So where are we as 2010 begins? Well if you wish to set up an internet radio station in your bedroom then you can. If you fancy joining an existing net station or even a community radio station there are plenty around. Hospital radio still exists. Pirate radio still exists - although not as heavily as it once did.
There are now so many options it’s difficult to know where to start. Of course all these options have an effect on stations that survive on sponsorship and advertising revenue. The pie is only so big and there are now more and more stations fighting for their slice. Not only that, but nobody is hanging on the DJs word anymore and they don’t have the dedication to a station or presenter they once had. For example in the 80s Bruno Brookes ventured onto the Radio 1 road show stage and stood there whilst the crowd went wild screaming and cheering for what seemed like an age.
You could walk past Radio City on Stanley Street in Liverpool in the early 90s and girls would be gathered on the steps outside waiting for the presenters. Nowadays you’d be lucky if the bloke in street moaned to you that you playedWestlifetoo much never mind give you a sideways glance.
Being a DJ was like being a rock star, but now it doesn’t have this allure. This shouldn’t be the drive for being in radio though - it should be something more. It’s about substance not style. The girls don’t gather anymore. The DJ doesn’t have groupies… just scary, socially unhinged, weird looking stalkers. “Social networking allows us to connect and market to our audience regardless of station size” But what about those who are actually listening to radio who know nothing about the above? The people who don’t know and don’t care about the difference between a community station and Radio 2 - to them they’re the same.
Regardless of station size social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace and Bebo allow us to connect and market to our audience. It’s a great way to gauge response - I would go as far as saying almost as accurate as the official audience research body RAJAR. As the digital age really takes a hold I’m pretty sure we will see RAJAR diaries disappear as more reliable methods of audience monitoring are put in place. Who knows, it could be YOU that comes up with THAT brilliant new idea to collect audience data. I don’t know if this helps but I would estimate that if you use Facebook in tandem with your radio show or station then around 10 - 20% of your listeners will participate online.
We’ve got a blank canvas to play with. We have brand new technologies but we’re not using them to their full potential. The music policies are the same; the adverts are the same, stations either split network the same programme or simply sound the same as each other. It’s like we’ve just been introduced to a ground breaking new version of Microsoft Windows but we still use Notepad and just play Solitaire all day. We’re not seeing the potential, we’re just seeing set ways and balance sheets - the accountants and automated voice tracked shows have taken over, and shame on us because we’ve let them. This all said however for the first time since the pirates of the 60s the future is wide open. Technology has created a whole new hungry beast on the moors… but… how are these advances affecting the listener… and more importantly how they choose listen?
I shall cover this in the next part of the History of Radio…
By Chris Oakley chris.oakley@coldcommunications.com