The MIDAS touch - RAJAR tells us how people listen to the radio

Above: Fun Kids does something quite clever in an effort to gain reconsent under GDPR rules: making their (normally colourful) email black and white, and asking people to reconfirm their email to “restore the colour to your inbox”.

(As an aside: I shouldn’t need to gain reconsent because my email newsletter list has always just been for that: so breathe a sigh of relief, so you won’t get a GDPR reconsent from me. Here’s my privacy policy if you wanted a peek).

My column

• The MIDAS touch — RAJAR’s behavioural radio research (also here). Vital research from the UK (and I’d love to see this from other countries).

United States

• Pirate Radio Stations Explode on YouTube - interesting misuse of the technology that YouTube provides. Odd that their algorithms haven’t stamped this out (but that would assume, of course, that YouTube wants to stamp this out).

• Meanwhile, a new bill from the FCC is up in the US legislature tightening the laws against pirate radio

• ‘Almost 18% of Heavy Radio Listeners do not have a radio receiver in their home’ - goodness, that’s quite a stat (from Edison Research) and highlights the multiplatform nature of radio. As I say in my conference speeches: radio is a thing, not a platform.

• Beyoncé, Kanye streaming stats ‘manipulated’ on Tidal (so they get lots more royalties). Because online stats are always correct, so I’m repeatedly told, except when they’re not, of course

• New radio station in the US being sold on music obscurity. Arguably, a) people want familiarity; b) those that don’t already have Spotify. Discuss.

United Kingdom

• Steal this, other countries - Radio Audio Week - a thing in the UK where all audio and radio people are doing things together to shout about it. Why not elsewhere?

• Also streal this: BBC and commercial radio - working together in the UK (for the first time) for mental health. Impressive work.

• The Bionic Studio - Cushions and Daylight - this is a great view into radio’s future from Broadcast Bionics.

• The MIDAS touch — RAJAR’s behavioural radio research (also here)

• Alexa, are you radio’s saviour? - Matt Deegan in an uncharacteristically grumpy blog post has lots of ideas for radio’s future for young audiences. It’s a good, data-driven piece.

• Interesting piece in The Spectator about one Radio 4 programme which could be a podcast; while another was a podcast.

• Love Sport Radio launches ten fan shows as podcasts on Alexa and Google Assistant - this is a clever and good idea; the station already broadcasts these in London, and getting the station to help promote them further seems to win with everyone.

Australia

• Australian Podcast Awards Winners - some good pieces of audio here. I enjoyed judging these.

• Email from boss of the (Aus) ABC to colleagues outlining the effects of the budget. The Guardian covers the budget cuts, too.

• Can Radio beat Spotify at its own game? (By which this article means targeted advertising, rather than 12-minute-long ad sets and self-indulgent talk breaks)

• Good, award-winning, radio commercials? They do exist. Listen here…

Elsewhere

• Denmark: Good new speakers for Radiodays Europe’s Podcast Day. If you use the code “PODNEWS” you’ll save money on your tickets too, by the way: until the end of this week. Just saying.

• Switzerland: they’re turning FM off in the next few years, and the government is now planning a four year information campaign: Switzerland Plans DAB+ Education Initiative. As an aside, we learn on May 17th whether the UK radio industry has hit the 50% target for digital listening which triggers a decision from the government about FM switchoff.

• Africa: In the East African country of Burundi, the BBC and VOA have been banned - from being rebroadcast, at least. There aren’t any restrictions on the internet, though Viber and WhatsApp have been banned before.

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