Radiomoments of 2018

As 2018 draws to a clement close, which #radiomoments were the most memorable for you?

Greg James

The unprecedented level of change looming in UK breakfast radio is set against a backdrop of a relatively new breakfast show on Radio 1 which launched on 20th August 2018. 

The first show had an immediate presence. Greg's first words, where he spoke of the privilege of hosting the programme, chimed with many of us. We heard the lad from student radio with wireless in his blood who had quietly and quickly risen to do something remarkable of which he’d only dared to dream.

The programme’s already settled into being an original, natural, well-produced animal which should serve the station proud in the challenge it faces.

Chris Evans

The Chris Evans Radio 2 farewell on Christmas Eve is a deserving late entry into 2018’s finest #radiomoments.  The programme overall boasted the presence which Evans shows always display – but a heightened sense of occasion. He employed all the tricks in the radio book – tears, kids, stars and wives.

The tearful ‘goodbye’ moment was cannily-timed a little earlier than the final link, offering journalists an opportunity to write about it promptly - Chris has always been the perfect PR machine. Its scheduling then allowed Chris then to get on with enjoying the final moments.

Chris’s broadcasting secret was evident throughout in the valedictory show – chatting as if your best mate, but a best mate who happens to have Nicole Kidman popping round. 

His goodbye announcement was clearly well thought-through  – and a lesson to complacent presenters everywhere. Even Chris Evans thinks about how he’s going to handle critical moments.

Eddie Mair and Iain Dale

Eddie Mair has been radio’s quiet titan for years.  Although he presented Radio 4’s PM programme almost daily, displaying his skills as the cleverest of operators with his trademark iterative interrogation and gifted teasing, he has never sought the headlines afforded to many lesser mortals. 

His departure from the BBC said something of the Corporation's challenges, with its public salary announcements, the way it understands and treats its talent and the general frustrating complexity typical of big organisations. It also said something of the new might of commercial radio, now able to offer a platform for the greats.

His last programme was claimed to be an accidental one. Sort of: That sounded like a decent way to end so let’s not come in tomorrow’. 

Eddie’s new LBC show has moved quickly from a confident and enjoyable first edition to a really enjoyable and distinctive offering.

Eddie’s arrival at LBC displaced Iain Dale who moved to later on the schedule. Iain has led a varied and rich life in politics, publishing and pushing over protesting pensioners on the prom, but the loving relationship he has quickly forged with radio was evident in his goodbye from his drive slot. Although he was only moving down the road, he waved farewell to his neighbours with tears in his eyes.

Noel Edmonds

Noel Edmonds was the second ever breakfast presenter on BBC Radio 1. Since then, he’s enjoyed TV success owing to Mr. Blobby, ‘Deal or No Deal’ and ‘I’m a Celebrity’. 

Noel was Stephen Nolan’s guest on 5 Live in February 2018, telling of the dark place he was in when he lost his business amidst banking scandal. Nolan called on all his trademark tactics to create the space for some riveting radio from the mouth of this complex figure.

Hits Radio

Whilst Global Radio strategies are clear and swift, Bauer is a little more cautious. The German-owned company owns some excellently-operated national brands,but sticks largely to a more traditional model for the majority of its stations in their localised patches. 

This year however, it created a new national CHR brand across the UK in Hits Radio. Maybe creating virtue from necessity and economy, the new brand was based in Manchester, squatting on the FM frequency formerly owned by Key. 

Its opening moments were well-produced; and we wait to hear how the strategy fares nationally in 2019 against unprecedented competition. 

Back home in Manchester though, as Key 103, the  station reflected fittingly the first anniversary of the Manchester Arena bombing.

Christian O'Connell

2018 saw a farewell from one of commercial radio's nationally known names.

Christian O’Connell bravely chose to leave UK national radio in favour of a career in Australia. After 12 years on the Virgin/Absolute breakfast show, he announced his goodbye from One Golden Square. Dave Berry took over, making a typically impressive start as befits the man.

Christian's debut programme on Gold 104.3 in Melbourne showed his trademark determination to succeed; and the announcement of some audience success subsequently was clearly a welcome relief.

Ed Doolan

We’re losing the greats one by one. 

Australian-born Ed Doolan was hugely-respected broadcaster in the West Midlands. After wrestling with vascular dementia, he passed away on 16th January 2018. 

The nature and volume of tributes after his passing said something of his stature. From Caroline Martin on BBC WM itself to Eddie Mair on BBC Radio 4 – and fellow broadcaster Les Ross on BBC 1 TV in the Midlands.

More Greg James - and Richard Bacon survives

Greg James merits further mention in dispatches for 'Pedal to the Peaks'. 

In the 21^st Century, radio’s stunts have given way to authenticity. On-air, listeners heard their mate Greg try something amazing, with all the ups and downs, gasps of amazement and tears of disappointment that real life brings.

Authenticity is key on radio these days, with presenters opening up like never before, once the listener bond has been built. Richard Bacon very nearly did not survive 2018, and appeared on his first love medium of radio to explain why.

Greg’s 'pass the pasty' challenge on Radio 1 was also radio at its best. After hearing that a listener from Aberdeenshire had never eaten a Cornish pasty, the presenter took it upon himself to get one to her, by passing it like an Olympic torch along the 675 mile journey.

2018 has been Greg James’s year.

Zoe Ball, Sara Cox and Women in Radio

On the breakfast changes, ‘who will take-over at Radio 2?’ became the battle of the women as Zoe Ball and Sara Cox were tipped for the Wogan House crown. The debate culminated in the big announcement on the Chris Evans show in October.

Without doubt, 2018, a hundred years on from suffrage, has been the year when women broke through barriers in UK radio, in the numbers of women on-air, the stature of their appointment and the money they are paid. Carrie Grace made her stand in January.

Whilst us middle-aged white blokes need to accept that this has all been far too long coming and the re-alignment may cause a few male noses to be put out of joint in the short term, few people agree that the short-lived Radio 2 drive show with Mayo and Whiley was a canny programming decision - and both of those talented professionals likely agree.  The final edition was aired on 20th December 2018 , before Simon himself waved farewell the following day. We await his 'startling' news in 2019.

Digital Radio success

Digital radio smashed the 50% listening figure in 2018. Debate now begins on when the debate proper will begin on whether and how to switch-over from FM to DAB. 

There's going to be no rush, but it's clear that now, just as with FM by the '80s, digital platforms are so commonplace that broadcasters can make maximum use of both FM and DAB, with unprecedented choice for listeners. We look forward to DAB-only stations making some money.

As the audiences to digital stations grow, so does the content.  After some live moments on special occasions, BBC Radio 4 Extra went live properly for the first time on Saturday 8th September 2018. Jake Yapp hosted the programme, with superb intervention from Kathy Clugston, more usually heard on continuity announcer or newsreader duties. As can be heard, she rather enjoyed herself.

Dale Winton

Dale Winton's sudden death was major news in 2018. For those of us who worked with him, it came as a great blow, yet it was worryingly less of a surprise than it might have been. 

Dale and drama were always hand in glove. Dale was never going to be one to while away his final toothless days drinking lukewarm tea from grotty green mugs in a nursing home. In this special edition of my Conversations series, drawing on archive audio, hear Dale tell of his life and fears.

Vicki Archer 

BBC Radio Shropshire presenter Vicki Archer died suddenly at the age of 41 in August 2018.  A finding of suicide was recorded by the Coroner.

Here, you can hear a segment of her bubbly on-air performance in her final show, before the news was announced the following day by Eric Smith. Her co-host Adam Green also pays his tribute. 

Vicki worked at The Pulse, Century FM and on the Magic network. She had hosted the afternoon show on BBC Radio Shropshire since 2010. Social media tributes afterwards from colleagues through her on-air years illustrated her popularity.

Mental Health 

BBC and commercial radio stations around the UK united on 15th May 2018 to broadcast a one-minute message about mental health.

The historic 'Mental Health Minute' featured globally-famous voices. With over 300 stations taking part, broadcasting to one of radio’s biggest collective audiences with an average listenership of 20 million, the initiative was led by Radiocentre and The Radio Academy, with content created skilfully by Somethin’ Else.

Radio needs to do more of this united work - both in the name of worthy causes and otherwise. Our medium deserves more acclaim than it ever receives and we need to do more to raise its profile and prove our engagement, contemporary power and relevance.

Back on mental health specifically, in recent days, Iain Lee's call on TalkRADIO from a Plymouth man lying in the street after taking an overdose was proof again that people's relationship with their radio and its presenters is like that of no other medium.

Happy anniversary

2018 saw the fortieth anniversary of the major frequency changes, with BBC stations all shunting about - and commercial stations moving just a KHz or so in line with the new international frequency agreements. A generation recalls receiving stickers through letterboxes to help us. We were easily amused in those days. 

1978 also saw the birth of Radio Scotland and Radio Wales proper - and it was good to hear Anita Morgan, who'd hosted the first show on the latter, return to join in with the breakfast show forty years on.

And

Nicholas Parsons dared to have a week off from his impeccable 'Just a Minute' programme on Radio 4. Mind you, he was 94 at the time - and he'd been chairing the show for 51 years 

And Finally 

With platforms equalising, both BBC and commercial radio can now battle for the best programming and the biggest names. Headlines will continue to be made and innovation and positive disruption will be evident. News UK will certainly flex its Virgin muscles. Commercial radio has a new confidence and is emerging from a positive financial year, re-gaining its title as the fastest-growing ad medium.

The BBC will face new market pressures and must make its talent on and off-air feel loved and supported. It will need to be well-led to cope with this task - and, in other news, it must do ever more to explain to its audiences what 'due impartiality' is and how it - genuinely - tries to achieve that. In good hands, the BBC's reputation in news here and around the World will continue to be rightly recognised. 

The BBC will also need to be more efficiently run. That means less and better management. And thus, as most BBC staff will tell you, those lower costs will generate better radio, not worse.

With the 1970s legacy rules swept aside at last by Ofcom, commercial radio will be equipped to do what it feels is best for its audiences and, therefore, clients. Stations which may not have been sustainable in a changing world will have new resilience and fresh options.

As podcasting, streaming and audio on demand continues to grow quickly, from its current low base, our medium will be further invigorated. As I've said before, it's really all 'radio'. Voice control, currently responsible for but a fraction of listening, will grow too - and here again it's about recall of the biggest brands and performers. Unless the gatekeepers themselves wade in with quality offerings.

114 years on from the first ever radio 'programme' - comprising piano playing and bible readings beamed to a few lonely ships at sea -  there has never been a more exciting time for this wonderful medium. Whatever the future holds, people will still have two ears and will look to occupy them.

I work with radio stations around the world in a range of areas. From programme strategy to research, key brand work and marketing strategy. From presenter training to compliance, consultation responses and licensing. Talk to me via www.davidlloydradio.com

Grab my book 'Radio Moments': 50 years of radio - life on the inside. A personal and frighteningly candid reflection on life in radio now and then. The drama - the characters - the headaches - the victories. Available in paperback or ebook.

Also 'How to Make Great Radio'. Techniques for today's presenters and producers.  Great for newcomers - and real food for thought if you've been doing it years. Available in paperback or ebook.

Need a conference speaker? I'd love to work with you.

Christmas in the Radiohouse

In desolate tinselled offices, hard-working programmers wear their silly hats and ‘don’t disturb me’ faces. 

Not only do they have to look after tomorrow on the radio, they have to plan ahead the whole festive fortnight with military precision. 

Atypical presenters are set to host atypical programmes between atypical news bulletins coming from atypical places. What could possibly go wrong? And will there be anyone around to help when it does?  Probably not.

Is the 1500 on Boxing Day a network bulletin or is it local? Does Johnny Whatnot know how to put himself on-air and take the service out of network? Has he got a zapper to get him in the car park?

Will they need more songs in each breakfast hour, given you’ve only half a double act.

Whose bright idea was it to have a day of songs beginning with B on Boxing Day?  Cheers for that. All that bloody effort at a time of year when you’re unlikely to hit peak audiences anyway.

And what about all those millions getting a smart speaker as a gift. Will they really know what to do to hear us on Christmas morning? And will Sally remember to turn off her location when she tweets on the station account from Gran Canaria over Christmas?

For the big groups these days, it's like planning a moon mission. Canny managers have it all thought through by October - with, fittingly, a bible published of all the things presenters might need to know. Not that anyone will trouble to read it.

On commercial stations, are the ad breaks full or half-empty?  And, are they balanced across all the transmitters in the hours when they don’t usually need to be? Is the ad with the 'Open until ten, Christmas Eve' line set to die at 2200 on 24th? And is the breakfast sponsor credit changed for that awkward client who's booked from January 1st? And what about the skyscraper on the website we gave them last time we messed up? Are we bothering updating that?

Meanwhile, life starts to get a little quieter for the sales execs. After a frantic flurry seeing off December’s targets and making a good start on January, their self-made clients have disappeared to their overseas holiday homes. In the radio sales office, it’s time for banter, decanter and Secret Santa.

But whilst office staff have begun to wind down and their inboxes atrophy, the opposite is true for the product team.

Hot on the heels of incessant and exhausting Christmas light switch-ons, carol services and firework displays on cold dark days, the work starts on ensuring that the festive period on-air will be entertaining and trouble free. 

Everything needs mulling over. You really want to avoid the call from the Christmas lunchtime presenter, just as you’re microwaving the bread sauce, asking which fader network news is on.

You certainly need to know who’s staying nearby when you get the inevitable Boxing Day call from a hoarse presenter who claims to be ill. You try to sound sympathetic and tolerant, as you face the prospect of ringing everyone on your emergency list, but you don’t quite pull it off.

Newsrooms are busy trying to invent the news in advance for the lonely reporters who'll be on duty between Christmas and New Year. The bulletins will have returned, but the news won't.

Are we taking 'the Queen' or not? And where do we find her? 

And lets hope no popular public figure takes their last breath. Why do they wait for this week to die, of all weeks?

Where are the football matches this year? Lo, the grounds where there are all sorts of issues. When are they? Ah, Boxing Day.

Some of the rituals of Christmas on the radio have sadly faded away.  Remember opening reception to give away batteries on Christmas morning?  What a great bit of Ever Ready marketing that used to be, in the days before sponsorship on radio was allowed.

I shall not miss recording the Christmas Eve Lincoln Cathedral Carol Service for Lincs FM.  I’m not sure whether it’s a sign of dedication that I, as PD, had to sort it out, or just poor delegation.  I’d record it on the Revox, then help lug the equipment back to base and edit out the verses no-one knows from the carols.  The tape would then be left on the desk with a accompanying note which the tech-op would, for some reason, make it his business to merrily ignore. 

Having said that, typing cues at nearly midnight when all civilised folk are making merry with family and friends is still the sort of sacrifice many radio folk have to make.

Sadly, Christmas is now without Ed Stewart. For me, his jolly voice just smelt like Christmas. For decades, he told us he was flying out his BBC ‘magic carpet’ on Christmas morning to visit hospitals around the UK, bringing cheery messages to patients. As a kid, I used to believe he genuinely had a magic carpet. No wonder I wanted to work in radio.

If you're on air this Christmas, make sure you sound as though you want to be there. It's a privilege.

So. Let’s raise a glass to the dedicated programmers, presenters, schedulers and journalists this Christmas across the UK. 

Cheers.


*Two Christmas present ideas below!  :)

Grab my book 'Radio Moments': 50 years of radio - life on the inside. A personal and frighteningly candid reflection on life in radio now and then. The drama - the characters - the headaches - the victories.











Also 'How to Make Great Radio'. Techniques for today's presenters and producers.  Great for newcomers - and food for thought if you've been doing it years.

News Content on Smart Speakers - an Opportunity - or a Threat to Radio - and Democracy?

I just shouted a cheery good afternoon to my Google Home - only to be assailed by a 3-minute BBC news bulletin. Then Sky news barged in for their 2-minute version, then CNBC. And I only said 'good morning'.

Alexa was in no mood to help on Amazon Echo, she just read out the day’s anniversaries coupled with an unfunny gag. I had to demand the news from her – and then she personally uttered a staccato 2-minute bulletin, with ‘continue reading’ prompts. Reading? I’m listening! Then, I was treated to the Sky news bulletin – and then the BBC news – followed by a Radio 4 podcast.

Is this what smart listeners want? If we are not sufficiently inclined to turn to the news channel on TV or a rolling news radio station, are we not just seeking a quick injection of news to arm us?

Have the new purveyors of news simply followed the norms of traditional radio? I’m not convinced it’s the answer. Is it really a ‘flash briefing’, as they claim, or radio news-lite?

As I’ve argued before, I’m not awfully certain that even bulletins on radio proper would often sound as they do were they invented today. In essence, they are still the original 1922 Arthur Burrows newscast - but read in various durations, delivered in a less plummy accent spiced with a few clips and a Wisebuddah jingle.

So, what of these smart news updates. They have a place for sure - and increasingly so as voice-activation in cars leaps forward. The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, however, confirms suspicions on their effectiveness. It suggests briefings are too long, not updated frequently enough, too repetitive; and not listener-focused. They are certainly not valued.

UK research from One Poll (for ‘Code Computer love’, sample 1000, June 2018 ) suggested that over half of requests are for ‘news and weather’) and in the US, Adobe concludes that 46% are for news (Sept 2018). 

Do we still want a bulletin at all Do we really want a shopping list of stories, most of which I may not be interested in?

If we do want a ‘bulletin’, maybe it should be very brief. Sufficient to make sure I am up to date, and able to go elsewhere for detail should I wish. That’s how smart speakers treat weather forecasts.

Conversational too, without the familiar rhythm of the usual radio newscast.

‘Theresa May’s won the confidence vote in her leadership - she’s back in Dublin today; house prices are down to their lowest level since 2010; patients spent more than 1bn on health care for the first time this year; and President Trump’s former lawyer’s been jailed for five years.’

It’s odd that there is still miraculously exactly three minutes of news in the World – or two minutes if you're in Sky’s world.  In the absence of broadcast schedules and windows, maybe the news can now be as long or as short as it needs to be.

We are told that bulletins will be able to be thoroughly personalised to our tastes and interests. Well, I do hope that it’s more useful than my Amazon ‘more like this’ list. Do many people really use the personalisation features which several news sites have devised over the years, or do we prefer someone to do the choosing for us? Google’s developing an open audio news standard, automatically generating a playlist of stories based on your interests using the same technology behind the AI on Google News itself.

Journalists in newsrooms assembling their bulletins have always used their manual human algorithm for story selection, and maybe we will continue to prefer to delegate the task to our chosen news provider. In which case, winning that ‘trusted and best-known brand’ status is the war in news which will be won and lost (and that is the case with all content selected by voice - notwithstanding platform deals). As for demographics and interest, ‘Radio 1 news’ would likely suit a Radio 1 listener.

Will trusted familiar news ‘personalities’, independent of any broadcasters, start to rule the roost? ‘Tell me the news, Howard Hughes’.

By contrast, if my news is from Google, to what extent do I know the provenance of each story it has seized?

In a world where anyone can deliver all manner of dubious content, might there usefully be a ‘kite mark’ to state that a news provider is following what was the broadcast Code? Around a quarter in the UK (23%) and nearly one in ten in the US (7%) could not remember the brand that produced their daily news update (Reuters/Uni of Oxford). The BBC sonic logo is canny (but should it be more distinctive and pan-media?). And now, a chance for Global news to become just that.

As we have witnessed in social media, if we choose our own mix, algorithmically or personally, there is a danger we surround ourselves with stories about the like-minded, if all the stories we hear are like the ones we’ve already shown an interest in.

However, having the centre of gravity of your news source adjusted to ‘near me’ carries value. At present, on smart briefings generally, my weather is local, my news isn’t. And that would allow, at last, a series of sensible decisions on localities and regions, unencumbered by the puzzling made-up regions from today’s broadcasters.

Maybe the stories should be available by generic name. Do we just want to say ‘news - Salisbury poison’ for the single story I’m interested in? Witness here in the brief video, we've not yet mastered that.

Maybe a different complementary platform may be utilised too. The ability to request by voice from a flash briefing, say, an automatic email with a lengthy read on a key story.

I know I’m not alone in choosing a podcast on the basis of content first, and duration second. Just long enough to accompany what I’m doing. Maybe we just want to have a preference on bulletin length. Google says it’s working on a 15’ piece, with short stories first, moving then to longer length. You can skip stories too, but I’m unsure whether listeners want to go to that effort. It almost defeats the object of this ‘convenience meal’.

The latest word is that artificial voices will be able to deliver the bulletins, and progress is so swift, I can see a day when this will be commonplace. Indeed, Alexa is about to start reading Emails to US consumers. Amazon is using “neural text-to-speech” technology or NTTS - the next generation of speech synthesis. This generates truly expressive voices more quickly, based on the rhythm and style of real newsreaders, rather than just stitching words together. Let’s hope they chose the right influences - and not one of those puzzling folk hammering out and hanging onto the last word of every SENTEEEENCCCCCE.

It’s a fascinating world and one which will be, as ever, listener-driven. I am not of the view that video will rule this domain, it will forever be ‘radio’s’ territory. Whether it will be the province of existing radio players is another question.

Smart speakers currently enjoy just a 3% share of all audio currently (Rajar Midas Autumn 2018), so there is some time to get this right.

We need to establish afresh what smart listeners might want and what can be delivered. Start with them - not with the radio norms. Newsrooms will change their working methods utterly. I suspect the style may fore-shadow change in radio bulletin delivery too. Maybe we can decide when we want to interrupt our listening to Smooth with a brief update from the Smooth newsroom.

Thanks to brilliant brains, the technology is the ‘simplest’ matter. The biggest challenge will be to ensure that - whatever the delivery format - the trusted news voices remain easily and universally recognised and consumed, and the journalistic foundation be sufficiently well-funded. Those issues are fundamental to our democracy.


Follow @TweeterStewart for good stuff on all this - and @JamesCridland's @PodNews newsletter is worth subscribing to too.

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 Here's a Christmas gift for a radio-loving friend. 

My book Radio Moments tells of the last fifty years of radio - from the inside.  A  very personal account of growing up with radio, before becoming a tetchy jock  and then a hassled MD and programmer. The laughter and tears of an  unrepeatable era.

    Also 'How to Make Great Radio'. Techniques for today's presenters and         
    producers.  Great for newcomers - and food for thought if you've been doing it      
    years.

I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday

Magic has gone 'fully festive' for 2018. Take That - with a little help from Wham - kicked it off at 9.00 today (30th Nov).

Although we've had a cracker-full of dedicated Christmas stations in recent years, it's the first time a key UK FM (in London) station - as opposed to an ancillary brand - has flipped format. 

In other words, this is the first time a major UK station has taken the risk of sudden format flip, with a plan to return to its traditional format in a few weeks' time.

Does the mood of Christmas suit the Magic brand? Like a hand into a glove.

In the US, the flipping trend dates back to the mid '90s. The audience figures there suggest it works - and it's thought to build cume. 168 US stations went 'all Christmas' in 2015. 

Is radio different in the United States? Yes. There, listeners are accustomed to changing formats overnight - and there is no BBC, whose particular advantages mean that the gains from any UK radio risk can be diminished. Talent also jumps ship more there - and listeners appear to follow.  Over here, as commercial radio, at last, enjoys national scale, resource and something approaching platform equivalence, talent swapping is just starting to happen - but station/'button' loyalty here appears to be peculiarly high.

If you are going to flip, you need to be sure that the niche is big enough - and your brand is strong enough.  In London, it likely is - and on FM where the majority of cume is still built, for now - Christmas is territory no-one else occupies. Is Magic a famous enough brand to be able to 'play away' for a few weeks - with listeners probably coming back in January if they don't like it? Yes - and listeners still have their excellent sub-brands too to lean on.

Does it make the brand more famous - yes.  And, as Magic sits in London at 13% reach (similar to where it was as Melody in '98) - some way away from its 19% high seven years ago, with reinvigorated Smooth competition and indeed from Magic's own sub-brands , maybe a shot in the arm for Magic brand conspicuousness in London could be a good thing.  It's also something fresh to talk about with the ad agencies too - and a way of accessing identifiable budgets.

In the UK, Smooth Radio was one of the first to present an all Christmas format on a new ancillary DAB channel in 2011. Since then, such brands as Free, the Wave (Swansea), Pulse and Signal have joined in too through re-purposing frequencies. Last year, Magic Christmas arrived on DAB - and also Heart Extra Christmas.  

Whilst Rajar cannot easily measure specific fresh Christmas service ratings in the UK, their respective parents likely benefit from heightened brand might. Magic, of course, will carry on registering directly as a station this month, of course, and owing to its scale and three monthly distinct figures, W4 2018 will generate a thoroughly interesting set of figures.

How many people will be asking Alexa or Google to play them a Christmas station - and which will they think of first?

It's all about Mood

On average, Christmas songs make up 6% of all the music on commercial radio each year (PPL) - so there must be something in it.

Already, some listeners are moaning about the change at Magic.  But they always moan about change - and the day that stops, we should all be worried. Those of us who've lived through challenging decisions in the past know well that noise and audience behaviour are often very different things.

In the United States, audiences seem to value the shift.  It's about mood, and radio does mood best. The number and popularity of Christmas stations showed an upturn after the dark days of 9/11. In a New York Times article,  Gary Fisher from Equity Communications pointed to the benefits of the format flips: “Christmas music is comfort-zone radio for a lot of people”, “Given everything that has happened in Atlantic City and in South Jersey, this music really is a link to better times. That’s why we feel it works for us early”.


Without drawing any inappropriate parallels between 9/11 and Brexit, does the UK need to get away from it all this year, of all years? Yes.

We know Christmas is a time when a lot of people get very happy.  Being Britain, we also recognise that those who are not happy thoroughly enjoy moaning about it.

We know too that music, particularly Christmas songs, affects people emotionally.  EMR qualitative research concluded: "For three quarters of people, Christmas music has a very powerful impact, helping to surface strong emotions - it remind them of happy memories".

Linda Blair, a clinical psychologist, disagrees - suggesting that festive tunes can impact on mental health. She agrees that music goes straight to our emotions and 'bypasses rationality', but fears that it simply brings on the worries of the duties and obligations to come. Linda suggests that shop assistants have to expend much energy in zoning out of the music which is being drip-fed to them.

John Lewis is predictably cheery.  Alongside the Coca Cola truck, the arrival of its TV ad has become a seasonal landmark. There's no doubting the emotions such campaigns stir, and no doubting the enthusiasm of viewers for exactly that feeling.  'On Brand', which works with some major UK brands and shopping centres, agrees with the power of Christmas music - and suggests that the retail Christmas begins on the 15th November and ends on Boxing Day. 

When thoughts of Christmas are evoked, listeners feel good – and feeling good is likely one of the reasons they came to you.  So much research over the years recognises that listeners value radio as it ‘cheers them up’. 'Mood' is an increasingly recurrent theme as an audience driver.

Impressive research from the RAB, the Radio Advertising Bureau, suggests people are happier when consuming radio, that when spending time with any other media.  And they are happier with radio than with no media, with happiness levels climbing 100% and energy levels up by 300%. 

So, what better music to play than a Christmas song?  The first chord whisks you back to your toddler times, Advocaat with grandma, or partying with friends.  And it reminds you of that end-of-term feeling: the rare period in life when you can be off work and the emails are not mounting up as everyone else is off too.

When to start?

If you're not going 'all Christmas', when should you start sliding in the Christmas hits, where the format and brand values permit?

Some happy-go-lucky jocks cannot wait to get stuck into their festive songs; others yawn. Programmers too are divided.  Some sensibly evaluate the tastes and moods of their audiences alongside their formats and brand values; other grey suits just seize a rare opportunity to take out their frosty miserableness on their listeners.

Heart certainly goes with the Sleigh List fairly early and, judging by what I judge their brand values to be, that’s eminently sensible.  The AC Gem in the East Midlands revels promptly in the warmth too.  From what I heard of some BBC local radio stations in years past, however, they did not rush out with the tinsel tunes until Santa was stuck in the chimney just a week before. 

Research consultant Roger Wimmer asserts: "If you plan to play Christmas music and you give a rat’s tail about what your audience thinks, then you had better ask them. The only way to know the answer is to ask your own listeners".

Let’s remember that people are talking about Christmas in every workplace by mid November.  The Christmas party emails have gone out, and you’ve likely started to choreograph your Christmas with grandma, the kids and your ex husband.  By the start of December, it’s got to be time to nod to what your own listeners are feeling.  For the rest of the year, most listeners do not notice the odd song you have chosen not to play, but they do notice if you are not ‘sounding Christmassy’, and they will tell you so.

You might imagine Steve Penk, of 'Radio Dead' fame might be a cynic, but, on Radio Today, he said:

"The reason I have always played Christmas songs early on the radio, throughout my career, both as a presenter and station owner, is because I always remember as a child instantly feeling Christmassy when I heard Christmas songs being played on the radio, and this feeling has stuck with me since being a kid."

In some online research about shopping habits and the like, conducted  by the then Orion Media in 2013, we asked around 600 listeners (15-54)  when they wanted Christmas songs.  Yes, it‘s a flawed question in the wrong research methodology for this topic, but we tried the best we could.  Something along the lines of ‘when do you want to start hearing Christmas songs on the radio to help you feel festive, yet not so early so you get fed up with them?’.

I expected listeners to seize the opportunity to be miserable on a dull September day.  They didn’t.  Witness the graph  though - that 'start of December' lead seems pretty decisive.

The identify of the listener's  P1 station choice appears not to make an appreciable difference to their views.  The demos do show variances; with even more of the younger demos wanting their celebrations to begin before December.  Amongst those 45+, however, the decisiveness of the 'beginning of December' vote leaps ahead even further than amongst all adults.  In fact, if you leave it any later than a month before you reach for Chris Rea, three quarters of your 44+ audience are going to be disappointed. 

If your music format allows it, why would you not want to spin a few Christmas songs at the beginning of December, enough for your P2s and beyond to catch one or two?  It also allows you to give some of your regularly rotated songs a holiday.

Last year, by November 2017, some songs were already  creeping up the UK Spotify chart (Maria Carey and Wham). Youtube too saw the Carey kick right at the beginning of November.

In the Philippines, streaming figures suggest the season starts on September 1st, with other countries not really joining in until November 1st.  Pre-Christmas listening of Christmas music surges at the weekend. 

Portland Radio Group suggests “It can never be too soon to deck the halls. And when it comes to Christmas music on the radio, it's never too early to begin the reindeer games”. EMR’s research in 2013 spoke to several hundred UK respondents aged aged 15-54. For 85% of people, they suggested, "Christmas without Christmas music wouldn't be as good".

In the US, ‘Christmas Creep’ means some stations fight to be the first to play Christmas songs. Traditionally, it's the day after Thanksgiving - which places the start of the American festive season in late November. And let's remember it's still around 25 degrees in Arizona at that stage.

Witness the online offerings too. Not least SantaRadio, from the wonderful Guy Harris who  has carved out a well-deserved reputation in recent years for being the best 'radio santa', appearing on so many different stations, with an 'on-brand' Santa for each: cool or fruity; naughty or nice. On Santa Radio - hear the kids' content too - fed in via the app. Some really interesting thinking here - also proving how truly brilliant a well-run voice-tracked station can be.

Dublin's Christmas FM first went on air in 2008, joined by other parts of Ireland in ensuing years and diversifying into themed offshoots. The main quasi-national FM station doesn't carry ads on this temporary additional channel, supported by a hundred volunteers, but does include sponsorships; and has raised  an impressive €1.25m for charity to date. It came on air this year on November 28th, raising money for Temple Street Children's Hospital

When  to stop? I'm a fan of Boxing Day; and blogger Hugh McIntryre points out that 4 out of 5 US stations flip formats back on that day.

Which songs to play?


Spotify's data scientists suggest seasonal trends in music consumption, with Winter dominated by "Spoken word recordings, "mellower" subgenres, and music associated with particular countries".

Top Spotify Christmas songs in 2017

1. Maria Carey - All I want for Christmas is You
2. Wham - Last Christmas
3. Michael Buble - It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
4. Justin Bieber - Mistletoe
5. Ariana Grande - Santa Tell Me

From overseas (US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand), iHeart Radio collated data from listeners in 2016 giving the thumbs up or down as songs played on-air. Thumbs up went to: Winter Wonderland; Sleigh Ride; Let it Snow;  All I want for Christmas is You; and It's Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas. Thumbs down went to: Happy Christmas War is Over; Do They Know It;'s Christmas; I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus; and the Christmas Song

Back home, of all Christmas songs, PPL suggests that 'Merry Christmas Everybody' by Slade is played on the widest variety of stations.

PPL Top Ten Christmas Songs over the last 10 years (to 2017)

1. Fairytale Of New York - Pogues featuring Kirsty Maccoll

2  All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey

3. Last Christmas - Wham!

4. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday - Wizzard

5. Driving Home For Christmas - Chris Rea

6. Merry Xmas Everybody - Slade

7. Merry Christmas Everyone - Shakin' Stevens

8. Wonderful Christmas Time - Paul McCartney

9. Do They Know It's Christmas? - Band Aid
10. I Believe In Father Christmas - Greg Lake

Make of it all what you will.  But remember: unless you are Radio 4, people likely turn on your station to lift their mood (and sometimes R4 listeners do that too, frankly).  So, if your format and brand can stretch to it, don't be miserable. Do Christmas. Your listeners would agree. 

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 Here's a Christmas gift for a radio-loving friend. 

My book Radio Moments tells of the last fifty years of radio - from the inside.  A  very personal account of growing up with radio, before becoming a tetchy jock  and then a hassled MD and programmer. The laughter and tears of an  unrepeatable era.

    Also 'How to Make Great Radio'. Techniques for today's presenters and         
    producers.  Great for newcomers - and food for thought if you've been doing it      
    years.