Radio Babies

Individual listening experience has taken precedence over the era of sitting together and listening to music or singing along. There are lesser instances of coming across a group playing antakshri and more of a family sitting together and yet listening to their own devices.

Transistors earlier that were hand held were used by many to carry music, information and entertainment wherever they go. However, people gathered around it as well to share the experience of music, hawa mahal or News and sports as well. 

It was dissemination of information. Broadcasting living up to its purpose. 

However as we move on in time.. TV, newspaper and radio - all forms of typical broadcast have had to change their form and style. And I might correct myself here and actually say that the way they are being consumed has changed. Not much (sadly) has been done to the content or presentation of it per se.

This has been said a number of times in the last few years. However, I would like to speak about radio here as I have spent significant time of my life working with this medium..and talk about how it is the closest 'broadcast' medium to social media and lends itself so easily to digital.

It might come as a surprise, but as a radio presenter - we were always asked to speak to one person. We might hear jocks say things like " Namaskar Mumbai" - but it is not how a true blue radio person will address his or her listener. This is the closest we get to 'individual listening experience'  - much touted reason for streaming to become popular. 

Compare that to print...and I don't think a newspaper editor is asked to pick a headline that appeals to one person at a time. It is meant to grab eyeballs.. The online version being the click-bait.

What I mean to say is - radio as a medium can take various avatars and yet be what it is. Just like paper is replaced by phones and tablets, a radio listening device is now a mobile phone. Podcasts, audio books, dj mixes - are all radio babies. However, because it is not a visual medium, it does not lead you, you lead the process - by using your own imagination. You are an active participant in the process of consumption and that lends itself to automatic customization. 

With democratization of content creation - no one is making content to appeal to a particular attractive TG anymore. (TV is forced to do that to balance cost) Online, people just wish to create something fun, thoughtful, interactive and easy to consume. 

This is exactly what radio used to do. We had people picking up the mic and just share. Before we became the medium that took itself too seriously - we were just a platform giving a voice to some interesting points of view. Much like Twitter. We were also the original platform for stand up comedians - people giving simple, short and mostly funny Commentary on the current economic,social, cultural happenings. 

Our biggest strength lies in the fact that we are local. Much like the local publications of a small town like Jodhpur. They don't care what happens at Cannes. They do however want to know about the latest happenings within the royal family of Jodhpur and may be the mela that's coming up...and yes, they do get a kick when a neighbor gets featured in a story. 

Social media lends itself to that. You can "follow" people in your area. Digital news can be consumed by typing in "simla news" on Google. But it's not the same. Not to mention, the experience of hearing your own name on radio...Priceless. 

Talking to someone - an art most of us will soon lose out on, is one of the basic necessity of a human being. Radio gives you the space to do that. All I have to do as a jock, my primary responsibility, is to give you an ear. Not to just speak at you. But speak to you. Authentic complete anonymity (no ip address I can track) when you speak to me and yet you are heard by many - another trait social media prides itself on.

So come. Speak to me. Here is the mic. I'll throw in a song if you please. 

Now how many mediums can really do that for you?

Do I have to be on-air AND online?

So, I have been on-air in Bangalore for 2 years with the show I earlier mentioned in the blog. I am currently on maternity leave and have had no time to tune in to radio, let alone make some.

But the truth is.. I am still curious. Met an old colleague over the weekend and spoke a lot about how radio is done now as compared to how we were doing it a decade ago. Though there is not much that has changed, besides a new version of the software and more client oriented content; the biggest change has been creating and maintaining an online persona in addition to doing the show.

The old school radio that I learnt from, loved to keep the mystery up. I loved it too. I could look like anyone you want to imagine me as in your head.  But now, there is this almost compulsory activity we have to indulge in. Show people who you are, what you are upto and stay interesting online. People are liking your 'videos' and pictures. Let them know what you are doing on the show, when, how, what.. it is almost like running a parallel universe!

Isn't it enough that I do a good show? Is it important to keep 'posting' stuff and make sure its 'liked' a couple of hundred times? I want my listeners to enjoy my content and my show. By definition a listener is someone who listens to me. This medium is all about that...an auditory experience. There is no harm in extending your reach and interacting with consumers on another medium, but my core shall still be what I am on-air; what and how I deliver the show is how I would like to be adjudged. 

Back on-air!

I havent written here since I went back on-air. Yes. I am back to radio.
Good / Bad - God knows.

So the show is called Radio Magazine and it's a two hour show. Content is all and more that you can find in a magazine. and this one has no genre ... so even more diverse.

Looking at the medium from within one more time.. It's been a year and thought I'd reconnect. 

It is interesting stuff. I'm doing content that I haven't had the chance to do earlier. It's topical and it is not brain dead. It's not just frivolous Bollywood, but celebrating the city and its people.  Content ranges from art, movies, stage, Fitness, Food and travel. 

The only challenge is where do I fit as a personality? How do I make parts of my personality shine out? Here content is king. 

Which brings us back to.. How important is this 'personality'? The truth is I've always been a very curious personality.. Love meeting people and sharing stories and that's what I'm doing here. 

Bangalore as a city also lends itself to this kind of a show. It deserves to be explored and spoken to & about. I hope I'm doing that justice and people are enjoying that kind of content. 

Getting some air - on-air

Listening to Purani Jeans on Radio Mirchi via gaana.com has been a happy habit I am developing while working. What I do like the most about it is the absence of radio jockeys. There are shows with jocks as well and frankly I switch off when those begin. Nothing wrong with the jocks -but love listening to my songs back to back with no bak-bak. Not to mention - No ADS!

I have been wondering how right or wrong that is though. I have been an advocate of the 'human touch' on-air. It is the main reason why people still tune in regularly and not their ipods / USB drive full of songs. I mean.. among other things:
- Latest songs (which are available on youtube, but then you have to go online, click on it = effort)
- Surprise element - which is such a unique feature. The listener does not know which song will follow which one and when you play song that keeps him / her happy one after another - they stay tuned. These happy surprises are difficult to come by even if you put your device on 'shuffle'.
- Then there is the pre-produced content - which adds humour or information to your day - on the go.

But then I believe that all this is tied together by the radio personality. Dan O Day says that it is the personality's job to keep the listener on the station once they are tuned in. For example, listening to the same song over and over again can get more and more interesting every time - if the RJ has the talent to make it sound so...Also, I strongly believe that an RJ has to ADD VALUE to the listener's life.

However, with our FM stations getting crowded with pre-produced capsules,ads and ineffective jock talk - I am finding it very difficult to back my own argument. Otherwise - we are good. gaana.com is a-okay.

Show me some Love..

So I met a radio station again (in Bangalore) – in the hope to be part of a radio station once more, but it did not work out. Mainly because I can’t devalue myself and they can’t increase their budgets. However, I always look at these meetings as ways of interacting with other radio enthusiasts and share experiences and love for the medium.

A very interesting conversation with a gentleman who has spent many years in the industry, gave me a new perspective of looking at things. We were talking about the mediocrity of the talent and content on-air and how both of us saw a lot of scope for improvement. However, he mentioned that what looks mediocre to us, is actually working. The only thing that sales and marketing work with are RAM numbers and they are looking good. These kids on-air are actually throwing up numbers and that’s all that matters. More so, he questioned our judgement. May be, just maybe, we are not in touch with the listening populace’s tastes. I was speechless. Yes, the RAM cannot be trusted a 100% and all the radio experts have been crying out loud to change the system. However, what if this is what the people like and we are refusing to believe it?

However, I have seen that in more competitive markets like Delhi and Mumbai, the content and talent is better. So I can’t buy into that argument in these cities...not that it’s superlative either.

There are several ways of looking at this then –

•        This is mediocre radio and people have just not tasted better.. so they like what they get.
•        RAM is bullshit
•        Definition of good radio has changed

It could also be the case that good talent is asking for more money and radio stations don’t want to spend in smaller centres. (totally being narcissistic here)  But I was young once and was not paid so much and was trained well enough to be able to put up decent shows. (Thanks Vera) So is it that people are just not trained well enough or not guided with all the attention required?

At one point, we knew radio to be an unforgiving medium. You say one word wrong, one name of street wrong, pronounce a name wrong and get brickbats for it; within team and also from listeners. I have faced it as well. I still cringe when I hear any of these...and they are increasing by the day. So when I was concluding this conversation (with the gentleman I referred to earlier) – I only said one thing... yes, may be its not as bad as I listen it to be.. but basic hygiene cannot be compromised. It’s unfair to the medium. The medium that has its origins in stations like AIR – the only source of information, news, learning, music, entertainment and connectivity for a large population of India. Not a single word uttered on-air could be taken lightly. The people on-air were sources of learning as well. The language used – whether English, Hindi or regional was pure, unadulterated and sacred. You just could not afford to mess up. The spoken word was given a pedestal which was not compromised. Let’s just say if you had an argument over how a particular word is pronounced, you did not have Google to go to – you just trusted the radio presenter.

Yes, times have changed. People’s choice of entertainment fluctuates and radio is definitely not consumed as vociferously as TV and social media. But that does not mean we don’t take ourselves seriously...or let down the medium. It has stood the test of time and I am sure it will in the coming years as well. So why can’t we take it upon ourselves to just aim a little higher than mediocre / acceptable.

To begin charity at home, I have taken it upon myself to train students of media in Radio and share my experience with them. May be if the love and passion is stirred in them, they will be able to bring more to the table in the years to come.Excuse me for over simplifying things, but I feel that is what drives this medium – love, passion, energy.

Pitfalls of Interstitials

An interstitial space or interstice is an empty space or gap between spaces full of structure or matter. - Wiki

Now, this is what we used to call all those 'fillers' that you hear between songs and ads in programming and I hope they still have the same connotation in Radio. These are pre-produced (non-live) and have a certain production value. My earliest memory of this type of programming is Babbar Sher I think. Before that, we just had city updates or news (in Dubai) - which too were done live. So they don't fall in the same category.
From there to now, I feel we need to start questioning the very need for these over-produced, nationally relayed pieces of slapstick humour shared every half an hour or TOH.
Most of the stuff that we hear on air - from Sultan's Classes to Fake Interviews (with overly annoying voice) to Actor calling Actor, Bollywood Bassappa to Samaanta - is over populating my mind space and overwhelming my senses. It is important to just take a step back and try and figure out if it's helping anyone's cause. Why I am questioning it:

1. It's not local. I know syndicated shows and centrally relayed programming is the new mantra for big station networks - but radio is a local medium. Let's get the basics right.

2. Radio's first duty as a medium (at least in a market like India) is to deliver music. This eats up my music time. (this applies all the more in the prime time slots where ads are anyway taking up 20 mins / hour)

3. Multiple Personality Disorder.. that's what I feel most of the stations are going through - except may be RadioCity that has stuck with one pre-produced capsule since forever and that has helped build their identity. (Babbar Sher) If you have more than 2 pre-produced capsules running at the same time, it's only adding to the chaos. There is only so much I can retain - jock names, station names, show names and now even these characters and their idiosyncrasies.

4. Why are you screaming at me? Radio works best when it is my best companion... every production piece today sounds like they are scolding me. Can we re-look at the characters (read caricatures) we put on air?

5. Yes, this helps break the clutter and showcase talent in a different light; but then it has to be worthy of air-space every single day - above average - for me to give it the airtime specially if it's more than 30 secs of it!

6. Is jokes the only way of entertainment? And if they are just that - jokes - why do they need so much production work? Ask the jock to say the joke for all I care or then remove the links.

7. Completely cut off from the rest of the programming: I have never heard jocks take up a particular interstitial and sell it / love it / talk about it / add value to it. It is the part of the show as long as it is on the log - if you are ignoring it, so am I as a listener.

8. Unfortunately, even TOH jingles and sweeps in between songs are now LONG sentences and over produced statements that play after every song in some stations.. do we realise that is also talk-time?


At the end of the day, if you are creating more noise in my life than entertainment, we have to re-evaluate the content and style. I come back to the beginning - "An interstitial space or interstice is an empty space or gap between spaces full of structure or matter..." - is there really a space that requires any filling?

Awaaz mein DUM nahi hai yaar..

I have been out of touch with Bollywood music lately. Though it is very relative; in my case, when I say out of touch it means I hear new Hindi songs once or twice a week instead of 5 times a day - which was the case when I was on-air. I don't even watch the music channels as much, not that they show music anymore anyway. Basically exposure is low. Whatever I hear, also does not excite me much to explore further.

But what I have noticed is that I am unable to recognise the singers and composers most of the times. If I like a song, I immediately want to know the music composer and singer. The TV channels take no responsibility to show us their names; they just show us the name of the producer or music label. (which I vehemently oppose) and the radio stations cant go beyond the movie name and the actor names, except if its Yo Yo Honey Singh or AR Rahman. Anyway coming back to my thought - I am unable to recognise since there are many new voices showing up, which is nice. I like. However very very few of them take me to another plane, mesmerize me or impress me. Most romantic songs are sounding the same and trying to put m to sleep, others - well want to make me dance, but I don't even feel like moving a finger. I am not trying to be over-critical. The thing is, I have heard better. What happened? 

Also, if there is more talent now than before, should we not have more variety? I was listening to the Latest Top 20 on one of the music streaming sites and I have two things to say - even with an average album like Highway - AR Rahman still outshines all other in that list and secondly, all songs can easily be put under two genres: Love or Party. Don't tell me that the indie scene will take care of variety in terms of themes and emotions - Hindi songs have delivered every emotion and every dimension of our lives has been captured through them since time immemorial.

Oh yes, one more thing - the singers. See, I am not saying you should sing like Mohd Rafi and all and neither am I saying you sing badly. But there is no strength in the voices of these new age singers. I was listening to Zehnaseeb from Haseen to Phasee and I realised that the song is delivering half of what it is capable of, simply because awaaz mein DUM nahi hai. There is no other word to describe that. Imagine KK, Shaan, Udit, Sonu singing that song? You know what I mean. While I write this I am listening to Kismat se tum humko milo ho from Pukaar. I rest my case.

Earlier even a crappy song in terms of arrangement or audio quality or mixing etc sounded sooo good since the singers just brought so much value to the table. and oh! The 'thehraav'... I am not even getting there. I think it's also the music directors to blame who have stopped approaching the awesome singers in lieu of Youtube stars. Once again, I have nothing against them, but... I mean... a Filmfare for Ayushmann Khurana - even he didn't approve of it much.