James Cridland is Managing Director of media.info, and an Australia-based radio futurologist. He is a consultant, writer and public speaker who concentrates on the effect that new platforms and technology are having on the radio business. Find out more or subscribe at http://james.cridland.net
James sends his weekly newsletter with this note:
I’m deep in pre-production for Next Radio, the radio conference that is next Monday, the 19th September. I genuinely enjoy the process of polishing presentations – tidying logos, normalising audio, mixing voiced announcements, and adding surprises for the day. I do hope you’re coming: it’s probably not too late to get tickets if you’ve not already done so.
James Cridland’s articles
- Data, data everywhere – how much do we use? I bet there’s a ton of wasted data for radio stations
- This week in The Radio Magazine, you’ll read a long and interesting (hopefully, I haven’t written it yet) piece about how the BBC encode their radio audio for online.
United Kingdom
- Not just saying this because they paid me some money once, but Union JACK – the new, interactive, national radio station in the UK – is really nicely done. Sounds great. (Uses Futuri Media’s LDR product, incidentally). And, as Aiir’s Jonathan Cresswell says, it highlights how a website helps brand a new station. Sean Ross likes it too, and also highlights the comparative rarity of brand extensions like it in the US.
- What a pair of mugs.
- A nice piece about a community radio station in Scotland.
- Impressive and nicely-produced advert from Radiocentre targeting another potential client. Radiocentre will tell us more at the Next Radio conference on Monday 19th.
United States
- What’s Next? Perry Michael Simon consistently writes great, thought provoking stuff like this, making me feel inadequate
- IAB-Edison Research Podcast Advertising Study: interesting and positive stuff. Caution: non-US audiences may differ in their attitudes.
- This is the pithiest response so far to Apple removing the headphone socket. And a great point, too.
- The magic that makes Spotify’s Discover Weekly playlists so damn good – I do genuinely feel as if I’m missing out, not subscribing to Spotify, and only because of this.
- Promotions – “The Siberia of radio” – Paige Nienaber (a Next Radio speaker) interviewed by AllAccess
- I Tried Apple CarPlay … So Should You – a really important point that to have opinions about new technology, you really ought to try the thing first. This is also a justification I give for every new gadget I buy.
Australia
- From commercial radio to just commercials – the tale of Sydney’s 2UE, which appears to be a casualty of a merger.
- Online streaming sparks cheap TV revolution in regional Australia – there’s a fascinating biz model in here for sports coverage, incidentally
- From Hamish & Andy – the best bloke in the world. This is awesome. (And kind, gentle radio).
- Clever podcast idea: classical music meets meditation. From the Australian ABC, who appear rather more progressive around classical music than the BBC.
Elsewhere
- India: very cheap data and free calls for mobiles. The shape of things to come? What happens to IP radio?
- The only platforms that matter to Nigeria’s SPLASHFM 105.5 according to this ad – Android and, um, Blackberry. iOS is fascinatingly nowhere in much of the world.
- Germany: stats – radio platform reach/cume. (UKW = the German for “FM”)
- Canada: #AMDeathWatch: the final AM transmitter in Labrador goes off-air in the next few months.