Mister Magnetic
Dougal Perman came in for a chat this afternon. He's the Programme Director at an internet radio station based in Glasgow that specialises in underground and alternative music. Dougal had been in the audience when I gave students a couple of weeks ago and he remembered that I'd thrown out an invitation to any of the students to pop in and see me if they wanted advice. Very few ever take up this offer, but Dougal was straight on the 'phone.
I was interested to hear how Dougal became involved in student radio and how, years ago, he anticipated the demand for on-demand media when he and his business partner launched Magnetic. The station has built a good reputation and is now moving into podcasting and, among other projects, is helping a primary school in East Dunbartonshire set up an internal radio station for pupils.
These certainly are interesting times for the radio business, with newspapers and magazines now offering an online audio or video service. Dougal, and others with traditional production experience, are well-placed to offer their expertise to all manner of businesses who want to get in on the act.
The key is finding a way to get these podcasts noticed. That's easy if you already have a well-known website like the ´óÏó´«Ã½ or , but I suggested to Dougal that he launch his own podcasting network which could offer advice and training to would-be podcasters. It would be useful if there was one site where, for example, you could find all podcasts relevant to Scotland. Perhaps that site could be funded by sponsorship.
Unless that already exists?
