Introducing the new wave of campus radio
FEATURE by Derrick Foo
It’s been a while since NUS campus radio, Radio Pulze, decided to organize a series of rock concerts within the campus. Back then their radio programs were so popular that the idea of organizing external programs to boost numbers never crossed their minds. But today, the Live Lounge as they call it, is a necessary step for them to bring back the popularity they once had during their glorious days.
Though many see it as a step to promote appreciation for local music, thisseries of concerts serve as a much-needed marketing campaign for Radio Pulze as well. The goal? To build and maintain awareness among the students while their new studio is being built.
Under pressure from the Office of Student Affairs (OSA), Radio Pulze has to maintain an already dwindling number of listeners on their online radio and reverse the trend. The Live Lounge is simply one of the initiatives that they have started to help reach their goal.
Thankfully, their latest instalment of the Live Lounge, held on the 29th of September, reeled in almost 300 people that night and it was not an easy feat at all. For a club that has been purely focused on broadcasting, this renewed initiative has proven to be successful. Yet, it is still a fraction compared to the number of online radio listeners that OSA expects them to achieve – 2000 listeners a month.
For members who had the privilege to run its operations when Radio Pulze first started out in 2006, they would surely reminisce the popularity that it had amongst NUS students. At that point, reaching out to 6000 listeners was easy.
As of last semester however, Radio Pulze’s listenership statistics revealed an average of 800 unique listeners tuning in each month. That was about 2.7% of the entire NUS student population and surprisingly, this number reflected one of their better performances compared to the previous semester. So why is there so little support for campus radio?
The advancement of technology is a factor to be considered. “It is so easy for people to download their favourite songs online and play it on their mp3 players. They don’t see a need to tune in to the radio,” says the President of Radio Pulze, Dexter Tan.
NUS Provost, Professor Tan Eng Chye also feels that radio is simply a traditional medium that the younger generation have problems connecting with. “The radio appeals more to the older generation as we grew up listening to it,” he says.
However, some students blame their reluctance to tune in to campus radio on other things. “It just doesn’t make sense for me to go through the hassle of logging in online to listen to the radio,” says Lisa Lim, a second year Medical Student in NUS.
Due to the limitations of their licenses, Radio Pulze’s digital waves are only allowed to reach the ears of NUS staff and students. In order to ensure that only they can tune in, listeners are required to log in with their username and password.
In some universities such as NTU, their in-house radio can be aired in strategic locations like canteens and other public spaces within the campus. With that ease, they are able to reach out to a reasonable number of audience, but at a hefty price.
“NTU’s radio station is a part of their media curriculum and because of that, the school invests heavily on the licenses that allow them to broadcast freely,” says Dexter.
A background check on the amount that commercial radio stations have to pay in order to broadcast on frequency airwaves revealed an estimate of $1.3 million.
OSA currently funds Radio Pulze with about $50,000 every year to pay these licenses needed to broadcast online, which include the broadcast license and license to compensate the record labels and artists. It is still a big sum of money invested to reach out to 30,000 students.
In order to justify the money invested and attract more listeners, Dexter had decided that it is time to stop competing with commercial radio and go niche by making local their focal.
“We are shifting towards local music, so if people such as exchange students want to listen to what Singapore has to offer, they will tune in to Radio Pulze ‘causethey know that we play local music,” says Dexter.
That approach has worked so far. Listeners have tuned in whenever Radio Pulze broadcasts content that is unique to them rather than doing what everyone else is doing.
In an odd but interesting incident, Radio Pulze experienced a spike in female listenership during one of their talk shows with a professor a few years back and it goes to show that good content will drive up their numbers.
“This particular professor’s name was put forward by some friends of the DJ. Because he was supposedly one of the more popular ones among the ladies, most of his classes tuned in to listen to what he had to say,” says Dexter
Pearlyn Ong, a member of Radio Pulze since 2008, feels that quality broadcasting would reel people in as well. “As long as we continue to attract quality manpower, we can continue to fight for that recognition and boost our listenership,” says the final year student.
As members of Radio Pulze now wait anxiously for their new studio at the hip and popular Starbucks in University Town to be ready, they are doing what they can to re-establish their brand and gain back its popularity.
Looking at the rising turnout that each Live Lounge concert brings in, Dexter is certain that this change in creative direction will eventually boost Radio Pulze’s popularity and listenership.
It’s been a while since NUS campus radio, Radio Pulze, decided to organize a series of rock concerts within the campus. Back then their radio programs were so popular that the idea of organizing external programs to boost numbers never crossed their minds. But today, the Live Lounge as they call it, is a necessary step for them to bring back the popularity they once had during their glorious days.
Though many see it as a step to promote appreciation for local music, thisseries of concerts serve as a much-needed marketing campaign for Radio Pulze as well. The goal? To build and maintain awareness among the students while their new studio is being built.
Under pressure from the Office of Student Affairs (OSA), Radio Pulze has to maintain an already dwindling number of listeners on their online radio and reverse the trend. The Live Lounge is simply one of the initiatives that they have started to help reach their goal.
Thankfully, their latest instalment of the Live Lounge, held on the 29th of September, reeled in almost 300 people that night and it was not an easy feat at all. For a club that has been purely focused on broadcasting, this renewed initiative has proven to be successful. Yet, it is still a fraction compared to the number of online radio listeners that OSA expects them to achieve – 2000 listeners a month.
For members who had the privilege to run its operations when Radio Pulze first started out in 2006, they would surely reminisce the popularity that it had amongst NUS students. At that point, reaching out to 6000 listeners was easy.
As of last semester however, Radio Pulze’s listenership statistics revealed an average of 800 unique listeners tuning in each month. That was about 2.7% of the entire NUS student population and surprisingly, this number reflected one of their better performances compared to the previous semester. So why is there so little support for campus radio?
The advancement of technology is a factor to be considered. “It is so easy for people to download their favourite songs online and play it on their mp3 players. They don’t see a need to tune in to the radio,” says the President of Radio Pulze, Dexter Tan.
NUS Provost, Professor Tan Eng Chye also feels that radio is simply a traditional medium that the younger generation have problems connecting with. “The radio appeals more to the older generation as we grew up listening to it,” he says.
However, some students blame their reluctance to tune in to campus radio on other things. “It just doesn’t make sense for me to go through the hassle of logging in online to listen to the radio,” says Lisa Lim, a second year Medical Student in NUS.
Due to the limitations of their licenses, Radio Pulze’s digital waves are only allowed to reach the ears of NUS staff and students. In order to ensure that only they can tune in, listeners are required to log in with their username and password.
In some universities such as NTU, their in-house radio can be aired in strategic locations like canteens and other public spaces within the campus. With that ease, they are able to reach out to a reasonable number of audience, but at a hefty price.
“NTU’s radio station is a part of their media curriculum and because of that, the school invests heavily on the licenses that allow them to broadcast freely,” says Dexter.
A background check on the amount that commercial radio stations have to pay in order to broadcast on frequency airwaves revealed an estimate of $1.3 million.
OSA currently funds Radio Pulze with about $50,000 every year to pay these licenses needed to broadcast online, which include the broadcast license and license to compensate the record labels and artists. It is still a big sum of money invested to reach out to 30,000 students.
In order to justify the money invested and attract more listeners, Dexter had decided that it is time to stop competing with commercial radio and go niche by making local their focal.
“We are shifting towards local music, so if people such as exchange students want to listen to what Singapore has to offer, they will tune in to Radio Pulze ‘causethey know that we play local music,” says Dexter.
That approach has worked so far. Listeners have tuned in whenever Radio Pulze broadcasts content that is unique to them rather than doing what everyone else is doing.
In an odd but interesting incident, Radio Pulze experienced a spike in female listenership during one of their talk shows with a professor a few years back and it goes to show that good content will drive up their numbers.
“This particular professor’s name was put forward by some friends of the DJ. Because he was supposedly one of the more popular ones among the ladies, most of his classes tuned in to listen to what he had to say,” says Dexter
Pearlyn Ong, a member of Radio Pulze since 2008, feels that quality broadcasting would reel people in as well. “As long as we continue to attract quality manpower, we can continue to fight for that recognition and boost our listenership,” says the final year student.
As members of Radio Pulze now wait anxiously for their new studio at the hip and popular Starbucks in University Town to be ready, they are doing what they can to re-establish their brand and gain back its popularity.
Looking at the rising turnout that each Live Lounge concert brings in, Dexter is certain that this change in creative direction will eventually boost Radio Pulze’s popularity and listenership.