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SCA ramps up LiSTNR offering with 10 new music stations

Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) is continuing to expand the content available through its audio hub LiSTNR. Mumbrella can reveal the network will add ten new specialty music stations to its platform.

The expansion brings LiSTNR’s curated music stations offering to 25, as SCA continues to expand its product to complement its array of FM and DAB+ radio stations, and podcasts.

SCA head of music, Mickey Maher, told Mumbrella that continuing to add more music stations to LiSTNR is a key, ongoing part of the strategy around the centralised audio offering. “It was always part of our plan to have a strong, diverse product offering for LiSTNR [but] from very early on, we were mindful not to overwhelm well early adopters in the first instance.

“We wanted to appeal to people who may listen to traditional radio that want to check out streaming playlists, or others that don’t who are into a genre of music that isn’t currently being serviced.”

SCA head of music, Mickey Maher

The new stations include a four-to-ten-year-old targeted station KIDS HITS, a greatest hits station 70’s Hits, female-driven Girl Power, a station featuring solely Indigenous artists, and swing and soul offering Crooners + Swooners.

Also joining LiSTNR is the past-pop retrospective Guilty Pleasures, 90’s Soft Pop, Indie & Alt, 80s New Wave, and a station dedicated to Jazz.

Maher revealed that plenty of research went into how the stations will be programmed, with special care taken not to pull listeners away from the others parts of the SCA audio ecosystem.

A part of our thinking was around what’s not currently being serviced in the Australian market. An extensive amount of time was put into research, and that gave some amazing insights into the types of moods and genres that people are interested in, and where some gaps might be,” he said.

So we have these 25 very different, unique product offerings that don’t cannibalise what we’re doing already in digital or terrestrial radio, but equally are offering something fresh and new for people to explore.”

In the past, SCA has altered the music strategy behind its DAB+ digital stations, rebranding several entirely when they have underperformed. Maher says the data gleaned from the LiSTNR will allow the network to be flexible and make changes to stations in order to maximise listening and engagement.

“What we’re aiming to do here is make it easy for people to consume content, whether that be spoken word or music through a one-stop-shop. So it’s important to get the strategy right, and we’ll continue to fine-tune as we need to.

“We get real-time data and we’ll continue to build on that as our audiences grows, and assess what’s working and what’s not, where we need to adjust things. This is definitely not a set and forget and off we go.”

The new stations are also about continuing to create new segments for advertisers to target, using the information SCA gets about those tuning in via the LiSTNR app.

Maher’s message for marketers is: “You can absolutely target your message to audience that’s really leaning in and engaging in these products.

“They’ve chosen to listen to these podcasts or to these music streams, and we know who they are. We know where they live. It’s really exciting for advertisers because there’s less waste and more return on investment.”

Since its launch as the new home for all of SCA’s audio content, LiSTNR has gradually expanded to include original podcasts, dedicated music stations, and streaming-only live radio shows.

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