The Infinite Dial

Name:
Daniel Anstandig

Current Title/Position/Company:
Vice President, McVay Media Consulting

How did you get your start in radio?I started on-the-air when I was nine years old at WELW in Cleveland--and with a five watt FM transmitter out of my parents' basement. At age 12, I began at John Carroll University, working at WUJC. At age 15, with the help of several private investors, I started an Internet-Radio Station, which established partnerships with Microsoft, Telos, and Interep Radio Sales. The station was sold in 2000.

Seven years ago, I began working on various projects for McVay Media, including programming syndicated shows. Since then, I have worked with clients to grow ratings, revenue, and business/marketing strategies for companies like Clear Channel Radio Interactive and the Clear Channel Format Labs, recording artists Jewel and Jim Brickman, Tesh Interactive, Regent Communications, Mental Floss Magazine, The White House Commission on Remembrance, International Publisher Glencoe-McGraw Hill, Jones TM, and various AC, Hot AC, and Christian broadcasters around the world.

What are your career goals?
My passion is creating entertainment that connects and moves people. In the coming years, I would like to see myself further facilitating radio’s entry into the new media/interactive content era. I enjoy working with people, and I'm passionate about the evolution of entertainment into the interactive world.

I am also an entrepreneur at heart, and I have been blessed at McVay Media to have a mentor like Mike McVay, who values and encourages an entrepreneurial spirit.

What do you enjoy most about your work?
Working with creative people and helping people and organizations grow. Every day is a new surprise and challenge.

What are the biggest challenges ahead for radio, from your perspective?
Many broadcasters are distracted and mystified by the complexity of new technology (internet, cell phones, satellite, etc), and they forget that we’re still in a content competition. If the programming was boring on terrestrial radio, it’s going to be just as boring on internet-radio.

While it may be true that some listeners are using iPods or cell phones for music simply because the device is sexier, it’s also true that people will gravitate to entertainment that personally engages them. Most people use iPods and cell phones because their own music playlist and/or exercise of choice in entertainment feels better to them than subjecting themselves to the-same-old-thing on terrestrial radio.

The challenge for radio right now is NOT “finding a way to recreate the same programming on a new device.” The challenge is “finding a way to create better programming… and also making it accessible on a new device.”

There are plenty of radio stations that have won over the years by default, because they were the best thing available. The increased acceptance of new media and abundance of narrowcast entertainers means that there will always be someone else playing the listener's favorite song better, faster, and more often than broadcast radio.

Every day, I have the pleasure of working with some of the best and brightest talent in the industrypeople who really get that content is the winner, not just the delivery system. I would hold Clear Channel Content Research and Development up as a great example of true innovation and “outside the box” thinking. Their team, lead by Tom Owens, approaches entertainment at a level far beyond “where to schedule the liners.” The development of the “Format Labs” and new media programs such as “Stripped,” SMS Text Messaging, and podcasting has opened new doors for a lot of radio stations.

Another client, John Tesh, has developed one of the most attractive content vaults on the web with www.Tesh.com. The new Tesh “IntelliCast” media stream is a great example of new media that lets the listener drive their own entertainment experience while spending time with one of our brands.

...and anything else you would like to pass on.
This is a great time in history for music lovers to be alive. Music is more accessible now to consumers than ever before. We live in a world of instant gratification. Want reggae? Want polka? It can be in your headphones in thirty seconds or less.

Every new instant-gratification-music-service, from iPods to cell phones, challenges radio stations to create programming that transcends the popularity of any particular song or artist. I'm excited to be in radio at a time when the bar for creative and "connective" programming is raising.

This is a cultural renaissance. Now, you don't need expensive equipment to create audio art. If you can find a computer and audio software, you have a blank canvas. Radio's end-user is now more empowered to create their own entertainment experience--becoming the artist/musician themselves, or becoming the Music Director themselves.

This time in the entertainment industry is only for people who are consistently creative, brave, and enthusiastic.