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

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James Cridland sends his recommendations with this note:

Good luck to Norway this week, which is kicking off the process this week to switch off most analog FM transmissions and move over to DAB+. The exciting thing is that a typical Norwegian in Bodø currently has about ten channels on FM, but will get thirty on DAB+. In Oslo, when that’s eventually turned off later this year, they’ll get about 45. That has to be good news for the listener.

James Cridland’s articles:

• “The great radio switchoff” is my column this week, though it isn’t what you think. Here it is in English, Swedish, Norwegian, German and as a podcast. As an aside, one of the presentations I do (for your conference or your team) is “how to make the most of your content”. You should book me.
• I’m genuinely excited to be writing for RadioAssistant and getting into Scandinavia.
• Amazon Alexa to come to cars – wow, this is big news for radio and for podcasting
• US station KSHE releases 50-year archive site – I love archive stuff like this, it’s good to do
• At CES, Globally-Compatible Digital Radio Chip Launched for Automotive – big news for radio, this.
• I write for radio websites around the world: and for you?

United Kingdom

• A review of what BBC R&D have been doing in the world of audio.
• The Spectator, a UK magazine, judges online success by new subscriptions, not by any other figure. Some radio stations judge their online success simply by the total registrations and/or total online listeners they have. I personally think more should.
• Why did the London 2016/17 Fireworks sound so good? Radio folk Bounce Nik Goodman Dan McGrath made it. Enjoy it all over again here #lazybugglesedit
• It’ll take 48 years to digitise all the old tapes of radio and other audio. But they’ll only be playable for 15.
• Five million fewer people watched broadcast television this Christmas. Netflix?
• Why Facebook Live Audio is just the beginning of its bid for audio domination
• “My Personal Top 15 Podcasts of 2016” from Rachel Ben Hamou – nice to see a Brit abroad listen to many of the same things I do
• Radio job: Content Controller, Hallam FM: wonderful people, and perfect for people who like high-voltage electricity
• Radio and the rebirth of social computing – lovely piece about the Amazon Echo and radio. /via IanSanders

United States

• Long-Term Trends in (US) Radio Listening Revealed – and the PPM’s Voltair effect. But, unsurprisingly, total time spent listening continues to decrease. It’s down by 20% in the ten years since 2006, the doom-monger of this piece reminds us. The iPhone was launched in 2007. Spotify launched in the US in 2011. Personally, I find it incredible that 80% of total listening has been retained during a decade of incredible media and cultural change. What a brilliant industry we are.
• Follow These 4 Mega Trends in Podcasting for 2017
• Radio broadcasters should be wary of Facebook Live Audio – bonkers, blinkered, nonsense of a piece. But some people think this way.
• Amazon Alexa to come to cars – wow, this is big news for radio and for podcasting
• US station KSHE releases 50-year archive site – I love archive stuff like this, it’s good to do
• “Tell the stories you want to tell.” 60db looks interesting.
• This American Life listeners are sharing audio in unexpected ways /via Matt Deegan
• How to make your AM radio sound better. And why is it that your AM radio in the car sounds so good?
• Astonishingly good ad for Apple Music. Looking for similarly good ads for radio. Anyone?
• The Secret Sauce Behind NPR One: An Editorially Responsible Algorithm. This is awesome stuff, and the point is that if you want to engineer the concept of serendipity into your algorithmic audio app, you can.
• “It’s nice to be in an industry that has every reason to be optimistic about the future” – a piece about… radio! Bet you didn’t see that coming.
• Online, programmatic ads. For every dollar you spend, you get 3¢ worth of value. Bargain!
• Are Facebook Messenger bots good for podcast calls-to-action? Indeed, even for advertisers on radio? (I’m a little dubious, personally)
• The Amazon Echo: A Game Changer for Podcasting?
• Spend $1 on radio, get $21 back – actual research from the US.
• 2017 Predictions: Online Audio in the New Year. Some great people with some interesting thoughts.
• “This American Life now makes more money from its podcast than from the broadcast version of its show”
• “Renewing Medium’s focus” Ev Williams points out how broken ad-supported media is online. I wish them luck.
• Podcasting set to go mainstream in 2017, apparently (I thought that was 2015? Or wasn’t it actually 2005?) but good overview of editorial offerings
• Live365 is coming back… good to see an old name return.
• A Boston Radio Station Broadcasts Kindness Over the Airwaves – what a nice-looking podcast.

Australia

• Very old TV ad for a Brisbane radio station that I don’t quite understand (with poo). Apparently this man was the #1 Brisbane breakfast guy at the time. /via Spencer Howson, who was also the #1 Brisbane breakfast guy
• Another year, another attempt at a new 2DAYFM breakfast show in Sydney.

Elsewhere

• New Zealand: an American discovers that New Zealand Has Legal Unlicensed Low-Power FM. This is kind of why I do this newsletter: to share experiences, and help people discover new and interesting ideas from across the world. For him, it’s kicked off a set of thoughts of how the US could adopt a similar model.
• Sweden: If Spotify looks a little different today, that’s because they just redesigned all their icons. Here’s the detail.
• Ireland: Nice piano playing. #lazybugglesvideojournalism
• Vatican (yes, it’s a country): Changes at Vatican Radio, including removal of much SW transmission
• Singapore: “How to murder media in 2017” Lots of truth in this article by Alan Soon
• North Korea: even this regime is dropping AM broadcasting.
• Germany: SoundCloud in danger of running out of cash, says the FT. Caution if you use this service for podcasts.
• Israel News Talk Radio Celebrates Its First-Year Anniversary
• Denmark: Community radio licences up for grabs