Skip to main content

Slip-slidin' away...

I don't mean to sound pessimistic (a sentence that usually precedes something very very pessimistic)... Have a look at this graph:

Thanks to the guys at http://ilevel.ie
I've made it nice and big so you can see the trend clearly. Above is the percentage of Dubliners over the age of 15 who listen to radio each week. The different coloured lines represent different demographs, as indicated on the right. The x-axis represents this period in 2010, in 2013 and in 2016 (the current period).

Noticeably, they're all descending, and some quite significantly. In the case of 15-19 y/o's, listenership was at circa 92% in 2010, while it is at around 69% now. That's one hell of a decrease.

Those 15-19 year olds are the streaming generation - what's the point in them listening to a pre-selected playlist on the radio if they can create their own on Spotify? Perhaps with the distractions of social media, gaming being more accessible than ever on our smartphones, and the widespread availability of video streaming - people in this age group just don't find radio that exciting anymore. That's why fewer and fewer are listening.

Let's not rest on our laurels, though. We can either just deem this as the inevitable fate that we've been anticipating for years or we could act and slow down or even avert the trend.

Here's an idea - make your radio brand into something more than just an FM frequency. Make it multimedia. Turn everything you do on-air into video content, rendering it suitable for social media. You may not be gaining listeners directly, but you'll be keeping them connected with the brand. And who knows: maybe when they're in the car they will turn on your station?

We're seen the prominence of vloggers on YouTube. Teenagers are becoming infatuated by these people. They have real power, authenticity and a real personality that young people can relate to. Why doesn't radio tap into the trend? These people obviously know how to entertain, captivate an audience and communicate. Lets train them in radio - they'll bring their hoards of teenage fans with them, and connect with the demographic that is currently abandoning our medium. (Well maybe that's a bit optimistic - but it's a hope).


Let's not concede in this battle. Radio is not a lost cause, I think we can preserve its future if we adapt the medium with the times.

Gavin

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We've been spending most our lives livin' in an Anglicised paradise...

DISCLAIMER: This article has absolutely nothing to do with the 90s rap one hit wonder Coolio. He probably Googles himself from time to time and might come across this. There we were, about 10 minutes into a 3 hour journey on the Italian autostrada .. air conditioning was at full blast, we were slowly but surely getting the hang of driving on the right hand side and learning the local drivers idiosyncratic inability to indicate when changing lanes. I was sitting in the back and remembered a question posed to me by someone before I jetted off: “Do you have any Italian?” - a fair question, to which I responded: “Does the word pizza count?” . I asked the same question to my fellow travellers, hoping that when we reached our destination at least one of us would actually be able to converse in the vernacular. They admitted that they only had a few words. "How do you say ‘hello’ in Italian?” I piped up, alarmed by my own ignorance. There was an awkward silence as nobody could g...
Post a Comment
Read more

The 'A Word'

"YOU support murdering children?"   It was a simple exchange. We were talking about faith in the modern world, and I foolishly dropped the 'A Word'. Hinting my feelings in relation to this controversial topic, I was immediately stopped in my tracks. My words had led to a judgement being made about my character and my personality. This headline from Waterford Whispers News summarises what has happened to the debate in Ireland: It's ironic, because since the debate has come into general public consideration in Ireland, it has almost become more of a taboo. A highly emotionally-charged debate, both sides will shoot the other down with provocative statements. People are afraid to open their mouths about it in case they are ridiculed for their views. This is exacerbated by the far-left and far-right musings on social media, suggesting that there is little or no middle-ground in this debate. Whatever side of the tracks you are on, or whether you have made ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Lyric Hits the Right Note

Why does every radio station play the same music?   Given my occupation, I'm regularly asked naive questions about radio from lay people:  Has anyone ever overheard you in conversation and interjected 'I recognise your voice'?  and Can you get me free tickets to X gig/festival?  are classics. The respective answers are 'No... don't be ridiculous'; and 'No... don't be ridiculous'. There is one question however which comes up regularly enough and I think it's important that it is being asked. Why does every station seem to play music from the likes of Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Adele and Pink? Have they found the golden formula for pop music? Perhaps they have, but here's the thing. Most music radio stations in Ireland have what's known as an Adult Contemporary format . This was imported from America in the 1980s when aggressive heavy metal and crude rap were emerging as genres, but the soccer moms and 9-5 office workers wanted a more pre...
Post a Comment
Read more