Amazing Radio - Radio

LordFaugh · 05-11-2009, 17:19

Anyone spent anytime listening to Amazing Radio on DAB ? They play some great music all from unsigned artists/bands and its got potential as a 'different radio station' but yet they need something else and I am not sure what that is. They seem to have no advertising, sponsorship or any DJs and when you go onto their sister site Amazingtunes there is simply not enough information about the songs or the artists themselves but it does have potential.

I read somewhere that they were on for a trial period so it could be the trial might come to an end soon. Its different but it could be amazingly different (no pun intended) if it sounded just a little more polished and professional.

mcdannybanger · 05-11-2009, 18:24

is it a pirat?

Peter the Great · 05-11-2009, 18:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcdannybanger

is it a pirat?

There are no pirates on DAB.
I agree with the OP that the station has potential but what let's it down is a lack of information on the tracks being played and hardly anyone knows the station excists.

jaffboy151 · 05-11-2009, 19:19

I sort of like the station but cannot listen to it as when driving, the lack of presenters gives no information about who the artist is if I like them or any background information on them.... if they had this the station would be awesome, but alas... It will no doubt be tossed on the DAB scrap heap shortly....

mossy2103 · 05-11-2009, 19:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcdannybanger

is it a pirat?

What is a "pirat"?

Indeed, is a "pirat" anything to do with Depiratenastee?

howard h · 05-11-2009, 21:37

The information of who's playing appears on the scroll-bar, and on their website. Not much use if you are driving, admittedly!

I would have thought this "trial" period would have finished by now...but never mind!

As for publicity, I asked AR if they could produce some downloadable/printer-friendly flyers so fans (like me) could print and place them in rock/gig pubs/clubs etc. As far as I know, despite a promise to do that, nothing has happened. Anyone??

wns_195 · 05-11-2009, 22:35

I agree with the criticisms about song info.

I don't know why there hasn't been any new regional shows recently. Too many repeats, and I enjoyed the regional shows because they gave us an incite into the music from those areas.

That been said - I do want Amazing Radio to succeed and I support the station. I have bought several good Amazing Tunes on there. The playlist info on the website is useful, and the easy urls for songs on the Audition playlist are very useful too.

Andy Carlton · 06-11-2009, 00:56

Overall...not a bad station considering everything played is unknown. (The ideal place if you want to escape JLS/ Take That & Alexandra Burke!)

I will echo the sentiments of other listeners in saying that there is very little information about any tracks played.

hanssolo · 06-11-2009, 06:43

Hope it stays on, there are similar stations in New Zealand and Australia, the latest being Radar backed by a large radio group on DAB+.

The BBC has also launched a new website which can hopefully complement Amazing rather than complete.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/introducing/

Quote:

At BBC Introducing, we support unsigned, undiscovered and under the radar musicians.

The Amazing website has playlists so if you like a song you can find out more about the artist and download the song.
http://amazingradio.co.uk/playlists
Hopefully this can be integrated to the display of the new touch screens of the new generation of radio sets.

drumpaul · 06-11-2009, 11:05

Hello again, I'm the founder of Amazing Radio and amazingtunes.com. Thanks for talking about us.

Our six month DAB pilot runs to the end of November. We've been locked in negotiations (as they say) about extending. I can't say anything right now for legal reasons, but suffice to say that we would be dragged kicking and screaming off the air.

When we launched, I was totally blown away by the reaction from listeners (and indeed the press). I joined the BBC as a child producer in 1980 and I've worked in the media ever since: I've never known a reaction like it. It was incredible, humbling, fantastic, astonishing. It was obvious that people got the idea, liked the concept, loved the music and in particular its variety and wanted it to succeed.

In the first few months we changed a lot in response to user comments; but then we hit a dilemma. To change more, which is what we wanted to do, we had to hire more people and get more facilities. To do that, we had to be certain we were going to carry on broadcasting beyond the end of November. It would be immoral to ask someone to leave a full-time job to join us, for what might turn out to be only a few weeks' work. We also needed more resources - we've had our eye on a perfect building for some time - but again, you can't sign a lease for a radio station that might cease to exist five minutes later! It's the same problem with stickers and posters - cost and certainty. Ditto advertising and sponsorship - you can't sell advertising without RAJAR figures; RAJAR takes 4 months to get up and running. Kind of dumb to pay the cash and get RAJAR figures ... just in time to go off the air. Meanwhile, we've been paddling like mad under the surface, making plans and raising money to fund this. (It ain't cheap. I wish we had a publicly-funded guaranteed income, like some broadcasters. Well, one, anyway*).

This has all, I'm afraid, meant we've had a hiatus on development of Amazing Radio and amazingtunes.com. It's frustrated the hell out of me. I even got to the stage where I didn't feel I could blog about Amazing Radio at amazingradio.co.uk until we had more certainty about what was happening. But we are almost at the point of being able to explain more - and you should see the development plan! Matter of fact, you will - as soon as we can tie a couple of loose ends up, and finally make some announcements.

When we do, which should be very soon, please please keep criticising what we're doing. The feedback and comment have been utterly invaluable and have totally dictated what we're going to do next. And if you want to, please feel free to email me direct with comment and criticisms - I'm on info@amazingradio.co.uk. I always reply to all emails personally.

So thanks again for being interested in amazing, grovelling apologies for the sometimes drab current on-air sound ... and watch this space.

Paul Campbell

* As for ]BBC Introducing[/i]... well put it this way, I've just written to the Chairman of the BBC Trust. And the Culture Secretary. And my MP...

howard h · 06-11-2009, 11:13

*fingers crossed*!!!
Hopefully AR can continue, and then all the fans (me included) can get the publicity going!
BTW Drumpaul, can you put some links up to the press reviews?? Cheers if you can!

About the BBC - imitation is the sincerest form.....etc, and their effort will be web-only, not much use if you're driving round all day

It would be a wonderful about-turn if AR became so successful they could buy out some of the dross that's on FM around our major cities. One lives in hope....

suffolkblue · 06-11-2009, 11:36

yes agree with that im not a lover of amazing but when i get bored of the same old stuff i tune in to them and it makes a change plus i like what they do good luck to them.

drumpaul · 06-11-2009, 11:41

[quote=howard h;36484761]*fingers crossed*!!!

BTW Drumpaul, can you put some links up to the press reviews?? Cheers if you can!

Cheers Howard - the feedback and reviews are all here:

http://amazingradio.co.uk/feedback

ATB, Paul

howard h · 06-11-2009, 11:51

[quote=drumpaul;36485161]

Quote:

Originally Posted by howard h

*fingers crossed*!!!

BTW Drumpaul, can you put some links up to the press reviews?? Cheers if you can!

Cheers Howard - the feedback and reviews are all here:

http://amazingradio.co.uk/feedback

ATB, Paul

Thanks - they were under my nose all the time!! *gets slapped wrist for not looking at website more often...ahem!*

AuralJunkie · 06-11-2009, 12:16

BBC Introducing has been around for a lot longer than Amazing has been on air. I know because I sent them suggestions at least a couple of years ago. They have even managed a presense at festivals (jazz and rock).

That said, I did check out Amazing when it first appeared on DAB. I wish them well, but struggle to see how they could be viable. The BBC have a long history of new music programs, but appart from John Peel they have been well down on listening figures. XFM has all but given up on new music/unsigned acts, prefering to roll out endless Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand, Kings of Leon, Editors etc.

It might be that a format that loosley groups music types will help make it more focussed. When I tuned in back along I heard stuff that was very derrivative "teenage karaoke" alongside more interesting stuff with a bit of depth, but found the whole thing not very appealing overall - and I am someone who likes hearing unfamiliar stuff.

It might be that a partnership with a struggling new music station that wants to keep clear of the traditional formats might work (there have been examples over recent years). A fast changing playlist of new releases (no more than 2 weeks for ANY track), some specialist shows, and points of focus during the day, might be the glue that is needed to hold it together, and get a small but critical mass of listeners. Having some DJs and using more contributor voicetracks saying who they are might be useful too. It's not just drivers that can't always look at the scrolling text!

In conclusion, this is not a negative rant, but a call to create something that will survive beyond a trial and provide something worthwhile to listen to beyond what the BBC provides. As I have said elsewhere on this forum - there are only a handful of commercial stations that contribute to listening choice. The idea behind Amazing is sound, it just needs to be made more viable.

It might be that we need to develop more models for operating radio stations beyond the three that exist at present (public, commercial & community).

drumpaul · 06-11-2009, 12:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by AuralJunkie

BBC Introducing has been around for a lot longer than Amazing has been on air. .

Actually amazingtunes.com launched in 2005, BBC Introducing in 2007; their upload tool launched in February 2009 .... four years after ours.

More significantly, Introducing is now using national broadcast outlets - which directly competes with Amazing Radio. Previously it was on local radio.

Thanks for the other comments - we're listening.

AuralJunkie · 06-11-2009, 13:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by drumpaul

Actually amazingtunes.com launched in 2005, BBC Introducing in 2007; their upload tool launched in February 2009 .... four years after ours.

More significantly, Introducing is now using national broadcast outlets - which directly competes with Amazing Radio. Previously it was on local radio.

Thanks for the other comments - we're listening.

It should come as no surprise that it exists on the BBC. That is a key aim and objective for Radio's 1, 3 & 6. As we are only talking of a few hours airtime every week it should not be an issue for a full time operator. The important issue is to make Amazing a viable concern.

I have been listening to Amazing for the last hour and it has improved, but it still needs some more thought as to how it hangs together. It would seem to be the kind of thing that Channel Four ought to support if they ever get into radio. A sort of "arms length" broadcasting partner!

wns_195 · 06-11-2009, 17:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by drumpaul

Hello again, I'm the founder of Amazing Radio and amazingtunes.com. Thanks for talking about us.

Our six month DAB pilot runs to the end of November. We've been locked in negotiations (as they say) about extending. I can't say anything right now for legal reasons, but suffice to say that we would be dragged kicking and screaming off the air.

When we launched, I was totally blown away by the reaction from listeners (and indeed the press). I joined the BBC as a child producer in 1980 and I've worked in the media ever since: I've never known a reaction like it. It was incredible, humbling, fantastic, astonishing. It was obvious that people got the idea, liked the concept, loved the music and in particular its variety and wanted it to succeed.

In the first few months we changed a lot in response to user comments; but then we hit a dilemma. To change more, which is what we wanted to do, we had to hire more people and get more facilities. To do that, we had to be certain we were going to carry on broadcasting beyond the end of November. It would be immoral to ask someone to leave a full-time job to join us, for what might turn out to be only a few weeks' work. We also needed more resources - we've had our eye on a perfect building for some time - but again, you can't sign a lease for a radio station that might cease to exist five minutes later! It's the same problem with stickers and posters - cost and certainty. Ditto advertising and sponsorship - you can't sell advertising without RAJAR figures; RAJAR takes 4 months to get up and running. Kind of dumb to pay the cash and get RAJAR figures ... just in time to go off the air. Meanwhile, we've been paddling like mad under the surface, making plans and raising money to fund this. (It ain't cheap. I wish we had a publicly-funded guaranteed income, like some broadcasters. Well, one, anyway*).

This has all, I'm afraid, meant we've had a hiatus on development of Amazing Radio and amazingtunes.com. It's frustrated the hell out of me. I even got to the stage where I didn't feel I could blog about Amazing Radio at amazingradio.co.uk until we had more certainty about what was happening. But we are almost at the point of being able to explain more - and you should see the development plan! Matter of fact, you will - as soon as we can tie a couple of loose ends up, and finally make some announcements.

When we do, which should be very soon, please please keep criticising what we're doing. The feedback and comment have been utterly invaluable and have totally dictated what we're going to do next. And if you want to, please feel free to email me direct with comment and criticisms - I'm on info@amazingradio.co.uk. I always reply to all emails personally.

So thanks again for being interested in amazing, grovelling apologies for the sometimes drab current on-air sound ... and watch this space.

Paul Campbell

* As for ]BBC Introducing[/i]... well put it this way, I've just written to the Chairman of the BBC Trust. And the Culture Secretary. And my MP...

Thanks for this interesting, informative response Paul. It offers us an incite into the not so obvious aspects of running a station. I understand now why Amazing Radio hasn't developed as much.

I hope you are successful in securing a longer stay on DAB. But if you don't, please keep the online stream. Admittedly I don't listen online, but I would if I couldn't hear Amazing Radio on DAB.

belleville1 · 06-11-2009, 19:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by drumpaul

Actually amazingtunes.com launched in 2005, BBC Introducing in 2007; their upload tool launched in February 2009 .... four years after ours.

More significantly, Introducing is now using national broadcast outlets - which directly competes with Amazing Radio. Previously it was on local radio.

Thanks for the other comments - we're listening.

I can only speak of the local radio Introducing shows closest to where I live, but I think they're a completely different kettle of fish to Amazing.

The enthusiastic people who present the Introducing show on my nearest BBC local, for example, go to local gigs, see unsigned bands live, talk to them and get to know them - basically, discover new music at the very lowest grass roots level and, if it's any good, promote it on the radio with band interviews and live tracks.

Amazing is a different proposition entirely; bands approach the site with their music, upload it and hope someone listens and likes it enough for it to end up on the presenter-free Amazing Radio station. There isn't any supporting content on air surrounding the music, just non stop tracks. Both have their place and aren't really in direct competition.

Misty08 · Yesterday, 14:47

I love Amazing Radio. However, I`m curious about the lack of presenters. On the website and on air they do ask for presenter demos, and the initial publicity did say they would be using new presenters. I understand from the blog that their had been trouble with the calibre of applications (from "dj" types). Is this the reason for the lack of presenters, or is the "hiatus" the reason? (Yes, I am interested in applying!).

05-11-2009, 17:19	#1
LordFaugh Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 14	Amazing Radio Anyone spent anytime listening to Amazing Radio on DAB ? They play some great music all from unsigned artists/bands and its got potential as a 'different radio station' but yet they need something else and I am not sure what that is. They seem to have no advertising, sponsorship or any DJs and when you go onto their sister site Amazingtunes there is simply not enough information about the songs or the artists themselves but it does have potential. I read somewhere that they were on for a trial period so it could be the trial might come to an end soon. Its different but it could be amazingly different (no pun intended) if it sounded just a little more polished and professional.

05-11-2009, 18:24	#2
mcdannybanger Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 12	is it a pirat?

05-11-2009, 19:19	#4
jaffboy151 Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Wolverhampton Services: KT DB1000 DAB TUNER IN CAR, Logik 3006 DAB Radio, Sky TV+Virgin Broadband Posts: 170	I sort of like the station but cannot listen to it as when driving, the lack of presenters gives no information about who the artist is if I like them or any background information on them.... if they had this the station would be awesome, but alas... It will no doubt be tossed on the DAB scrap heap shortly....

05-11-2009, 21:37	#6
howard h Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Gtr Manchester UK Posts: 936	The information of who's playing appears on the scroll-bar, and on their website. Not much use if you are driving, admittedly! I would have thought this "trial" period would have finished by now...but never mind! As for publicity, I asked AR if they could produce some downloadable/printer-friendly flyers so fans (like me) could print and place them in rock/gig pubs/clubs etc. As far as I know, despite a promise to do that, nothing has happened. Anyone??

05-11-2009, 22:35	#7
wns_195 Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Dewsbury, England Services: FM, AM, longwave, shortwave, DAB, freeview, online Posts: 304	I agree with the criticisms about song info. I don't know why there hasn't been any new regional shows recently. Too many repeats, and I enjoyed the regional shows because they gave us an incite into the music from those areas. That been said - I do want Amazing Radio to succeed and I support the station. I have bought several good Amazing Tunes on there. The playlist info on the website is useful, and the easy urls for songs on the Audition playlist are very useful too.

06-11-2009, 00:56	#8
Andy Carlton Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Sutton Coldfield Services: Freeview/ DAB/ Sunshine Radio Posts: 3,469	Overall...not a bad station considering everything played is unknown. (The ideal place if you want to escape JLS/ Take That & Alexandra Burke!) I will echo the sentiments of other listeners in saying that there is very little information about any tracks played.

06-11-2009, 11:05	#10
drumpaul Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 21	Hello again, I'm the founder of Amazing Radio and amazingtunes.com. Thanks for talking about us. Our six month DAB pilot runs to the end of November. We've been locked in negotiations (as they say) about extending. I can't say anything right now for legal reasons, but suffice to say that we would be dragged kicking and screaming off the air. When we launched, I was totally blown away by the reaction from listeners (and indeed the press). I joined the BBC as a child producer in 1980 and I've worked in the media ever since: I've never known a reaction like it. It was incredible, humbling, fantastic, astonishing. It was obvious that people got the idea, liked the concept, loved the music and in particular its variety and wanted it to succeed. In the first few months we changed a lot in response to user comments; but then we hit a dilemma. To change more, which is what we wanted to do, we had to hire more people and get more facilities. To do that, we had to be certain we were going to carry on broadcasting beyond the end of November. It would be immoral to ask someone to leave a full-time job to join us, for what might turn out to be only a few weeks' work. We also needed more resources - we've had our eye on a perfect building for some time - but again, you can't sign a lease for a radio station that might cease to exist five minutes later! It's the same problem with stickers and posters - cost and certainty. Ditto advertising and sponsorship - you can't sell advertising without RAJAR figures; RAJAR takes 4 months to get up and running. Kind of dumb to pay the cash and get RAJAR figures ... just in time to go off the air. Meanwhile, we've been paddling like mad under the surface, making plans and raising money to fund this. (It ain't cheap. I wish we had a publicly-funded guaranteed income, like some broadcasters. Well, one, anyway). This has all, I'm afraid, meant we've had a hiatus on development of Amazing Radio* and amazingtunes.com. It's frustrated the hell out of me. I even got to the stage where I didn't feel I could blog about Amazing Radio at amazingradio.co.uk until we had more certainty about what was happening. But we are almost at the point of being able to explain more - and you should see the development plan! Matter of fact, you will - as soon as we can tie a couple of loose ends up, and finally make some announcements. When we do, which should be very soon, please please keep criticising what we're doing. The feedback and comment have been utterly invaluable and have totally dictated what we're going to do next. And if you want to, please feel free to email me direct with comment and criticisms - I'm on info@amazingradio.co.uk. I always reply to all emails personally. So thanks again for being interested in amazing, grovelling apologies for the sometimes drab current on-air sound ... and watch this space. Paul Campbell * As for ]BBC Introducing[/i]... well put it this way, I've just written to the Chairman of the BBC Trust. And the Culture Secretary. And my MP...

06-11-2009, 11:13	#11
howard h Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Gtr Manchester UK Posts: 936	fingers crossed!!! Hopefully AR can continue, and then all the fans (me included) can get the publicity going! BTW Drumpaul, can you put some links up to the press reviews?? Cheers if you can! About the BBC - imitation is the sincerest form.....etc, and their effort will be web-only, not much use if you're driving round all day It would be a wonderful about-turn if AR became so successful they could buy out some of the dross that's on FM around our major cities. One lives in hope....

06-11-2009, 11:36	#12
suffolkblue Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Services: sky + multiroom,dab radio,ESPN Posts: 339	yes agree with that im not a lover of amazing but when i get bored of the same old stuff i tune in to them and it makes a change plus i like what they do good luck to them.

06-11-2009, 11:41	#13
drumpaul Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 21	[quote=howard h;36484761]fingers crossed!!! BTW Drumpaul, can you put some links up to the press reviews?? Cheers if you can! Cheers Howard - the feedback and reviews are all here: http://amazingradio.co.uk/feedback ATB, Paul

06-11-2009, 12:16	#15
AuralJunkie Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Dorset Services: Freeview, DAB, Hi-Fi Tuner, and Steam Radio Posts: 1,068	BBC Introducing has been around for a lot longer than Amazing has been on air. I know because I sent them suggestions at least a couple of years ago. They have even managed a presense at festivals (jazz and rock). That said, I did check out Amazing when it first appeared on DAB. I wish them well, but struggle to see how they could be viable. The BBC have a long history of new music programs, but appart from John Peel they have been well down on listening figures. XFM has all but given up on new music/unsigned acts, prefering to roll out endless Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand, Kings of Leon, Editors etc. It might be that a format that loosley groups music types will help make it more focussed. When I tuned in back along I heard stuff that was very derrivative "teenage karaoke" alongside more interesting stuff with a bit of depth, but found the whole thing not very appealing overall - and I am someone who likes hearing unfamiliar stuff. It might be that a partnership with a struggling new music station that wants to keep clear of the traditional formats might work (there have been examples over recent years). A fast changing playlist of new releases (no more than 2 weeks for ANY track), some specialist shows, and points of focus during the day, might be the glue that is needed to hold it together, and get a small but critical mass of listeners. Having some DJs and using more contributor voicetracks saying who they are might be useful too. It's not just drivers that can't always look at the scrolling text! In conclusion, this is not a negative rant, but a call to create something that will survive beyond a trial and provide something worthwhile to listen to beyond what the BBC provides. As I have said elsewhere on this forum - there are only a handful of commercial stations that contribute to listening choice. The idea behind Amazing is sound, it just needs to be made more viable. It might be that we need to develop more models for operating radio stations beyond the three that exist at present (public, commercial & community).

Yesterday, 14:47	#20
Misty08 Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 78	I love Amazing Radio. However, I`m curious about the lack of presenters. On the website and on air they do ask for presenter demos, and the initial publicity did say they would be using new presenters. I understand from the blog that their had been trouble with the calibre of applications (from "dj" types). Is this the reason for the lack of presenters, or is the "hiatus" the reason? (Yes, I am interested in applying!).