Concert FM to move to AM only, Sky and Streaming, this must be wrong

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#2413303 5-Feb-2020 19:51

I think you've fallen for that classic misunderstanding that your own usage and preferences are shared by the 'masses'; or if they're not yet, they should be, and it is inevitable they will be. This is classic of tech-heads, who also often don't take into account the context and society in which tech is used and consumed.

Tech doesn't exist in a vacuum. The latest tech doesn't have all the answers. Sometimes a non-tech or low-tech solution does offer key benefits that other, more modern options don't. Further, not everyone will gain from the claimed benefits; some may simply not care about them; others can't afford it; others simply can't operate it.

Radio, I would argue, is in this bucket of effective low-tech devices which still has a role, and which will remain for quite some time. Sure, podcasts and audio streaming is growing, and I'm someone who listens to podcasts whenever I'm in the car, and typically only listen to 'radio' (via a Google Home Hub) when in the kitchen. But I know I'm not representative of all New Zealanders (let alone those in the rest of the world) so don't assume to know what they all want.

RunningMan

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#2413320 5-Feb-2020 20:23

richms:[snip] but lets face it, broadcast is dead and their listeners are probably mostly gone by now.

Whilst it may be biased toward itself, there was a good RNZ article a few days back that says quite the opposite. You may not use it, but plenty of people still do.

shermanp

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#2413324 5-Feb-2020 20:39

Noooo...

AM quality is awful for music. And I listen to a fair bit of RNZ Concert in my Car. A large part of the appeal of Concert is the guided programming, which also appears to be going...

Also, way to ensure young folk are never exposed to classical music on broadcast radio. Which will be a big shame IMO.

And it's not just old folks who enjoy classical. I'm in my early thirties and enjoy classical music.

Bummer :(

old3eyes

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#2413326 5-Feb-2020 20:47

cyril7:
richms:

old3eyes:

cyril7:

Hi, well Tom the stuff contibutor (who is well known around here) tells me that the move to AM is what is intended, yet the article says the opposite toward the end, I have asked he gets it clarified, moving back to AM takes us back 80yrs

Cyril

That's a real backwards move as AM has a terrible bandwidth and no stereo sound.

It could have stereo AM if they had deployed it when it was a thing in the 80s, but lets face it, broadcast is dead and their listeners are probably mostly gone by now.

But launching a youth FM station? Lol, not like they even have radios anymore. The streaming is all they need.

Was involved in the test trials from Eureka, but honestly for a Hi Fidelity channel such as CFM it was never going to be a runner.

Cyril

I seem to remember Radio i in Auckland trying stereo AM back in the 1980s but it never went anywhere due to the lack of radios that could decode the signal into stereo.

Regards,

Old3eyes

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#2413358 5-Feb-2020 22:32

richms:

Rikkitic:

Radio's death was predicted when TV first emerged. Radio has its own unique value and it will always persist in one form or another. There are many situations where listening is preferable to watching, such as when driving a car.

Which spotify or podcasts also deliver, with content that you want rather than whatever is chosen to target the masses.

I understand one of the problems with the likes of Spotify is it learns your tastes and starts serving up what it thinks you like to hear, a bit like Google serving up stuff in Google searches based around your previous search history rather than a vanilla result. Once Spotify et al start doing that you start to miss out on variety and other music tastes you may actually enjoy.

I do most of my listening while driving. For a choice of "my music" I have a thumb drive which I can access on my car stereo, but mostly I listen to the radio. The variety of music, the interaction of the DJ's interspersed with news and other updates provides a good mental stimulus. You don't get that with Spotify.

While I don't listen to RNZ Concert all that often I think moving it to AM is an absolutely crazy idea. They might as well come out and say "We are planning to kill off RNZ Concert". RNZ Concert is broadcast in stereo and needs FM quality. By all means move RNZ National onto AM as it's only broadcast in mono anyway

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bfginger

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#2413376 5-Feb-2020 23:29

Bung: You can hear the rattle of walking sticks, zimmer frames and false teeth. The argument will outlast the audience.

It's not like there's more elderly in the pipeline. The elderly people who listen to the radio at 3AM are often too disabled to manage much else and can't organise their own MP3s as suggested by one National figure.

When they say a "youth" station I expect it'll be aimed exclusively at Maori and Pacific youth knowing RNZ. I also expect nobody will listen to it.

DjShadow

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#2413384 6-Feb-2020 00:50

Thing to remember is most modern car head units now support Apple Carplay and Android Auto, iHeartRadio has supported I believe both platforms for some time and just recently Rova has been updated to support both platforms.

Given that mobile data caps are getting bigger it'll be easier to pick your radio station of choice through the app instead of AM/FM, having tried the apps I feel the sound qual is better than FM by a mile also.

Other thing is I've seen no talk of DAB coming to NZ... (happy to be corrected on this one)

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Bung

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#2413406 6-Feb-2020 06:33

DAB was trialled for too long in Wgtn and Auck for about 10 years. This from NBR in 2018

"Reading between the lines of comments of MBIE and C&H officials who spoke to NBR, it seems the most likely scenario is that DAB will quietly die on the back-burner.

But even if it is taken seriously, the best case scenario for policy work, then a law change, is probably around two years. By that time, internet radio will be more pervasive. There will be more cars with the likes of Apple Play and Android Play for one-click access to streaming stations, and Spark, Vodafone and 2degrees will be rolling out 5G networks for better, wider and higher data cap mobile internet coverage."

In the meantime on a short trip between Wgtn and Foxton of 100km listening to Nat Radio 101FM we have to change frequenchy 4 times or just leave it on AM. Any classical requirements are covered by an old ipod in the glovebox.

alasta

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#2413421 6-Feb-2020 08:13

I don't think anyone seriously expects you to listen to Concert on AM. The assumption is that people will listen to the online stream, but most of Concert's audience won't be willing or able to do that.

The irony is that the youth that they are now targeting would probably be perfectly happy with an online streaming service, so this move really makes no sense.

Paul Thompson has very good intentions here, but I predict it will be a total failure. The Wireless never really achieved any significant following, so why would the outcome be any different for a youth focused radio broadcast on a platform that youth are reluctant to engage with?

evilengineer

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#2413423 6-Feb-2020 08:18

DjShadow:

Thing to remember is most modern car head units now support Apple Carplay and Android Auto, iHeartRadio has supported I believe both platforms for some time and just recently Rova has been updated to support both platforms.

You don't even need a dedicated head unit, at least not with Android Auto.

Just a 3.5mm Aux input (assuming your phone still has a headphone jack) or Bluetooth Audio.

You can sit your phone in a dashboard cradle and run Android Auto using just the phone's screen for the interface and audio controls etc.

Technofreak

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#2413428 6-Feb-2020 08:37

Whether or not a car radio has an Aux input for use with a phone or supports Android Auto or Carplay is irrelevant in my opinion. There are plenty of places where I drive were mobile coverage is patchy at best yet FM coverage is quite adequate. Not everyone does all their driving in town or along SH 1.

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evilengineer

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#2413429 6-Feb-2020 08:38

I've never understood why classical music is the only genre, and it is very niche, deemed worthy of its own publicly funded radio station.

Seems very elitist to me.

What makes classical music different from Reggae, Country or even Scandinavian Black Metal?

Apart from old fashioned middle class ideas of "high culture" etc.

Technofreak

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#2413430 6-Feb-2020 08:38

alasta:

I don't think anyone seriously expects you to listen to Concert on AM. The assumption is that people will listen to the online stream, but most of Concert's audience won't be willing or able to do that.

The irony is that the youth that they are now targeting would probably be perfectly happy with an online streaming service, so this move really makes no sense.

Paul Thompson has very good intentions here, but I predict it will be a total failure. The Wireless never really achieved any significant following, so why would the outcome be any different for a youth focused radio broadcast on a platform that youth are reluctant to engage with?

This!!!! in spades.

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evilengineer

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#2413433 6-Feb-2020 08:41

Technofreak:

Whether or not a car radio has an Aux input for use with a phone or supports Android Auto or Carplay is irrelevant in my opinion. There are plenty of places where I drive were mobile coverage is patchy at best yet FM coverage is quite adequate. Not everyone does all their driving in town or along SH 1.

That's what podcasts and downloaded playlists are for!

Technofreak

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#2413436 6-Feb-2020 08:50

evilengineer:

Technofreak:

Whether or not a car radio has an Aux input for use with a phone or supports Android Auto or Carplay is irrelevant in my opinion. There are plenty of places where I drive were mobile coverage is patchy at best yet FM coverage is quite adequate. Not everyone does all their driving in town or along SH 1.

That's what podcasts and downloaded playlists are for!

Just as equally you can say that's what radio is for.

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