[LenGroat]

It 'died' a while back but it has just been announced that GEM-AM is now part of a national service, called 'Gold' as Global Radio (currently closing 20 FM stations across Britain) have 'also put an end to what was 26 thriving medium wave stations this week'.

I am still puzzled as to why the groups who have owned GEM since 1994 took such delight in destroying a station that had a weekly reach of 24% in Nottingham, and 23% in Derbyshire when I left.

The changes mean that along with 'my' station we've also said 'goodbye' to all these 'names'…

Brunel Classic Gold, Brunel Radio, Radio Brunel, GWR Radio, Radio West, Radio Mercury, Mercury Extra, Fame 1521, Breeze, Classic Gold Breeze, Chiltern Radio, Chiltern Radio Supergold, The Breeze, Supergold Three Counties Radio, Three Counties Radio, Severn Sound, Invicta Sound, Invicta Radio, Coast AM, Coast Classics, Invicta Supergold, Capital Gold, Fortune 1458, Lite AM, Big 1458 AM, Amber Radio, Classic Gold Amber, Northants Radio Supergold, Hereward Radio, WGMS, 1332 The World's Greatest Music Station, Hereward Radio, Plymouth Sound AM, The Gold AM, South Coast Radio, Southern Sound, GWR, Wiltshire Radio, 1152 Xtra AM, Capital Gold, Mercia Sound, Xtra AM 1359, Mercia Classic Gold 1359, Classic Gold 1359, WABC, Nice & Easy Radio WABC, Classic Gold WABC, Classic Gold 990/1017

More importantly, that is a HUGE reduction in JINGLE production?

As Jon's singers asked decades ago..'Where have all the jingles gone…'

[bobgreenradioMember]

sad indeed. its always sad when an am goes down. in the u.s. the worthless government regulators deemed it unfair to limit ownership (roughly a half dozen am, fm, tv outlets with a limit of 1 each service per market, throughout the country) i thought it was more than fair, and better yet was the bounty of fantastic programming available. alas now, there are 4 pissers that own everything. and does it ever stink.
does the system in england allow for another owner to pick it up and run with it?

[IainJohnstonMember]

“does the system in england (and, Bob, the REST OF THE UK too, as we're basically a big island group, not just one part of one island, as England is) allow for another owner to pick it up and run with it?”

Nope, we don't have the “free-for-all” system of the USA.

We have strictly controlled licensing system that was meant to “increase listener choice” and offer a wide range of services. If a station folds now, the license is returned; thats it , it will not be “re-advertised”. Also, no NEW licenses are supposed to be ever issued for commercial radio ever again (even if stations disappear) unless they are non-commercial low-power “community” stations or are on DAB (the UK variant on digital radio, which is already a huge failure, both technologically and in terms of audience (although the authorities” claim otherwise).

Unfortunately, due to the ever-gobbling-up conglomerates applying USA-style programming & networking, and now integration, to a non-USA-style system that was NEVER intended to have tgis done to it, we've now got LESS radio, identikit “all going for the 30-something female” stations; we don't even have the variety that the USA still has (to still some extent).

If you have non-geo-blocked access to digitalspy.co.uk, there's endless debate about it there.

[Bigdave]

It bears asking the question is the name GEM registered with Global?

If not,there lies an opportunity to resurrect it.

Paging David Lloyd….paging David Lloyd…

[LenGroat]

Unfortunately BigDave, GEM is just a name, what it stood for was lost long ago. It was briefly revived under the 'Saga' name, thanks to old Trent/GEM, MD/Chairman Ron Coles (one of the 'good guys' in suits) and Saga East Midlands was basically GEM re-named. But when Smooth took it over.. well, we all know about that.

And topically, it's now been announced by Radio Today, 'GMG Radio is turning Smooth Radio into a UK wide network with all programming networked across England'

So from October 4th maybe even the 'last' of the GEM presenters will disappear from the airwaves. 'Reports suggest around 50 jobs will go with the shake-up mostly in programming'

Hey.. a thought just ran through my mind; Smooth have just employed Chris Stevens! Now…. and the report says 'it is hoped the new national Smooth will provide a strong commercial alternative to BBC Radio 2', I appreciate Chris went from TM to Smooth, but how about they buy ALL the old, classic JAM Radio 2 cuts, re-sing them for Smooth, and with some skillful marketing most of the Radio 2 listeners would probably think it was their station when it was 'good' and make the switch!

As Andy Marriot used to say 'Tish, enough of all this nonsense'; we all know GEM has as much chance of making a comeback as Barbara Stanwyck does….

[bobgreenradioMember]

well well…i had no idea it was this badly managed in england. the u.s. system clearly sucks…bad, but at least things are kept from the death heap. the old system, a limit of a half dozen or so in each broadcast service was ok. on a sunny nice day, when im in a real liberal mood, i could see clear to allowing 25 or so in each service to a single owner…but thats it. this 1500 station ownership crap is for nobody but the monopoly owning it and their market. that offers nothing but garbage to the listener, and honestly, it doesnt do anything for improved bottom line profits! a good market has 2 or 3 or 4 heavy hitters out doing eachother. THATS good radio, and just imagine the jingle packages they would burn through! got to tweek that image twice a year with fresh cuts

[IainJohnstonMember]

Please again note Bob – as pointed out above, “england” is NOT the whole UK, thank you!

On topic…Its not even “badly managed” – its the result of the “Regulator” repeatedly bowing to pressure from ever-consolidating & merging/buying-up companies, who, just like your Clear Channel in Texas (…sorry…the whole USA is not just the one state of course either…) who expanded as did AM/FM, Emmis, etc by borrowing collosual amounts of money from the banks to fund their buying-up of smaller stations & competitors, until we also have basically “4 pissers” controlling most of commercial radio here (smaller “groups” are almost swamped now) – except the UK market is far too small to try to emulate the States plus the BBC dominates with very high quality commecial-free public licence-funded services.

For the biggest conglomerate(s) here to pay-back even the interest on what they borrowed they've merged/networked, automated, fired by the best talent, and gone for the narrow but paradoxically lowest-common-denominator audience – the hypothetical 33-year-old woman named “Debbie” (who must be able to listen to at least 3 radio stations simultaneously, while also at the same time watching 4-5 terrestial TV channels at once (plus hundreds of satellite TV channels), all of whom are all directed at the same demographic.

Choice & variety of programming in radio are now becoming a case of “Debbie radio” versus the BBC. There are no real “format” competition stations as in the USA – no-one can apply for a licence to start-up e.g. an oldies station in a city to compete against say a hits station – the UK licensing system isn't geared that way historically – it was a system aimed at quality radio but that now is simply a money-generating system for the “big boys” to try and pay off what they borrowed – or sell on, but the “rules” are not that simple, especially as the “authorities” themselves believe anything that “the industry” tells them (e.g. “75% of people we asked told us that digital radio is great” is a something I read from official discussion about the future of radio this week – which is like asking all the cat burglars in a city if they think people should never leave their doors unlocked!)

Its become a “pyramid selling game”, where there's no “sucker” left at the end to stitch-up holding the junk product, since any real money was made long ago while the system was still being run by “radio people” rather than “suits”, and was genuinely delivering fairly good radio and many individual companies/stations earning money (but to be fair, not all).

Every time the “big boys” have pleaded poverty, the Regulator have simply given them what they wanted.
And today as a result we have rubbish radio – but the advertising agencies (most based in London) are happy because all the “Debbies” are listening intently to hear to Robbie Williams, Take That, Michael Buble, etc on 12 times a day rotation, while ad blocks now last 7-8-9-10 ads and longer – just like the USA.

Very, very sad.

(Oh, and on what authority do I have any validity to make these comments chaps?
I owned shares in…
1) Scottish Radio Holdings (Radio Clyde & more – was very profitably run by James Gordon – now owned by a German magazine publisher)
2) Jazz FM (quality radio) – now incarnated as part of Len Groat's bug-bear GMG's Smooth Radio (networked)
3) TWG } – merged and manipulated as a suspiciously IRS tax-loss vehicle
4) TLRC } – in the USA by a certain gentleman high-up in the “British Establishment”
5) Radio Orwell / Suffolk Group Radio – eventually now networked “Heart”, privately owned by some Irish milionaires, and “programmed” (I am ashamed to admit) by a Scotsman who came from a town just 10 miles from here.

So, keep listening to your crumbling old Jingle Tapes and MP3airchecks stuff chaps – because it will sadly be very unlikely to ever be that good again {*sob*} !!!

[bobgreenradioMember]

depressing.
am i silly to ask if the old pirate trick of the 60's would work again, or at least trigger a a reaction toward the positive? and what about the aussies? are they set up on your business modle or canadas or the u.s.'s?

[IainJohnstonMember]

Unlikely that a new “pirate” radio idea would work Bob – in the 60s there really was NO alternative to the BBC, which was a very staid entity compared with today, and of course the technology is so very different now. And the law was changed in 1967 to make offshore radio near impossible since.

Australia has a mix of ABC (BBC equivalent) plus commercial, however they've had commercial radio USA-style for a very long time (and a lot of good PAMS jingles in the 60's & 70's too, plus the more doubtful Oz-made ones since). New Zealend ditto, but they've also seen similar “integration” and mergers in recent years.

If you can find any of the many forum discussion archives on the web, you'd find that much of the “blame” for the present state of UK commercial radio (once called “Independent Radio” and based upon individual companies owning single individual stations) is given to the very-aggressive GWR Group in the 1990s buying-up more stations every time the law was “relaxed” and homogenising them – to a model based on the “advice” of AUSTRALIAN “consultants”! GWR eventually took-over the biggest UK radio group, then they themselves sold-out to Global (sic) who are now merging/closing/networking stations into the quasi-national “Heart” network.

Probably the best “model” at the moment is France – a mixture of State-owned AND company networks/regional nets/local stations/etc. Many very heavy on automation but with a least a very wide range of styles and formats – and the vast majority extensively use very high quality sung jingles (mostly produced in France).

EDIT:- some “light reading” for you Bob!
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=1280988&page=16
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=1286591&page=6

[freq-ky]

And Global have the cheek to create “Centres of Broadcasting Excellence”.Where's Andy Parsons (for those who don't know him,a Brit comedian) when you need him ?

[LenGroat]

Thanks for all the detailed information here. We cannot 'change the radio world' but we can at least express our opinions, something most presenters on these amalgamated stations are unlikely to be able to do publicly if they have any chance of getting one of the few remaining jobs?

As regards to the comment on GWR's role I would agree completely. I checked the 'experience' of the the man I was meant to 'report to' and found he had been a Sports presenter and only ever produced one jingle package, which I got a copy of and it was horrendous. That, plus meeting one of the Australian 'consultants', made me realise my conscience simply would not let me carry on.

Finally, has anyone noticed that one group are currently advertising a broadcast school for presenters? Surely no one with any 'nouse' will pay for this when they MUST know there will be several hundred highly-skilled presenters 'on the loose' this year?

So many radio stations, going going GONE ~ very sad.

[RobinBlamires]

RE: Wixy's post, Jazz FM is now running as a digital station under owner Richard Wheatley's Jazz FM Investments, instigated shortly after relaunching.

Asides that, everything else is nailed and well explained.

[IainJohnstonMember]

Indeed Robin – and Richard Wheatley was one of the few people who understood then the real sense of how “niche format” stations such as his original Jazz FM (and its later downright excellent post-“J-FM” Manchester-based version) could and would have worked if “regionals” had been allowed to operate & establish properly as non-mainstream alternative “choice” formats rather than being bought-out & permitted to go mainstream, which thus resulted in the regionals, heritage, and “sally” stations all ending up chasing the same audience.

Sadly, although a form of Jazz FM is now back under his control, and I wish him well, as a digital-only station it has little chance of surviving long never mind being profitable – the original Jazz FMs more or less broke even as large-coverage-area radio stations but the actual profits came from the very successful “Hed Kandi” and “Jazz FM” branded CD compilations that were based on what was played on-air (especially the more soul-orientated North-West of England station). Indeed, I bought a good half-dozen of the CDs myself – excellent content!

[RobinBlamires]

That's sort of covered as new CDs started being produced, almost from the start of the digital station in October '08.
Anyway that's slightly drifting from the original point of takeovers although that's probably my own doing.

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