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As Big L continues on its collision course with oblivion, what can it do to slow down the money running out?
Big L is at that point in its life where it lacks two major items that make radio a successful business venture: Advertisers and listeners. Since it is unlikely to build a significant relationship with either, what can be done to make sure it survives?
As a company, Big L uses a very sensible commercial business model in the hope to attract an income. Overheads are kept as low as possible with people working for nearly free and putting a lot more in to keep things running than you’d see in other projects, but the costs of being on AM and Sky are still taking their toll. The programming currently being provided just isn’t attracting an audience or an income. The hope will be to sell off periods of time to other vanity broadcasters, with profits going to pay for the Big L programming as well. The sad truth is that Big L’s home grown programming and complete lack of marketing just doesn’t interest listener or advertiser beyond the small fraternity of anoraks.
Rather than Big L fail and leave us around Christmas, what other business models could it use?
Well, there are two types of vanity broadcasters currently functioning: The RTI model which requires some rich bloke with more money than sense to pay for everything in order to make him feel good, or the Caroline Maidstone model where the costs are spread amongst half-hypnotised anoraks who remember a station with a similar name from 40 years ago.
I can’t see what Big L offers that could interest some rich bloke to come along and pour money into the company for no readily apparent reason, so possibly the model to follow is the Caroline Maidstone one. I say this because what small audience there is, and the basic thrust of the Big L programming, is anoraky. More anoraky than Caroline Maidstone.
Maybe the only way Big L will survive will be to start some form of mechanism by which anoraks can pay for everything, as they do with Caroline Maidstone, and have started to do with the Isle of Man project.
Assuming that anoraks still have enough money, maybe Big L could start some kind of club that they could join in return for their monthly direct debit. Caroline Maidstone attracts money even though there is no club and it all just goes into the pocket of the bloke who owns the trademark. Caroline Maidstone’s programming is not as anoraky as Big L’s. Logically, since Big L is more anoraky, this is where the anoraks should be ploughing their money.
If a good on-air campaign accompanied the push, and programmes were made even more anoraky than they are now, maybe there’d be enough income generated to keep going for a while. If anoraks are listening to Big L then asking them to pay seems a fair return. If Caroline Maidstone can survive paid for by anoraks, then so can Big L. It is far better anorak value for anorak money.
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