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Strategy report

 * To:** Proximity Music Team
 * From:** Sarah Sichina
 * Date:** 22 September 2009
 * Subject:** Clear Channel Strategy Report

This is my Clear Channel Strategy Report for Proximity’s music team. Clear Channel Communications is a company whose primary objective is the management and ownership of radio stations. It is also a company trying to survive against its increasingly popular competitors. To stay in business, Clear Channel needs a strategy to appeal to Gen Y.


 * Profile**

With 900 stations, Clear Channel is the largest radio station group owner in America. It was founded by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs in 1972. Mark Mays is the current CEO. In 2006, due to its economic struggle, Clear Channel sold a third of its radio stations. Clear Channel previously claimed ownership of some television stations as well, until 2008 when all were sold to Newport Television. By that summer, Clear Channel laid off thousands of employees and it is now attempting to thrive in the music industry as they once did. They currently have 60,000 total employees (Wikipedia, 2009).


 * Competitive Landscape**

Clear Channel always had competitors in other radio station owners such as CBS and Cumulus (clear channel 10K, 2008), but none of its peers added serious competition. Until recently, Clear Channel was a huge, financially successful force. Their stock shares were expensive, and their enterprise seemed limitless. Recently, however, Clear Channel has struggled due to the uprising of more popular technologies such as broadcast television, satellite radio, and other similar entities.


 * Clear Channel’s Strategy**

Though twelve of Clear Channel’s 900 radio stations are housed on the more popular XM radio, the company is quickly dying. The ad space is nearly impossible to sell, so the revenue is diminishing. Clear Channel did rid itself of a third of its radio stations back in 2006, but due to the minimal profits the stations accrue, many were hard to sell. Their stock shares are down to $1.25.

The company’s first solution to its economic tribulations was HD Radio: for a fee, people had the option to receive radio with more clarity. This was advertised as a revolution in the industry, but it was met with little success. According to Clear Channel’s 10K found on its website, the company is conducting new strategies to rejuvenate its life. The company claims all of their stations are increasing focus on the local communities in which they are broadcasted (Hollywood Reporter, 2009). It claims it will increase efficiency and provide local insight satellite conglomerates cannot offer.


 * Gen Y Implications**

Clear Channel Communications is still fighting the battle for success. Unless they devise a way to appeal to Gen Y, the company could soon find its amount of listeners shrinking increasingly and its shares even harder to sell.


 * References**

Clear Channel Communications. (2008, December). Clear Channel 10K. Retrieved September 28, 2009, from www.clearchannel.com

Wikipedia. (2009, February). Clear Channel Communications. Received September 28, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/clearchannelcommunications.

Hollywood Reporter. (2009, April). Clear Channel Thinks Locally. Retrieved September 28, 2009, from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy-tu.researchport.umd.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=40520108&site=ehost-live

Blog proposal

 * TO: ** Proximity Music Team
 * FROM: ** Sarah Sichina
 * SUBJECT: ** Music Team Blog Post Proposal
 * DATE: ** October 27 2009

We, the proximity music team, should do our blog post on FM radio: a dying music source. We should focus on Clear Channel’s fallen legacy and detail potential strategies for saving the dying business. Rationale ** Clear Channel Radio is an FM channel-owning corporation with a fascinating story. It is a company that once dominated the music market and now struggles to survive due to the many new, more convenient mediums through which generation Y prefers to receive entertainment. The situation begs the question: “is all hope lost?” Out blog would detail the answer: “probably, but possibly not.” ** Connecting with more popular technologies may be FM radio’s best (and perhaps only) chance for survival. **

[]
 * Sources **
 * The following link leads to a blog about the potential iPhone FM application. **

The next link is a short blog post regarding Clear Channel’s action for positive publicity. []

This last link details Clear Channel’s increasing financial struggles. []

Report proposal
TO: Proximity Music Team FROM: Sarah Sichina DATE: November 24, 2009 SUBJECT: Proposal for report on Clear Channel

Clear Channel Radio used to dominate the music market. Recently, they appear desperate to survive in an increasingly competitive industry, but the company refuses to quit. This report details Clear Channel’s recent attempt at regaining gen y listenership by changing the format of their Baltimore FM radio station: 104.3.


 * Need**

The formerly profitable Clear Channel enterprise now struggles to compete for Gen Y’s attention.


 * Their stock shares were once expensive, and their enterprise seemed limitless


 * The uprising of more popular technologies such as broadcast television, satellite radio, and other similar entities presented strong competition for Clear Channel.


 * So far, the business strategies enacted by Clear Channel have proved inadequate for attracting Gen Y.


 * Within the realm of their business strategies exists the story of the station 104.3: a prime example of how Clear Channel conducts business.

Clear Channel is still the largest radio-owning company in America, but that title does not carry the esteem it once had. Gen Y is turning to the other, more desirable music and radio options, but Clear Channel refuses to show concern. Instead, they continue to promote and revamp the stations they own with little success.

The story of the Clear Channel demise serves as a cautionary tale for businesses—what not to do with a failing enterprise.


 * Topics**

This report proposal “Z104.3: Clear Channel’s Poor Attempt at Revival” covers various topics including these points:
 * Clear channel transformed 104.3 from an alternative rock station to a contemporary hit radio station in November of 2009.


 * With only one similar station style in Baltimore, the competition appeared minimal.


 * To draw in listeners, the station began by playing 10,000 commercial free songs in a row, which only served to annoy listeners.


 * The website, however, has the potential for success; it enables listeners to stream live radio and play songs on demand. This fact is indicative of today’s music possibilities and the obvious preference for mediums other than FM radio.

This report also contains attachments that detail the company’s previous success and financial decline.


 * Sources**

The following lists the report’s sources. What still needs to be included are evaluations of Clear Channel’s success since the adjustment of 104.3 and sources indicating Clear Channel’s financial decline.

Venta, Lance. (2009, November 11). //Channel 104.3 baltimore becomes chr z104.3//. Retrieved from []z104.3/

Venta details Clear Channel’s decision to change 104.3 from an Alternative rock station to a CHR station. He says the decision was made due to minimal competition from other similar stations, and he gives a recount of the hours during the radio station’s adjustment. Venta also discusses what this means for the future of the Baltimore station and its popular talk show.

Clear Channel Communications. (2008, December). //Clear Channel// //10K.// Retrieved September 28, 2009, from __ [|www.clearchannel.com] __ The Clear Channel Radio website boasts about its (mostly failed) survival attempts, but it also offers information about the site’s history. There are links to descriptions about the company’s beginning, as well as their future plans. On the website, there is a link to Clear Channel’s 10K, which contains much of the company’s financial information as well as their business strategies.

Format Change. (2008, May 23). //Wsmj baltimore becomes "channel 104.3"//. Retrieved from http://www.formatchange.com/wsmj-baltimore-becomes-channel-1043/

The format change article explores the past of 104.3, from the channel’s creation to its emersion as a rock station in 2008. It lists the different music genres heard through the station’s lifespan, such as its lengthy period as a jazz station, and guesses at the reason for its brief life as “Baltimore’s home for alternative rock.”

(2009). Clear channel radio extends reach into music video content. //San Antonio Business// //Journal//, Retrieved from []

The San Antonio Business Journal article identifies a few of the recent Clear Channel business strategies. Among these is their decision to broadcast musical performances on their website, as well as the “iheart radio,” a popular Apple iphone application that puts Clear Channel’s FM stations on listener’s phones. The article casts Clear Channel in a positive light and ignores the failure of most of the company’s strategies.

Hendricks, David. (2009, June 27). //Is the Bell tolling for clear channel?//. Retrieved from []

Hendricks proposes the possibility that Clear Channel is failing. He writes about the signs that lead him to this conclusion, and briefly touches on the company’s prior success. Hendricks tells readers how much money the company is indebted, and how few stations they have considering the much bigger number from the peak of their success. He ends the article with a fitting warning, “the industry could lose its leader,” as the strategies are nothing to imitate now.

Team conference presentation proposal
Potential conference topics:


 * A brief overview of music mediums aside from Pandora and Sirius XM which offer those companies competition
 * Statistics stating the revenue of both Pandora and Sirius XM for comparison
 * A hypothesis about whether one of the companies will prevail and lead to the demise of the other