Hello, I'm James Cridland, the radio futurologist,
and this is Radioland, my weekly radio trends
newsletter. This is the podcast version where
you get it read to in case. You're having trouble
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Now, Edison Research at SSRS released the Infinite
Dial 2026, which I co -presented. You can download
the slides and watch the webinar in a link you'll
find in the newsletter. My takeaways from that
are that there's real growth in 55 plus listening
to online music services like Spotify and YouTube
Music. And in fact, YouTube Music is the number
one in that demographic. It's unsurprising, really.
Today's 55 year olds were using computers in
their late teens, Napster and LimeWire in their
late 20s. And when the iPhone and Spotify came
along, they were more likely to be able to afford
them. The old trope of 55 -year -olds not understanding
technology is not really a thing anymore, and
I should possibly know because I hit that age
this week. Of course, people aged 55 plus are
radio's stronghold, but of significant growth
of online music services for this age group suggests
that, again, we need to think more carefully
about what radio's unique. proposition is. And
for more on that, I'll be speaking at Radio Days
Europe next week. AMFM is still number one in
the car, and we all know that that really means
FM, but AMFM use has decreased by 11 % in the
last decade. And if you're aged below 35 in the
US, AMFM radio is not number one anymore. That's
online audio, Spotify and that sort of thing.
Indeed, if you are 18 to 34, 55 % of you are
listening to podcasts in the car as well. Big
changes in terms of that. And a new high for
podcast listening, as you'd expect. YouTube unequivocally
the number one for podcasts, but the weekly podcast
reach is growing faster than the monthly podcast
reach, which would suggest that some people are
listening to podcasts more often than before.
The only thing that matters really is the total
time spent with podcasts. Last year, that was
773 million hours a week in the US. This year's
number will be out later in the year. dial measures
people, not time. But I really enjoyed co -presenting
this for a second year. The data is useful. The
trends are fascinating. And I would love to see
infinite dial in more countries as well. You
can find it in Australia and New Zealand. But
how about your country, particularly the UK?
I would love to see infinite dial for the UK.
That would be fascinating. Elsewhere, TikTok
radio launched in the US. on 28 broadcast stations,
as well as the iHeartRadio app, I'm assuming
mostly HD, but... Who knows? Anyway, TikTok radio
has existed on SiriusXM for four years, but this
seems a new launch with iHeart Personalities,
who also happen to be on TikTok. The radio station
is jointly branded iHeart's TikTok. You can listen
in a link that you'll find in the newsletter.
There's also a TikTok podcast network. Now, there
has been a station called TikTok Trending in
Australia since 2021. That's been really slickly
programmed. by ex -Triple J Olly Wards and is
apparently the number one digital radio station
for under 30s, although Olly hung up his headphones
in January from that. So who knows what the future
of that station is going to be. The US station
sounds slick, but the Australian station sounds
more recognisably TikTok, I would say. Frankly,
I'm unsure why ARN wouldn't replace the automated
KEDA with TikTok and put it onto FM in Sydney.
Sounds like a good plan. Now, media regulator
news. The ACMA, the Australian media regulator,
still hasn't made a decision about ARN's licence
conditions. And that's still important because
even if the Carl and Jackie O show is dead, the
additional licence conditions are still relevant
because they govern both Carl Sanderlands and
Jackie O Henderson separately. And right now,
at least, Carl Sanderlands is still contracted
to ARN. The ACMA received ARN's representation
to those licence conditions on or before December
9th. Kyle and Jackie O have broadcast for a further
six weeks since. And the ACMA's legal responsibility
is, in part, to encourage providers of broadcast
services to respect community standards in the
provision of programme material. You'd have to
ask yourself. Another six weeks of Kyle and Jackie
O without those licence conditions. Is that really
your legal responsibility? Anyway, I've submitted
a Freedom of Information request to see those
documents and the ACMA has referred that decision
to ARN. I'm not really holding my breath on that
one. Staying with media regulator news, the ACMA
has released new data on trends and developments
in viewing and listening. And some of that information
is pretty good. And there are revenue numbers
in there as well for both radio and television.
But the what app do you listen to podcasts in
is... fatally flawed because the regulator asked
about Apple Music, which doesn't have podcasts
in it, and YouTube Music, which does have podcasts
in it, but most people use the proper YouTube
for podcasts. I've asked the ACMA to find out
the exact options given to respondents, but they've
not bothered to respond. In Spain, many COPE
AM stations, COPE is a full -service and religious
radio station, many of those are broadcasting
loops telling listeners to retune to FM frequencies.
Yes, this is AM Death Watch Corner. Public service
broadcaster RNE closed its AM network at the
end of last year, so big changes going on in
Spain. They've also turned on DAB Plus there
as well. I followed a bus the other day. It was
promoting the new 4BC breakfast show with Sophie
and Dean. There was a big picture of Sophie and
Dean on it. There was a logo saying 4BC Brisbane.
No mention of any frequency. No mention of the
word radio. And worth a peek, the Jacobs Media
Tech Survey 2025. I linked to that from this
week's newsletter. You can find that at radioland
.email. It's best thought of as a piece of research
of radio fans because it's completed by people
on radio station listener mailing lists, but
it's no less interesting as a result. And of
note, when asked why they listen or why they
don't, people scores higher than music in every
single chart. So where am I speaking next? Well,
I'm speaking next in Riga in Latvia next week,
talking about the future of audio being people
-powered. Very much looking forward to doing
that. First thing on Tuesday morning. Don't party
too hard on Monday night if you're going to that.
It seems to be in a nightclub or something, so
I will be possibly not doing that. But anyway,
so hopefully, if you're going to Radio Days Europe,
then hopefully, please come. Track one. first
thing on the Tuesday morning. I'm also talking
with Steve Jones of Stingray. talking about TuneIn,
talking about Canadian radio, talking about car
karaoke, which sounds hideous, and lots more
things. That's on Monday afternoon. And I'm in
a session on Tuesday at lunchtime -ish about
what happens when you lose your big star from
your radio station. Anybody would think that
Carl and Jackie O is top of mind there. Anyway,
looking forward very much to that. It's still
not too late for you to get your ticket. RadioDaysEurope
.com is where to go for that. And I'm also speaking
at the podcast show in London in the UK, keynoting
at that event and also recording a PodNews weekly
review. Please come to that too. That's May the
20th to the 21st. Thepodcastshowlondon .com is
where to get tickets for that. And thank you
so much to the supporters of this fine newsletter
and podcast, the good folks at Meliora, the good
folks at Media Realm and at Radio Today in the
UK as well. Thank you all for your support. Also,
Marty from New York, Gavin Watson, Greg Strassel,
Sam Phelps, Richard Hilton, Emma Gibbs, Jocelyn
Abbey and James Masterton for being regular supporters
as well. If you would like to support my work
in any way, then please... do buymeacoffee .com
slash James Cridland is where to go for that.
Or hit the funding button if your podcast app
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And you can also grab the email version of this
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radioland .email. I'm on Mastodon, james .bne
.social if you're there too. And my website has
more details about who I am, what I do and whether
I can help you further. That's james .cridland
.net. And until next time, keep listening.