Let’s be honest RADIO is a medium that was traditionally heard but not seen. The creativity was in story craft and radio imaging (the acoustic identity of the station, jingles, sweepers, liners, beds etc.) But as convergence hits radio the need to look good as well as sound good is something radio either does well or avoids like a plague.
Some stations like Dublin Digital Radio really get the image of radio well. Too well for some radio traditionalists. They have artwork per show done with such detail it could well be album art, and sometimes the art is per episode of show with new funky art expressing the vibe of the show. Think about it, if your favourite band’s latest LP was a white label in a black cover (think New Order – Blue Monday with no colour) well you wouldn’t be impressed would you? and if every other LP or Single had the same bland image? not good.
So why do it? Radio is converging. You generally do not get radio from a traditional radio set anymore (note: 1). I know this will piss off radio purists who tell me radio comes from a transmitter and is heard on a receiver and that is the only radio that is radio. Wrong. Radio is a word. Like Cinema Films Movies Flix Cineplex are all words for big screen entertainment. Radio is one word for Transmission, Mode, Apparatus (TX & RX), Content, Industry & Style. It is not confined to broadcast radio, radio style that is presented like a broadcast but delivered online live or on demand, that’s radio too. This radio has options for art work, as does DAB+ on modern radio sets. Websites and Social Media (not seen before 1992 and 2002) are ideal places to promote radio with pictures.
As the loss of artwork hurt music as we moved from LP to CD so too does lack of images to support radio. It diminishes the impact radio can have in a converged media world. Online radio is a URL. Each URL used is a vote for that link in a world with billions of links. Why does this matter? in the past your radio on the dial was in a city was competing with 20 or so other stations that were allowed to be on the dial through licencing, congestion or distance (geography). Nowadays the competition locally is only limited by those that want to compete with you and 40,000 other radio stations online around the globe. You need to look good while sounding good. And its not just once off, outsourced artwork, its the everyday ability to look good.
As radio content gets valued for its low cost of production, friendly presentation and loyal following it is making its way onto TV screens. BBC Two Television on the UK 9am – 12pm is a relay of BBC News most of the year, TV is expensive and news is plentiful. RTE Radio 1 is on the RTE News Channel multiple times per day, radio on TV is effective and cheap. So expect radio studios to scrub up as they get seen more on HD TV screens.
While some radio will always be better suited to being “theatre of the mind” and heard but not seen, media budgets will dictate that quality radio content must get an outing on TV and Social Media. Some radio stations are merging into TV productions like France Inter or Sud Radio both in France (the later allowing 12 hours of roll back radio).
And its not just Radio on the TV that is happening, News Channels that were TV are doubling as radio and vice versa. Think GB News and Talk TV in the UK.
If you are looking to improve your radio project take a look at your album art and your visual opportunities (I am thinking BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge). There will be more ways to express your brand, image, identity, attitude, logos and your supporters images too.
Finally allow convergence in. Being a purist has its advantages – but if you remain true to ideals long discarded by the audience you might have an Ivory Tower to transmit from but nobody with a radio set to hear you.
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