What Makes A Good Radio Conference?

What makes a good radio conference?

Over the last few weeks I’ve been ‘conferenced up’ attending and speaking at a good variety of events. So what are the things to look out for?

Do It Differently

nextrad.io was an attempt to redefine the genre somewhat. Short, snappy presentations on a whole range of topics worked really well. It meant that as a delegate, you never had the time to get bored with anyone, plus you got a vast range of information that you could draw from take away with you. And it also meant that as a speaker, you focused more on exactly what you had to say, always aiming for that radio mantra... “Less is More!”. I’m certain nextrad.io will be back next year, even better then the debut event.... which was actually pretty damn good to start with. So ‘doing it differently’ is one angle that certainly works

Do It Well

I spoke an event in Cyprus on Friday morning called ‘The Radio Breakfast Show’ organised by Dias Media Group, a big Cypriot media company. It was a simple idea executed well;

• Get media agencies, clients, PR firms and other interested parties all in one room in a nice hotel... about 300 of them.

• Make the room look fantastic

• Give them a really nice breakfast

• Put on a short ‘morning only’ session with 4 interesting speakers

• Let everyone go back to work at 11am

I spoke about the changing nature of radio and advertising and was pleased that what I had to say struck a chord with many delegates. But it was just all very well put together, making the experience a good one for delegates (and speakers)! So getting the conference right and ‘doing it well’ may seem simple stuff, but you’d be surprised at many who don’t.

Speakers Who Share

I remember back in the days of the old 'NAB Europe', many a time I would turn up at a session where I thought I’d learn something... often to find that someone was trying to sell me something instead. #FAIL. A conference session should not be sales session. They should be about sharing knowledge and insight. Do your sales pitch in the bar afterwards!

Getting speakers who share is crucial. I was lucky to have 2 speakers who were fantastic at sharing during my two sessions at Radiodays Denmark over the weekend. First Pete Simmons, the PD of Magic 105.4 took everyone through the strategy behind Magic, and why it’s number 1 in London. He was open, honest and shared everything. The delegates really got some fantastic insight thanks to Pete, and I enjoyed chatting with him on stage about the format and how he overcomes challenges.

Likewise Andy Parfitt, in his first real ‘event’ after stepping down as Controller of BBC Radio 1 was equally candid. I created a session where Andy would take us through the Radio 1 strategy, how it functions as a station, and along the way telling the importance of everything from Live Music to Online. And he didn’t disappoint. He was brutally honest, perhaps being able to talk more openly than ever before, as he is now free from the responsibilities that heading the network brings with it. My only regret is that the session was not recorded so a wider audience could share in some of the insight that Andy shared. Mind you, maybe if it had been, he might not have been so candid! So ‘speakers who share’ is vital to the success of any event.

With all that in mind, it’s only about 4 weeks to go until the Radio Festival in Manchester. Much more on that to follow no doubt!

Radio Festival 2010 - Review

So as the expenses forms are being filled in, and all London based radio types are still wondering if the drinks really are that cheap in the Ramada, the Radio Festival has waved a fond farewell for another year.

And what did we glean from the UK’s premiere “insular, naval gazing industry symposium”?

Ones and Zeros
We’re still talking about digital, and it’s still not resolved, but the principles of a digital future with a broadcast backbone seem to get most people agreed. How long that will take, and who pays for what are the questions no-one quite knows the answer to. As Jeremy Vine put it, talking about digital take up...“We’re not even half-way, to half-way!”

Together in Electric Dreams
Radioplayer was given its first proper demo in public, and is getting rave reviews. Commercial and public service stations in the radio sector can come together and do something for the good of the sector. Ensuring more people are listening to more radio as a whole has to be a shared objective, in whatever country you’re in. There’s still some natural tension between the sectors when it came to Radios 1 and 2 being a little ‘broad’, and that’s not to the liking of a Mr A Tabor of Leicester Square. But overall, the sense of some shared vision for UK radio did come across when the ‘cheeses’ took to the stage together.

The C Word
There was a lot of discussion about creativity this year, and the need for more of it in the commercial sector. The actually very nice and not normally shouty Jeremy Kyle, reminded everyone present of the need to ensure radio does not become too bland in a very engaging way. And who’d have thought that one of the most entertaining people on stage would be Timmy Mallett! Chris Evans was, as usual, excellent I must add. A real ‘radio guy’ who still loves the medium. Delegates could also be left with no doubt that although format music radio is a lovely thing, format music radio with added personality and creativity is a much more lovely thing, and likely to make more money and be more competitive. For the record, I agree!

The L Word
Local is still powerful and can command an audience. There are of course different types of local... small local, like community radio. Big local, like Key 103 or Radio City, and pretend local, like the Heart and Capital ‘national’ roll out. It’s just not really local radio, so I think as soon as they give up the pretence, the better for us all. Don’t get me wrong, they’re both great stations / networks, and sounds really good right now. But local, they ain’t!

BLT
Richard Bacon is a really good broadcaster and interviewer and all round likeable chap. Dave Lee Travis is none of the above.

Salford
The venue was really good and it feels right the Radio Festival should have a permanent home instead of wondering around like ‘The Littlest Hobo’ from year to year.

There are lots of other blogs and reviews to read, and the Radio Today coverage is really worth checking out.

Well done Radio Academy team and organising committee. Excellet job.

And there we have it. I saved you the airfare, train fare, taxi rides, ticket price, hotel cost, drinks bill etc... but suffice to say, if it’s as good as it was this year next time around, I’ll be back, and you should be there too.

As Richard Bacon put it... “For radio people... this is our Glastonbury”.

Conference Call

Every year, there’s a slew of radio and media conferences to attend all around the world... some of which I’m asked to speak at, and some of which I’m a willing delegate.

In October, I have one of each. On October 2nd I shall be hosting a session at Radiodays Denmark where I will discussing with my colleague from the UK, Drivetime presenter Greg Burns from Capital FM, what goes into making a radio show on a music driven format in 2010, and how the role of the presenter has developed and changed over the years.

And between 18th -20th October, I shall set up camp in Manchester for the UK’s Radio Festival, which this year looks like it’s going to be an excellent conference debating and discussing everything from the ‘Art of Creativity’ to the business of making some money!

Finally, I should give a little plug to Radiodays Europe, which had its debut in Copenhagen last year, where over 400 delegates from 35 countries attended, what I believe, was a really good starting point for a new European radio conference to take the place of the old NAB Europe.

Well, good news. It’s returning on 17th / 18th March 2011 in Copenhagen, and I attended a networking meeting in London last week to discuss ideas on taking it forward. As you can see from the photo, lots of ‘post its’ were involved!

Radio is at such an interesting point in its evolution... perhaps the most interesting point there has ever been, that getting together and discussing, debating and dissecting the issues has never been more important. The more radio stations can learn about the way the industry is moving, the more they can lead in their own particular market... and not follow; the more they can profit... and not miss out on new revenue opportunities; and the more they understand the importance of the changing nature of the consumer, and what ‘content’ they actually want... and not believe all the old models of the past will apply in the future.

Radio Festival - Glasgow 2008 - The Verdict!

So, as the whiff of ‘vats’ of mass-produced Haggis subsides, and the unmistakable hangover that cheap Scotch gives you is a now all but a distant memory, we can collectively stand back and admire the event that was ‘The Radio Festival – Glasgow 2008’.

For our international readers, although the word ‘festival’ implies images of tents, mud, pyramid stages, fire-eaters, strange pagan rituals etc… I can assure you that if you substitute the word ‘festival’ for the word ‘conference’, you’ll get more of a sense of the occasion!

Some of the more interesting stuff that occurred included the findings from the Digital Radio Working Group, much of which had been publicised in advance, but nonetheless made for quite an interesting listen. You can read the whole report for yourself here, but some of the most salient bits included the recommendation for a full migration to digital radio in the UK. When? Well – that’s the $64,000 question they dodge by saying… ‘When the market is ready’, but at latest by 2020!

With 7 Millions sets in the UK, DAB is doing quite well. But we seem to be in a bit of a no-mans land currently. We’re too far away from the tipping point to set a date for full migration, and far too far down the road to say ‘Let’s ditch DAB and go with something else’. Certainly, a lot of clever minds are on this one and it was nice to see them demonstrate that they’re thinking about it. Getting it right is the most vital thing the UK radio industry has probably ever faced.

A debate about ‘rights’ and the current agreements in place regarding PRS-MCPS and PPL, although sounding fairly dull, was actually pretty interesting. Although the guys from the collection societies stated that they “weren’t coming to get us”… I think they are! With declining physical sales and the number of illegal downloads outnumbering legal ones by a factor of 10 to 1, the record companies and artists are going to squeeze as much as they can out of anyone who uses their content, and radio is no exception. I did feel like pointing out that there are territories like the UAE, (where I work in the Dubai market), where there are no copyright agreements in place and big media organisations are paying absolutely nothing to artists for using their copyrighted material to make large profits. Meanwhile in the UK, PRS are chasing the owners of sandwich shops making sure they’ve got a licence! Perhaps they should try and recoup some money from these territories? Back at home, the ‘promotional value’ that radio offers is still a good argument, particularly in light of some interesting research that shows radio is still the most significant factor for people in discovering new music. Expect fireworks on this topic soon!

The session on the future of music radio seemed to conclude that the answer was…. speech! Well… actually it was the importance of personalities and DJ’s within the music radio setting to be honest with you. And new music, of course. People reassuringly still use the radio to hear new music. But it was nice to see some recognition of the role of the DJ as personality or ‘trusted guide’. Otherwise, we’ll all become jukeboxes with different bit of production, which anyone can replicate these days.

Other sessions worthy of a mention include the ‘Showbiz news’ session, where some argued that we’re all obsessed with the cult of celebrity and it has no place on the radio. Well at least on Radio Scotland! Rod McKenzie from BBC Radio 1 was eloquent and considered in his view on this topic and others, which is probably why overall, BBC Radio 1 News is in such a good state. He wrote some interesting thoughts about this session on his Editors Blog.

And Matthew Bannister reminded us why he rose to the dizzy heights of Director of BBC Radio and went on to become Chief Executive of BBC Production and the Corporation's first Board-level Director of Marketing and Communication. This is because he’s bloody good at getting a point across, and his view that ‘compliance is stifling creativity’ was made with both wit and gravitas. He touched on something that everyone in a creative role should remember. Don’t ‘not do’ something because you might get in trouble, or too many rules may prevent you. "Fortes fortuna adiuvat” (I knew that Latin GCSE would come in handy one day!)

Finally, a couple of less so positive points; If you’re going to have a debate about ‘localness in radio’, please get people who actually understand something about local radio on the panel! The GMG debate that kicked the festival off was really quite terrible in the choice of speakers and in the arguments that were presented. And without sounding unkind, the Community Radio sector, valid as it is, seemed to be an unnecessary distraction in the programme of sessions. I suggest that there should be a separate day for community radio, as sitting though a detailed analysis of why ‘Celtic Music Radio’ is such a success in certain parts of Glasgow, made me want to stab myself repeatedly with my cheap, disposable, ‘delegate bag’ pen.

All in all though, a worthy trip north of the border and The Radio Festival continues to be a good forum for debate of some of the key issues that face UK radio currently.

Right – I’ve had enough of rainy Britain. I’m off to Dubai to form a royalties collection agency…

Radio Festival - Glasgow 2008

So it’s time to head for Glasgow for another ‘festival of radio’… otherwise known as… er… "The Radio Festival". The programme of events looks like the usual mixed bag of ‘Must see’, ‘Might see’ and ‘Sorry I don’t think I can come to your session, I’ve got to check my emails!”

The media reporters will all be out there in force, writing up things as they happen, giving live blogs and up to the minute interviews etc. And I’m sure their coverage will be first rate as usual. I will try to take a more considered approach (!) and bring some of the highlights once all I’m safely back south of the border!!

If you’re not going, don't worry, I’ll bring you all the hot news and any interesting stories that are developing in my next blog. If you are going to Glasgow, I’ll see you at the bar where I'll be organising a whip round for GCap. We're looking to raise £1.1 Million so... as they say, please give generously!

The Radio Festival - presents "Radio Erectus"

It takes about week to absorb the vast amount of discussion, debate and dissection of radio that the Radio Academy's annual Radio Festival spews out.

So what did we learn?

Well without doing a session by session analysis, (which would be even duller than the 'DAB Audio Quality' session many of us endured) a few key themes seemed to emerge from the mist.

In no particular order...

Channel 4's entry into radio is a good thing
Commercial radio in the UK needs a extra shot of credibility in it's arm, and a broadcaster with 25 years track record of creativity, innovation and risk-taking can only improve the image of the sector and provide the BBC with even more robust competition in some key areas. Channel 4 Radio, E4 Radio and Pure4 all promise to be great stations and the return of Talk Radio to the multiplex, as well as Sky News Radio are welcome additions to UK's radioscape.

Digital Migration is thorny subject
Turing off AM and FM is a divisive issue. Many large broadcasters want it to happen pretty quickly. Smaller broadcasters are concerned they haven't secured carriage on DAB and never will. A 2 tired system of radio is going to create confusion for listeners , but the simulcasting costs for radio stations are prohibitive in the long term. Ofcom have promised to have a look at it! But drawing a roadmap for the future that everyone agrees on looks like being a tricky task. Radio is different to TV, so we can't just follow the Digital TV migration model... but likewise we need to ensure that radio is not the 'white elephant' medium that is outdated, out of touch and out of favour.

Commercial Radio has extended the hand of friendship to the BBC
The rivalry is fierce. The war of words erupts every quarter. The BBC versus the commercial sector? "Why can't we live together...?" asked Timmy Thomas in the rather excellent song from 1974? It seems Andrew Harrison, the new CEO of RadioCentre - commercial radio's trade body, had been listening to this tune for some time prior to penning his speech. The theme was something along the lines of 'working together for the greater good of the medium'. While there are many areas that seemed to make sense, eliminating pirates, looking at Digital Migration together etc... there were a few areas which raised an eyebrow! Collaborating on content is a nice idea... so you get a commercial radio version and BBC version. Somehow, I can't see the BBC giving up exclusivity on a lot of the areas of music they cover! But the spirit of the message was a positive one and hopefully the BBC understands the importance of a healthy commercial sector. The question is "how healthy" does commercial radio want the BBC to be?

'Non-Linear Radio' is important for everyone
There's been a podcasting session at The Radio Festival since the dawn of... well... the pod! This year it felt different. We heard from amateurs using podcasts as marketing. We heard from Danny Baker who does a daily show, which may make him a lot of money in the future! And we heard from practically every corner of the industry of the importance of making radio available to listeners whenever they wanted it. Podcasting is coming of age and stations without a strategy may well be left behind. Listen again, downloading shows and podcasts must now be viewed as core activity, and not as something on the periphery.

Of course, there were plenty of sessions which provided light relief. Russell Brand is a true personality who walks the fine line between genius and madness; Jeremy Vine is about as multi-media as you can get.... Is there anything he can't do well?; And Andy Parfitt has been spending a disproportionate amount of his time with teenagers! (But as he's the Beeb's "Teen Tsar", then that's OK!)

UK radio is at a watershed moment in its evolution. It will either miss the Darwinian boat and return to the primeval media swamp as some sort of lizard like creature which didn't quite manage to make it to dry land. Or, it will adapt to it's new surroundings, learn how to survive in the changing climate and eventually walk upright. 'Radio Erectus' could be on it's way!!

It's Festival Time!

So it's off to Cambridge for the annual gathering of the 'good, bad and very ugly' of UK radio. Yes - it festival time folks!

The word 'Festival' gives the impression of colourful jugglers, fire eaters, vegetable growing contests and a round of Miss Shropshire, but thankfully it's a much more sedate affair. Well... most of it is.

Lots of discussion will inevitably focus on Channel 4 Radio and their new little 'National DAB Multiplex' toy that they'll start to play with soon. Also, what's this Global Radio thing all about and what are their plans and ambitions?

I'm certain the bars of Cambridge will be awash with idle gossip, which of course I'll ignore, and just bring you the facts that matter!

And once the bandwagon rolls out of Cambridge and the expense accounts have taken a battering, I'll digest the words of wisdom and bring you the salient points for us all to debate!