Unit 9 Understanding the Radio IndustryTutor: Paul Rossington

Paul Rossington

BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production

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Unit introduction

Radio is one of the fastest growing media industries. At the time of writing there are literally hundreds of radio stations in the UK providing a mix of every type of radio, and the number is increasing. The development of digital, community and internet radio means there are more opportunities than ever before to enter this vibrant industry. No matter what job role is undertaken, an understanding of organisational behaviour and how to function in the broadcast environment of a radio station, or as a member of a production team in a smaller independent production company is essential. It is also important to understand the range of technology used in the industry.

The commercial radio sector is driven by income generated from radio advertising and knowledge of the importance of this funding stream is fundamental to understanding how the industry is financed. Community radio, on the other hand, is required by the broadcasting regulator to create ‘social gain’ through what it produces, and an understanding of what that means is vital to those who aspire to work in that area of the industry.

Personnel officers in broadcast radio often observe that initial applications to work in the industry are not backed by a commitment to the medium. Potential radio station employees should be familiar with the range of programming that their target station puts out. Whether the would-be radio worker is looking at news journalism, presenting music sequences, intelligent speech, factual, educational, radio comedy, talk, sport or radio commercial production, an understanding of how the output from one radio station differs from the output of another radio station is essential. This also involves knowing about the target audience of a radio station and how that audience is identified.

In this unit you will develop an understanding of the way the four main sectors of the radio industry are organised, structured and financed. You will be made aware of the range of jobs, besides that of presenter, that are available in the industry and the working conditions and contractual obligations that pertain to them. You will understand the legal and ethical constraints that apply to broadcasting programmes irrespective of the target audience and that everyone working in radio is affected by and should understand them.

The unit concludes by providing an opportunity for you to prepare for progression into your chosen career path in the radio industry.

On completion of this unit you should:

1 Understand organisational structures and ownership in the UK radio industry2 Understand job roles, working practices and employment contracts in the UK radio industry3 Understand the role of the regulatory bodies, legal and ethical issues relevant to the UK radio industry4 Understand developing technologies in the UK radio industry5 Be able to prepare for employment in the UK radio industry.

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The Radio Industry

Sectors and Stakeholders

Attempting to define exactly what constitutes the radio industry in a converging media world is like trying to hit a moving target. The definition adopted for our purposes identifies three principle sectors – differentiated primarily by the way they are funded

Publicly funded radio: BBC national and local radio Commercial radio Community & voluntary radio

In order to be able to explore both the common ground and the differences in perspective and priorities in addressing future skills development needs, it will help to have a more detailed picture of each sector and some of the issues they face.

Radio industry sectors:

Commercial Radio

Publicly-funded radio

Community Radio

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Publicly-funded radio:BBC national & local radio

The BBC is the biggest single employer in the radio industry employing almost 11,000 people to provide its portfolio of national and local services. These consist of 11 national UK services (including the World Service), and a range of more local stations:

40 Local Radio stations in the English Regions – with current plans to create a further four six dedicated radio services in the Nations - Radio Scotland, Radio Nan Gaidheal, Radio

Ulster, Radio Foyle, Radio Wales, Radio Cymru 11 national stations: Radios 1, 2, 3, 1Xtra, 6 Music are primarily music based; Radio 4, Five

Live, Five Live Sports Extra, BBC 7 and the World Service are speech-based; and the BBC Asian Network a mix of both.

The BBC Audio & Music department (director: Tim Davie) runs five national networks which are currently based in London and broadcast throughout the UK. All are available on DAB radio sets, via digital television including Freeview, and online.

National Networks

Radio 1 (97-99 FM) - Contemporary music, entertainment and news Radio 2 (88-91 FM) - Popular music and speech for over 35s Radio 3 (90- 92 FM) - Classical music and arts Radio 4 (92-96 FM, AM [197 long wave]) - News, current affairs, drama, comedy and factual

programmes Radio 5 Live (AM [909 and 693 medium wave]) - Live news and sport

Digital Only Services

BBC A&M is also responsible for 5 national networks broadcast exclusively on digital platforms (mostly DAB and DTV) and online.

1 Xtra - Contemporary black and urban music Radio 4 Extra - Classic comedy and drama Radio 5 Live Sports Extra - Live sports coverage 6 Music - Pop and rock music inc archive sessions The Asian Network - music and speech for UK Asian communities

The BBC's Radio Stations

Radio 1 broadcasts a distinctive mix of new music and entertainment for 15-29 year olds as well as providing tailored news, documentaries and advice campaigns for young adults.

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1Xtra plays the best in contemporary Hip Hop and RnB with a strong emphasis on new and live music. The digital station blends the best black music with entertainment, documentaries and news for 15-24 year olds.

The network broadcasts a unique mix of distinctive music and speech programmes covering a diverse mix of live pop and rock concerts, comedy, documentaries and religious output, as well as running social action campaigns to over 13 million listeners.

The home of the BBC's arts and cultural broadcasting, BBC Radio 3 is best known for it's classical music output, but also makes programmes dedicated to jazz and world music as well as a number of speech programmes, documentaries and drama.

BBC Radio 4 is a mixed speech radio station, offering in-depth news and current affairs and a wide range of other speech programmes including drama, readings, comedy, factual and magazine programmes.

Launched in December 2002 originally as BBC 7, the station was relaunched in April 2011 as BBC Radio 4 Extra. The digital-only network is the principal outlet for the BBC's archive of speech entertainment, including comedy, drama and readings.

Radio 5 Live broadcasts continuous news and live sports coverage, bringing major news stories and sports events as they happen to the listener, and provide context through wide-ranging analysis and discussion.

5 Live Sports Extra brings a greater choice of live action to sports fans by extending the live coverage of various sporting events.

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BBC Radio 6 Music is a digital radio station that entertains lovers of popular music with a service that celebrates the alternative spirit of popular music from the 60s to the present day.

BBC Asian Network provides speech and music output appealing to the British Asian communities.

Nations & Regions

Listeners in the nations can receive Radio Scotland (English) and Radio Nan Gàidheal (Gaelic), Radio Wales (English) and Radio Cymru (Welsh) and, in Northern Ireland, Radio Ulster and Radio Foyle.

BBC English Regions operates 40 local radio stations, broadcasting a mix of news and conversation, from Newcastle to Jersey and Norfolk to Cornwall.

BBC Scotland is responsible for a wide range of services on TV, radio and online including news and current affairs, comedy, drama and factual programming specifically for audiences in Scotland. It is also a partner in the Gaelic-speaking channel, BBC ALBA.

BBC Cymru Wales produces a wide range of programming and content in English and in Welsh for television, radio and online audiences in Wales and on network. Its Roath Lock studios are home to some of the BBC’s most popular dramas.

BBC Northern Ireland produces a diverse range of local and network content for the BBC including factual, entertainment, comedy, drama, religion events and sport; with a specialism in local and network news and current affairs provision. It is also home to Northern Ireland's most listened to radio stations BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Radio Foyle.

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The BBC English Regions make news, current affairs, politics, arts and music, factual, religion, sport and weather for local television, radio and web services.

The BBC’s new base at MediaCityUK, Salford Quays is home to BBC Children’s, BBC Learning, the BBC Philharmonic, BBC Radio 5 live, BBC Religion & Ethics and BBC Sport as well as BBC Radio Manchester, North West Tonight and Inside Out and selected departments from BBC Audio & Music, BBC Vision and BBC Future Media. In April 2012 BBC Breakfast will move to the site.

International

International listeners can receive the BBC's World Service, which broadcasts around the world in English and 27 other languages.

TASKS1. Why does the BBC have so many different radio stations?

The BBC has a range of different radio stations as they have to have entertainment for the public For example, a large population of the public enjoy sports so the BBC provides a station which is based around talking about live sports and keeping the public informed.

2. How much of the TV license fee is spent on radio?

A TV licence costs £12.13 p/m a total of £2.30 is used for radio stations.

3. Why do you think Nick Grimshaw replaced Chris Moyles on the BBC 1 Radio breakfast show?

I think the main reason Nick Grimshaw replaced Chris Moyles is because Nick Grimshaw is a fun, new and vibrant which is key for a successful radio show. Also, Chris Moyles maingenre was mainly rock whereas Nick Grimshaw specialises in a range of different genres and plays them on the show to fit a wider range of target audiences.

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Commercial radio

Commercial radio licenses are awarded by Ofcom, a government body which advertises a license for an area and holds a so-called beauty contest to determine which station will be granted permission to broadcast in that area. Stations submit detailed application documents containing their proposed format and the outcome of research to determine the demand for their particular style of broadcast. Original 106 (Aberdeen) was the last radio station to be granted a license by Ofcom.

Most local commercial stations in the United Kingdom broadcast to a city or group of towns within a radius of 20-50 miles, with a second tier of regional stations covering larger areas such as North West England. The predominant format is pop music, but many other tastes are also catered for, particularly in London and the larger cities, and on digital radio.

Rather than operating as independent entities, many local radio stations are owned by large radio groups which broadcast a similar format to many areas. The largest operator of radio is Global Radio which bought the former media group, Gcap Media. It owns Classic FM and London's most popular commercial station, 95.8 Capital FM. Other owners are Bauer Radio and UTV Radio, which mainly own stations that broadcast in highly populated city areas.

National Commercial Radio

There are three national commercial stations broadcasting on FM or AM throughout the UK as well as via DAB, DTV and online.

Classic FM (100-103 FM) - classical music Absolute Radio (AM [mostly 1215 medium wave]) - rock and pop music talkSPORT (AM [mostly 1089/1053 medium wave]) - live sport and debate

Commercial Radio in London

The most popular local commercial stations in London are:

Heart 106.2 Capital 95.8 LBC 97.3 Magic 105.4

National Brands

Some stations have been collected into networks, sharing some programmes and syndicated output.

Global Radio

Heart Galaxy Gold

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Xfm

Bauer Media

Kiss Magic

Guardian Media Group

Real Radio Rock Radio Smooth Radio

TASKS

1. How do commercial radio stations attract funding?2.3. Commerical radio stations attract funding by including adverts during the show and hosting

events for example Capital FM has a concert called Jingle Bell Ball which is extremely successful as a lot of different artists are there and will attract many different target audiences.

4. Explain the term ‘high-rotation’?

5. What is the relationship between music labels and commercial radio playlist managers?

Both music labels and radio playlist managers both have a strong impact on each other. Music labels need to give radio stations songs to play. When playing songs on the radio to the audience, it allows people to give opinions on the songs which may persuade the listeners to buy the artists album or song they like, It is important that radio stations get fresh music to play, otherwise the audience may get bored of listening to the same songs over and over again.

6. Who are the PRS and what do they do?

The term ‘high rotation’ is also known as spins. It basically means how many times a song gets if a song gets played over 20 times during a radio station, this means the song has a high rotation. The songs often considered to have a high rotation are catchy, popular songs and mainly mainstream.

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PRS is a company which specialises in representing singer, songwriters and composers. The company collects licence fees from music businesses. Over 10 million songs from every genre are in the company’s repertoire.

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Community and voluntary radio

This sector encompasses the range of not-for-profit organisations offering radio services to specific communities at a very local level. It is in the process of considerable growth – particularly due to the latest round of community radio licence awards by Ofcom which is on-going.

This sector is estimated to employ about 2000 people, but this ranges from BFBS with some 120 employees, through community radio stations with a small core staff to other organisations almost totally reliant on volunteers.

So they are very different organisations but with the common aim of providing niche radio services tailored to the needs of distinct communities, enjoying the closest of relationships with their audiences.

So from the perspective of the other radio sectors they offer opportunity for partnership and learning, for connecting with under-served communities – and an environment in which talent may be identified and developed that could go on to further success in the wider industry.

Community Radio

Community Radio stations are small, micro-local stations who offer training and opportunities for those looking to get involved with radio locally.

Community Radio provides an opportunity for people of all ages to get involved with broadcasting and give something back to their local community

Licensing

Ofcom invites applications for community radio licenses on a region-by-region basis.

To obtain a community radio licence, applicants must demonstrate that the proposed station will meet the needs of a specified target community, together with required "social gain" objectives set out in the application. These usually take the form of a commitment to train local people in broadcasting skills or provide a certain amount of programming aimed at an underserved section of the population.

Community radio stations are usually limited to broadcast areas within a 5 kilometre radius of their transmitter. The normal allocated power for a new community station in an urban area is 25 watts vertically polarised, although most allocations permit the addition of a further 25 watts horizontally polarised. For some rural stations these limits are increased to 50 watts vertical plus 50 watts horizontal.

Funding

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Community stations are not permitted to raise more than 50% of their operating costs from a single source, including on-air sponsorship and advertising. The remainder of operating costs must be met through other sources.

However, where a community radio station lies totally within the transmission area of a commercial station with a population coverage of under 150,000, no sponsorship or advertising may be sought and all funding must come from alternative sources. In a small number of areas where a commercial station covers a population of under 150,000, a community station may not be licensed at all. This protects the financial interests of smaller commercial stations.

The Community Media Association

The Community Media Association is the UK representative body for the Community Media sector and is committed to promoting access to the media for people and communities. It aims to enable people to establish and develop community based communications media for empowerment, cultural expression, information and entertainment. Background

Founded in 1983, the CMA is a non-profit making organisation, supporting Community Radio and Television and community-based Internet projects. It represents Community Media to Government, industry and regulatory bodies.

Membership currently exceeds 600, bringing together established organisations, aspirant groups and individuals within the sector. The CMA provides a range of advice, information and consultancy, offering support to anyone with an interest in the sector.

TASKS1. Who is the community radio broadcaster in the local area?

The local community radio is 94.4FM Salford City Radio.

2. When were they established?

It was first established on 30th September 2007.

3. Where are they located?

They are based in Salford, Manchester.

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Hospital Radio

Hospital Radio is a form of audio broadcasting produced specifically for the in-patients of hospitals and offers opportunities to people of all abilities and ages to get involved with broadcasting.

Hospital radio is delivered either through bedside units, by low-powered AM or FM licence, or over the Internet. Live programming is limited to the times that stations' volunteer members can attend studios - generally evenings and weekends.

Volunteers

Volunteers are usually trained by the station and take part in regular broadcasts which may include hospital news, patient songs requests and interviews. Volunteers may be attached to a particular weekly programme, or may work to keep the station's record library or computer systems up-to-date. Most also visit the hospital wards, to discuss the music that patients would like to hear, providing valuable interaction with non-medical staff.

Many professional radio presenters volunteer for hospital radio in their early career, as it provides a training ground for budding broadcasters. Such broadcasters include: Chris Moyles, Scott Mills, Huw Stephens, Karl Pilkington, Ken Bruce, Christian O'Connell, Simon Mayo, Phillip Schofield.

Student radio

Student Radio stations broadcast from a place of education such as a college or university. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include individuals from the wider community.

Many student stations carry a variety of programming including news (often local), sports (often relating to the campus), and spoken word programming as well as general music. Student radio stations also often provide airplay and promotional exposure to new and emerging local artists.

Volunteering

Student Radio offers various opportunities to students to learn and practice broadcasting. However, you may not have to be a student to be involved in student radio, but opportunities will vary from station to station.

Most stations now broadcast online, and some operate on the FM waveband for short periods at a time under the Restricted Service Licence scheme, while others choose to broadcast full-time on the AM waveband using an LPAM licence. There are only five UK student radio stations permitted to broadcast all year on LPFM. None of these licences provides for a reception area greater than four kilometres from the point of transmission.

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WORKSHEETGive examples of the types of station operating in the UK

National Radio Stations

Regional Radio

Local Radio

Community Radio

Digital Audio Broadcasters (DAB)

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Internet Radio

Satellite Radio

Hospital Radio

Student Radio

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Pirate Radio

Understand the role of the regulatory bodies, legal and ethical issues relevant to the UK radio industry

Describe the roles of the following regulatory bodies in the UK radio industry: 1. Ofcom;

2. Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA);

The CRCA represents radio channels to government and other organizations concerned with radio and broadcasting.

3. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA);

The main duties ASA does is act on any complaints, progressively checking the media to see if any harmful or offensive advertisements are being used.

Ofcom has the role of controlling what the audience can see on TV, Radio and all other media based platforms. Ofcom makes sure that mainly under 18s are protected; for example restrictions of using sexual images, inappropriate lyrics in a song, illegal activities, violent and/or dangerous behaviour. Some major companies who use Ofcom are BBC, ITV, BSKYB, Syco along with many different others.

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4. Mechanical Copyright Protection Society-Performing Rights Society Alliance (MCPS-PRS)

When publishing, recording, broadcasting or performing you are required to register on the MCPS. This covers copyright on any piece what has been made either with writing, singing or playing an instrument.

Describe what the following legal terms mean in regard to the UK radio industry: 1. Regulatory requirements

These are rules from the government which include licences and restrictions. They must be followed when producing any products.

2. Compliance;

Compliance means following a wish, request or demand.

3. Copyright;

Copyright is protection given to authors/creators of original works. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas or systems.

4. +Intellectual property;

Having an intellectual property stops people stealing or copying the names of products you have created, the design and packaging of your products, things you write, make or produce.

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A trademark is a recognisable sign which identifies a product and protects the product so no other person or company can steal the product.

5. Implications of franchising; A big franchise in the UK is Capital FM they can broadcast in lots of areas including Capital Birmingham, Capital East Midlands, Capital London, Capital North West and many more.

6. Licensors;

This is a person who gives another a license for example a business giving someone a license to sell the product.

7. Health and safety policy;

A health and safety policy sets a general approach together which you have put in place for Health and safety purposes in a company it is mostly in a poster format which is able to see by the public when needed.

8. Acts of parliament, eg Broadcasting Act 1990 (and later amendments)

The acts of parliament for Broadcasting Act 1990 required a lot of changes including all ITV franchises to be put up for sale and to be awarded on financial grounds. Also, discussion of different ways to pay for TV viewing to help the public pay in more beneficial ways for them i.e. monthly payments

The acts of parliament for Broadcasting Act 1996 required less changes as a lot of things in the industry were changed during 1990 but the following did change; more interest in monitoring, researching and confront any standards and fairness in broadcasting.

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TASKS

Describe some of the ethical issues that impact on individuals and companies in the UK radio industry:

(policies and procedures; ethical requirements; emerging social concerns and expectations)

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Independent production

The independent radio production community is very small in comparison with its TV equivalent. Data from the Skillset Census suggests it employs about 400 people (compared with over 20,000 for its TV equivalent) but returns from employers in this field were low and the figures are not very robust.

This is one area of intelligence gathering that needs to be addressed to build a clearer picture of the size of this community in future.

The Radio Independents Group (RIG) has over 90 members big and small and considers that it represents about two-thirds of the total independent radio sector – but there is overlap with the TV indie sector as some of the bigger TV independents have a radio operation too, and so belong to both RIG and PACT (The Producers’ Alliance for Cinema and Television)

Independent radio production has been in existence since 1990 when the BBC awarded its first commission and according to RIG it produces over £12m worth of programming – mostly for the BBC but some for commercial radio.

RIG continues to lobby to increase the BBC radio independent commissioning quota, and in the hope of seeing a growth in commissioning from the commercial sector it also backed the Channel 4 national digital multiplex bid – with its promise of another commissioning route for a number of genres, As part of Skillset’s focus group radio research the issue of access to training for the independent sector to keep them abreast of the latest technological developments was seen as critical to the sector’s continuing success

Ofcom

Ofcom is the regulator and licensing authority for radio in the UK as part of its wider remit for the whole communications industry. It was established in 2002 and its statutory duties determined by the 2003 Communications Act.

During 2007 Ofcom conducted a major consultation with the radio industry about a new framework for regulation and licensing – in recognition of the transformation which the industry is undergoing with the emergence of new platforms and the eventual move from analogue to digital broadcasting.

Ofcom’s proposals were set out in its document “The Future of Radio”. A final report “The Future of Radio – The Next Phase” was published in November 2007. The decisions, further proposals and recommendations to Government in this report will support Parliament’s and the public’s desire to see commercial radio continue to play its role as a provider of diverse services with a strong local character and to encourage the further development and sustainability of community radio. They will also reduce the regulatory burden on commercial and community radio.

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A RADIO SKILLSET FOR THE FUTURE

Just as it is hard to predict just what the radio industry is going to look like in the future – so it is difficult to say with certainty what the ideal skill set for that industry might be.

There is, however, general agreement across all the sectors that content is still the key to future success – creating it and understanding how to exploit it.So that is a good starting point. To create and exploit compelling content the radio industry of the future is going to need a workforce with breadth and depth.

Breadth of knowledge and awareness about the radio industry and the wider multi-media environment, general transferable work and life skills, and a basic grasp of a number of industry skills to offer a multi-skilled approach

Depth of specialism and expertise in particular fields, an understanding of the enduring concepts and a commitment to continually renewing the more transient specialist skills as technologies evolve

It may be possible to do well in the industry at the outset with breadth or depth but for long-term career development you are likely to need both. The industry will need multi-skilled talent to deliver flexibility and adaptability; it will need technical and creative specialists to break new ground and deliver great content; and ultimately it will need the hybrids combining specialist skills with high level conceptual knowledge to recognise new possibilities and understand how to exploit them.

This will be relevant across the range of disciplines that make up the radio industry, key among which are:

Presentation - applied to a number of genres: music; features and documentary; journalism and sport

Production - across all genres developing multi-media content from the starting point of great audio

Sales, marketing and fundraising - developing specialist skills in these fields relevant to radio, for each sector of the industry

Technical operations, support and development - likely to be evolving roles along with the technology, from traditional sound specialists, through IT to roles not thought of yet

Broadcast engineering - constantly evolving specialist skills to support the changing radio industry and which are presently in short supply

Management & leadership - will be needed at all levels of the industry: high level business skills tailored to the needs of the radio industry - strategic thinking, risk-taking, innovation, collaboration, project management, managing change and motivating other people

Support roles - finance, HR, training & development and admin skills tailored to the needs of the industry – the level of industry specific knowledge expected dependent upon the level of the particular role