The Australian Audio Landscape
The audio market is heating up with some major stories hitting the press over the last two months. So far, we have seen the latest survey results where 2GB and remain breakfast royalty, SMI results pointing to a softening market, a change in hosts on 4BC as Ray Hadley farewells Brisbane’s morning show, TikTok music launches in direct competition to Spotify, and most intriguing of all, ARN’s Kyle & Jackie-O seek a new contract with negotiations starting at $10MM a year… each!
Survey 5 2023:
Whilst King Kyle will always capture our attention, as media experts, we look to back up our decisions with robust data. GfK radio surveys are exactly where we find it and survey 5 results are in. This survey saw big share losses to the top three in Sydney (2GB, KIIS, and Smooth) with a total decline of 6.1% for P10+ . Despite this, 2GB continues to hold total audience and the breakfast top spot with 11.6% share and 14.6%, respectively (compared to KIIS’ 10% and 13.9%). In Melbourne, 3AW maintains their control over the city with wins across P10+ and breakfast, seeing a huge 16.7% and 22.3% share, respectively (vs. Fox at 9.4% for both) . Unfortunately, radio networks may struggle to turn these numbers into revenue as SMI figures for August reveal declines in media spend.
August Radio Spend:
SMI data for August is showing a decline in ad spend across the radio category of -7.2% compared to August ’22. Similarly, calendar year to date is showing a -7.6% change compared to the same time last year. This is slightly better than the total ad market which is back -11.4% for this financial year. Overall, we are looking at a softer radio market where short-term opportunities are more palatable and potentially include greater value. However, retail season and a short burst of referendum related spend may drive demand a little higher over the coming months. If a short-term opportunity makes it your way, best advice is to move fast to realise any additional value being offered.
TikTok makes moves on Spotify:
The music streaming landscape has many big players already with Spotify, YouTube Music, and Apple taking out top spots, not to mention Amazon Music growing faster than all three (although starting at a much smaller base). Now there is a new competitor with TikTok moving into the digital audio space after the quiet launch of the TikTok Music app . The beta was released in July with their audio library filled with the catalogues from music industry giants Sony Music, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group. TikTok Music will be one to watch over the coming months, however, with Spotify holding 40% of the market share , it is hard to imagine an overnight success here.
Radio Talent:
Two major talent stories hit the press this week. Firstly, Ray Hadley says goodbye to Brisbane morning show after 8 years as Bill McDonald takes over as 4BC morning host . This change comes as a surprise as latest radio ratings show the morning slot was holding highest ratings for 4BC when compared to other dayparts. Secondly, what may be Australia’s greatest radio talent deal has been in the news with Kyle & Jackie-O’s contract with ARN set to expire in less than 18 months . In the past, the duo has publicly aired grievance with ARN management and let listeners know they were open to better deals, so we would expect that this won’t be the last we hear of the deal. The price to lock it in is currently $200MM for 10 years, or $10MM each per year… Not a bad increase from their current estimated earnings at $5MM each! Another space to watch as a huge deal like this may attract some offers from major players and has the potential to reshape the Sydney market when the dust settles.
Radio 360: Sydney – Total Radio – Survey 5 2023
Radio 360: Melbourne – Total Radio – Survey 5 2023
Standard Media Index – August 2023
Tech Crunch – TikTok launches its music streaming service in Australia, Mexico and Singapore – July 2023
Edison Research: The Infinite Dial – 2023 Austria
Radio Today – Bill McDonald replaces Ray Hadley on 4BC Mornings – September 2023