Music and radio. They are two words that are synonymous with each other and it seems you can’t have one without the other.
But have you ever asked yourself how important is music to radio?
Xtra Insights (Paul Amos, Bethaney Lawler and Hannah Lovegrove) commissioned a research study for Radiodays Asia 2019 to look into the trends of music in Asia and Australia, and answer the question how important is music to radio?
The survey consisted of 3000 people across 8 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, with all respondents aged 16-39. 86% of those surveyed listen to radio, and the survey showed that as they get older the time they spend listening to radio increases. So radio is still an important medium for people, especially as they get older.
The survey showed that most people still use a traditional AM/FM radio to listen to radio, with smart phones coming in 2nd. People see music radio as the ultimate companion, with in car listening capturing most time people spend with radio.
But what about the future of radio, and in particular music radio? 82% of those people believe that radio will still exist in 20 years, because of the variety and the content offered. One listener said that radio “offers the human element…it’s engaging, informative, and at times funny…the feeling is more personal”.
The Xtra Inisghts survey identified four types of listeners.
- The music discovers – prefer music focussed stations, strong desire to be across new music, early tech adopters.
- Content Lovers – prefer a mix of music and shows, less use of streaming services, and almost half listen to podcasts at least once per week
- Passive listeners – prefer mix of music and shows, radio for convenience and company, and slower to adopt new technology
- Music mainstreamers – prefer music focussed stations, mainstream music tastes, heaviest music time spent listening
You can see that among the four types of radio listeners, all still enjoy listening to music on radio – be it just music, or music and shows. It is clear that music is important for radio, and will remain important into the future. But how important?
“Music can contribute to the mood…and the song selection you use to help create that mood service is very important. The biggest advantage a radio station has…is the way the songs are put together…and the sum of its parts becomes an entity and not simply a collection of songs”, says International Radio Consultant Tracy Johnson.
Music on radio will remain important, provided there is a human element to the selection and programming of a radio station’s music.
“Whilst a computer with G-Selector can pull together a solid music log that may be good for a lifeless digital station, it can never ‘feel’ a great day’s music”, says Brian Ford, Managing Director of ESP Australia.
Xtra Insights’ survey concluded that the value of music to a radio format has diminished, yet it remains important to radio’s future. A few quick take outs from Xtra’s survey – continue to use humans to curate your music, connect with your community, create mood, surprise and delight, and lean back and listen.