Yr 10 Radio Practice Question

Practice Radio Question

‘Music radio may have met the needs of a youth audience in the early days of Radio 1 but it is no longer relevant to today’s youth audience.’ 

How far do you agree with this statement? 

In your answer you must consider: 

• Social and cultural contexts of radio 
• The Tony Blackburn Show (1967) and Apple Beats 1 Radio (Close Study Products) 
• Technological change including the internet 
• Radio as a media industry 
• Radio audiences. 

[20 marks]

How do you get marks for this question?

Demonstrate understanding of the theoretical framework of media (5 marks)
- Show your understanding of industries (the radio industry and the difference between PSB and commercial broadcasting)

Demonstrate understanding of contexts of media and their influence on media products and processes (5 marks)
- Show you understand how the context in which a media text is produced affects the products (how audiences were/are consuming music and radio in the two periods)

Make judgements and draw conclusions (10 marks)
- Show you understand and can answer the question! Adding your own opinions and applying any theory that is relevant (applying the uses and gratifications theory to how audiences choose to consume music products)

Content you should include

The impact of different types of ownership (public: BBC, private: Apple) on these radio products 

The impact of changing production processes, personnel and technologies on these radio products 

The trend towards convergence within the radio industry 

The contrast between a global product (Beats radio) and a local/national product (Radio 1 1967) 

The changing nature of radio audiences and the contrast between targeting a mass audience (Radio 1) and a smaller more segmented, specialised audience (Beats radio) 

The ways in which new technologies (especially net based) have enabled radio providers to target audiences in different ways 

The contrasting approach to the fulfilment of audience needs and desires by these radio products 

The ability of an audience to interact with radio producers.


The Tony Blackburn Show was the first programme on newly launched Radio 1. The government had closed down the pirate radio stations and Radio 1 was designed to fill the gap and meet the needs of a youth audience for whom there was no national radio provision of chart music. It was not uncommon for Number One hits in the 1960s to sell over a million records yet pop music as a cultural phenomenon was virtually ignored by radio and television. In an attempt to serve the musical tastes and needs of a youth audience, the BBC recruited former pirate radio DJs such as Tony Blackburn. They were encouraged to adopt a toned down version of the zany and irreverent presentation that was typical of the pirates. Radio 1 also employed older presenters who were seen as out of touch and did not play enough of the kind of music the audience demanded. Although Radio 1 never quite fended off the criticism that it was too boring, too mainstream and too out of touch compared with the pirates it replaced, it still became the most listened to radio station in the world by the early 1970s, with audiences of over 10 million listeners.

In more recent years Radio 1 has attempted to stay relevant by creating more niche music shows (including Radio 1Xtra), by replacing older presenters and by creating more online links including a YouTube channel. However, its audience has continued to dwindle, particularly in contrast with more adult-oriented BBC radio stations such as Radio 2 and Radio 4. The availability of music downloads, streaming services, internet radio and music video has contributed to declining audiences for traditional, broad spectrum music radio.

Apple Beats 1 Radio is a branch of Apple’s music streaming service launched in 2016. The company has invested heavily in experienced presenters and musician DJs like Zane Lowe (formerly of Radio 1), Pharrell and Drake. Additionally, presenters with a finger on the pulse of new music trends like Julie Adenuga have been taken on. Apple is backing the creative content and expert selection of these presenters. The music itself is available to anyone with a subscription to Apple music or any other streaming service and is widely accessible for free, e.g. via YouTube. In a world where a massive choice of digital entertainment is permanently available, Apple is investing in its own high quality radio content, just as Amazon and Netflix have done with television. Everything is devised by the presenters themselves rather than the playlists and computer generated selections favoured by many radio stations.

Responses may use points such as these to support an argument that Radio 1 is just as relevant today, that it is no more or less relevant today than it was in 1967 or that it was never particularly relevant in the first place, especially at the cutting edge of new music and that its irrelevance has only become more marked.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs