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
Radio futurologist James Cridland will be a co-host at RAIN Summit West. He sends this week’s newsletter with a note:
Congrats to talkRADIO for launching last week: I listened to launch and part of the first day and it sounded good. I hope the post-launch depression doesn’t hit the team too hard: it’ll take a while for this station to grow, but it does deserve to.
James Cridland’s articles
- The LG Stylus 2 – is the DAB+ radio in this phone any good? I test it on the streets of two countries. I don’t really know how to do as qualitative a test of the FM receiver, though.
- Column: NPR’s transmitter mindset (in audio form)
- Column: Reminding listeners how to tune in (in audio form) (not sure why I retweeted this last week, but there we go)
Elsewhere
- France: Nice write-up of my session at Radiodays Europe on radio’s digital dashboard, with Michael Hill and Fred Jacobs
- Cayman Islands: An interesting sweep through the radio dial, thanks to Earshot Creative. Tweeted a long while ago, but failed to update on Google+ which (for various reasons) is the workflow that I use to compile this weekly newsletter.
- Europe: Lazy Buggles headline from Thomas Williams, but some good thoughts on Netflix’s challenge to TV broadcasters. (It was the sub-editor that did it, apparently.)
United States
- Dick Taylor recommends writing decent radio ads, and tells a fascinating effectiveness story
- Data from the US’s Westwood One on the collapse of TV, and how radio can make your TV ads work better.
- Jacobs Media could so easily have used a lazy Buggles headline here: but haven’t. I’ll call it Video enhancing the radio star, and it will help inform a forthcoming talk from me about visualising radio across the world (probably getting a premiere in Brisbane in a few months).
United Kingdom
- Now, this is how you act as one radio industry. Congratulations, BBC, for promoting a commercial channel at the end of your country radio popup.
- A walk round London’s Capital Radio in 1990 – fascinating for its sheer scale, staffing levels, number of studios and desks. Brings home the change radio’s seen in twenty-five years. Thank you, Paul Easton, for posting this originally.
- Video Killed the Radio Star? Not even close. <- amazing not-lazy Buggles headline, from UK writer, talking about the Children’s Radio Foundation
- Capital FM and commercial radio – who really killed the radio star? – lazy Buggles headline, decrying corporatism. Tip: read the last paragraph first.
- This is a good hire: Global lures Russ Williams away from Absolute
- The FT is launching a new analytics tool to make metrics more understandable for its newsroom. I’ve had great success with similar metrics for radio people, to help them understand how their content does elsewhere.
- Happy 70th birthday, BBC World Service Russia. Now an internet-only service, naturally, since everything’s fine in Russia, isn’t it? Er…
- Would any radio station in Britain allow me to play these ten records? asks David Hepworth. Yes: BBC Radio 6 Music certainly would. Probably some local BBC stations over the weekend. And clearly community radio. Unlikely that any larger commercial operators would.
- Never underestimate the UK press’s ability to kick the BBC… almost farcical article
Australia
- No idea what this sounded like on the radio, but what a great video from Hamish & Andy
- 25.3% of metro population listen to DAB each week. (UK: 38.6%, Norway: 41%)
- Really nice visualisation in this quiz from ABC News – simple, effective and engaging: they’ve had over 65,000 people taking part.