Up until about two years ago I used to drive – a lot. As someone who grew up in one of Sydney's fringe suburbs, getting pretty much anywhere involved moving vast distances calculated very quickly in petrol dollars.
And, given the distance and the state of Sydney traffic, key to any journey – above air conditioning, food or comfort – was entertainment. My choice was always radio.
Radio might be a fairly antiquated medium but in a fragmented landscape, it's still faring well. PwC's Australian Entertainment and Media Outlook projected just the other day that ad spend in radio will reach 8.1% by 2019. Commercial Radio Australia recently released figures noting that metro ad revenue for radio grew 5.06% for the financial year ending 30 June, reaching a total of $732 million.
Creatively, there has never been a better time to be in radio either. This year, Australia's biggest award haul out of all categories came from radio. Whybin\TBWA CED Paul Reardon, who lead the radio jury at Cannes, even noted that “it's a pretty exciting time” to be judging radio in particular.
Media owners too, are getting more creative. Brands are extending across sectors, including the event space through the likes of Australian Radio Network's iHeartRadio and Nova's Red Room. Both companies talk less about themselves as radio stations, and more as entertainment companies, a fitting definition for businesses spanning so many sectors.
But, with everything moving at such rapid pace, I hope these entertainment companies don't fragment their value proposition the way the landscape has fragmented itself. Because, while there has been a lot of talk about talent being a driver of audience, I think content is too. And no, I don’t mean that recycled meme the on-air presenters just posted on Facebook, I mean the stuff on-air.
I've heard anecdotes of some particularly brilliant content heads who have a knack for hearing a song and knowing that it will be the next big thing. That kind of ear for music is an art, and not something easily replicated by streaming services with complex algorithms.
While that kind of technology certainly has its place, it doesn't have the same career-launching ability that a song played to thousands of people at the same time does or the impact of that many people all having a shared experience together.
Because I know when I'm stuck in traffic, and tired, I can easily throw on the same beat up old CD I've had in my car since 2007. Or I can stream it, or find it on my iPhone. But isn't it a hundred time more exciting when at that moment, it just happens to play on the radio instead?