← Takin' A Walk - Music History with Buzz Knight
Takin' A Walk - Music History with Buzz Knight
CES 2025 Tech "takin ' a walk" with Brian Comiskey from the Consumer Technology Association
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- [00:00]
Buzz Knight
Hi friend, it's your inner child calling and they want churros, a new toy and a new adventure. Or maybe five with the bestest besties on earth. Find your moment at Walt Disney World Resort. Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide, and every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now it pays to Discover. Learn more@discover.com credit card based on the February 2024 Nielsen report, Spectrum Business knows that small business owners put in the work. It's unlimited hours, unlimited effort, and unlimited passion, all to unlock the unlimited potential of your business. Get fast reliable Internet, advanced WI fi with security shield and an unlimited mobile line, all only $49.99 a month. Learn how Spectrum Business can connect your business to unlimited possibilities@spectrum.com business. It's your business made limitless. That's Life Unlimited. That's Spectrum Business. Restrictions apply often not available in all.
- [01:28]
Brian Comiskey
Areas Right now get up to 25% off select online storage solutions put heavy duty HDX totes to good use, protecting what's important to you. The solid impact resistant design prevents cracking and the clear base and sides make items easy to find even when the totes are stacked. Find select online shelving and tote storage up to 25% off at the Home Depot. To organize every room in your home from your garage to your attic, visit homedepot.com how doers get more done SE.
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Gary Shapiro
Season 2 is coming to Apple TV.
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Brian Comiskey
Plus, what you all did five months ago was one of the most painful moments in the history of this company. Our message got out. We're famous. All of us equally or one of us is like the star.
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Buzz Knight
What did you see?
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Brian Comiskey
My audi's wife was Ms. Casey.
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Buzz Knight
If you want to find out what.
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Gary Shapiro
Happened to her, uhoh, she stuck.
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Brian Comiskey
I want to see my wife.
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Gary Shapiro
He should have left severance new season.
- [02:25]
Brian Comiskey
Streaming January 17th only on Apple TV. Taking a walk A lot of companies I think have a major appeal to say, hey, we want to just take the latest and greatest technology. But what they must do first is identify what is the necessity, what is the need of their audience, their consumer being met. So when thinking about something like artificial intelligence, that's the first guardrail, right? Is what is your use case? What is that doing for someone?
- [02:52]
Gary Shapiro
Well, I'm Buzz Knight, the Host of the Taking a Walk podcast. We talk with musicians, we talk with insiders, we talk with experts in their field. We love talking about the intersection of music, media, technology. And welcome to this special CES 2025 special tech taking a Walk. I like the the Way that Sounds Tech ticket to Walk episode. As we celebrate this week, I'm joined by the Senior Director of Innovation for the Consumer Technology Association, Brian Comiskey. Hello, Brian.
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Brian Comiskey
Hey, Buzz, how you doing?
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Gary Shapiro
Great. Welcome to Taking a Walk. I. I wish we were taking a walk in person for it, but since your schedule this week of CES is bonkers. We're in two different places, but we'll. We'll intersect on the floor at some point.
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Brian Comiskey
O. I'm sure we will. I think we're going to get that amongst our. What, like the 20,000 steps a day one gets at CES?
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Gary Shapiro
Absolutely, yeah. I love it. Looking forward to it all. So what are the key themes for media companies to observe this year at CES 2025?
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Brian Comiskey
Yeah, of course. Well, I think it's about kind of reflecting with the overall show theme, which is going all in, right, which is how do you lean into different technologies to either access a new audience, to improve your own product, or to honestly improve your operations? So I think there's really three key paths that really emerge my mind. One is how are companies grappling when you know, it's going to take about two minutes into this podcast for me to say the word artificial intelligence. But how do companies interact with the rising and shifting nature of artificial intelligence? How do they really leverage what is the, especially on the audio side, what's the oldest form of content or spoken entertainment in the world, into other forms of intellectual property and what that means in maybe gaming and video. And lastly, how do you use it to really start to improve the audio or the video? The actual outputs that you're doing right, how do you get that high fidelity visual or audio quality? Those are the three that really come to mind right away.
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Gary Shapiro
So when you think of artificial intelligence, what guardrails do you think media companies should be thinking about?
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Brian Comiskey
Of course. Well, I think with any sort of innovation, it's all about a balance. I think when we think about innovation and growth, all that, we think there's a few pairs of forces that operate. One is you have growth versus value. Companies want to grow their product. Consumers want the best value. There's supply and demand. These ones make sense. But there's another one which is innovation versus necessity. A lot of companies, I think, have a major Appeal to say, hey, we want to just take the latest and greatest technology. But what they must do first is identify what is the necessity, what is the need of their audience, their consumer being met. So when thinking about something like artificial intelligence, that's the first guardrail, right. Is what is your use case? What is that doing for someone? And I think a really good example of this is it goes back to something that Keynes actually said like 100 years ago, which is the idea is technology is supposed to be used to eliminate drudgery so that we can do what humans do best, which is be creative. And what better medium than music and media in general, Right. Which is how do you use AI and build in a place that is helping build efficiencies, but keeping those guardrails to protect the talent, to really leverage into what is the stronger components of the industry, which is its people at the end of the day.
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Gary Shapiro
I'm so glad you said that because I think the, the human touch is so critical here and sometimes I. That gets forgotten when companies are really looking at these balance sheets, trying to get them together and they forget about the importance of people. But speaking of people and speaking of radio organizations, how do radio companies build the spirit of innovation inside their walls in the years ahead?
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Brian Comiskey
Yeah, well, I think there's a few paths to that. One is actually sometimes taking a look inward at your own employees. I've talked with other folks in the media exec space in the past and they've talked about competitions for innovation. How do you get your employees, even in terms of thinking about, well, what sort of technology or what sort of approach can we use to really improve our operations and looking and leaning into the people that they already have and you can create it in a friendly competitive status where it's all right, we're going to adopt one of these solutions maybe that's, you know, incentivized financially. By the way, that's a morale boost inside some of it is also not being afraid of bringing in that outside expertise on technology and how do you adopt it? And this is a balancing act that not just media companies, but companies in general are starting to consider. Right. Is as AI, but also all these other technologies get a little bit more complex, get a little bit more detailed. There's a lot of data going around, there's a lot of privacy going concerns to think about. How do you make sure that you have that expertise and sometimes you have that internally, sometimes you have that externally. But when I look at something like radio in particular, I think that there is A tendency in the industry. And I'm a long radio fan, I think we both know this. I'm from the New England area originally. I grew up listening to why independent radio like 92.1or117fnx, which no longer exists, rest in peace. But I grew up listening to that and I think what made that very clear was what made it great was its radio personalities. They did start to pivot to use some technologies quite well, I thought, which is when they went to digital, they went to an online presence, especially after the loss of the radio station itself. But this, this is one of those things where they started trying to lean in and maybe it's a little too late in this example, but lean into, well, how do we use other technologies in general to keep our product alive? Or let's go with one that still exists today, which is metal arc media. That is Dan LeBatard who had his radio station on ESPN for years talking about sports Metalark. After the separation from ESPN, they are no longer on radio because they successfully pivoted to video using DraftKings of all people, to fund their sponsor. We're talking about a betting company coming in and saying, hey, media matters. And they built a podcast and digital empire as well as a video stream empire on Twitch, which is leaning into a new generational demographic. Right. So at their peak of espn, they were on Twitch radio, TV and to a degree, podcasts. They were using an Omni channel approach which really starts to attract those younger generations.
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Gary Shapiro
So every year at Cesar, you are able to find these companies that, you know, maybe surprise people in terms of the amazing work they're doing or they're preparing to roll out. Are there a couple of examples this year that will be surprising to folks in terms of what companies are showcasing at CES 2025?
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Brian Comiskey
Yeah, well, I think about, especially let's, let's stay with music and you think about all the different ways that audio goes, right? Like you have Victrol back, you know, a Company from 1906. How are they developing their latest turntables which have started to get a little bit of a comeback in terms of some of the, not just the high fidelity audio, but there is a. For Gen Z, they are surprisingly like they like to go to sometimes that tech that maybe is a little bit older, not just for the novelty, but because it still has that high power immersive performance. When we think about audio shift in general, people are looking for immersive experiences. So a company like Victrola is, is, is innovating in that Place on the turnt. Another path that I find interesting is, well, what is music used for? In general, we tend to lean right to entertainment. But right before I go on stage or I talk to anyone, I actually usually listen to music as a way to sort of calm myself down, to train myself. I usually have like a go to playlist of different things. And when I tell you the genre is quite ranging, it is all over the place. But there's a company that's going to be that's at CES called Alphabeats, which I really like. It's a patented solution. It wins one of CS innovation award. It's actually used for athletic performers. And what it does is it bases on neurofeedback and individualized music to help recovery and relaxation and focus and flow. So how are you using music to actually help athletes in this case perform their very best? So I think that's the other thing is when we think about music, when we think about media, we tend to go down this route of content and entertainment and that's a massive, massive market. But I think at its core, what is the staying power of music really is it's not just a taps into a culture. It clearly taps into something quite primal and instinctual. And so seeing a company like Alphabets really lean into that, I think is incredible. And then lastly, I just will say really quick, you're going to see companies like iHeartMedia and Sirius XM talk about what their overall strategies look like, whether that's from a content perspective or they're leaning into talking about, well, what's our new offerings and our strategy and how do we use technology to enhance that?
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Gary Shapiro
So I produced this other podcast which is called Music Saved Me. It's about the sort of healing power of music. Lynn Hoffman is the host of that podcast. It sort of was born out of taking a walk. So can you speak even in a little bit more detail towards, you know, maybe the therapeutic aspects of maybe products? You just alluded to it to a degree with the prep before going on stage. But are there any offerings that sort of match what music save me is about, which is this, you know, real incredible force that music has to do good and help people?
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Brian Comiskey
Yeah, well, as I said, I think that first example really speaks to this company called Alphabeats, where they're really leaning into this idea of, well, how do we use just basically it's focusing and calibrating it to neurofeedback, which that gets into. There's a whole psychology field called psychoacoustics, which is how are you using sound to trigger a particular emotional response, a typical, certain physiological response. They're working on that. Sirius xm, we'll be talking about that a lot. They have a team called Studio resonate. I actually SiriusXM will be. It has a keynote at CES where they're going to be talking to the host of Crime Junkie, a true crime podcast. But in addition to that, the Studio Resonate team will be there and their whole focus is on this idea of psychoacoustics. How do you get that sort of space to really use sound and audio cues to evoke a certain type of reaction? Now, there is a focus that they use it for, for advertising and marketing, certainly. Right. When we hear the sound of Netflix go off, right? Even just the quick little theme music, you don't even need to see the Netflix logo to know what happens, right. Or the Taco Bell chime. That's the sort of psychology that they're going with. And then there's a musical component to it as well, which is, all right, it's not just the sound effect, but what's the musical side of it. The other one too is there will be companies that we talk about the therapeutic side. But music also is a really tremendous educational tool. I know, you know, growing up. So both my sisters are teachers. One is a Spanish language teacher, and she follows a tried and true form which is teaching Spanish language songs. Because if you learn a tune to certain words and not just talking about all the fun Alphabet song, but if you learn actual music from the countries, you can actually learn slang in a context that really helps you into the future. So music has a therapeutic and educational role. It's really. It's what are you tapping into at the end of the day? And I think all of us at the end of the day can think about certain tracks that bring us to the right emotional state at a time. And so these companies I've listed, Alphabets, Miko is this company that's working on educational side. And even Sirius XM are all finding how do we get that there from different paths, whether that's a learning robot, a therapeutic app, or just our content platform as a whole.
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Gary Shapiro
So your boss, Gary Shapiro, the president of the Consumer Technology association, has a new book out, Pivot or Die. Great title. You wrote a chapter in there for the book. How do companies sort of jump off the curb and do what's necessary, get their fears out of the way and make the necessary pivot to thrive in today's world?
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Brian Comiskey
Yeah, of course. Well, I Think a lot of that is what I think the first step is. When you think about how to thrive, I think technology is the pathway to do so. And I think you have to first examine what. What is your relationship with technology? And I think there's really kind of four types of relationships in technology. I think that there's companies that are enablers, and these are companies that they are making the building blocks of a particular technology. They are the ones who are there making the hardware or the software platform that allows it to happen. This is why, for example, Nvidia is doing so well in artificial intelligence. They make the chips the literal hardware foundation for AI, but they also make the software. That's one relationship. One is called Engagers. And these are companies, they lean fully into technology as their main product, so they oftentimes offer a software service. The last two might sound close to one another, but I think a lot of companies will fall into the fourth category, could be the third easy. So the third category is Enhancer. So after you go for Enabler to Engager, go to Enhancer. These are companies that use technology. It's not their core product, but they find a way to leverage their technology that can influence the whole space itself. Lastly, you have companies that are what you would call a user, which is they might use technology, but it's not really their flesh and blood or to their core, to their identity as a product. Enhancers are really fascinating to me because these are companies where they might do one thing, but it turns out that they have an incredibly good product somewhere else. When I think about someone like Chick Fil? A, for example, is a really good example of this. They're very good at chicken sandwiches and meals, but what they're also really good about doing is bridging community through their media platforms. So they're actually launching an app to bring families together. It's not a food ordering app, but it's simply a way to bridge their communities together. And that just launched in the last week. This is really kind of this example of they went from being kind of a user where we have really good technology for making our meals, but then they realize, oh, we have really good logistics technology. Because have you ever really waited in a long line at Chick Fil? A? No. And then we have really good ability to connect with people. So they actually now sell a lot of their logistics technologies and advise companies on how to improve their retail footprint, or they're telling people how to make apps. And this is something I think is really important. They've gone from what you call a user at the end of the spectrum of people just use technology to enhancing. Leaning into this technology idea and raising it. Chick Fil a is a good example of this. Delta, who is keynoting at ces, is another great example of this. We think of that as an airline, but really, at the end of the day, they've pioneered a lot of the artificial intelligence that's used to track flight algorithms, assess weather patterns to avoid delays, as well as creating technology that leverages virtual reality, or something called parallel reality, to allow different customers and passengers have a seamless flight experience. That's very individualized. That's the type of technology that they're leaning into adopting and then can easily export to others in the field should they want to. And I think at the end of the day, it's assess your relationship. Am I just using technology, or can I enhance this technology industry by really leaning into what works for me? And I think radio is a good example of this. No one has better localized data, I think, in the world about customers in general, in terms of they have these local markets, they know what their users want, their consumers want in this area. That Torah data is invaluable to things like an AI program. And you can look to Reddit, who monetize and leverage their AI content quite successfully there at ces, and they've gone revenue growth. I would look at someone where it's radio saying, well, what can we do with our data to maybe actually lean forward and be engaging with technology, rather than AI coming at us and feeling like we're reacting all the time.
- [19:37]
Gary Shapiro
So over the years, the show is really deeply immersed in the automotive business, and specifically even the connected car when we talk about radio or entertainment. And now, of course, with EV being an important development over the years, you add that in. What can we expect at this show to see in terms of automotive innovation?
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Brian Comiskey
Yeah, of course. Well, I think you're correct. We lean into an. Arguably, we're the largest mobility show. And I use mobility very intentionally because it's all. It's more than just the auto. And I think that there's four pathways where you'll see mobility change. The electric story is still massive. And we will see EV makers from across the world, not just the US but from Korea, from China, even showcasing where electric cars are going. But I say electrification very intentionally because we'll have companies like Brunswick, they're showcasing electric boating technology, and then there's a whole infrastructure component to it that's vitally important because it's not just about how can we power our cars more efficiently? But when you start introducing new charging technology from exhibitors at the show like Blink charging and lg, you're starting to rethink how the grid is more sustainable. There's a sustainability story that's equally important that's occurring under here. That's one path. The other two are very linked. This is sensors and self driving essentially. How do you. Or autonomous vehicles be more correct? Actually you would want to say autonomous vehicles because sometimes boating technology, you're boating, you're not driving or flying in some cases because there will be exhibitors showcasing autonomous flying vehicles like Invo Station. But you think about it autonomous vehicles and you think about sensors, which is how do you get more information onto your car itself? How does it become essentially a software divine vehicle or a smart device on wheels? A lot of that is advanced safety data, more data referring to just for the health of the car in general in terms of power output. But then there's also an infotainment story which is a lot more personalized audio, a lot more personalized heads up displays and immersive experiences in there. That's the second and third pathways combined. The last one is industrials. And I think that's something that has really grown in our show over the years, which is how do you take electrification, autonomous capabilities and others and apply it outside the passenger themselves. And at our show you'll see, at the show you're seeing companies like Kubota, Oshkosh, Deere, Caterpillar, all these what I like to call the big truck companies. The little kid in me is so excited walking across the floor. But how are they making? A lot of the industries I've described that they work in are like mining or heavy industrials. How do you make those safer and more sustainable? Well, maybe you take some of the innovation that's occurring in the automotive that we know and mobility in general, and apply it to your industry. And that's what's clearly happening on the show floor this year.
- [22:38]
Gary Shapiro
So in closing, as a futurist, do you size up particular trends at each show that you then start dissecting as the year progresses to see if it's truly a trend or just a little bit of a blip or a fad or a marketing plan or something? How do you see the future? And is there one or two things that you're going to be sniffing around for in particular at this year's show?
- [23:07]
Brian Comiskey
Yeah, no, that's. Oh God, this is such a good question. It's a bit of all of the above, right? It's. Some of it is. I. Yeah, as a futurist, I think people maybe evokes like, I don't know, like Tony Stark meets crystal ball predictions of what's happening next. Oftentimes, it's a lot of reading and it's a lot of just looking and trying to get understanding what the show looks like. But then when you get to the show, the beauty of it is, as much as I can try to predict a trend, I'll be surprised. I am surprised every year by something on the floor. So what I do is I go back and I do start to parse out, well, what are we seeing? And I think one of the big ones is last year going to the show, every company was like, we're an AI company. We're an AI company. Generative AI and ChatGPT have taken off and they have. But how do you contextualize that into something larger? And I think CS 2025 and the years ahead will really reframe AI, where it's not just about generative AI, it's about a fundamental evolution in terms of how we relate to tech. There is an old phrase, and I used to do this consulting with the Coast Guard called digital transformation. It's been around for 16 years. How do companies get on the cloud? How do they get cyber? How do they get AI? I don't think that's an up to date term anymore. And I think CES is starting to be the proverb of this. I would say it's digital coexistence. Arguably, when we're doing recordings for a lot of. I'm sure with your podcast, you're not just taking a walk with people in person. You're using Zoom, you're using all these digital mediums. You are probably shopping online. Most people are working online or in an office or learning at school or online. Arguably our digital lives are getting to the point where they're at parity with our physical lives. So how do technologies like AI, cloud and cyber work to create this sort of ecosystem? That's the first big one that I'm seeing Shape Up. I was seeing Shape up ahead of the show during the show and except after. The other one is how is sustainability changing? And I think this is in relation to the AI component as well. AI in data centers take a lot of power, especially when you think about the emissions that come from the data center and how much it takes to cool them. 40 to 60% of cooling, AI, cloud, cybersecurity, all of that is coming from data centers that are pretty much found in dulles corridor in D.C. and Virginia area. They take a lot of power. And so how do you rethink sustainability to really focus on what's called the energy transition? Human society has lived through two already. And this is the other part about a futurist. You have to know your history, you have to know the past. And so the first one was we went from firewood to coal as humanity. Then we went from coal to oil and fossil fuels. We're on the third one now, which is how do we get from fossil fuels to renewables? Because we know that there's emissions coming from fossil fuels and we know data centers take a lot of them. So we're looking at and we're seeing on the show floor companies that are focusing on renewables like solar and wind. We're seeing companies that focus on that cooling issue. So H vac innovation is more important than ever, believe it or not. And what does that mean, an energy transition? And I wouldn't be surprised in the year to come. We're already seeing announcements of it. Nuclear is going to be forefront of a lot of conversations of how does that, which is a high energy density technology that has zero emissions, get involved in this transition? So those are the two that I'm watching closely, this idea of digital coexistence and energy transition. And at the end of the day, why are they important? Why am I spending a lot of time talking about them? They're all interconnected through a variety of technologies. Technologies oftentimes are not innovating in a vacuum. They're not just breaking through in one way or the other. As we've talked today, we've talked about how AI relates to music, how music relates to data. And we're doing this now between energy, digital, coexistence. That's what I look for and parse through, which is where are these overall narratives and stories?
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Gary Shapiro
Oh, Brian, you did a great job making very complex issues digestible. Thank you so much for all this. Always excited to be at the big show, the Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas. And thanks for being on Take It a Walk.
- [27:20]
Brian Comiskey
Thank you so much, Buzz. It was an absolute pleasure. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a Walk podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends and follow us so you never miss an episode. Taking a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts and wherever you get your podcasts.
- [27:42]
Buzz Knight
Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted. If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide, and every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now it pays to Discover. Learn more@discover.com credit card based on the February 2024 Nielsen report. Thursdays on ABC get ready to move that bus. The beloved series Extreme Makeover Home Edition is making a triumphant return to kick off the new year. Join the makeover mavens Joanna Teplin and Cliche here as they hit the road on a mission to transform lives of deserving families. They have just four days to rally communities, demolish old homes and rebuild not just houses, but lives. New episodes of Extreme Makeover Home edition Thursdays at 8, 7 Central on ABC and stream next day on Hulu. Hey y'all, I'm Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, host of Therapy for Black Girls this January. Join me for our third annual January Jumpstart series. Starting January 1st, we'll have inspiring conversations to give you a hand in kickstarting your personal growth. If you've been holding back or playing small, this is your All Access pass to step fully into the possibilities of the new year. Listen to Therapy for Black Girls starting on January 1st on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Nikki Glaser. So I hosted the Golden Globes at Hollywood's biggest party. Honestly, you've probably seen all the headlines this week, but like any good party, there's a lot of wild stuff that goes down behind the scenes that you don't know about. And since I hosted the Golden Globes, I'm letting my podcast listeners, my besties in on all the behind the scenes tea stuff that didn't make it to the live TV taping. What went down in rehearsals? Who said what? At the after party? You're going to hear it all. Listen to the Nikki Glaser podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Joel, the holidays are a blast, but the financial hangover? That can be a huge bummer if.
- [29:53]
Brian Comiskey
You are out there and you're dreading the new statement email that reveals the massive balance that you may have racked up. Well, you could use our help. That's right. I'm Joel. And I am Matt and we're from the how to Money podcast. Our show is all about helping you make sense of your personal finances so you can ditch your pesky credit card debt once and for all, make real progress on other crucial financial goals that you've got, and just feel more in control of your money in general. You know it. For money advice without the judgment and jargon, listen to how to Money on.
- [30:21]
Buzz Knight
The iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever.
- [30:25]
Brian Comiskey
You get your podcasts.