ASIA

Asia-Pacific Institute of Broadcasting Development (AIBD) and TVRI hosted the 18th Asia Media Summit in Bali, Indonesia, on May 23 and 24.The summit is an annual event for all media broadcasting agencies in Asia Pacific to share their thoughts on broadcasting and information.This year, the forum was themed “Media Enhancing Economic Sustainability,” wherein Indonesia encourages the role of media, especially in the Asia Pacific, to contribute to a sustainable economy.The event was inaugurated by Indonesia’s Vice President Ma’ruf Amin and more than 500 representatives including decision makers, media professionals, intellectuals, and news and program stakeholders from Asia Pacific, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North America attended the conference.Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr Kao Kim Hourn delivered a special address on “Epicentrum of Growth” at the inaugural ceremony of the summit.In his remarks, Dr Kao highlighted that ASEAN is increasingly being seen as the epicenter of global growth. He also underscored the immense potential of ASEAN and the valuable opportunities for media to expand its viewership by amplifying awareness and driving discussions on sustainable economic development among the people.The participants also released a declaration paper titled ‘Bali Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)‘, in which leaders of the AIBD member countries pledged to undertake various steps to face challenges triggered by spreading of wrong, misleading and false information through the social media. […]

Early bird registrations to this year’s Radiodays Asia conference, September 5 & 6 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, end on July 1.More speakers have joined the line-up for Radiodays Asia and the inaugural Podcast Day Asia including:Mae Mariyam Thomas – Presenter, podcast producer, journalist, entrepreneur and voice over artist from India, with over a decade of experience in the radio industry and 5 years in the podcasting space.  In 2019, she was chosen by GQ magazine for their 50 Most Influential Young Indians.Gregory Warner – Host and creator of Rough Translation, named a top 10 podcast by the New York Times in 2021.Khairy Jamaluddin “KJ” – Radio and podcasting announcer.  Together with Johan, Fara Fauzana and AG, he hosts Hot FM’s breakfast show, Bekpes Hot on Malaysia’s number 1 radio station.Guy Perryman MBE – Award-winning British radio broadcaster, voice actor, DJ, event producer and writer, on the air across Japan on InterFM. Guy was appointed MBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 2017 for services to British music in Japan.Register here for tickets. […]

Mediacorp Singapore has launched its inaugural podcast competition – “Be a Podcaster”, to find the next superstar podcaster.Open to participants between the age of 15 and 25, the competition is accepting entries from June 26 to August 31.Applicants may submit a five to 10-minute podcast in English language in any genre, but it must be original and with copyright free music.Shortlisted submissions will be open for public voting from Sep 18 to 29, which will make up 20 per cent of each entry’s overall score. The remaining 80 per cent will come from professional evaluation by a panel of judges comprising industry and podcasting experts, based on content and creativity, presentation and production.The panel of judges includes:
Danny Koordi, podcast content strategist in Mediacorp’s growth and audio team
Norman Chella, co-founder of Malaysia’s premier podcast network Renegade Radio
Raven Lim, co-founder of the Tomboy Tirade podcast series and founder of podcast firm MeaVox Live
Winners of the competition will be announced in the final quarter of 2023. The grand prize winner will receive S$5,000 in cash and podcasting equipment. They will also secure an exclusive podcast partnership with Mediacorp and be featured on melisten, the firm’s digital audio service.The two runner-ups will receive S$200 each and podcasting equipment.To help interested parties prepare for the competition, Mediacorp organised a free two-day boot camp on June 24 and 25.Featuring guest speakers like Mediacorp 987 DJ Sonia Chew as well as Haresh Tilani, host of the podcast series Yah Lah But, the camp equipped participants with the practical skills and knowledge required to create compelling podcasts, such as the basics of editing and finding one’s audience. […]

Media Prima group’s Fly FM has become the first station in Malaysia to launch an artificial intelligence (AI) radio DJ on June 19.The AI DJ, named Aina Sabrina, was and conceptualised by strategic advisor Jake Abdullah and developed by Fly FM’s production engineers.Sabrina is equipped with a vast music database and operates with a full backend team that runs the AI in real time for her on the air show, according to Moots, the group network director for Media Prima Audio.The backend team also allows Sabrina to engage with listeners during her show when they call in, offer personalised music recommendations as well as create and mix music according to a listener’s mood.Sabrina hosts a two-hour contemporary music show every weekday from 2pm to 4pm, and has her own Instagram handle @aina_flyfm.“This is my first day as Malaysia’s first AI radio DJ!! Thank you, flyfm958, for welcoming me to the team. Honestly, who would’ve thought I’d ever be one?” Aina wrote on her Instagram account.“With the introduction of Aina, we are extremely excited to introduce a brand new phase of the Malaysian radio industry, and Aina is the definition of this,” said Fly FM’s content director Sean Matjeraie. […]

According to BPR’s latest study on the All-Audio listening landscape, Streaming continues to dominate listener preference across all formats in the audio landscape – with the majority of audio listener’s favoring the on-demand platforms.But there is some great news for radio, with it still holding the top spot for cumulative listening across all audio platforms – meaning it still manages to hold the highest audience overall.A study conducted by BPR late last year, which focused on the listening habits of people from a wide range of regions and demographics, retuned some fascinating results.4500 surveys were conducted in September 2022. The study was conducted with 18-54 Men & Women, who had listened to some form of audio in the past week.As a global study, it featured 500 respondents from 9 different key international cities to give a wider perspective on the trends in audio listening across many western markets, with the results of all 9 markets averaged as the total used in this report. Those cities are:
London, United Kingdom
Berlin, Germany
Paris, France
Prague, Czech Republic
Stockholm, Sweden
Madrid, Spain
Sydney, Australia
Los Angeles, USA
New York, USA
The results we are seeing here highlight the shifting allegiances within the audio space. Radio has the wider reach, but music streaming is the first choice for a slightly larger portion of the marketplace.
47% of Radio listeners said it was their main source of Audio, with 34% for Music Streaming, 12% for YouTube & 5% for Podcasts.
For Music Streaming listeners, 62% said Streaming was their main audio source, 15% said Radio, with 10% for YouTube & 7% for Podcasts.
Just 21% of Podcast listeners said it was their main audio type, with Radio at 17%, Music Streaming at 43% & YouTube at 10%, again highlighting that podcasts are a supplemental choice for many of its listeners.
The lower performance of podcasting is also worth highlighting here, with just 8% of respondents saying it is their main audio type. Podcasting is still seen as an ancillary medium even amongst its users, something to supplement their radio & streaming listening rather than being the main attraction in of itself.With the un-deniable success that on-demand streaming has seen over recent years, it has been difficult for other formats to compete with. Many have fallen in and out of style with listeners over the years, but Radio, deservedly, still manages to hold the top spot for cumulative listening.We think this really demonstrates the strength of Radio as a format, with the majority of audio listeners still turning to it for its enjoyable and informative moments.Despite the numerous trends in popularity with different audio formats through the years, Radio as a format still manages to grip and entertain its audience, resulting in many listeners of streaming taking a break from their on-demand platforms from time to time to enjoy the comfort and familiarity that radio continues to bring them.Survey information provided by the BPR All-Audio Report 2022. Download the full report here […]

Selling Radio Direct with Pat BrysonMy travels often give me life lessons on how to provide great customer service. Sometimes those lessons are positive as noted in my previous post. Sometimes they are perhaps even more powerful in what NOT to do. Thus the subject of today’s newsletter.On my way back from the Idea Bank meeting in Kauai, I had to overnight in Las Vegas. Hoping to save a bit of money at the end of my trip, I made reservations at the Artisan Hotel. I had stayed at this small boutique hotel several years ago and found it nice. It is off the beaten path a bit (read, you can’t walk anywhere from there) but for one night was to be a good place to stay.After arising at 3:30AM, flying 6 hours without food (I love Southwest but they aren’t known for their gourmet meals) I landed in Las Vegas, called an Uber and headed with my 4 bags to the Artisan. We drove into their circle drive and my driver began to unload my bags. We were met by two burley security guards that refused me admittance to the lobby. Totally confused, I told them I had a reservation. In fact, the day before I had received an email from the Artisan welcoming me to the hotel. They were adamant I couldn’t come in. I asked for the manager. She appeared, glanced at my email, then informed me this was a private party. She disappeared into the building. 30 minutes later we were still waiting in the parking lot.Now, I must mention that my Uber driver, Samuel, volunteered to wait with me. He loaded and unloaded my bags 3 times. He went above and beyond and is an example of going the extra mile (literally) to help a customer in distress.While waiting for the manger to reappear, I dug through my luggage and produced my printed reservation, complete with pre-pay. She had demanded to see it, not accepting the email version as legitimate. When I found it, I asked again for the manager. She came back out, looked at the printed page, and disavowed it. She said I wasn’t in her system, so leave. I asked that she help with an alternative reservation. No. Not her problem. She was rude, and completely oblivious to my situation.Not knowing what else to do, I got on my phone, luckily located another hotel with an open room, and my driver took me there. Should I mention he didn’t charge me for the 30 minute wait or for the second trip? He got the “hero” award from me that day. With the location of the Artisan, had he not waited with me, I would have been concerned about finding another mode of transportation.Now, to the moral of this story. When one of our customers (that would be me) encounters a problem with us (our stations), how we handle the situation determines whether we win a loyal advocate or whether we fan the flame of discontent. Today, this discontent can go viral.What to say when one of our customers has a problem:• No problem• Great• I’m sure there’s a way…• That’s my favorite problem to solve• I think we can solve…Starting with a positive statement immediately calms an upset client. Remember, all they want is to get their problem handled quickly and efficiently.Here’s what never to say:• It’s our policy• I don’t handle that• That’s the way we’ve always done it• We don’t, we can’t• That’s not my job• You can talk to the manger but she’ll tell you the same thing.• Let me transfer you to the people who can handle thatOr, what I heard:• You’re not in our system• You can’t enter the building• Not our problemWhatever you say to an upset customer, put “grandma” at the end of the sentence. “It’s our policy, grandma!”I don’t know who had rented out the entire hotel. Judging by the two skimpily dressed young ladies who were allowed to enter the building while I melted in the parking lot, I probably don’t want to know. What I did want was someplace to drop my bags, a good dinner, and sleep. I did receive the latter at Resorts World, including a welcome bottle of water. Who knew water could taste so good?We learn from our experiences. Whatever the problems we might encounter with our clients, if we start on a positive note and do our best to correct the problem, we will earn loyal customers. Think “Nordstrom’s”. They are legendary for their service. We should be too.Happy problem solving!P.S. The day after my aborted stay at the Artisan, I receive a “How was your Stay?” survey. […]