The New Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw - First Impressions...

Radio Today asked me to write an opinion piece for them about the new Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw. Here's what I wrote...

“You only get one opportunity to make a first impression... so make it count!” someone once said to me. It’s true, which is probably why getting your first breakfast show ‘half-decent’, is pretty important. At the same time, everyone in the industry knows that a first show may be pretty unrepresentative of what is to follow over the next few months and years.

So how did Grimmy do then?

I tried to listen to the first show more like a regular listener might, dipping in and out. I must have tuned in at precisely the wrong moment though, as the very first thing I heard on this “Now with Added Music” breakfast show was a link that quite possibly ‘Moyles-eque’ in its duration. It was 12m 22s long folks.

Now I wasn’t expecting all 30 second links and 5 in a row, but was this the right approach for day 1?

And as I carried on my listening I got the sense that the zoo / team format was still very much there, but just toned down a bit. Grimmy was understandably using them as a crutch, and threw to them quite a lot. They, on the other hand, were obviously under some sort of instruction not to engage too much with him on-air. So the result was something that, let’s say ‘lacked a little flow’. The chemistry is not there yet for obvious reasons.

Content wise, it already felt younger with his obligatory One Direction mate making an appearance and a Justin Bieber pre-record. This in itself may be enough to drive the older end away, which is of course part of the desired effect.

There’s no doubt that Grimmy is a cool, well-connected guy but I worry that too much ‘showbiz’ might become a bit grating after a while. Mentioning his “manager” on-air and name dropping the people who had got in touch to wish him well is so far removed from the ‘down to earth, bloke in the pub’ shtick that Moyles did, it’s going to take some getting used to. I know he’s a good Northern lad, and getting the balance of ‘enough celebrity’ and ‘too much celebrity’ is tough, but it’s certainly something for him to watch for.

One other thing; he needs to actually tell some stories and have some content. At the moment, it’s all very waffley and lacks any substance or direction. He takes 2 minutes to say what could be said in 15 seconds. That’s something that needs to be addressed pretty quickly I feel.

Now of course, all the above is grossly unfair. Judging a breakfast show based on a couple of outings is more than a little unreasonable, but it certainly is how listeners do it. They don’t always allow the time a show needs to get into its rhythm. But let’s revisit it in 6 weeks and see how he’s doing shall we?

I think Grimmy’s a safe pair of hands for the show. He won’t be overly successful, and he won’t be so bad that he’s forced off either. He’ll probably do it for 3 years... max. But will he provide the injection of energy and creativity that broadcasters like Moyles and Evans brought to the show? I rather doubt it. But he is mates with One Direction, in case you didn’t know.

Goodbye to The Saviour...

I listened to the last Chris Moyles Show on Friday. It was, as you would expect, a suitable send off for a broadcaster whose impact on Radio 1 is undeniable.

He arrived as ‘The Saviour of Radio 1’ and it’s fair to say that he was true to his word.

He took the team / zoo format that Evans had used a decade earlier, gave it his own style, and ran with it, growing the ratings and audience loyalty along the way.

I remember doing a session with Andy Parfitt at a conference just after he left Radio 1, and I asked him how good a broadcaster he thought Moyles was upon reflection. He said plainly “He’s the best.” And you can see why he would say that.

He was able to create great radio moments out of seemingly nothing; bring mega-stars right down to earth with engaging interviews; understand that doing a breakfast show is all about ‘the show’; posses the right balance of ego and fragility, but with the talent to back it up; and draw listeners in day after day with a classic approach to the ‘soap opera’ of team radio.

The best talent always has its haters, and for some Moyles was just not their thing. But the fans loved it. Really loved it. You could hear their devotion when they spoke to him on-air, or you could read it on the messages on Facebook.

Everyone had an opinion when you mentioned his name in the pub. And you can ask for no more than that. People knew him and had an opinion of him.

Yes – the critics in the industry would always point to his age (38) and how he connected more with listeners in their 30’s and 40’s than in the core Radio 1 demo. And there’s no doubt that at times it was an obvious problem for the network, particularly when he’d rather play T’Pau than Skrillex.

But to do what he did for 8 years and 8 months takes enormous talent and commitment. And for that we should applaud him.

I hope he gets back on the radio soon. I know several stations that want him. UK radio is a better place with Chris Moyles on it.

And if you missed his 'Goodbye Song', here is it is, in a typical understated Moyles fashion...

Goodbye Chris...

So, Chris Moyles is leaving the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show, having been it's most successful and longest serving host.

Over time, his contribution to UK radio so far will be put into perspective, but undoubtedly he will go down as one of the greats.

His replacement, Nick Grimshaw has a tough act to follow.

I liked the way Chris delivered his news on air. Scripted - of course... (wouldn't you!) but honest, and heartfelt... the way class broadcasters can be when required.

I for one, hope he'll remain on radio, and not be lured totally by the deceptively bright lights of TV.

British radio would be a poorer place without him.

Radiodays Europe - Rewind

The first ever ‘Radiodays Europe’ took place last week in Copenhagen. Designed to fill the gap left by the increasingly redundant NAB Europe, it provided a fresh perspective to many of the issues being discussed right around Europe. The conference was really well attended with more than 400 delegates from over 30 countries.

So what did we all glean from this orgy of European radio chit-chat?

Well, I think it’s fair to say that one of the main themes was addressing how radio evolves in an integrated media world, where there are multiple platforms for content consumption. Radio is at a huge crossroads and this was communicated passionately and eloquently by Tim Davie, Head of BBC Audio and Music, who quite easily dismissed the notion that radio has no option but to seek a digital future. It can’t be the only medium just to bury its head in the sand and pretend FM will do just fine thank you very much.

Many, including myself, agree completely, but there are always a few nay-sayers. When even the Book industry is turning to digital delivery and technologies, it’s time for us all in radio to embrace the digital future.

The debate about which technologies will become dominant is somewhat immaterial, as the most vital thing for radio is quality content... a sentiment echoing throughout the conference. Quality radio needs to be available to our listeners on as many platforms as possible and making it easy for listeners to find and enjoy our content is the next big challenge.

The UK Radio Player, an initiative between BBC and Commercial radio got a good reaction when demonstrated, but talk in the corridors was very much ‘we couldn’t get that kind of collaboration in our country’. Well, guess what? You can! It just takes the each domestic radio industry to try and put aside short term differences and focus on the long term survival of radio, let alone growth. Short termism would be a nail in the coffin of radio.

The topic of visualising radio as well as interacting with audiences via social networks was also discussed in many sessions. There is no doubt that devices in future will all have screens and we need to put something on them, so working on solutions is important. There are already lots of great examples out there of good work in this field. Videoing great bits of audio content and putting them online for a deeper listener experience is NOT bad TV. It’s something completely different, and again, some Luddite radio purists said that they never want to see a camera in radio studio in order to preserve the ‘magic’ of radio. Well, I’m afraid the world has moved on and radio is a bit different these days. “Play Misty For Me” was 1971!!

There was great case studies and stories of radio using social networking to get a richer experience for listeners and to spread the brand and content from it to a wider public. I think a lot of stations will be revisiting their Facebook strategies after hearing some of the presentations last week... and quite right too. It’s a massive tool in the battle for ‘share of ear’.

And finally, let me mention Rachel Mallender and Marc Haberland from BBC Radio 1 and 104.6 RTL Berlin. They both over see their respective breakfast / morning shows and shared the secrets to success in a really entertaining session that I produced and hosted. Everyone was surprised that RTL has up to 16 people working on the morning show! Investing in content in the morning has resulted in a very successful show being on the air for 19 years!

Moyles has done nearly 7... and realistically won’t get to 19 years on Radio 1... but it was great to hear Rachel share her thoughts and talk so passionately about producing the breakfast show which is such a well-oiled machine these days. Hopefully everyone enjoyed the session as much as I did!

So, overall I think it’s fair to say Radiodays Europe was extremely well received. Conferences can sometimes be a bit dull... (well, they can can’t they!) but this was an important gathering at a key time for the radio industry in Europe which actually addressed many of the hot topics. We sometime forget that we have more in common than divides us, and sharing best practise and discussing the issues is one of the best ways to create a bright future for us all.

The UK Radioplayer

For a while, the UK radio industry have been talking about putting together an online player that delivers the option to listen to all UK radio stations from one place, whether BBC or commercial. The aim of collaboration is simple; promote the medium and then allow consumers to choose what content they want to listen to. More radio listening = better for the radio industry.

This is a massive leap forward in terms of a whole industry realising that sometimes it’s in the long term interest of ‘radio’ as an industry, to work together... whatever side of the fence you inhabit.

The video below is a mocked up version of what it may look like, previewed by Tim Davie (The BBC’s top Audio and Music man) at the Media Festival in Manchester. I like the way it allows commercial stations to still ‘be commercial’ and not lose the revenue opportunities of having an collaborative industry wide ‘radio player’.

If it’s anything like the mock up, it will be pretty cool... especially when it goes mobile too!

Let’s not forget the share of internet listening in the UK according to the last RAJAR numbers is still only 2.2% (compared to 13.3% for DAB)... but anything which makes listening to a range of stations online will no doubt help to increase online listening.

I should say I am a multi-platform proponent, believing a “mixed economy” of DAB, DTV, Online and Mobile listening is where the future of listening lies. Let’s keep backing a variety of horses, and the industry as a whole will be a winner.

Good Morning Britain!

So... the UK’s most popular breakfast show is to get a new host. The widely predicted replacement of Terry Wogan from BBC Radio 2, with a certain Mr C Evans (of the same parish) isn’t exactly shocking in itself, however there are a couple of thoughts worth pondering today;

Moving younger... again!
There’s no doubt that Chris’ show will appeal to a younger demo than Terry’s. Just as there is more pressure on the “chilling” BBC to justify chasing younger audiences and generally being successful to excess (and to the detriment of commercial rivals) , they seem to stick two fingers up at the critics and announce a move that undeniably illustrates the point. Let’s not forget that in the last decade, Radio 2’s reach among 15-34 year olds has risen by 62%!

Certainly the show will turn off a section of the audience (mainly older Daily Mail readers!) who will still have the perception of Chris as a drunken buffoon who hangs out with Gazza all day and night. The truth lies a long way away from this, but Chris’s ‘youthful exuberance’ is an image he will retain for many years to come.

I believe the show will attract listeners from commercial radio... and probably more than it drives away from its existing base. Potential losers could be Absolute Radio, who despite having a very solid and listenable show with Christian O' Connell, may find that the offer of a big personality with a strong breakfast show track record, combined with a broader mix of music genres is a very tempting proposition for listeners. The somewhat ‘disenfranchised’ older listeners to the heritage ILR stations, (like Key 103 and Radio City) and newer regional offerings (like Real Radio) may also find that Radio 2 starts to pull at those all important 40+ demos.

Transition
After what will inevitably be a backlash from ‘middle-England’ / “disgusted from Tunbridge Wells” and a general outrage at the appointment of Chris to the role, this will die down (as it did shortly after Chris took over Drivetime) and people will get on with judging the show by what comes out of the speaker in the new year.

The differences in style between the current Breakfast Show and the Drivetime show on Radio 2 are vast. So the big question is... Will Chris adapt his style to the new time-slot to smooth the transition, or will he re-define the style of the ‘sound of breakfast’ on Radio 2? My view is he will do the latter, and shake up the show. Out go the ‘TOG’s’, and in will come a more bouncy, jaunty style of presentation complete with trademark ‘feelgood’ music beds and ensemble of characters. It’s a great formula that Chris has used repeatedly well throughout his radio career, and I don’t expect him to change now. Although Chris won’t go out of his way to alienate the loyal listeners to Wogan, I’m certain he won’t shy away from making the show his own within a pretty short space of time.

Salary
It won’t take long before questions are no doubt asked in the House of Commons as to “how much of licence fee payers money is being used to pay for the services of Mr Evans?” Will he be paid more than commercial radio could currently muster for a big breakfast show? Do BBC salaries distort the market? Well – I’m certain that if Mr Park and Co at Global really wanted a networked breakfast show and they felt Chris was the man for it, they would be able to find the money somewhere! (Mind you – can’t imagine Chris appearing on Heart somehow!) The cost of talent is a whole subject in itself, so I’ll save that one for another posting... OK?

Timing
I smiled a wry smile at the timing of the announcement this morning. It is no accident that Wogan chose to announce this on the very day that Chris Moyles becomes the longest serving Radio 1 Breakfast DJ in its history. Behind the smiles, the rivalry runs deep and there is a certain calculated timing in all this I feel! I’d love to have heard the phone calls between the Radio 1 and Radio 2 press offices today!

Chris
I’ve always been an admirer of Chris and his sheer devotion to radio as a medium. He consistently delivered some great radio shows on whatever station he’s been on.... OK... there were a few dodgy months at Virgin where the show (and Chris) “lost it” for a bit, but hey... haven’t we all had the occasional wobble?! He’s both a dream and a nightmare to work with, and certainly proves the point that ‘the best talent is the hardest to work with’. But he reminds me why I love working in radio.

In a period where traditional radio is coming under pressure from all sorts of digital offerings, (and providing you can set aside the politics of it all), it’s great news to have a real star like Chris heading up a flagship programme like the Radio 2 Breakfast Show.

I for one, will be tuned in.

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…

RAJAR Qtr 1 2008 - "Story of The Blues"

Every set of listening figures tells a story beyond that of the immediate numbers, and the latest set of figures in the UK issued by RAJAR last week are no exception.

Actually, it’s a story with several tales to tell.

First, the main theme. The BBC is starting to pull seriously ahead of commercial radio, with almost 57% of listening verses Commercial radio’s 41%. Depending on which side of the fence you sit on, you can either see this as just rewards for investment in content and talent… or a blatant abuse of a privileged position designed to drive any commercial rivals into the ground… and stand on them hard! The BBC is long used to allegations of this sort, and to be fair, has to walk a delicate line of being successful… but not too successful, because “that’s just not fair”!

Perhaps it’s also tied into that peculiar British disease. We like success, but then when we see something becoming too successful, we cry foul, and denounce it as terribly unjust and really not very… well… ‘British’. Odd. To give a parallel example in the world of retail, I need only mention the word ‘Tesco’! ‘Nuff Said!

With Radio 1 back above 11 Million listeners and Radio 2 at 13.6 Million, there is no doubt that the BBC has made further inroads into the beleaguered commercial sector.

Virgin Radio’s resident number cruncher (and generally all round good-egg) Adam Bowie has written a very thoughtful piece on his personal blog about this topic and illustrated the theme with a rather good graph, which I've "borrowed". (I'll give it back whenever you want Adam!)

I think I need say no more on this topic, as the lines speak for themselves!

Another theme in this great RAJAR story is the tale of woe that continues for GCap. Capital has now slipped to 4th place in terms of reach with Kiss 100 now cume-ing an audience of 1.583 Million a week compared to Capital’s 1.563 Million.

Despite Kiss being a strong listen, I expect this to reverse itself over the remainder of the year as the ‘Denise’ effect kicks in. Word on the street is that the internal research is very strong for her and it’s only a matter of time before this translates to RAJAR. The fact of the matter is she’s a far bigger star than Johnny now. But how long can Capital hold on to her for? Hmmmm…

Elsewhere in GCap, Xfm’s worst nightmare has come true. Its market share is under 1% (at 0.9%) and its audience dropped a whopping 26% to just 379,000! (That “let’s get rid of all the DJ’s across the day” was a cracking idea wasn’t it!!) Is it time for that brand to be “humanely euthanized”? The boys at Global Radio certainly have a full ‘in-tray’ when they take over from the GCap!

And finally to a more subtle, yet highly significant tale: The number of people listening to some sort of digital radio continues to grow. Almost a third of the population (31.4%) listens to digital radio at least once a week, with DAB being the dominant technology. Sure… most of this is to analogue stations on digital, but it was great to see Planet Rock cume well the half million mark! Even The Jazz signed off with over 400,000 listeners. A bit too hasty to switch that one off? Over 27% of the UK’s population has a DAB radio, so it seems although the commercial sector is in turbulent times over the economics of DAB, the public still quite like it.

So, what’s the morale of our story? Simple really - invest in content! Easier when you have guaranteed funding I accept, but nonetheless, it seems to be a bit of a no-brainer really. And what is commercial radio’s answer to the current situation? Networking. Hmmmm – is this really investing in content? More on that to follow I think…

"And the nominations please"...

The announcements last week of who’d won Sony Radio Academy Award nominations was another good indicator of who the stars of commercial radio are, and how dominant the BBC are in certain areas.

With beer in hand, I dutifully stood at the back of the room and listened intently as Chris Evans & co read out the list of names of those going forward to win a gong. With over 30 categories, it took quite some time, and the announcements were met with either large cheers (usually from the boys and girls at Kiss 100 – they turn up to anything in the West End of London where there’s a free drink, you know!)… stunned silence… or a stifled laugh into the hand.

Some of the nominations that caught my eye…

It was nice to see 3 commercial radio Breakfast shows feature in the 5 nominations for The Breakfast Show Award (Capital, Trent and Clyde) who will battle against Radio 1 and 5 Live. I’d be delighted if Johnny picked up the award for Capital. He’s taken so much flack over the years and consistently delivers a very strong product.

The Entertainment Award sees Russell Brand up for a gong (which would be well deserved, as the show is so unique and entertaining)… but the category includes the rather brilliant Mike Toolan from Key 103, who again delivers consistently funny radio.

Jonathan Ross gets nominated for Music Radio Personality of the Year along with Zane Lowe, Jamie Theakston, Geoff Lloyd and Adam from Rock FM. Again… nice to see commercial radio delivering some great nominations up against the BBC, showing that in the area of mainstream entertainment, UK commercial radio can hold its own.

The Irony Award goes to Planet Rock who got 3 nominations, despite the “Fru Master Plan” calling for it to be shut. Shows that sometimes in radio, decisions aren’t based on any artistic or creative merit… it’s just about the money. Shame really. Still, I have a hunch it will survive! (“Fish on Friday” is probably the best name for a show I’ve heard in a long time!)

A couple more ‘tips of the hat’ go to the following: The guys at Jack FM in Oxford got a nod for their imaging. I hope they pick up the award for having the balls to do something different. In a sea of similarity, Jack FM is bobbing about being very unique. And that’s got to be worth something.

Finally in the Specialist Music Programme Award, a full sweep of BBC nominations was only stopped by “Friday Night Floorfillers with Krystle” from 97.3 Forth One in Edinburgh. Being the Programme Director that thought she’d make a rather good presenter one day and gave her first show on Forth One a few years back now, it’s nice to see that she’s recognised alongside heavyweights such as Zane Lowe on Radio 1. Well done Krystle!

So, the countdown is on. The dinner jacket is being dry cleaned, the pre-show drinks party is being arranged and the ‘Nurofen Plus’ is being ordered in bulk. If you’re nominated for a Sony Award this year… good luck. Winning is a great feeling. Losing is pretty crap… but alcohol does help. And if you’re going to the Grosvenor House Hotel on May 12th… mine’s a large Scotch and coke!

"A great philosopher once wrote..."

OK – ‘Soapbox’ time.

I never make a real point of reading the ‘Radio Review’ columns that most broadsheet papers in the UK run… but I occasionally stumble across one (mainly due to carelessness) when trying to find, in the listings, the broadcast time that a great documentary is on BBC Four! (Honest!)

So yesterday, when I accidentally cast my eyes across Paul Donovan’s column in The Sunday Times, I thought I’d give it a go. After all it had been a tumultuous week in UK radio, with GCap’s DAB announcement still sending ripples of excitement through the broadsheets. So I imagined the Sunday Times radio commentator would be begging the editor for more space than his usual 600 word allowance to wax lyrical about DAB / Jazz music on radio / classic rock / listener choice…. you name it!!

Sure enough, the first 3 lines alluded to the planned closure of Planet Rock and The Jazz and the tweaking of the Classic FM schedule… but then the esteemed Paul Donovan seemed somewhat determined to crowbar in a story he had planned to write anyway about BBC Radio 1 and Judge Jules, and got to it with the awkwardness of a 1st Year GCSE English student.

Not only did he fail to give any musings on the demise of 2 stations enjoyed by almost a million listeners between them, but he then forced on the readers what I can only describe as a pompous, haughty, lecturing, ostentatious, vindictive and out of touch ‘personal viewpoint’.

You really need to read it to believe it, but the thrust of it was that BBC Radio 1’s Judge Jules made an off the cuff remark buried deep within ones of his links that went…

“The last time I heard that, I was chewing my face off in a field in the early Nineties.”

This remark led to our great radio reviewer using his column to launch into a massive ‘anti-ecstasy’ rant quoting all sorts of statistics and basically suggesting that Jules was a drug-fuelled fiend and practically gives away Ecstasy tablets on his show! (OK – He doesn’t suggest that at all, but I think you can tell he’s not a fan of Jules!)

I think what annoyed me most, was the phrase…

“He should know better”

I mean… come on. Please. I wanted to read a review about radio or some sort of comment on the state of the industry this week, not get ‘Victorian Dad’ lecturing me that taking drugs is bad. And as if to illustrate the point further, he suggests that one of the reasons that Jules should know better is… wait for it… that he’s related to the celebrity chef Rick Stein. Oh dear… oh dear!
I thought the Sunday Times was better than this.

Of course, Paul Donovan contacted Radio 1 to ‘grass Jules up’ for being a despicable peddler of filth. (I suspect that no-one else was too bothered about this remark and I can’t see the Duty Log running out of space at that time). Being the BBC, they naturally said that the comment was “inappropriate.” I’m sure the Radio 1 Press Office were stifling their laughter during the phone call!

Our anachronistic columnist was seemingly delighted at this supposed ‘telling off’ and ended his piece with the classic lines…

“Quite right too. Next time, he should get the chop”

It sounded more like The Daily Mail with every word. I think that perhaps the author also has an issue with the licence fee being used for Radio 1 to play dance music.

“What the station needs to do now is consider the acceptability of its 12-hour dance-music marathon, which runs from 7pm on Friday to 7am on Saturday. It offers “piping-hot tunes”, “hot mixes” and “remixes”, the sort of hypnotic music that people listen to when they go clubbing.”

Bizarre. Perhaps dance music doesn’t live up to his Reithein interpretation of “Entertainment”.

I’m a pretty mild-mannered radio consultant and not really prone to outbursts of this nature (most of the time!) but this kind of disconnected attitude means that when people under 65 do actually read Paul Donovan’s column, they’ll be put off for life.

There’s a documentary on BBC Radio 4 tomorrow where Gyles Brandreth celebrates the 100th Birthday of the character ‘Billy Bunter’. Much more up your street I think Mr. Donovan! Look forward to not reading the review next week.

"What's the Story, Morning Glory?" / "Spinning Around" - RAJAR Qtr 4, 2007

So what did the RAJAR fairies deliver for Qtr 4 2007 then? What was the big talking point this quarter? And how was it spun?

Well, it’s difficult to get away from the continued dominance of BBC Radio against commercial radio (perceived and real!). Chris Moyles record 7.31 Million listeners is an excellent result… no doubt about it, and he’s within shouting distance of Terry Wogan on Radio 2 with just 420,000 listeners in it. If, as I predict he will, overtake Wogan, then we can expect the Radio 1 PR machine to go into overdrive!!

It was interesting to see how commercial radio was fighting back against the might of the BBC in terms of PR. (As we know, sometimes the figures are irrelevant, merely what do stations want readers to believe!) In particular, the point that Johnny Vaughan on Capital and Jamie & Harriet on Heart both beat Moyles in London.

I won’t bore you with the figures (this time around!) but even when you fiddle around with the different times the shows are on, there is certainly a preference for commercial services at breakfast verses Radio 1.

Mark Browning, PD of Heart 106.2 was quoted on Media Guardian saying:

"The London market tells us that if commercial radio was freed up from the regulatory burden it is constrained by so it could share best practice across the UK then the real winner would be the listener. Where listeners have a strong commercial radio proposition, and a strong BBC, as they do in London they are choosing commercial radio. We need Ofcom to let us give listeners more choice and better commercial radio."

This is not an accidental ‘off the cuff’ remark by the very eloquent Mr. Browning! It seems that at any opportunity commercial radio is going to lobby Ofcom for a more liberal approach to what it can and can’t do, with the endgame surely being a networked ‘Jamie and Harriet’ and ‘Johnny and Denise’. The theory being that only networked big name talent will be able to compete with Radio 1 in local markets. It’s an interesting thought and one I will expand upon in a future posting.

Meanwhile, there were the usual ups and downs for most stations / groups and naturally they tried to make the best of what they had in their press releases. There’s an interesting article in today’s Guardian where journalist Paul Smith discusses the tactics used by stations to put a positive shine on their figures. I’m surprised that he feels so surprised himself! (I suspect he's not that suprised actually!). Of course stations try to make things sound good!! Far be it from me to suggest that journalists (even in The Guardian) sometimes try to make a story sound more sensational than it actually is!! It’s a good piece nonetheless, and shows that PR is still such an important weapon in the battle for listeners and the figures will keep spinning!

Witch Hunt?

I have a confession to make.

In 1992, whilst doing the evening show on Christmas Eve on Radio City in Liverpool, I put a caller to air claiming it was Santa Claus. It wasn't. It was my Brother in Law... Phil, doing a rather bad impression of an old man with a white beard, carrying lots of presents.

If I was at the BBC right now, I might well have a taxi on its way to take me home... forever!

The "fake callers" scandal goes on.. and on... and on! Today, another incident has come to light! According to the BBC...

"A pre-recorded section of Radio 1's Jo Whiley Show on April 20, 2006 featured a phone competition in which a member of BBC staff posed as a caller from the audience. The incident came to light following the recent publication of further editorial breaches. A number of staff members have been disciplined. We would like to make clear that Jo Whiley was unaware that the caller was not a genuine member of the public. The BBC Trust's Editorial Standards Committee has been informed of this today."

Oh dear. How many more of these are going to rear their heads? I'm sure there are quite a few producers / production assistants who are having sleepless nights at the moment. Fess up and do the right thing, and you might get the "Leona McCambridge" treatment!

She was the unfortunate producer who was at the centre of one of the original "fake caller" scandal on BBC 6Music, having admitted to using production staff to pose as a caller. 6Music Director of Programmes, Ric Blaxill, fell on his sword shortly after Leona was given her marching orders.

So where does this leave us? Is the relationship between a radio station and a listener irrevocably damaged... regardless of station? Does it affect the whole industry in the UK?

One of the real issues is the fine line between creating "radio theatre" and conning the audience. It's probably OK to say "I'm opening the golden envelope now..." when you haven't got an envelope in the studio, let alone a gold one! But asking people to call in without a hope in hell of getting on the air, coz the show's pre-recorded is probably pushing it.

So where is the line?

If you record a session on a Friday, and go on the air on Saturday morning and say... "we've got Band X live in the studio to play us some songs" and present them 'as live'... is that conning the audience? Having the band there live is infinitely more preferable than saying "we recorded this yesterday". But is it conning the audience?

But where does this end? If you record a call and edit it a bit before putting it on air.... is that also unfair?

Personally, I think a degree of theatre is OK. When you're actively involved in deception (i.e. call now to win) knowing that the audience are being taken for a ride, then you probably need to ask yourself 'why?'.

It's fair to say that these "smoke and mirror" tactics have been going on for as long as radio itself, not only in the BBC, but in commercial radio too. Because of the BBC's status and responsibility, it's having to air it's dirty laundry in public... but I'm sure the editorial guidelines within most commercial groups are being tightened up as we speak.

I bumped into Jenny Abramsky (BBC Audio and Music supremo) at a radio conference in Oslo recently and we talked about the current spate of BBC confessions. I admit to feeling rather bad for her at the moment, as she's no doubt going to face some awkward questions about the editorial integrity of the networks, and it's not really her fault!

So what's the solution? I believe this current witch-hunt within the BBC is counter productive. It continues to undermine the trust between listener and broadcaster. We know that quite a but of this stuff has gone on... do we need every instance to be trawled over? I think enough is enough. Let's call time on this. You can be sure that the BBC is having to be 'whiter than white' from now on and I'm certain lessons have been learnt.

And the commercial sector can be glad that the spotlight has not shone in its direction with the same ferocity.

Most radio stations, BBC or commercial, have probably not been involved seriously dodgy practises... but you can bet that any producer will think twice about calling a mate to help out on a pre-record now!

"Radio 1 - Established 1967"

Every now and again, a bit of programming comes along that makes you as a radio professional (well - professional most of the time!), appreciate the time and effort that has gone into the planning and production.

This month BBC Radio 1 celebrate 40 years of broadcasting, and it would practically against British law to ignore such a milestone in radio. So, the rather smart people at the BBC got together and worked out how they were going to celebrate this. The key challenge was for them to ensure that when they looked back over their shoulder, they didn't descend into a "retro mush-fest". Things were very different in the world of radio in 1997, let alone 1967 (when I of course wasn't born... but I've heard the tapes!)

"Radio 1... Established 1967" is the sub-brand that has been created to house all things referring to the last 40 years, and instantly they're onto a winner. The "Established - insert year here" idea has worked for lots of brands... jeans, whisky, trainers, pizza restaurants!! It has a certain cool about it, without reminding us of the Summer of Love and Sgt. Pepper every time we hear it.

The on-air idents really print well and the sense of heritage around the station cuts through, particularly with the use of the old jingles etc... More importantly, the sub-brand it gives the station permission to do lots of things that provide programming and musical surprises across the output.

There are a couple of gems. The 9pm 'Legends' show, where a music star picks some of their favourite songs from the last 40 years has already delivered some great radio... with Paul McCartney and Dave Grohl... and we've got loads more to go! Hearing Macca play Fred Astaire followed by The Sex Pistols was certainly extreme variety, but worked because of the "wrapping" around it.

The decision to revisit the "Golden Hour" - that classic 'guess the year' format, has meant Chris Moyles has been enjoying himself rather too much every morning, particularly when he gets to play Nik Kershaw and Duran Duran! And don't even start on all the old jingles he gets to play. He's having a the closest you can get to a "radio hard on" every morning!! But - hey... it sounds good, so why not!

And the 40 artists recording 40 cover versions from the last 40 years is brilliant. 'Toxic' done by Hard Fi, 'Teenage Dirtbag' done by Girls Aloud etc etc. I could go on!

What Radio 1 have done in creating their "Established 1967" series of programmes and features is a demonstration of a strong concept being planned really well in advance with great production values and great branding, plus the whole station getting behind it in a big way. (Of course having a budget of over £17 Million pounds a year means you can throw a decent amount of resource at it... so you'd hope the output was of high quality!! But let's not go there...)

The point is that any station can plan well in advance and create stand out programming given the right excuse. If your station is only 5 years old, you could celebrate that. If you want to create the most exciting Christmas schedule ever, you can do that. If you want the New Year to be all about live music, you can do that.

The key is planning.

Plan ahead as much as you can and see how far you can take your creativity.

But, at the risk of sounding sycophantic, well done Radio 1. A good bit of radio.

The Heroes of RAJAR - Qtr 2 2007

As the dust settles on another batch of RAJAR press releases and UK radio stations draw up the list of people to promote... or fire, it's time to pick out the villains and heroes... and no, not the flying senator, or indestructible cheerleader types.

There were a few main stories that are worthy of mention.

Kiss overtake Capital
Congratulations to the guys at Kiss, who have finally caught up with Capital. We've certainly discussed the possibility of them catching Capital before on this blog, and now it's happened. With Kiss at a 4.5% reach and Capital dropping to 4.1% and the reach neck and neck at 1.51 Million, there were probably two very different meetings taking place at the respective stations on RAJAR evening last week.

Kiss's offering continues to sound fresh and connected to young London and the new morning show with Rickie and Melvin is starting to take root. For me, Capital's issue is not with the execution of the format. They've gone young and the product sounds fine. No, it's the strategy that I find difficult to understand. Capital seem to have left Heart and Magic to slug it out at the top, while settling for trying to pick up Radio 1, Kiss and Xfm listeners along the way. The move is bold... but I can't help thinking it won't get you to Number 1 in London again. The team in Leicester Square have a real battle on and I hope Steve Orchard's words of August 2006 where he the "believed the station had hit rock bottom", don't get rolled out too much over the next few weeks. The city certainly gave GCap a good kicking, with quotes like "GCap has marketed Capital in this quarter, so there can be no excuses for these results!" Ouch!

The Jazz... Nice!
Debuting with 334,000 listeners is a pretty nice job! Taking a listen to the station, the formula is the same as has been applied to Classic FM; take a specialist music genre, and make it as accessible to as many people as possible. Classic FM took the fear out of listening to classical music... and The Jazz will do the same for Jazz.

More for Moyles
If I was sitting in GCap Towers... or even EMAP towers for that reason, I'd find the biggest pot of money I could lay my hands on and send it all to Chris Moyles on the condition that he came to a daily show for the network I was running. (Believe me... it's been thought of!) His show goes from strength to strength and is testament to hard work, good production and 'letting the talent get on with it'. With 7.26 Million listeners a week, he can play his "Saviour of Radio 1" jingle as much as he wants now!

The Future is... Digital
More people are listening to radio and more are using digital technologies to do this. 2 Million 15-24's listen on mobile phones and almost 13% of total listening by all adults is now done on either DAB, DTV or the internet. Let's compare this figure in 12 months time to see the continued growth, and then factor in the Channel 4 effect too!

So, as ever... always something interesting to mull over. Now if only we knew someone who could paint the radio future... Hmmm... I wonder...

Xfm - A Backward Step

This weeks news that Xfm is to get rid of its daytime line-up of DJ's and run a listener-powered, non-stop music offering between 10am and 4pm is an incredible move.

When John Plunkett at the Media Guardian first got wind of the story, he published a speculative "they're thinking about this idea", which usually means the story has been leaked, but he couldn't confirm it completely!

"Surely some mistake", I thought. "They wouldn't do a foolish thing like that.... would they?"

Then came the confirmation. Radio to the Power of U will allow listeners to choose songs via text, phone, and online across the day.

Nick Davidson, the MD of Xfm was quoted on Media Guardian as saying:

"Our listeners are used to being able to control what they watch or listen to as these days people are inundated with choice. Allowing them to shape their own content seems the next logical step." (Actually if people are being inundated with opportunities to take control, falling into line and allowing them to do the same on Xfm is not actually the next logical step. However, I digress!)

OK. Here's the reason why this is a bad idea for Xfm.

Xfm is all about having a passion for new music. A passion that is emphasised and celebrated by its presenters. The DJ's on Xfm bring new music to life. They live it, breathe it, feel it and share it with their listeners who look to them to a trusted guide through the sea of musical mediocrity.

Cutting out these musical champions is like removing a vital organ from the radio station. Will it still function? Yes - but it will look a lot paler... probably be bed-bound, and need some sort of dialysis for the rest of its natural life.

One of the reasons why BBC Radio 1 does so well, is because it has entertaining presenters who share their passion for music with the listeners. Even Moyles gets excited about certain records at breakfast! The opportunities for exploiting the rich vein of content that sessions, interviews and new music features brings will all be lost across the day at Xfm. Gone. And replaced with what?

A faceless jukebox that I could replicate on my ipod.

Radio at its best is about the relationship that develops between a broadcaster who communicates in a unique way with the listener. Imagine Paul Gambaccini if he played 40 minutes of non stop music every hour... or Bob Harris entering into a 100 Minute Music Marathon! Great music radio stations need great broadcasters. Sure, there's all the specialist shows in the evening and weekends, but that's not where the mass of the audience is available. I know putting your consumers in control is very fashionable at the moment and having sections of your output where this happens is as old as the hills in radio programming. "The Giant Jukebox" anyone? But having it across at least 30 hours of primetime radio every week is frankly a waste of valuable spectrum.

I like Xfm and what it stands for. It shows that some in commercial radio do care about new music (even though it's always struggled to make any significant commercial revenues) and it's been a breeding ground and platform for great talent like Adam and Joe, Shaun Keavney, Justin Lee Collins, Christian O Connell and Ricky Gervais.

Just at a time when the BBC has extended it's lead over commercial radio across the UK, one of the major radio groups announces that it's pulling it's daytime line-up off its network of new music stations, and replacing it with listener requests. Hardly a move that will win back valuable share points from the BBC is it now? Shouldn't commercial radio be investing in content... not removing it from the airwaves? I'm sure that Radio 1 are laughing into the thier licence fee settlement as we speak.

This move is a negative, defensive step and my predication is that it won't have any significant positive impact on the audience. If anything, the loyal Xfm fan who tuned in to hear a knowledgable DJ get excited by music, will re-tune to find a station that has one.

Sorry Xfm. Bad move.

RAJAR Qtr 1 2007 - The Post Mortem Part 2 - London

The London market is taking on a familiar pattern at the moment with Heart and Magic engaged in a titanic battle for the top commercial station in London.

Both have held their 'Number 1 in London' status and lost it. But who has the upper hand? Well, interestingly if you look at an average of the share figures over the last 2 years dating back to Qtr 1 2005, Magic averages at a 5.7%, while Heart averages at a 6.0%. Magic have only achieved anywhere in the 7's once, while Heart have managed it twice in last 2 years and their impressive 7.1% is the largest share figure generated by either of these 2 broadcasting adversaries. 1-0 to Heart on share.

And what about the reach 'glass ceiling'? Well - Magic have achieved a 1.867 Million record in the same period and Heart have been 'oh so close' to the (dare I say "magic") figure of 2 Million, cume-ing a 1.911 Million back in Qtr 3 2005. So based on share and reach, it's Heart 2 - Magic 0.

Magic may have nudged back in the lead with this book, but to continue torturing the football-ing analogy... this match has a long time left to play and any pundit would predict that Heart will be back on top before too long.

Capital got an important PR and morale booster of regaining the 'Number 1 Commercial Breakfast Show'. However, the share figure dipped to a new low of 4.6%... considerably lower than either Heart or Magic have ever been in the last 2 years. The new Capital format feels to me more like Radio 1 than anything else on the dial currently, and taking them on will prove tricky when Radio 1 is so strong in London at the moment, chalking up a 1.65 Million reach and 6.7% share in the London TSA.

Kiss didn't capitalise on the closeness with Capital in reach from the previous quarter and dipped back to 1.35 Million, but they're trending up.

So, what does it all mean? The latest set of figures continue to show that playing in some part of the 'AC' arena is essential if you're to currently have any traction in the London commercial radio market. A rejuvenated 'Smooth' will take some time to get going, and may eat into the 12 or so AC share points up for grabs in the market... which could open up some room for Capital, if the audience feel they have found the right format.

Final honourable mention goes to Kismat Radio, who have a year on year reach increase of 71%! A GCap takeover is only a matter of time!