Radiodays Europe is coming!

Tomorrow (Monday 26th October) sees the launch of a new radio conference for Europe. It’s called ‘Radiodays Europe’ and the first one will take place in Copenhagen on 18th / 19th March 2009.

The idea behind it, according to the organisers, is to create a conference for European radio professionals that really understands the issues that many radio stations and radio related businesses across Europe have.

Last week I was asked to participate in an ‘ideas session’ for the conference and joined colleagues from the UK and Europe in discussing what kind of conference we, as fellow radio professionals, wanted to have.

I’m sure you’ll have your own views and I know the organisers are keen to hear them, which is why building the programme will be as interactive and transparent a process as possible.

For my part, I thought the conference should have the following attributes:

Fun – entertaining sessions with entertaining speakers. No more ‘dry’ lectures that go on and on!

Interactive – Building the conference should be as interactive and transparent a process as possible, with delegates contributing before, during and after the event

Inclusive Social Events – Conferences are as much about networking as anything else, so creating social events that people actually want to go to and meet new people, is important

Practical and Theoretical Mix – I believe delegates want practical advice that they can take away and use straight away, as well as a glimpse into the future and how things may develop. Getting the mix right is vital.

Non Radio Speakers – The best sessions at radio conferences usually involve a speaker from another sector giving their view on the industry, how they would approach it, or just talking about their own industry. More of these please!

I hope that Radiodays Europe will deliver on all these points and more. If it does, it will be a fantastic conference and an annual fixture on the European radio circuit.

I’ll be sure to keep you up to date on this one.

Facebook Group

If you're a 'Facebook-er', and you also occasionally read this blog, then you may want to join the associated Facebook group. Think of it as a smaller brother or kid sister!

You can find it at www.facebook.com/goodmanmedia

It contains small nuggets of information, thoughts, comments and links to some interesting stuff... and due to the wonders of technology, updates will appear in your newsfeed should you become a member.

And in times of recession... good news... membership is free ;-)

"Alas... poor Radio"

The radio business can be the most fun business in the world to work in, but we can’t escape the fact that it’s a business. If you work in the commercial world, you’re more than aware of the tough trading conditions that we all currently face in markets all over the world. The last couple of weeks have reinforced to me the challenges of the business side of the profession I love.

The story takes place in Denmark, and although it’s quite a few miles from Elsinore, there’s a little of the ‘Shakespearian tragedy’ about the whole affair.

The owner of Radio 100FM, Denmark’s largest commercial station was John De Mol, the Dutch media tycoon, who’s company is probably most famous for bring Big Brother to our screens. He decided that he no longer wanted to be in radio, and having sold his Dutch radio business some time ago, wanted to dispose of his Danish station. However, rather than wait for a buyer to come along in a ‘down market’... he withdrew his funding, therefore forcing the station into administration and bankruptcy rather quickly. The station did not have large cash reserves to keep it afloat.

Danish commercial radio on a national scale has a history of financial problems with the ill fated Sky Radio, TV2 Radio and now Radio 100FM. Without going into too much detail, the financial structure that has been imposed on stations is more than burdensome (both from government and from rights holders), however Danish commercial radio is looking forward to a new era of the government understanding the issues more acutely, and encouraging growth of the sector as opposed to setting insurmountable financial barriers.

The downside of the bankruptcy was that a whole load of good radio people were made redundant and that’s not a pleasant process, regardless of which side of the desk you’re sitting on.

The good news is that the Managing Director, Jim Receveur (good name for radio!) has bought the assets of the old company (the name, the studios, a few of the staff) and the station is still on the air! The brand is such a strong radio brand in Denmark with around 1.3 Million weekly listeners (12+) and a loyal base built up over 6 years, so it’s just too good a proposition to let it go to the wall.

So, the station is currently being run on a skeleton staff. But this week there were some part time roles advertised in a bid to ensure that there are enough people to maintain the level of quality and service to both listeners and advertisers.

This is a positive move and although the future shape and level of staffing of the station is yet to be fully formed, it’s a move in the right direction to build the business back up again.

If there’s ever a time for radio programmers, producers, talent, journalists etc to appreciate the “business” of radio... it’s now. Keeping costs at an acceptable level and placing resource where it gives the best return is essential. Being creative and flexible with clients is vital. But more importantly, addressing the whole business model of radio actually the opportunity that this recession really presents.

The media landscape is changing so fast that radio needs to rapidly adapt its revenue models to survive in future. We can’t continue the over-reliance on the ‘spot ad’, reinforced with a dollop of S&P revenue along the way. If we ignore what is happening to media and the patterns of consumers as we approach a new decade, we do so at our own peril.

(Without trying to sound too much like Gordon Brown)... the setback is the challenge and the opportunity to learn.

And I’m certainly looking forward to the challenge ahead with this particular client.

They're Absolutely 1 Year Old...

Happy 1st Birthday to all the team at Absolute Radio!

There’s no doubt that they’ve done an enormous amount to establish their own brand identity in the first 12 months. I think they’ve done a great job in creating some fantastic content... not just great radio. Absolute are a company who understand the seismic shift taking place in the way media is now being consumed, and want to ensure their brand of audio and music based entertainment won’t be left behind in the ‘content land grab’ that’s going on every single day.

If there’s a current good example of a forward thinking ‘traditional’ media company in the UK, then they would be up there.

Well done guys...

Here’s a video showcasing their ‘best bits’.

Enjoy.

"I'd like to thank God..."

Radio Awards are funny things.

I say that, because I’ve had perspective from being both a judge and potential recipient of an award last week.

If you win at an awards ceremony, it’s obvious that the awards are a really important thing and “it recognises the efforts everyone made” etc... If you lose, then of course they mean nothing because... “it’s all about the listeners really” etc...

I’m happy to say that at the Danish Radio Awards 2009, one of the biggies... “Station of the Year”, went to Radio 100FM (where I am Consultant Programme Director). So of course, let me first say that this award recognises the efforts that everyone made throughout the year!!

I’m pleased, not only because I believe the station did some innovative and engaging programming in 2009 and the team worked exceptionally hard, but because it beat the ‘might’ of the public service station P3, which is a little bit like BBC Radio 1... only quite a bit broader in its output.

I was reminded of the nice pot of money that some public service broadcasters have given to them in some countries whilst I was speaking at the rather excellent Radiodays conference in Copenhagen at the weekend. The new shiny ‘DR’ headquarters was the venue, and boy... have spent a bit of money on their building!! It was so over budget when they finished it, that the DG lost their job! I think one of the toilet blocks is bigger than the whole Radio 100FM office space! But it’s not what it looks like... it what’s you do with it, right?

Meanwhile, last week I judged the Radio Academy’s Promotions and Marketing Awards in the UK. There were some great entries in my category and I look forward to meeting everyone on the night of 22nd October.

If you came along to either Radiodays session in Stockholm or Copenhagen... thanks for coming. Standing room only in both venues. And if you want the handout from the session, just get in touch.

A Converging World

I was discussing the rather small topic of ‘convergence of technologies’ with a client this week, and we were talking about how ‘audio entertainment’, including radio, may be consumed in future. There have already been several good posts about the timely launch of the new ‘Pure Sensia’ radio yesterday. It feels to me, that this is a real step forward and places traditional radio at the centre of audio entertainment, which includes downloaded music and personal music databases, internet radio, DAB and more traditional FM services. Combine this with a great user friendly touch screen with possibilities for great visualisation, and an intuitive interface... and you know you’re looking at a big step forward in ‘radio’ hardware.

It make the ‘iPod with radio’ look a little passé really doesn’t it?

However, the point of radio needing to be included in a 'Digital Future' is something that more and more stations are cottoning on to across the world. We all know that different markets are at different stages of adoption of new technologies... but it really is only a matter of time before it comes to your country if it isn't there already. There is a march of inevitability about it, and ensuring stations are prepared to take advantage of the possibilities and monetise them successfully is something I’ll be focusing a lot of my energies on in 2010.

Here’s a great ‘short’ that is very popular at the moment. It puts into perspective the theme of a changing media landscape. If you were unsure about the necessity to adopt and integrate new technologies into your radio business, you won’t be after watching this!

FM Radio is Cool - It's Official!

So... Apple have finally realised that people do actually like listening to the radio!

Shock horror!!

I'm sure we could have told them that... right?