Why Tom Leykis Is Important Right Now
It's not because of his views. Many of them can be pretty crass, especially regarding his view of (mostly SoCal) women.
It's not because of anything in "Leykis 101". That's basically a step-by-step guide to being successful (i.e., getting laid) via being an asshole, and Tom would be the first to tell you that.
No, it's because of where and how his show is airing.
Tom Leykis used to be on terrestrial radio. First he was on one local station after another in the 1980s and early 1990s before getting his syndicated show in 1994, a show which, at its distribution peak (1996), had over 225 affiliates (though only a handful aired him live). He was wildly popular, especially on the west coast. He got over a quarter-million listeners between his affiliates for years on end.
Then his flagship station, KLSX, decided to switch formats, effectively rendering his show on hiatus, and his contract prevented him from putting on another show for just over 3 years.
Well, this month, his show came back, on the streamcast/podcast network he created in 2010, the New Normal Network. No affiliates needed, no flagship station needed, just a studio in Burbank with him, Gary, Dino, and Art. He has full creative and distributive control over his show now, and answers to no one else but himself...
...and terrestrial radio is running scared. His former employer, CBS, has blocked his website on their local LAN. CBS has just *now* started to file copyright complaints against Leykis clips posted to YouTube. Why are they running scared?
In the first week of the new show, Leykis didn't get a quarter-million listeners, he got over 400,000! Yeah. Listening from all over the world! He even got a call from Uganda! Ever since he announced those numbers, he says his sales line has been ringing off the hook, and new advertisers are signing up almost every day!
Some may say T.D. Mischke was the first to do this, but he actually went back to radio as soon as WCCO gave him an offer. Leykis got offers from terrestrial radio as well, but he turned them down, saying he could make as much money hosting the show on the 'net himself, without having to worry about program managers, general managers, community standards, anything like that! And so far, Leykis is proving himself right. It's his big "fuck you" to terrestrial! He's doing it HIS way, with HIS crew, on HIS dime, and it works!
He says other big radio names are watching his empire too, for when the clusterfuck that is the terrestrial radio business ends up stabbing the knife into THEIR backs, and the business WILL at some point, as things get more homogenized, and more costs need to be cut.
The New Normal Network is very aptly named, as it *is* the future of what we will consider "normal" media. And right now, Tom Leykis is leading the charge! Expect other big names to follow suit once their contracts run out, they see how successful New Normal Network is, and they decide they want a piece of that autonomous pie!
And because a big radio name can't become one without fans, we can thank the loyal cadre of fans that requested, "Blow me up, Tom!!!" :)
It's not because of anything in "Leykis 101". That's basically a step-by-step guide to being successful (i.e., getting laid) via being an asshole, and Tom would be the first to tell you that.
No, it's because of where and how his show is airing.
Tom Leykis used to be on terrestrial radio. First he was on one local station after another in the 1980s and early 1990s before getting his syndicated show in 1994, a show which, at its distribution peak (1996), had over 225 affiliates (though only a handful aired him live). He was wildly popular, especially on the west coast. He got over a quarter-million listeners between his affiliates for years on end.
Then his flagship station, KLSX, decided to switch formats, effectively rendering his show on hiatus, and his contract prevented him from putting on another show for just over 3 years.
Well, this month, his show came back, on the streamcast/podcast network he created in 2010, the New Normal Network. No affiliates needed, no flagship station needed, just a studio in Burbank with him, Gary, Dino, and Art. He has full creative and distributive control over his show now, and answers to no one else but himself...
...and terrestrial radio is running scared. His former employer, CBS, has blocked his website on their local LAN. CBS has just *now* started to file copyright complaints against Leykis clips posted to YouTube. Why are they running scared?
In the first week of the new show, Leykis didn't get a quarter-million listeners, he got over 400,000! Yeah. Listening from all over the world! He even got a call from Uganda! Ever since he announced those numbers, he says his sales line has been ringing off the hook, and new advertisers are signing up almost every day!
Some may say T.D. Mischke was the first to do this, but he actually went back to radio as soon as WCCO gave him an offer. Leykis got offers from terrestrial radio as well, but he turned them down, saying he could make as much money hosting the show on the 'net himself, without having to worry about program managers, general managers, community standards, anything like that! And so far, Leykis is proving himself right. It's his big "fuck you" to terrestrial! He's doing it HIS way, with HIS crew, on HIS dime, and it works!
He says other big radio names are watching his empire too, for when the clusterfuck that is the terrestrial radio business ends up stabbing the knife into THEIR backs, and the business WILL at some point, as things get more homogenized, and more costs need to be cut.
The New Normal Network is very aptly named, as it *is* the future of what we will consider "normal" media. And right now, Tom Leykis is leading the charge! Expect other big names to follow suit once their contracts run out, they see how successful New Normal Network is, and they decide they want a piece of that autonomous pie!
And because a big radio name can't become one without fans, we can thank the loyal cadre of fans that requested, "Blow me up, Tom!!!" :)