I thought the future of radio was one where we don’t have bumper stickers.
And yet I hear an ad on Vision this morning and that’s what they’re all about.
Maybe a better topic would be End of radio…
What event spelt the end of radio as a once great, popular, mainstream part of life?
Contenders:
- K&J signing for $20m
- 2SM going Lite n easy
- Triple M broadcasting sport and going talk overnight.
For me, radio’s death knell sounded when Absolute sacked Frank Skinner.
That’s the day radio died.
Absolutely.
I would have to say of those 3 options for me it’s the demise of what Triple M was to what it is now. Adding the sport and talk and dumbing down the music was the death of mainstream/capital city FM radio for me. They could have gone in other directions - headed more towards Virgin/Absolute/Radio X and kept the music integrity.
The other thing that sticks out is the wasted opportunity of 97.3 in Brisbane. From the very start it was a mediocre and incredibly “safe” alternative to Triple M and B105, and in recent years listening to it getting even worse under KIIS is just depressing. It was such a wasted opportunity. It should have been Brisbane’s answer to Mix 94.5 in Perth or even shades of Smooth, but instead it was always such a disappointment. The first couple of years I knew we were in trouble with it when they played Africa by Toto - every. single. day!
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the internet. Streaming
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I would say more broadly the internet and the advent of smartphones.
Apple created the first wave with the iPod, since that was vastly more convenient than cassettes/Walkmans.
But now, people probably more binge watch on mobile devices who might have otherwise have still listened to radio if there weren’t those options available.
That is so true. Particularly as we were very excited at the time to be getting a new station. 97.3 had been the test frequency for Pulse, Switch and Wild so the expectation was that we would get something that ‘sounds different’.
Fortunately River at least provided some fresh vibes, specially early on when they were CHR and had ‘Wild nights’.
That’s true. But in the past with the advent of new competing technologies radio has always remained resilient and relevant.
Competing technology is one thing, bad decisions by radio execs is another.
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i think radio is moving towards more reliance on its own streaming and in the podcast space. These days we have radio station websites that don’t even mention broadcast frequencies anymore (or they are buried in the small print, somewhere) but lots of links to stream or download programs or podcasts.
We don’t have “SBS Radio” anymore, it’s SBS Audio.
“BBC Radio” is now BBC Sounds.
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Yes indeed. Or even on-air ‘Radio 2 on BBC sounds or your smart speaker’.
I’ve very much emphasised the need for on demand programming at Braidwood FM; we’ve also done a few podcasts here and there. ‘Audio’ might replace the term ‘radio’ as content is increasingly divorced from the original wireless device. Rather ironic, then, that Internet connectivity in most cases still relies on plain old radio waves.
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Many people don’t own, of if they do use, a standard radio anymore. Smart speakers are the preferred option for them.
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I agree that it’s more bad decisions and programming than competing technology. Remember radio wasn’t expected to survive long after the advent of television, for example.
It’s the same with the traditional free-to-air TV networks, it’s their poor content and viewer experience which drives people to better content on streaming services.
The traditional radio operators could have better harnessed new technology to maintain their position. Look at how they have treated DAB+ in this country, they have either actively tried to hide it from listeners, or put half-arsed inferior programming on the digital stations. Instead they pushed online which is cheaper for them, BUT it encourages people to explore the gazillion other online streaming options. Contrast this with the UK where the local players (including BBC) embraced DAB and tried to make it work for them, at least as a solid interim step to online.
Shame we couldn’t have had the other one. Even with what happened to her husband, she would have had the skills and the charm, grace and personal appeal to be a decent host for a gold-based AC or classic hits.
AM Top 40 personality radio – whether KHJ/WLS/CKLW/WABC/CHUM in the States and Oh, Canada! – or 3XY/5AD/6PM et al here – could not have existed in the streaming era. Only by super-serving a particular niche – and radio was already quite niched after the end of Top 40 music as an AM format – can broadcast radio survive.
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100%.
for me, the issues with radio are as following:
1 - networking. way too many shows come out of sydney / melbourne and miss the local factor that only a local show can give. things like pronunciation of suburbs and roads can really jar on a user. this also means that theres less chance for new people to get on air and get experience, leading to point 2
2 - Taking the latest tik tok star and giving them a show, instead of people who actually know radio. They take the name, not the talent.
there is a wider issue with taking heads on the radio. I don’t want a personality on the radio when i turn it on. Give me the latest news and traffic and play some damn songs. I don’t want some 10-minute story from some vapid blonde about how she went to do school pickup, and all the parks were full but then just as she was about to drive off one opened up. this is than followed by a vapid brunette giggling and saying thats lucky.
I’m willing to put up with adverts if the content is good. the problem is its not all good.
3 - No innovation in formats. DAB+ should be a place of experimentation but instead we get a ton of decades channels and safe formats. where’s the edginess? In the UK dab has channels for musicals, LGBT - hell classic FM has a station that just plays movie soundtracks. here its safe.
The big thing for radio stations is that i do have a connected device in my pocket that gives me access to tens of thousands of stations and given i can play this in my car easily its an issue, especily with the rollout of mobile data more and more. now if i don’t find what i want on the broadcast bands its easy for me to go to tune in, or i heart and get what i want
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You make some really good points. For what it’s worth, on the issues you raise, here’s what I think.
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Networking. I think overall we have to think beyond the whole idea that networking=bad, local=good (I’m not suggesting you’re saying that, I’m just speaking generally). You say that ‘you don’t want personality on the radio’ then it shouldn’t really matter who or where the continuity stuff is coming from. I’ll happily listen to Trevor Sinclair in Sydney doing a music based show on 4BH. He sounds smooth. He knows his music. It’s not like he has to know how to pronounce Rode Road. I’ll leave that to Liam Renton doing the local traffic reports.
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Talent. I liked your story re: school pick-up and I totally agree with you - not what I listen to the radio for. A former big brother contestant and a former Channel V host talking soccer mom stuff. But isn’t that their audience? The station has a female skew and it’s an afternoon show.
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Formats. Australians by nature are unimaginative. Just as well we’re the lucky country because we sure as hell can’t rely on any creativity, ingenuity or innovation. So what do we do? Well, we just need to copy. For example, ARN/SCA/Nova could ape what Kube does. Not a single decade station in sight, but plenty of variety. And just the right amount of personality (giving the stations a bit of ‘life’ as opposed to the mp3 jukeboxes we have on DAB+).
Push the tempo… push the tempo
100%. if the content that is relevant to me - News and Traffic is relevant to me. I don’t care about traffic on the Mitchell but i do care about the Centenary. Don’t give me traffic on the M4 - give me traffic on the M1 to the Goldie on a saturday Morning.
I don’t care if the music is played out of Sydney, Melbourne or bloody india.
this is from 97.3. I know they are female skewing, but the Job of a DJ is to entertain. I don’t mind a bit of banter but when i am listening to the radio, its background noise whilst i do other things - Driving, cleaning the house, etc. Having long stories will make me change the channel as i want music.
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the jukebox/slot machine combo doesn’t work today - advocating “we” stick to long music sweeps and boring sweepers, inane slogans and brand “shouts” passing for jingles instead of unique content will only cause the flight to new media to speed up.
I disagree, in fact I think the exact opposite. I think what is speeding up the flight to new media is that radio isn’t focused enough on the music and creating properly curated playlists that appeal. They are so focused on other (talk/chatter) content that turns a lot of people off, that they are pushing listeners away. They completely overrate the appeal of the inane talk.
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100%. they also want to make “personalities” out of the on air people and it really grinds. I don’t want to “relate” to Wazza, Dazza and Tosspot on breakfast.
when i get in my car to go to work i want the news that i missed overnight, the traffic that will affect my commute and music. that’s it.
I have, in the past turned on the radio for news and traffic and due to the “talent” ive turned on Spotify.
the moment DJ X on Spotify (the AI powered DJ) can give me local news and traffic radio should be really worried
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Broadcast radio can’t beat Spotify at its own game. It will lose every time.