ASIA

According to a recent global survey by  YouGov quoted in Variety, Indonesia, UAE, India and China are top four countries where listeners are interested in paying for podcasts over the next 12 months.The survey was conducted between January 18 and February 4, 2022, among 18,855 adults aged 18+ across 18 countries including Great Britain, US, Mexico, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, India and UAE. All samples were composed of consumers who said they listened to podcasts, and they were asked how likely, if at all, would they be to pay or donate money to access/listen to a podcast in the next 12 months?68 percent Indonesians, 65 percent from UAE, 59 percent from India and 55 percent from China said they were Very or somewhat likely.When asked how often they listened to podcasts, UAE, Mexico and India, were the top three countries where respondents listened to podcasts once or a few times a day.This could encourage podcast companies to pursue a model where they could generate subscription revenue through international channels. It would, however, also be affected by varying degrees of internet freedom and censorship across territories.With an expanding listener base, tech platforms have also shown interest in courting more podcast listeners across regions. Apple Podcasts has launched subscriptions last year in over 170 countries, and YouTube is reportedly offering grants of up to $300,000 to podcast networks to help podcast producers create filmed versions of their programs and Twitter may soon have a tab to allow listeners to listen to podcasts. […]

History Channel Asia is launching its first original podcast on Astro Radio Malaysia’s SYOK App.‘History On Our Plate’ reveals unique and compelling stories behind many local favourite and nostalgic dishes across states and cultures. This podcast series will be available exclusively in Malaysia on the SYOK website and app from March 18.Co-hosted by Hitz FM announcers Keanu Azman and Ili Ruzanna, the podcast will take listeners on an immersive audio journey exploring the distinctiveness of local food while increasing awareness and interest about the backgrounds of these dishes.The 10 episodes of ‘History On Our Plate’ include:
Episode 1 : Nasi Kandar with Anwar Hadi, food vlogger
Episode 2 : Kopitiam Culture with Andrew Lee, founder of VCR Cafe
Episode 3 : Laksa with Anis Nabilah, celebrity chef
Episode 4 : Mamak Culture with Kyle Jacob, SYOK talent
Episode 5 : Cendol with Sue Lynn ‘Bangsar Babe’, lifestyle blogger
Episode 6 : Viral Foods with Ceddy, food vlogger
Episode 7 : Street Burgers with Chin Ren Yi, founder of MyBurgerLab
Episode 8 : Nostalgic Brands with Prem Shanker, Mix FM radio announcer
Episode 9 : Malaysian Brands with Ili Sulaiman, TV personality
Episode 10 : International Brands with Rod Monteiro, Lite FM radio announcer
Kenny Ong, CEO, Astro Radio, said: “We are excited to expand our podcast library to offer more relevant content catered to local audiences while featuring various popular local talents across industries. As we embark on this collaboration with A+E Networks for our first joint podcast series, we look forward to a robust partnership for a wider range of quality content in the audio realm.”“We are building on the tremendous initial success of A+E Networks in the US as an originator of compelling original audio content. True to our storytelling DNA, we’ll seek to illuminate local perspectives and stories for local audiences in this part of the world and also bring those to the world through international distribution,” said Saugato Banerjee, Managing Director of A+E Networks, Asia. […]

Reporters from Pajhwok Afghan News have won awards from two different media associations in the country.Afghanistan Journalists’ Center (AFJC) awarded four top journalists with Afghanistan Journalist of the Year Awards at a ceremony organized by the Afghan Journalists Association in Kabul on March 16.Farhad Behrooz, deputy head of the association, said that top journalists of the year were Pajhwok Afghan News correspondent Qutbuddin Kouhi, TOLO News correspondent Sedaqat Ghorang, Hasht-i-Subh reporter Hasibaullah and AFP correspondent Aref Karimi.Afghanistan Journalists and Media Organisations Federation (AJMOF) has named Pajhwok Afghan News’ Ahmad Sohaib Hasrat the Best Investigative Reporter and Farog Tarin as the Best News Agency Reporter for 2022.The announcement came on the eve of National Journalist Day celebrated annually on March 18.AJMOF Head Mohammad Gul Geran said that a competition in this regard was launched one month ago in which 400 reporters from all over the country participated. […]

The French audio equipment manufacturer Digigram has announced the signature of a distribution agreement with the Italian broadcasting solutions leader AxelTech.Effective immediately, Singapore-based Digigram Asia Pte Ltd. is appointed distributor for AxelTech’s Falcon audio processors, Macrotel telephone hybrids and Oxygen Digital mixers ranges over the Asia Pacific region. Except for Japan and Vietnam, Digigram becomes the exclusive distributor of the Italian products.Digigram Asia Pte Ltd already covers the APAC region as a distributor of Digigram, Auvitran and Barix audio solutions and equipment.“The addition of AxelTech products to our portfolio is a significant move for Digigram as we are now capable to address our customers with full scale, high-end solutions for their broadcasting and studio needs” states Singapore-based Nancy Diaz Curiel, Digigram’s Director of Sales, Marketing and Communications.Enrico Vaccari, AxelTech’s Director of Sales adds: “We are very excited to partner with Digigram to open new opportunities. AxelTech solutions will benefit from their broad coverage of the Asia Pacific territory, and the Singapore office providing expertise and support is a great asset to assist customers in achieving their broadcast projects”. […]

Radiodays Europe will hold a Podcast Summit in partnership with Acast and supported by their sister organisation PodcastDay 24.This year they have the full Sunday afternoon dedicated to Podcasting along with sessions running in the main programme.The session is moderated by James Cridland, Editor, Podnews.Programme & Speakers
Developing a new show – Podcasts allow you to try something different: but what’s the best way to plan a new show? How do you get the format right, choose the right hosts, and get the most out of it?  Speaking in this session Julie Shapiro (PRX, USA) & Lory Martinez (Studio Ochenta, France)
 Making podcasts pay – What options are there to earn revenue from podcasting? Does all podcast ads need to sound like radio advertising; and how flexible can they be? The two headliners of this mega session are Rob Greenlee (Libsyn’s Advertisecast, USA) & Daniella Murphy (Acast Creative Director, UK)
 Designing your podcast to be a success – What is the best way to make a successful podcast? This session looks at the data of successful shows. What makes them successful and how can you emulate that success? Bringing the research to this session Tom Webster (VP, Edison Research’s Podcast Consumer Survey, USA) & Rasmus Kidde (Audience Researcher, DR, DK)
 What is next in podcasting – What’s next for podcasting? Which content trends will become bigger? Is it still all about true crime? Will catch-up radio decline as more podcasters produce different-sounding content? Audio drama? Mental Health Podcast? Immersive audio? What does the heads of Podcasting plan for the year to come? With more speakers to come but some awesome speakers in there right now Bryan Barletta (Sounds Profitable, Australia), Jessica Radburn (Head of International podcast content,Wondery, Germany) & Craig Strachan (Head of Podcast Europe and ANZ, Amazon Music, UK)
To register for this Summit  register for a full ticket for Radiodays Europe and during registration  add Podcast Summit.The Podcast Summit is part of the wider programme of Radiodays Europe which includes more sessions focused on Podcasters and Podcasting. […]

Content from BPRThere are a number of issues which periodically drive a shift in listening preference from new music to older music, but the key reason is when too much current pop sounds the same for too long.  When this occurs, people start to default to oldies because of their boredom with Pop.  Oldies become a safe harbour of variety and passion during these times until a new sound or style emerges that piques their interest and passion. Then the cycle starts all over again.  BPR has seen these phenomena develop a number of times over the years in various markets. This time around however several factors have converged to dig a deep hole for new music. Some of these being:
Massive opportunity for music exposure across multiple platforms which accelerates a song reaching its market saturation point.
A music industry business model which is attracted to solo artists that require a fraction of the production and management overhead compared to the overhead involved with a band comprising several people and multiple egos. This diminishes depth of music supply.
Consolidation of music recording and post-production into a small number of dominate studios which narrows creative perspectives.
The tendency to recycle music elements and production techniques from song to song and artist to artist thus massively reducing costs but creating a “sameness” to songs.
Music labels/publishing companies focussing on milking existing artists rather than trying to develop new talent which can be expensive and risky.
TV’s shows like Got Talent and the Voice have provided excellent platforms for new solo talent however they are not conducive to bands or music which is too complex. As much as these shows have done good, they have also further cemented the solo artist paradigm.
It would be good to think that a new sound or artists will emerge and turn the tide back to current pop however are the music companies necessarily equipped to facilitate this?  At present their business model is honed to the current sound regime and they are driven to a great extent by online metrics. The music industry has never been more commoditised, margins can be slim, the creative environment seems introverted. The main-stream music industry appears to be following its tail and at present it looks like a downward spiral.If we assume optimistically that at some point, we will see the emergence of something new that refreshes the momentum of popular music then the question many are asking is what will it be? Over the last 60 years we have exhausted all combinations of notes and chords.  A scientific study published a while back suggested that around 2010 every combination of music’s 12 notes and finite number of chords had been invented and used.  There are no new melodies or riffs, just different combinations or instrumentations of what has been heard before. In the short to medium term expect to hear more remakes or songs that remind you of something you have heard before.I am hopeful that someone or something will emerge that will alter the trajectory of current pop however whichever way you look at it the creation of something “new” is an increasingly difficult task requiring vision, boldness and talent.  As David Bowie once said “Tomorrow belongs to those who can hear it coming” Bowie could.A perspective from Wayne Clouten, BPR […]