Re-Thinking Regional Media? Judging by the latest radio and circulation figures, that might just be a very good idea.

Old regional media: deckchairs, Titanic. New regional media: Um - we'll get back to you.

Oops. Anyone got any ideas?

Thursday 25th October was interesting. Three things happened, all of which should be - but aren’t - connected.  

The first was the monthly gathering for the Birmingham Music Network, which I couldn’t attend, because I was at the second event. This was Re-thinking Regional Media, a debate on futures for, er, Regional Media. 

It was a good and informative day: a variety of opinions, but not a lot of cold hard facts, were laid out and chewed over. I was there as a discussion facilitator: to steer discussions with a break-out group, in the hope of pulling out some definitive and positive conclusions. I’m afraid we didn’t get too far; nor did any of the other groups.  

Thursday also saw the release of the latest clutch of audience research figures for radio, which you can dig into at the excellent Media UK site. Taken together, these are shockingly bad for local radio in the region, pretty much across the board. I’ll go into details later.

These three things just don’t connect up. They should. And that’s the tragedy.

The background 
Partly, the terrible fact that local media – newspapers, tv and radio in the West Midlands – is now a burnt-out wasteland. Again and again, talk was of lost impact, falling circulation, and declining revenues. Truth be told, I met more people who used to be in radio, who used to be journalists or in local telly, than people who are still employed in these industries.  

Bright spots? not a whole lot. There is the will to see things improve, which is good, but not surprising, given the make up of the conference. There was the acknowledgement of new tech tools and analytics, especially from the estimable Matt Locke of Storythings; I lapped that up. Several inventive bloggers attended, and lots of independent video types were there, with brave and complex ideas, representing the remnants of the once vibrant television industry in the region.   

How did we get here?  
I'll cite three factors.

First: institutionally, Birmingham and the West Midlands have been outflanked and outmanoeuvred by the competition. To be blunt, Manchester has played a blinder, for well over a decade; Birmingham has done exactly the opposite. So now we have Media City in Manchester, and the BBC preparing to exit the Mailbox. For a number of reasons, the civic and business infrastructure and the decision makers that could and should have kept jobs and work in Brum simply didn't step up to the plate, most noticeably and wastefully at the BBC. Job losses across the sector must be in excess of 1000 since 2000.

Secondly: the web has simply led people away from existing media; no big surprise there. We don't use radio to find hot new music anymore (apart from, maybe, some users of 6music), and that's a tragedy. Radio especially, but Television and Print too have increasingly retreated from any form of real engagement with their markets, obsessing with 'brands' and ‘efficiencies’, with programming avoiding risk and offering an increasingly depressing uniformity

Thirdly, 'local' has simply become a dirty word, especially from a metropolitan perspective. Given the default thinking in London about creativity north of Watford, that's hardly a surprise. Ironically, production technology has helped radio cut costs; but it has  helped bands and video makers much more. It has ushered in a wonderful explosion in local music and video production, which has been almost completely ignored.

Many speakers at the debate reminded me of how much people at contemporary media industries, especially radio, are in denial. It was ironically amusing to hear an ex-employee of Global Radio claim that its local stations (Capital Birmingham and Heart West Midlands) were at an all-time high in the region, when a quick look at Media UK’s figures for those stations (here and here), released that same day, shows that they are both at all-time lows. 

It was galling to hear from Stuart Taylor, the very impressive ex-chairman of Guardian Media Group Radio (owners of Smooth, who have in turn sold out to Global), that he expects even more consolidation at radio to allow it to to survive. And it was very frustrating to note that Orion Media, owners of Free, have again recorded disappointing figures, at a time when I and many others had been hoping for some sign of a local media fightback against national brands. The fact is that no local or quasi-local radio service has shown an increase this quarter. The best that can be said is that some stations are holding their own… and none of these are market leaders.

The decline of 20th century media
Marc Reeves from RJF public affairs, an ex-editor or the Birmingham Post, gave a sad but  perceptive overview of the decline at traditional media. He was particularly interesting on the abilities of old-school local media to reach out and relate to its audiences. And that, quite possibly, is the key.

Any media organisation lives or dies by its ability to build trust and credibility, and hopefully be liked by its audience. As social media gurus constantly tell us, it’s the way you connect to your audience that matters. It’s particularly interesting to see that the most traditional forms of radio continue to prosper at network level at the BBC. I put this down to exactly those key factors: trust and credibility - the ability to acknowledge, reach out and touch an audience.

That leads me back to Marc’s point. I feel, and I eventually said this towards the end of the debate, that the relentless retreat from localism, driven and justified by business priorities, has left Brand Radio increasingly unable to connect to its audiences. Listeners in turn continue to leave in favour of things they can relate to. If the programming strategy of Brand Radio was to compete effectively with the BBC channels, it has comprehensively failed. As Matt Deegan points out, Xfm is now trounced by 6 music. Elsewhere, Radio 2 continues blithely on its way as the 800lb gorilla in the radio room that nothing will dislodge… until, this being the BBC, it shoots itself in the foot, of its own volition.

A way forward?

So let’s come back to local media. Media needs content. It feeds on it. Local media might do well to stop obsessing about heavily researched and safely acceptable content to the exclusion of all else. Local relevance, played right, gives a competitive usp. If – on whatever platform emerges in the next few years – local media succeeds in reinventing itself with attractive, credible multi-stranded content, it won’t be by relying on playing, or talking about, the exact same stuff everyone else plays and talks about. 

The big 21st century difference, in my view, is that the new platforms might well be local, but now they have a global reach. That’s what could make new and creative services, local, specialised or otherwise, stand out, and more significantly, pay their way. Brilliant thinking comes for free. Brilliant individual content that could be exclusive to a station, that reflects and is of the market the station serves, is out there for the taking. You just need a bit of editorial judgment, which is becoming an elusive commodity in our industries. 

Last week I wrote about Magic Garden studios, where Gavin Monaghan had recorded a session with local band Jaws. It was done for Radio 1 - no local take-up here. Take note, local boys: Radio 1 is out there, looking for exciting stuff in your own back yard. That said, there is absolutely no reason why Radios 1, 1xtra, 2 and 6 could not be beaten to the punch, every single time, by local stations. That would be a start… but only the the start of a five year or longer battle to claw back market share for local media.   

This probably won’t happen. What’s far more likely is that yet more new operations will emerge, probably online, probably very tech-savvy in new and creative ways, to nibble away at the traditional audience, crumb by crumb. I wouldn’t mind seeing that happen one little bit. In fact I’d be happy to help.

I mentioned the Birmingham Music Network at the start of this post. It’s ironic that this gathering of musicians and music business boosters also took place on the same day as the regional media debate. These are two worlds that need each other. They could be very good for each other. But they ignore each other. If they, somehow, found a way to work with each other, we might see some interesting changes. 

Links:
Media UK; see also James Cridland's and Matt Deegan's blogs
Re-thinking Regional Media
Campaign for Regional Broadcasting Midlands is an online petition to try to save those local jobs that are left at the BBC

The Nightingales: sharper, stroppier, older, wiser. Tips and tricks from a survivor

36 years of philosophy, wit, sarcasm and survival: Rob Lloyd shares thoughts on longevity, learning, and sticking to your guns. 

Rob Lloyd nearly smiles. He's a pussycat really

I met Rob Lloyd again, after thirty years or so, at a meeting of the Birmingham Music Network a few years back. We circled each other with pleased fascination, as insect collectors stumbling on rare specimens: a 50 year old working punk muso, and a 20th century rock jock, both now largely seen as endangered, if not extinct, species. I don’t know about Rob, but I get that insect collector thing a lot these days. 

Rob Lloyd has been kicking up an almighty racket since the late 70s. Time has not knocked any of the rough edges off, but there is an increasing depth and wit to his writing, belying the splendid bared-teeth rattle, pulse and crash of his music, which has been a constant. 

He's played in just two bands, as well as solo: the Prefects back in the day, and the Nightingales now. That’s close on four decades of uncompromising music; lots of roadwork, and regular ecstatic reviews along the way.  He’s still hungry. Since that re-acquaintance, we’ve chatted on and off, and this conversation largely took place around the release of the latest Nightingales album, No Love Lost, on Cooking Vinyl.

If you could meet up with the young Rob Lloyd in the Prefects, your first seriously promising band incarnation, what would you say to him? And would he give you the time of day?  

In truth, the Prefects were never seriously promising. This is a hard question - although I have changed in lots of ways over the years, there are some things I still have in common with that young Robert Lloyd, for better or worse. But it is, obviously, hypothetical: that young chap was pretty unconsidered and inconsiderate, and, I think, arrogant without cause. I reckon he almost certainly wouldn't have taken any notice of - and certainly would have shown disrespect towards - a fifty year old "I've been around the block" type. But also the bloke I am today would probably not have the time off day for such a snotty nosed, big headed no-talent.

Nightingales now. Rob on the right...

Forced to say something to the young prick... I'd say: “Your group is shit, don't think you're any cop just because John Peel and Paul Morley say so. Stop posing about and work harder. Be more adventurous and don't copy other artists, and certainly don't align yourself with any 'movement'. Be serious or don't bother - but also have fun. Ignore both born again rockers (Pete Townsend et al) and modern puritans and do try out of few drugs and have lots of sex - don't be shy. 

You’ve notably done South By Southwest. Was it worth it? How can you make things like this work for you?  

SXSW is a heap of fun and with good planning, especially for new bands, can maybe open a few doors, though I do think that the hyped bands are pretty much hyped before they get there. Austin is a top town, and the SXSW organisers seem enthused and very competent - UK take note - and I would certainly say that any invitees should give it a whirl if they can.

But, and it's a big but, it is an exceedingly expensive thing to do. These days, you definitely need a visa, and to do things legally. That will set you back a couple of grand before flights, accommodation and such. Remuneration is minimal; indeed it'd non-existent if you choose to have SXSW wristbands in lieu. So unless you are super flush or have rich parents and/or a very helpful manager or label, you will need to find funding, or it will be near impossible to make it happen.

The Nightingales were invited again this year but - despite what I thought was a top notch application and proposal - we were turned down by PRS Music Abroad and a couple of other funding sources which made it impossible to carry off, much to our disappointment, and in spite of offers of other U.S shows.  Thankfully it sounds like we will be re-invited next year & we can plan for this well in advance. That means booking a whole tour, coinciding a new album, sorting some funding - but for a lot of artists I guess it would involve getting in to a mass of debt. Is it worth it? That's up to the individual act, and what they think or hope they can achieve. I have no definitive advice.  

The Nightingales - Mutton To Lamb from 'No Love Lost', issued 2012

You’ve had oodles of support from 6music over the years. Granted, in the early days when they had smaller audiences, that might not have meant all that much. Are you noticing anything now they’ve got a million plus listeners?  

I find radio play and press reviews very difficult to quantify. Obviously it means more people get to hear the music or read the group's name, and consequently learn that we are out there and doing stuff. But does it influence sales, etc? I really don't know. I think our live shows maybe do more for that - Mark Sampson's Iron Man mail order store apparently always sells Nightingales gear when we play live: we play Edinburgh one night, and he sees sales in that area the very next day. I'd guess that to some degree this happens from radio play also but there is no way of being certain of the extent. You need Jools Holland's 'Later' for absolute guaranteed sales improvement I reckon. I'm sure Seasick Steve, Joanna Newsom and others would agree. 

But obviously it's great to get radio support, because it gets the music heard by new ears and maybe gets folk interested in the records and gigs. Plus the PRS royalty payments helps keep me afloat.  It's been difficult since Peel, with ever decreasing payments until recently. And of course part of the reason to make records is for them to get played on the radio and heard around the World. 

Some people get success by moving from the dangerous edges to the blander centre. I see you as resolutely still at the dangerous edges. How do you see it?  

I just do what I want to do, whatever others think of it. The band does not have any blueprint or agenda. We certainly do not try to be left field; we would definitely like a bigger audience, and wider appreciation, and to actually earn from our music… but we obviously do not do it for the money. Unless that is your prime motivation, I cannot see the point in making art that is anything other than stuff that allows you to express yourself, and that you like yourself. So the Nightingales plough our own furrow, for better or worse, for richer or poorer. Not dangerous but definitely, er, free. 

'No Love Lost' album cover artwork

I do not seek celebrity. If I were to be acknowledged I would like it to be because of the work. The work is everything and lives on beyond a person's lifetime. So I think it should be something that you think is worthwhile, and hopefully it will bring the creator some permutation of appreciation, money & fun; if not, so be it. I do hope, though, that when I die the group has everyone pretending they always dug it and that the band members can make a few quid. It would be totally depressing to think that even in death the group remained a super minority cult thing.

Nightingales - Born Again In Birmingham, from 'Out Of True', issued 2006

You tell stories. What’s more important – the story or the song? The live music or the creating of it?  

For me the lyrics are important… but I'm in a group, and so the songs and live shows are what is most important. The creating gives vent to my ideas and will hopefully be a fun process - but ultimately this is a rock group, so rock rules apply. Maybe the volumes of poetry and such can come later. 

You don’t hesitate to recommend people – you tipped Poppy and The Jezebels – who are way more  ‘commercial’ than the Nightingales. And you’ve seen other bands do well by adjusting their marketing and style. Ever been tempted to do the same thing?  

I had a solo deal with Virgin Records for a while and had a stab at doing some pop music but generally it is not an area that interests me. I’ve already explained where I am at regarding 'changing style' or whatever you want to call it. But I'm not a snob about it - I like Little Richard as much as Beefheart, the Troggs as much as Faust, etc, and if I see or hear something 'commercial' that I think is great I will plug it, no problem. And there is no jealousy, nor any gloating, if and when my 'recommendations' are a hit. As Roy Walker would advise, "Say what you see".

 How do you feel about Spotify, who pay very little for the the music they stream, and pirate downloads and torrent sites, who offer your music to anyone for free? Is there a promotional value?  

I am a bit ignorant about Spotify, indeed the whole web, social networking area. Fliss our drummer does all the 'Gales web 'business'. I guess there is some promotional value with any outlet for your work whether you get paid or not, but obviously getting paid for your work is the accepted ideal whatever the trade.  I know some musicians go ape shit about being ripped off. I have more friends in stand up than in bands, and they are zealous about copyright and payment for jokes. I understand their point of view totally, but I have also never been majorly hung up about bootlegging and piracy myself - Maybe that is one reason why I am always borassic? 

Survival as a working band. You know a lot more now, but times are a lot tougher, is it easier or harder?  

Harder now I think, at least for 'unpopular' bands.

Links: 
Nightingales website 
Nightingales myspace music page
Rob Lloyd's own record label Big Print Records 
If you want back catalogue, Rob would love it it you bought it here