James Cridland’s International Radio Trends: 4BC switches frequency; and a landmark for UK commercial radio

by James Cridland

James Cridland returns with a richly informative newsletter about radio around the world. In this week’s edition: A frequency trade in Brisbane; a Flash review; a milestone in commercial UK radio; some on-brand whistling and much more. Continue Reading

James Cridland’s International Radio Trends: The BBC World Service sees more listeners, and Ceefax lives!

by James Cridland

James Cridland returns with a richly informative newsletter about radio around the world. In this week’s edition: Discussion of BBC World Service’s new five-year review: listener reach, digital growth, and more. Also, the demolition of a radio tower. And some dinky doo, too. Continue Reading

James Cridland’s International Radio Trends: Stories of goodbyes, radio in Afghanistan, and that’s a good question

by James Cridland

James Cridland returns with a richly informative newsletter about radio around the world. In this week’s edition: Classy radio exits. Reporting of inept radio. Praise for Pierre Bouvard’s data-based advice. And more. Continue Reading

Steve Goldstein: How local radio can (finally) unlock its digital future

by Steve Goldstein Radio ownership is down. Digital listening to broadcast radio is only 12% in the U.S. There is no single reason radio’s digital conversion is slow, Steve Goldstein says in this guest column, while noting that “history has been unkind to repurposed content on new platforms.” He offers better examples from other industries and provides a suggestion for radio.
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James Cridland’s International Radio Trends: Podcast-first radio

by James Cridland

James Cridland returns with a richly informative newsletter about radio around the world. In this week’s edition: An online radio station that repurposes as a podcast. As always a raft of links to interesting audio stories around the world, and after reading a podcast show script James concludes: “Anyone who writes in all-capitals in 2021 is a masochist.” Continue Reading

James Cridland’s International Radio Trends: The CRA’s Good Week

by James Cridland

James Cridland returns with a richly informative newsletter about radio around the world. In this meaty edition, the CRA (Commercial Radio Australia) is featured for several recent accomplishments — it’s “quite a force to be reckoned with.” Plus a rich selection of links to audio business news around the world. Continue Reading

Jeff Vidler: Helping Brands Think Outside the Audio Box: A Manifesto

by Jeff Vidler
New opportunities for audio are capturing the attention of advertisers. But is audio advertising coming from new sources, or being moved around from one type of audio to another? Guest columnist and Signal Hill Insights President Jeff Vidler discusses how the audio industry is selling audio short. This is a manifesto, and a clear commitment for his company. A must read. Continue Reading

James Cridland’s International Radio Trends: Behind the Chris Evans Radio 1 Breakfast Show

by James Cridland

James Cridland returns with a richly informative newsletter about radio around the world. In this edition: A nostalgic listen to a long-gone radio show, resulting in a bit of melancholy — but it was an alignment of stars, dependent on the era. Also: Howard Stern as an agent of derailment. And more, including podcast subscription stats. Continue Reading

James Cridland’s International Radio Trends: The People Who Don’t Listen To Radio On A Radio

by James Cridland

James Cridland returns with a richly informative newsletter about radio around the world. In this edition: Few radios, but more receivers. Nine Radio financials in Australia. A metric from Edison Research. An ironic RIP. Continue Reading

James Cridland’s International Radio Trends: Global makes a global hiring; female voices and the radio

by James Cridland

James Cridland returns with a richly informative newsletter about radio around the world. In this edition: Homage to Phil Valentine. A new and significant hire at Global. Research about female voices in audio. And a chuckle-worthy clip from BBC Radio 4. Continue Reading

Mark Mulligan: Can Spotify break out of its lane?

by Mark Mulligan

This guest column from Mark Mulligan identifies a crucial trend: After years of relative stability, music consumption is shifting, with the streaming model exemplified by Spotify is beginning to lose some ground — as evidenced by financial reports and the growth of “social music.” Mark asks whether Spotify and the other Western DSPs are going to find themselves left behind by a fast-changing market, or will innovate to keep up the pace.
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