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Director, Audio & Music

The future of audio

Speech given at Manchester Media Festival

Check against delivery

Good morning everyone, it is a pleasure to be here.

I am not going to speak for too long as I want to leave time for discussion but I thought that after over 12 months running ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ national radio and music output I would offer some personal reflections on the future of audio and outline just three priorities that I am setting which I think will define whether ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ radio – and the audio market – as a whole emerges stronger as we pass through the next few years.

My theory is that unless we make continued progress in these three areas it may have missed its chance to claim a primary place in the lives of people born into a digital world.

Simply stated the three things that will make the difference are: Building our unique creative contribution; Leading digital innovation; Attracting the best people.

If we deliver on these, I believe audio (from Spotify to Radio 3's Early Music Show) will flourish, if not it will become unnecessarily disadvantaged.

At the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ I am proud of the significant progress we have made across these areas over the last year but there is much work to do.

Personally I think no-one has beaten Reith in his description of the intrinsic benefits of radio, both wonderfully personal and brilliantly communal. He wrote: "It has been said that there are two kinds of loneliness: insulation in space and isolation of the spirit. They are both dispelled by the wireless."

But surely with the disintermediation of traditional media and the all-conquering power of online video, audio or at least radio is destined to recede in its importance.

Well, there are threats but audio starts from a position of strength. One of the first questions I asked when I took over the job was: just how much listening of audio is there? And what is radio's share of listening?

And I do not mean radio listening, I mean all audio: CDs, iPods, online – the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ has a 55% share of linear radio but what is its real "share of ear?"

We have just completed our first wave of this work which we hope to run annually, amazingly I don't think it has ever been done before. The study is the result of detailed tracking of the behaviour of nearly 2,000 people.

Firstly audio listening remains strong with an average of 3.8 hours per day consumed fairly equally across the population.

Traditional radio represents an amazing 85% of all audio listening. This falls to 66% among 15-18s. This has no doubt declined, as iPod and mobile phones have become ubiquitous, but it suggests that we will see a future environment in which traditional linear radio co-exists with on-demand listening.

We have an enormous amount of data from this study which we are making available to all the industry so please do get in touch if you are interested in hearing more.

But while these results are pretty encouraging, there is clearly no room for complacency. So let's turn to audio content itself and my first priority: Building our unique creative contribution.

One of the most intriguing and exciting pieces of data that has arrived on my desk in my first year was last quarter's RAJAR figures which saw Radio 4 achieve record listening and Radio 3 deliver six quarters of sustained growth.

While I am sure that we will see numbers move around over coming quarters and I do not view RAJAR in itself to be the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ radio's central measure of success – which is to deliver the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ public purposes – I do think that the latest figures do speak to a certain truth: that the appetite for programmes which provide a deeper experience – more thought provoking, more intellectually challenging, and perhaps a touch more inspiring – is growing and not among a small group but across the population as a whole.

This is nothing to do with academic snobbery but a desire for context and understanding; I have a renewed optimism in a communal public desire to explore, learn and contribute.

Simply put, I think that in a fast-paced, more hectic world, audio's ability to provide more considered, often inspirational programming, which can be absorbed on the Tube or while we cook, has a chance of growing not diminishing in importance.

Creatively, we intend to do the reverse of "dumbing down" on my watch, I actually believe that stretching creative work will increase our value and heighten our role as a primary player in the future.

To be clear, this in no way implies just doing the same things as we have ever done. We intend to be totally consistent in what we stand for but when it comes to programmes you will see us reinvigorate strands, push for faster evolution of ideas, dramatically increase linkage to others, whether that be TV programmes or public institutions, as well as creating bigger impact to cut through against a busier, noisier, more fragmented environment.

Let me give you some practical examples of how this approach is manifesting itself in our editorial choices.

We have already announced a very ambitious project with the British Museum: The History of the World in 100 Objects which airs early next year and is presented by their Director Neil Macgregor. Each episode features a single artefact to illuminate one chapter of the world's history. I think that it showcases how ambitious audio content can be a primary creative ingredient within a bigger, inter-connected idea: alongside 100 Radio 4 programmes will be a permanent web presence, literally scores of partnerships with museums across the country, a C³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ companion programme and lots of other additional output.

Also on Radio 4 we will also continue to invest in cutting-edge comedy. In December, listeners will get to hear News At Bedtime which is a rather different type of news analysis programme as it covers events via the world of nursery rhymes and fairy tales. The seven-part satirical series will be hosted by John Tweedledum (played by Jack Dee) and John Tweedledee (Peter Capaldi) and is written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman.

On Radio 2 we hope to spend more time on topics that stretch us beyond just wonderfully entertaining music and speech. For example, next week the Jeremy Vine show will focus on dementia, looking at a number of issues ranging from quality of care to how sufferers may be open to financial abuse.

Meanwhile Radio 3 will celebrate its four Composers Of The Year with special, end-of-year programmes and a rather special New Year's Eve when guests as varied as Fiona Shaw, Sting and John Sessions will reveal their own thoughts of the composers, followed by live debate.

On the news and current affairs front, Radio 1's Newsbeat will visit Afghanistan in December reporting from not only Camp Bastion but from within a US Marine Forward Operating Base. This will build the station's deeply impressive record in reporting the realities and implications of the conflict.

We are also developing our audio archive so we can provide resources of enormous and lasting value. For instance, next year we will launch a new In Our Time archive that will be available for anyone who wants to access a full 11 years of quite superb broadcasts on the History Of Ideas featuring everything from Schopenhauer to the death of Elizabeth I. Of course this archive can then be linked up to other sources on the subject offering living depositories of video and complementary audio.

Finally, and more locally, on 5 Live we are planning a special live programme from the City of Manchester Stadium to celebrate the broadcasting legend Stuart Hall who turns 80 on Christmas day.

And these are just a few examples as I am challenging all our editorial teams to innovate and create more distinctiveness in their programmes, clearly differentiatied from anything else available.

It is a strategy that prioritises depth as much as breadth and recognising that ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ radio's job is not to cover every niche or spread itself across every possible area; in fact we will have to make tough choices and stop doing things that are not working.

But by becoming somewhat obsessed with differentiated, memorable audio output that is complementary to other media, we can be optimistic about the future.

Now I want to turn to my next priority: leading digital innovation. I have spoken before and at length about my belief that unless audio is fit for a digital age, delivering more choice, more functionality and robust distribution of linear and on-demand programming at every point, mobile and fixed, it will be left disadvantaged.

I will not bang on too much about the theory here but let me list some progress that I think we have made as an industry in the last 12 months. And by digital I don't mean DAB, I am clear that the future for radio is a combination of robust digital broadcast and IP technology delivered across every device and screen.

I have talked before about the industry's leading players presenting a more coherent offer online and I am pleased to say that as a first step we have just announced our intention to launch an industry Radioplayer in the first half of 2010 and we have signed Heads of Agreement with the RadioCentre, GMG and Global who will work in partnership with the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ to make it happen.

This will not be primarily centred around an aggregating website, but a consistent console playing radio from participating company websites, with some common functionality and some consistency in look and feel.

Users will benefit from a search facility that allows people to access content from across all participating station schedules. It will allow us to offer one radioplayer when talking to all types of people from IPTV distributors, websites, social networks and PC manufacturers.

Have a look at this video which will give you a flavour (by the way, they are not final graphics).

This is clearly a first step, and we will need ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Trust approval, but it is a good first step in creating open solutions that support audio's development online.

My vision is that the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ can work with the industry to keep delivering more innovative online applications for audio, ensuring that it remains utterly linked in to future platforms, offering audiences access to more content, and commercial radio the opportunity to tap into a broader revenue base.

Let me just make a few quick points on DAB which I hope will soon be called simply Digital Radio!

I will not go through all the logic of why we support the concept of a digital broadcast network for radio – that is well-trodden ground – but let me just indicate some of the real progress which I think is being made behind the scenes on the fundamentals.

I have said before that unless we tackle the basics – industry alignment, coverage, device pricing, in-car penetration and an improved content offer – then digital wireless sets sales will not flourish. The setting out of clear criteria which need to be delivered before a switchover can happen is significant and it helps set a course for a more competitive and flourishing market.

Not everyone is in the boat but I think that the debates are really around pace of change, not whether digital will happen.

And there is quite a lot of progress going on behind the scenes: DRUK is being formed to drive the process of driving digital and we expect to announce a high calibre CEO in the coming days; there is conversation with chipset manufacturers to deliver high quality £20 devices by Christmas 2010; new devices such as the Pure Sensia which blend DAB and IP also point to the future potential of radio on the screen; also, I hope that some major car manufacturers will confirm that DAB will move to standard over time; and finally, the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ and all the industry players are working on plans to outline exactly how robust coverage can cost-effectively be delivered across the UK.

DAB is of course not a done deal, there are big risks and the radio industry needs to roll up its sleeves and get the job done, but the prize of one robust digital broadcast network with a more vibrant competitive market with a leaner cost base has to be worth fighting for.

Moving beyond digital distribution opportunities I intend to look for a constant stream of audio innovation.

Here's just on example: a few weeks ago, in a small room in the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's R&D facilities I was played a package featuring a new type of sound recording which actually memorises the exact place where a sound is recorded in relation to the microphone and can then play it back to the point at which it was recorded. In other words, it sounds like a Spitfire is flying above your head.

Now that development may take a few years but I am challenging all the audio sector to deliver this type of digital innovation faster into the market.

Finally, my last priority: attracting the best people.

I will not labour the point as it is fairly self–explanatory but nevertheless it is utterly critical. Those of us who believe in the power of audio must attract the best young people and creative leaders into our field.

Once you have the radio bug – a virus that is characterised by an obsession to listen hard, to the tone of voices and the quality of music, then you are hooked. But in a world where thousands of talented YouTube creatives are honing their skills as filmmakers and our most brilliant engineers are flowing into the world of online product design, radio will need to compete hard to win the best.

I am spending significant time in my role on this and am working to ensure that the best of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ trainees and some of its most outstanding leaders are focused on our audio and music output.

I want to spend more time with the industry on how we can continue to attract more cutting-edge talent and by that I mean everyone from first class investigative journalists, technically brilliant presenters, world class sound engineers and the best software designers. Without them we will simply not be able to thrive.

In summary, change is happening at a dizzying pace but clarity of leadership and a focus on what we are trying to achieve will secure a very strong future for audio: Building our unique creative contribution; Leading digital innovation; Attracting the best people.

Get those three right and audio will still play a central and quite wonderful role in our lives.

Thank you.