"Today is going to be the day..."

This happens today on BBC Radio 2. A great idea developed to showcase the range and quality of the output of this network...

The DJ as 'Curator'

Listening to music radio is a great way of indulging your passion for a particular genre of music, whilst perhaps learning something about it along the way.

The best music radio presenters are ones who share their passion with you, and take you on a musical journey every time they take to the airwaves.

In the UK, the über-daddy of this was the late, great John Peel, who guided many a ‘new music’ fan through the exciting new sounds and movements he discovered along the many years of broadcasting.

There has always been a split in terms of the types of radio presenters there are. There are the ones who love music, like Peel, and draw together a merry band of listeners who they want to share their love of music with.

Then there are “personalities” whose sole aim is to entertain – they care very little about the music really. And that’s fine... that’s not their job.

Then there are the ones who just like to be on the radio... they don’t care much for music either, nor are they particularly entertaining – they just like being on the radio. Not that inspiring really, but there’s still a role for them!

I’ve found myself drawn to the first kind again recently; the DJ as curator... a trusted guide... someone I can allow to play me music I know and love, and to surprise me with the occasional song I wasn’t familiar with.

And the person whose re-ignited this in me? Dance music stalwart, Dave Pearce.

BBC Radio 2, a brand not closely associated with dance or club music, has commissioned a 13-part series where Dave is taking us on a journey through the history of dance music. From the early days of disco, through to the birth of house music in Chicago, right the way on to the UK rave scene and Ibiza. Each show is a veritable potpourri of rhythmic styles!

First thing to say is that this is exactly the kind of thing the BBC should be doing, so hats off to them for that. Second thing – they’ve got exactly the right person to do it. Dave has been there and done it and witnessed most incarnations of dance music during the last 30 years. So he’s the perfect “trusted guide” to take me through an hour of “choons” every week.

But it’s not only playing the records that counts. Any old monkey (or playout system) can do that. It’s the knowledge and context the DJ can bring to the show that really makes it enjoyable. So the little stories, anecdotes and bits of info that are peppered across the show make it a great listen to an unashamed fan of dance music, like me.

So if you’re a radio station that has room in your schedule for a late night show that allows a DJ to be the curator, the trusted guide... why not do something similar? The old expression of “Ratings by day, reputation by night” still applies, and your station may gain some new found respect and even generate some more listening off the back of doing something like this. There are loads of ‘listener friendly’ versions you could do, regardless of the format you’re in. And something like this really breaks the monotony of “the format” especially if you have the feeling (or evidence) your listeners are searching for something a bit deeper from your radio station.

And in an on-demand world, this is the perfect ‘listen again’ opportunity. (By the way, you can listen to Dave’s fantastic show by typing Dave Pearce into the Radioplayer search engine).

I know the ‘DJ as curator’ has never really gone away as a phenomenon, but a show like Dave’s Pearce’s on Radio 2 has reminded me of how great that concept is.

Baby You Can Drive My Car...

Outside Broadcasts on Breakfast / Morning Shows can sometimes be a bit hit and miss. But what about doing it from the hosts house?

Well - if you have a great reason, and a garage full of the most valuable cars in the world that you're going to let listeners drive, and the resources of the BBC... to make it all work... then why not?

Here's a great summary of the 'Drive and Dine 2010' Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2, live from Chris Evans house in the beautiful Berkshire countryside.

'Brown Underpants' Moment on BBC Radio 2

If you're looking for a good reason as to why you should always have cameras rolling when you have big name guests in your radio studio, this is it...

So... if you haven't got the kit already, go and get your engineer to worke out a tech solution to allow at least one 'locked off' camera in a single position, with an easy way of capturing audio and video from the guest. You never know what you might capture!

And it may just change the course of history!

Chris Evans First Show - Music Review

So, an expectant nation was tuned in to hear how Mr Evans did this morning. What will the reviews say? Well, the correspondents and bloggers have already been busy typing away, so we don’t have to wait until tomorrow mornings papers. But, as I always think it’s a bit unfair to judge a shows speech content and features on its first proper outing, I thought I’d look at the music content instead.

Here’s the running order from this morning's show:

7am
Beatles – All You Need Is Love
Beatles – Got To Get You Into My Life
Frank Sinatra – Fly Me To The Moon
Robbie Williams – You Know Me
Hockey – Song Away
The Seekers – Morningtown Ride
Paolo Nutini – 10/10
Madonna – Material Girl
Ocean Colour Scene – Magic Carpet Days
Fats Domino – Blueberry Hill

8am
Bruce Springsteen – Glory Days
Elbow – One Day Like This
Tom Jones – It’s Not Unusual
Dionne Bromfield feat Zalon – Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
The Monkees – Daydream Believer
Mika – Blame It On The Girls
Neil Diamond – Pretty Amazing Grace
Rolling Stones – Honkey Tonk Woman
Johnny Cash – Ring of Fire
Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind

9am
ELO – Rockaria!
Glen Campbell – Wichita Lineman
Supertramp – The Logical Song
Bon Jovi – Superman Tonight

Despite what any other station may claim, I think Radio 2 wins the prize for “More Music Variety”!

There really was something for everybody, with the oldest song being from Fats Domino with his 1956 version of Blueberry Hill. Throw in some Sinatra and Beatles and you’ve got the older end pretty happy... and many of the younger end too come to think of it. You can’t really go wrong with them. And the currents were catered for as well with Robbie, Alicia Keys, the new one from Mika... and even a rather good new song from the ‘Evans favourites’ box, Ocean Colour Scene.

Chuck in a few 80’s songs for good measure, and hey... I think we’ve got a show!

With 10 songs an hour, there certainly wasn’t plenty of music, so they ‘quantity’ box gets a tick. I’m certain there was a great deal of attention paid by Head of Music, Jeff Smith, to ensure that the playlist was suitably skewed as not to turn off the older end, suitably modern to appeal to a new generation of Radio 2 listeners, and suitably eclectic to ensure Radio 2 does not get criticised for being too mainstream.

I think he achieved that.

It will interesting to see how the music content develops over the next 12 months, so we’ll repeat this exercise again in a year’s time if that’s ok with you!

As for the speech content, we’ll leave that for another day... although I daresay “man who holds ‘blowing up hot water bottles’ record will never make another appearance on UK radio.... ever!

"Wake up... It's a Beautiful Morning..."

Tomorrow morning at 07:00, there will be a new dawn in Breakfast Show radio in the UK. The Chris Evans Breakfast Show will debut on BBC Radio 2.

Chris’s road to 'rehabilitation' has been well documented and there’s no doubt he feels blessed to be at the top of the tree once again, this time on BBC Radio 2.

Fans of morning shows... and more importantly fans of well structured, entertaining and engaging morning shows would be well advised to tune in at some point over the new next few months and take a good listen to how it’s done. (I say ‘few months’ as it’s always tempting judge a show by its first outing, which is dreadfully unfair. Give it a few weeks to bed in!)

I’ve always been a fan of Chris from when I used to listen to his BBC Radio1 Breakfast Show. And later when I then got the chance to work with him at Virgin Radio from 1999 onwards I became even more appreciative of what he actually did and what he brought to the programme.

The thing is, Chris makes something look so easy, when the truth is it's devilishly difficult and very few people can carry it off. Having worked alongside him for those years, here’s what I think Chris brings to a Breakfast Show:

Great Ideas
There’s a creative mind at the heart of every great Breakfast Show and turning up each day with loads of ideas to try on the radio is at the core of that.

Preparation
Usually the most spontaneous sounding shows are the most prepared. Tight running orders, thorough preparation and always having a good reason to open the microphone are essential elements. A strong production team behind you helps, and having a Producer who’s ‘married to the job’ is worth their weight in gold. (The Exec Producer for the new show is Helen Thomas, who is a fantastic talent. During the Radio 1 days it was Dan McGrath, who again was the backbone of 'making things happen')

Originality
Looking at new and different angles to topics is a sure fire way of getting engaging content. What’s the angle? How do you get into a topic? What will amke the way you do it different to way everyone else does it?

Energy
There’s no point in anyone presenting a breakfast show if they don’t really turn up each morning with 100% energy and 100% commitment. Yes it can be tough doing morning radio (especially when it’s dark and Minus 10 when you open your front door), but having ‘the love of doing the job’ is something that comes from ‘deep within’.

BBC Radio 2 have produced a great video documenting the behind the scenes moments at the recording of the full pilot. It’s a lovely insight into how the show is put together and a brief taster for what we have in store staring tomorrow morning.

Good luck Chris, and good luck to the whole team. I’m certain that the show will be a fantastic listen, and we’ll be talking about it on this blog on frequent occasions!

Terry's Leaving!

A great video from BBC Radio 2 with other broadcasters paying tribute to the departing Sir Terry Wogan...

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.

Ross Recorded

There’s something quite sad about the decision that BBC Radio 2 have taken to ensure that Jonathan Ross’s Saturday morning show be pre-recorded. It shows how far the whole ‘compliance’ thing has gone.

It seems that the BBC think that one of the country’s most talented broadcasters can’t be trusted not to offend anyone on the radio, and therefore to avoid any potentially difficult situations, they’re going to record the show, and then some censorious figure within Radio 2 will edit out anything that may have the potential to offend... well... anyone really, I guess.

As we know, censorship reflects society's lack of confidence in itself and is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime.

This super-sensitive and censorious approach has got to be bad for radio. Radio is best when it’s live and spontaneous and presenter has a sense of place and time, relating to the audience about the things that they are collectively experiencing at that moment. Pre-recording is always second best, and it’s a poor substitute for the real thing.

Of course, many listeners won’t know, and many won’t care... but the principle of the thing just feels wrong. I’m not against pre-recording music specials, or ‘best of’ shows or programmes going out over a holiday period. But a regular Saturday morning show from one the BBC’s most valued presenters being pre-recorded the day before, just in case he says something a bit controversial just feels that the ‘Nanny State’ mentality has seeped into the one organisations that I’d least expected to bow to this kind of thing.

It feels like this has the undertones of a very political decision. The BBC don’t want anything to cause a problem over the next 12 months that the tabloid press (mainly the Daily Mail!) will pick up on, (especially if it’s Jonathan potentially saying something stupid and risqué), as it would land them in a huge political storm with the probable next (Conservative) government who’ve already called for the BBC’s funding to be frozen. I can imagine the BBC hierarchy calling internally for a ‘safe’ period where controversy is avoided at all costs to avoid any ‘problems’ and safeguard the its own revenue situation. “Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive...”

If you want to hear the most eloquent argument as to why compliance kills creativity, listen to former BBC Director of Radio, Matthew Bannister deliver a lecture at the Radio Festival in Glasgow in 2008. It’s called ‘Comply or Die’ and you’ll find it here. (Scroll about half way down to find it and listen to the audio. It’s well worth it)

So... what’s next. Moyles on Radio 1 pre-record his overnight in case he uses the word ‘gay’ inappropriately again? The Today Programme on Radio 4 reporting the news a day in delay, so it can check every line for potential Gilligan style problems?

The best radio, is live radio. I hope we can keep it that way for some time to come. The alternative seems a little too Orwellian for my liking...

“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face— forever.”

"In The Naval"

Are you a navel-gazer? The definition of a navel gazer is “one who is extraordinarily self-absorbed with him or herself on any given issue; excessive introspection and reflection when action is more necessary”

Well, it’s an accusation that the Chief Executive of Global Radio, Stephen Miron, makes of the whole UK commercial radio industry, in an interesting article in today’s Media Guardian. He cites a lack of creative and commercial ambition in the sector, which he believes has resulted in UK commercial radio lacking the essential momentum required to move forward.

There’s no doubt that Global Radio are ‘on a mission’ to redefine the meaning of ‘local radio’ in 2009, with the next stage of the Heart rollout having just occurred. Whether you think that’s a good thing for the industry or not is a matter of opinion, and time will tell if it’s the right thing to do both in terms of audience and ad revenue.

There is one comment I thought fairly amusing in the interview, where Miron talks of the mainstream nature of BBC Radio and advertisers desires...

The idea, he says, is to create a commercial rival to Radio 2. "We have advertisers who say, we wish we could advertise on Radio 2. Well now you can - it's called Heart."

I’m not sure if Stephen has listened to Radio 2 lately (if at all)... but last time I checked, it didn’t sound anything like Heart. It’s an ambitious aim to become comparable to a station that had a budget last year of £51.3 Million, but “a man’s reach should exceed his grasp” and all that. So to be sure, I thought I’d double check, and start with an obvious area ... current music. So you can see I’m not ‘pulling the wool’, here are the 2 current playlists to inspect;

Heart Playlist
Alesha Dixon - Breathe Slow
Annie Lennox - Shining Light
Beyoncé - Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
Beyoncé - Halo
Beyoncé - If I Were A Boy
Enrique Iglesias - Takin' Back My Love
Girls Aloud - The Loving Kind
Girls Aloud - The Promise
James Morrison - Please Don't Stop The Rain
James Morrison feat. Nelly Furtado - Broken Strings
Jason Mraz - I'm Yours
Lily Allen - The Fear
Pink - Please Don't Leave Me
Pink - Sober
Ronan Keating - Time After Time
Seal - It's Alright
Shontelle - T-Shirt
Take That – Greatest Day
Take That - Rule The World
Taylor Swift - Love Story
Zarif - Let Me Back

BBC Radio 2 Playlist
A LIST
LUNIK - Everybody Knows
TONY CHRISTIE - Every Word She Said
PAUL CARRACK - No Doubt About It
TAKE THAT - Up All Night
SUGARLAND - All I Want To Do
JAMES MORRISON - Please Don't Stop The Rain
THE SCRIPT - Talk You Down
ALAIN CLARK - Father & Friend
BEYONCE - Halo
JON ALLEN - In Your Light

B LIST
BAT FOR LASHES - Daniel
BARRY MANILOW - Open Arms
LIONEL RICHIE - Just Go
ZARIF - Let Me Back
PET SHOP BOYS - Love etc.
*NEW* DUKE SPECIAL - Sweet Sweet Kisses
DOVES - Kingdom Of Rust
*NEW* JASON MRAZ - Make It Mine
FLEET FOXES - White Winter Hymnal
SHENA - Can't Stop The Rain
A R RAHMAN & THE PUSSYCAT DOLLS - Jai Ho!

C LIST
*NEW* MADELEINE PEYROUX - Instead
STEVE CRADDOCK - Falling Rocks
*NEW* AL GREEN - Just For Me
COLIN BLUNSTONE - The Ghost Of You And Me
BEN MONTAGUE - Can't Hold Me Down
IMELDA MAY - Big Bad Handsome Man
*NEW* BENJAMIN TAYLOR - She's Gone
AC/DC - Anything Goes / Big Jackeatest Day

So... the eagle eyed amongst you no doubt spotted that a massive ‘3’ of the songs on Heart’s playlist are also on Radio 2’s playlist 2. That’s around a 10% crossover. Blimey. “It’s practically identical guv’nor”... apart from the 90% difference that is, of course.

I won’t even dare to compare the speech content, but it’s suffice to say that today on BBC Radio 2 when Jeremy Vine was discussing the positive environmental impact of water metering designed to help protect limited supplies of water and reduce consumption, Toby Antis on Heart was forward promoting the fact that “Candi Staton’s coming up”.

As Chrissie Hynde famously once said.. ‘Don’t get me wrong’... I think Heart is a really strong brand and a fantastically well produced commercial radio station. But sorry Stephen Miron... Radio 2 it ain’t!

What could posses a man to make such a bold claim as to liken output of BBC Radio 2 with Heart? It sounds like one of those ridiculous claims that only an awful newspaper like ‘The Mail on Sunday’ would concoct! Hang on a minute... what role did Stephen Miron used to have? Oh... he was Managing Director of ‘The Mail on Sunday’...

Enough said.

Baby Baby

Any radio presenter I come into contact with, I usually (at some point) end up talking about ‘sharing a little bit of their own lives with the listener’. The need for it can vary a little depending on the daypart, but overall “real life” often provides brilliant content. There’s something reassuring about knowing that your favourite radio presenter takes out the bins like you, or goes shopping just like you, or has children... just like you.

Sure, there’s a fine line between doing ‘personal reveals’ and becoming a little ego-centric, but some presenters can get away with more than others. BBC Radio 2 drivetime host, Chris Evans, is a good example of someone who can get away with, perhaps, a lot more than most others... perhaps because he’s very talented?

Chris has shared every moment of his wife’s pregnancy on his blog (that he updates himself daily, other presenters please take note!!) and the culmination of it all this week was the birth of his son Noah. You can read all about it for yourself here and see more photos of the little mite that Chris posted. Now that’s really sharing.

Elisabeth Mahoney, who writes about radio and TV for The Guardian, thought that the level of Chris’s ‘personal reveal’ and the fact he was on the radio the day of the birth to tell all his listeners about it, really worked and she went on to say on her blog...

“It was testimony to the strong connection Evans has with his audience, and further evidence that the show at its best engenders a one-big-happy-family atmosphere. It was also an example of how Evans has matured on radio, with him knowing the pitfalls ("I promise I won't go on about it") and subsequently keeping the conventional shape and features of last night's programme. Finally, it was a tremendously sweet, feelgood couple of radio hours, which unless you are actually allergic to Evans, you couldn't begrudge him as you listened.”

Some presenters are more natural at doing this kind of stuff and more comfortable with allowing listeners into their lives, but I think (especially for ‘personality’ presenters) it’s kinda part of the deal really. ‘Develop a relationship with the audience so they get to know you, and like you... and listen to you more.’ Imagine not sharing anything about your life with your friends? It would be weird wouldn’t it.

Thought: 'Treating your listeners as your friends, (like Chris Evans does), is a pretty shrewd move. '

(Well done Chris and Tash!)

"So Folks... What Have We Learned?"

It looks as if we’ve almost seen the final word on the Brand / Ross incident with the publication this week of the BBC Trust’s Editorial Standards Committee Report on the whole sorry saga.

It is painstaking in its detail yet admirably thorough in its search for the truth. If the BBC lack in some areas around ‘editorial judgement’, they surely make up for it in ‘really good internal investigations’!

I won’t go into the gory details of the report, as they’ve been really well documented by a great number of worthy individuals and publications, but it is worth making a couple of points under the title of “So Folks... What Have We Learned?”

High-maintenance talent need experienced producers
BBC Radio 2 allowed Brand’s independent production company to let a relatively inexperienced producer oversee production of the show. It’s a tough call to say ’no’ to high profile talent, especially if they effectively employ you, as was the case here... but if you have talent that can be ‘difficult’, make sure you’ve got someone who can deal with them effectively. Managing talent is a specialist skill, so don’t just stick anyone in the studio with them and expect everything to be OK!

Make sure everyone knows what their job is
It seems that the Head of Compliance didn’t think it was his role to listen to an entire programme that was known to contain potentially ‘offensive’ material. If it’s your job to clear stuff... make sure you listen to it all first, or make sure the person whose job it is, knows what they have to do!

Use your “Spidey Sense”
BBC Radio 2’s now former Controller, Lesley Douglas, provided the unfortunate ‘smoking gun’ in this case... a one word email sent at 12:22 on Friday 17th October, where she clears the plan of action suggested by the Head of Compliance, which in fairness was slightly misleading and perhaps encouraged her to agree based on the ‘comedy value’ of the item. If something feels like it needs a further discussion, tempting as it may be to give a monosyllabic reply to the email from your Blackberry whilst sourcing a Blueberry muffin and skinny Latte from the nearby Starbucks, this may not always be the best course of action, as poor Lesley found out to her cost.

We should actively support talent and encourage risk-taking on air, and as my previous posts have suggested we shouldn’t allow this over-hyped incident to neuter creativity, but please make sure your own radio station has a system in place to guarantee that a “catastrophic breakdown of editorial and compliance control” doesn’t take place on your watch.

"Que?" - Brand / Ross... What does it all mean?

The hysterical reaction to the last week of activity surrounding the Brand / Ross saga seems almost farcical. It's even got it's own name... 'Sachsgate'!

This media feeding frenzy has ensured front page coverage on all national newspapers, led all our news bulletins and become the main topic of conversation of the chattering classes. Everyone, it seems, has an opinion on this. (And most I think, have not even heard the programme in its entirety, if at all!)

Some working in non-UK radio industries can't quite believe that the Prime Minister is being asked about a prank phone calls in press conferences whist the economy is crumbling around his very ears!

As predicted, scalps have been claimed. Russell Brand thought that by resigning from his Radio 2 show, that may placate those wanting blood. Frankly, his star is rising in Hollywood and a late night Radio 2 show is not the end of his ambitions. But no... one scalp is not enough! The exceptionally talented Lesley Douglas then felt duty bound to fall on her sword; a noble thing to do, as the incident was something that occurred on her network. BBC Director General, Mark Thompson was probably grateful she did so, as it took some of the heat off him. And the hunters main prize? Well... as we know, Jonathan Ross has been suspended for 3 months without pay.

Will that be it? Will there be more blood on the studio floor? Quite probably. I'm certain that's not the end of it.

When they write the history of the BBC and its place as a public service broadcaster in the 21st century, Hutton, 'Queengate' and now 'Sachsgate' will all feature prominently.

But why has this incident captured the imagination of the country in such a momentous way? I believe there are 3 main reasons:

1. The BBC is involved; the great British public have a strange relationship with this institution. On one hand, many are quite rightly proud of it, especially its reputation abroad. I still maintain it is the finest broadcaster in the world. However, when it makes a mistake, it becomes an easy target, because everyone's suddenly reminded that it's “our money” that funds it, and anything that's publicly funded can't possibly make a mistake!

2. Celebrities are involved; we're obsessed by celebrities. We love reading about them. They fill a hole in many people's unglamorous lives. They sell newspapers. And when a celebrity is involved in a scandal... well... it's manna from heaven for the papers and news broadcasters alike.

3. A morality tale is involved; nothing excites the press in the UK more than a story chronicling the decline of standards of our nation. Whether it's hoodies, lack of respect in school or teenage mums... any indicator of this country going to 'hell in a handcart' is blown out of all proportion by a press pack keen to amplify the end of civilisation as we know it.

So there we have it. A perfect scandal that started as a misjudged item on a late night radio show 10 days later becomes symbolic of the 'decline and fall' of a once great nation. Only in Great Britain!!

This is another example of the ‘British disease’ where we enjoy elevating our celebrities, but then when they get too successful (or are perceived to be paid too much licence fee payers money perhaps), a section of the media strive manfully to drag them down over one particular incident.

Provided the checks and balances of a strong editorial team are present, some radio presenters should be encouraged to take risks and explore the limits of acceptability. If they don’t, we will breed a generation of broadcasters whose programmes are the radio equivalent of beige; uninspiring, undistinguished and uneventful.

"He fucked your Granddaughter!"

Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross… where do I start?!!!

(For those who’d like a quick précis of the story, click here)

I think we need to separate 2 things here.

1 - What happened on the radio and why
2 - The reaction to it

What happened on the radio and why
Let’s take the first of these. When you tune into Russell Brand’s show on BBC Radio 2, you do so probably in the knowledge that it will be mix of obvious innuendo, childish pranks, indulgent narcissism, multiple drug references and decadent interviews. It’s like no other show on the radio. That’s what makes it good. That’s what I pay my licence fee for… to have something different and challenging that the market doesn't provide.

So, when I hear that Russell Brand and his guest on that week’s show, Jonathan Ross, left offensive answer-phone messages for actor Andrew Sachs, then it hardly surprised me. Out of the 4 messages they left (!) the first one did the real damage. Take a listen right now...

Boomp3.com

Now, did they cross the line? Probably… yes. Was it funny? Depends on whether you find that kind of thing amusing. (It did make me laugh – but I’m very liberal and don’t read The Daily Mail) It was actually Jonathan who blurted out the most offensive bit. But the real issue is not the fact that 2 talented and well-loved presenters went too far. (Many presenters have gone too far in the past) The real issue is that the show was pre-recorded and the whole thing could have been avoided if the Producer or Senior Producer had spotted that this might blow up in their face. So, if anyone should take some heat, it should be them… and not the presenters.

I want presenters like that to take risks. Russell Brand was not hired by Lesley Douglas to play “10 in a Row”. That’s what he’s there for: to push boundaries. And that’s what producers are there for: to know where the line is. The production system failed, not the presenters. But that's not a sexy story.

The reaction to it
So a couple of listeners complain when they hear it, but the main damage is done by a Mail on Sunday journalist who picks up the story and calls Sach’s agent for a comment and then runs with it. As a result of that, Andrew Sachs makes a complaint to the BBC. That’s then picked up by the mainstream media as they all know that this is a story that will sell newspapers, increase viewers on TV shows etc. It’s about 2 of the UK’s most high profile media stars, so its light relief from the ‘Credit Crunch’ and ‘Recession’ doom and gloom stories that don’t sell papers.

Then as soon as the press get hold of it, the snowball effect happens. After a relatively minor number of complaints, people who haven’t even heard the original broadcast start to complain. They’re complaining about something that they didn’t hear, and weren’t originally offended by. They’re just complaining about the fact that it happened. Complaints breed complaints. Remember the Big Brother race row? And what has happened here is that those people who don’t like Brand or Ross and what they stand for finally have an opportunity to stick their small knife in, hoping for ‘death by a thousand cuts’. There is no doubt that ‘Middle England’ still has an enormous voice when it comes to morale outrage.

Once that Middle England is morally outraged, then it’s only a matter of time before Gordon Brown and David Cameron get dragged it to the debate, both eager to deplore a decline in standards within the BBC etc. One conservative MP today has suggested that Radio 2 encourages anti-social behaviour!! Oh dear.

As the story gathers pace and the front pages of national newspapers are packed with the details, the BBC has to act. It’s constantly afraid of having its wings clipped as a result of appearing too liberal so it has to do something seen as ‘strong’ and ‘in touch with the sentiment of the nation’ And it has just acted, suspending both Brand and Ross. And there we have it. Two of the most talented broadcasters in the country are suspended for mistake that a Senior Producer has made in allowing the item to be broadcast.

It’s part of the British disease. We like to build people up, but we seem to revel in a moral panic that allows us to drag them down again. It’s un-British to be too successful (especially if you’re being paid licence fee payers money.) This rather sanctimonious standpoint is nearly always driven by the tawdry organ of hate, otherwise known as The Daily Mail / Mail on Sunday. I’m embarrassed that those papers are read by so many, otherwise normal, people in this country. One ironic twist to the whole thing; Andrew Sachs says he now wishes the whole thing would go away. Well Andrew, it’s unlikely to if your Granddaughter, the lovely Georgina Baillie (a member of Satanic Sluts!), sells her story to The Sun for a front page spread. Just a thought.

So – no doubt this will rumble on until a scalp is claimed and peace and order can be restored to 'this Sceptred Isle'! And I’m sure I’ll again feel obliged to defend the need for talent to be allowed to push boundaries and encouraged to take risks. I’ll also feel obliged to write about the need for Senior Producers to understand more effectively how to edit out pieces of pre-recorded audio that are going to cause a national crisis!!

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!

"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!

Prepare to Meet Jack

The countdown is on... The clock is ticking... It's not long now... The wait is finally over... T minus 10 seconds to launch... Prepare for takeoff... (Insert your own cliché here!)

The first JACK-FM outside North America is launching this week in the most English of English cities... Oxford! How will one of the biggest format success stories in the last few years from the US translate the UK?

Well - we know that it will be different for a start. The North American JACK's are mostly music intensive, no-DJ environments. In the UK, JACK-FM will have a good old 'Breakfast Show' and a 'Drivetime' moment, both hosted by real people... and not just the 'voice of Jack'. (Trevor Marshall, who is one of the hosts of mornings is an excellent broadcaster and will bring a certain class to the show without a doubt).

But 'JACK-FM Oxfordshire' will be different in the way that it approaches the challenge that many commercial radio stations in the UK have, that is how to break the pattern of predictability and cycle of monotony that tightly formatted stations bring?

The 'extreme variety' position that JACK has grown famous for in many US and Canadian markets will now be unleashed on the good folk of Oxfordshire. We can expect car crash segues from artists as varied as The Police, Bananrama, Leo Sayer, Carl Douglas, Roxette, Depeche Mode, Steely Dan and David Bowie.

Hang on a minute... that sounds like something the BBC would do!

And that's the point. I believe that JACK-FM will offer a viable alternative to Radio 2 and BBC Radio Oxford and provide a section of older adults, mainly 40+, with a "commercial radio station that doesn't sound like a commercial radio station". I'm sure that Fox FM (the heritage commercial station in the market) will not be welcoming this new entrant to the rather uncompetitive Oxfordshire marketplace, as inevitably JACK will pull from some of the older end that's been holding up their cume for all those years. But even the guys at Fox should welcome a station that will challenge the BBC in a smarter way.

A morning show that will have a 50/50 speech and music balance and packed with local content will inevitably appeal to some of BBC Oxford's 100,000 weekly listeners, and hourly news bulletins will satisfy the demand for information throughout the day.

The Year 1 audience projections are around a 55,000 Reach with a Market Share 5.4%. I'm confident they can achieve that given the strength of the proposition and format, the charisma of the brand, and the expertise of the operators.

Good luck Jack!

And to get you all in the mood, here's a fun TV spot from JACK-FM in Toronto...

Smooth Radio - First Impressions...

So… they chose Barbara Streisand to re-launch Smooth FM in London. "Welcome to Smooth Radio!" Hmmm...

How Smooth is it then? Decidedly Smoother?

Well, on dipping in to the their new sound today… yes it’s all very melodic and easy going as you’d hope and expect. But it does sound rather… well… rather Magic!

As expected, there are a lot of cross over songs with Magic. Today I heard the likes of Marvin Gaye, David Gray, Odyssey and ABC. All big Magic stalwarts. The biggest shift from Smooth’s point of view must be the inclusion of traditional rock based artists.

So come on down… Coldplay and David Bowie!!

The station promises listeners music from 5 decades. Well, they certainly do deliver that every hour and the noticeable point of difference with Magic (and perhaps similarity to Radio 2) is the inclusion of 60’s music.

Yes, there are the obvious timeless 60’s hits like Martha Reeves and the Vandellas and Beach Boys, but also the very twee 60’s songs like The Cascades, Everly Brothers and even some of the early Beatles numbers. These certainly will appeal to the over 50’s as is Smooth’s stated aim.

The oddest thing about the station so far is not the music. It’s the positioning statement.

“Your Music. Your Life”

Fair enough. Looks fine on posters, logos etc… but hearing presenters deliver this line like it’s something natural they’d say just doesn’t work. How often do you use sentences consisting of 2 words… and 2 of them in a row!! The days of presenters delivering straplines on air must be numbered. And this particular line just sounds very artificial and forced.

There’s much more speech on the new service and you can see how they are trying to challenge Radio 2 with this type of stuff. Mark Goodier’s quiz this morning had a bit of a Ken Bruce / Steve Wright quiz about it, and Kevin Greening’s ‘talky bit’ with an entertainment journalist about 3D movies, was very ‘Vine-esque’ in it’s construction.

Let’s allow it a few weeks to find its feet, and revisit ‘Smooth Radio’ and see if any cracks appear or if they will be real challenger to the BBC in London.

Radio 2 - The next step?

BBC Radio 2 have a new Head of Music. It's Jeff Smith, former Head of Music at Radio 1, Capital PD and most recently the Director of Programming at Napster.

He has a big job ahead of him. Radio 2 is riding high. The station is as popular as ever... and is probably the most eclectic it's ever been. Organ music, soft religious programming, show tunes, country music and light classics... right the way through to specialist reggae, cool new wave Brit bands, and the finest live sessions around. You can't get broader than that!

The charge that Radio 2 has moved it's music younger and attracted the traditional 'commercial radio' audience is one that is always levelled. It just doesn't add up though. Yes, the station has increased it's reach of 30-44 year olds. Since 2000, they've gone from 2Million to 3.5 Million and the share has almost doubled from 7.5% to around 15%.

But at the same time, the share of 60+'s, that demo that commercial radio just doesn't seem to want, has stayed around the 20% mark for the last 7 years. The most hours on radio 2 are still generated by 60+ women! A shift implies growing one area at the expense of another. However, Radio 2 haven't shifted, they've just grown overall!! (Still a problem for commercial radio). But when times are tough, it's easy to point the finger elsewhere.

A lot of this Radio 2 growth has been put down to former controller Jim Moir laying some solid foundations, Lesley Douglas continuing the good work and outgoing Head of Music, Colin Martin, chosing a great (and evolving) set of songs to play week in week out. From the latest successes of Mika and James Morrison, back through to Norah Jones and Katie Melua... Radio 2 has been instrumental in defining the singer / songwriter sound of the 2000's.

But where next? That's the challenge for Jeff. With the wave of new UK music swinging back to a slightly harder rock sound and the cycle for pop and dance music due another burst, can Radio 2 hang on to the contemporary music position it has carved out for itself, or will the current music swing away from the Radio 2 sound, making it feel a little like James Taylor performing at an '18-30' welcome party? Will the younger end of it's audience stick with it? Will the older end of the audience stick with it? A difficult balancing act is about to be performed and Jeff Smith will be walking along that particular musical tightrope.

I wish him well. A strong BBC Radio 2 is ultimately good for commercial radio (despite what they say!) as it will ensure that investment in good content and a less formulaic approach to music programming will be adopted in the months and years ahead.

In a fragmenting world, is "extreme variety" still an option? Over to you Jeff....!