James Cridland is Managing Director of media.info, and a U.K.-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
Last Saturday I drove up to East Midlands Airport to present my presentation Beyond The Big British Castle: global adventures about the future of radio at the VOX conference. This is a regular event for voiceovers and those who work within the audio creative industry. I spoke about ad personalisation (both an opportunity and a threat to their industry), as well as showed a few of the things I believe are part of radio’s future. I was struck by how engaged the audience were, and how genuinely interested they are in radio’s future: probably just as well, given their vocal talents keep commercial radio growing in the UK. I last attended VOX ’98, so perhaps I shouldn’t leave it so long next time.
By the way, talking conferences, it’s also great to see return of the RAIN Summit in London – on November 9th, where internet, audio and radio meet. I highly recommend grabbing tickets.
United States
- Listening ten minutes at a time – Sean Ross has some great observations about trying stations out
- Foundation invests $1 million in creator-driven podcast collective Radiotopia – more growth ahead for podcasting
- How NPR One is using their “big data” to make radio better – this app offers real learnings to radio programmers (as, indeed, does much internet streaming, if only you’d bother to delve into the figures). Another tweet I noticed this week read, from NPR Training’s account: “Here we go: Alison MacAdam and Sara Sarasohn are hosting a webinar on lessons for radio intros learned from NPR One listening data #nprtraining”
- Apple’s Beats deal “finally starts to make some sense” according to this article:it’s the streaming bit they wanted, says the UK Guardian. I’m not so sure: the deal Beats have is the same deal as anyone else can get, including Apple, so I still don’t get it
- When did radio become uncool, asks Fred Jacobs
- Radio is the most stable part of the music industry, but that’s not a high bar to clear – great US stats in here from Vox.
- Stats: XAPPmedia – decrease in online ad load in Q1/15 but increase in advertiser numbers (and listening).
- On listening to On the Media’s podcast from WNYC last week, I noticed that it contained an ad specifically for people in the UK. Are they doing clever targeting? Here’s hoping.
- Interesting long read about how podcasting is selling itself to advertisers.
- How to prepare for breaking news when your newsroom is shut: great piece (“it’s why you have a licence”)
Canada – a photo special!
- A reminder that in other countries, Virgin Radio is a Top40 brand, not all about guitars and real music as it was (and will be) in the UK
- I am a fan of “fun”: the point of difference for CHUM FM in Toronto. Not just a dull (and copyable) music positioner.
- New thing – a radio that doesn’t need batteries and runs off mains electricity! As invented in Toronto, apparently.
United Kingdom
- Lazy Buggles headline: Open City Documentary Festival: Internet Killed the Radio Star – though this event, in June, does look quite interesting
- Powerful stuff from Richard Horsman about the Bradford City fire, and the part Pennine Radio played in healing a distraught city.
- ReelWorld: new jingles in Sweden and Northern Ireland – country radio moving into the UK [by me]
- UK and Ireland lead New York Festivals – a small amount of pride on this little island for how well we’ve done [by me]
- Graham Torrington to be networked across more stations. (Is it the 1990s again?!) [by me]
Australia
- More budget cuts in Australia for the two public service broadcasters. This is what could be in the UK, if we move away from a licence-fee and into the BBC being funded by general taxation; the idea of having not to upset the current government horrifies me
- Regional digital radio in Australia? “Stalled”, according to this report. I must say, regional Australia seems a much better bet for DRM30 than DAB+ if you asked me (which you didn’t), but DRM30 still doesn’t really have many receivers out there, far less multi-standard ones.
- Andrew Jarman – an ex AFL player – suspended after a jaw-dropping out-take broadcast by TripleM. Only suspended?