BBC radio 3.
This channel of the BBC states that it ‘should appeal to listeners of any age seeking to expand their cultural horizons through engagement with the world of music and arts’. Now this may be true, but from this sentence I believe that where age may not be as big of a specific demographic; life style and background are. One of the show titles ‘Performance on 3: Halle – British Music’ indicates to me that the show is very specific to the audience, and is not the sort of show that the listener might stumble upon whilst changing stations. The title is also very mature and informative, instead of other shows such as ‘Live Lounge’ or ‘Radio 1 xtra’. This brings me back to the audience lifestyles, as they would play a huge role in whether the audience would listen to such a show or not, as I believe that a general member of the public would not understand the title, and, or not find it appealing and therefore would switch over. The soft, relaxing classical music fills my mind with images of opera houses, or large manors and houses; making it feel more of an upper class programme than a more commonly listened to chart show. The music itself blends from what I perceive to be one piece of music to another, without any presenters interrupting the harmony of the music being played; replicating an Opera House possibly or a classical theatre. The presenter only speaks when the music piece is finished, which he then talks only about the music and, offers information and opinions into the music. Following this is a sound clip of somebody who talks about playing classical music and its history. Whilst listening to BBC radio 3, it is clear that the modes of address are very different to any other station. They use very formal language. The presenters pitch and tone comes across seamlesly calm and relaxed. Both their voices are very clear and gentle, possibly reflecting the music previously being played. The presenter also keeps a good rhythm going whilst speaking, his voice almost like a news reader; giving the audience time to understand every word he says, but not so long that he begins to seem boring. His choice of language is very precise, with correct English being spoken at all times. This all gave the impression that the programmes listeners are well spoken intellectuals, with a keen interest into the broadcast they are listening to, and not just playing music to fill up a boring car journey, or using background music to work to. Along with this the show lasts for two hours and fifteen minutes. This also would narrow down the shows audiences, as this is a very long time for someone to listen. Because of this length, and the time it is aired (seven p.m. until nine fifteen p.m.) I would imagine this to be aimed at people listening mainly at home, as most every day car journeys would not last for this long, nor would the music likely keep the driver awake as it is so peaceful and relaxing. If it is aimed for home listeners, then it would further my belief that class is important to defining the audience. Whereas most people would be watching television or playing computer games by this time of night, those that listen to the radio must be more intellectual or have passions for music and culture.
The following programme on BBC radio 3 is an interview with Baroness Mary Warnock, where Anne McElvoy talks to her about her ‘long life, her philosophical influences and the tragedies that she has suffered’. Again this interview is another example of BBC radio 3’s very specified audience groups. I have never even heard of Baroness Warnock, and do not believe that most of the general public have either so to listen to a forty five minute interview with her would be through definitive choice as I feel that most people would not see this as typical radio listening. It also seems very clear that the topics of conversation: ‘philosophy’, would not be something that most people could understand, or find it easy or bearable to listen to. The rest of the BBC radio 3 schedule consists of: Classical Collection’, ‘Composer of the week’, ‘The Essay’, and ‘Through the Night’. These programmes really do sum up the entirety of the stations audiences, being those who enjoy the works of both modern and historical classical music pieces, those who find deep intellectual debates fascinating and important knowledgeable facts; and those who want to learn about other cultures and music of the world. These people are all in my mind very intelligent people, who are most likely successful in their vocations or professions, who may come from all different walks of life, but choose to listen to radio 3 as if it was their very own version of radio 1, or BRMB.
Smooth Radio
Smooth Radio is a national station with regional broadcasts. On the West Midlands regional broadcast, the first song played was an old rock song which I had never heard of before, followed by a second old rock song that I had never heard of either. The songs played in the West Midlands show are all old songs, varying from rock to old time pop and chart music. Because of this I feel that the target audience for this station is adults ranging from 45 to 65. The shows that feature on this station are: ‘smooth breakfast with Lynn Parsons’, ‘The Mark Goodier show’, ‘Daytime with Dave Lincoln’ ‘Drivetime with Carlos’, and ‘smooth evenings’. These show titles do not jump out at me, nor do they make me want to listen to the show, but I think this is because of age. I believe that younger people need to be enticed into listening to the radio through accents and big exciting titles, or even silly game names to attract their attention. But for the older generations, say the 45 to 65 year olds, they know what they want to listen to; and once they find the station that plays their kind of music then they do not care about the show titles, just the music. The station’s title itself though must be very appealing to the audience. ‘Smooth’ suggests relaxation and calmness, which is something I would imagine older people see young people and their music as being completely the opposite of.
The mode of address on this station, differs largely from BBC radio 3 as it is mostly informal, and the tone is light hearted. I feel they have done this because it reflects the genre of the show. The presenters’ voices for smooth radio west midlands are calm and easy, leaving a good level of pause and pace to sooth the audience in between songs, especially on the ‘Drive time with Carlos’ The pace of the voices match the tempo of the show, offering specific emphasism when introducing classic rock hits or a particular song that may mirror the theme the presenter is talking about or not.
Asda FM radio:
The modes of address for this station would change between informal and formal. As it would be extremely light hearted and easy to listen to, as the audiences will be widely varied; yet also formal as they wish for you to buy their products. Asda FM radio is very different to other radio stations. Whereas BBC Radio 3 and Smooth FM have both playlists, running orders and Presenters, Asda FM does not. Instead Asda only uses a playlist without the inclusion of presenters. This would make sense as there is no real need to employ a presenter to speak over the air for shoppers in the Asda store as for one they probably would not listen anyway; and secondly the variations needed in presenting styles from store to store across the country would be too large to Immense. Instead of the use of a presenter on the air, Asda uses recorded vox pops to announce the title of the radio station: “You’re listening to Asda FM”, often followed by advertisements specifically related to the store and to promote special offers and deals they may currently be offering. The Asda FM station can also be listened to on the web by anybody who chooses to. This, as well as the store, plays a wide range of music: from classic rock to pop and chart music. This can only be down to the fact that the stores must get such an array of different ages that they must cater for all tastes. Be it somebody in their teens, all the way up to pensioners who may be doing their weekly shop.
I personally cannot see much purpose for the station having access to the internet radio, but it would be a great way to promote the store and use it to advertise their deals further than just in store radio.
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