“Research only tells you what is, not what could be. That’s why we used to refer to it as research and destroy. If you wait for audiences to tell you to change, you will never get change.”

This quote from the brilliant Jane Caro is about the most refreshing and exciting comment I’ve ever read in regards to market research. Just imagine the programming possibilities for commercial radio if a program director took a similar stance.

SBS Radio has appointed Dr Eman Sharobeem to the role of Community Engagement Manager, responsible for developing and implementing strategies to deepen engagement and grow relationships with communities and stakeholders.
 
Egyptian-born, Eman is an advocate for refugees, migrants and women’s rights and brings to the role a wealth of experience in international relations, community development and intercultural communication.  
 

Mount Gambier’s STAR FM 96.1 and 963 5SE are the region’s #1 and #2 commercial radio stations respectively, following Xtra Research’s 2016 regional survey results released today.

32,900 people tune into the Southern Cross Austereo owned stations in Mount Gambier each week, capturing listeners across the market. STAR FM is the #1 station listened to most for the under 40’s and 5SE the #1 commercial station listened to most for 40+.

This morning listeners voted Steve Read as their lead singer. Steve is a 53-year-old IT Manager from Kinglake. He’s been performing on stage since the age of 8, but lost all his music equipment during Victoria’s devastating Black Saturday bushfires.

Finalists in the best radio ad of 2016 were announced today with leading ad agencies, radio stations and production studios battling it out for the national Siren Awards, to be announced in Melbourne next month.  Ads for Aldi, Maltesers, Jeep, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sportsbet and Nandos are some of the brands amongst the finalists.  

One of the world’s hottest bands,Twenty One Pilots, will play an exclusive Triple M Garage Session for fans this Wednesday 27 April live at Triple M HQ.

To celebrate the release of their massive second studio album ‘Blurryface’, the band are currently on the road in Australia on a sold out headline tour and will appear at the nation’s much-loved Groove In The Moo festival.

The 2016 Eurovision Song Contest will take over Stockholm, Sweden from 11 May with contestants from 43 countries set to compete. SBS Radio invites fans to kick off Eurovision celebrations early with SBS Eurovision Radio, a non-stop soundtrack to the world's biggest song contest, broadcasting 24 hours a day from 1 to 15 May. SBS Eurovision Radio will be available on SBS Radio 4 on digial radio or you can stream online or via the SBS Radio App.

Grant Broadcasters has rebranded its Zinc station in Cairns to Star 102.7.

Consumers are constantly evolving and Radio Sales people need to understand their changing habits so they can continue to engage their retail clients.

Being armed with the latest information on what a consumer wants or a needs may just be enough to get a client to sign on the dotted line.

So, if you're in sales, take note of these insights, released as part of Nielsen's 18^th annual Australian Connected Consumers Report.
 

Streaming data can yield important information for music directors.
 
A recent report by Neilson has found streaming is “riding an undeniably massive growth swell" and consumers can’t get enough.
 
Thus the report asks, “what if radio programmers could benefit from the surge in streaming rather than fear it?”