Would love to hear back from anybody who currently spends money on either advertising in podcasts or internet radio shows and whether you:

A) Get a return for it?

B) Do you invest it simply because it is run by one of your mates and you have a few bucks to spare?

C) Are you planning to up your spend over the next 12 months on either podcasting or internet radio advertising?

Would love any industry feedback.

There are also “rumours” on Twitter that Sasha Martinengo from 5FM is also being courted but who knows when it comes to Twitter…

Kudo’s to both Richard and Seth for having the entrepreneurial “gees” to go out and make a go of this thing.

There are some interesting stats / predictions which I pulled up from a press release on the Bridge Ratings site which I thought was quite interesting.

In 2006 – 93% of the US population listened to radio.
In 2010 – This was around 93.1%
By 2012 – This would have risen to 93.8%

I suppose those are about right but the next ones make for interesting reading:

Internet Radio:
2006 – 7%
2010 – 36.2%
2012 – 52.2%

Podcasting
2006 – 3.7%
2010 – 16.8%
2012 – 23.8%

Obviously you need to be a little wary of predictions but the numbers don’t seem to be too wild or ambitious. I’m also quite surprised by that podcasting figure.

I did a very brief skim of the web for South African internet radio statistics without finding anything too concrete. However one of the factors mentioned in that Bridge Ratings report is the integration between mobile devices, social medica platforms and radio stations as drivers of growth.

We will be watching this space quite closely.

I see that Jack Parow is hitting both the Kalahari and Take 2 lists and the new Eminem release “Recovery” is popular on WantItAll and Amazon.com.

Here’s our listings of the best selling music products on the various online retail platforms:

Want It All- S.A’s Largest Online Shop Click Here
1. Carole King and James Taylor Live at the Trobadour
2. Glee Cast – the music
3. Glee Cast – Journey to Regionals
4. Jack Johnson – To the Sea
5. Rolling Stones – Exile on Main Street
6. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – Mojo
7. Various artists – The Twilight Saga; The Eclipse Soundtrack
8. U2 – 360 degrees at the Rose Bowl
9. Little Big Town – The Reason Why
10. Eminem – Recovery

Kalahari.net
1. Need you Now – Lady Antebellum
2. Duisend en Een – Steve Hofmeyr
3. Listen Up! The Official FIFA World Cup Album – Various
4. Die Grootste Afrikaanse Treffers Ooit! – Various
5. The Twilight Saga – Eclipse
6. 100 Rock Essentials – The Quieter Side – Various
7. Tweeduisend-En-Tien – Laurika Rauch
8. Ek Sal Getuig – Romanz
9. Jack Parow – Jack Parow
10. Afri-frans – Various

Take2
1. Bump 26 (3 CD Boxset) In Stock
2. The Twilight Saga : Eclipse OST (CD)
3. Jack Parow – Jack Parow (CD)
4. Lady Antebellum – Need You Now (CD)
5. Cliff Richard And The Shadows – The Final Reunion 2009 (DVD)
6. Celine Dion – Through the Eyes of the World (DVD)
7. Laura Branigan – Shine On : Ultimate Collection (CD/DVD)
8. Twilight OST (CD)
9. Steve Hofmeyr – Duisend en Een (CD)
10. The Twilight Saga : New Moon OST (CD)

Amazon.com
1. Carole King and James Taylor Live at the Trobadour
2. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – Mojo
3. Eminem – Recovery
4. Laws of Illusion – Sarah McLachlan
5. Jack Johnson – To the Sea
6. Glee Cast – Journey to Regionals
7. Glee Cast – the music
8. Rolling Stones – Exile on Main Street
9. Scream -Ozzy Osbourne
10. Thank Me Later – Drake

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No offense to Darren but I hope that Primedia / Highveld is taking note of some of the comments underneath that article because they are on the money. It is not a good idea to give your premier show to him…

To some people Darren is entertaining but entertaining in Darrens way will hurt the brand in the long run. It is a bit like a joke that goes on for too long.

By all means keep Darren involved in the role he is playing but to make him the host for one of the biggest radio shows around and a key show for Gauteng radio I don’t see working.

I only caught the tail-end of the announcement so didn’t hear all the details but I did not hear any announcement about who was to take over the show. I would have thought it would make sense to bring in somebody from the outside. Surely Sam and Darren can’t be left with such a critical show and while Alex Jay is a more than capable pair of hands, he has been around a bit.

What about somebody like Bob Skinstad taking over the breakfast show? Could be something a little different and the station does seem to be trying to get him more involved.

Just before I sign off this blog, I do have to salute Jeremy for everything he has done on the charity side. I won’t lie, I get a serious lump in my throat when they announce the Christmas wishes each year and one cannot fault him in anyway for the good that he does for the country.

Best of luck Jeremy!

The highly respected radio broadcaster and manager leaves his post as Managing Director of Makana Radio Communications (MRC) to establish Endow Media & Marketing which he will use to build a consultancy business that draws on Mabena’s unrivaled understanding of broadcasting in the South African context.

The good ! news for his extensive fanbase, is that Mabena will not be leaving his current weekend slot on Kaya FM where he presents the 2pm to 6pm shows on Saturdays and Sundays. “I think that this continuing relationship with MRC through my Kaya FM shows says a great deal about the ongoing positive relationship I have with the management at this amazing company.”

During his time as MD at MRC Mabena served on the Makana Radio Communications board as well as the boards of Gagasi FM in Kwa-Zulu Natal and Heart FM in Cape Town – two radio stations in which MRC is a majority owner. MRC is also a shareholder at Gauteng’s Kaya FM where Mabena will continue to work with the company – this time, from behind the mic.

“The health and wealth of the Afropolitan male and his family is the focus of the weekend shows and I plan to focus intensely on putting together some superb music bas! ed lifestyle entertainment for radio listeners in the year ahead,” M abena says.

Mabena said his decision to refocus his energies on how he could play a role as an individual in South Africa’s broadcast industry didn’t come lightly.

“I have had a great experience at MRC working on the fastest growing radio station in South Africa in the form of Gagasi and Cape Town¹s most cosmopolitan radio station. I now feel that having worked at a parastatal, a blue chip company at Primedia and a large-scale entrepreneurial business gives me a unique viewpoint into radio that I am ready to take into my own business.”

Peter Paul Ngwenya – Chairman of MRC, said he wished Mabena well in his new endeavor and hoped to work with his new company in the future. “Bob has contributed to the success of our radio stations during his time with us and we look forward to an ongoing relationship with him thro! ugh his shows on Kaya FM.”

Reading the tweets it looks like 702 really did kick ass. As one of the tweeters commented “the power of talk radiO!”

Here are a couple of the award winners:

Radio Station of the year: Radio 702

Best Breakfast Show: Gareth Cliff

Young Archiver of the Year: Marcelle Gordon

Best Promotional Event: Radio 702 Walk The Talk

Best daytime music presenter: DJ Fresh

Best Daytime Presenter of the Year (Gold): Jenny Cryws-Williams – Radio 702
Best Day Time Presenter (Silver): Redi Direko’s – Radio 702

Best Newsreader: Ray White

Best sports presenter: Robert Marawa

Thoughts on the awards?

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21 June 2010 – 2 July 2010

22 November 2010 – 5 December 2010 

THE SCREENING PROCESS:

1.  Email intern@5fm.co.za with your name, age and region where you live; a 100-word motivation as to why we should pick you and what your aim in obtaining this experience is all about; and 5 things that make you stand out from the crowd. Please also specify whether you are interested in taking part in the 2-week internship, or to attend our open day.

2.  If you make it through the first phase, we will call you to take part in “The not so incredibly impossible 5FM intern quiz” over the phone 

TERMS & CONDITIONS:

1.  Any content produced by an intern during the duration of their time at 5FM is owned by 5FM, unless permission is granted otherwise by management

2.  The internship programme is an experience for which you will not be remunerated

3.  Interns need to be located in Johannesburg for the duration of their 2 week internship at their own expense 

5FM Open Days
You also have the opportunity of spending a day with us to see what goes down at 5FM in a day. The next dates:

5 August 2010

15 October 2010

Again, if you’d like to take part, mail intern@5fm.co.za with your reason. Also, please also specify whether you are interested in attending our open day or in taking part in the 2-week internship programme.

I was actually surprised to find out that the band is actually operating out of Germany – you have to listen to the CD to find out why, but I can assure you that they definately don’t SOUND German.

The Baseballs album offers a selection of covers of pop hits, sung in the 50’s and 60’s and according to some offers a “voc ‘n roll” (vocals & rock ‘n roll) style.

There is a good clip on The Baseballs official website where UK Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills did an interview with Usher and played Usher’s “Love In This Club” by The Baseballs for him. Usher responded: “You know what I got to shout out to the Baseballs – man they sound like Elvis – it’s cool! They got something going right there.” 

The CD is definately a bit of fun and you get to hear some real hits which have been given a bit of a good old fashioned feel to them.

The CD includes:

1. Umbrella
2. Love In This Club
3. Hey There Delilah
4. Bleeding Love
5. Hot ‘n Cold
6. I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’
7. Don’t Cha
8. Let’s Get Loud
9. Angels
10. Crazy In Love
11. This Love
12. The Look

If you want to buy the CD you can either click on the CD cover below and buy it through Kalahari.net or from online retailer Loot for R138.

It’s a goodie!

We at 94.7 Highveld Stereo are looking for fresh new talent for our airwaves. If you think you have what it takes post your demo on this group page or on Youtube titled ‘my947audition’ and we will let you know if you have been shortlisted to come into our studios for callbacks. get your entries in ASAP Callbacks will be taking place over the next three weeks.

The Facebook group

The 94.7 Highveld web page