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Howard Stern’s favorite radio show? His own

Shock jock says Sirius program is funnier since punch lines aren’t censored

Associated Press

Fri., Nov. 23, 2007

NEW YORK - Howard Stern finds himself listening to something different these days: “The Howard Stern Show,” on satellite radio.

Unlike his last years on terrestrial radio, where Stern felt his voice was neutered and his program sterilized, the still undisputed king of the shock jocks loves what he’s hearing now.

“I know the show is funnier,” Stern says over lunch. “I tune in and it’s funny. It’s a good show. I’m proud of it.”

Oh, and one more thing ...

“When you’re making a joke,” the oft-censored radio star says, “the punch line doesn’t need to be bleeped.”

Almost two years since his much-heralded leap from CBS Radio’s WXRK-FM and terrestrial syndication to Sirius Satellite Radio, Stern is blissful.

He’s reveling in the huge increase in satellite radio subscriptions, not to mention the woes of old foes like his ex-employer or longtime nemesis Don Imus.

He’s only two years into his five-year, $500 million deal with Sirius and he’s already considering a possible extension. Stern is on board with the proposed satellite merger with once-rival XM. And he’s proud of his role in expanding the number of Sirius subscribers from 600,000 when he signed his deal to nearly 8 million today.

Stern, his hair creeping out from beneath a black knit cap, is delivering his state of satellite address between bites of two turkey burgers (no rolls, just a salad). Stern admits now that his loud boasts about the future of satellite radio before his debut were as wishful as anything else.

“I didn’t think it would be like this,” Stern says. “Not this fast. This is crazy. ... I just didn’t want to be embarrassed.”

Making the leap
It was Dec. 16, 2005, when Stern said goodbye to terrestrial radio after an unprecedented run in the nation’s No. 1 market. Tired of federal regulators and feuding with his bosses, Stern signed on with Sirius and never looked back.

But Stern still keeps an eye on terrestrial radio — mostly as a source of schadenfreude.

He delighted in the problems that CBS Radio endured after his departure, from the ill-fated hiring of David Lee Roth as his replacement to the whole mess with Imus, fired over his remark about the Rutgers University women’s basketball team.

“I don’t want to see anyone doing poorly,” Stern says sarcastically before breaking into laughter.

And he wonders why Citadel Broadcasting would bring Imus back on its New York flagship station, WABC-AM.

“At this point, I don’t think he’s very relevant,” Stern says. “People will tune out within a week. I defy you to listen. It’s like a rodeo — you know, see how long you can ride a bull? See how long you can keep listening to Imus.

“Time it. You’ll throw up. You’ll get sick. You’ll die.”

Potential merger
Stern is more excited about the potential merger between his company and XM.

“It would be great for the industry, great for the company, great for the consumer,” he says. “I’m not a salesman for the merger, I don’t know all the facts and figures, but there’s more service and they’re talking about lower prices.”

He has no fears of the government intruding into satellite radio over its unexpurgated content.

“I don’t see, legally, how government regulation would hold up in a pay industry,” says Stern, whose First Amendment battles with the Federal Communications Commission once led to a $1.7 million fine.

“Then they’re going to have to do that with the Internet, and newspapers, and magazines — everything,” Stern continues. “If people are paying for it, why would there be government regulation? And I don’t see that ever changing.”

Stern’s two-year anniversary at Sirius comes with a gift for his fans/subscribers: an epic recounting of the King of All Media’s life. “The History of Howard Stern” — beginning with Stern’s bar mitzvah and trips to summer camp — debuts Dec. 17 on Sirius, covering the years 1954-85.

It’s the kind of radio that keeps Stern listening to his own stuff, and keeps his fans coming over to Sirius as he gets ready for year three. As Stern starts speaking enthusiastically about those fans, one stops by the restaurant table to say hi: Alan Alda.

Yes, “Hawkeye” Pierce from “M-A-S-H,” the Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning actor, the silver-haired Hollywood star. The pair swap moves from an imaginary chess match, with Stern delivering a stumper.

“I mostly lose,” Alda says.

“I’ll show you what to do,” Stern replies.

No surprise, the radio star sounds like he knows what he’s talking about.

MySpace moves to ad-supported music

By Brian Morrissey, Adweek

Nov 22, 2007

NEW YORK -- MySpace is joining the search for a new business model for the music industry by enlisting the help of advertising.

In March, fans of punk band Pennywise can go to stores to buy the group's ninth album. Or they can go to the MySpace profile of Textango, a mobile music distributor, and add it as a friend, which will allow them to download the entire album for free.

The promotion is the first test by MySpace of whether it can marry its enormous reach, fledgling record label it began two years ago and roster of advertiser relationships to create an alternative for bands to the current distribution model, which nearly all participants agree is faltering.

"This happens in a time when the record industry has such a black eye," said Josh Brooks, vp marketing at MySpace. "It's a nice opportunity and a way to get your music out there."

Several companies are looking to marry advertising with music distribution. SpiralFrog launched in September with a model that lets users listen to and download music to some devices. Last week, Rcrd Lbl introduced a service to offer free music underwritten by such brands as Nikon, Puma and Virgin America.

Pennywise typically sells between 60,000 and 100,000 albums, Brooks said, and MySpace expects at least that many will take up the free offer and add Textango as a friend.

Yet the expected onslaught of friends was not a primary attraction of the partnership, Textango CEO Shawn Dornan said, but rather the opportunity to associate with News Corp.'s MySpace and a new kind of music delivery.

"The overarching spirit is it's breaking new barriers, doing new models and going against the status quo, which are all things we stand for," he said.

Textango hopes to use the draw of Pennywise to attract other bands and build awareness of its service among music fans. It is looking to build awareness with bands of its service for selling music that bills a user's cell phone for music downloads rather than requiring a credit card. Consumers text a band's name to Textango, which then returns a code for downloading the music from Textango's Web site. The charges are placed on the user's phone bill.

Textango is not the first advertiser to use content or added functionality as a lure for brand friendship. Last year, Fox gave friends of X-Men the chance to expand their top friends feature. It helped the film amass more than 3 million friends.

The incentive of free music and ads run across MySpace, particularly its music section, will quickly build Textango's friend count from its current 30, Brooks said. But in the end, incentives only start a dialogue, and brands will need to maintain it with their own proposition.

"Once you get to the page and make the commitment to friend, the brand has to be appealing enough to maintain it," he said.

psuedo-punk Avril Lavigne holiday shopping at the 99cent store

A little bit of Hollywood

_{By Nirit Anderman}

"We saw only a small excerpt of the film, but, wow, it was impressive," says Hollywood producer Donald De Line ("The Italian Job") to actor Oshri Cohen. He describes a scene from the movie "Beaufort" that he watched only a few hours before. "Oh, that was you?" He is surprised to discover that Cohen played the role of the outpost commander in the film. "That was so powerful. I can't wait to see the whole movie. It is a troubling movie in the positive sense of the word."

The conversation between the two took place last Saturday evening in a Tel Aviv restaurant, at a reception in honor of several Hollywood bigwigs, who came to Israel for a five-day visit. De Line asked when "Beaufort" was released to local movie theaters, wondered how it was received and was surprised to hear that despite Cohen's tender age (he is 23 years old), he has already starred in a number of feature-length films. Cohen, for his part, took advantage of the opportunity to introduce De Line to his friend, actor Ofer Shechter, who stood nearby them throughout their conversation.

Even before that, on Saturday afternoon, the Israeli actors, directors, writers and producers thronged to the Tel Aviv Cinematheque to meet the guests from Hollywood. They wanted to ask the visitors how to find work in Hollywood and hoped to hear professional advice. Some probably also fantasized about making a new acquaintance who would open a few doors in Los Angeles.

On the stage at the Cinematheque, alongside De Line and moderator Oded Kotler, sat other important people from the city famous for filmmaking: Sony Pictures Entertainment Chair Amy Pascal; David Guggenheim, the director of the Oscar-winning documentary "An Inconvenient Truth;" producer Nina Jacobson, former president of Buena Vista Motion Picture Group; director Brad Silverling ("City of Angels," "Casper"); agent George Freeman; as well as the delegation's organizer, David Lonner, of the William Morris talent and literary agency. The group had come at the initiative of the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles and the Tel Aviv-Los Angeles Partnership.

The visitors entered the auditorium after listening to a review about the status of filmmaking in Israel, accompanied by the screening of excerpts from four selected films: "Beaufort," "The Band's Visit," "Jellyfish" and "Noodle." The audience in the hall bombarded them with questions. Each time a different person asked a question and each time the question was worded differently, but it seemed that overall, the content remained the same: What do we need to do for Hollywood to read our screenplays, see the films we have made and let us be a part of the American productions, asked the local artists.

Pascal, the delegation's most senior member, clearly stated that Hollywood is currently increasing its investments in films made in various place around the world. "These days a lot of money is coming from international films, so we are aware of the importance of actors from abroad and international casting," she said.

De Line tried to offer hope to those present by mentioning "Body of Lies," directed by Ridley Scott, which is currently being filmed in Morocco, with American stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe, and Israelis Alon Abutbul and Clara Khoury. The other panel members agreed that today, more than ever before, Hollywood is looking for talent beyond America's shores.

Still, the artists in the hall wanted to speak in practical terms - whom should they approach in Hollywood to find work in the filmmaking industry there. The guests made it clear that there is no point in sending them a script by regular mail or e-mail. They do not read such scripts, for fear of future law suits and claims that they stole ideas. "We read only those scripts that we have ordered," said Lonner, but hastened to remind everyone that there is no barrier in Hollywood that personal connections cannot overcome.

"If [Israel Film Foundation director] Katriel Shechori or [head of the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School in Jerusalem] Renen Schorr, professional people whom we know and trust, were to phone us and say, 'This is something very special that is worth reading,' we would read it," said Lonner.

Pascal was the most forthright and direct of all the members of the delegation and reminded everyone of Hollywood's main guiding principle. "We do everything we believe will make money," she said. "We are constantly looking for good artists who are different, who have a special voice. They are the people who make a lot of money." As befits someone who heads one of the big studios, she stressed the word "lots." At Sony they are always looking for people with talent, she said, adding, "Not only because of the strike. Whoever writes, I will be happy to accept his [business] card."

Although the audience laughed in response, Pascal was later asked if she had been serious. Her answer was disappointing - she had been joking. This response may not have gladdened the local screenwriters, but at least it breathed a little life into the somewhat drowsy event. Pascal then proceeded to present the position of the studios' heads concerning the screenwriters' strike, in the clearest terms ("The writers want more money, and we don't want to give it to them"), expressed her lack of enthusiasm for the subject ("Do we have to talk about this?"), and spurred a reaction from Silverling, who hastened to present the striking screenwriters' position.

Toward the end of the event, Ofer Shechter, who had been sitting in a back row of the theater, stood up and asked what an Israeli actor has to do to be noticed in Hollywood. The visitors explained that the best thing for him to do was to continue working and wait for someone to notice him, to try using connections, or to come to Los Angeles himself, in order to try and blaze a trail for himself there.

Only Guggenheim felt the need at some point to object to the dialogue being conducted around him. "Before we came to this hall we watched excerpts from four Israeli movies, and all of us agreed that they were really good films," he said. "All of the clips we saw contained pure cinematic moments, the kind we don't get to see often. This is rare for us, just as it is rare here. I want to tell you that in my early years in Hollywood I tried to find a way to break through, but today I think it is a waste of time. What you have to do is that hardest thing - to sit and think what my next story will be, how I will find it, how I will make it my next film. Leave your thoughts of how to get into Hollywood, and simply make your movies. If you make a good one, even if it is a small, personal film, if it is good enough, enough people will see it.