Thought Leaders

Interviews with, and contributions from, the most perceptive voices in the online audio industry.

James Cridland’s International Radio Trends: More talk, less music

Posted on by James Cridland

by James Cridland

James Cridland returns with the latest installment of his weekly column. In this edition, James examines The Spoken Word Audio Report, produced by Edison Research with support from NPR. Speaking words is where radio should excel in the future, according to this perspective: “Radio’s unique selling proposition – the thing radio does that nobody else does – is the human being. Not the music; we can get that everywhere.” Continue Reading →

James Cridland’s International Radio Trends: Radio is a hit for car drivers

Posted on by James Cridland

by James Cridland

James Cridland returns with an epic edition of his weekly column, starting with new research spanning survey respondents in Australia, Europe, and the U.S. — 80% of them really like radio to other listening experiences in the car. Then, a big radio acquisition in Brisbane. Much more, including a “youthquake.” Continue Reading →

Jeff Vidler: Integrating Big Data with Survey Data to Help Fill Gaps in Podcast Measurement

Posted on by Jeff Vidler

by Jeff Vidler
Who exactly is listening to your podcast? It may be the most important question that an advertiser has when they’re looking to make a buy. Yet, no single industry-wide measure has been able to answer that question. Signal Hill Insights and Triton Digital are collaborating with the intent to marry census-level big data with survey results for a hyper-granular level of audience understanding. Jeff Vidler is the President of Signal Hill Insights. Continue Reading →

James Cridland’s International Radio Trends: The UK’s new radio figures

Posted on by James Cridland

by James Cridland

James Cridland returns with an analysis of a newly released RAJAR, the UK radio ratings report of record. One item of note, and graphed in this piece: UK radio formats now behave the same throughout dayparts. ALSO: Foxtel, Fred Jacobs, Bob Hoffman, and more. Continue Reading →

Dan Misener: The mysterious case of the overlapping Apple Podcasts categories

Posted on by Dan Misener

by Dan Misener
“Give us a clue… assign your show a secondary category.” That’s the well-researched recommendation from guest columnist Dan Misener of branded poddcast studio Pacific Content. Crunching numbers reveals data-centric reasons why podcaster creators should help listeners find them by sharpening the show’s category definition. Continue Reading →

James Cridland’s International Radio Trends: FM switchoff in the UK; and a nerdy look at AM transmission characteristics Inbox

Posted on by James Cridland

by James Cridland

James Cridland returns with one of his more technical columns, in which he closes the can of worms opened in last week’s coverage of a frequency switch at 4BC in Brisbane, Cridland’s home base. Lots of graphics. But first, the UK’s decision about FM switch-off, a new rule for smart speakers, the geography of Wales according to TuneIn, and the new BBC logo. Continue Reading →

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

Posted on by Brad Hill

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!

Posted on by James Cridland

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

Posted on by James Cridland

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 →

James Cridland’s International Radio Trends: Podcast-first radio

Posted on by James Cridland

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

Posted on by Brad Hill

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 →