By Rick Simmonds
In my various radio management roles, I’ve been asked numerous times, “what is the future of radio?”. I’ve always responded with “just focus on content – content is the future”. Radio has surrounded us for all of our lives, and we’ve often heard the supposed death knell of the medium… “cinema will kill radio, television will kill radio, computers will kill radio, video rental will kill radio, streaming services will kill radio” and guess what? Radio is still here. 88% of UK adults listen to radio at least once a week (source RAJAR). Still, In 2021. Whether it’s DAB, FM, AM, short wave, online, podcasts, smart speaker, even subscription radio (an area in which I have to declare a current interest), the wireless is still a part of most people’s lives and isn’t seeing the decline of, say, the newspaper industry. And a cursory glance of the stations available in your car will confirm that the majority of offerings remain music-based.
However, radio has seen dramatic changes over the last couple of decades that could be considered a barrier to the aspiring musician or plugger (and indeed the jobbing presenter, looking for ever-dwindling work opportunities). Large groups have bought up much of the ‘independent local radio’ network, with the majority of programming coming from network hubs in the likes of London and Manchester, and any remaining local programming coming from a ‘regional’ hub which could stretch from somewhere like Gloucestershire down to Cornwall. I’m not criticising here; despite the widespread consumption of radio, advertising revenue quite often goes to TV and online, making it increasingly difficult to run a standalone station serving a local community. Add to that, the excellent production values that come from putting a well-paid, highly-qualified team in a network centre have become apparent in recent years.
Meanwhile, let’s look at the BBC. The positives of the likes of BBC 6 Music, Asian Network and 1Extra aside, the local stations (in general) have a problem… they’ve got an old audience. I’m not being pejorative here. One of the great things in the 21st century is that whatever your age, you’re still a part and broadly engaged in contemporary culture compared to the mid 1900s cardigan-clad forty-something. However, Ethel from Chard is unlikely to be particularly willing to consider a nu-metal show, as much as she might be perfectly accepting of Ed Sheeran on the daily playlist.
So here’s the perceived problem for a musician, trying to promote their music. At first glance there appears to be little local radio to champion “one of their own”, the networked commercial stations are going for a wider, research-driven audience and the BBC locals are going to find the gear change from a chat with a local councillor to an unfamiliar new track a little too much.
I should break for a second to explain how music testing works with audiences, in the main. A selection of listeners and/or non-listeners are put together, they get played ‘hooks’ of the songs that are being researched for the radio station, and they then deliver their verdict. Generally, these are summarised as ‘like’, ‘dislike’, ‘like but tired of’ and ‘unfamiliar’. I lose count of how many times I’ve sat in a meeting where the ‘dislike’ scores match with the ‘unfamiliar’. In essence, on the first few listens, the average person dislikes something they don’t know. Unfortunate, frustrating and disappointing, I know.
So at this point, there’s the risk I’ve brought the mood down a bit. Limited opportunities and an audience who seek the familiar rather than the new. Here comes the positive twist.
These same commercial companies that have created networked, ‘safe’ mainstream stations have also created unique genre-specific brands – whether it be jazz, rock, country, dance or otherwise. These stations combined together pull in millions of UK listeners every week. Plus there are numerous online stations, addressing particular genres, admittedly not with the reach or awareness of the bigger group-brands, but still with an audience – and if you pick carefully, a global audience. And local and regional DAB network has created a plethora of new opportunities, providing genre-specific radio across the country. Their listeners are more likely to give the unfamiliar ‘a go’.
Then there is community radio. If there is one area I see growth in the coming years, I see it being community radio. Stations that as long as they wash their face, don’t have to raise huge advertising revenue or pay numerous staff. Manned by volunteers in the main, these radio outfits have the opportunity to attract audiences that aren’t served by the traditional BBC and commercial stations; whether it be by genre, age demographic or locality (sometimes all three). I volunteer as a presenter at a couple of such stations, and they really do deliver for unsigned musicians.
And let’s not ignore the opportunities that ‘BBC Introducing’ offers – the strand created for the local radio stations, championing local music. Yes, it’s hit and miss, depending on the local radio station involved and no, I’m not sure that the overall listenership to a BBC local will flock to such a show (or indeed, a non-BBC-local-listener flocking to the station for just the one show) but it’s a laudable opportunity, created by the BBC.
I suppose what I’m saying is that if you’re after ‘vanity metrics’ for your music, you’ll be disappointed. Gone are the days where you could easily get your unsigned music onto a large local, regional or national radio station. But the opportunities to get heard by your smaller but ideal audience have never been better. Get that demo out to BBC Introducing and make sure that a handful of people like what you do, and come along to your next local gig. Get on that specialist national radio station or internet outfit that perfectly matches your music; once again, the audience won’t be huge but they will be the ones most open to your genre. And get in touch with your local community station… it’s odds on that that they’d love to support a music act from down the road.
Music streaming services are missing one thing (and I’m not equipped to offer an opinion on the cut of profits that musicians receive from these outfits): genuine human recommendation, passion and curation. That’s what radio does. And is still appreciated for. Maybe algorithms will get to the stage where the human isn’t needed any more but for now (and to use a well worn, weak analogy), streaming didn’t kill the radio star.
Rick Simmonds
Rick Simmonds is an award-winning, accomplished speaker, producer, presenter & writer with experience ranging from talk to music radio, from commercial to BBC, from national to local.
Radio History
Bauer Media Group Project lead/launch exec producer
MD Wessex FM
Programme director The Breeze Network
Senior producer The Heart Network
Programme controller The One Network
Awards
Sony Radio Awards – Gold, Silver & Bronze (over the years)
Arqiva Awards – Winner & Nominee (Heart & Breeze)
New York Radio Festival Awards – Gold & Silver (for Heart)