One of the messages that I’ve been pounding on of late is the need for radio to be multiplatform. That mantra is not intended to demean or limit radio, but to emphasize the medium’s portability.
That’s something radio used to tout as a benefit, but it’s been decades since it was a unique advantage. Today, all media is portable, forcing legacy media to make uncomfortable adjustments. Content creation should not only be thought of in regard to where people consume radio (or audio) today, but also how they use the same content differently across many locations.
There are some brilliant technical minds in our business who have broadcasting in their DNA but now live in the digital and tech world. As one of my young wizardly friends once asked, “If radio was invented after the internet, what would it be like today?” Pondering that of late led me to visit with three bright minds who are making a difference with media-centric platforms and asking them. This is part one.
We start with Audiospace Co-Founder & CEO Jan Muller. Audiospace is a Swiss tech company that develops every digital touchpoint between radio stations or podcasters and their audiences, including custom apps and websites. These platforms enable broadcasters to instantly monetize their digital traffic through Audiospace while collecting valuable first-party data. Originally founded as part of Brands Are Live AG, it powers hundreds of digital platforms globally, including major rollouts for US broadcasters like Connoisseur Media and Seven Mountains.
Muller also owns a famous radio station in Zurich.
Our conversation centered on radio’s underutilized advantages in first-party data, the urgent need for measurable digital audiences, and how radio stations should restructure their monetization around digital platforms before those advantages erode. He believes that radio’s brand equity and existing audience are its most valuable assets for digital conversion.
Jan’s beliefs align with many of mine, especially in using every part of the cow.
Muller believes that, “Radio must be treated as a multi-channel content platform, not a single over-the-air product.” He added, “Radio should produce for multiple use cases simultaneously: live show, on-demand, social clips, podcasting, and video platforms like YouTube. Short-form clips (Instagram-style, swipeable) enable mid-content ad insertion which is not possible in long podcast formats.” The missed opportunities include not only audience connectivity, but also more pathways to revenue generation.
Additionally, Muller thinks that arriving at that point of making such a conversion requires a mindset change to view radio as the backbone of a multiplatform approach to media. That’s validated by the App platform that Audiospace developed into an entertainment and information portal that links to websites, podcasting, unique channels, and, of course, audio and video. Much more than a radio app, it is a multimedia app that brings portability back to radio. An advantage that all forms of legacy media have lost since the origination of the iPhone and its early competitors.
When asked what radio’s biggest mistake is and how to respond to it, Jan said “It’s the poor online engagement with the audience and the advertiser. Failure to establish measurable relationships with them. Making a poor first impression.”
He continued, “We all know that first impressions matter. That’s why your platform needs to look its best, feel intuitive, and engage users from the very start. It’s more expensive to change impressions than to establish them properly from the beginning. Add to that the failure to recognize the ability of radio to gather first-party data, and you’re missing money-making opportunities.”
Content has to be top quality, or nothing done in the way of audio and video enhancements will matter. “Content created and distributed should reflect the community listening experience. Obviously on-air, the app, and website but also across all possible distribution platforms. Digital allows for a participatory relationship with the audience. Additional channels on the station app, be they HD2/HD3 or equivalents, enable a broadcaster to carry hyper-local content. Like multiple high school sporting events, as an example. These added connections allow for additional sales opportunities, too,” shared Muller.
Turning to apps, he said, “It’s the destination where the user can consume your content. And participate. So a radio station app can work as a community port. The community part needs to be solved properly, because radio is a shared listening experience, right? You’re not a music store. You’re not famous only for music; you’re also famous for the shared listening experience. That’s why the listeners are there, and the shows, and the hosts connect to the listeners.”
Jan continued, “Stations need a high-quality app, and it needs to be aligned with your website. And that’s where people listen to your content, be it live or time-shifted. So as a radio station, you should not only produce the content for a live show but also for the on-demand part, and for your social media content as well as being a platform to post your podcasting content. As a radio station, you need to target multiple different use cases with one content product, which may be edited uniquely for each case.”
He drove home the importance of being multiplatform if you own your content, so own where it is consumed. “The platform you own, the app and website you own, that’s the place where you aggregate your content and where the user experience is manifested. How the audience consumes your content needs to align with the content itself. For example, if you have a feature where you display short video and/or audio clips, the best of the best from a show, you need to create your content in a way that it looks every bit as good as Instagram.”
A high bar, but not insurmountable.
To the point of revenue generation magnified with the use of digital, Jan points to First-Party Data as the foundation of any viable digital business model for radio. He proffers that radio stations “should sell measurable, digital campaigns, and offer traditional broadcast reach as an add-on.”
While clearly a paradigm shift in that North American radio stations sell digital as an add-on or as a separate advertising portal, Muller offers the primary broadcast stream on his station in Zurich for free and charges for the digital metrics of the station. We’re not there yet in the Americas, but the concept could very well be where we should be. It is not an illogical concept.
What is most clear is that more and more of the advertisers we desire are focused on user acquisition. User acquisition for a new digital provider averages $40 per/download. Muller’s assertion is that radio can achieve the same conversion for free using over the air promotion and online marketing. “The longer radio waits to convert its’ audience to digital platforms, the higher future acquisition costs will be.”
Justification for the theory, according to him, is that, “Radio’s targeted, loyal community justifies a CPM of $40–$60, which is well above generic Google/Meta display ads.”
Jan believes that real-time campaign data (e.g., listen-through rate of 99.9%, time-of-day optimization) enables mid-flight adjustments. Something that isn’t always easy for traditional broadcasters to enact. It enables selling against some of our current digital competitors. Podcasters, for instance, lose leverage because they don’t own their platforms — radio still does, and must protect that advantage.
The explanation from him in an example: “I always have the feeling that if I explain what we do, it sounds very complicated, but I can simplify it with a very simple approach. Radio’s client, that is people who pay radio to distribute their advertising message, will at some future point not spend for something they cannot measure. It’s super simple. Radio needs to understand that it competes with businesses that offer metrics that are measurable. The exposure is considered leading to success. You only pay for success, real success, and not for “estimated” exposure. This is where and why digital competes with radio and why guiding audiences to your digital platforms is important.”
A common approach by broadcasters when faced with new concepts as opportunities for growth is that it’s something for the future versus the present. They will even say things like “I’ve Seen The Future, and the Future is Now.” Then it’s not the future. It’s the present. In this case, the opportunity is very much the present.
Next week: Part 2 – Video’s importance to enhancing audio.
