Folder Media has recently completed the first phase of the new website for NME Radio.

Many small and digital-only radio stations’ suffer from a lack of resource to keep sites up to date and provide a content rich environment for users to enjoy. We use a variety of technology to combine station-created editorial with data from RadioBase to provide compelling experiences.

On the NME Radio site each mention of a station artist links to an ‘artist page’ which includes discography, popular songs from the station, biographies, images, latest tour dates and videos pulled from YouTube. Discographies provide tracklistings and YouTube videos are automatically embedded in the site – all helping sites generate more page impressions per user. This content is pulled from RadioBase automatically, so all a station has to to do is play a song from a new band and the page is auto-created without any intervention from station or Folder Media staff.

The station also generates revenue from these pages with commissions paid on ticket sales and music purchase or download. Additionally there are comment boxes on each pages that lets user leave their opinions on artists, tracks or videos and also allows them to post these comments to their Facebook profile, promoting the site to that user’s friends.

As well as on the artist pages, the site has a section for Gigs and Tickets. Again, pulling on RadioBase data, this is auto-generated and allows users to find and book tickets for thousands of events across the country – all with the ability to link to ticketing companies affiliate programmes. The events system allows stations to mark featured events (or venues) and promote these across the site. This is perect for sponsored activity or just events that the station knows will be popular with listeners.

The site also has Folder’s database mangement system – FolderID – built in and ready to launch in the next couple of weeks. This is an end to end solution that brings together user registration, newsletter sending and competition entry management – giving a station a total view on a listener’s activity with them.

The modular nature of RadioBase and Folder meant that the site was created from scratch within three weeks of sign-off from NME Radio.

Here at Folder Media, we have been quietly working for a little while with a number of partners on ideas for a raft of digital services to broadcast across London during the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

Its obvioulsy a complicated idea to develop  – there are lots of organising committee and organisations that one has to deal with.  But we are really pleased with Ofcom’s announcement to formally invite ‘preliminary expressions of interest’ for the licensing of digital radio services during the Games (see www.ofcom.org.uk).

Ofcom wish to gauge the level of interest in the operation of short-term digital radio services in London during or around the period of the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, which will help them design a possible licensing process.

DAB coverage and uptake will be a lot more extensive by 2012, and the ability to serve both Londoners and visitors to London, whether from across the UK or overseas, is very exciting.

Folder Media will be submitting a ‘preliminary expression of interest’ to Ofcom with our proposals.  However, we still have opportunities to include a range of other services amd if you would like to work with us, we would love to hear from you.

Please email me at gregory@foldermedia.co.uk with your contact details, and we will be in touch (although not until after the Easter break!)

Image: (c) 2010 London 2012

The DRDB reports cumulative sales of DAB digital radio sets topped ten million at the end of November.

And this is before the bulk of Christmas sales are recorded.  In December 2008, over 0.5m DAB sets were sold, and if repeated this year, will mean that over 2m DAB sets have been sold in 2009.

It took eight years to reach the first five million sales (2007), but just 30 months to achieve the second five million sales.

DAB sales have also yet again outperformed the overall CE Audio market, despite the recession.

DRDB chief executive Tony Moretta says: “This is a significant moment for everyone in the digital radio industry: broadcasters, manufacturers and retailers. Ten million sales is an incredible achievement for any technology, and it proves that digital radio is here to stay. With even greater promotion by radio stations, wider support from the car industry and the further development of the technology through colour screens, wi-fi etc, we expect the growth of digital radio to continue strongly over the next few years to the point where a nationwide digital upgrade can become a reality.”

At Folder Media, we think this is a great sales result, especially given the economic climate.  DAB is a geat consumer success story, and these DAB sales figures are a resounding positive ‘YES’ for the Government’s proposal to introduce legislation to support the ongoing development of DAB digital radio and the criteria for analogue switch off.

The UK Government published its Digital Britain White Paper on 16 June.  The key points of the report in relation to radio are:

Digital migration

•    Confirmation of a digital radio “upgrade” by the end of 2015 (and which will be confirmed at least two years in advance).
•    All national and local services currently on DAB to migrate from analogue.
•    Small ultra-local stations and community radio to upgrade from MW to FM, or remain on FM.
•    Target for criteria (i.e. 50% of listening to be digital; national DAB coverage comparable to FM; and local DAB to reach 90% of population) to be met by 2013.
•    Five point plan for DAB in vehicles, supported by major car manufacturers including Ford and Vauxhall.

DAB coverage

•    BBC to achieve comparable coverage to FM for its national multiplex by the end of 2014.
•    BBC to bear significant proportion of the costs of local DAB coverage roll-out.
•    Some cost savings delivered by Digital Britain to be re-invested to support transmitter investment.
•    Government will support a re-plan of local and regional DAB (merging multiplexes where agreed, and creating a second national multiplex).

The White Paper is very positive and is supported cross party.

In overall terms, we at Folder Media / MuxCo support the proposals in the White Paper, which we believe will help underpin DAB.
In summary:

•    We support a set date for switch over, rather than a rolling set of criteria.  This gives a clear flag to achieve, and we feel confident that the radio industry will be able to achieve the criteria by 2013.

•    We have always advocated that DAB is one of several digital radio platforms, and is likely to continue to be the primary terrestrial platform in the short to medium term, and hopefully longer.

•    We support the proposal for clear labelling of the DAB technology.

•    We have been involved in the initial industry discussions about converting the regional DAB layer into the basis of a second national layer and in principle support the proposal.

•    We have been involved in the initial industry discussions about ‘merging’ multiplex areas.  We support the view that where such mergers make economic and efficiency sense for both multiplex operators and service providers, then the multiplex operator should have the right to approach Ofcom to merge, but that merging should not be artificially forced upon multiplexes.  In addition, any re-plan needs to take account of potential long term interest rather than a short term view.

•    We have always stated that functionality and interactivity will be the bedrock of DAB, hence our intention to hold capacity for the provision of data rather than audio services.  We currently maintain a watching brief on this aspect of the opportunity, as whilst we can create services, we need devices on which they can operate.  To that end, we have good relationships with a number of manufacturers.

Through the MuxCo application process we interviewed thousands of people who are current DAB listeners as well as those who had not yet taken the plunge. Current listeners are nearly all huge advocates for the technology and how it has improved their radio listening. We’re keen to work hard to make digital radio an even better proposition – coverage, content and features – and we’ll work strongly with all radio operators and the Government to provide a service that betters listeners’ analogue radio experience and keeps radio a vibrant medium.

We think FUN radio is a great listen and it ticks all the boxes to be a successful future radio station. Firstly it’s on some good platforms. DAB Digital Radio carriage in London can be difficult and expensive to acquire – it’s already there! Secondly it has a specific target audience – children under ten and their families. This is a large niche that’s constantly repopulating itself with new listeners. And thirdly it operates in a unique position as there aren’t any other radio stations doing the same thing.

So why us? Why does it fit in with Folder Media?

At Folder we’re about looking forward. We work hard to be aware of how audiences are changing and we work even harder to develop tools and skills to keep us in touch with them. Already we work with clients like NME Radio and Jazz FM to manage their listener marketing and we’ve developed strong skills in operating alternative radio stations, like the work we do with Traffic Radio.

Overall small radio stations need love. They need someone to care about them, think about them and help them grow. FUN radio’s programme team, run by the guys at GCap’s Creation, do just that and we’re going to continue to work with them to improve the onair output even more. However programming on its own just isn’t enough, the challenge for us now is to grow the station’s awareness and its commercial partnerships to make it into a larger and even more important part of its audience’s life.

Press coveage about FUN radio:

MediaGuardian: Folder Media buys GCap’s Fun Radio
Media Week: Folder Media Buys Fun Radio

Fun website: http://www.funradiolive.com

Folder Media has just turned a year old, which surprised us all as we still think of ourselves as a new company.

Looking back over the first year though, we’re very pleased with what we’ve accomplished in such a small period of time. I think as with most start-up’s you’re never exactly sure about the scope of what your new business will be. We always knew that MuxCo would form a big part of it, but we’re pleased how our activities have grown into the six areas that you can see on the right hand side.

We also think that those six things set us apart from many other ‘radio consultants’ in the UK with the key difference being that we don’t concentrate on traditional radio programming. There are lots of very good consultants who can help with morning shows or Selector, but we think for stations to be successful in today’s modern world it’s important that groups get the right digital strategy sorted out and build the correct listener marketing tools to ensure they can do well from ‘new’ revenue sources straight away.

We’ve been spending quite a bit of our time on DAB related projects at the moment and not only through our multiplex management responsibilities. We’ve had lots of enquiries from people wanting more information about going onto DAB multiplexes. It’s always easy to be distracted by some changes from the larger groups, but we’re seeing for new operators that DAB’s 10% radio share and growing penetration make it a viable business for new entrants. We think 2008 will be the year of new entrants for DAB.

Many of our client relationships start with a phone call. Whatever you project, give us a call, and we’ll happily talk through some options and how we can help you.