Tearjerker, Downtown Symphony, Piano Flow, Happy Harmonies and other Saturday padding

[oddoneout]

I am beginning to lose the will to moan.

Know the feeling. However I think that would be just what "they" would like - free rein to mess things up without any tiresome criticism - so I'll continue to try and muster some energy to fire off emails and complain. I do send positive comments but they receive the "ignore" treatment as well...

[oddoneout]

And the reason there is no point in Radio 3 listeners complaining is this:

"We know mood, occasion and need-state are the primary criteria by which young people choose their media and aim to reflect that through new and distinctive music and speech-led formats designed primarily for on-demand listening. Recent successful examples include music shows like Tearjerker with Jorja Smith, Downtime Symphony with Celeste and Piano Flow with Lianne La Havas. Whilst this content airs on Radio 3 it is developed specifically for a younger, Sounds-first audience with a very different sound from anything else on the network."

Tell us about it

But furthest of all away from R3 audience and sounds, which just reinforces my view about contempt.

[french frank]

But furthest of all away from R3 audience and sounds, which just reinforces my view about contempt.

If I remember (which I don't), it was either a demand from the government or from Ofcom that the BBC should offer more to younger audiences than just BBC Three, Radio 1, and Radio 1Xtra (and the Asian Network), so a central diktat has obviously gone out to all services to Do More For Younger Audiences. All this is Radio 3's obedient response. However, I do see under Editorial Strategies and Objectives:

"Establish appropriate crossover opportunities to build future audiences for Radio 3"

So Radio 3 does, for some reason, think it's building for the future. But taking off Radio 3 programmes and replacing them with Radio X's suggests they've rather lost the plot. It just means the Young Audiences are listening to Radio X. It's tearing down Radio 3 rather than building it up.

[Serial_Apologist]

need-state

Nanny state's protégé, once concludes.

[AuntDaisy]

If I remember (which I don't), it was either a demand from the government or from Ofcom that the BBC should offer more to younger audiences than just BBC Three, Radio 1, and Radio 1Xtra (and the Asian Network), so a central diktat has obviously gone out to all services to Do More For Younger Audiences. All this is Radio 3's obedient response. However, I do see under Editorial Strategies and Objectives:

"Establish appropriate crossover opportunities to build future audiences for Radio 3"

So Radio 3 does, for some reason, think it's building for the future. But taking off Radio 3 programmes and replacing them with Radio X's suggests they've rather lost the plot. It just means the Young Audiences are listening to Radio X. It's tearing down Radio 3 rather than building it up.

Does "The Listening Service" count as youngster targetted? (IMHO much inferior to David Munrow's Pied Piper).


The "Commissioning Brief No.: 112000; Radio 3 & BBC Sounds Meditation & Music Podcast" document (which I'm guessing you're quoting from) says:

Editorial Strategy & Objectives
• Commission stimulating, emotional, hyper relevant, habit-driving content built around mood management and young audience needs
• Shift perceptions and drive discovery of life enhancing classical music amongst 18-35s looking for mind expanding, thought-provoking audio experiences
• Feature surprising, relatable and diverse storytellers and entertainers that drive awareness, buzz and reappraisal
• Establish appropriate crossover opportunities to build future audiences for Radio 3

Does "habit-driving content" imply people become SOUNDS addicts? (Should Auntie try blipverts?)

It looks as if success = #downloads. Hence the drive to force people to register & login with SOUNDS & iPlayer and reveal their age.

5. Success Measures
• Plays/Downloads – number of plays and proportion of under 35 listeners
• Retention – bringing as many audiences as possible back to 3 eps or more
• Activations – pulling in new and lapsed listeners to BBC Sounds

All this is a long distance from the peace of JL Carr's "A Month in the Country" and I think that, sadly, your "I've really ceased to care about Radio 3" comment is spot on.

[Bryn]

"Plays/Downloads – number of plays and proportion of under 35 listeners"

How are such download figures calculated? How many downloads are via the BBC's own official download system and how many via third-party methods, the latter of which are more likely to be known to and exploited by the target audience of under 35s? While they may need to log in to play (stream), they do not need to do so in order to download with suitable, freely available, third-party software.

[LMcD]

Does "The Listening Service" count as youngster targetted? (IMHO much inferior to David Munrow's Pied Piper).


The "Commissioning Brief No.: 112000; Radio 3 & BBC Sounds Meditation & Music Podcast" document (which I'm guessing you're quoting from) says:

Does "habit-driving content" imply people become SOUNDS addicts? (Should Auntie try blipverts?)

It looks as if success = #downloads. Hence the drive to force people to register & login with SOUNDS & iPlayer and reveal their age.



All this is a long distance from the peace of JL Carr's "A Month in the Country" and I think that, sadly, your "I've really ceased to care about Radio 3" comment is spot on.

Are you sure that the 'Editorial Strategy and Objectives' which you quote are not in fact a brilliant spoof intended to highlight the pretentiousness and absurdity of focus groups and the rubbish they produce? 'W1A' was a comedy series, and not a documentary, wasn't it?

[AuntDaisy]

Are you sure that the 'Editorial Strategy and Objectives' which you quote are not in fact a brilliant spoof intended to highlight the pretentiousness and absurdity of focus groups and the rubbish they produce? 'W1A' was a comedy series, and not a documentary, wasn't it?

I hadn't thought of that! The excessive use of jargon, stilted English & general air of absurdity should have been a give-away


On second reading, how could this introductory section be real?

1. BBC Radio 3 & BBC Sounds
About
BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds have a joint strategy to bring the tangible, life-enhancing benefits of orchestral, piano and choral music to young audiences. We know mood, occasion and need-state are the primary criteria by which young people choose their media and aim to reflect that through new and distinctive music and speech-led formats designed primarily for on-demand listening. Recent successful examples include music shows like Tearjerker with Jorja Smith, Downtime Symphony with Celeste and Piano Flow with Lianne La Havas. Whilst this content airs on Radio 3 it is developed specifically for a younger, Sounds-first audience with a very different sound from anything else on the network.
BBC Sounds brings together live and on-demand music, radio and podcasts to make it easier for audiences to discover and enjoy audio from the BBC when and where they want. BBC Sounds is also currently the biggest platform provider of podcasts in the UK. In 2020 there were nearly 500 million plays of podcasts and on-demand radio on BBC Sounds, with a 21% increase in podcast listening since the start of that year. In addition there are millions of downloads of BBC podcasts on third party platforms each month.

Or these?

2. The Opportunity
We are looking to create a breakthrough meditation podcast for under-35 audiences enhanced by an immersive, therapeutic classical soundtrack and fronted by surprising, engaging and relatable talent.

Wellbeing
Wellbeing, “the state of being comfortable, healthy and happy”, improves our sleep, mood, activities, relationships and work. Since March 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic has caused some of the lowest records of life satisfaction and happiness in the UK, particularly amongst younger adults, and self-care is seen as increasingly important to boost mental health and happiness.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthandwellbeing/articles/coronavirusandthesocialimpactsonbehavioursduringdifferentlockdownperiodsgreatbritain/uptofebruary2021#well-being-and-mental-health

Meditation is the act of training attention and awareness to achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state. It can take many forms from breathing exercises and yoga to storytelling and mind-training. Along with mindfulness it is booming in the UK and globally:
• It is estimated that globally between 200 and 500 million people meditate
• The Headspace app has been downloaded 40 million times
• Global research shows over a quarter (26%) of UK adults have used meditation as a therapy*
• In 2018 13.4% of 18-44s in the US practised meditation with this number set to rise^
• 72% of GPs think it would be helpful for their patients with mental health problems to learn Mindfulness meditation skills~
• Spotify reported a 250% increase in people listening to meditation podcasts, and a 160% increase in people listening to wellness podcasts in January 2021
• Lizzo’s meditation and self-love mantras video on Instagram during the March 2020 lockdown has now had over 3 million views

Mood Music
Mood and occasion-led music and speech content has exploded on streaming platforms. Combined with the increasingly genre-fluid nature of young listeners’ music tastes it means listeners are encountering classical, orchestral and piano music – through TV, film and gaming soundtracks to chill and focus playlists – more than ever before. This content is emotion and benefit-led rather than demanding existing knowledge from the listener and for us this is a key distinction.
According to research from the RPO, BPI and Deezer in August 2020 under-35s were the most likely age group to listen to orchestral music during lockdown and those that enjoyed this music were the most likely to cite a range of additional, positive lifestyle benefits.
Instrumental classical music – from composers like Tchaikovsky and Florence Price through to Ólafur Arnalds and Pinar Toprak – gives listeners a space in which to project their own feelings and emotions and adds atmosphere and emotion when combined with speech. We want the immersive and healing sounds of orchestras, strings and piano to be the essential supporting soundtrack to this podcast, to build its relevance and drive further discovery.

The Target Audience
We are targeting young, curious audiences, specifically 25-35s with interests in mindfulness, yoga and meditation, who are aware of its benefits for de-stressing, relieving anxiety, sleeping or simply distracting them from the pressures of everyday life. They may already use meditation apps like Headspace, online mindfulness sessions on YouTube and podcasts like Where’s My Mind? or have tried them but been unable to maintain the routine or connect with the presenters or content.
They are predominantly (but not exclusively) young women looking for inspiring and thought-provoking content which focuses on everyday, relatable and current themes and stories that broaden their horizons and satisfy their curious minds. So instead of the expected sounds we’ve become accustomed to with meditation, our aim is to introduce audiences to new experiences combining speech with evocative and compelling instrumental music.

[AuntDaisy]

"Plays/Downloads – number of plays and proportion of under 35 listeners"

How are such download figures calculated? How many downloads are via the BBC's own official download system and how many via third-party methods, the latter of which are more likely to be know to and exploited by the target audience of under 35s? While they may need to log in to play (stream), they do not need to do so in order to download with suitable, freely available, third-party software.

I guess they'll use the "reliable" BBC SOUNDS figures and extrapolate out from them based on total number of streams. Take two points & draw a straight line through & beyond them - what could possibly go wrong?

Anyway it rather smugly states that "BBC Sounds is also currently the biggest platform provider of podcasts in the UK.", so it must be right.

[oddoneout]

The computer generated claptrap quoted in some of these posts is chilling in its confirmation that those in charge have completely lost the plot. Tickbox committees knowing nothing other than who holds the purse-strings and upper hand are evidently aiming for a version of R3 that's solely about sounds and moods and stuff any whiff of intellectual content. I suppose I'd better make the most of what's left for as long as we have it. Doesn't bode well for the BBC instrumentalists and singers.

[AuntDaisy]

Think I've stumbled across the next Saturday TTN slot taker, courtesy of this "Current commissioning opportunities" webpage.
(Not sure if "Rhian" is some teenage pop-star or Rhian Roberts, Commissioning Editor for Digital and Podcasts for Radio 3 and Radio 4.)

Rhian is looking to commission a new podcast making the most of the relationship between music and meditation. The Radio 3 podcast will seek to explore the links between the two and create a mindful, musical space for younger listeners. More details will be published soon

If you want a laugh / groan, watch Alan Davey share "his tips for suppliers" on "Commissioning: Pitching for Radio 3":

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04x2jf1/player

This is from ~1:34 in.

I want the independent sector to think of that slightly younger audience... Who don't want to be patronised. Who don't want to be dumbed down to. They're after intelligent discourse about culture...

Video link from this webpage

[oddoneout]

I want the independent sector to think of that slightly younger audience... Who don't want to be patronised. Who don't want to be dumbed down to. They're after intelligent discourse about culture...

Leave out the first part of that and we have a summary of what the existing R3 audience wants? The tragedy is that neither the existing nor the supposedly intended new audiences will get what they want, but genuine/ existing audience will continue to disappear.

[LMcD]

Leave out the first part of that and we have a summary of what the existing R3 audience wants? The tragedy is that neither the existing nor the supposedly intended new audiences will get what they want, but genuine/ existing audience will continue to disappear.

A perfect description of what's happening!
(To be fair, Radio 3 does occasionally offer in-depth analysis - yesterday's 'Sounds Of Cinema' was devoted entirely to the career of Indiana Jones).

[kernelbogey]

Still, I've really ceased to care about Radio 3.

The saddest sentence I've yet read on the Forum.

[french frank]

The ... document (which I'm guessing you're quoting from)

You've blown the gaff now, AuntDaisy. That page will go behind a 'paywall' soon (only indy broadcast companies allowed to log in and read it). They'd already stopped publishing their analyses of the latest Rajar figures. Gave away too much.

But the short answer to all this ********ing to younger audiences is this, from Ofcom's 2019 Annual Report:

"The BBC may not be sustainable in its current form, if it fails to regain younger audiences who are increasingly tuning out of its services."

New programmes, pop presenters, megamillion downloads and On Demand requests, all the facts and figures can be reported back to the BBC's lords and masters.