Earshot Creative Review Podcast

Oh come on -you didn’t expect us to start of list of festive listens without mentioning our very own home grown podcast did you? If you’ve not already, take a listen to Steve’s latest foray into audio production which was recorded in front of a live studio audience at the bar within the West End’s Novello Theatre. You’ll hear sixteen pieces of great audio from stations like BBC Radio 1, URN, Capital FM, Choice FM and Classic FM, Norway’s P1 and Xfm. You’ll also hear the informed views, expertise and experience of James Cridland, John Myers, Nik Goodman, James Stodd, Lou Nash and Jacob Rickard.

Carols in Surround Sound for Headphones

Take a listen to a audio experiment from the BBC this Christmas. A 2007 carols service from the BBC archives will be available online in a ‘binaural’ format that creates realistic surround sound through ordinary headphones. There are six different surround settings to choose from, to suit different types of headphones and head shape. The trial is part of BBC Radio’s continuing innovation in audio, including the launch of HD Sound, the Wimbledon NetMix experiment and ongoing trials of ‘3D Sound’ technology.

A Year in Radio

This Christmas Day (Sunday 25th December) at 7pm, BBC 5 live will be broadcasting a two-hour programme about the year in radio. Produced by Ben Green and supported by Heather Davies (a fellow Radio Academy 30 under 30 recipient) – the shows look at some of the highlights on UK radio in 2011 from Chris Moyles on the air for days to Ronnie Woods assault on the awards circuit. During the 2 hour programme, many of the biggest names in broadcasting talk about highlights from the year gone by and the people that inspired them to get behind the microphone in the first place. Plus, station controllers and industry experts look ahead to the big issues in the year ahead – such as the impact of 5 live’s relocation to Salford, the planned cuts to BBC local services, radio’s future in the digital and mobile world, and there are still so few women in the industry.

John Peel’s Shed

Earlier this year – I was invited by Maple Street Studios to see an intimate performance of John Osborne’s memoir to his prized box of records that he won from John Peel and his extended love of radio. Radio 4 have recently broadcasted the adaption from this performance direct from a five-star, complete sell-out run at the Edinburgh Festival. A story about one man’s love for radio, how it allows you to escape into another world. Based on his book Radio Head, up and down the dial of British Radio, this is about what happened next: a show about the pleasure of having your own personal project. The story is about passion, obsession with music and about legacy; trying to do something special with such a rare, eclectic box of records.

We also throughtly recommending reading his book called ‘Radio Head’, if you’ve not already asked Santa for it.

If you’ve got any other seasonal listening recommendations – please get in touch via jonathan@earshotcreative.com

Thank you to all our readers and listeners in 2011. It’s been great to connect with so many of you. From Jonathan and Steve, we wish you a happy, healthy and merry Christmas and New Year!

Unlike cinema, much television, gaming and many web-related activities which grab you by the eyeballs and demand your unwavering attention, radio can be enjoyed while you’re doing something else. Even something else quite pleasurable, like taking the train from London to Edinburgh. I should know, I’ve just done it accompanied by four hours and twenty minutes of great radio.

Radio may not be the only form of entertainment which works as a secondary activity (listening to music, daytime tv, and humming all have their place) but it is one which talented broadcasters have developed into a empathetic accompaniment to life.

The best radio broadcasters know how to draw you into different attention zones in order that radio can be a true companion. During a programme they will let you zone-out for a bit and then draw you forward into more conscious awareness for the unmissable moments you’ll want to share with your friends.

You might call it “attention management”. But only if you want to sound like a consultant. It’s really called “doing radio”.

This secondary nature of radio listening makes its resilence understandable. No matter how busy we are, there’s a place in our lives for accompaniments, but not so many interruptions.

Some of the most interesting research into the nature of radio listening has been conducted by the radio advertising community. The Radio Multiplier and famous Ironing Board surveys are worth reading.

I’d be interested to know how the growth of homeworking and other microtrends are also directly affecting our use of radio. If you see any research on this do share it.

Tomorrow: Neurovisualisation (made-up word).