Jossy Joss
The impact of radio on the lives of many is unquestionable. Radio continues to be a medium of communication and entertainment for many – not just because of its accessibility but also because of its ability to blend with other activities.
I could be driving, cooking, doing laundry or sitting at my desk working on a report or presentation while at the same time enjoying my favourite radio show. However, radio being the longest existing broadcast medium has come under threat from many other media, including TV, the web and social media platforms.
USBs pose another threat, especially for music-focused stations, thus adaptation is required, as people just do not consume content the same way any longer.
Stations need to keep abreast with new consuming habits to ensure they create content that speaks to the current listener. The challenge, however, comes with legacy listeners and how to continue informing, entertaining and educating them via radio.
Have their consuming habits
also changed or have they stayed the same? The new listener has a shorter concentration span, but that
listener is also interested in conversations as opposed to
music.
They have also become smarter but lazy to delve into long monotonous content. This listener now also has the power to create their content, thus you need to get them more involved. Gone are the days of the one-way traffic of feeding the listener content that does not involve them.
On the other hand, music has become easily accessible to consumers, as they can just go onto streaming platforms like YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music Store and many others to get the latest music, so you are not that special anymore in getting the latest music.
Gone are the days when an LP, cassette or CD would take months to be accessible to many people. Remember, this is what drove many young people to the radio as they could not either afford it or they simply had nowhere to get the music, so radio provided that platform.
Radio stations need to track
what people are interested in by checking social media platforms. How do they want to be communicated to? Which competitions are attracting more listeners? They also need to see what is missing as young people want to be wowed with what they view as vintage but also what the older generation is missing from today’s radio.
If you look at the fashion trends, they merely recycle the older generation’s fashion trends, meaning the youth are living in the 70s, 80s and 90s with a modern touch.
That should give you an idea that they are not necessarily opposed to old cultures but rather how you present it to them.
Radio stations need to serve content in a way that is unique without upsetting the current way of doing things. An example of this is the podcast phenomenon which has taken the world by storm and Africa is not left behind either with ‘Podcast & Chill’ recently garnering a million subscribers. This is a great feat following in the footsteps of ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’, which has about 15.2 million
subscribers.
Though vulgar at times and most of these podcasts do not conform to media ethics they are, however, considered to be authentic by the consumers. These podcasts deal with issues that most people believe mainstream media doesn’t deal with, meaning the flow of information needs to change.
I, however, see that many of these podcasts especially in the African context simply provide an alternative voice, which other mainstream platforms in Africa are starting to adopt.
An example is ‘The Penuel Show’ and ‘The Hustler’s Corner SA’ which speak to thought leaders about issues that are mostly not discussed by the mainstream media.
Many podcasts are connected to radio stations in South Africa meaning that radio stations have embraced podcasting within their radio scheduling in that country but can that be said about Namibia?
I am not so sure about this as local radio stations continue to embrace the more musicless talk format.
Radio stations need to move closer to podcasting format or talk radio format which in essence is what most of these podcasts are about.
The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia’s (CRAN) recent quarterly newsletter has noted that 48% of the listening market do so to be informed about the news while 40% enjoy listening to radio for talk shows and hearing their favourite songs/artists at 25%.
Perhaps developing majority talk content covering different aspects of society could be the answer to catching up with the fast-developing world of technology.
Music will still be valuable but which type of music and how it should be played for the consumer to appreciate it is the challenge radio stations must solve.
Vernaculars also seem to be playing a huge role. This is again based on CRAN’s quarterly newsletter.
Kati FM seems to be dominant at 27%, followed by Kheisames at 13% then Shipi FM at 12% and Omulunga at 6%. Shipi FM and Omulunga seem to blend Oshiwambo and English, creating a connection between both worlds.
They are then followed by other vernacular stations like Wato and Omurari before most English-dominant radios come in with most having an equal distribution of 3% each of the listenership population. So, the question is: What is it that drives listeners to those stations? Is it the content or language or perhaps both?
One other particular aspect that must take centre stage in radio broadcasting is convergence, referring to the integration of different technologies and media.
Media convergence not only refers to a technological shift but to how each story, image, sound, brand and relationship plays itself out across the widest possible array of media. Could on-demand radio work with conventional radio scheduling for Namibia as some major media organisations have done?
On-demand radio allows listeners to select a segment or show at their convenience, meaning that they no longer have to follow live programming format. They can also rewind or forward. Namibia has 1 825 million broadband users according to CRAN, which means that one can tap into that broadband population to create synergy with other mediums like social media platforms and on-demand content.
Consumers’ changing needs require innovation for one to design content modes that satisfy these needs. The possibilities are endless for radio content producers. All they have to do is start listening to the requests of the consumers about what they want to hear and then become creative in presenting that content. Keep the faith!
*Jossy Joss is an artist and broadcast specialist with 24 years of broadcasting experience. He writes in his personal capacity.