Radio 1 and Radio 2 will never be the same

In an interview with Metro, Paul O'Grady hit out at the BBC following his departure from Radio 2:

Radio 2 has changed, it’s not what it was. They’re trying to aim for a much younger audience, which doesn’t make sense because you’ve got Radio 1. Radio 2 was always for an older audience.

I've written countless blogs playing devil's advocate with the reasons for repositioning Radio 2 while discussing the BBC's focus on younger audiences which alienates older licence fee payers.

While Paul is right that Radio 2 is looking to attract younger listeners than the average age of its current lot, the whole point is to create more of a stepping stone up for ageing Radio 1 listeners.

Programmers may question some of R2's music choices, of course, but that's not to say overlap is the intention of senior management. It isn't. R2 is supposed to be a station for gen X and older millenials.

The issue is not Radio 2 specifically abandoning those aged 55+ - it's the wider point about what the BBC is offering that demographic given the traditionally older-focused Local BBC Radio has also been heading in the same direction (arguably even younger than Radio 2 at times).

Doing community radio differently

Today, we launched BASINGSTOKE NOW - an all-speech local radio station and digital media platform for the North Hampshire town and its surrounding villages.

The service is carried on the local small-scale DAB+ multiplex and shares local information and interesting people, places, and organisations 24/7 - with no music and no cheesy jocks.

As a co-founder, I can’t wait to launch our new all-speech DAB+ radio station tomorrow 📻@BasingNow will be unlike any other service - a ”rolling billboard” of useful and interesting local info as well as a platform for community groups/organisations both on-air and online 📱 pic.twitter.com/23FMvD0R6D

— Harrison RB (@HarrisonRBRadio) February 19, 2023

Most radio stations aim to drive listening hours, but we don’t expect our audience to be with us all day long.

BASINGSTOKE NOW is essentially your social media timeline but without any nonsense. It’s fast-paced and content-rich, so even if you tune in for ten minutes each time you’re guaranteed to learn something new about where you live.

The station aims to be helpful and make its listeners' lives a bit easier providing information about ways to get involved in the community, what's happening in and around Basingstoke and celebrating the great work of local businesses.

A core element for the station is enabling local charities, community groups, schools, and other organisations to have a new way to share their news and achievements.

BASINGSTOKE NOW is more than just a radio station too, sharing multi-platform digital content to enhance engagement and all features will be available as podcasts.

For local businesses, the radio station and digital media platform will offer cost-effective content creation, sponsorship, and advertising options.

None of our platforms (radio, website, socials etc) is superior, each being one equal slice of the pie.

In radio, the stations closest to our format are the national LBC News and News Radio UK but unlike these we would describe ourselves as a "rolling billboard" as opposed to rolling news.

Our model of community radio was partly inspired by Keri Jones' Alfred project which, in my view, is the best local station in Britain. It produces a fresh hour-long programme each day as well as broadcasting other speech programmes and timeless content from its podcast archive.

BASINGSTOKE NOW is also supported by old friends at Newsquest via the Basingstoke Gazette who deliver a weekly press review. Over at Petersfield's Shine Radio, we partner with the local newspaper and four local schools.

I've always believed partnerships are the way for newly-established community stations to cut through with limited resources. It allows public service broadcasting to flourish and adds credibility.

Petersfield is a far more traditional market, with an older profile than Basingstoke, but even with a music radio station we view everything as an equal platform. Shine Radio's speech content and programming follows the "on-demand first, linear second" mantra.

I love the way we've always "done" radio but we have to be realistic and adapt to changing consumer habits which is what will keep us relevant. People are less loyal to one station given how much choice exists in media today.

Inside Our Autistic Minds - a new BBC Two series

On Tuesday evening, the nation got to see what was the greatest honour of my life as Episode 1 of Inside Our Autistic Minds aired on BBC Two, in which non-speaking contributor Murray Bruce chose my voice to narrate a short film to share his powerful message with the world.

Like everybody else, it was my first time watching the finished programme. How would I summarise it? Real, heartfelt, emotional, influential.

I’m so proud to have played a part in amplifying the experiences of fellow autistic people navigating a neurotypical world. Our brains may be wired differently but, as well as creating challenges, that is why each of us has so much to give.

If you haven’t yet watched in full, please catch up on BBC iPlayer and Episode 2 will also be worth a watch next Tuesday night at 9 📺

You can also see Murray’s animation which I had the privilege of voicing.

Last night, the nation got to see the greatest honour of my life as part of #InsideOurAutisticMinds when non-speaking contributor Murray chose my voice to narrate his short film. You can catch up on @BBCiPlayer. Real, heartfelt, emotional, influential. https://t.co/5cmT2gwVvC pic.twitter.com/AcFnVXJm6M

— Harrison RB (@HarrisonRBRadio) February 15, 2023

Some news…@ChrisGPackham’s Inside Our Autistic Minds will feature Murray Bruce, a non-speaking autistic man. I am honoured Murray chose me to narrate a short film about his life. It was a delight to meet him & his wonderful family in the programme.

📺 Tuesday, 9pm, @BBCTwo 📺 pic.twitter.com/TnTfVIEJat

— Harrison RB (@HarrisonRBRadio) February 10, 2023

#InsideOurAutisticMinds pulled in an audience of 1.2 million on linear @BBCTwo alone last night. Many more since on @BBCiPlayer.

Thank you 🙏 well deserved 👏

— Harrison RB (@HarrisonRBRadio) February 15, 2023

Things you aren’t used to when swapping radio for TV:

Getting your “RAJAR” the day after. https://t.co/zCFn4jSHQk

— Harrison RB (@HarrisonRBRadio) February 16, 2023

Huge thank you to ⁦@RealKenBruce⁩ for having ⁦@ChrisGPackham⁩ on your show all this week to talk about #InsideOurAutisticMinds and for all the support you’ve given to Murray and the team throughout the project.

This ’behind the scenes’ story from Chris is beautiful… pic.twitter.com/dNkkSmsOp7

— Joe Myerscough (@joemyerscough) February 17, 2023

Happy World Radio Day 2023!

Amid constant predictions of its demise, our unstoppable medium has continuously evolved to stay relevant in this rapidly developing multimedia world and still reaches around 90% of the UK population each week as a result.

Radio has always been a huge part of my life, but particularly for the last 11 years. In that time, I've learnt so much and my work is a never-ending learning curve.

Being part of a volunteer-led project has taught me an enormous amount because everyone is giving their own time and it's like a focus group in itself with people from all walks of life.

I dreamed of being a presenter from a very early age, which was my primary involvement for the most part, but being autistic makes it difficult for me to engage with "talking points" that don't really interest me for the sake of being relatable.

However, I love working on station sound - programming, coaching/supporting on-air talent and helping others develop their creative skills - and it allows me to focus entirely on radio itself, which is one of a few of my focused interests.

As the years go by, radio never stays exactly the same... but that's precisely the reason it's here to stay - and it will always be here for you!

Magic and GHR go premium

In May 2021, I wrote about the first of Bauer's premium subscription services.

Yesterday, the company announced an extension of the offering for two more of its radio stations - Magic Premium and Greatest Hits Radio Premium. The launch also includes some exclusive brand extensions for both.

Subscribers gain access to all of Bauer's premium services 24/7 in an ad-break-free uninterrupted listening environment and can skip up to 6 tracks per hour on app, web and voice activated devices like Amazon Alexa - even while listening to live radio.

For Greatest Hits Radio - which is tackling Radio 2 head on, especially with the signing of Ken Bruce last month - the premium experience will mean little to no change for ex-BBC listeners who are used to not hearing ads.

It's still early days but definitely one to watch with interest. Could we start seeing more attractive features or even programming behind a paywall?

Winner Daisy hears her Shine Radio jingles for the first time

A Ditcham Park School student who won a competition to provide lead vocals for a couple of Shine Radio’s new jingles has heard the end result.

Towards the end of last year, Petersfield’s Shine Radio offered a unique opportunity for one talented young vocalist, who is a student at a local secondary school, to become part of the radio station’s new musical identity.

15 year-old Daisy Browning was the successful applicant and received professional tips on session singing from world-class vocal coach Kim Chandler ahead of the recording session at Churcher’s College music studio just before Christmas directed by one of the UK’s leading specialist jingles producers, Chris Stevens.

Shine Radio’s Harrison RB said:

Petersfield’s schools are bursting with musical talent and the town’s own local radio station is the natural platform for getting it heard.

We were very excited to be taking our championing of local talent to a new level and received lots of brilliant entries.

Daisy’s voice is the perfect fit for the bright feel of Shine Radio and we’re delighted to have her voice as an essential part of our new sound.

A delighted Daisy said:

I thought the competition would give me new experiences in music. I love music, I love jazz.

Ignite Jingles owner Chris Stevens said:

We really enjoyed working with Shine Radio on this project, and we’re delighted with how the jingles turned out.

Daisy sounds great on the mixes and we wish her all the best with her future singing career.

On Thursday 26 January, Daisy and Ditcham Park’s Head of Music Ed Williamson heard her recordings on Shine Radio for the very first time.

BBC snubs Radioplayer - despite being a shareholder

While many commercial radio operators have been directing online listeners to their own platforms for some time, they are still playable in Radioplayer and other third party aggregators - but the national broadcaster has gone a step further.

If you attempt to listen to a BBC station in the Radioplayer app, a pop-up appears deep linking to Sounds:

This broadcaster has asked us to launch their own app to play this station. This will take you out of Radioplayer.

It's a curious distribution strategy. How are you giving licence fee payers the best value by barricading your services on a single platform?

Global, Bauer and others might not use Radioplayer by default, in favour of their own commercial ventures, but they recognise the importance of going where listeners are and getting heard in as many places as possible.

If it wasn't for the BBC's history of unusual decisions, I would've said it was the last organisation to do this. It's not a private company and there is no excuse for restricting consumers in this way.