ASIA

Among classical radio programmers, one of the most common beliefs is that the audience wants to listen mostly to symphonic strings-laden pieces. Not only do listeners want to hear “all strings, all the time” but they also want the tempo be mostly mid-tempo – not too fast, not too slow. Our research has shown time and again that nothing could be farther from the truth. In reality, classical format listeners want variety in style, tempo and orchestration.The classical music catalogue covers approximately 600 years ranging from the 15th and 16th centuries (the Renaissance era) to the modern era. The true “Classical era” is associated with music from 1750 to 1820 and is primarily known for the monumental contributions of composers such as Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn. However, the eras that preceded and succeeded the Classical era produced a massive amount of music commonly associated with classical music. Pre-dating the Classical era were giants such as J.S. Bach, Handel, Scarlatti and Vivaldi. And yet, these composers produced few works that would fall into the category of “all strings, all the time”.The Romantic and Impressionistic music years (approximately 1820 to 1900) produced a large number of orchestral pieces but as time passed composers such as Brahms and Mahler expanded upon the melodic range of the Classical era. Even today some of the works of the period sound a bit more dissonant than those of Mozart and Beethoven. Nevertheless, the late 19th century produced a large number of works that are accessible to the listener and yet offer a contrast to the works of the Classical era.

Unfortunately, many classical music stations limit the historical range of the music that they play and tend to rely primarily on works from the Classical and Early Romantic eras. Research has shown that listeners are open to a much wider timeline. In recent decades, the music of Bach and Vivaldi have become a staple in the classical format just as the music of Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Mahler, Stravinsky and Ravel have found a place in the hearts of classical radio listeners.In the next installation of this series, we will examine orchestration and the role that it plays in providing welcome variety to the classical format.Your thoughts and questions about classical radio are welcome. If you wish, you can contact me directly at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you.By Andy Beaubien, BPR

Andy Beaubien, a BPR senior consultant, has extensive experience working with classical music stations around the world including Classic FM in the UK. […]

Registration is now open for Radiodays Europe 2024, to be held from March 17 to 19, in Munich, the capital of the German state of Bavaria.This year, participants can register easy with three ways to join the event:
For those who want to join for all 3 days of the event, there’s a 3-day Access Pass which gives access to Radiodays Europe Inclusive and all of the Summits on Sunday.
Attendees who want to join for the Monday and Tuesday only we have the 2-day Conference Pass which excludes all events on the Sunday, these can however be added after registration if needed at a later date.
Finally, the 1-day Summit Only Pass gives those who wish to join this year’s Summits which include a more in-depth focus on: Youth, Podcast and AI access to these sessions.
Radiodays Europe offers free access to the Exhibition Only on Sunday for those who want to visit Exhibitors with no access to any conference sessions and a big discount to those who want to bring their full teams or book as a Group.

Register now at Super Early Bird Prices here. […]

Indian government’s regulator for the telecom industry in India, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) might get its next head from the private sector.The idea is consistent with the government’s recent decisions to choose members of the private sector to lead important regulatory organisations.It comes just a few days after TRAI recommended that private FM radio operators should be allowed to broadcast independent news and current affairs programmes.

According to media reports, the central government is considering a change in the TRAI Act, 1997, which would lay down specific requirements to enable senior corporate executives to become the chairperson of TRAI.It would mean an amendment to Section 4 of the TRAI Act, 1997, under which the Centre is empowered to appoint the chairperson and members of the regulatory body who have “special knowledge of, and professional experience in, telecommunication, industry, finance, accountancy, law, management or consumer affairs”.“There is a proposal that a person who has never worked in the government can be appointed as the chairperson of TRAI if they have at least 30 years of professional experience at a senior level, such as a board member or chief executive officer,” a senior government official said, requesting anonymity since the talks are currently private.According to the current rules, a TRAI member must have held the post of Secretary or Additional Secretary to the Government of India, or any equivalent post in the central or state government, for at least three years. But no rules are specified for the post of chairperson.“While technically, the chairperson could have been appointed from the private sector, the government had so far stayed away from appointing such an individual due to obvious concerns of conflict of interest. But the changes being considered now signal the changing mindset of the Centre towards opening up key regulatory posts for individuals from the private sector,” said the official.

“Besides, the changes being mulled also signal that TRAI has evolved as a regulator over the years and could now do well under a person from the private sector,” said sources.The current TRAI chairperson, P D Vaghela, is a Gujarat-cadre 1986-batch IAS officer, and was earlier Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals. His predecessor, R S Sharma, a Jharkhand-cadre 1978-batch IAS officer, was the IT Secretary from 2014 to 2015. […]

Radio Taiwan International (Rti) celebrated its 95th anniversary with an event featuring remarks by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday, September 19.Other speakers at the event included Legislative Speaker You Si-kun, Ambassador of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to Taiwan Andrea Bowman, and Rti Chairperson Cheryl Lai.In her speech, President Tsai said that Rti has borne witness to important moments in the Taiwanese people’s struggles for freedom and democracy. She said that RTI has consistently fulfilled its role, from its former duty in broadcasting on democracy to chronicling Taiwan’s increasing global engagement, bringing Taiwan’s voice to the international airwaves. The president also noted that RTI has shown its commitment to the ideal embodied by this year’s theme for World Radio Day: Radio and Peace and has conveyed to the world that Taiwan is willing to do its part for world peace. She expressed hope that everyone at RTI will continue to use their expertise to bring the voice of Taiwan to the world and wished RTI all the best as it embarks from a new milestone. Tsai also said Taiwan’s ability to connect people all over the world was demonstrated by the many postcards received in various languages on display at the event.

Rti Chairperson Cheryl Lai also gave remarks at the event. Lai said Rti is Taiwan’s only public media company to broadcast in 20 languages across multiple platforms. Lai says Rti has been an important channel for people in Southeast Asian countries to understand Taiwan. She says the Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Thai language services have a long history at Rti, and are important resources for Taiwan’s new immigrants and migrant workers. Lai said that Taiwan also began a Ukrainian language social media service following the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war. She concluded by saying that as Taiwan grows more vibrant and diverse, Rti will continue to spread Taiwan’s voices to all corners of the world.Ambassador Bowman said in her speech that reaching 95 years of service is not an easy accomplishment to achieve. She said Rti represents an excellent model for how to spread the message of democracy and peace across the globe.Here’s a translation of President Tsai’s remarks:“This year RTI marked its 95th anniversary by hosting a postcard collection drive appealing for world peace, as well as by expanding its scope of activities, holding forums in Taiwan and Thailand on the outlook for Asia post-pandemic.The forums were focused on the topics of “authoritarianism and democracy” and “addressing disinformation and information warfare around the world,” both of which reflect challenges currently facing democratic countries. As Taiwan stands on the frontline of the defense of democracy, and as we are facing an expansion of authoritarianism, we are willing and able to work with our global democratic partners to defend the values of freedom and democracy.

In recent years, Taiwan has continued to collaborate with democratic partners from around the world through the Global Cooperation and Training Framework, holding workshops to discuss various global issues, such as how to improve media literacy and counter disinformation. I am sure that this international conference held by RTI will also help Taiwan and our democratic partners share experiences on resisting authoritarianism and countering disinformation.I want to thank RTI for its dedication. Founded 95 years ago, RTI has borne witness to important moments in the Taiwanese people’s struggles for freedom and democracy. In particular, RTI has consistently fulfilled its role, from its former duty in broadcasting on democracy to chronicling Taiwan’s increasing global engagement, bringing Taiwan’s voice to the international airwaves.RTI has also helped connect Taiwan with its friends the world over. Guests with us here tonight and listeners around the world have sent in postcards in various languages to express their well-wishes for RTI as well as their hopes for world peace.This year’s theme for World Radio Day is Radio and Peace. I would like to thank RTI for showing its commitment to this ideal. Through its efforts, RTI has shown that the power of broadcasting knows no borders. It has also conveyed to the world that Taiwan is willing to do its part for world peace.Just now, listening to Anastasiia Palamarchuk, a student from Ukraine, recite a poem at the opening of this event, we can all understand that the commitment to democracy, freedom, and peace goes beyond borders, and that it is an important link between Taiwan and the international community. This link has become stronger as a result of everyone’s hard work. That is why I am confident that everyone at RTI, making an impact through radio, is proud to be a broadcaster.Over the past few years, RTI has been more than a bridge linking Taiwan to other nations around the world. It has also provided friendly, real-time information services to new immigrants and foreign language speakers in Taiwan. Once again, I would like to thank everyone at RTI for your contributions. I hope that you continue to use your expertise to bring the voice of Taiwan to the world. I wish RTI all the best as it embarks from a new milestone.” […]

Selling Radio Direct with Pat BrysonThose who know me understand that I allow myself a few indulgences. One such indulgence is a special perfume that I have used for decades. It’s my “signature scent”. I once lost a scarf while on premise with a client. One of the salespeople returned it to me saying, “I knew it was yours. I recognized your perfume.” You get the picture.Which brings us to today’s newsletter. I haven’t been able to find this particular perfume for nearly a year. I had resigned myself to smelling like the frankincense soap I use. When I attended the NAB in Vegas last April, I decided to visit several of their famous big stores to search for the perfume. I took a few hours off from trolling for new clients in the halls of the Encore and Bellagio and went on my quest: Saks, Macy’s, Nordstrom’s, Neiman Marcus. No luck anywhere. I was met with, “We haven’t been able to get that fragrance for months!”.

At Neiman Marcus, they thought they could order it. Oh, happy day! But they soon figured out it wasn’t available to order either. The nice salesperson offered to give me a couple of small travel size atomizers from their tester. I eyed the tester greedily, offered to buy THAT and briefly debated grabbing it and running from the store. I decided, however, that grand larceny should not be the way to fulfill my desire (see, Mom, I DID listen to Sunday services) so I thankfully took the small samples and left my card. Please let me know if you receive the perfume. She promised to do so.I must here mention that I left my cards at each of the above stores.Fast forward. I arrived home and mentioned my quest to a friend who shares the same passion for this fragrance. She said she had managed to order it online. Although I had previously not been able to locate it on line, I found it, ordered it, and was once more recognizable before I even enter a door.All of the above is background. Now to the sales lessons involved in this transaction. Two weeks ago (August), I received a call from a strange number from Las Vegas. Potential client? No, it was Julie from Neiman Marcus. She still had my card from April. She left a message saying she now had received 3 bottles of my perfume. She had sold one, but wanted to know if I still wanted it. (Lesson #1:She listened. She understood my need. Lesson#2: The follow up when she could fulfil my need.)

It’s a good thing I wasn’t behind the wheel when I called her back (of course, I NEVER do that: we have laws in OK about that) or I might have driven off the road.Remember I had already purchased perfume. I was so impressed with her follow up and customer service that I said, “Yes, send me one.” To which she replied, “Would you like both of the bottles I have?” (Lesson #3:This is called the upsell) I almost said, “Yes” because I liked her style. For the sake of my credit card, I resisted. Two days later my package arrived on my door.But the story doesn’t end there. When I opened the package, there was a nice note from Julie, her card and a small gift:“Thank you! This is a refillable atomizer perfect for travel. I’m here to assist with anything at Neiman.Talk soon,Julie”Lessons #4 and 5: Sending a Thank You and Going The Extra Mile.If I had clients in Vegas I’d be trying to recruit her to join our team.I still have her card. Will I call her? You bet. Extraordinary service is so rare these days that we need to celebrate it.To recap:
She listened to my needs
She retained my information even though she couldn’t fulfill my desire immediately and called me as soon as she could do so.
She tried for the upsell.
She delivered what she promised.
She went the extra mile.
Do you? If I called a random client on your list, what would they tell me about you? Are you their “go-to-person” when it comes to anything marketing? We should take a lesson from Julie. What do you bet I hear from her again in a few weeks or months? She “Will have been thinking about me” and will have something I need.So, that’s our lesson for today. Thank you, Julie, for not only making me smell like a room full of flowers, but for giving me fodder for this newsletter and for restoring my faith that there ARE still wonderful sellers out there.Happy Selling!Image: Shutterstock […]

For many years, RFmondial has proven to deliver high performance measurement and monitoring equipment for digital radio standards DAB and DRM. With the latest developments, analogue standards FM and AM can be included into the measurement devices. The system can decode up to 4 RF inputs and an unlimited number of distribution-streams (EDI or MDI) – all streams, all services, all audio, all data,all in parallel.The modular platform enables the customer to select the best and cost-effective setup for his desired application. If RF inputs are necessary, a 1 RU housing with up to 4 RF inputs is supplied. If only distribution inputs are desired, the system can be installed natively on a server PC or in a virtual environment.Some example configurations are– a DAB SFN monitor with absolute SFN timing measurement over ±60 seconds,– the same device with 4 RF inputs separated by IP address to save rack space,– a DAB monitor which decodes from RF and monitors in parallel the feeding EDI– a combined DAB and FM monitor to invest in new technology, but being able to still decode analogue services– a combined DRM, MDI, and AM monitor to fully examine a shared distribution on a shortwave or medium wave transmitter– a DAB network distribution monitor with several EDI inputs, being able to not only check the consistency of the stream but also of the content, e.g. silent detection on all audio services in parallel

Furthermore, specific measurement applications like spectrum mask compliance, single frequency network dimensioning, or field measurement campaigns are possible as well. […]