This year’s NAB Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center is celebrating 100 years of innovation in the broadcast industry. In the weeks leading up to April 15-19, Radio Ink is talking with some of radio’s biggest innovators about what has them excited about NAB Show 2023. Today we sit down with Jacobs Media Founder and President Fred Jacobs.
Radio Ink: This year’s NAB Show looks back on 100 years. What’s a particular Show or memory that still holds a lot of weight for you?
Fred Jacobs: I think about my very first Radio Show, so I hope I can kind of mix that in because it was a NAB event. I actually got to attend the very first Radio Show, I believe it was in 1978 in Chicago. I lucked out. I had joined ABC radio a few months prior and I was one of the people from WRIF that got to go. It was really exciting seeing people that I had only read about in the trade publications and that kind of stuff. I remember making out my schedule in advance to make sure that I could see everything and how frustrating it was when there were concurrent sessions where I couldn’t go to both and that kind of thing. You always remember your first time.
It’s funny the way you described that. It’s almost like planning a trip to a music festival, but with the rock stars of radio and the industry.
Fred Jacobs: It’s exactly what it was. I remember Scott Shannon came on an elevator with me and I knew who he was and, rightfully so, he did not know who I was. I remember looking at him and aspiring to that. I would love to be able to go to a show like this where people know me and I know them and I don’t feel, you know, I was a little fish out of water.
At your first real industry event, you’re probably not gonna know a lot of people. I certainly did not. And I was pretty introverted in those days. It was very hard for me to put out that hand and go, I know who you are. So that first show was really like a moment. And I’ve looked forward to going to him every year since. It’s a highlight for me. I think, during COVID a lot was lost – that ability to be able to connect with people who you’ve worked with or who you want to connect with, to talk to or clients or that kind of thing. That was a real void for me.
Radio Ink: Well, it’s certainly been good to get back to live, which is a perfect segue to “Cocktails and Conversation” at The Capital Grille on NAB Sunday. Jacobs Media is a sponsor – what are you looking forward to about this?
Fred Jacobs: It’s a social event, but it’s bigger than that. And I think COVID has driven home that opportunity for me and other people. People have been throwing cocktail parties at conferences forever. There’s nothing novel about what we’re doing. But I do think the combination of the different participating companies is a nice mix. I mean, we all like each other. We all play nicely with each other. And they’re fun people. I mean, when you’re dealing with people like Chachi and Newberry and the Beasley folks, RBR+TVBR, Radio Ink folks. We’ve all worked together in one capacity or another for a long, long time. So these are great partners. These are people that Paul [Jacobs] and I feel really good about working together on. So it’s cool. I’m really, really geeked about this. I think it’s gonna be a great event. That is gonna be good.
Radio Ink: Jacobs Media does a lot with tech. You do CES every year. NAB Show is also very tech-heavy. As a lover of the NAB Show and these big events, what mindset do you take in?
Fred Jacobs: My basic attack plan is finding out anything that I need to see. What I do in the days and weeks ahead of time is clearly look over the agenda, make sure that if there’s something that I feel I need to go to, or there’s somebody that I’d like to see talk or be on a panel, that I’m there. But sometimes it’s also people heard talk before or heard or seen present and I want to see it. So you know to me it really is about people.
The technology thing may be a little bit less so because of CES. Honestly, I’m much less likely to be walking the exhibit hall looking at new gadgetry. What I’ve learned from CES is that it is less about the gadgetry and more about what it actually, globally means for the industry. Like what does this mean for how we do our business? Will it make it easier for us? Are there opportunities here that we’re missing when the technology opens up? So I look at it that way.
Radio Ink: So what’s on your list this year then? I know you have a session, but if you’ve been planning this far in advance, I know you’ve got something else.
Fred Jacobs: Yes, so I’m going to be doing a session about the car. I’m happy to be locked into that space. Paul and I are from Detroit, so cars are part of our DNA anyway. It’s a very dynamic space. It still is the number one listening location, but it’s changing so much between what Apple and Google are doing with their ecosystems. And then the issue that’s on the front burner right now about AM radio in new cars. So I’m excited to be moderating that particular session. And I can’t wait to see what’s gonna be going on with the whole chatbot thing.
Radio Ink: Are you gonna bring out Taylor Swift for your panel this time as you did at CRS? (Fred had his future tech talk at CRS introduced by AI-generated soundalike audio of Taylor Swift.)
Fred Jacobs: [Laughs] I may have a different guest. I’m still negotiating with the talent. For some reason, the NAB won’t give me any money for a famous guest, but I could pull something out, so stay tuned. But yeah, I don’t know that I have ever seen a technology become so big, so fast, and so relevant to our business as artificial intelligence. There was a casual early morning coffee session at CRS and they had to bring in chairs into this room. I mean, eight o’clock in the morning, there had to be at least 125 people who wanted to scream at Futuri or wanted to understand what it is going on here. I’m absolutely excited about that.
I also want to see what’s going on with mobile – not just because we own an app company, although there is that, but all roads are leading to mobile. I continue to see mobile as a great solution for radio.
Radio Ink: So we’ve gotten a few pro tips for NAB Show through this series – they say the Wynn is the best place to network, wear comfortable shoes, and answers like that. What’s your insider tip?
Fred Jacobs: That objects that you see in front of you are much further than they are. That false sense that you’re closer to that hotel than you are. You know, believe it or not, Paul and I have become married to the monorail. We’ve gotten so used to buying the three or four-day pass, whatever it is. The monorail is not perfect, but it is amazingly efficient and it can whisk you away and into things at the last minute, which is very appealing to me.
Radio Ink: Love the monorail. Well, as long as you get back to the hotel before it shuts off at night. Okay, here’s a bonus question that I’m looking forward to your answer on. What classic rock act needs a Vegas residency the most?
Fred Jacobs: I think the Rolling Stones do. They’ve still got some gas in the tank, right? But they could avoid getting on airplanes and doing all of that stuff. My brother saw Springsteen this month in Buffalo. He’s sending me pictures of all these 70-year-old guys who played for three straight hours. No breaks. Nobody’s sitting down. I mean, good for them, but how long can you do that? Plus, I would love to see the Stones in Las Vegas. I think that would be perfect. So that’s my answer and I’m sticking to it.
