1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,560 Hello, I'm James Cridland, the radio futurologist, and every couple of weeks when I can be bothered, 2 00:00:06,560 --> 00:00:11,840 I write a newsletter all about the future of radio and international radio trends and 3 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:20,000 all of that. And this is April 3rd, 2023's edition. Ken Bruce hits the air and Bauer 4 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:26,520 hits its stride. But before that, for Triple Z, The Zeds, the community radio station in 5 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:32,320 Brisbane always confused me by not having any RDS signal so there was no branding on 6 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:38,720 a car radio. And when audience figures are put together using diaries, RDS encoding is 7 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:43,380 a quick and obvious way of reminding people the name of the radio station so that they 8 00:00:43,380 --> 00:00:51,060 can fill it in in the diary. I offered an RDS encoder to their station manager, then 9 00:00:51,060 --> 00:00:57,440 I offered one to their successor, then I offered one to their successor and finally one was 10 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:02,440 interested. They got it costed in December and installed by March. I gather if you've 11 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:06,080 got radio text on your radio then it gives all kinds of information on the screen like 12 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:12,120 the now playing information and much more. But I don't. My one and only RDS radio receiver 13 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:18,520 returned to the UK. But in any case, I'm delighted to have made a permanent change to the Brisbane 14 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:28,420 FM airwaves now that for Triple Z has a proper RDS beacon. In the UK, Ken Bruce started on 15 00:01:28,420 --> 00:01:33,000 Greatest Hits Radio this morning listening to the first half hour. It was a really impressive 16 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:38,280 listen, although a little bit weird that Ken didn't mention the station name once in any 17 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:41,240 of his links. Anyway, here's the first one. 18 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:51,120 Ah, there you are. Now, last time we spoke, we had the end from Abbey Road. Now together, 19 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:57,240 we're going back to the beginning for a brand new start. 20 00:01:57,240 --> 00:02:04,360 Nicely done. BBC Breakfast on television made the rather odd editorial choice to interview 21 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:09,160 him live from his new studio and commercial radio so that he could get a plug in for his 22 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:16,400 new home. After exiting BBC Radio 2 a few weeks ago, God bless the BBC. I bet Radio 2 are 23 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:17,400 delighted. 24 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:21,680 Ken's appearance has been marked with a very good TV ad for the station, which is worth 25 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:27,080 a look, featuring other stars from the station, although not breakfast because some parts 26 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:31,520 of the UK get a different breakfast show. It's a really good, clear ad and it's worth 27 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:40,560 a look. You can find that in the show notes and in the newsletter at james.crid.land, 28 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,080 which is a website address, obviously. 29 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:47,400 The day before, lots of good luck messages from the radio station and also, which was 30 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:53,720 quite nice, a filmed welcome in Golden Square from the power staff. I suspect that it was 31 00:02:53,720 --> 00:03:01,000 rather laid on ahead of time. But in any case, the only thing I would have done is to remove 32 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,920 the rather obvious route to the on-air studio for security reasons, although perhaps I know 33 00:03:04,920 --> 00:03:07,240 the building rather better. 34 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:12,000 Cleverly, they're using his appearance as a way to flog radio without ad breaks like 35 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:18,520 at the old place. The ad-free premium service is free for the first 90 days. 36 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:24,080 Gradius 6 Radio has also replaced a number of other radio stations today too for maximum 37 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:32,200 effect. Link FM's FM transmitters plus CFM and Radio Borders. Bauer has clearly taken 38 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:37,800 a step forward with this launch. Not a foot wrong. Every opportunity taken to gain from 39 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:40,680 it. So bravo to them. 40 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:44,320 It was splendid to be at Radio Days Europe earlier this month. Excellent to see so many 41 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:48,960 friends and to have raised a glass to Paul Easton on the occasion of his funeral as well. 42 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:53,880 At the event was Roger Langtoe, who wrote a really good piece on experience announcement 43 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:59,120 at the show, which is very smart for in-car data. They can basically work out where your 44 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:05,800 listeners are, what your listeners are doing and all of that stuff. Really interesting. 45 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:11,240 In New Zealand, in a bewilderingly sudden move, National News Talk station today, FM 46 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:19,360 was pulled off the air after only a year of existence. The station is run by Media Works. 47 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:27,520 Its competitor is NZME's News Talk ZB, which is the dominant station in the country. It 48 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:32,920 looks as if Media Works is basically just thrown in the towel. That station is now just 49 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:37,280 playing non-stop music until they work out quite what to do with it. It'll probably be 50 00:04:37,280 --> 00:04:39,800 a music station, won't it? 51 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:45,920 In Australia, the ABC is beginning to take action on its ratings slump. Last survey, 52 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:52,080 ABC Radio Melbourne slumped to its worst ever figures. But it's also worth pointing out 53 00:04:52,080 --> 00:05:01,720 drops for other AM stations, 4BC, 2GB, 5AA and 6PR. While I personally believe both ABC 54 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:08,080 Local Radio and ABC Radio National need severe route and branch changes to improve their 55 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:14,280 programming, which at some point does sound a bit like a jumble sale, I'd also suggest 56 00:05:14,280 --> 00:05:20,320 that the AM band is part of the issue here. I gather in Australia it's illegal to simulcast 57 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:26,040 the same output on both AM and FM, but perhaps that's a law that needs quick, fast change 58 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:33,320 if the government's broadcaster, as the ABC is, is to be given a chance of still existing 59 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:35,320 in the future. 60 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:41,560 Talking of the demise of AM, Longwave 252 is to be turned off this month in Ireland, 61 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:47,840 another AM service biting the dust. Meanwhile, I link to an astonishing graph, it's well 62 00:05:47,840 --> 00:05:56,200 worth a look at, showing UK newspaper consumption since 2000. Well worth a look, you'll find 63 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:58,800 that at james.cred.land. 64 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:04,680 Bower Media also announced Rayo, their forthcoming radio and audio app. Their answer to the 65 00:06:04,680 --> 00:06:10,240 global player and BBC Sounds, the press release, seems a masterclass in how to say nothing 66 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:13,240 at all. 67 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:19,920 BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live now comes from Cardiff. It was announced with a video emblazoned 68 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:25,680 with live from Cardiff, except the video wasn't the show going live from Cardiff, it was the 69 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:28,800 rehearsal, not the actual live broadcast. 70 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:35,000 The presenters are Nicky Bedi, who lives in London, Peter Curran, who lives in London, 71 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:40,240 and the producer is Ben Mitchell, who lives in London. The Great Western Railway must be 72 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:44,000 delighted and I'm sure all of that makes sense to somebody. 73 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:49,840 But in some good BBC news, from today, the BBC's Daily Korean service will come from 74 00:06:49,840 --> 00:06:57,320 a studio in Seoul, rather than London. It's aired between midnight 30 and 3.30 Korean 75 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:02,320 time in the morning on three shortwave frequencies. It goes out in the middle of the night, says 76 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:07,520 Chris Greenway, because that's thought to be the safest time for North Koreans to tune 77 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:09,000 in. 78 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:14,160 And finally, Emmys Communications' Jeff Smulyan wrote a book during the pandemic, it turns 79 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:18,800 out. Never Ride a Rollercoaster Upside Down is rather a good read, especially for his 80 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:25,000 withering attitude towards Bob Pitman. He really does not like Bob Pitman. Anyway, his 81 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:30,680 closing thoughts on podcasting are in my newsletter today. Not sure I agree, but always interesting. 82 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:34,760 When I met Jeff Smulyan, he was very nice to me. He seemed to know who I was, which 83 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:41,920 is a fair amazement. And yeah, I had a lot of time for him. Anyway, what he says in here 84 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:47,600 is radio is in the middle of the podcasting frenzy. It's a wonderful way for people to 85 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:51,480 consume new information, and it has attracted lots of listeners. But the problem is with 86 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:56,640 no barriers to entry, it's impossible to find a viable economic model. And only a few 87 00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:02,040 podcasts he says have generated significant profits. Moreover, a podcast's profits usually 88 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:07,980 go to the content creator, with hardly anything left over for the distributor. So while many 89 00:08:07,980 --> 00:08:12,680 peers are again spending a fortune in this space, I believe, he says, the results will 90 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:17,800 be dismal. When you're in a rut, the easiest thing is to throw a lot of stuff against a 91 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:23,440 wall and hope something sticks. And I'm afraid, he says, podcasting won't stick. Certainly 92 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:29,600 not to the degree that it will solve the multi-billion dollar debt challenges of the industry. In 93 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:37,000 short, it's just bad math. Well, thank you to Richard Hilton, to James Masterton and 94 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:42,300 to Brunn Audio Consulting for your ongoing support of this newsletter. I'm very grateful 95 00:08:42,300 --> 00:08:48,440 to you. If you, you, you would like to support my work in any way, you can buy me a coffee. 96 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:52,720 You can become a member to give regularly or just give a one-off coffee or five. You 97 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:59,000 can do that by visiting buymeacoffee.com slash James Cridland. And you will also find a little 98 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:05,560 button to do just that if you're using a decent podcast app. I'm at the NAB show on April 99 00:09:05,560 --> 00:09:12,480 the 17th only just for one day. I'm at Spotify's event in Berlin on April the 20th, the New 100 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:18,760 Zealand podcast summit in mid May, the podcast show 2023 in London at the end of May and 101 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:26,160 Radio Days North America in early June. I am also running in early June a get together 102 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:33,240 in Salford in Manchester. You'll find more details on that podnews.net slash live, which 103 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:38,780 is where to get your tickets for that. It's a whole day of networking opportunities and 104 00:09:38,780 --> 00:09:45,400 podcasting fun. podnews.net slash live as well to get tickets for that as well as a 105 00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:53,000 conference we're putting on in London in September. And then we're putting on something I think 106 00:09:53,000 --> 00:10:03,400 in November in Barcelona. And I think we're also doing something in no, I think we're 107 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:09,160 doing a Barcelona in September as well. And I think we're doing November in Mexico City, 108 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:14,800 Mexico City, a country I've never been to before. Anyway, podnews.net slash live has 109 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:21,040 all of the details on that. I'm on Mastodon. If you want to follow me there, just search 110 00:10:21,040 --> 00:10:25,880 for my email address james.crid.land. And my professional website has more detail about 111 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:32,240 who I am and what I do and whether I can help you further on james.cridland.net. And until 112 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:45,760 next time, thank you for listening and keep listening.