If media is a passion business, Randall Abrahams is South Africa’s Dr. Ruth. Before the interview gets underway, there’s Randall talking technical on a new amplifier he’s checking out for his system at home. “But you’ve already got a great system,” I say, having been treated a few years back to the prodigious music collection in his Killarney apartment. The answer is typical. “You can never have good enough sound, man.”
Well, maybe. It takes a very discerning ear to notice the subtleties he’s after with this new amp. Fortunately for high-end sound merchants, Randall’s been perfecting the ear all his life. A die-hard Elvis fanatic since early childhood, he could write a thesis on The King in fact he was thinking about doing so in 2000, before more pressing engagements diverted him from his part-time MA at Rhodes University. He’s also a Miles Davis disciple. “If you don’t know Kind of Blue, you don’t know much,” he’d say on the steps outside the Rhodes journalism department. Then there’s his passion for everything in between. Soul, pop, hip-hop, kwaito, country, hard rock, classical, blues. He’s pretty mean on the ivory too, as the country saw during Idols.
Hard-ass television image notwithstanding, Randall’s kinda music passion is backed up by a deep knowledge of radio. The combination played an instrumental role in the success of YFM. As the station manager of Y until June this year, he was a key figure in defining and grabbing Gauteng’s urban black niche. From the moment of Y’s launch in 1997, he was selecting the playlist with S’bu Nxumalo; he was encouraging the DJs to become more musically well-informed; he was monitoring and tweaking the programming all with one eye on an audience that looked like hitting a million within the first year.
Motivated by the skyward-heading curve, in 1999 Randall formed the spearhead of a heated and much-publicised attempt to take the station national, and watched bemused as the regulator knocked the bid back. His final touch before leaving was close involvement in the relocation of the Y head offices and broadcasting facilities to The Zone in Rosebank the Yona ke Yona brand now pretty much articulates the vibe of the place.
So why did he leave Y for the SABC when things seemed to be going so good? “I was offered the job by Peter Matlare,” he says. “What do you do if you say no? The industry hasn’t grown to such a degree that there are so many opportunities. This is a fantastic opportunity.”
So why did he leave Y for the SABC when things seemed to be going so good? “I was offered the job by Peter Matlare,” he says. “What do you do if you say no? The industry hasn’t grown to such a degree that there are so many opportunities. This is a fantastic opportunity.”
Okay, but as the general manager of SABC commercial radio, one of Randall’s new stations is Metro FM. During his time at Y, the audience could tune into 99.2 any morning and hear Phat Joe referring to Metro as ‘that other station’ or ‘Retro FM.’ Randall doesn’t blink, gives a football metaphor. “If you play for AC Milan or Inter Milan, you still have to score goals.”
Can’t argue with that. Time to move onto the strategies for his new stations. Randall emphasises that his mandate is to run the portfolio of commercial stations (Metro FM, 5FM, and Good Hope) as a business. As with any privately held portfolio, he needs to keep a close eye on revenue, costs, and audience capacity. “Commercial realities dictate the rules here,” he says, “so one must always look to create shareholder value.” The line of attack is deceptively simple. “I have to find mechanisms to bring in regional listenership.”
It’s an unexpected response. Surely stations with the national footprint of 5FM and Metro FM couldn’t probably shouldn’t play in the regional space? Randall points to the examples of East Coast Radio and KFM, who, as he puts it, ‘own’ Durban and Cape Town. “I don’t think they have the regions because they’re great stations, I think they have them by default. We’ll ensure that 5 is better quality in terms of programming and DJ’s. We’ll actively market in the regions.”
Randall points to the examples of East Coast Radio and KFM, who, as he puts it, ‘own’ Durban and Cape Town. “I don’t think they have the regions because they’re great stations, I think they have them by default. We’ll ensure that 5 is better quality in terms of programming and DJ’s. We’ll actively market in the regions.”
A corresponding strategy Randall has in mind for 5FM involves crossing the colour line. He is adamant that the black audience is important for the station. In this instance, Randall points to a competitor in the Gauteng region. “Highveld haven’t got primary black listeners, their black listeners are secondary. The difference is that 5 creates the hits, Highveld only plays them.”
With Metro FM, Randall concedes that crossing the colour line the other way is more difficult. But like 5FM, where sponsorship of a Jamiroquai tour is about to herald the attack of the regions, the intention for Metro FM is to take hold of big media properties (aimed, of course, at their target demographic). “We must act like the leading stations in our markets,” says the GM. “The independent regional stations must know that we aim to build a healthier presence.” The tone is equally strident when questioned on his own regional station. “Nothing will happen in Cape Town unless Good Hope is involved.”
So the passion’s still there. All that’s happened is that Randall has transferred to another first division side. He’s still hooked on his beat, as confirmed by the proud mention of a magazine article he’s just written on the Miles Davis classic years. He’s still stroking the ivories when he gets back late to his Killarney apartment. He still, mercifully enough, has a greater passion for the media industry in general. “If radio and media don’t grow, all you have is this finite cake. And we all eat less of it.”