MediaUK: What did pirate radio give us anyway - and how long will it survive?

[corq]

Pirate radio - its legacy

http://www.mediauk.com/article/34423/pirate-radio-its-legacy

By James Cridland - posted May 1, 2013. See all James Cridland's articles
 

What did pirate radio give us anyway - and how long will it survive?

(These are responses to a student's broadcast journalism degree questions. Disagree? That's what the comments box is for...)

How has pirate radio changed since the 60's - and how did pirate radio influence the radio we can listen to today?

The 1960s were a period without any official "pop" radio stations: so pirate radio fulfilled quite a need. Many of them copied the successful top-40 radio formats of the US, and imported them onto the UK airwaves - bringing a welcome sound that was unheard-of to radio listeners. The added 'subversive' nature of these broadcasts were also responsible for their success.

It's claimed that BBC Radio 1 was the government's reaction to the success of these pirates, almost all of which operated outside UK jurisdiction. Radio 1, however, was a part-time service when it started, and suffered for years from a requirement not to play more than five hours of commercially-available music ("needle time") a day: a restriction which, naturally, the pirate radio stations weren't required to adhere to. Nevertheless, pirate radio's influence began to wane with Radio 1's launch.

Some claim that the legalisation of UK commercial radio in the early 1970s was as a direct result of pirate radio activity; others that commercial radio would have happened anyway. Some point to pirate radio being responsible for much of the sound of Radio 1 (many of the network's original presenters were previously pirate broadcasters); others that pirate radio's sound in Europe was simply copied from US top-40 radio anyway.

The growth of commercial radio by the 1980s (and continued success for BBC Radio 1) resulted in many pirate radio stations ceasing operation, and new laws in the mid 1980s were successful in curbing pirate radio further.

Pirate radio in the UK is now not romantically based on a ship - but using transmitters sited at the top of buildings. Many pirate radio broadcasters operate legally as internet radio stations, but, as one industry veteran puts it, the stations "obligingly get re-broadcast on FM by some of their fans". Unlike the 1960s, Ofcom claim that today's pirate broadcasters have links to drug pushers and other illegal operations. A cursory sweep of the dial during a Friday evening in London, however, reveals that Ofcom don't appear to be successful in closing them - as this discussion makes clear.

Pirate radio use in the UK is measured by RAJAR under "other listening", which includes all non-subscriber stations - along with global internet radio and out-of-area stations. 3m people in the UK tune in to "other radio" each week: it has a market share of 2.4%.

While it's fashionable to claim that radio's "pioneers in the ships" are responsible for much of the UK radio landscape today, most involved in this era have now retired. It's certainly true that, in their heyday, pirate radio broadcasters were marketed as massive stars, akin to musicians and actors, featured in teen magazines and mobbed at nightclubs. These stations also undeniably attracted high listening figures. The media landscape has changed considerably, however, and repeated attempts to recreate the sixties radio sound these days aren't successful. Some ex-pirate broadcasters, victims of the recent rationalisation of local radio in the UK, hark back to a golden age of radio, and vehemently criticise those currently in the radio industry. They're right to hark back; but listener requirements have changed, as have audiences' relationships with radio and music.


How does it impact community and commercial radio?

Frequency allocations are worked out carefully by the BBC and Ofcom, so that broadcasters do not interfere with each other (and with other vital services). Pirate radio operators, however, takes no notice of frequency allocations, and simply finds a quiet frequency to start broadcasting on. In many parts of London, some licensed services are interfered with by pirate radio, to a degree that many broadcasters considers is bad for their audience levels.

DAB is unaffected by pirate broadcasting, and some have claimed that the inability for pirate broadcasters to easily broadcast using DAB is part of the radio industry's planned move to DAB-only broadcasting. Others point out that if the licensed broadcasters move away from FM, that'll simply give more frequencies to pirates to broadcast on.


With community and commercial radio, do you think there is still a need for pirate radio?

There's no doubt that community radio fulfils a need that is unmet by traditional mass-market commercial broadcasters. That said, the levels of pirate radio broadcasting show that community radio is having little effect. Additionally, the output of many pirate radio stations would appear to be incompatible with a community radio model, or sit happily with any regulation.


Where do you think pirate radio is heading?

Internet radio, theoretically, allows anyone to broadcast - relatively unencumbered by regulation. Internet radio isn't, however, attractive for radio operators, since it doesn't offer the same kind of return as FM radio does. I suspect that pirate radio will be with us for a long time yet: and if licensed radio vacates the FM band, pirate radio operators will rub their hands together with glee.


James Cridland is the Managing Director of Media UK, and a radio futurologist: a consultant, writer and public speaker who concentrates on the effect that new platforms and technology are having on the radio business.
E-mail James Cridland | Visit James Cridland's website

[diymedia]

I don't trust anyone who proclaims themselves to be a "futurologist."

[taschenrechner]

Pirate radio serves the same purpose today as it did back then. People get to broadcast what they want. Here in Houston, a quick trip across the fm broadcast band will often get you the same song two or three times. If those songs aren't ones you like, then you get your own gear and do something about it, right?

[RCCI]

Here are the "COMMENTS" following that article:

Georgianna Scurfield posted last Tuesday at 12:07


Personally, I don’t feel a need for pirate radio stations. Perhaps this is because I’m quite happy listening to ‘mainstream’ radio channels or because I would like to feel I’m getting the most out of the money I pay for a TV license. I do think the ‘above board’ stations available today are incredibly diverse but if they don’t play what I’m after I’ll just buy a CD, or youtube it. I cannot help thinking that pirate radio stations are dying out simply because there are easier ways to access niche music.

Martin Phillp posted last Tuesday at 18:18

 I cannot help thinking that pirate radio stations are dying out simply because there are easier ways to access niche music.

I don’t think pirate radio is dying out, rather that the audience has grown older with the music they cater for, largely electronic dance music from the heyday of rave/club culture, or like the community stations, serving a minority group. London has pirates for the West African’s, Turkish and long standing west Indian stations.

In London, the community model is now super-serving the youth end with underground music on Rinse FM and a speech outlet on Reprezent, along with the other methods of discovering music particularly online.

Bill Scales posted last Wednesday at 09:18


I think Pirate Radio will never die out as most main stream radio, especially in the commercial sector, all sound the same or these days they are all owned by one group. They have limited playlists and mostly the presenters are devoid of personality, not because they don’t have one but because the stations do not encourage them to have one. I listen to mainstream radio but these days it is usually the BBC as things seem to have gone full circle and the only place to get a wide playlist and presenters with personality is on the BBC. Pirate Radio online or on FM is a good thing as it is a FREE VOICE and these days even the free press is threatened and this is a frightening prospect as our freedoms are being taken away from us bit by bit.


Jock Leonard posted last Wednesday at 11:02


Whenever state run, commercial or community radio stations aloft in their ivory towers become indifferent to their listener’s requirements, Pirate Radio will always be at hand to kick them up their self possessed arses!


Martin Rosen posted last Wednesday at 12:07


I think pirate radio can be drawn into two separate categories. The offshore stations broadcasting mainly between 1964-67 which commanded huge audiences (as there was no alternative, except Luxembourg at night), and the current pirates since, which broadcast to limited audiences from a rooftop / back bedroom.

I really think the offshore stations did give the music industry a much needed kick. Prior to their arrival there were only about 3 or 4 major record labels which sponsored programmes on Luxy. If an artist was not signed up to one of these labels their chances of being heard was almost non-existent.

I suspect alternative services to the BBC (commercial or otherwise) would have come about eventually without the pirates, but in what form it is something we can only speculate on.

One other point that was developed on the pirates was ‘personality radio’, now almost completely disappeared again where stations are formatted to play three or four tracks segued together, and the presenter only allowed to say a few words in between, before pausing for “a break” (never a commercial or ad !!).

As for the current pirates – I would give a “shout out for … “ and “get down to the club on Saturday …” I really don’t think their audiences amount to anything significant that the music industry would even nod their head to.

Martin Phillp posted last Wednesday at 14:13

Pirate Radio also brought along small scale commercial radio, pioneered by Radio Jackie in London with their part-time and later 24/7 service in the early to mid 80s when they found a legal loophole to broadcast. Jackie’s website has some content about their campaign to broadcast legally from the period.

While small scale radio has largely become a group of networked stations, Jackie, the UKRD group (bar Star NE) and others continue that service.

Jeronimo Mazarrasa posted last Thursday at 18:01

As someone who grew up listening to pirate radio in Spain, in the 80´s (slightly a different beast than the UK phenomenon) I can’t help but feel you are missing the point. It is not about wether commercial radio stations can offer the same playlists, with more professionalism than pirates. Sometimes it is precisely the lack of professionalism that made pirate radio great, closer to the listener, and so much more personal.
It is like comparing a newspaper to a good blog, or a magazine to a fanzine. I have read newspapers and magazines all my life, they are great, but after a lifetime reading I don´t have an emotional connection to a single one of them, and I probably never will. They are one-to-many broadcast media, impersonal by nature, their very professionalism creates a distance. Now this distance I feel as a listener might feel negligible to radio professionals such as those writing here, but let’s just say then that I represent the listeners, not the radio makers.
At different times of my life I have had very intense, fulfilling, human, connection with certain pirate radio broadcasts. Some of those crappy late-night programs I listened to 25 years ago are still with me, same goes for as certain fanzines, and blogs (in that order, media has evolved and I with it). Unfortunately I haven’t felt that kind of connection ever with a commercial radio station (and I have listened to a lot of it).
Now, if I am asked should pirate radio die? I sincerely hope it doesn’t, I think the radio spectrum is richer for it. I understand the legal and technical problems it creates, etc. and I do love and listen to commercial radio as well, but there is something to be said for the for the existence of alternative and non-professional media. As an audience I do believe they add something important to the media landscape.