Commercial Radio has always been an easy target for criticism over support for new Australian artists.
It is cyclical. At various points in the cycle the criticism has a slightly different focus.
In the 90’s, the common criticism was that radio was too focused on playing new music by heritage artists, such as Jimmy Barnes (pictured) and that new artists simply couldn’t get a look in.
In the early 2000’s it went the other way.
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Tuesday, 23 April 2013 08:50 Category: Dan Bradley
John Laws won’t read this. Even if he did he wouldn’t care.
And that’s fine.
Because he is John Laws and he obviously knows best.
At 2SM he clearly runs the show. He calls the shots. He sets the agenda for his show. He is the final arbiter of what is, or isn’t, suitable content. He's the boss.
He is also a disgrace.
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Saturday, 23 March 2013 08:00 Category: Dan Bradley
Ethics are only genuine if they are consistent.
The problem is that, by definition, ethics can’t be applied on a situational basis. You either believe in something or you don’t.
People are lining up to attack Mel Greig, Michael Christian and Southern Cross Austereo over this weeks prank call.
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Saturday, 08 December 2012 18:32 Category: Dan Bradley
Successful brands know that they are not in the 100% game. They know that they do not need everyone to be passionate about them, in fact it's critical that they don't try and achieve that outcome.
However, successful brands know that it is vital that people feel 'something’ about them. That people disliking your brand is something to be welcomed, as long as you have a core of people who are passionate supporters or consumers of it.
This means you stand for something. That you have an 'est'. It is invisibility, and ambivalence, that brands must avoid.
Alan Jones and Kyle Sandilands are examples of brands who understand that they are not in the 100% game.
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Tuesday, 23 October 2012 06:00 Category: Dan Bradley
Why do listeners choose to listen to a particular radio station?
It’s a slightly misleading question, as it can't be answered accurately without clarifying what daypart or format the question refers to. The shows on talk stations are, or at least should be, 'destinations' in their own right. And dayparts on music stations have different 'motivations' for choice.
On a music station, listeners choose a station at breakfast and afternoon drive because of the on-air talent. Whilst the music must ‘fit’, and be in the slot for the target, it is not the primary reason for choosing a station at breakfast.
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Monday, 27 August 2012 08:00 Category: Dan Bradley
For my entire radio career I have held the view that looking at one-off survey results is an effective way to destroy a radio station.
There are few meaningful conclusions that can be drawn from any stand-alone result, in fact any that are reached are often completely wrong and can lead to major damage being done.
Analysing medium and longer-term trends is the only effective way to measure how a station is performing.
So how is it that as an industry we can allow the below to consistently go unchallenged:
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Friday, 06 July 2012 17:00 Category: Dan Bradley
DMG launch Smoothfm this coming Monday at 7am.
There has not been a genuine ‘Soft-AC’ station in Sydney or Melbourne for many years, so the launch will be observed with strong interest by the industry.
There is one important factor that will ultimately have a major influence on the success or failure of Smooth, and it is a factor which is out of DMG’s control.
We’ll get to that. First, let’s consider what is within their control.
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Friday, 18 May 2012 06:00 Category: Dan Bradley
For many years Australian and New Zealand radio programmers have moved overseas at times to ply their trade, most commonly to the UK, but also to Europe and North America.
The list of antipodeans who have lived and worked overseas – previously or currently - is impressive:
Guy Dobson, Duncan Campbell, Peter Don, Scott Muller, Dirk Anthony, Jason Staveley, Dave Wilson, Andrew Jeffries, Andrew Dower, Arden Hanley, Keith Fowler, Seth Clancy, Vicki Marr, Corey Layton, Gomez Adams, Ronnie Stanton, Justin Wilcombes, Steve Hart – there are many more.
It has been less common for overseas executives to be imported to Australia. However it does happen, with varying degrees of success.
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Friday, 20 April 2012 06:00 Category: Dan Bradley
If you consider the most successful radio executives you have been exposed to throughout your career, often the consideration first is given to their technical skills.
For programmers, you might admire the skill at working with talent of Brian Ford, or the creativity of Jeff Allis, or the ability to have a station 'marry a market' like Steve Mummery.
These technical traits are important, but in themselves they are not what make a great programmer, or a great executive.
Ultimately, the most important and consistent trait of great executives is their capacity and ability to lead.
Paul Thompson is not the most important person in Australian radio history because of his technical abilities (although they were clearly strong), but rather his place in history is assured because of his exceptional ability as a leader.
It is very easy to lead when things are going well, it is only when a station, or group, faces challenges that true leadership can be illustrated and these are the moments that great leaders live for. It is also the time when the value of great leaders becomes most apparent.
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Wednesday, 11 April 2012 06:00 Category: Dan Bradley
You may have heard about this story in the news last week. It's a shocker, and has been reported around the world.
The story is an interesting lesson in crisis management, I'll get to that shortly. However if you missed the story, here is the background.
A florist in Melbourne has horrified a grieving family by delivering a funeral bouquet with a card that read, "rast in peas."
The spelling errors were only noticed when the great-niece of the deceased woman arrived at the cemetery for the service.
Monique Bellew said "It said 'rast in peas unty Josie.' I couldn't believe it. How could a florist get such a common phrase so wrong?"
“Even ‘and family’ was ‘dud familys’. My sister Carol, who was very close to my great aunt, burst into tears, she was devastated because these were the family flowers.”
There is an old saying in crisis management that goes something like this. The greater damage is generally not caused by a specific incident, but by poor management of it. And that's where this story gets worse.
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Monday, 09 April 2012 06:00 Category: Dan Bradley
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