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Media Beat: March 27, 2020

By David Farrell

Radio listening soars during coronavirus crisis

Radio listening figures have experienced a boom as a direct result of coronavirus, new figures suggest.


Global, which owns Capital FM and LBC, has said online listening rose by 15 percent in the last week, with many favouring the radio over streaming apps.

In contrast, data from US analytics companies suggests that the use of streaming apps such as Spotify has dropped by about 8 percent.

Journalism has become an essential service during COVID-19 crisis

It’s clear that our reliance on the professional media will only grow in the difficult months to come, even as the commercial viability of these news gathering companies becomes increasingly dire. The massive demand destruction that looms ahead will kill advertising, subscriptions, cash-flow, etc. This is a giant problem.

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So what should we do? – John Lorinc, The Star

Government’s promised help for media leaves news orgs disappointed

“We didn’t expect to be singled out but we also didn’t expect to be shunted aside, and that’s what’s going on here,” Bob Cox, publisher of the Winnipeg Free Press and News Media Canada chair said, noting the federal program in place to aid the industry still hasn’t started operating.

“We haven’t got the (program) money so we don’t actually have this cash to operate our businesses (and) until we get that, we’re screwed,” Cox continued. – Mary Ormsby, The Star

NPR station dumps Trump briefings for spreading disinformation

“KUOW is monitoring White House briefings for the latest news on the coronavirus — and we will continue to share all news relevant to Washington State with our listeners,” the station tweeted Tuesday. “However, we will not be airing the briefings live due to a pattern of false or misleading information provided that cannot be fact-checked in real-time.” – Ted Johnson, Deadline

Edison Research: Streaming inches up in share of AM/FM radio listening

The report found that at its most recent update, streaming now holds an 8% share of Americans’ AM/FM radio listening. Traditional over-the-air listening accounts for the remaining 92%. – Anna Washenko, RAIN News

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How Covid-19 can negatively impact rental property rates

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Madeline Merlo
Tristan Cusick

Madeline Merlo

FYI

Madeline Merlo Signs With RLive, Gord Bamford Associate Corinne Szepesi Launches New Agency

Managers make moves in Canadian country. Also this week: The National Music Centre opens an exhibit celebrating Nelly Furtado, Guelph's Hillside Festival unveils lineup co-curated by Indigenous songwriter Celeigh Cardinal & more.

RLive has just announced the signing of Canadian country star Madeline Merlo to its management roster. Given Merlo's status as a gold-selling and award-winning artist, this marks a significant expansion for RLive, a branch of major concert production company Republic Live, producers of the annual multi-day Boots and Hearts country music festivals north of Toronto and in Edmonton. Now Nashville-based, Merlo released her debut album, 2016's Free Soul, on Open Road Recordings and she is currently signed to Stoney Creek. She has won three Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) Awards, including for Rising Star in 2015. Merlo has had multiple charting entries on the Billboard Canada Country Airplay chart.

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