Headlines

By now your head is probably spinning about what to do regarding the proposed interim license on the table for GMR recordings. And, it should be. With GMR in the PRO mix this is getting very confusing. The back-and-forth blame game between GMR and the RMLC has many managers wondering what to do as the January 31st deadline to sign their license, or face possible litigation, closes in.

On August 10, 2016, the FCC adopted a Second Report and Order that completed the 2010 and 2014 Quadrennial Reviews of the media ownership rules. On December 1, 2016, several companies filed petitions for reconsideration of the Order, including the NAB and Connoisseur.

Is Cumulus having trouble getting debtholders to buy into their refinance plan? On Wednesday, Cumulus again extended the expiration date and early tender date for its previously announced private exchange offer for its 2019 7.75% senior notes.

Bridge Ratings was in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronic Show this past week where the company conducted five focus groups with the intent of gauging a) podcast consumption patterns among current podcast listeners, and b) if new technology would reduce the friction that has limited podcasting as a reach medium.

Tuesday night at The Ryman in Nashville "The BIG 98" presented Bobby Bones & The Raging Idiots’ Million Dollar Show For St. Jude. Bones' band was joined by country music superstars Craig Campbell, Sam Hunt, Rascal Flatts, Caitlyn Smith, and The Band Perry. The crowd at the Ryman went crazy when Garth Brooks, Brothers Osborne, and Thomas Rhett also took to the stage.

The Palm Beaches’ Real Radio 94.3 partnered with Tito’s Handmade Vodka for the second annual Touchdowns for Charity fundraiser. The season-long program will benefit Florida Atlantic University’s Center for Autism and Related Disabilities.

The 26th Annual Radio Mercury Awards has begun accepting entries for outstanding creative spots, campaigns, and innovative radio work from advertising agencies, radio stations, production companies, colleges, universities, and advertisers.

And it goes on and on. The back-and-forth hate mail between the RMLC and GMR didn't end after Randy Grimmett's backhand slap Tuesday afternoon. RMLC's Ed Christian immediately fired off an e-mail to the RMLC database that included name-calling and more accusations of spreading false information. Is your head spinning yet? The Christian note was short and to the point and here it is...

The number of radio executives attending the annual tech and gadget show in Las Vegas is increasing every year according to our friend Buzz Knight at Beasley Media. In fact, Fred Jacobs took some of those executives on a tour of the massive event this year. Radio Ink spoke to Jacobs about the tour, what new technology will impact the radio industry and what he was most impressed with from the 2017 show. Here's what he had to say.

The San Antonio Express-News is reporting that bondholders have transferred an iHeartMedia lawsuit against them seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages from debt default notices last year to federal district court in San Antonio. The suit was being heard in Bexar County state district court where iHeart had won a previous lawsuit.