Spotify takes aim at radio - again

Following the publication of Spotify's Q1 2020 financial results, CEO Daniel Ek and CFO Paul Vogel took questions from analysts on a conference call.

Ek was clear that its competition is more wide-ranging than just other streaming services:

Both short and long term, we are always thinking about Spotify’s role within the larger ecosystem. While most (external) focus is on competition between streaming services, we continue to be focused on the billions of users who are listening to linear radio.

He repeatedly suggested the big audio trend of the next two decades is a move from linear to on-demand, following on from former CEO Barry McCarthy's line in September 2018:

The 20-year trend here is linear dies, everything on-demand wins.

Of course, this would be the equivalent of Amazon suggesting shops will cease to exist as a result of online orders increasing - an ideal scenario for them.

If the in-store experience disappeared completely, which will obviously never happen, it would be a matter of days before someone somewhere thinks "hey, why don't we open a shop?"

Spotify believe the move from linear to on-demand will be accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. I would suggest radio streaming figures and listener interaction across the board tell a different story.

We should not underestimate Spotify which will continue to grow, rapidly, as an audio platform.

While on-demand will continue to reach new heights, and radio brands will need to expand and take advantage of this going forward, it will never destroy the concept of live, interactive and relevant audio or video.

How long before Spotify backtrack on this rhetoric and decide to go for a slice of the pie themselves?

I'd put money on it.

No travel news is good news

There's the point about how "drivetime" doesn't work when no-one's driving. I say it's jargon anyway so good riddance to the term! But maybe we should go a step further?

I was listening to a local commercial radio station the other day and heard two sponsored travel bulletins - at 5:20pm and 5:40pm, as always.

Given that nobody, except key workers, is using the roads at the moment, both benchmarks were just a straightforward "all clear, nothing to mention but get in touch if you spot a problem!"

Doesn't it sound ridiculous saying that every 20 minutes on every weekday?

Why not just mention anything significant ordinarily for the minority who are commuting (while continuing to run sponsor tags if necessary)?

Put the easy revenue or opportunity to crowbar in a few local place names to one side and think about your listeners.

Do they benefit from regular empty updates in these irregular times with very little traffic? Or are they merely meaningless interruptions right now?

Introducing... VolunteerVT

Inevitably, in light of this crisis, gaps are developing in some community radio schedules.

Many volunteer presenters are rightly prioritising their day jobs and/or don’t have the necessary equipment to present their shows from home.

It’s a crucial time for radio to be entertaining and informing but some stations are struggling to recruit people to do it.

Local content is needed and if it’s ready-made it can be produced from anywhere, for anywhere, as networking and newsroom "hubbing" has shown.

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If you’re a presenter working remotely and willing to volunteer for community radio, sign up free of charge and let stations know you’re available.