LISTENER FEBRUARY 29 2020THIS LIFE
GE
TT
Y^
IM
AG
ES
of switching our AM/FM network
to digital audio broadcasting (DAB).
We’ve essentially already done the
same thing for TV, with the Freeview
digital TV network.
DAB has a number of advantages:
you can offer extra radio stations
and localised content through more
efficient use of the radio spectrum;
the sound quality is better, with no
fading out when you reach the edge
of coverage; you can offer a richer
experience, such as images and text
delivered to devices with a screen, or
rewind and playback features.
The big drawback is that the entire
radio network would need to be
upgraded and you’d need a new DAB-
capable radio to receive the digital
signals. That major barrier to uptake,
and the strong existing audience
for analogue radio, led Broadcasting
Minister Kris Faafoi to decide last year
against introducing DAB after a six-
year trial of the technology.
Maybe he made the right call. In
the 5G mobile world, we’ll increas-
ingly have internet-connected cars, so
streaming could become the delivery
path for radio, wherever you are,
anyway.
But whether it is classical for baby
boomers or Billie Eilish hits for mil-
lennials, listening online is just a
better experience and one our public
radio broadcaster needs to more fully
embrace. lRadio Ga Ga again
RNZ’s thwarted plan for
Concert is just the overture
to an internet-based future
for music – and DJs.
by Peter Griffin
TECHNOLOGY
personalised experience, curated play-
lists and discoverability we now take
for granted in online content.
If RNZ’s youth station actually
makes it to air, that aspect will be
critical to success. Overall, we are still
a nation of radio listeners – millionsof us tune in every day. But drill
down into the youth demographic
and you see the influence of the
internet. In the 15-39 category, 49%
listen to the radio daily, according
to NZ On Air, compared with 61%
in the 45-plus segment. But when it
comes to music, 67% of youth stream
it via the internet daily, compared
with 16% for those 45-plus.
We really need versions of Apple’s
online Beats 1 radio station to offer
that DJ banter that many still value
radio for, but delivered in
the app environment.R
adio is also sound-
ing decidedly 20th
century. We could
have followed other
countries down the pathWhen it comes to
music, 67% of youthlisten via the internet
daily, compared with16% for those 45-plus.
R
NZ Concert’s stay of execution from the FM
airwaves and the state broadcaster’s plans
for a youth-focused station raise some bigger
questions about the future of radio.
I couldn’t really understand the angst around
the plan to scale back Concert. I love classical
music, but I get my fix online rather than over the
airwaves.
Maybe that’s because I’m more into Hans
Zimmer than Handel. I’m also less into presenter
chatter and more into the music itself. On You-
Tube, I can access hundreds of classical playlists
that let me delve into exactly the type of music I’m
looking for – Rachmaninoff while I’m working,
Vivaldi to wind down in the evening.
Listening via the internet gives me better discover-
ability, with algorithms tailoring music to my tastes,
offering up text and visuals on the artists and, if I
subscribe to a streaming service such as Spotify or
Apple Music, offline listening wherever I want.
I get that a decent number of classical lovers
enjoy pottering around in the garden listening to
Concert, and there’s a digital divide issue – some
can’t afford decent internet access or a smartphone
on which to play streaming apps.
But Concert’s future looks increasingly shaky
unless RNZ accommodates the tastes of younger
classical lovers. Although the station is streamed
crystal clear and for free via the RNZ app, the future
is ultimately a version of the BBC Sounds app,
which last year replaced the Beeb’s iPlayer radio app.
It was a rough start, with complaints of a clunky
interface and podcasts hosted on Sounds that were
kept off the other popular streaming apps. But the
BBC’s hefty budget has allowed it to reflect much of
what has made the streaming apps so popular – the