31 Aug 2023 at 18:30
The radio landscape has been shaken up a lot lately. Talpa lost an FM frequency and DPG Media acquired one more during the recent auction. That place goes to the channel JOE, which focuses on the music of the seventies, eighties and nineties.
The greatest hits from artists such as Michael Jackson, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Queen and Tina Turner from the last three decades of the last century. That should be JOE’s instantly recognizable sound. The concept is not entirely new. In Belgium, JOE has been around since 2009 and the channel managed to climb into one of the most listened to channels in Flanders.
“There were only a few weeks between the outcome of the auction and the first broadcast date of September 1,” says Iwan Reuvekamp, program director at JOE. Even before it was certain that DPG Media would get an extra FM spot, the company already did extensive research into what kind of station should come.
“It soon became apparent that there was a need for a station with classic hits“, says Reuvekamp. “This concept has many similarities with the Belgian DPG channel JOE. For us, that meant we didn’t have to start building a brand from scratch. That saves time.”
But the Dutch JOE will not be a direct copy of the Belgian channel. “Because the Dutch listener has different needs,” says the program director.
Iwan Reuvekamp is program director at the new channel Joe. Photo: Sander Koning / Qmusic
‘Joe is a multi-year plan’
Although JOE draws from the musical history of the seventies, eighties and nineties, it is not the intention that the channel lingers in the past. Reuvekamp explains that Joe focuses on the “fresh forties”. Who are they?
“They have memories of the songs that are played, but they are not stuck in that time. They keep up with new developments, for example in the field of telephones. JOE reminisces with music from back then, but stands with both feet in the now.”
With this, DPG Media is trying to attract an audience that is slightly older than the average listener of its other station, Qmusic. This way the range of the two transmitters does not bite each other. “You don’t want to cannibalize,” says Reuvekamp.
But how do you attract radio listening Netherlands to a completely new channel? If Reuvekamp has learned anything from his time building Qmusic in the Netherlands, it’s that you can’t rush radio. “Booking a quick success is impossible, because radio listeners are much more attached to a channel or DJ compared to, for example, television viewers. It is a multi-year plan.”
There are therefore no strict targets in terms of listening figures or market share. “Of course we want to grow and become big, but our goals are now mainly aimed at presenting the Joe brand as clearly as possible. With every choice we have to check together whether it fits what JOE is like.”
Qmusic DJ Marieke Elsinga will occasionally be heard on Joe during the first few months. Photo: BrunoPress
‘Had to promise that Qmusic will get its DJs back’
To be able to start so quickly, JOE relied a lot on Qmusic in terms of facilities. Starting without DJs was not an option for the team. That is why the voices of Qmusic were willing to talk to each other during the first period of the new channel.
The channel deliberately does not opt for a fixed programming. This should ensure that listeners do not get too attached to the Q names, which will be replaced over time by JOE’s own DJs.
The task for the Qmusic DJs is therefore not over personality radio in which they themselves are central, but above all to announce and announce the music. “Do you know that I actually like that too?”, says Qmusic DJ Marieke Elsinga, who will occasionally be heard on Joe. “We serve the music. People don’t listen for us. And I like to chat an intro well, on the beat, tight against the vocals.”
It is not the intention that the DJs stay with JOE and leave Qmusic. “I had to promise to give them back,” says Reuvekamp with a laugh. “Never say never, of course, but I’m completely in my place at Qmusic and that remains my main task,” says Elsinga.
What kind of DJs is Reuvekamp looking for for JOE? “At Q, we were mainly looking for new talent at the time, but that is different now. With Joe, we want DJs who are already known to our target group. Listeners want to identify with the presenters, so they must match in terms of life phase.”
2023-08-31 16:30:03
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