Updates
Mon 24 Oct
Go to main menu how relevant is radio to the next generation?
How important are radio shows in helping the next generation of producers and dj’s, and should / could they do more? Internet radio taking over, and the established FM channels are struggling to survive as they fail to attract new crowds. Next to that they face the problem of programming. Should they submit to what the mainstream audience wants, or support new talent, risking that their core listeners abandon them? Moderator Jonty Skruff (DE) discusses these issues with Antoine Baudel (FG Concept, FR), Darryl von Danniken (International Radio Festival, CH), Hardwell (Revealed Recordings, NL), Andy Worrell (BBC Radio 1, GB), Aga Heller (Sunshine Live, GER) and Dennis Ruyer (Radio 538, NL).
Hardwell is the youngest kid on this panel, and radio his been important to him throughout his career. 2011 saw the launch of his radio show ‘Hardwell on Air’ on both Sirius XM (USA) and Slam!FM (NL). ‘I couldn’t get into the club as a young kid,’ he points out, ‘but I wanted to listen to dance music. Radio was the solution. I listened to Dennis (Ruyer ed.) all the time. Now that I am hosting my own show, I try to educate the kids with music.’
Antoine Baudel has been in the radio business for more than twenty years, his FG Concept has grown into an international online radio station. He explains: ‘In the beginning FG was the place where artists could express themselves in a secure way. Music like that was ‘forbidden’ in France back then. Besides our online radio station, FG now hosts twenty FM frequencies throughout France. So yes, radio is still very important nowadays.’
Dennis Ruyer still sees the need for commercial radio. He is one of dj’s on national radio, that isn’t afraid to play out new stuff from fresh artists. Ruyer: ‘Please keep sending me promo’s, because on Monday morning I have ritual: I listen to all of them. After checking out 400 records, together with a colleague that is, we decide which tracks stand out. We play them on our show on Saturday night.’
So it is a good thing to plug those promo’s, but Andy Worrell representing BBC 1 has a word of advice on this matter: ‘Make sure somebody else, a producer, a dj, checks out your track first, before you send it off to the BBC. Cause I have to be honest here, 90 percent of the music we receive, is useless.’