1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,680 Hello, I'm James Cridland, the radio futurologist, and every couple of weeks or so I write a piece 2 00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:10,400 all about the future of radio and radio's international trends and all of that. And this 3 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:18,400 is it for the 2nd of May 2023. It's called AM Radio's US Defenders. I'm recording this on a 4 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:25,760 Sennheiser Profile USB microphone, in case you wondered. So there we go. I've just been in 5 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:35,760 Germany. I went to Berlin to be at a Spotify event and while in the German Museum of Technology in 6 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:41,200 Berlin, apparently Germans invented everything, I saw a thing called a City Radio which looked 7 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:45,760 like an interesting device. It looked like a little sort of radio receiver except it had buttons 8 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:52,800 instead of a tuning dial and the buttons had city names on them. Beijing, Berlin, Havana, Paris, 9 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:58,240 Tokyo and so on and so forth. Sadly though, it isn't what it seems. It's a Bluetooth speaker 10 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:05,200 and you need your mobile phone somewhere close by to use it. For 99 euro, I was surprised about how 11 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:11,600 little you got for your money. You'll find a link to a review of that in the show notes and my 12 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:18,480 newsletter at james.crid.land. Now AM Radio, turned off in many parts of Europe already, 13 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:23,920 it appears to be having a last ditch effort in the US to keep it relevant somehow as car 14 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:29,760 manufacturers pull it out of their new vehicles. GM has decided to go on further and will remove 15 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:35,040 access to Apple CarPlay from their vehicles for some reason, although not quite sure why. 16 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:41,520 Anyway, in a country where more than 50% of radio listening happens in a car, the figure for much of 17 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:48,960 Europe is only about 20%, radio feels threatened in the US. Cumulus finds 82 million reasons to 18 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:55,200 keep AM Radio in vehicles, although much of the data actually relates to AM FM radio, but it's a 19 00:01:55,200 --> 00:02:02,000 spirited defense nonetheless. The owner of WABC Radio, which is an AM station, just worth mentioning 20 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:09,120 in New York, John Katsimotidis, is leading a campaign to save AM radio, says a press release 21 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:15,920 and naturally, of course, it's being politicized, as seems to be the way in the US. It's a government 22 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:24,800 conspiracy, apparently. Katsimotidis is offering a save AM radio spot voiced by Mike Pence, because 23 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:30,720 there's nothing that we need to do more than make this a red versus blue debate. As Bloomberg 24 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:36,880 correspondent Liam Denning suggests though, more than two-thirds of AM radio listeners in the US 25 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:44,160 are older than 55, and the total AM radio reach has more than halved in the past 20 years. Fred 26 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:50,400 Jacobs, too, is realistic about AM's future, pointing out that in the tech survey, which is made 27 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:57,280 up of core radio listeners, fewer than a third of new car purchasers believe an AM radio is essential 28 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:03,600 in the dashboard. He also writes more information for a website called HypeBot, and it's a great 29 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:09,440 piece with data from Xpery, a company that collects in-car radio data. The main argument, 30 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:16,320 though, appears to be but emergencies. But FM radio also works in emergencies, of course, as do 31 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:21,840 mobile phones, and mobile phones have a priority setting to enable important users like police and 32 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:28,000 fire crews to get access, even if the cell site is otherwise swamped. An AM radio is only going 33 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:35,760 to work in an emergency if a. You have one, b. You know the frequency to tune into, c. The transmission 34 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:41,600 tower is unaffected, which is not a given, and d. A station actually broadcasts emergency information, 35 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:45,840 and not just automated satellite fed stuff from hundreds of kilometres away. 36 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:52,960 FM stations broadcast just as much emergency information as AM's, and frankly I'm not sure 37 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:58,880 that this argument has legs. That said, Edison Research shared some heartening research about 38 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:03,840 in-car listening overall, ending with a comment saying, for radio listeners of all ages, the 39 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:09,920 best thing for radio is an in-car interface that makes both broadcast and digital audio easily 40 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:16,000 accessible. And yes to that, because the interface is the important thing, and possibly one of many 41 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:23,680 reasons why AM radio is failing so hard. It's a dumb, poor sounding experience that's hard to present 42 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:32,160 on the same screen as RDS FM, as DAB, or satellite radio. Meanwhile, if your flagship services are on 43 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:39,920 AM, what's your strategy? Because you need one. Elsewhere, I linked to an impressive compilation 44 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:47,280 of top of our sequences from BBC Radio Manchester from a few years ago. Very nice. It consists of 45 00:04:47,280 --> 00:04:52,640 a throw-ahead to a show later in the day or week, followed by what you'll hear in the next half hour, 46 00:04:52,640 --> 00:05:00,400 then a really clear station ident with a clear list of platforms, then the pips, then news headlines, 47 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:06,000 sports headline, weather headline, travel headline, then a station ident, and then there you go. It's 48 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:14,160 a very impressive thing. Here, have a listen to one of them. The clues are written. We just need 49 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:21,040 your help to solve them. It's Manhunt with Chris and Emma. Saturday from 11. On the way this 50 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:26,640 afternoon, we honour our own homegrown inspirational women and a gardeners world celebration of our 51 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:32,960 favourite UK gardens. The pick of the bunch in the UK, and guess what? Tatton Park is one of the top favourites. 52 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:42,240 95.1 FM. DAB digital radio. And the worldwide web. Big Bezzy. Breakfast. BBC Radio Manchester. 53 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:57,440 At two o'clock, make space in your wallets and purses. Greater Manchester's to trial 54 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:04,240 ID cards and relief for the family of an Aldam toddler who put a needle in his mouth at a doctor's surgery. 55 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:08,480 In sports, Bolton awards Jessica Lyonham with a testimonial. Well, this afternoon the rain will 56 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:14,240 eventually clear, but it's breezy. Top temperature 16 Celsius. No accidents or incidents to tell you 57 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:18,800 about this lunchtime, but the robots continue on Deansgate with the A56 closed outbound 58 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:25,200 at Blackfriars Road. Hello, good afternoon. I'm Steve Saul. Very impressive if you ask me. And hello, 59 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:30,880 ABC Local Radio, who don't even reliably ident the station at the top of the hour at all. 60 00:06:31,840 --> 00:06:36,720 For all that's impressive about that clip though, there's plenty that's unimpressive about BBC 61 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:45,600 Local Radio. I'll link to a piece from Bill Rogers who posts a talk up of a radio Ulster show, 62 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:54,000 which just sounds so dull. Tea Time gets a reboot as Viddie Hurrell and Kate Conway come together to 63 00:06:54,000 --> 00:07:01,520 kickstart evenings on the station. It includes something called The Mystery Mixtape, half an 64 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:07,680 hour of songs transporting listeners back to a chosen year. Yes, because that's what local radio 65 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:14,000 is all about, isn't it? Not. And it's also very puzzling how BBC Local Radio is so unimportant 66 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:19,520 that Radio 5 Live doesn't even give it an opt point in the morning when they're opting out of 67 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:26,480 Five Live for breakfast. Another radio tech company has jumped headlong into AI powered DJs. 68 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:35,120 It's the turn off Enco, who have launched two new tools. Meanwhile, in the UAE, 102.4 Mi'chi has 69 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:40,560 apparently introduced the world's first AI presenter on a commercial radio station, 70 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:45,840 which is a thrill. Some fascinating data that I linked to as well today from my newsletter. 71 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:51,440 Listeners to reheated radio shows on podcast platforms are older, less well educated and two 72 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:58,960 thirds male. Whereas native podcasts do much better, the data says. It's data from France, 73 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:06,240 from Acast. And last Monday morning, captive in an Uber, I was listening to Triple J and Bryce and 74 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:12,800 Dee, who are doing breakfast. And during the 7.05 AM presenter break, whichever of the duo was a 75 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:19,360 bloke, said the word shit three times. Shit as an exclamation, that's real shit as an expression of 76 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:25,760 approval and a bit shit as a description. The song the station then started playing after this 77 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:31,360 presenter break contained the chorus, we're always doing the same shit. I'm clearly getting old, 78 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:36,960 but shit that shit sounded a bit shit. Meanwhile, in biscuit news, if you don't have any calls, 79 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:42,880 if you're desperate for a fun phone in topic, try biscuits. Kay Burley on Sky News in the UK 80 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:49,120 seemingly ran best biscuit as a talkback piece recently. And the Times of London also ran an 81 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:53,920 important piece of research about biscuits, though I did get confused with the definition and letter 82 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:58,960 Jeffer cake through, which of course is not a biscuit. Also, you should try what candy did 83 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:03,920 you have when you were a child? And if you're Triple J, why doesn't dog shit turn white anymore? 84 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:08,400 And thank you to Richard Hilton and James Masterton, as well as Brun Audio Consulting, 85 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:15,760 SOMA, FM and Media Realms radio websites for your ongoing support of this newsletter and podcast. 86 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:20,400 If you'd like to support my work in any way, you can buy me a coffee, become a member to give me 87 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:26,080 regularly a system that now works, you'll be glad to know, or just give a one-off coffee or five, 88 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:31,840 buymeacoffee.com, James Cridland is where to do that. I'm at the New Zealand Podcast Summit 89 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:38,480 in mid-May in Auckland, the podcast show 2023 in London at the end of May, and Radio Days North 90 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:45,120 America in Toronto in early June. My contact details are available at james.cridland.net 91 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:53,760 if you're there as well. I should also mention in early June, Pod News Live, which is a conference 92 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:57,920 all about podcasting, which you should come to. It's in Salford next to Manchester. 93 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:04,240 PodNews.net slash live has all the details. I'm on Mastodon if you want to get in touch with me, 94 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:09,600 or indeed on Noster, just search for James at crid.land and you should find me and my professional 95 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:15,280 website has more details about who I am and what I do and whether I can help you further. 96 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:28,560 But until next time, thanks for listening and keep listening.