Well, we all knew lockdown was going to be weird...
Fortunately for
me, a project dropped into my lap in March, and it kept me very
busy for months. I am only now rocking gently in my backwater,
blinking, looking around, thinking of other projects.
With projects, I always go in too deep. This was no different. But oh, was it ever
fascinating.
Some background first. For much of my time in radio, I have been
gainfully employed sorting out other people's programming disasters,
the ones that crop up in music scheduling and database systems.
The beast
The
leading system I've worked in is, still, RCS GSelector, along with its RCS predecessors. If you're a fan, it's a
splendid beast. But with all such systems, it's easy to paint
yourself into a corner. You need decent music nous, allied to
geekiness and tenacity. It's a tricky balance. Too much geekiness
squeezes out on-air spontaneity.
The thinking behind computer
music scheduling is, I find, often shared by musicians. Their shows
are planned out: sets kick off with bangers, new material is nicely
balanced, there's a flow built in, and the audience goes on a
journey. Even when set lists are starting points rather than a rigid
show structure, the same principles apply. If you know your stuff and
your audience, you don't need a fixed safety net, either at radio or
onstage. And that's as far as I'm going with that particular debate.
The work
My cleanup work has taken me all over the UK and Europe.
Often, one job has led to another; other times I have been put forward by much appreciated colleagues. It's been a lovely, magic
carpet ride. But Covid19 has put an end to flying off to distant
lands; now it's Zoom meetings and distance work.
I'm happy to
work in any music format: the fundamentals, be they in Pop, Rock or
Classical, are the same. Seriously, they really are, even while
library sizes and presenter freedom vary
enormously. Personally, I prefer a deep library in a station that
values its presenters for their knowledge, but that's just my
taste.
The Classical differences
But Classical? Oh, that's different. Classical is
tricky. Take durations for a start: Classical music radio is not the home
of the 3'30” pop edit. Amazing works of 15 minutes and longer are
common; you simply can't do without them. The 'bleeding chunks'
debate - chopping out moments from Concerti or Symphonies -
continues. Now, I love a complete work, an entire opera, a splendid
soloist delivering fireworks to an audience... when I'm in that
audience. But music radio doesn't work that way; instead, it offers a
flow of music to take with you while you go about your day. Radio is
rarely an 'appointment to listen' medium; you can now listen again
with ease. So that's two challenges right there.
I've worked
on Classical databases four times now: firstly in Ireland with the
splendid RTE Lyric FM, where more than half the personnel were active
musicians. Later came Bartok Radio in Budapest, and more recently
pre-launch setup work at Scala Radio in London. And the most recent
project, with all the Zooming and remote working, was for Radio
Classic in Finland.
My job was to tidy up a messy database and
set it up in GSelector before handing it back to the local team to
take it onward. I won't go into all the gory details, but every
conceivable data entry mistake was there... it was a tangle.
Mind your Language!
The interesting areas were the use of language, and the local market. Finland values its culture and identity. It supports the arts: national and regional orchestras are properly funded, unlike in the UK. It's admirable; I so wish we took this approach with the Arts in general, and music in particular. I also wish we had Finland's admirably low Covid19 infection rates.
From
a population of less than 6 million, Finland exports a steady and
impressive flow of talent: the first two conductors to follow Simon
Rattle when he left the CBSO came from Finland; one of them now
splits his duties between orchestras in Los Angeles, San Francisco
and London.
Of course there were
local
composers whose works I
wasn't familiar with; with these, the plan is for the Radio Classic
team to strike the right balance. And that's the proper approach:
radio has to reflect its locality, be it national or regional.
Dumping a generic format onto a station is cheap; it directly affects
the bottom line, but it may not build audiences. We often hear of
'MacDonalds Radio' in this context, but in truth, even that giant
corporation goes to great lengths to cater for local markets. And
it's worth pointing out that Classic Radio Finland are part of Bauer
Media, who, admirably, have given their station free rein to develop
as they see fit. It's easy to jump to conclusions about massive
corporate radio groups, but those conclusions are not always spot-on.
So – back to the Classical job. How to describe a work? What language do you use? Do you say the Magic Flute? Or the original Die Zauberflote? Or the Finnish Taikahuilu? Verdi was, I am told, passionately in favour of works being sung in the language of the country where the performance was taking place. But, with works and orchestras in at least six languages, this aspect was increasingly complex.
The Web. Upending things. Again. Everywhere.
In working through the Radio Classic library, something else struck me: just how much emphasis has moved away from tradition and towards powerful performances. I contrasted an opera aria from a revered Finnish veteran, recorded in the 60s, with a fresh recording of the same piece by a contemporary superstar. The difference was extraordinary. The veteran was polite, formal and understated. The superstar was showy and explosive. That, change, in my view, has been driven by opera houses and orchestras competing online to deliver more of an experience to a wider audience, the more so because a lot of their work is now filmed and distributed either live or as special cinematic events. The days of 19th century polite salon performances of music designed to be played at home, once all the rage, are long gone. As elsewhere, the web has had its way, and we are now in the world of short-term spectacle.
Bottom line, as usual: what matters, and to whom?
The
initial clean-up task completed, Radio Classic are now up and
running. What are the next steps? Many classical stations embrace
movie soundtracks; others rush to programme contemporary 'mindful'
piano work from the likes of Ludovico Einaudi; still others
incorporate gaming music, written for teenagers and young adults,
into their output. Gaming companies are now so flush with cash that
they can afford to hire entire orchestras to record their material –
but I'm really not sure that an orchestra's playing qualifies a piece
of music for use in Classical radio. It's a sliding scale of age
appeal, which doesn't tempt me, but then I am very aged. That said, I
can't say I'm exactly a purist either. The big question is to recognise the
demands of the market, as I mentioned earlier.
My personal view?
The great works are there because they have found their place over
decades and centuries. That timescale means things change slowly; it's
the complete opposite of pop. Recordings of individual Classical
works may not generate huge sales figures, but that's partly because
there are often literally hundreds of different versions of the same
work available to the listener. Therefore popularity has to be
measured in a different way; chart sales, downloads and influencer-driven
YouTube views don't work in this arena. The picture is further
muddied by a combination of stuffy conservatism in the classical
industry itself, and the shift to showier, flashier performances that
new technology has fostered, as mentioned earlier.
It's
never easy. But right now, my best wishes go to the good folk at
Radio Classic Finland, who are now navigating these tricky waters. I
think they'll do just fine. You can, of course, listen to them here: https://radioplay.fi/radio-classic/
and
if that doesn't work, go here: https://tinyurl.com/y4dstoxe
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