Remembering Francis M

For the past week or so I've wanted to write about the effect that Francis M has had on my life. But somehow I just couldn't put the words together. Even when I met him backstage at an event I was hosting years ago, I couldn't do it either.

Much like his persona and his influence, his effect on me can't be explained. The man was more than just his monikers of the "Master Rapper" he was a cultural icon.

Francis taught a whole generation of Filipinos how we could be proud of our heritage and still embrace modern influences.

I recently saw his cameo appearance at the end of the AKAFella's video for their remake of "Kaleidoscope World". It gave me goose bumps seeing him flash a peace sign as the camera pulled away and the picture faded to black. I pushed hard to have that song on my CD "The Blend" and I never regreted it.

I know this blog is not well written. Like I said, I've had hard time finding the words. So I'll just end it here.

Here's to you Francis M, you'll be surely missed.

The evolution of Radio - Sirius XM

I'm old enough to remember the days when Radio was still king. As a kid in the 80s, I would sit for hours listening to Casey Kasem. As a teenager in the 90s I would tune in to Rick Dees. For me, those were the golden years of Radio. Back then, cable TV was still new and there was no such thing as DVDs or the Internet.

Nowadays with mp3 players, YouTube, file sharing and music piracy, Radio no longer controls our ears the way it once did. Stations have lost the listenership they once pulled in, so advertising prices have gone down. In turn, the airwaves are cluttered with ads while programs no longer have big budgets. All of this eventually lowered the quality of the listening experience.

When I first became a DJ, I hit the very tail end of the golden days of Radio. During my career on-air I saw the things change slowly and I knew that the industry was heading toward a dramatic shift. While following broadcasting news from the US, I saw that the Philippines was a bit further from that coming change.

Now that I'm in the US, I've experienced the evolution of Radio... Satellite. I recently purchased a Sirius XM Satellite subscription, and I've fallen in love with the medium once again.


What's so great about Satellite Radio? Here are a few quick points...

- The music stations have absolutely no commercials! Non-stop music 24/7!

- There are hundreds of music stations, each with a very specific genre (i.e. 70s Pop, '80s Pop, 90s Pop, Grunge, Alternative, HipHop, R&B, Spa, Jazz etc.)

- There are dozens of talk stations, with each catering to a specific audience (Howard Stern, Martha Stewart, Catholic, Sports, Maxim, etc.)


Satellite Radio has regular terrestrial Radio's back against the wall, the same way that Cable TV threatened Network TV years ago.

In the US changes are already beginning to happen. Big, nationally-syndicated shows are beginning to die off, leaving radio stations catering only to their smaller local markets.

It will take a while to fully affect the Philippines though. But since the local Radio industry has weakened due to mp3 players, YouTube, file sharing and music piracy, the stage is set for a big shift.

Perhaps the most of Terrestrial Radio industry will collapse, with Satellite Radio emerging as the dominant medium. Who knows? What I do know is that I feel like a kid again, enjoying the beginning of a new golden age of Radio.