The BBC’s New Streaming Strategy: This Could Have Global Implications
This is worth reading if you’re (a) in radio; (b) work at a streaming music; and (c) a user of either. It’s from Music Industry Blog.
Yesterday the BBC’s Director General Tony Hall laid out a vision for the future of the BBC (for an excellent take on this see the blog post from MIDiA’s video analyst Tim Mulligan, and yes the name may look familiar, he’s my brother!). The BBC has long played a crucial innovation role in the digital content economy but it has yet to carve out a convincing role for itself in online music. It has built up a compelling YouTube content offering and it has pursued a streaming coexistence strategy with its innovative Playlister initiative but the bigger play has yet to be made. That looks set to change, with the announcement that the BBC is planning to launch a ‘New Music Discovery Service’, which would make the 50,000 tracks broadcast by the BBC every month available to stream for a limited period. The initiative is interesting in itself but its implications are more profound and could have global repercussions.
Radio Still Rules The Roost But The Streaming Fox Is At The Door
Radio is still by far the main way most people interact with music. 75% of consumers listen to music radio regularly compared to 39% that stream for free. Radio also remains the main way in which people discover new music and its DJs are still some of the most influential tastemakers on the planet cf Apple poaching Zane Lowe from the BBC’s Radio 1. But things are undoubtedly changing. Music radio penetration among 16-24 year olds falls to 65% while streaming rises to 54%. In Sweden streaming has overtaken music radio among 16-24 year olds. All of this without even considering YouTube which has overtaken radio for 16-24 year olds in markets as diverse as UK, US, Sweden, Germany and Mexico and is on the verge of doing so in France. (All consumer data is from MIDiA Research). Radio held its own throughout the digital revolution of the last 15 years but the cracks are now there for all to see. Most radio broadcasters do not yet have the assets to properly navigate the digital transition. In most markets there is no dedicated digital platform (the US and UK are two notable exceptions) so broadcasters rely increasingly on mobile streaming for engaging audiences digitally. Which means they are one swipe of a finger away from a bewildering array of radio alternatives. It is this dynamic that underpins the BBC’s approach to streaming.
