3.0.2 O consumo passivo

Transição dos hábitos lineares para não-lineares

Bardoel e d'Haenens (2008: 342) explicam que as estratégias dos operadores têm passado por ir acrescentando conteúdos que permitam aumentar os hábitos não-lineares, à custa dos - ainda maioritários - hábitos lineares. «IN order to maintain a reasonable level of audience reach, broadcasters will decide to extend their portfolio of platforms and channels». dos canais temáticos às estratégias cross-media, que visam «try to keep the viewer's and listener's attention as long as possible» 

Todos os suportes, que não a net, são parte do problema

O Reino Unido, onde o DAB conseguiu algum sucesso, continua a apostar neste suporte para o lançamento de novos projectos, alguns deles ambiciosos. isto tem consequências negativas ao nivel da aposta, que deveria ser mais forte e consistente, na Internet. Isto é, quanto mais se aposta no DAB menos se olha para a net (até porque não se pense que os mesmos conteudos servem para diferentes suportes; a transição FM-DAB neste país provou-o). E estou a referir-me a tecnologia, dinheiro, meios humanos e criatividade. Claro que exitindo outros suportes seria absurdo não os aproveitar (o FM ainda é popular, o DAB na GB tem publico, mas assentar a estrategia no DAB ou, mesmo ,colocar as varias opções no mesmo plano é um erro tremendo; os conteudos a partir da net é que deveriam liderar).

O DAB, o seu irmão HD e todos os suportes, mesmo que digitais, não assentes na net, são transitórios e, nalguns casos (o FM), presos ao passado. «aquilo que há 15 anos parecia uma óptima ideia - o DAB -, é hoje parte do problema e não da solução. Visto a esta distância, o DAB é apenas um FM melhor, mas na Grã-Bretanha têm sido gastos milhões nessa tecnologia». Enquanto, por estas razões, a industria dá passos timidos relativamente à Net, «outros operadores, sem ligação à rádio, e que estão a fazer diversos negócios - como mostrou um dos fundadores da Last.fm (um dos maiores jornais da Europa, o Bild, tem um canal de rádio na net. Com quem? Com a Last.fm, claro).» São estes operadores que estão mais perto de encontrar os «públicos onde eles estão. E eles estão cada vez mais à volta do mundo digital.»

Por curiosidade, eis a pequena carta-aberta que dirigi ao director do novo projecto do Channel Four na rádio digital DAB, Bob Shennan, na sequência dessa conferencia em Londres Radio 3.0

«Don't do it, Bob
 
Dear Bob
I assisted yesterday to your presentation (as to all others, in Radio 3.0 conference) and allow me to say this: don't do 4Radio on D.A.B.!
Where I live, work and study there's no D.A.B. and his associated problems, so I think I can listen to you with some distance. I listened to you and to other people spoken about D.A.B. with very discomfort. I think nobody in radio broadcasting likes D.A.B., but it seems like the story of a friend we - long time ago - invited to our home and now have not the courage to send away (anyway, everyday family talks about it with no solution)...
What I have listened yesterday was something like this: D.A.B. was a mistake (a understandable mistake, 15 years ago), you have invested a lot on this, but now you have realized that is not the future. What to do? In portuguese we usually joke, saying someone is already dead, but nobody has courage to say this to him. That's what I'm trying to say to you: who, 10 years ago, invested has now problems to solve, but you, with a new project, must go direct to internet! Listen to UBC Simon Cole or Martin Stiksel, of Last.fm. They're already there. You, Bob, are, as McLuhan said, looking the future by the rear view mirror.
Put our friend out of home! The problem with D.A.B is double: when you invest money, time and ideas on this technology, you are not investing on content on Internet. That's why, with BBC exception, web content on british radio is so poor.
Believe me, Bob: D.A.B. is only a better FM. FM is gonna be switched off - you doubt it? (The same in US, with local D.A.B., HD).
 
Wishing all the best, without D.A.B, I'm
Joao Paulo Meneses»

Porque é que não olham para o que querem os consumidores»? (Richard Laermer)

(o que a rádio convencional faz - OU NÃO FAZ - para se aproximar dos ouvintes, na actualidade)

MARK RAMSEY: «I’m always surprised, Richard, that in Radio, for example, folks will go out of their way to go to a radio convention, but will rarely attend any gathering focused on new media, when that is the industry Radio is now a part of.

Well, people don’t think about what their customers do. They think about their own industry, but they don’t think like their customers.

Radio stations are doing less research today, not more. Why is that? That drives me crazy. Why aren’t they looking at what their customers want out of their own lives, you know?

Just because your station has listeners doesn’t mean you’re connecting to them. In the book I talk about auditing and how you can find your listeners, users, or whatever, and get to know them. I mean it’s so easy to do that now. And I mean real audits – ask the hard questions, like “Why do you hate us?”» RAMSEY, Mark, Radio Trendspotting - an interview with marketing guru Richard Laermer», Hear2.0, 6/06/08

Caminhos para a rádio musical

 

«Visto desta forma fatalista, a rádio, sobretudo musical, estará condenada. Mas há caminhos que a rádio pode tomar para tentar sobreviver – conciliando a sua característica gratuita com a forte implantação histórica e cultural [até que ponto isto é relevante para quem não a conhece?]:

•

Deixar, de uma vez por todas, de entender a Internet como rival e potenciar-se através dela, criando múltiplos canais de difusão musical, chegando a nichos esquecidos e possibilitando uma lógica de diversidade e de repetição, palavras inconciliáveis na rádio convencional (mas não para os canais áudio que transmitem em streaming); Para Elsa Moreno Moreno a especialização musicalpode não ser a única resposta à pergunta sobre os novos conteúdos da rádio “pero sí la más extendida y probablemente lo siga siendo durante los próximos años a través de los diferentes soportes de producción y distribución ante los que converge el médio”10. O mesmo caminho é apontado por um estudo da TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence: “O futuro da rádio musical reside provavelmente em entretenimento altamente especializado e em apresentar novos artistas e produtos musicais a mercados altamente especializados”11. A Internet também permite as tais expressões de interactividade, um dos segredos da web social, e que não há razão para a rádio não incorporar;

•

O sucesso desses canais de áudio é explicável pela desatenção da rádio convencional – que tem o know how, mas se limita a repetir fórmulas. Poderia ter sido ela a promovê-los. Ou seja, ganha quem tiver conteúdos que façam a diferença e se, quem os tiver, os adaptar aos novos tempos Se isso não acontecer, não faz sentido concorrer quando a perda é evidente;

•

Mais do que apostar em inovações tecnológicas que parecem condenadas a médio-prazo (como o HD, que permite o multicasting, mas obriga a novos aparelhos e a novas lógicas de convergência), o esforço da indústria deveria ser para convencer as marcas que operam os novos suportes a integrar a rádio como funcionalidade standard (uma entre várias); ou seja, estar onde estão, e onde estarão cada vez mais, os potenciais ouvintes (o receptor de rádio, tal como o conhecemos hoje, está condenado a convergir ou a desaparecer);

•

E, finalmente, não se limitar à conectividade em telemóveis, consolas ou leitores de áudio, mas encontrar programas, serviços e conteúdos que estas plataformas – por serem apenas distribuidoras – não contemplem; a espontaneidade da voz humana parece um valor determinante.

(...) há algo que parece abrigado de qualquer futurologia: só com novos conteúdos a rádio musical pode sobreviver. É que o ambiente não é mais o mesmo: do offline passamos, todos, para uma realidade online. Com outras características, exigências e possibilidades» (MENESES, 2007: 11-12)

 

 

10

Elsa Moreno Moreno, s/ título, http://www.unav.es/fcom/jornadas2000/Ponencias/Ponencia%20Elsa%20Moreno%20Final%20.htm (cons. a 06/01/07)

11

“Music Radio Stations Hard Hit By Personal Digital Music Revolution”, Music Industry News Network, 08/06/05 (cons. a 06/01/07)

Os consumidores estão em todo o lado; só a rádio não chega

«(...) it takes more than terrestrial radio to compete in today’s crowded media world. To reach every potential listener, your product mix must include, among other things, terrestrial radio, Internet radio, podcasting, websites, text messaging and much more. After all, your listeners are using radio in a completetly different way than ever before. And not all are using a "radio". McVay, You’re not in the radio business... You’re in the MEDIA business! Inside radio, The Blue Page, Junho? 2008

O futuro está no passado (?)

«Depressed by the rise of new technologies and their own fading place in the media landscape, neither those who own and run AM and FM radio stations nor even the new (but not new enough) satellite pay radio services are nurturing the kind of eccentric, iconoclastic voices that made radio so alluring from the 1950s into the '80s. Through those decades, when TV dominated American popular culture, radio was at once a mass medium and a clubhouse, a place where listeners could believe themselves to be part of an unseen community of like-minded people. (...) Yet the more I listened to the likes of Pandora.com, Last.fm, Slacker.com and all manner of music blogs and Web radio, the more I heard the sound of automation -- sleek, efficient recommendation engines scientifically selecting the music I am most likely to like, yet missing out almost on what radio once offered: a glimpse into the hearts and passions of personalities who knew what music was new and cool, voices that offered a guided tour of unknown worlds, and sometimes even a frontal assault of the unexpected. (...) The challenge for all media now is to find a path back to mass, while retaining as much as possible of the freedom and access that the infinite range of the Internet promises. Yet most Americans still listen to something for much of the day. Radio could be the way into those ears, but only if it invests in creating compelling reasons to be there, only if it grabs hold of us the way the voices of past decades connected to the loves, pains and dreams of young listeners. As always, the future lies in the past.» fonte: FISHER, Mark, Weakening Signals Washington Post, 1/06/08

A rádio está a perder 'conveniência'

«…the clock is ticking. Radio’s distribution advantage is weakening. We will no longer simply own the car and the office. Radio brands are going to have to win a war of relevance in a sea of new competition. We will have to close the accountability gap between traditional and new media and provide proof that our campaigns move product and services. We’ve got to eliminate our legacy bias, systems and practices that impede our evolution. We’ve got to get past the intramural mindset that has locked us up for far too long. We will have to rationalize and optimize our inventories. We will have to entertain and engage in new ways that retain and enhance the affinity of our audiences. If not our brands will be worth far less than they are today.» AGOVINO, Mike, Thoughts On Radio’s Reinvention—Part I, RBR.com 28/05/08

RAMSEY: «Edison’s finding that “convenience” is the number one reason to listen to the radio illustrates the magnitude of our vulnerability: As long as we are most convenient, we win. But when we are either less convenient or when other technologies are equally so (as in, when they enter the cars), the number one reason to listen to radio will be dramatically diminished.

While radio remains ubiquitous, the fraction of media time occupied by radio is diminishing. In fact, as long as radio remains everywhere I would expect usage to remain virtually universal – but as long as options grow and proliferate I would expect the intensity of that usage to diminish. Meaning that we’ll be used less and less more and more.»

A rádio pode chegar ao um-para-um?

«There are opportunities for radio to begin to close this gap. Technology offers us the opportunity to evolve our relationship from one to many to one to one. There are several companies out there that offer radio-centric applications that allow you to engage your audience one listener at a time. The best ones allow you to track that engagement across different platforms like text and streaming. Every radio station needs to have a direct relationship with as much of its audience as it possibly can. Permission is the asset of the future and radio’s unique relationship with the audience, if respected, can be utilized to build a tighter, more relevant, one to one bond. Eventually, this bond and the engagement created by it will yield more advertising revenue than running spots», AGOVINO, mike, Thoughts On Radio’s Reinvention—Part II, rbr.com 29/05/08

A rádio convencional tem futuro se...

«My view is that terrestrial radio is now a destination entertainment medium for available listeners – older members of Gen X and the baby boomers (...) Beyond that – radio has little future as of this moment. That is, if radio is defined only as a 24/7 terrestrial signal. On the other hand if radio content providers, marketers and sales people can embrace alternative ways to entertain Gen Y – not as easy as it sounds – terrestrial radio operators could be the fortunate drivers of mobile, Internet and WiFi entertainment for a youth generation that rivals baby boomers in population. (...) The future of broadcasting without the next generation -- options, strategies, challenges. There is no better content provider on planet earth than radio talent for producing content. But there is no need to produce 24/7 programming online. I am not saying that there won’t be streaming stations on the Internet to replace radio for Gen Y – there will. But the radio station of the future may only provide three hours of programming a day – that’s right, a day – and deliver it on a cell phone or mobile device. And, yes, there will be ancillary ways to monetize this concept.»

COLLIANO, Jerry del, «The Next Generation of Radio – On-air, Online, on Mobile Devices  29/05/08

 

A dificuldade de saber o que eles querem

«But today, "media r us." Media are people. People aggregating and collaborating and interacting and discovering and discussing - wherever they want, wherever they can. Media are no longer radio and TV and print. When the audience, not the broadcast-industrial complex, is the media, then where does radio fit in? What is our role in this new math?It is not simply to add the Internet to our solutions and call it a day. It is to fundamentally reconsider the world from the perspective of the consumer, the listener - not from the perspective of the broadcaster. In other words, it’s not about what you want, it’s about what they want. And it’s about what you have that uniquely fits into what they want. I have yet to see any major radio organization consider the world from this perspective. But that’s going to have to change.»

fonte: RAMSEY, Mark «Media r Us» Hear2.0, 28/5/08

A ligação do Pandora à Clear Channel

«What are you doing with Clear Channel and why?
It's a trial that we'll be running on some of their Web sites this summer, where they'll be offering personalized Pandora playlists. Companies like us are always wise to look at new distribution partners. If we can get Pandora in front of more people, that's nothing but good. I would be surprised if Pandora's future doesn't have a fair number of distribution partners like this.
CBS Radio is offering a similar personalized DJ service. Any concern about terrestrial radio companies offering more interactive features on their Web sites?
All the terrestrial broadcasters are very actively beginning to implement or planning online extensions. That's all competition for listeners. We pay attention to that and need to react to it. The Clear Channel implementation is run by them-they pay the licensing, they handle the economics of it. The only reason it works is because it's not their main business-they don't pay royalties on over 90% of what they broadcast. So all this leads to a discussion of royalty payments.»

Six Questions With Pandora Founder Tim Westergren Billboard May 27, 2008 - Digital and Mobile By Antony Bruno, Denver

Sobre o lançamento de canais on line pela industria

Ideias a partir do artigo MORAIS, Maria João, «As novas faces da rádio», Meios & Publicidade, 23/05/08, pags 30-31:

-  «diversificar a oferta, segmentar os ouvintes, e alargar o alcance do meio são alguns dos motivos que os players ouvidos pelo M&P destacam»;

- transferência dos ouvintes provenientes dos suportes tradicionais para a Internet (Jorge Alexandre Lopes, RDP/RTP)

- a internet permite que as rádios não estejam reféns do formato que possuem na antena; ir ao encontro de nichos de interesse musical; a internet alarga a oferta e tambem o espectro de ouvintes»; canais temáticos são encarados sobretudo como um 'complemento da estação' (Pedro Ribeiro, Comercial) [PORQUÊ, porque é que não podem ser independentes, marcas novas?]; canais da Comercial sem spots; consumidor estará receptivo a mensagens de teor publicitário? [alguma forma de publicidade terá de haver]

- grupo Renascença aposta em 'canais temáticos musicais, montados a partir de marcas muito conhecidas e emblemáticas do grupo renascença' (JLRPinheiro)

- Cotonete: desde 2001 380 canais temáticos, 60 mil rádios pessoais, um milhão de utilizadores unicos por mês, inclusão de conteúdos próprios, particularidade 'inovadora a nível mundial'; é um sucesso em termos comerciais; o portal tem apresentado diversas soluções ao mercado que não se cingem ao tradicional banner, mas englobam o video, audio e imagem (Carlos Marques, director geral)

- mais do que o lucro, nesta altura é o retorno da infuência; duvidas quanto à viabilidade tem atrasado lançamento;

10% dos ouvintes escuta a  rádio atraves da Internet (JAL); internet permite conhecver o perfil dos ouvintes, bom para os anunciantes (que podem focar-se nos alvos pretendidos)

- a fragmentação tenderá para o limite, que é o individual(...) os programas mais populares  serão aqueles que forem escolhidos individualmente por mais pessoas' pelo que o enfoque vai passar a estar em cada um dos conteudos' (JAL)

- apesar da existencia de canais feitos à medida de cada um, muitas pessoas vão continuar a precisar de um programador que faça a selecção do que ouvir' (CM)

 

Gravar música a partir do streaming (legal)

«Discover new tracks and build your music library with Radiotracker Platinum 4 from Avanquest Software
Avanquest Software, a leading developer and global publisher of best-selling personal and professional software, has launched the latest version of its award-winning* music finding software. Radiotracker Platinum 4 legally^ retrieves your favourite music from internet radio stations, downloading files directly to a PC in MP3 format for free.
Find your favourite music
Searching over 15,000 web radio stations, Radiotracker will identify, target and deliver music to create a collection tailored to the user’s preferences. The ‘MusicFinder’ wish list allows users to select their desired tracks from a self-updating catalogue of over 100,000 artists from 15,000 Internet radio stations. Radiotracker Platinum 4 will then target the stations that play the desired tracks and deliver them automatically to a PC.

 

A máquina não substituirá a criatividade humana

«Skip Pizzi, in a Radio World Online article titled “Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way,” eloquently explains why the digital future needn’t mean certain demise for radio’s old guard, but rather is an opportunity for experts with “considerable experience and existing infrastructure to develop well-crafted new services that cannot be easily matched by less skilled operators or automated processes.” As technology allows consumers to “program” their own music via playlists, “scrobbling” (Last.fm), and user-feedback shaped programming like Pandora’s, some see human radio programmers becoming redundant. But Pizzi suggests that by combining the effectiveness of new tools with their expertise, broadcast professionals can do an even better job (he makes the parallel with electronic drum machines, which didn’t replace human drummers; it helped drummers do more).»

MALONEY, Paul, Clear Channel music portal review; Hanson reprises intern gig for "Big 89 Rewind "RAIN, 23/05/08

Clear Channel lança portal na net e oferece música!

«SIMPLE AND STRAIGHTFORWARD: CC LAUNCHES MUSIC PORTAL ‘IHEARTMUSIC’: Clear Channel beta-launched its new music portal last week, (interestingly) named IHeartMusic.com. It’s in the traditional of large media music portals (think AOL Music or Yahoo!Music), with photos, music news, lyrics, ringtones, and interviews (plus there’s a surprising amount of free “on-demand” music). The site also serves as a gateway to the streams of Clear Channel’s massive roster of broadcast stations, easily searchable by format or market (and there’s lots of links to CC’s eRockster too). Edison Media’s Sean Ross, in “The Infinite Dial,” correctly points out (here), that the simple navigation doesn’t convey significant differences among stations with similar formats (“Right now there’s no additional guidance on which Kiss is which, or whether somebody casually scrolling through the Classic Hits pages might want the older skewing WOKY Milwaukee or its newer leaning and very different sister WRIT.”). But IHeartRadio.com does make it easy to “get to the listening” quickly.» MALONEY, Paul, Clear Channel music portal review; Hanson reprises intern gig for "Big 89 Rewind "RAIN, 23/05/08

A procura da convergência

«Channel 4 is reportedly in talks with electronic manufacturers to create a small branded DAB digital radio plug-in for iPods and mobiles phones, and hopes to makes them available for no more than £20.
A similar device is already available for the iPod and iPhone from Roberts Radio for around £50, but a Channel 4 branded device, launched with the marketing power of national television stations, could help DAB secure a long term future».

 

Um iPod com 500 mil músicas pode ser uma oportunidade?

Jerry del colliano acha que sim:

«But what if -- while technology is feeding the growth of the next super-iPods -- radio broadcasters increase their playlists on their terrestrial stations and streams.
What if -- instead of receiving only the iTunes Tuesday new music email, WXXX or KXXX sends me all the new music in their genre. I can click and listen. I can buy (it might be so convenient I'd actually pay). I can get lots of info about the band, the singer, the inside story.
What if -- instead of trying to get young people to listen to streaming radio on their cell phones (isn't going to happen), they get in the business of -- dare I say it -- Helping young consumers to load their content on Apple's 500,000 song iPod when it arrives.
There's no time to waste.
Instead of cursing the dark. Light a fire.
The best thing that can happen for the radio industry -- the greatest entertainment content providers in the world -- is to have a new MP3 player on the market that stores a half million songs or 3,500 movies.
See what I mean?
This is an opportunity to form another stream of income. A good one.» The 500,000 Song iPod 15/04/08

O que deve fazer a indústria? (intro)

(este não é nem pode ser um espaço de recomendações ou mesmo de análise do que pode fazer a industria; há muitas coisas que escapam ao âmbito deste estudo; um exemplo:)

«What Should You Be Doing Now?
1. Create a new level of client intimacy. Be generous with your time and your ideas. Show clients step-by-step plans to grow market share.
2. Increase internal sales training. Teach critical principals to your sales team until they can do them in their sleep.
3. Focus on the creative message of the client. Increased frequency won't make as much difference as a strong message.
4. Practice what you preach. Increase your station visibility in the marketplace to your audience AND your advertisers. Give clients good reason to have you on their short list of places to advertise.
5. Create more product offerings. Seek new and fresh products to create interest from clients previously not engaged.
6. Set up client training retreats. Bring in outside experts to teach them how to grow their business now.
7. Be different. What can you do to be undeniable?
8. Do the math. More sales calls equal more sales. Increase activity.
9. Increase the size of your sales organization. More sellers make more sales.
10. Increase management involvement. Get out from behind the desk and out on sales calls. Your expertise is valuable to clients.
11. Increase learning. Read more, study more, train more.»
Eric Rhoads, Expecting The Unexpected: Recession Strategies For Radio Radio Ink, April 15, 2008

 

Mark RAmsey espanta-se com o conservadorismo dos EUA (streaming)

«Terrestrial stations are (rather amazingly) still asking whether or not they should stream. When in fact the real question is how do you propose to make your stream easy and convenient to find and dramatically different from millions of alternatives?» More Internet Radio coming to a portable device near you 23/05/08

UM receptor (protótipo) que faz tudo...

«The BBC has commissioned a new internet radio set that would allow listeners to see when their friends are online and what they are listening to. Olinda, a prototype design, could also be customised allowing listeners to make VoIP (Voice-over Internet Protocol) calls and send audio clips to their profiles on sites such as MySpace or Facebook.
The interactive radio is part of a drive to integrate social-networking tools with digital radio sets Olinda features a panel of six lights which notify listeners when a friend is tuned in, using Radio Pop, a BBC website set up for sharing listening information. Listeners simply press a button to tune in and listen to their friend's station. Other features proposed for the new radio include a 'Push to talk' button for Skyping friends and a 'Klippit' button for recording audio files.» BBC commisions 'interactive' radio Web User May 23, 2008 JJ O'Donoghue