Will Redi STAR take off?
Written by Jorge Seow, on Tuesday, 23 September 2008
Published in : Culture, Music
If you’ve been lamenting about the scant radio airtime for local music here since forever, you’ll be pleased to know that things are set to change… somewhat. All hail the new station on Rediffusion, Redi STAR.
What’s sweet: this new station aims to promote the multilingual music scene in Singapore by providing a 24/7 platform for local musicians to showcase their talents. Plus, to do these good tunes justice, Rediffusion uses DAB+ (Digital Audio Broadcasting Plus) technology, which promises superior audio sound.
What’s not so sweet: to tune in to Redi STAR, you’ll need to throw in some dough to subscribe to Rediffusion radio ($385.20 for two years, though Rediffusion is now running a special promo rate at $240 from now till Oct). Furthermore, this effort to promote the local music scene seems limited with Rediffusion’s current pool of 10,000 listeners,
Let’s see what happens when we compare an existing free-to-air radio station, MediaCorp’s 987FM (it has a weekly one-hour slot just for local music, 987Home) to Redi Star:
THE CONTENDERS
From Rediffusion, we have Redi STAR *cheers and screams*
From MediaCorp, we have 987FM *cheers and screams*
*ding ding ding*
“FIGHT!!”
Round #1: Cost
987FM pummels Redi STAR to a pulp, thanks to its free-to-air radio status. To listen to Redi STAR, you require paid subscription. 987FM wins.
Round #2: Sound Quality
With its DAB+ system, Redi STAR beats the ‘warm and fuzzy’ radio waves of 987FM hands down. Redi STAR wins.
Round #3: Brand
“What’s Rediffusion? Redi STAR? How do we tune in?” Redi STAR falls flat on its face. Compare this to the slickness of 987FM. 987FM wins.
Round #4: Radio personalities
Radio veteran Soo Wei hosts 987FM’s local music programme, 987Home, while Redi STAR boasts a hodgepodge of DJs such as ventriloquist Victor Khoo and his puppet-in-crime. Er… ventriloquism on radio? For this one, Youth.SG thinks it is a draw.
Round #5: Length of broadcast
987Home lasts for just one hour on Saturday evenings, while its usual radio programmes play a token local tune once in a while in its usual programming. Redi STAR lasts for 24 hours every day. That’s… 168 hours every week. Redi STAR outlasts 987FM with sheer tenacity. Redi STAR wins!
Round #6: Listenership
Final round. Rediffusion has 10,000 subscribers. We’re sure more than 10,000 people tune in to 987FM at any one time. It’s hard to fight when you can have radio for free. 987FM punches the living daylights out of Redi STAR!
Final Score
Redi Star: 2
987FM: 3
987FM WINS!
All lovers of local music out there, can Redi STAR work? You decide.
OH. HI, VICTOR KHOO.
More information on Redi STAR here
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Display 10 of 18 comments
1. Thursday, 25 September 2008
can we have someone in 97.8fm to ans why theres only 1 hr airtime for local music?
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mee mee
2. Wednesday, 24 September 2008
Hi everyone. I am Gilbert & I am the one handling RediStar. Maybe I can add some points that were missing from the interview on the 19 Sept 08. RediStar was initiated by our CEO, Mr Leong Kwok Seng because he felt that as a responsible broadcaster, Rediffusion must play a part in promoting our very own talents. That is why RediStar was born.
On this channel, we play multi lingual songs regardless of popularity or music genre. Which means, even if nobody knows you but you feel that you have talent & you want to showcase it, we will put you on air as long as you are Singaporean & the material you are submitting does not infringe MDA guidelines. Why do we do that? RediStar is a place for all Singaporeans to showcase their talent round the clock. At Rediffusion, we strongly believe in our very own home grown talents. Our motto is to promote Singapore talent & our ultimate goal is to show the world what Singapore music is all about.
Why not FM? Why not free to air? I have answered this question many times. The reason why we are not on FM is because there is no more FM bandwidth available & Rediffusion only has license to broadcast on DAB.
Why must we subscribe since Rediffusion says they are promoting local talent? During the interview on 19 Sept 08, I have emphasized that Rediffusion can put RediStar on free to air DAB but a DAB set costs about $500-600. So even if we are on free to air DAB, it will not help. That is why we brought the subscription rate down to only S$240 for a 2 year plan. Which is $10 a month & only 0.36 cents per day. On our radio, you can also listen to 18 other channels, trouble free. Which means, during these 2 years, if our radio breaks down, it will be replaced without questions.
I would like to add that we are not competing with anyone. Our aim is to provide a missing platform for our very own talents that we have faith in to showcase their music 24/7. We might only have 10000 subscribers now but every station starts off with zero listeners. Lucky for us, we are 10000 ahead. On behalf of Rediffusion & RediStar, I would like to thank Jorge for publishing this article & the generous comments & suggestions that you good Singaporeans have given. Thank you.
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Gilbert Ong
3. Wednesday, 24 September 2008
i usually don't comment but i couldn't help it this time. why are you questioning people's intelligence just because they haven't heard of something? maybe it's not because they're ignorant but that something just isn't talked about?
"i have nth else to say." GOOD DONT SAY ANYTHING
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cowboy cal
4. Wednesday, 24 September 2008
Xiao Prince ar... Xiao Prince. I don't know if i should call u prince or a bimbo. Please do not make a fool out of urself in this forum because it just make you really really stupid. Please read the articles and go to their webpage for more details. Unless you are seriously a bimbo and do not know how to use it, i have nth else to say.
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nini
5. Wednesday, 24 September 2008
Well, Xiao Prince. I guess your circle of friend is just you and only you. Haven you been following up the news recently? Redistar was in the Sat's paper. Please do some reading before coming here to air your views.
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nini
6. Wednesday, 24 September 2008
its not about the access,its the effort to even come up with the idea to support local music.instead of saying cannot and why it cannot work,why not give suggestive comments like how to make it work and how to give local music a voice?!?
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xiaoprincess
7. Wednesday, 24 September 2008
i think the article is fair leh. in the sense that it compares but it does not put down either.
aiyo. like its just saying one is better. not like this sucks.
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compster
8. Wednesday, 24 September 2008
I am suprised youth.sg actually encourage such an article. Any effort to support local music whether big or small is a good thing. The writer only sends the message "if you are small, you cant help promote local music, it wont work". Everyone can play a part whether big or small. Comparing 2 radio stations is simply silly & childish.
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xiao ling
9. Wednesday, 24 September 2008
i choose to think that 987 is a better outlet. i mean redistar. how many of u here talking have access to rediffusion? cause i don't not even any one i know does.
trust me. i've asked.
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xiaoprince
10. Wednesday, 24 September 2008
right. I agree with you. What is $240 subscription nowadays where parents can afford to get their kids PSP which cost $300 and expensive mobile phone.
Furthermore parents are not paying $240 for nothing. Music can help kids relax and also it helps nuture their speech and pronounciation.
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nini
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