ASIA

Selling Radio Direct with Pat BrysonIn 26 days 2022 will arrive.

Now’s the time to set goals and expectations for the new year. It can be difficult to gaze into your crystal ball and project the next 12 months. We know that external events can affect business. As business rebounds, 2022 is looking very promising. The Christmas season has started with a BANG. This usually means happy, optimistic clients who are ready to continue the momentum in January.Even in normal years, as salespeople and sales managers, we may dread the goal-setting process. Whether or not some external force intervenes, in reality, our goal-setting process should not be focused on what management wants us to bill. It should be focused on what you want to earn. At the end of the day, you determine your paycheck. How you spend your billable hours, how you respond to changing market conditions, will ultimately determine your earnings. Spending our billable hours productively is critical to recovering our income levels.There is a simple formula to calculate what you will need to bill to earn what you wish to earn.Amount I want to earn________________________________________Divided by:Commission rate ____________________________________________Equals:How much I must bill _________________________________________Next, divide that total yearly amount into months. What must the billing be for each month, and what will you earn that month?This exercise gives you a starting place to plan your efforts for the coming year. Now that you know what you must bill monthly, you can calculate how many face-to-face calls you will need to make each day to achieve that billing level:Monthly goal:______________________________________________Divided by:Average order: _____________________________________________Equals:Number of orders needed: _____________________________________Divided by:Closing ratio %: ____________________________________________Equals:Number of meetings needed: ___________________________________Divided by:Number of work days in a month: ________________________________Equals:Number of meetings per day: ___________________________________Sales is a numbers game. Once you know your numbers, you have a roadmap to higher income in 2022.Happy Selling!Pat has a New Book […]

Content from BPRChristmas songs are the staple of many formats and stations around the world. There has been a rise in the number of All Christmas Music radio stations helped substantially by digital streaming options that allow stations to have the choice of a little or a lot of Christmas music…

Assuming that you have decided to play some Christmas music then you’re still left with the question of how many songs, how often and which songs to playOldies based stations, AC, Full Service or Soft AC format have an advantage in terms of available song repertoire. For contemporary and niche formats the available pool of Christmas music may be more limited. However, the mood of Christmas is what defines the choice rather than the format.It’s not a surprise to hear Cliff Richard, (Mistletoe and wine) Dean Martin, (Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer) Slade (Merry Christmas Everybody), Paul McCartney (Wonderful Christmas Time) alongside new songs or versions of songs by Justin Bieber, and Ariana Grande all played on a CHR station.In recent music surveys the ‘usual suspects’ continue to top the list. After all, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without Wham singing ‘Last Christmas’, however it’s the rest of the list that may contain a few surprises. In the US the list of ‘most Played Christmas songs includes many long-dead artists and much played songs. The US top ten includes:10. “Last Christmas,” Wham9. “White Christmas,” Bing Crosby8. “Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24),” Trans-Siberian Orchestra7. “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” Andy Williams6. “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” Burl Ives5. “Feliz Navidad,” Jose Feliciano4. “Jingle Bell Rock,” Bobby Helms3. “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You),” Nat King Cole2. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” Brenda Lee1.1.”All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Mariah CareyOf course, many of these songs have been re-made by contemporary artists but many original versions survive – the notable of these is of course ‘White Christmas’ which is still played without irony in many Southern Hemisphere Summer Christmas cities.Christmas Music lists also vary by location. Band Aid’s – ‘Do they know it’s Christmas’, Chris Rea ‘Drivin home for Christmas’ The Eagles ‘Please Come Home for Christmas’ have become modern-day classics in many countries.Here are some of the more recent additions to the Christmas listFairytale of New York – The PoguesHow to Make Gravy – Paul KellyAnd of course, a special mention goes to ‘Snoopy’s Christmas’ by the Royal Guardsmen that has been a New Zealand Christmas staple for many yearsThis year, a number of stations have carried out their own Christmas Music surveys to find out which songs their listeners really love When to play?Christmas music season has already kicked off in the US (even before Thanksgiving) with major stations including KOST in Los Angeles, LITE FM in New York, WTMX Tampa, WLIT Chicago, among 80 stations across the country already deep into an ‘all Christmas music’ format.In recent years these stations have also been joined by Magic FM in London and many others around the world in the All Christmas Music group although it seems that the US stations are well ahead of their counterparts in other parts of the world. How many songs?That’s a question with an answer like – “it depends…” on how often you’re going to play them. Some of the options might include
One track per hour.
100% Christmas songs on Christmas eve/day
Christmas song double play per hour
Christmas song countdown leading up to Xmas Day
All Christmas music – all the time
The definition of All Christmas Music sometimes extends to include songs that come from movies with ‘Christmas’ or Holiday Themes.  Movies like “Love Actually’, ‘Home Alone’, ‘Trains Planes and Automobiles’ and even ‘Christmas Vacation’ or ‘The Grinch Who Stole Christmas’ still feature on favourite or ‘it feels like Christmas’ movie viewing choices.The number of songs you should play will ultimately depend on how often you decide to play Christmas (or holiday) themed songs – this is also obviously related to time spent listening and whether you want your station to be full-on in the Christmas theme stakes.It is interesting to note that Christmas-only stations in the major US markets have their highest audience ratings at this time of year.Even if you decide not to play Christmas music you can still enter into the spirit of the season through a number of tactics like; Christmas themed audio branding, Street promotions, social media posts, messages from your personalities and artists or supporting a charitable cause.By The BPR TeamEnjoy the season – Merry Christmas! […]

Sponsored contentAdthos Platform: a glimpse into the future of audio advertisingA world first in audio advertising, the Adthos Ad-Server was released in June 2021 and has since been downloaded many thousands of times across the globe. And following hot on its heels, Adthos Creative Studio has made it possible to create broadcast-quality advertising audio using innovative text-to-speech and synthetic voice technology.

This first-of-a-kind browser-based multitrack editor allows broadcasters and advertisers to collaborate online, combining music, human and synthetic voice to produce real-time audio advertising.  With the kinds of features commonly found in Digital Audio Workstations including equalisers, compressors, limiters and even an option to use professional plugins.And that’s not all, Adthos Creative Studio allows on-the-go spot creation and offers powerful targeting possibilities.Delivering the largest radio ad campaign in historyBut the latest innovation for Adthos Creative Studio is set to change everything: Pre-produced, customizable audio adverts. This technology was recently put to the test through the creation of a pro-vaccination ad campaign, which can be downloaded and used for free. Using Adthos’ advanced text to speech and synthetic voice technology combined with geo-locations, it was possible to generate more than 13.000 adverts, covering over 6500 cities, and in 70 languages, all within a matter of hours! The potential that this offers to advertisers and broadcasters for future large-scale, multi-lingual and cross-border campaigns is extremely exciting.Hearing is believingAdthos Creative Studio has harnessed the power of AI to produce natural sounding and programmable audio that needs to be heard to be believed. Users can choose from up to 40 US – English voices, with Adthos’ exclusive voice talent library of broadcast professionals and Emmy-award winning talent offered within the Gold or Platinum voiceover packages respectively.  It’s also possible to add a specific voice or voices to the library as an additional service.Once selected, voices can be brought to life with character and personality. Control intonation, speed and apply reading rules for certain types of content such as phone numbers or emails to deliver realistic and engaging audio.And any voice talent who add their voices to the library have the opportunity to monetise their synthetic voices via a royalty system, track where and when their voice has been used, and choose to opt out of any advertising they don’t want to be associated with e.g., Alcohol or adult-themed content.Advertising that’s always a step aheadCreative Studio can dynamically use any webservice to insert content based on different data sets to produce timely, relevant advertising. From web-based information such as weather pages, using geo-targeting for location-based advertising, or even Excel files in the case of information such as pricing catalogues for supermarket deals.Astonishing possibilities. Unbelievable price.You’d expect all of this to come at a cost wouldn’t you? Think again. Adthos Creative Studio comes in at just USD49.95/month for a standard subscription.Still not convinced? Then sign up for a month’s free trial to experience it for yourself!Curious? Prepare to be amazedRead more at: https://radioinfo.com.au/news/the-future-of-audio-advertising-try-it-now-for-free/ © RadioInfo Australia […]

Indian Network Big FM has launched a new show titled ‘Big Katha’, which will reimagine and retell stories from the past with a modern twist, while retaining their core essence and morals.Hosted by popular RJ Khurafati Nitin and RJ Pihu, the show airs Saturdays from 8 pm to 9 pm and Sundays from 6 pm to 7 pm.Nitin and Pihu will play the characters of Akkad Singh and Babita respectively, which are based on Mughal emperor Akbar and one of his courtiers Birbal – who was famous for his quick wit.

Speaking about the show, Sunil Kumaran, Country Head, Product, Marketing and THWINK BIG, BIG FM, said: “We are contextualizing the classic folklore of Akbar and Birbal for the newer audiences. It is modern day storytelling, reimagining the tales and narrated in a unique avatar for our listeners.”RJ Khurafati Nitin, popular BIG RJ from Delhi, commented: “Storytelling is in our Indian DNA, be it in the form of classic tales, books or content. I am looking forward to recreating these stories giving it a modern twist while not losing their essence and morals.” […]

Content from BPRIf you think of your competition as merely the other broadcast radio stations in the market, you are missing the big picture. With each passing year, radio’s competition from non-radio audio services is increasing. No format is immune to this trend. With the expansion of the digital communication world, our listeners are constantly drawn to and occupied with other media. This impacts not only music stations but news and talk formats as well.

Industry veteran and All Access President Joel Denver recently spoke with Bob Pittman, CEO of iHeart Media. In a discussion about the future of radio, Pittman made clear the dilemma radio operators are facing when he said, “You use the word Radio, Radio, Radio.  I do too.  It’s a habit.” He then cited the younger generation’s perception of radio, “When you do research on young people, they’ll say ‘why are you calling it a device?  It’s a thing. That’s just one place I get it.  I actually will get in on my phone, and I get it on my video game machine’.”The message is that younger listeners consider radio to be simply one of many audio sources. They consider traditional radio sets to be just one of the ways to hear our broadcasts. For them, radio is just a device among many. What matters to them is the content, not the device.So, what does this mean for our business? The fact that radio can be accessed on various electronic devices means that we are now competing with all of the readily available digital audio services. In the past, the alternative to listening to one station was to simply switch to another station. Today, the alternatives extend far beyond our broadcast band radio competitors.Stations that rely on music as their primary programming material now compete with digital streaming services of all kinds. Additionally, listeners can access their own downloaded music on smartphones, tablets and computers. There is a streaming service for every musical taste from Hip Hop to Classical. In many cases, music streaming services offer multiple styles of music each of which can be programmed far more narrowly than any broadcast station. Even in the largest markets, a niche station that exclusively programs electronic dance (EDM) or early jazz would probably not be viable. However, as digital streams, such styles would have a good chance at building an audience large enough to justify the format.News and talk formats now have competition from a variety of digital sources, most notably podcasts. It is now possible to find a podcast devoted to one’s most esoteric tastes and interests. Services such as Google News are regularly updated and easily accessible on smartphones, tablets and computers. A recent study by Pew Research reported that 80% of people in the US get their news from digital sources. Most newspapers and television news channels have their own on-line news services. Digital newspaper subscribers are rapidly surpassing subscribers of traditional newspapers. The futures of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, The Daily Mail and The Sydney Morning Herald are digital.Radio still has unique features that are difficult for other media to copy. Localism is high on the list. Radio stations have the ability to relate to their community in real time. Popular personalities and programs exclusive to your station are also a major source of differentiation.It is now easier to listen to radio than ever before. Listeners can access your station across a wide range of devices. Radio is more portable than before. We can now listen to radio while jogging or working out at the gymnasium. Radio still has an important role to play in people’s lives. Let’s just stop thinking about it as “radio” but rather as locally-based audio content providers attuned to the particular needs of the listeners in their broadcast area.By Andy Beaubien, BPR […]

Indian network Big FM has launched ‘Dhun Workouts’, an initiative for the workout of the lungs and soul.According to the network, these exercises will not be the regular ‘Breathe-Hold-Release’ that is common in the health and fitness space, but will unleash the hidden potential of Bollywood music that will leave audiences singing along and enjoying to their heart’s content.With Dhun Workouts, the network will curate a list of few Bollywood songs that will help in better breathing and concentration.

These will be played on air every hour for 30 seconds where station’s RJs will encourage listeners to sing along. These lung workouts can be done anywhere and anytime as listeners just have to sing along to the tunes and see their lungs feel better after the exercise. These songs will help listeners breathe better, leading to being able to concentrate better. The exercise will also help improve the posture to facilitate efficient breathing, overall aiding to healthy lungs.Speaking about the same, Sunil Kumaran, Country Head, Product, Marketing and THWINK Big, Big FM, said: “The past two years have laid emphasis on the importance of having good health like never before. Amidst the covid crisis, the prominence of having good lung health has been of the utmost importance. We have always believed in reaching out to our listeners through our various initiatives for their good health, be it mentally or emotionally. As the frontrunner in launching purpose-driven campaigns and initiatives aimed towards bringing positive change in the society, ‘Dhun Workouts’ is our earnest attempt to reach out to our listeners and raise awareness on the importance of having healthy lungs.” […]