firsts
• Managed launch of first UK commercial radio station to target a youth audience, first UK radio station licensed with a black music / dance music format (KISS FM London)
• Created & implemented first Contemporary Hit Radio music format at a UK local commercial radio station (Metro Radio Newcastle)
• Consultant to launch of first commercial radio network in India (Radio City)
• Launched first national commercial radio station in Hungary (Radio Juventus)
• Analysed & published first UK market-by-market radio station rankings from audience data (in rpm Weekly)
• Authored first book to document the two-decade campaign by pirate radio for a black music station to be licensed in London (‘KISS FM: From Radical Radio To Big Business’)
• Produced first weekly independent music chart show on UK radio (Metro Radio Newcastle)
• Produced first monthly UK music radio programme syndicated to Japanese radio (for Rough Trade Distribution)
• Produced first DJ mix show on licensed UK radio (for Richie Rich on KISS FM London)
• First presenter to play reggae & African music on London pirate radio
u.k. commercial radio
• Negotiated 10% ongoing reduction to cost of commercial radio sector’s RAJAR audience research (for RadioCentre)
• Member of team that negotiated 17% ongoing reduction to commercial radio sector’s transmission costs (with Enders Analysis for RadioCentre)
• Researched & wrote report for UK government Digital Britain consultation, leading to legislation that substantially reduced regulation of commercial radio stations
• Advised commercial radio sector on negotiations of music copyright agreements with PRS, PPL & MCPS (for RadioCentre)
• Advised Daily Mail & General Trust on its significant shareholding in largest UK commercial radio group GCap Media plc, which led to its sale to Global Radio Limited (for Enders Analysis)
• Initiated and co-ordinated successful campaign lobbying the government to release FM frequencies for new local commercial radio stations in London (with Heddi Greenwood for KISS FM London)
• Co-ordinated three successful funding applications to UK government Technology Strategy Board for online radio projects (partnerships with Festival Productions, Imagination Technologies, Mixcloud, Reciva, Sharpstream, UK Radioplayer & University of Westminster)
radio station launch/turnaround strategies
• KISS FM London: launch achieved 1m listeners per week within six months (one of most successful UK radio station launches)
• Radio 7 Moscow: turnaround from last to #3 commercial station with 1m listeners per week in market of 40+ stations
• Radio Juventus Hungary: launched to become #1 ranked station in country with 34% adult weekly reach
• Radio City India: launched to become #1 commercial network in country
• Radio Skonto Latvia: turnaround to #1 Latvian-language station in country
• Metro Radio Newcastle: turnaround to become commercial radio station with fastest growing audience in UK
forecasts
• Created UK’s most sophisticated model for forecasting commercial radio sector audiences & revenues
• Only media analyst to correctly forecast that DAB digital switchover would never happen in UK
• Only media analyst to correctly forecast long-term declines in UK commercial radio sector listening & revenues
• Only media analyst to correctly forecast Conservative government expenditure cutbacks would have huge negative impact on UK commercial radio revenues
• Only media analyst to correctly forecast that merger of Capital Radio plc & GWR Group plc into GCap Media plc would prove financially disastrous
• Only media analyst to correctly forecast that Channel Four Television‘s digital radio venture would fail
• Only media analyst to correctly forecast that Virgin Radio held little value & that its re-launch as Absolute Radio would not succeed
author/presenter/speaker
• Authored 1,000+ analyst reports, commentaries, articles in the trade & consumer press about radio sector issues
• Authored two books about the UK radio sector: ‘KISS FM: From Radical Radio To Big Business’, ‘DAB Digital Radio: Licensed To Fail’
• Invited to make presentations at UK/international conferences: EBU Digital Radio Conference, AER Annual Conference, egta AGM & General Assembly, Music 4.5 ‘Future Radio’ Conference, RadioCentre Members’ Conference, DCMS Digital Radio Stakeholders’ Group Consumer Panel
• Interviewed by BBC Radio Four (including ‘Today’, ‘PM’, ‘The Media Show’), BBC Five Live, 40 local BBC stations, Channel 4 News, community radio, national newspapers & trade/consumer magazines
• Creator/founder of UK’s longest running monthly black music magazine ‘Free!’ (later renamed ‘Touch’)
• Creator/publisher of weekly UK radio industry newsletter (‘Radio News’)
• Authored successful KISS FM London incremental local FM radio licence application
regulation
• Commissioned to research & author first report on BBC acquisitions of UK independent radio productions (for BBC Trust)
• Invited to present written & oral evidence to House of Lords Communications Select Committee on digital radio switchover
• Invited to present written & oral evidence to Competition Commission inquiry into local commercial radio ownership
• Commissioned to collate & analyse radio sector datasets for first Ofcom Communications Market Report
• Evaluated local commercial radio licence applications & recommended licence awards to Members’ Board of The Radio Authority
market research
• Devised & executed 100+ ad hoc market research studies for radio station launch/turnaround strategies in UK, Europe and Asia
• Evaluated & critiqued market research commissioned by local commercial radio licence applicants (for The Radio Authority)
• Consultant to BBC World Service Trust, radio station owners and stakeholders on market research and questionnaire design to understand radio audiences
• Managed auditorium tests/market research of 1000’s of songs in India, Russia, Hungary, Czech Republic & Latvia to compile radio station playlists
copyright
• Researched & authored expert witness statements for the long, complex and groundbreaking PRS case before the Copyright Tribunal considering online music streaming music copyright royalty rates
• Consultant to PRS & RadioCentre concerning music copyright agreements between the UK commercial radio sector & rights owners
• Project managed production of government-funded prototype online one-stop site for radio businesses to obtain multiple music copyright licences
music industry
• Discovered singer Ofra Haza in Israel, promoted her recordings in UK, managed first UK promotion tour, achieved UK Top 20 single
• Worked for Rough Trade Records director Scott Piering, promoting independent record releases to radio, & achieved several UK Top 20 singles
• Created & managed distribution of 100’s of ‘World Music Information Packs’ to listeners of Charlie Gillett’s world music show on Capital Radio London
• Invited to serve as jury member for Juno music awards in Canada
radio production/management training
• Trained team of 50+ programming staff from London pirate radio to launch new commercial radio station (for KISS FM London)
• Trained teams without prior radio experience in India, Russia, Hungary and Latvia to launch & manage commercial music radio stations (for Star TV and Metromedia International Inc.)
• Trained production teams in Cambodia to create, manage and market live phone-in and magazine radio shows (for BBC World Service Trust)