Frank Foti is executive chairman of the Telos Alliance, founder of Omnia Audio, and a pioneer in broadcast audio processing and broadcast engineering. His numerous technical achievements have helped shape the sound of broadcast audio for the last 40 years. Here, he revisits the foundations of his legendary tinkering with broadcast technology and considers the fortuitous outcomes of mistakes made.
RedTech: Tell us about yourself, your background and your journey in radio broadcasting.
Frank Foti: I am from Wickliffe, Ohio, just outside Cleveland. I got involved with radio after receiving a full scholarship to a broadcast school where the study course was to prepare for the First Class FCC license exam. This was 1973, when a “first phone” license was still required to work on any radio/TV transmitter. This led to my first radio job with WELW (AM) in Willoughby, Ohio, a 500-watt daytime-only station. Upon getting hired (at minimum wage), I was unaware the station was bankrupt and there would be no income for almost six months. Thankfully, I was still living with my parents. During a three-year stint at WELW, I worked my way up to chief engineer, production director, music director and morning drive disc jockey.
After a WELW coworker shared a “Broadcasting” magazine ad. I applied for the position, and Malrite Broadcasting (later, Malrite Communications) appointed me chief engineer of WHK(AM)/WMMS(FM) in Cleveland. Here is where Assistant Director of Engineering Jim Somich took me under his wing, mentored me and showed me how to be a top-notch broadcast engineer.
He had a major influence on the willingness to tinker with broadcast equipment to improve on-air performance. This was especially true with audio processing. Together, we investigated numerous alternative means to improve on-air audio.
Have a dream and stop at nothing pursuing it. Then, have passion, drive and love for what you do — failure is not an option
Malrite asked me to head to the San Francisco Bay area to lead engineering for KNEW(AM)/KSAN(FM), and I was settling in when a situation unfolded in mid-July 1983. Malrite was acquiring WVNJ(FM), licensed to Newark, N.J.. The plan was to relocate the transmitter from West Orange, N.J., to the Empire State Building and build brand-new studios in Secaucus, N.J. However, the corporate director of engineering got into a major disagreement with the newly hired program director of this soon-to-go on-air station, and the company returned him to Cleveland and needed someone to get the project on the air. The company’s president called me to say I was on the next flight to Newark. As such, I was there on Aug. 2, 1983, when WHTZ(FM), better known as “Z100,” was born. Seventy-four days later, the station went from “worst to first” in the Arbitron ratings and not only made broadcast history, but changed the New York market.
Aside from Z100’s amazing format, its on-air signature sound was a key ingredient. The audio processing system evolved over time. We were the first to put the Texar Audio Prisms on air, and they contributed to our early processing efforts. In the summer of 1986, when the rest of the New York market was catching up sonically, we achieved the next step when I was able to “hot rod” an Aphex Dominator multiband limiter, which was part of the on-air processing chain. This change pushed Z100 back ahead of the pack. Numerous out-of-town program directors would call the station and ask me what was in the audio chain, but company policy did not allow disclosure, so it remained a well-kept secret.
During this time, my friend Steve Church started Telos Systems, specializing in telephone interfacing. Z100 was an early adopter of the Telos 10 phone hybrid, producing the best-sounding phone calls in New York. Quite a feat considering that the Z100 on-air phone system served at least six different area codes at that time.
Taking a cue from Steve, I left radio in 1988 to create Cutting Edge Technologies. The first product, the Vigilante FM limiter, was the modified Aphex Dominator born on Z100. In 1992, Cutting Edge merged with Telos Systems, enabling the development in 1997 of our first all-digital audio processor, Omnia.fm. At the time, our worldwide market share for on-air processing product penetration was less than 10%.
Over the next few years, we overtook the market leader, who at one time held 85% of the market. We now have roughly 75% of the global market for on-air audio processing, and the former market leader has been bought and sold three times.
RedTech: What are a few of the major industry shifts you’ve seen along the way?
Foti: The introduction of digital signal processing into the radio market, the invention of audio-over-network distribution and its standardization as AES67 (AoIP) and, of course, our contribution — Livewire. Also, the current infrastructure pivot towards cloud-based/containerized products via total software solutions.
RedTech: What’s the next step in audio processing and sound in general?
Foti: Audio processing is constantly evolving. With added computational power, we can develop signal processing algorithms that further reduce sonic annoyances, improve quality and provide an emotional sonic benefit to the listener. AI is now evolving within processing, which will raise the bar yet again.
As for sound, the immersive experience plays a huge role. Today, we can craft a truly multidimensional soundscape utilizing only two channels of audio.
RedTech: What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the audio broadcast industry today?
Foti: Over-the-air broadcast revenue has become an enormous challenge. The added audio services available to consumers have changed how they acquire their desired programming. Radio seems slow, or late to the party, to compete with the newer kids on the block. As such, the broadcast industry has been financially challenged for a number of years and the trend is not looking good.
RedTech: You recently launched a company called “Syndicate of Sounds,” which offers Déjà Vu technology. Tell us more about this technology.
Foti: Déjà Vu is based upon an algorithm I developed a few years ago. It’s an upmixer application that transposes stereo audio into discrete immersive sound using the 5.1 surround format. This is done with a patented method that isolates the true “center” channel from the stereo mix and uses that signal to render the rest of the surround channels. This is accomplished with a linear process and fully supports the artistic intent of the original production.
I have successfully auditioned Déjà Vu for some well-known music producers and recording engineers — Gary Katz, Hugh Padgham, Giles Martin and Frank Filipetti. A common comment is that the immersive effect provided a great emotional experience. It’s like hearing your favorite music for the first time all over again! Hence the name Déjà Vu. There’s more information at SyndicateOfSounds.com.
RedTech: What’s the best “mistake” you’ve ever made?
Foti: Some years ago, I was working on a distortion management system for an audio processor — this was before digital signal processing tools were available. Anyway, after putting months of research into an idea and building up a prototype, the end result sounded like garbage. I was devastated, so much so that I laid down on a couch after shedding honest tears of frustration and fell asleep. I had a crazy dream in which this failed prototype with two sections of circuitry was taken apart, and one section connected to a section of another prototype, and somehow it magically worked.
When I awoke, I began to think if this might be possible. After connecting the two different circuit boards, I used a bunch of test leads to pass audio through it. As if by the grace of a higher power, it worked! I couldn’t believe it. I tested the crazy idea for several hours, and when I realized it did, in fact, work as desired, it became the distortion management system for the Vigilante FM limiter.
RedTech: Considering your history in audio and radio, what technological innovation do you believe has been a game changer for the industry?
Foti: The invention of Audio-over-IP — so much so a game changer that it is now migrating into the consumer audio world.
RedTech: Few people are as passionate as you about this industry, and your innovations have contributed to it immensely. What advice would you give a younger you just starting out?
Foti: Have a dream and stop at nothing pursuing it. Then, have passion, drive and love for what you do — failure is not an option. My goal was to become my competitor’s worst nightmare!
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