Understanding the Radio Industry

Understanding the Radio industry

Commercial radio stations

• Most commercial radio stations serve a local or regional area and are owned by one of three big groups which dominate the sector.

• There are three national commercial stations broadcasting using FM, which are; Absolute Radio, Classic FM and talkSPORT are examples of commercial radio in the UK.

• Funded by advertisement companies who buy airtime from the station.

Absolute radio

• Absolute Radio is one of the UK's three Independent National Radio stations.

• Was called ‘Virgin Radio’ from 1993-2008. • Based in London.• Mainly play popular Rock music. • Play music from the 60’s to the 00’s.

Public service broadcasting

• Receive funding from diverse sources, for example; license fees, individual contributions, and public financing.

• Includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service.

• May be operated nationally or locally.

BBC Radio• BBC Radio 1- Contemporary pop and rock music, interviews, news and

live music. Broadcasts the UK top 40 singles of the week every Sunday. • BBC Radio 2- Mixture of old, new and alternative programming, music,

news, comedy and live music sessions.• BBC Radio 3- Classical and Jazz music, news and live music. Includes

BBC Proms and fictional dramas. • BBC Radio 4- Speech based news, current affairs and factual network,

comedy and drama.• BBC Radio 5- Sport, weekly news and talk programmes. • BBC Radio 6- Music based. Features up and coming alternative music

and music from past generations and cultures. Plus News.• BBC Radio 7- Speech based. Comedy, drama, factual and readings.• BBC Radio Nations & Locals- Speech based service of news,

information and debate to urban and rural communities. Also involves music.

Community/Non-for-profit radio stations

• Community radio is a type of radio service which does not have any adverts.

• Funded by investors.• Run by volunteers.• Influenced, owned by and operated in the

community they serve.

K2K Radio

• K2K radio is a new online community radio station.• Based in South Kilburn.• Cater to diverse music tastes.• They run radio production courses and workshops, to

bring people in the area together. I have attended some of their workshops and through

this I have been able to create a monthly hour long radio show with a friend, which has been really useful for the radio unit I have been studying for my course.

Personal preferences

• I enjoy listening to Capital FM (95.8), Kiss (100.0), Heart (100.7), Magic (105.4), Absolute 80’s and London Greek Radio (103.3). I listen to the radio every week, whilst in the shower, the car or the kitchen. These radio stations play a variety of popular hits from around the world.

• I've loved 80’s music since I was a child, so Absolute 80’s gives me the chance to listen to old songs which I haven't heard in years, and might not be able to find on the internet.

• I also like to tune into London’s Greek radio from time to time because I like to get in touch with my Greek roots and listen to something different.

Strengths and weaknesses of broadcast and non-broadcast radio stations

Broadcast radio stations mainly broadcast one type of sound, as they serve larger audiences with a specific music taste, whereas non-broadcast radio stations are well suited for a niche audience because they serve communities with a diverse music taste, and are able to cater for a variety of different people.Community radio stations are a lot more flexible and tend to be much more willing to play music from up and coming artists and non-mainstream artists than commercial radio, it may be the only sector of radio in which some genres of music get played regularly. Commercial radios need their number of listeners to be consistent, so they play music by established artists who are selling well nationally and who are regularly in the press.

Which audiences prefer which stations and why?

• Majority of radio stations are purely for entertainment, which are aimed at the younger generation, whereas others are purely talk-based as they aim to attract an older age group.

• The most commercially successful stations target young audiences, as they play popular chart music that their target audience listen to and update listeners with the latest news and gossip.

• Radio stations such as BBC Radio 3 appeals to all age groups over 35, as the programmes cover their listeners interests.

What makes one station better than another?

• To make a good radio station, you need a presenter with a captivating personality who can build a relationship with listeners.

• You also need a balance of good music, interesting talk/banter and news.

• Radio stations which have a niche audience are better because they can cater more specifically for people.

• Non-broadcast radio programmes are recorded and put online so people have a chance to listen to them if they miss it.

Employment in the radio sector

22,800 are employed in the radio industry.The industry consists of around 350 organisations and 25% of companies have more than 20 people working for them.Radio has a highly skilled and well qualified workforce of which almost two thirds are graduates. About a quarter of the workforce are freelance or employed on contracts of less than a year. 58% of freelancers hold graduate qualifications, compared to 66% of employees in the industry. It is not essential to have a degree in media studies to work in radio, however it may be good to have in any other media related job.

New technologies

The radio industry is undergoing a digital revolution, the BBC and commercial radios are doing a variety of things to improve their stations.They have made radio accessible via the internet and digital TV so that people are able to listen to radio wherever they go.