Jim Long
Encyclopedia
Jim Long is an Irish-American entrepreneur
, whose pioneering marketing concepts and creative “firsts” are iconic in the broadcast music industry.
Experienced in the development of intellectual properties, his business holdings have focused on music production, master recordings, music publishing, and broadcast licensing and syndication for the radio, television and film industries.
Long founded/co-founded numerous broadcast and radio syndication companies, including Dallas based TM Productions/Starr Broadcasting, FirstCom
/Jim Long Music, Long-Pride Broadcasting, and a Nashville
based music and publishing group, OneMusic.
At various times, he has also held owner interest in 19 radio and TV stations throughout the U.S. His record label
, Honest Entertainment, has produced Grammy-nominated albums, and he has numerous awards from the advertising and broadcast industries.
Today, Long is CEO of Los Angeles based Telos Holdings, Inc. which owns Point Classics one of the world's most extensive classical music
catalogs, with over 3500 major compositions – and is chairman of the internet-based music service company, Crucial Music Corporation, which he co-founded in Los Angeles. He also co-founded L.A.-based Elias Arts Music Library.
from County Kerry
and County Mallow, Ireland
in the 1800s. Always in some form of law enforcement, Long’s father retired as a United States Air Force
Major (Provost Marshall in Germany) and corrections officer for the State of Massachusetts. His mother was a registered nurse and homemaker.
Fascinated by radio since childhood, Long built his first vacuum tube radio transmitter at the age of 13 and started his own radio station
in his basement in Marlborough, Massachusetts
. It was a successful enterprise until the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) showed up to confiscate his transmitter
. It was interfering with a local radio station's signal. (Long later went to work for the station, WMRC
, Milford, Massachusetts
). At 15, he produced his first record, "Liza Lee" by Roger and The Markees, and started his own record company, Dell Mont Recording, to release it (also in his basement, using his savings and a $200 loan from his mother). This gave him his first taste of artist promotion, record production, and distribution, especially “returns”. After high school, Long worked at Walgreens
Drug Stores, while taking courses in broadcasting, to fulfill his goal of becoming a D.J./radio announcer.
He joined the United States Navy
and was stationed at Anacostia Naval Base in Washington, D.C.
, where he served in the elite U. S. Navy Ceremonial Guard, with duty at Arlington National Cemetery
. Honorably discharged, he returned to civilian life to pursue a career in broadcasting, where he put his talents as a writer and producer to work.
• Introduce the use of CDs in the U.S. as format for music production libraries;
• Introduce and market comprehensive multi-media image campaigns for radio stations, complete with station IDs, print and broadcast advertising, promotional materials, and market research programs. Such as, “Someplace Special”, “Rhythm of the City”, the “You” campaign;
• Create a major special for album oriented rock station programming, “Album Greats”, a 48 hour history of album rock.;
• Successfully automate rock programming;
• Introduce acapella and shotgun vocal formats for station IDs;
• Introduce commercial services and music production libraries for radio stations to sell their local advertisers.;
• Introduce station ID image songs – station identification jingles of more than :60 seconds that sounded like the hits songs that the stations played, in 1972–1973. Later known in the industry as the “mini-song” station ID – a widely imitated concept; and
• Introduce the “Turn on the Light” radio format in Washington, D.C.
(WKBK), Dover
(WTSN) and Manchester
(WFEA), NH; Westfield
(WDEW) and Southbridge
(WESO), Massachusetts; Waterbury, Connecticut
(WWCO); Springfield, Vermont
(WCFR); Bangor, Maine
(WGUY); Messina (WSTS), Malone
(WICY), Utica
(WOLF) and Syracuse
(WRUN) New York; Orlando, Florida
(WKIS); and Indianapolis
(WIBC), Indiana
.
While at WKIS in Orlando, he started his first production business, Jim Long Productions, later re-named Audio Associates International, but quickly learned that when expenses exceed income, it's time to figure out how not to repeat that lesson. He never failed at business again.
In early 1967, after a year as Program Director
of WIBC/Indianapolis, the 24-year-old Long was given the opportunity to move to Texas
by composer Tom Merriman
who was working at Dallas-based Commercial Recording Corporation (CRC). Within six months, he and Merriman would launch TM Productions, Inc. with $10,000 capital.
TM Productions was the first production-syndication company to create and market comprehensive multi-media image campaigns for radio stations, complete with station IDs, print and broadcast advertising, promotional materials, and market research programs. (“Someplace Special”, “Rhythm of the City”, “You”, “Where You Belong” and “Where Your Friends Are”) These image campaigns increased ratings at stations like WCOL Columbus
, KRFC San Francisco, KHJ Los Angeles, and WIBG in Philadelphia. These award winning campaigns could be syndicated for use in non-competing markets.
A similar format image campaign was also developed for television stations, with WLKY-TV in Lexington, Kentucky
serving as the pilot. Called ColorTheme, it incorporated animation
and music for station IDs and was customized for many major market TV stations, including the MetroMedia
Group, Inc.
Long also introduced commercial services libraries – full service, multi-media advertising campaigns designed for local advertisers by award winning composers and writer-producers. For the first time, radio stations could provide high quality advertising campaigns to their advertising sponsor clients. The Producer
(1973) and MasterPlan (1976) were licensed to over 2000 radio stations, worldwide, and generated millions of dollars in additional revenue for local radio broadcasters.
The scope of the business included three additional product divisions:
TM Programming, a full service radio programming
firm, created and produced customized services for over 500 radio stations throughout the U.S., including market analysis, and music programming in four different musical formats: Beautiful music
, stereo rock, soft rock
, and country
. It was the first to successfully automate mainstream rock programming (WGY-FM in Albany, New York
) and the first syndicator to successfully program country music
on FM radio (WSOC-FM, Charlotte, North Carolina
).
TM Special Projects produced music “specials” for broadcast, including the first ever 48-hour history of album rock, Album Greats, which was aired by hundreds of top progressive rock
radio stations, upon its release in 1977.
TM International provided worldwide distribution of the products of the TM Companies.
By the early 1970s, the TM Companies had become internationally recognized as the radio industry's leading provider of music libraries and programming. When Long left to found FirstCom
in 1980, he had accumulated dozens of industry and broadcast awards, including nine Clio awards
. He had built the largest and most successful broadcast syndicator of its kind in the world.
On July 17, 1979, Starr Broadcasting Group, along with its 13 radio and television stations and the TM Companies, was merged with Shamrock Broadcasting Corporation, a privately held Los Angeles company controlled by the Roy E. Disney
family. Since Long’s vision for the future of the TM Companies did not match that of Shamrock’s management, he resigned on December 31, 1979.
Under various ownerships since 1980, today TM Studios/Productions continues to provide commercial production services to the broadcast industry.
in 1980 to provide broadcasters with a new level of promotion, music production services, and high-end creative ideas, using emerging technologies. He called his new commercial services library “The Creative Department” and was considered a pioneer in his use of market research to develop audience share and increase profitability - resulting in a series of syndicated promotions, sales training programs (Sales Performance System), and high quality music production libraries, unsurpassed in the industry, at that time.
In 1984, Long introduced the first ever compact disc
(CD) production music library, Digital Production Library. This production format soon became the industry standard (instead of vinyl
). By this time, FirstCom had become one of the largest stock music library companies worldwide. Long had reinvented the company to look beyond radio at the broader arena of domestic and international copyrights/music publishing, exploring audio-visual and digital technologies not yet widely used by business. He also expanded FirstCom’s marketing to include sales to television and film music clients, a concept he later expanded upon when he created OneMusic and Crucial Music Corporations.
In 1992 FirstCom was the first company to put their entire music catalog online and to offer an online music delivery system, called MusiQuick so that clients had immediate access to their production tools on the internet.
Long sold FirstCom and the Jim Long Companies, Inc. in 1990 to Clive Calder
’s Zomba Enterprises/Jive Records
of London. He continued as Chairman and on-going consultant until 1995. FirstCom is now owned by Universal Music Group
.
. They shared ownership in several real estate ventures, a Texas
bank, and oil and gas leases and acquired radio stations KQAM/KEYN in Wichita, Kansas
and KAYC/KAYD in Beaumont, Texas
. The company was dissolved in 1987 after the sale of its radio stations.
and created yet another innovative music library, increasingly used in radio, television (e.g., Saturday Night Live
), and film production (e.g., the Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind
). And, LiquidTracks, a new concept in music production services, allowed clients to actually remix music to their own specifications. Long sold 50% of the OMC Library to Clive Calder’s Zomba/FirstCom, which was purchased by BMG
in 2002. In 2005 BMG purchased the remainder of the OMC Library from Long.
Divisions of OneMusic, but not part of the sale to BMG, included Honest Entertainment Group, Inc. and The Gold Label.
, MCA
, and Atlantic labels, Long started his own record label in California
in 1992, Honest Entertainment, as a vehicle for re-launching Charley Pride
’s career. He produced three albums for Pride (Pride, My 6 Latest & 6 Greatest, Platinum Pride, Volumes 1 & 2, and Classics with Pride) which provided impetus for the Country Music Association Awards
(CMA) to recognize Pride with their Pioneer Award and other accolades. As part of his marketing strategy, Long created the first direct response marketing (DR) campaign for a major artist that used 800# marketing to drive new retail sales, selling over 500,000 units through the combination of DR and retail. Honest developed similar campaigns for other artists, including country superstar, Alan Jackson
.
Honest Entertainment opened offices in Nashville in 1994 and became known for its niche marketing of Irish
artists, including Foster & Allen
, Daniel O’Donnell, and Ronan Hardiman
, the composer for Michael Flatley
’s Lord of the Dance
extravaganza. Honest also had its own roster of singer/songwriters, including Kate Wallace for whom Long produced the first “CD Plus” for a new artist marketing campaign, providing biographical audio as well as music video and behind the scenes footage (a new technology format, now familiar on DVD). It was at this time that he pioneered the use of the (almost unheard of then) Internet chat rooms for music listening tests, focus groups and market research.
Honest also featured a group of legendary older artists, including Jack Jones
, for whom Long produced two albums, one of which received a Grammy nomination in 1998, Jack Jones Paints a Tribute to Tony Bennett
(Bennett actually won the Grammy that year for his own CD.)(www.digitalhit.com/grammy) This group of older artists became a separate company, The Gold Label, in 1999 and was sold to Pat Boone
in 2001.
libraries, and has investments in a number of other music publishing catalogs.
and human behavior. Having relied upon his own intuition and visions for creativity, he has actively practiced self-realization, as well as business acumen, throughout his life.
In 1976 he completed the Master's Degree
program at the University of San Francisco
's Lone Mountain College
, fulfilled all of the requirements for membership in the American Psychological Association
, and was granted clinical membership in the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
. Although he eventually decided not to pursue a career change to full time psychology
, he did co-found the Southwest Institute of Transactional Analysis in Dallas - a community counseling center and training institute for aspiring and professional counselors/therapists - and served as its Executive Director in 1975–1976.
His love of the ocean and a more relaxed lifestyle brought him to California in the mid-1980s, where he purchased a home in La Jolla and then helped design and build his dream house in Del Mar, near San Diego. After a period of commuting from California to Tennessee
during his Honest Entertainment/OneMusic years, he returned to California full-time in 2000 and now lives in Malibu with his wife of 20 years, Deborah DeBerry Long.
On his 48th birthday, February 7, 1991, Long was injured in a car accident in Oxnard, California
. Initially diagnosed with a concussion and whiplash
, later tests revealed that he had suffered a "closed head" injury, one with long-lasting effects that significantly changed his plans for the future.
Diagnosed with symptoms of Parkinson's Disease
in 2007 (possibly the result of the 1991 head trauma), Long is an active supporter of the Michael J. Fox
Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and MusiCares
, a non-profit organization founded by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
(NARAS), which provides services and assistance, in times of need, to musicians and members of the music community.
Just as Long was mentored by “the father of modern advertising”, David Ogilvy, he, too continues the tradition of sharing his expertise with students and music industry executives.
He has a son, who is an IT specialist, and a granddaughter, a successful model, singer, and D.J.
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, whose pioneering marketing concepts and creative “firsts” are iconic in the broadcast music industry.
Experienced in the development of intellectual properties, his business holdings have focused on music production, master recordings, music publishing, and broadcast licensing and syndication for the radio, television and film industries.
Long founded/co-founded numerous broadcast and radio syndication companies, including Dallas based TM Productions/Starr Broadcasting, FirstCom
FirstCom
FirstCom Music began in 1980 as a broadcast service company. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company offered several services utilized by radio stations throughout the United States...
/Jim Long Music, Long-Pride Broadcasting, and a Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
based music and publishing group, OneMusic.
At various times, he has also held owner interest in 19 radio and TV stations throughout the U.S. His record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, Honest Entertainment, has produced Grammy-nominated albums, and he has numerous awards from the advertising and broadcast industries.
Today, Long is CEO of Los Angeles based Telos Holdings, Inc. which owns Point Classics one of the world's most extensive classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
catalogs, with over 3500 major compositions – and is chairman of the internet-based music service company, Crucial Music Corporation, which he co-founded in Los Angeles. He also co-founded L.A.-based Elias Arts Music Library.
Early Years
Long (who took his maternal grandfather’s name when he began his career as a radio announcer) was the only child of John Francis Moynihan and Marion Long Moynihan, whose families immigrated to New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
from County Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
and County Mallow, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in the 1800s. Always in some form of law enforcement, Long’s father retired as a United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
Major (Provost Marshall in Germany) and corrections officer for the State of Massachusetts. His mother was a registered nurse and homemaker.
Fascinated by radio since childhood, Long built his first vacuum tube radio transmitter at the age of 13 and started his own radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
in his basement in Marlborough, Massachusetts
Marlborough, Massachusetts
Marlborough is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 38,499 at the 2010 census. Marlborough became a prosperous industrial town in the 19th century and made the transition to high technology industry in the late 20th century after the construction of the...
. It was a successful enterprise until the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) showed up to confiscate his transmitter
Transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
. It was interfering with a local radio station's signal. (Long later went to work for the station, WMRC
WMRC
WMRC is a radio station licensed to serve Milford, Massachusetts, USA. The station is owned by the First Class Radio Corporation. It airs a full-service Adult Contemporary music format. In addition to its usual music programming, WMRC broadcasts local high school and American Legion sports...
, Milford, Massachusetts
Milford, Massachusetts
Milford is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It had a population of 27,999 at the 2010 census.For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Milford, constituting the center of the town, please see the article Milford ,...
). At 15, he produced his first record, "Liza Lee" by Roger and The Markees, and started his own record company, Dell Mont Recording, to release it (also in his basement, using his savings and a $200 loan from his mother). This gave him his first taste of artist promotion, record production, and distribution, especially “returns”. After high school, Long worked at Walgreens
Walgreens
Walgreen Co. , doing business as Walgreens , is the largest drugstore chain in the United States of America. As of August 31st, the company operates 8,210 locations across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1901, and has since expanded...
Drug Stores, while taking courses in broadcasting, to fulfill his goal of becoming a D.J./radio announcer.
He joined the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
and was stationed at Anacostia Naval Base in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, where he served in the elite U. S. Navy Ceremonial Guard, with duty at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
. Honorably discharged, he returned to civilian life to pursue a career in broadcasting, where he put his talents as a writer and producer to work.
Notable Firsts
Jim Long was the first to:• Introduce the use of CDs in the U.S. as format for music production libraries;
• Introduce and market comprehensive multi-media image campaigns for radio stations, complete with station IDs, print and broadcast advertising, promotional materials, and market research programs. Such as, “Someplace Special”, “Rhythm of the City”, the “You” campaign;
• Create a major special for album oriented rock station programming, “Album Greats”, a 48 hour history of album rock.;
• Successfully automate rock programming;
• Introduce acapella and shotgun vocal formats for station IDs;
• Introduce commercial services and music production libraries for radio stations to sell their local advertisers.;
• Introduce station ID image songs – station identification jingles of more than :60 seconds that sounded like the hits songs that the stations played, in 1972–1973. Later known in the industry as the “mini-song” station ID – a widely imitated concept; and
• Introduce the “Turn on the Light” radio format in Washington, D.C.
Radio career
Beginning in 1961, Long worked as an announcer, producer and program manager at radio stations in KeeneKeene, New Hampshire
Keene is a city in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,409 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Cheshire County.Keene is home to Keene State College and Antioch University New England, and hosts the annual Pumpkin Fest...
(WKBK), Dover
Dover, New Hampshire
Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, in the United States of America. The population was 29,987 at the 2010 census, the largest in the New Hampshire Seacoast region...
(WTSN) and Manchester
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
(WFEA), NH; Westfield
Westfield, Massachusetts
Westfield is a city in Hampden County, in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 41,094 at the 2010 census. The ZIP Code is 01085 for homes and businesses, 01086 for Westfield State...
(WDEW) and Southbridge
Southbridge, Massachusetts
The Town of Southbridge is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,719 at the 2010 census.-History:...
(WESO), Massachusetts; Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City...
(WWCO); Springfield, Vermont
Springfield, Vermont
Springfield is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 9,373 at the 2010 census.-History:One of the New Hampshire grants, the township was chartered on August 20, 1761 by Governor Benning Wentworth and awarded to Gideon Lyman and 61 others...
(WCFR); Bangor, Maine
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
(WGUY); Messina (WSTS), Malone
Malone (village), New York
-Notable natives:Notable natives include:*William Almon Wheeler served as Vice President of the United States under Rutherford Hayes. Is buried at Morningside Cemetery in Malone....
(WICY), Utica
Utica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
(WOLF) and Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
(WRUN) New York; Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
(WKIS); and Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
(WIBC), Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
.
While at WKIS in Orlando, he started his first production business, Jim Long Productions, later re-named Audio Associates International, but quickly learned that when expenses exceed income, it's time to figure out how not to repeat that lesson. He never failed at business again.
In early 1967, after a year as Program Director
Program director
In service industries, such as education, a program director or programme director researches, plans, develops and implements one or more of the firm's professional services...
of WIBC/Indianapolis, the 24-year-old Long was given the opportunity to move to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
by composer Tom Merriman
Tom Merriman
Thomas Wayne Merriman was an American music composer based in Dallas, Texas, who in 1955 created the first production company specializing in radio station advertising campaigns and jingles...
who was working at Dallas-based Commercial Recording Corporation (CRC). Within six months, he and Merriman would launch TM Productions, Inc. with $10,000 capital.
The TM Companies (1967–1979)
In 1967 TM Productions began as a music production company, producing commercial jingles and broadcast station identifications (IDs). Long conceptualized and co-produced an entirely new approach to station IDs which provided stations a natural flow from commercial breaks to station IDs to music programming, increasing listenership and ratings. Called “Phase 2”, “The Propellants” and “The Winning Score”, these programs were quickly adopted by top stations including KILT Houston, WCFL Chicago and KHJ Los Angeles. He also created IDs that sounded like the hit songs the stations were playing (e.g., “And the Beat Goes On” and “Charisma” for WCFL Chicago and KLIF Dallas). These concepts were extremely successful and soon widely imitated within the industry.TM Productions was the first production-syndication company to create and market comprehensive multi-media image campaigns for radio stations, complete with station IDs, print and broadcast advertising, promotional materials, and market research programs. (“Someplace Special”, “Rhythm of the City”, “You”, “Where You Belong” and “Where Your Friends Are”) These image campaigns increased ratings at stations like WCOL Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, KRFC San Francisco, KHJ Los Angeles, and WIBG in Philadelphia. These award winning campaigns could be syndicated for use in non-competing markets.
A similar format image campaign was also developed for television stations, with WLKY-TV in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
serving as the pilot. Called ColorTheme, it incorporated animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
and music for station IDs and was customized for many major market TV stations, including the MetroMedia
Metromedia
Metromedia was a media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and owned Orion Pictures from 1986-1997.- Overview :...
Group, Inc.
Long also introduced commercial services libraries – full service, multi-media advertising campaigns designed for local advertisers by award winning composers and writer-producers. For the first time, radio stations could provide high quality advertising campaigns to their advertising sponsor clients. The Producer
The Producer
"The Producer" is the fourth episode of the third season of Gilligan's Island, in which the castaways stage a musical version of Hamlet. It first aired in on October 3, 1966.- Synopsis :...
(1973) and MasterPlan (1976) were licensed to over 2000 radio stations, worldwide, and generated millions of dollars in additional revenue for local radio broadcasters.
The scope of the business included three additional product divisions:
TM Programming, a full service radio programming
Radio programming
Radio programming is the Broadcast programming of a Radio format or content that is organized for Commercial broadcasting and Public broadcasting radio stations....
firm, created and produced customized services for over 500 radio stations throughout the U.S., including market analysis, and music programming in four different musical formats: Beautiful music
Beautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
, stereo rock, soft rock
Soft rock
Soft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes...
, and country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
. It was the first to successfully automate mainstream rock programming (WGY-FM in Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
) and the first syndicator to successfully program country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
on FM radio (WSOC-FM, Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
).
TM Special Projects produced music “specials” for broadcast, including the first ever 48-hour history of album rock, Album Greats, which was aired by hundreds of top progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
radio stations, upon its release in 1977.
TM International provided worldwide distribution of the products of the TM Companies.
By the early 1970s, the TM Companies had become internationally recognized as the radio industry's leading provider of music libraries and programming. When Long left to found FirstCom
FirstCom
FirstCom Music began in 1980 as a broadcast service company. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company offered several services utilized by radio stations throughout the United States...
in 1980, he had accumulated dozens of industry and broadcast awards, including nine Clio awards
Clio Awards
The Clio Awards are annual awards bestowed to reward innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design and communication. The categories include work in nearly all types of media, and the judges are advertising professionals from around the world....
. He had built the largest and most successful broadcast syndicator of its kind in the world.
Starr Broadcasting & William F. Buckley (1973–1979)
The success of the TM Companies brought suitors and, on October 15, 1973, Long and Tom Merriman sold TM to Starr Broadcasting Group, a broadcast oriented, publicly held corporation whose primary shareholder and Chairman of the Board was William F. Buckley. Long and Merriman (who both became multi-millionaires in the deal) continued in their roles with TM, but sought to buy back the company in 1976 when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began an investigation into Buckley’s business affairs, accusing him and several members of the Starr Broadcasting board of directors of fraud and misuse of shareholder’s funds.On July 17, 1979, Starr Broadcasting Group, along with its 13 radio and television stations and the TM Companies, was merged with Shamrock Broadcasting Corporation, a privately held Los Angeles company controlled by the Roy E. Disney
Roy E. Disney
Roy Edward Disney, KCSG was a longtime senior executive for The Walt Disney Company, which his father Roy Oliver Disney and his uncle Walt Disney founded. At the time of his death he was a shareholder , and served as a consultant for the company and Director Emeritus for the Board of Directors...
family. Since Long’s vision for the future of the TM Companies did not match that of Shamrock’s management, he resigned on December 31, 1979.
Under various ownerships since 1980, today TM Studios/Productions continues to provide commercial production services to the broadcast industry.
FirstCom Broadcast Services (1980–1995), a division of Jim Long Companies, Inc.
Long founded FirstComFirstCom
FirstCom Music began in 1980 as a broadcast service company. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company offered several services utilized by radio stations throughout the United States...
in 1980 to provide broadcasters with a new level of promotion, music production services, and high-end creative ideas, using emerging technologies. He called his new commercial services library “The Creative Department” and was considered a pioneer in his use of market research to develop audience share and increase profitability - resulting in a series of syndicated promotions, sales training programs (Sales Performance System), and high quality music production libraries, unsurpassed in the industry, at that time.
In 1984, Long introduced the first ever compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
(CD) production music library, Digital Production Library. This production format soon became the industry standard (instead of vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
). By this time, FirstCom had become one of the largest stock music library companies worldwide. Long had reinvented the company to look beyond radio at the broader arena of domestic and international copyrights/music publishing, exploring audio-visual and digital technologies not yet widely used by business. He also expanded FirstCom’s marketing to include sales to television and film music clients, a concept he later expanded upon when he created OneMusic and Crucial Music Corporations.
In 1992 FirstCom was the first company to put their entire music catalog online and to offer an online music delivery system, called MusiQuick so that clients had immediate access to their production tools on the internet.
Long sold FirstCom and the Jim Long Companies, Inc. in 1990 to Clive Calder
Clive Calder
Clive Calder is a South African-born and UK based record executive and businessman primarily known for co-founding the Zomba Group and its subsidiary Jive Records. The relocation of Warner Music Group Chairman Edgar Bronfman Jr...
’s Zomba Enterprises/Jive Records
Jive Records
Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...
of London. He continued as Chairman and on-going consultant until 1995. FirstCom is now owned by Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
.
Long-Pride Broadcasting Group, Inc. (1980–1987)
In 1980, Long formed Long-Pride Broadcasting with friend and business associate, country singer Charley PrideCharley Pride
Charley Frank Pride is an American country music singer. His smooth baritone voice was featured on thirty-nine number-one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His greatest success came in the early- to mid-1970s, when he became the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis...
. They shared ownership in several real estate ventures, a Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
bank, and oil and gas leases and acquired radio stations KQAM/KEYN in Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
and KAYC/KAYD in Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
. The company was dissolved in 1987 after the sale of its radio stations.
OneMusic Corporation (1990–2005)
In 1990, Long founded OneMusic in Del Mar, CaliforniaDel Mar, California
Del Mar is an upscale beach town in San Diego County, California. The population was 4,161 at the 2010 census, down from 4,389 at the 2000 census. The San Diego County Fair is hosted on the Del Mar Fairgrounds every summer. Del Mar is Spanish for "of the sea" or "by the sea", because it is located...
and created yet another innovative music library, increasingly used in radio, television (e.g., Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
), and film production (e.g., the Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind
A Beautiful Mind (film)
A Beautiful Mind is a 2001 American drama film based on the life of John Nash, a Nobel Laureate in Economics. The film was directed by Ron Howard and written by Akiva Goldsman. It was inspired by a bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-nominated 1998 book of the same name by Sylvia Nasar...
). And, LiquidTracks, a new concept in music production services, allowed clients to actually remix music to their own specifications. Long sold 50% of the OMC Library to Clive Calder’s Zomba/FirstCom, which was purchased by BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
in 2002. In 2005 BMG purchased the remainder of the OMC Library from Long.
Divisions of OneMusic, but not part of the sale to BMG, included Honest Entertainment Group, Inc. and The Gold Label.
Honest Entertainment Group, Inc. (1992–2001)/The Gold Label (1999–2001)
Having already produced artists for the CapitolCapitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, MCA
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
, and Atlantic labels, Long started his own record label in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1992, Honest Entertainment, as a vehicle for re-launching Charley Pride
Charley Pride
Charley Frank Pride is an American country music singer. His smooth baritone voice was featured on thirty-nine number-one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His greatest success came in the early- to mid-1970s, when he became the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis...
’s career. He produced three albums for Pride (Pride, My 6 Latest & 6 Greatest, Platinum Pride, Volumes 1 & 2, and Classics with Pride) which provided impetus for the Country Music Association Awards
Country Music Association Awards
The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards, or the CMAs, and not to be confused with the ACM Awards, are voted on by business members of the Country Music Association. The first CMA awards were presented at an untelevised ceremony in Nashville's Municipal Auditorium in 1967...
(CMA) to recognize Pride with their Pioneer Award and other accolades. As part of his marketing strategy, Long created the first direct response marketing (DR) campaign for a major artist that used 800# marketing to drive new retail sales, selling over 500,000 units through the combination of DR and retail. Honest developed similar campaigns for other artists, including country superstar, Alan Jackson
Alan Jackson
Alan Eugene Jackson is an American country music singer, known for blending traditional honky tonk and mainstream country sounds and penning many of his own hits. He has recorded 13 studio albums, 3 Greatest Hits albums, 2 Holiday albums, 1 Gospel album and several compilations, all on the Arista...
.
Honest Entertainment opened offices in Nashville in 1994 and became known for its niche marketing of Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
artists, including Foster & Allen
Foster & Allen
Foster and Allen are a musical duo from Ireland consisting of Mick Foster and Tony Allen.-History:Foster and Allen began back in the 1970s when Foster and Allen were playing in country music bands around Ireland...
, Daniel O’Donnell, and Ronan Hardiman
Ronan Hardiman
Ronan Hardiman is an Irish composer, famous for his soundtracks to Michael Flatley's dance shows Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames and Celtic Tiger Live.-Biography:...
, the composer for Michael Flatley
Michael Flatley
Michael Ryan Flatley is an American Irish dancer, choreographer, actor, musician and occasional television presenter. He became internationally known for Irish dance shows Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames, and Celtic Tiger...
’s Lord of the Dance
Lord of the Dance (musical)
Lord of the Dance is an Irish musical and dance production that was created, choreographed, and produced by Irish-American dancer Michael Flatley, who also took a starring role...
extravaganza. Honest also had its own roster of singer/songwriters, including Kate Wallace for whom Long produced the first “CD Plus” for a new artist marketing campaign, providing biographical audio as well as music video and behind the scenes footage (a new technology format, now familiar on DVD). It was at this time that he pioneered the use of the (almost unheard of then) Internet chat rooms for music listening tests, focus groups and market research.
Honest also featured a group of legendary older artists, including Jack Jones
Jack Jones (singer)
John Allan "Jack" Jones is an American jazz and pop singer. He was one of the most popular vocalists of the 1960s.-Overview:...
, for whom Long produced two albums, one of which received a Grammy nomination in 1998, Jack Jones Paints a Tribute to Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
(Bennett actually won the Grammy that year for his own CD.)(www.digitalhit.com/grammy) This group of older artists became a separate company, The Gold Label, in 1999 and was sold to Pat Boone
Pat Boone
Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
in 2001.
Telos Holdings, Inc. (1990–present)
Formerly known as OneMusic Corp, and later as Crucial Music Corp. (before these were spun off as separate entities), Telos is the parent company from which Long continues to consult for the music industry. Telos also owns the Point Classics catalog, one of the world’s largest classical musicClassical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
libraries, and has investments in a number of other music publishing catalogs.
Crucial Music Corporation (2007 – present)
One of the first 100% online companies to use the Internet to link independent artists and musicians to those in the music industry who want their songs. CMC licenses music to radio, television, and film. A former OneMusic-Honest Entertainment executive, Tanvi Patel, serves as CEO and partner,(www.crucialmusic.com) while Long serves as chairman.Personal
Several factors influenced Long’s personal and professional development, starting with his interest in music, new technologies and, not surprisingly for a marketing innovator, psychologyPsychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
and human behavior. Having relied upon his own intuition and visions for creativity, he has actively practiced self-realization, as well as business acumen, throughout his life.
In 1976 he completed the Master's Degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
program at the University of San Francisco
University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...
's Lone Mountain College
Lone Mountain College
Lone Mountain College was a college acquired by the University of San Francisco in 1978. It was founded by the Religious of the Sacred Heart as Sacred Heart Academy in Menlo Park, California in 1898 and became College of the Sacred Heart in 1921...
, fulfilled all of the requirements for membership in the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
, and was granted clinical membership in the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy is the professional association for the field of marriage and family therapy representing more than 25,000 marriage and family therapists throughout the United States, Canada, and abroad....
. Although he eventually decided not to pursue a career change to full time psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, he did co-found the Southwest Institute of Transactional Analysis in Dallas - a community counseling center and training institute for aspiring and professional counselors/therapists - and served as its Executive Director in 1975–1976.
His love of the ocean and a more relaxed lifestyle brought him to California in the mid-1980s, where he purchased a home in La Jolla and then helped design and build his dream house in Del Mar, near San Diego. After a period of commuting from California to Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
during his Honest Entertainment/OneMusic years, he returned to California full-time in 2000 and now lives in Malibu with his wife of 20 years, Deborah DeBerry Long.
On his 48th birthday, February 7, 1991, Long was injured in a car accident in Oxnard, California
Oxnard, California
Oxnard is the 113th largest city in the United States, 19th largest city in California and largest city in Ventura County, California, by way of population. It is located at the western edge of the fertile Oxnard Plain, and is an important agricultural center, with its distinction as the...
. Initially diagnosed with a concussion and whiplash
Whiplash (medicine)
Whiplash is a non-medical term describing a range of injuries to the neck caused by or related to a sudden distortion of the neck associated with extension. The term "whiplash" is a colloquialism...
, later tests revealed that he had suffered a "closed head" injury, one with long-lasting effects that significantly changed his plans for the future.
Diagnosed with symptoms of Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
in 2007 (possibly the result of the 1991 head trauma), Long is an active supporter of the Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...
Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and MusiCares
MusiCares
The MusiCares Foundation, Inc., was established in 1989 by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Meant for musicians to have a place to turn, in times of financial, personal, or medical crisis, its primary purpose is to focus the resources and attention of the music industry on human...
, a non-profit organization founded by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc., known variously as The Recording Academy or NARAS, is a U.S. organization of musicians, producers, recording engineers and other recording professionals dedicated to improving the quality of life and cultural condition for music and its...
(NARAS), which provides services and assistance, in times of need, to musicians and members of the music community.
Just as Long was mentored by “the father of modern advertising”, David Ogilvy, he, too continues the tradition of sharing his expertise with students and music industry executives.
He has a son, who is an IT specialist, and a granddaughter, a successful model, singer, and D.J.
External links
- http://www.crucialmusic.com
- http://www.pointclassics.com
- http://www.michaeljfox.org
- http://www.musicares.com
- http://www.naras.com
- http://www.hitparadehalloffame.org
- http://www.tommerrimantribute.com
- http://www.digitalhit.com/grammy/41/nominees.shtml