I’ve been listening to, but mostly watching, Lowie Live, ARN‘s new KIIS Network nights program hosted by Craig ‘Lowie’ Low.
My first understanding of what a YouTuber was came from my son who would watch people gaming live on the platform, usually while simultaneously gaming himself on a separate device. I’d like to dub Lowie our first ‘radioer’ because he is making radio but not in a way I’ve experienced before in this country. I’ve also come to appreciate why Lowie won’t work on breakfast (yet) and why he hasn’t been called in to look after KIIS 101.1 and 106.5 in Kyle and Jackie O’s absence.
Because watching someone ‘play’ for lack of a better word, isn’t something I’ve grown up familiar with, the first time I tuned into KIIS 1065 on Instagram after 9pm for Lowie Live I didn’t last too long because I felt like I’d accidentally stumbled on a private party I wasn’t invited to, and would be shortly called out on. As I’ve experienced the show more I’ve become familiar with this new format and how it operates way outside of what is typical radio.
Lowie Live is exactly that in the fullest sense of what that can mean. The livestream starts about thirty minutes before the radio show on your preferred platform of TikTok, Twitch, Instagram and Facebook. Lowie gives listeners / radioers an early heads up to competitions and then gathers everyone in for the pre show prayer to the radio gods. Then it’s all systems go. Three and a half hours with no pauses, Monday to Friday. Non stop live radio broadcasting.
The livestreams means that all the time when the station is playing music, or advertising, Lowie is interacting with his producer or those who are watching along at home. He does shout outs, engages them with questions and banter and has the kind of energy to make those people feel welcome at the table. What he is establishing here is an entryway for young people to discover radio in a different way, like online gamers have done.
If this was the concept he pitched to ARN before he returned to Australia from the US last year, breakfast isn’t the place for it and so the rescinded decision that he would host in that slot in Brisbane surprises me now even more. Allowing for how many of us listen to breakfast radio in the car or on public transport on our way to work, school or study severely limits the amount of people who might buy into it. It’s not dissimilar to the debate about whether your podcast needs a video version.
There’s overnight radio and its totally devoted and loyal audience, and now there’s Lowie Live a little earlier than that, something ‘energetic, fun, and fast-paced’ as KIIS describes it right at the end of the day, without baggage and where you can actively engage if you want to, or just watch, and listen.
The show is currently just something you can experience live but will eventually have catch up elements later. With so much pre-recorded and sometimes AI generated Lowie Live is a pilot of something 100% real and in the moment.
Lowie said:
“I genuinely believe this style of broadcast and audience interaction is where the future of radio and brand integration is heading.
Once you’re in the rhythm of radio breaks and jumping straight back into interacting with listeners and viewers on the livestream, the time flies. You get instant feedback from the audience and it opens up so many new ways to connect. I stay on for the entire show and I would not want it any other way. It is spontaneous both on air and off air, and those moments are what make the experience feel honest, unpredictable and really fun for the audience.”
All the ways you can join Lowie Live, from 9pm-midnight weekdays, can be found here. It’s cool, different, exciting and in the right timeslot. Give Australia’s first radioer Craig ‘Lowie’ Low a go.
Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor and podcaster for Radioinfo. Email [email protected]