Breakfast with the Beatles ain’t the same without Ann Stevens
Sunday, the Fraze hosted Breakfast with the Beatles- only, the chief Beatlemaniac, Ann Stevens wasn’t there. The reason? Clear Channel doesn’t want to pay Annie the remote talent fee because they are cheap bastards.
The typical deal for the jocks is they get paid extra for live appearances- this has been the case for as far back as anyone in radio in this town can remember. For some reason, Clear Channel, seems to think that all the extra work for Ann to haul out to the Fraze- to be seen by hundreds, isn’t worth the extra money. One of the beauties of radio is you can typically do it naked- and no one would know, you know.
Breakfast with the Beatles is Ann’s baby. She’s been doing it for over 10 years on at least 4 different radio stations. If you think Clear Channel is being retarded miserly, call 937-531-6101 and talk to Joanne Weemie and ask her to relay the message.
Don’t tell her I sent you- she’ll figure it out soon enough.
That’s too bad. Ann did a great job. And considering this summer’s pathetic line-up of acts at the Fraze, they need all the help they can get. I’ve been living over at The Residenz Apartments for the last two months. Tonight will probably be their biggest draw of the season – Willie Nelson. Go figure. Anyway, good for Ann sticking to her guns. The professional-services-for-nothing (“oh, but you’ll get your name out there!”) attitude seems to be running rampant anymore.
It is their business and their money – simply put a business decision. Go with the flow. Do you bitch and moan every time you do not get your way. The world is not perfect. Or how about boycott the event to show your displeasure. This is really a non issue.
Using the word “retarded” is offensive to many people. Just an FYI. Oh, wait, I just did what you want people to do! Good luck with you getting your way!
Gene – why don’t you tell all the Republicans who are trying to tell DHL not to switch to UPS for their air freight that they should mind their own business?
I try not to tell people what to do and what to think – unlike you.
You missed the point. I was telling you not to use the word “retarded” and therefore I was acting like you – complaining about a non issue and therefore sending you a message about it.
Words like “retarded” or “dutch” can be viewed by some as offensive. I just wanted you to know that my good dear friend.
Why don’t you tell DHL that they have to do what you want and pay people “x” amount of money. This is what you do with everyone else. You always come off as Mr. Brilliant but fail to realize that it is NOT YOU MONEY and often not your problem.
You blast clear channel for being cheap – get off their back. They employ a lot of people. Why don’t you hire two more people? Huh? Why not? Oh,. that is right, it may not make sense and you don’t want to spend the money. Again, keep your hands off other peoples money. Money is not free, it does not grow on trees, and should not be just thrown around bc you see it fit for your particular agenda. Maybe they donated that marked money to a homeless shelter, how they hell do you know? You don’t work for them. And their decisions are THEIR decisions. Why question such a small thing? Oh, bc you like to bitch.
Money has no value you cannot eat it, it will not keep you warm, it will inflate however and it will “lose” its bartering power. So Gene what is money really? Also what happened to the radio industry and their decisions has major ramifications on society as a whole (distribution of information) of which there are all kinds of laws. It may be in Clear Channels best financial interest to have a show with racist, sexists and derogatory language but there are societal rules against this….just showing how “business” decisions are not the be all end all.
Anyway I am amazed that she is still doing that show because it has jumped stations so many times. But was always a good wake up on Sunday morning although the Beatles are so over hyped.
Gene,
I think your best point was (and I quote) “… it is NOT YOU MONEY…”
Spanks for the insight.
Anyone who owns a business please pay everyone $100 extra this week to do something extra………..
Maybe she did not want to do the show anymore?
Maybe they wanted to save a buck?
Bill, you are right, it is not your money. I just want people to stop trying to spend other people’s/businesses money.
I think I deserve a free pizza. That may be Bill’s money. Not really fair of me to demand/request/expect Bill to give me a free pizza. It is, after all, HIS MONEY in the pizza. Too often David wants to spend other people’s money.
If money has no value, please give me all of your money then. I now am acting like David.
Money certainly has the ability to get you most everything you need and want, and therefore I value money. And I value your money. Why?BC you have earned it, and even if you have not earned it, well, it is YOURS, not mine. It is David who does not value YOUR money, he only values his money.
David should do FREE business cards for start up businesses. Oh wait, that costs MONEY – HIS MONEY. Knowing his idea of the world he would print 2500 cards (too many) and over charge you! But I really don’t know that for sure.
Gene,
You talk you’re an insider and you know everyone’s bottom line, but you don’t know jack.
You have no clue how much work anyone else is doing at a discount or for free.
Believe it or not, there are people in this world who do a lot of things pro bono; people who actually donate their time/money/talent to help others; people who don’t draw a lot of attention to their generosity or expect anything in return.
David happens to be of those people. And I can say unequivocally because I AM an insider, and I DO know the bottom line.
It’s not hypocrisy to call on other people to step up and do the right thing if you’re already doing it yourself.
David is doing more than his fair share.
What have you done to make life better on planet earth lately?
I have done a lot…..Thank you… and I don’t ask for other people to spend their money. That is what this is about, telling people how to spend their money.
I did not know David pays the bills for Clear Channel. I did not know you pay the bills for Clear Channel. If you are so GD generous, feel free to send me some cash.
It just gets old when David calls a business CHEAP yet he will not expand himself. Hypocrite. It is Clear Channels business how to spend their money – not your decision or David decision.
This has nothing to do with doing work for free. I really don’t know where you got that idea. This is about calling a company cheap and retarded for not spending money. Please understand the difference.
David may do the right thing but this “complaining” to Clear Channel bc you think they are cheap is the wrong thing. MYOB on other people affairs. You don’t pay their bills.
Just to be clear, and think about this, Gene, when you talk about the issue of a business choosing to do what they like with their money.
What would you do if you walked into work one day, a place you had worked for several years, and your employer told you, “Gene, please do all of that over time this summer again but we’re just not going to pay you for it this year like we have in the past. We still expect you to do everything you did before but now we’re simply not going to pay you. All of the overtime you did in those past several summers has really paid off and we have made more money and have more customers than when you didn’t do the overtime. But we need to make cuts somewhere and we’ve decided to cut your money. We still want you to keep on doing all of that extra work but just not get paid anymore. OK?”
I imagine that would not sit to well with you as it doesn’t for many people like Ann who put forth extra effort, love what they do and then get short-changed by management.
Gene said: “David should do FREE business cards for start up businesses. Oh wait, that costs MONEY – HIS MONEY. Knowing his idea of the world he would print 2500 cards (too many) and over charge you!”
Gene later said: “This has nothing to do with doing work for free. I really don’t know where you got that idea.”
In the Burg says: “Yeah. I can’t IMAGINE where I got that idea. LMAO.”
In the Burg also says: “Gene, if you’re not going to at least make an EFFORT to make sense, STFU.”
It is not about FREE! David’s FREE cards should be equated to Clear Channels pocket book. David is telling CC to spend money. I am telling David to spend money (via free cards) I think it is wrong for people to tell other people how to spend their money.
I don’t expect anyone at anytime to do work for free. My point is about cash. Money. Clear channel wanted to save money. Deal with it. If they asked her to do it for free and she said “no” well end of story.
Ann did not do the show therefore she did not do it for free. I don’t think people should do things for free unless they really want to.
Terri, you may be right about Ann, but that is between Ann and where she works. My point revolves around DAVID calling CLEAR CHANNEL retarded and cheap – I don’t think it is his place to call another business cheap. Ann has every right to bitch – she works for them. It is their business, not some third party to call them cheap. If they asked Ann to do it for free and she usually got paid then they are not wanting to pay for the services. She did not do the show, right? If they forced her to do it for free then that would be wrong, but I am not getting that from David.
I could say any business is cheap if they were not doing something I wanted. It is a business decision. I am sure David does not want someone to tell him how to run his business/how to spend his money. That is the point.
I guess I grew up in a place that considers it rude to tell people how to spend their money. Most of you folks are from Dayton, with your hand held out most of the time.
Gene,
You missed my point. I was making fun of your typo “… not YOU money…” when I’m sure you meant “… not YOUR money…”
Notice how I cleverly mis-spelled “SPANKS for the insight” instead of “THANKS…”
And when people from Dayton have their “hand held out most of the time”, it’s probably to bitch-slap dipshits like you. HaHaHaHaHaha.
(It’s great how often the least important issues David brings up get the most comments, and are often further reduced to name calling, etc. Go at it Gene– take some more bait…)
Paint your building Bill. Oh, wait, that once again falls under the “David tells you how to spend your money” theme.
I know it was a typo.
Thanks for the good pizza though. You think you could do a three for one special on Thursday nights…………
and put bait on your pizza. or hand it out to those who have their hand out. You have more than enough worms in your yard for this project.
I am still right though. It is not his money. At least when it is a government issue I understand he pays taxes, therefore he can bitch. Being right all the time has made me rich. Thanks!
I think a “Breakfast with the drexel boys” is now in order. And while I jest, in reality, why should I be joking? The larger question that I haven’t seen anyone latch onto, but J.R. did come close, is “Why in the hell, 30 some years after their introduction into the popular cultural musical lexicon, are the Beatles still receiving the airplay that they are?” As someone who has spent some time in the music business, gigging from Detroit to Memphis, getting fantastic reviews for their music in national magazines, prestigious web sites, being written about good and bad in newspapers, web sites and the like… Why can I not even hold out ANY realistic expectations to receive ANY airplay for my music in America from anyone other than public radio? Because large conglomerates from outside of Dayton own nearly all of the commercial radio airspace. And they ALL take their cues from centralized programming management, who make sure that only artists from selected major music industry labels get airplay (for the most part – there are rare exceptions). Therefore, we are saddled with listening to Grand Funk Railroad on WTUE for the foreseeable future of life here on our slice of planet Earth. I have a friend who was a DJ at one of the local CC stations, who is a big drexel fan. But he would have lost his job had he slipped in a spin of East Dayton Saturday Night, of which King Syndicate Editorial Cartoonist Scott Bateman said, “The greatest Tom Waits song that Tom Waits never wrote.” Corporatization has eliminated local culture on nearly every level. We need local culture promulgation laws here, like they have in Canada and many other places, wherein’ a certain percentage of airplay must go to local artists. Corporatization has cost the livlihoods of countless mom and pop stores. It has also eliminated a lot of opportunity for artists. Being able to get airplay on a station with a powerful signal during drive time would do wonders for our ability to draw larger crowds. I could go on, and on… Read more »
Yes – we need legislation to hear your music Dave.
Give me a break. The Beatles thing may be overplayed, but we don’t need to hear every band known to man on the radio – earn your air time the old fashioned way, sleep with someone.
Gene, you are dishonest in your assessment of what I said.
I said, local cultural promulgation laws. Those would apply to everyone, everywhere. I’m not a part of that equation necessarily, although if I were able to fairly benefit from said legislation, I would certainly not complain. Similar laws exist in Canada, and work quite well.
You obviously like less choices in your culture Gene.
I like more.
Also, I’m proud of where I’m from. Why shouldn’t I be?
Peace be upon you Gene,
DD
I do like more choices………. I just don’t know if legislation is the way to go. It also may corrupt certain forms of art, including music.
Sleep your way on the radio. At least it may be fun.
And of course there is too much “same old, same old.” This is why we have alternatives to radio.
Certain forms of art, especially music, have been completely corrupted by corporate consolidation and monopolization.
Dave I think that is why these wacky internets are the only way to be heard. Music has always been an industry in which there was a constricted funnel that let very few acts into the big ball game. That is the way radio stations, labels and every distributor can make more money. From AM to FM to satellite always been that way.
I think that music should be more democratic but that really is up to the listeners and the musicians themselves. WYSO does a pretty good job playing local stuff. The rest of the Dayton land and the U.S. just likes to listen to 1/3 promos and commercials every hour….
I think that the music industry is a complete monopoly but hell that is what artists and most Americans want the big pay day right?
Sir Locke, you are quite correct. But while the Interwebs are a fantastic way to get your music out there, there is a big problem. The technology has enabled so many people to put music out, that there is the problem of there simply just being too much to digest, therefore leading to another problem: People are so inundated with media, that many of them pay attention to none of it.
And while drexel continually gets fans from the Interwebs, we would surely love a broadcast with an audience of 1-million – just once.
Enough already! The bottom line is ..We miss Ann and if this is true, she was dealt a bad hand. Clear as Mud Channel needs to get real.
“My point revolves around DAVID calling CLEAR CHANNEL retarded and cheap – I don’t think it is his place to call another business cheap. Ann has every right to bitch – she works for them. It is their business, not some third party to call them cheap.” A direct quote from Gene. So, let me get this right…It’s David’s blog. It’s David’s free speech. But, he has no “business” calling Clear Channel “cheap”. However, although it’s David’s blog and David’s free speech you can tell him what to do. That is two things: lunacy and hypocrisy. Also, if you are going to try to sound intelligent, proofread.
Well thanks Steph. In light of what happened in the last month- I’d say Clear Channel is cheap and lacks class. Ann was fired, on the phone. She was making $15 an hour. That’s $45 to come in every Sunday and share her love of the Beatles with all of her fans.
See this post for details: http://esrati.com/?p=2344
Ann..send me an email!
Interesting how political this discussion got.What got lost is the fact that we who listen to the radio have a right to express our preferences. After all, we pay the bills. Advertisers would not support ANY programming if they didn’t think that it would help generate revenue for themselves. We hear the the ads, maybe we go buy the products/services advertised. This is why we don’t have to pay a subscription fee to hear the programs.Clear Channel has the right to manage it’s business however it sees fit. I don’t have to like it.I have the right to comment on the programs that they air, and NOT listen to their stations or support their advertisers if I don’t like their programs or decisions. The broadcaasters can’t read our minds, so, to be fair, I let them know what I like or don’t like, before I take my radio selection (and money) somewhere else, as I have done.
Thanks for getting my message to Ann, Dave. As for WTUE, I haven’t listened to it in years because they still play the same old tired music they have since I was a teenager. How much Free Bird and Stairway to Heaven does a person need? I did enjoy BWTB. I didn’t listen each and every Sunday, but I got to know Ann through it and that was a plus.