  

“The ionosphere is extremely cold at night, leading to a much thinner altitude and less dense layer than we expected,” Heelis said. “We have found that it is up to 100 degrees cooler than we expected and the effective thickness of the ionospheric shell is smaller than we expected.”
Heelis said CINDI revealed that the ionosphere expands during the day, when the upper surface rises, but not as high as the team thought it might. Further, the daily expansion and contraction of the ionosphere has been observed continuously around the equator for the first time. Had sunspot activity not dropped off—with associated cooling of the ionosphere—scientists would not have been able to watch the ionosphere expand and contract.
The so-called “quiet time” view of the ionosphere, when sunspot activity is low, allows Heelis and Greg Earle, another UT Dallas physics professor and CINIDI team member, to study the region of the ionosphere that is hazardous to radio communications.

Heelis and Earle built the two instruments that comprise CINDI:

The Ion Velocity Meter, which measures the direction and speed of ions as well as their density, temperature and chemical composition.

The Neutral Wind Meter, which measures the speed and direction of the neutral atoms and molecules in the near vacuum of space.

The 20-pound package of sensors and electronic equipment was fabricated in Heelis’ UT Dallas laboratory with Earle’s assistance and in collaboration with Paul Mahaffey of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

CINDI was carried on the C/NOFS satellite that was launched on April 16, 2008 on a Pegasus XL rocket aboard Orbital Science Corporation’s L-1011 “Stargazer” jet. The C/NOFS mission was launched to explore ways to forecast disturbances in the Earth’s ionosphere that can result in a disruption of navigation and communication signals.
“Years ago, my basic question began as, ‘How does our space environment interact with the sun?’” Heelis said. “I was intellectually curious about that. But now, as we become more dependent on assets in space, answering that question has real importance to everyday commerce, to military and commercial communications and navigation. NASA and the Air Force want to know the answers, and it’s enlightening to see major agencies working with us at UT Dallas to share resources and work on these problems together.”
Heelis and representatives from NASA and the Air Force presented the recent results from CINDI at the 2008 fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union.

La radio fa bene alla musica irlandese

Nessuno è profeta in patria, neppure quando la patria in questione è una musicalissima Irlanda e i profetti sono i gruppi musicali locali. Oggi un articolo del Sunday Times irlandese racconta che solo nel 2008 è stata registrata una inversione di tendenza nella curva discendente della popolarità delle band musicali locali, che nel 2007 avevano ottenuto un misero 21% della quota complessiva di dischi venduti in Irlanda. A fine anni novanta riuscivano a sfiorare quota 30%. Secondo le etichette discografiche la prima colpevole di questo scarso riscontro è la radio: le emittenti irlandesi sono sempre state accusate di eccessiva esterofilia. E una minore visibilità si traduceva ovviamente in un più esiguo impatto commerciale. In passato, sostengono gli editori musicali, una band irlandese veniva presa in considerazione solo quando riusciva a scalare le classifica di popolarità in Regno Unito e Stati Uniti. Solo recentemente, l'arrivo di gruppi molto interessanti sembra aver fatto cambiare idea ai responsabili delle stazioni. Il Sunday Times in effetti presenta uno spaccato interessante di questa nuova scena musicale popolata da complessi come The Script o da cantanti da nomi ultra Irish come Paddy Casey. Tutti molto interessanti, per quel poco che posso capire io.

From The Sunday Times
January 4, 2009

Radio finally going ga-ga for Irish acts

There has been a marked rise in the amount of air-time Irish musical acts are getting on the radio - and that is translating into increased sales

For years, Irish music acts have been singing the same refrain: we can’t get our records played on the radio. But 2008 proved to be the year the tables finally started turning for home-grown artists.
The second most played track on radio stations in the republic last year was The Man Who Can’t Be Moved by The Script, an Irish trio who have also conquered the British charts. It was aired more than 10,000 times, only marginally fewer than Duffy’s mega-hit Mercy. Coldplay’s track Viva La Vida was the third most played.
The Script also notched up No 30 on the airplay chart of the year with their first single We Cry, and No 55 with Breakeven, their latest release. Snow Patrol, meanwhile, were at No 36 and No 81 with Take Back the City and Chasing Cars respectively.
They were among 13 Irish songs in the Top 100 chart of the most-played tunes on radio, produced by Nielsen Music Control after monitoring the output of 34 stations.
While this may still seem a small proportion compared with the dominance of the airwaves by international stars, it represents a tripling of what was being played a year ago.
Feidhlim Byrne, of Nielsen, said: “I can see a huge increase in the number of Irish acts getting played and getting into the prime-time. [In the past] we would be lucky if we had five in the top 100 airplay chart every week. Now we are getting 15, maybe 20.
“The music is probably getting better, but a big part of it is down to the likes of Hot Press and the acts themselves pushing the media to give them a chance, so a lot of stations have started to give them a break. Tony Fenton, Ian Dempsey and Rick O'Shea on the bigger shows are fitting more Irish into their shows and getting behind certain bands, helping to drive them into the charts.
“Then other stations jump on them. Some of these artists are now getting airplay around the country, which they found it difficult to do before.”
Byrne cited Duke Special, Fred, the Coronas, the Blizzards and Ham Sandwich as among the artists getting a lot of air-time last year. “While we consistently have international songs getting maybe 700 plays a week, there are Irish songs good enough to get the same but which may only get 300 or if they’re lucky 400,” he said.
“The Script would be the exception. Duke Special, Fred, the Coronas, the Blizzards had radio-friendly songs but still wouldn’t get 700 plays.” As recently as the end of 2007, the Irish music industry was holding panel discussions with contributors including Westlife manager Louis Walsh as part of a campaign to get more Irish music played on the radio.
Home-grown artists were disappearing from the Irish Top 40 album chart and being replaced by international stars whose share of record sales had soared since the end of the 1990s.
Irish artists accounted for 27% of the local music market at the end of the Nineties, but that had fallen to 21% by 2007. Record labels blamed a lack of support from radio stations as the main reason.
Dermot Doran, manager of Republic of Loose, whose The Steady Song was the second most played Irish song last year and 24th overall, said: “It’s definitely improved on years ago, when it was impossible. This is the third album and from the second album on they’ve been getting good airplay.
“In the past, unless you were getting played in America and England, the powers-that-be in radio here didn’t think you were worthy of airplay.
“It probably is easier for Irish artists to get played on the radio because of the success in the past few years of home-grown acts such as Paddy Casey, who can sell 150,000 records in Ireland but mightn’t have as high a profile in the UK.”
Record sales last year seemed to reflect the boost. According to ChartTrack, which compiles the chart for the Irish Recorded Music Association, The Galway Girl by Sharon Shannon and Mundy was the biggest-selling single in 2008. Of the top 40 albums sold last year, 11 were by Irish artists including The Script’s debut record at No 2.

Fabrizio de Andrè, la mostra

Una Genova assolata e gelida di tramontana ci ha accolti questa mattina proprio a Carignano, davanti alla chiesa dei funerali di Faber. Da lì prosegui per un po' e arrivi all'imbocco dello stradone (si fa per dire) di Sant'Agostino, scendi e in pochi minuti arrivi davanti all'ingresso di Palazzo Ducale su Piazza Matteotti, sulla destra la chiesa del Gesù e poco più oltre Porta Soprana. La disperata bellezza della città ti afferra aiutata il vento e ti segue dentro ai palazzi del suo passato splendore, nel seminterrato che ospita, dal 31 dicembre, la mostra dedicata a Fabrizio de André nel decennale della scomparsa.

Non pensavo di riuscire a visitarla così presto ma ieri sono partito da Milano e l'occasione è diventata di colpo imperdibile (oltretutto, la concomitante esposizione su Lucio Fontana, che durerà fino a metà febbraio rendeva ancora più stimolante la trasferta dal mio Levante radiofonico. Una mostra buia, esistenzialista, suggestiva, quella allestita nella città natale (in realtà l'onore spetterebbe a Pegli) del piemontese De André. Ricchissimo l'apparato di testimonianze video, autografi, fotografie, copertine di dischi. Struggente la sala dei tarocchi (ho scoperto che tra i pallini dell'autore c'era anche l'astrologia) con un'ampia selezione di canzoni a fare da sfondo alla proiezione di splendidi tarocchi animati dalle riprese di mimi, acrobati, ballerini. Per quelli della mia generazione, che hanno cantato di Miché, Piero e Boccadirosa negli anni di attività del grande autore, è un percorso sul filo di una commozione che sfocia spesso e volentieri in vere e proprie lacrime. Una strada che ti porta ai margini, nelle frange popolate dai minimi che non hanno mai contato niente, se non nelle canzoni di quell'anarchico borghese.
E ci restituisce momenti impressionistici, memorabili, come la lettera che Faber scrive da Milano al poeta Mario Luzi per parlargli di Ulisse, o le poche paginette di una biografia attribuita a mamma Luisa (forse per un articolo di rivista), dove il piccolo Fabrizio sfollato nell'astigiano durante la guerra viene descritto come perennemente arrampicato su una sedia, con una bacchetta in mano, mentre dirige la musica trasmessa dalla radio.

Pulsar, la radio Sirius XM anche su Mac OS X

Gli sviluppatori di Rogue Amoeba hanno sfornato un'altra delle loro "delikatessen" software (rigorosamente per Mac OS X). La surprise du jour si chiama Pulsar, un client Mac per la ricezione dell'offerta dell'operatore satellitare Sirius XM. Ovviamente, la radio online di Sirius non è "a gratis", il pacchetto XM Radio Online costa 7 dollari e 99 al mese, quello Sirius Internet Radio 12 e 99, immagino che in prospettiva i due abbonamenti verranno unificati.

Non credo che mi abbonerò, ma intanto mi sto divertendo con la mia prova gratuita, valida tre giorni, che Sirius offre ai potenziali acquirenti. Sono oltre 210 canali tematici di ogni genere! Vi piacciono le canzoni di Sinatra o magari di Elvis Presley? Siriusly Sinatra o Elvis Radio fanno per voi. Preferite l'hip-hop, Hip-Hop Nation è la risposta. E la qualità non è affatto male. Anche l'applicazione Pulsar è un regalo di Rogue Amoeba: il programma è gratuito per chi possiede già una licenza per uno degli applicativi Rogue (io utilizzo sia Audio Hijack Pro, sia Fission). Altrimenti il costo è di soli 15 dollari.
Per molti analisti finanziari l'unica speranza di salvezza per Sirius XM, pesantemente indebitata, viene proprio da queste forme di diversificazione e da un graduale spostamento da un sistema distributivo solo satellitare a un modello misto in cui Internet possa giocare un ruolo sempre più fondamentale. Il giorno che Pulsar uscirà anche per iPhone sarà possibile usufruire della pay radio Sirius anche attraverso l'infrastruttura telefonica mobile. L'unico dubbio riguarda la possibilità di abbonarsi anche fuori dagli Stati Uniti. Non ho avuto difficoltà nell'ottenere il codice per la prova gratuita, quindi è possibile che Sirius non faccia differenze.

L'ascesa di Tsega alla guida di radio Reshet Aleph

Quando è stata invitata a parlare a un gruppo di afroamericani nel corso di un suo recente viaggio negli Stati Uniti, la nuova direttrice di Reshet Aleph, il canale radiofonico culturale della emittente di stato israeliana IBA, si è trovata a rispondere alle più naturali domande sul colore della sua pelle. Tsega Melaku appartiene alla comunità dei falasha, gli ebrei di Etiopia. E a chi gli chiedeva come ci si trova a essere una professionista così importante in un mondo che non sembra essere particolarmente accogliente nei confronti di ebrei e neri, Tsega rispondeva: non dimenticate che sono anche una donna.
Una bellissima storia, quella di Tsega, arrivata in Israele (il termine ebraico per un abitante della diaspora che sceglie di diventare cittadino israeliano è "fare aliya", letteralmente "ascendere") nel 1984. Da quindici anni è dipendente della radio, dove prima di essere nominata direttrice del canale Aleph era responsabile dei programmi in amarico del canale per immigrati e stranieri Reka. E ora il salto alla direzione.
L'aliya rende Israele un posto ancora più complesso e per i falasha, gli ebrei etiopi (qui il termine più corretto sarebbe Beta Israel, perché falasha, "esiliato" in amarico, è molto peggiorativo), la vita lo è ancora di più. Specie se tanto per rendere la situazione ancora più intricata, la loro origine è riferibile al gruppo dei Falasha Mura, costretti cento anni fa a convertirsi al cristianesimo. Non tutti, in Israele, sono disposti a considerare i Mura formalmente ebrei.
Eppure Tsega è riuscita a conquistare una posizione invidiabile e molto delicata. Laureata in scienze politiche e con un master in business administration, ha fatto una carriera quasi fulminante, lei che era stata assunta per la sua fluenza in amarico e inglese e che essendo nata nel 1967 è ancora molto giovane. E gli ostacoli da superare non finiscono mai, fin dai primi test attitudinali che, racconta la giornalista, sembravano fatti apposta per tagliar fuori coloro che provengono da culture molto diverse da quella mainstream.
In questa intervista rilasciata al Jerusalem Post (per le sue risposte cliccate qui), Tsega racconta che dopo la sua nomina, recandosi un giorno alla sede dell'IBA era stata fermata da una donna che le aveva chiesto se fosse disponibile per farle le pulizie di casa. Anche Haaretz l'aveva intervistata poco dopo la sua nomina a direttrice, il pezzo lo trovate qui.

Dec 31, 2008
Radio days
By RUTH EGLASH

Tsega Melaku does not try to downplay the challenges she has faced in becoming the first Ethiopian director of Israel Radio's Reshet Alef. In fact, the 40-year-old recalls with irony a recent trip to the US where she spoke about her experiences of being an Ethiopian immigrant to a large group of African-Americans.
d me how I have managed to get so far in a world that is not welcoming to either Jews or blacks. I said that it is true the world does not like Jews or blacks, but I also had to remind them that I was a woman and on that level had to fight for success too," she quips.
"As an immigrant from Ethiopia, I wake up every morning to challenges but every challenge I face makes me stronger. Whenever I am made to feel unwelcome or told that I'm not wanted, I end up coming back bigger and stronger."
Melaku's gentle and soothing radio voice might be what has made her into somewhat of a celebrity in Ethiopian-Israeli circles - she managed Israel Radio's Amharic-language broadcasts for more than 15 years - but it only serves to belie the overwhelming determination that has placed her at the center of the mainstream and allowed her to become the first Ethiopian immigrant to achieve such success in the country's competitive communications industry.
"When I started at the radio, I was the youngest person and I was a woman," explains Melaku, who has a BA in political science and a master's in business administration. "I was a real threat [to the men there] but I am an optimistic person and really wanted to put myself into the center of Israeli society. When I was accepted to this position [a month-and-a-half-ago] it was like coming full circle for me."
Even though Melaku is now certainly at the core of Israel's society - she is responsible for programming a wide range of cultural and discussion shows covering many topics - as a black woman, she still faces insurmountable challenges on a daily basis.
"Just a few weeks after being appointed director of Reshet Alef, I was on my way to the radio station and a woman stopped me in the street, it was right outside the gates of the radio offices," recalls Melaku. "She asked me if I could come and clean her house."
While Melaku is no stranger to such ignorance from the average person on the street, she complains that even higher up the ladder a level of discrimination exists against Ethiopians. "What really bothers me is that I am a veteran journalist and have expertise in many areas, but I am never invited to speak [on other media shows] about topics outside of the Ethiopian community. If an Ethiopian man kills his wife or an Ethiopian child is denied access to a certain school, then my telephone does not stop ringing. But if they are talking about women's issues or other problems in Israeli society, I am not asked to talk."
In fact, Melaku is reluctant to talk about one of the main problems facing the Ethiopian community today - the continued immigration of the Falash Mura (Ethiopian Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity more than a century ago), which has ignited a debate over their right to continue coming.
"I am really tired of talking about this situation," she confesses. "There are so many opinions and so much politics involved. There is really no end to this immigration and everyone knows it."
Born in 1968 in the northern city of Gondar, where thousands of Ethiopians currently wait for permission to make aliya and not far from the cluster of Jewish villages that were once inhabited by the Beta Yisrael tribe, Melaku recalls that her father was one of the first Ethiopian Jews to study Hebrew during the 1950s.
"My father studied at a Jewish school and was one of the people who went out to the villages and taught the others about Israel and Judaism," she says, adding that he also worked for the Israeli construction company Solel Boneh in Ethiopia.
In 1984, after graduating from high school, 16-year-old Melaku was sent here with a group of young Ethiopian teens.
"When we arrived in Jerusalem, we thought that the people would greet us with open arms," she recalls. "But when we got here, everyone looked at us suspiciously and did not believe that we were really Jewish. I was shocked too, because I had never seen white Jews before. It was ironic really because they thought that we were the ones who weren't Jewish."
Feeling like an outsider, Melaku says, made her even more determined to become part of the mainstream and at the same time change popular perceptions of Ethiopian Jews.
"Fighting back is something that has always been in my character," she says with a laugh. "When I first arrived in Israel, they tried to make me change my name to Oshra but I refused and I'm proud that I have kept my Ethiopian heritage despite the odds."
Through the years, Melaku has vied to keep other Ethiopian traditions while at the same time working hard to integrate. "I am proud of my identity and where I come from and I would never try to hide that," says the mother of two. "If someone does not know where they come from, how can they move forward?"

Diritti musicali e radio USA: nuove regole per le playlist

Non è affatto conclusa la vicenda, che ha tenuto banco per tutto l'anno passato, delle royalties che le radio americane devono versare per la diffusione di brani musicali. Dalla Copyright Royalty Board è arrivata una nota che fissa alcune novità sul sistema che le stazioni via etere, Internet, cavo e satellite devono utilizzare per riferire alla Commissione i brani effettivamente trasmessi e avere, sulla base di questi elenchi, l'esatta indicazione di quanto pagare. Le regole stabilite cinque anni fa imponevano alle stazioni radio di comunicare le rispettive "playlist" relative a periodi di due settimane ogni trimestre e ora invece la CRB intende chiedere elenchi continui e dettagliati. Per stazioni come Pandora non ci saranno problemi (le playlist vengono già comunicate in elettronico), ma questo nuovo requisito potrebbe risultare oneroso da rispettare per le radio più piccole, per esempio le stazioni universitarie. Ancora non sono state prese decisioni definitive, perché le controparti hanno adesso un mese di tempo per commentare sulla nuova proposta di regolamento. Inoltre, osserva questa breve cronaca di PC Magazine, per le Web radio non è ancora stata chiusa definitivamente la questione dell'entità dei diritti da versare. Una legge dello scorso ottobre aveva fissato il 15 febbraio prossimo come scadenza per la stesura di un accordo tra emittenti e titolari dei diritti. Se l'accordo non ci sarà, sarà la stessa CRB a fissare le tariffe

Web Radio Royalty Battle Takes New Turn

12.31.08

by Chloe Albanesius

The battle over radio royalty rates will likely continue into 2009, with the latest issue tackling how and when cable, satellite, and Internet stations should report their playlists to copyright holders in order to determine payment.
The Copyright Royalty Board, a government body that sets royalty rates, released a notice on Tuesday that suggests altering the reporting requirements for stations.
CRB wants any entity that pays royalties under sections 112 and 114 of the Copyright Act, including Internet radio, satellite radio, digital cable radio, and any other radio-like services delivered by digital means to report every single song they play on the air to SoundExchange, which governs the music industry's royalty rates. Under current rules established in 2004, they are only required to report their playlists for two weeks every quarter.
Pure Internet radio stations like Pandora will not really be affected by this type of "census reporting" because they already agreed last summer to report all activity electronically.
CRB also noted that satellite and cable could have difficulty actually calculating how many users are listening to a particular song, and might have to come up with an alternative means of payment.
"Where this change is likely to have the most impact is in connection with the operations of broadcasters who also stream their programs on the Internet," David Oxenford, a partner with Davis Wright Tremaine, wrote in a blog post. "Noncommercial broadcasters, such as college radio stations, have repeatedly complained that their small staffs to not have the ability to maintain these electronic records, especially where the stations are volunteer-programmed by DJs who select their own music on the spot."
Comments on this proposal are due to the CRB by January 29.
The board also questioned whether it was feasible for SoundExchange to set up a Web site for receiving playlist data to make it easier for smaller operations. SoundExchange has thus far resisted this idea for security and financial reasons. At this point, SoundExchange accepts data via FTP, e-mail attachments, CD-Rom delivery, or via floppy discs.
Though Internet radio already abides by census reporting, royalty payment status is still up in the air. Under a bill signed into law in October, Internet radio and copyright holders have until February 15 to come up with a royalty agreement or the decision will be handed back to the CRB.

RBB Inforadio, come funziona una news station

Sono capitato sul sito Web di Inforadio, il canale all news di RBB (sì, la stessa emittente regionale del Brandeburgo che ha chiuso Multikulti e lanciato su Web Multicult 2.0) e ho trovato un bellissimo video promozionale sui programmi dell'emittente. Uno spot che riesce a raccontare in maniera molto efficace il ruolo di una radio informativa nella vita quotidiana dei suoi ascoltatori. E' in tedesco ovviamente, ma chi ama la radio capisce tutto.