If you want to know the exact moment legacy radio started to feel its age, it might have been when a major Australian station began giving away lacy doilies.
In the latest episode of On The Record, Michael Mackenzie and Brian Wise—veterans with a combined 70 years behind the mic—stage a fascinating “in-house” intervention for the medium they love (and occasionally despair over).
Joined by global “radio futurologist” James Cridland, the trio moved from a high-tech April Fool’s hoax involving Bob Dylan to a deep-tissue analysis of why the ABC is shedding listeners while community radio and podcasts are booming.
The AI Dylan Trap
The episode begins with Brian confessing to a year-delayed April Fool’s prank: a convincing AI-generated press release for a fictional Bob and Jakob Dylan collaboration titled Blood Brothers. Complete with a recreation of the Freewheelin’ cover (replacing Suze Rotolo with Jakob), the hoax was so authentic it fooled some Rhythms supports. “The thing that’s scary is how genuine it looks,” Brian notes, highlighting how AI can now manufacture musical history in ten minutes.
Film: Spacemen and Gut-Punches
The cinematic discussion offered a study in contrasts. Brian reviewed Project Hail Mary, starring Ryan Gosling and a talking space-rock. Despite Gosling’s charm, Brian dismissed it as “The Magic Faraway Tree for Adults,” suggesting Hollywood now runs its screenplays past Homer Simpson for a “green light” of silliness.
The AM Millstone and the “Handbrake Turn”
The core of the episode, however, was a surgical look at the health of the ABC. James Cridland identified a physical crisis: “No one under the age of 50 listens to AM.” With electric cars removing AM tuners and 45% of surveyed listeners in some regions not even owning an AM radio, the ABC’s reliance on the band is a “millstone.”
Cridland also critiqued the “handbrake turn” that happens at 8:00 AM, where ABC Local Radio pivots from “warm and fluffy” breakfast chat to “death and destruction” national news.
His radical solution?
Move the local stations to the high-quality FM frequencies currently occupied by ABC Classic and merge the “siloed” News Radio with Radio National to create a streamlined “voice of the nation.”
“Radio 4 has a 16% share and Radio National has a 2% share… on a good day.” (James Cridland)
Passion vs. The Spreadsheet
The panel concluded that community radio (like RRR and PBS) is thriving because it retains the “passion” that institutional radio has traded for talkback loops.
Michael pointed out that while commercial FM manages its decline by focusing on lucrative older demographics, the ABC is stuck in a “self-fulfilling prophecy,” targeting an audience that is literally aging out. As Brian noted, community radio succeeds by functioning like a podcast—free of restrictions and driven by genuine expertise rather than “silly talkback topics.”
Show Notes:
Project Hail Mary – Official Trailer
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