The Cost of Free Entertainment

 It's the age old question, should entertainment be free? How much advertisement justifies a free show? How much should one pay for advertisement free content? All these questions are basically answered with what the market can bear and what the patience is of the audience. 

There is quite a bit to unpack with this topic especially these days. People spending more time dealing with streaming content are trying to figure out the balance between needing to be entertained and with what discretionary income to pay for such things. 

Also in this episode, Ric visits a Covid-19 overflow ward. 

NEXT WEEK: Meme Me

Cabin Fever

With all of the talk of the Covid-19 rampaging around the world, there are a fair number of folks who have decided to hide out in the homes to work and try to keep some normalcy as much as possible. With that, we have that internet to keep us company. And thankfully so.

Plus we have the wonderful world of streaming media. This is going to be a good time for that, frankly. With more people staying in, more people are looking for something to entertain themselves with. Notwithstanding the inevitable January baby boom, there are tons of options. Including one that may actually help your favorite musicians.

In this episode, Ric will tell you about a pretty cool site that might come in handy for the house bound entertainer and fan.



NEXT WEEK: Social media is infected... with idiocy.


NOTE: For details on the Stage It site. GO HERE.

Don't Cross The Streams

We get it, you became a cord cutter and now you are finding yourself back in the same boat you were in before you cut the cable. The corporate entertainment providers are finding a way to get you back into that same old boat. And it's getting a little more interesting.

As the fight rages on, you are now looking at what appears to be a couple of very broad lines being drawn. There is the old subscription standards and there are some free options. There is one very large issue looming over all of this though, it's not unlike trying to figure out which "restaurant" has the less mediocre fish sandwich.

The absurdity of it all points at one fairly clear answer. Just take a look at what the Millennials are doing.



NEXT WEEK: The Technology in Your Pocket

Stay tuned...

The Great Television War

If it is one thing the internet has done, it has levelled the playing field. Most recently in the world of television. All of the cord cutters thought it was a pretty cool thing to tell the cable companies where to stuff their tiered access fees and bad programming when the internet became more of a place to get content. So we cut the cable, shut off the dishes and began to stream our shows on our own time and without fear of missing anything.

Now, the content providers are stuck in a major war with themselves. Charge for subscription or sell advertisement. Or worse, combine the two. Now, people are just getting a little pissed off with this fight and wondering when the next shoe is going to drop.

Also, Jeffery Epstein is dead, so why all the finger pointing when it was clear nothing more nefarious occurred than him simply taking himself out of the equation. And finally, a new bit in the show. Ric unveils his unpopular thought of the week.

NEXT WEEK: Is Facebook all that viable anymore?

Stream This

I, like most Americans had enough of the cable companies grip on my television. So, we cut the cord several years ago. Finally, TV on our own terms. That was, until the lumbering corporate dinosaurs got smart and started bundling up your favorites again. Yeah, right back into the same old boat. Paying for stuff you'll never watch. Thanks.

Also, is everyone kind of tired of the raw, unfiltered, uncensored live streams in social media? Australia is and they want to put some corporate people in jail over that stuff.



NEXT WEEK: Jerre Dye

Stay tuned...

Up A Certain Stream Without A Paddle

If it is one thing I have been blessed to be a part of, is that I have absolutely enjoyed having a front row seat to this current change in digital media. Watching AM become irrelevant practically overnight has been a delight. As for FM, this is like watching ineptitude at it's peak. The world is racing by and these stuffed suits over there in terrestrial radio are STILL trying to convince the public at large that they still matter.

Whatever, dude.

Plus in this episode, music from The Candy Company.



Download this episode (right click and save)


NEXT WEEK: The seduction of the microphone.

Stay tuned...