Read this: May's Media Strategy

Hello, I'm Mr Rajan and welcome to the media Show podcast what is going on with Theresa May's Media strategy a group of broadcasters claim she's refusing to do interviews with M10 most powerful figures in the music industry has graced our studio Rob stringer the CEO of Sony Music and another medium megapower is with us Georgia Brown director of European Originals for Amazon Prime video service joy that you just and Bear Grylls to do an Eco challenge no doubt you have watched with Andrea some show called oh, yes bodyguard.

I think it was at got something like 10 million viewers.

Have you been out with Jed mercurio yet? I have a huge fan of dead and all of his work and let me love you offered in the last week or two he's probably busy.

I mean 10 watt 50 million people now watch The Bodyguard it's incredible how you going to make him an offer you can't refuse.

I would love to work with head cause of you to think that bodyguard BBC show how you would you do that you can you see yourself bidding for that series 2.

Definitely BBC show and Netflix of the Habit Around the World in an old-fashioned round between number 10 and the media about who Theresa May gives interviews to Jon Snow Channel 4 news says it's the first time in 29 years of reporting party conferences that a leader has turned him down so yesterday.

They will.

The empty chair and his editor fired off a letter to the pm's director of communications former BBC Politics boss Robbie Gibb writing this set a dangerous precedent it was co-signed by executives from all the major broadcasters Ben de pear the editor of Channel 4 News also claimed number 10 and I quote has blinkers on and doesn't understand plurality or accountability Adam Boulton Sky News says Maze team are favouring the BBC the prime minister's office meanwhile says that and I quote the idea that any broadcast is have been excluded is particularly erroneous and they list.

ODEON to use that Theresa May has done this.

We clearly some broadcasters are upset.

So what is the thinking in number 10 will hotfoot from Euston Station are Katy balls The Spectator and Stefanie bolzen? Who is that is that pronounce mat bowls and they're not too bad.

If I miss enjoys who is done the corresponding of German paper development both of just had the pleasure of watching Theresa May's speech at Party Conference Katy balls and let's address the fundamental issue.

Really directly first of all the complaint.

Is that by not doing interviews with all the public service broadcasters.

Theresa May is undermining democracy is that it's completely fair.

This is one instance.

I do you think that it should be the case that she doesn't deserve each broadcast if a what team around Theresa May have pointed out is the fact that this time last year.

She gave a speech which is why be round called a disaster because you cough the whole way through it.

She lost her voice and they were trying to give her a very light.

Schedule in lead up to it is I think one of the reasons that I didn't do as as a graph of oppressed rails previous years through the practicalities, but I do think the reason that quite Loughborough classes are particularly annoyed and not perhaps seeing this one as a unique example is because there has been a tendency in number 10 to give all the big interviews to the BBC anything that feeds into this narrative to Robbie Gibson is a quarter coin with BBC man now number 10 says the prime minister's done 36 interviews during conference is the issue.

How many all where they've been given an especially the dominance of the BBC and then snow in China for saying they didn't get there is obviously Johnson Channel 4 did get the interview Jeremy Corbyn so if you if you can compare and contrast labour conference and Tory conference the Labour leader.

Did he more interviews with more broadcast?

I also barely who is the editor of life? Please call programs at the BBC this very question on the show a couple weeks ago.

Why was the Andrew Marr on Sunday got so many of them? He said it's numbers and you are it's lots of you.

It isn't it kind of reasonable that the prime minister who's got finite vocal cords if you like would favour the biggest Kayla the BBC I think if you've got to limit your appearance since you're obviously going to have to go where you think you're going to get the biggest exposure and also reach different audiences which is why you will see them to your I mean if you are going to One Sunday so the way that ratings currently go it does make sense to make that that Andrew Marr Show but then on the other side because they were if you're going to constantly give the show all the big people all the top politicians.

Obviously they going to get the biggest ratings so so isn't it gets a bit chicken and egg ok was going back to basics.

What do you think Theresa May's broadly what her Media strategy is at the moment.

General strategies to get through the day and get through the week with the media interviews only in they do what they need to do.

I mean Theresa May Never looks very happy and interview is not what she's comfortable doing even on that Andrew Marr safe.

I don't think she'd rather not be there so I think it is safe to say this is not a prime minister.

He embraces the media side in the way that I think I'm like David Cameron did more ok.

It's just before your stuff in the same question what's of access.

Are you getting out The Spectator you had a very jolly party understand last night.

What to do intimacy.

I didn't come across the Irish preparing for this shows in London for what should have you got to do what happens if you get into the top of the Conservative Party at the moment because it written something quite costly about him.

He's a good connection.

The conservative party dresses are the New Statesman which is probably like the most similar publication to ask but on the left has probably closer relations with labour MPs so you do have a new open channels, but I don't think we get particularly preferential access and I think with number 10 late.

They don't enjoy doing that much in terms of Uno into his nursery need to go for the London corresponding of an overseas newspaper, what access to the members of British governor you getting in Brussels for 4 years in Brussels is a German Media you have lots of x's to the commissioners Parliament the council and then I arrived here and I would not even getting chat with an MP because basically and I will explain that I wasn't about me all about being German but it was about that.

They wouldn't have any impact.

Why would they talk to a German newspaper because they would rather talk to the local Herald

That has changed now very much because the British government needs good press on the continent because they want to get rid of these particularly in Germany and they want to have a good headlines and they help by doing so they they get a good brexit deal which is kind of 95 should think was annoyed because it's it's it's 27 member states and because BMW will not decide what's going to be in the brexit deal.

So when Theresa May you put her name to an opinion piece in your newspaper recently said that waste of time with that likely to be ineffective.

I mean, what was she doing those the word? Why does she do it? That's a very interesting question and it's also what what where it was actually the plant out, because it was then afterwards called as I spoke disaster and it started with the upper tier old wallpaper which was in in in in Italy in Germany about the everywhere and the member states.

It was perceived as being very confrontational.

I think they got back I was at a feeling in Germany that she very much so I mean then turned out and says it's not workable and songs of all time.

Is it Donald Tusk City Council president so bad that you have problems to write an opinion piece and he will say that disaster, what happened.

I think they pictures to ask because we have a kind of pool so if you publish in the event it will be published in Spanish of Pat used in French le Figaro and in the Italian la republique are so you have and thousands of Europeans in one stroke, but well, it was there were some sentences in their basically saying you European union trade us less fair than you treat us less fair than you treat other negotiation Partners in trade talks and little something on the back of actually the Europeans trying to not make a fast before the Tory Party Conference and they didn't understand why she then on the morning published the door bed and in the evening apparently over dinner at 12 when they had talked 4 hours of migration which is far more important than brexit to the Europeans and she would read that offer to them so they cost a bit of

Bet you look better now infamous Chequers summit which happened on a Friday July 6th.

I think it was a mirror some headlines from the following days papers a Saturday morning papers, Telegraph cabinet signed up to May's brexit deal the I made takes back control x Johnson in fiery liners p.m.

Claims brexit victory subheadline in the mouth pm's compromise wins over cabinet ft.

May wins backing for soft brexit after facing down cabinet Rebels listeners, I will notice a bugbear of mind because I'm views about the lobby in the fact that many of them seems to operate by consensus, but we know what happened to check has David Davis resigned Boris Johnson resign all these headlines about Chequers just as what you're saying about that sells most things to be the case proof that there something of the herd mentality now politics reported as it has more to do also with the way the spin works from number 10 so again coming back to the last book summit.

I was surprised another European colleagues for support.

That's why it was pitch to going to be the brexit summit it was never going to be a brexit Summit it was it was launched by the Austrian EU presidency as a somewhat about migration once more as a bus and coach the Austrian Chancellor wanted to make it this moment of breakthrough about migration and agreeing about what to do with the refugees in someone's IV and then number 10.

I don't know at some point in July started to say that was going to be about brexit watch this happened Katie why do people why did that happen? Why is it that the narrative is frame by particular people and very few people give Stephanie's write a challenging those narratives.

I mean it's difficult if if you have a as a Janice your job is to try and get the best insight you can and story and that means if you're going to write something about the prime minister in the prime minister's strategy the people that you gonna take a samosa storitve on there are people who work with the prime minister's so people in number 10 so if they're giving briefings are not saying I was such a briefing on this guy wasn't with everything out that this is what it's going to be.

I mean, what is your alternative that mean obviously if it if you're a multilingual channel is great.

You can go to this is your insides of that letters you go to you would expect to the fact that you know because it's a government that they shouldn't be and releasing it isn't as level trust that you don't normally normally it works with information.

They release is correct and also even if it you know it's something like that.

Is it reveals even if it isn't exactly what that other side to seeing it does reveal regardless, how had that team of a viewing things so badly say that stars certain record of intended media coverage that than 24hrs completely breaks down so I have no insights into number 10 that will be well enough to understand.

What's going on my impression this was also with the op-ed.

It's sometimes quite Celtic in there, but it's such as you know.

As soon as if you like a lot of you would think an old-fashioned way of doing Amy distressor, you know placing.

I think to report with European newspapers and whole idea was with social media.

We don't need newspapers.

We can just talk directly to the voters has that whole experience showing that some politicians actually newspapers still have a very important role does simply because they're not bed else.

Have you put it out in English and English version version on our website so this will be in the very early morning briefing of the delegations at the Summit was and we'll be put it also out on the wires.

It was everywhere and riders English service and so on so this is what they will have in their dossier in the morning and how they would prove their heads of states because that was that was with the Prime Minister said on the morning off at summit and obviously that works so you yeah, maybe it's old-fashioned, but it's it's a lot of space in the newspapers still anything easier to read Katie I mean when you look at Salzburg summit mean immigration was a big thing but it was also about checkers and checkers did come out of Theresa May probably wish it didn't come up but end of what happens because the Randy slapped it down.

Area discussion going on about that so I will say don't think that the briefing was perhaps even wrong to suggest at Salzburg was going to be like checkers for the Brits for the British that it was about Chequers can I ask you about something else would bring some knocking around the like a pinball on social media this week which is about the telegraphs relationship with Boris and you don't work for the Daily Telegraph do you think the data has been too supportive of viruses from your his picture is a door that front page in a beer in fashion quite a lot recently but I think the telegraphs the BBC is not supposed to be impartial and I think most people realise that the Telegraph veers to the right through so much jobs.

So sorry.

I can't believe I just did that is Boris Johnson is the newspaper the real movie as to the right it supports conservative MPs and Boris rhymes with loss of the values of that paper, so I don't find it surprising that brochures has a column that I think some people find it surprising how much he gets paid maybe people on last while paypal.me name.

Also, is it as a publication? I think the readers want to read him soap and I don't personally see the problem that go to use Tiffany thank you very very very very much indeed now.

They let me dispense with mediashow convention and give you a little bit of music by all the future classic pop bands.

I know so you'll know that that is and Calvin Harris and Sam Smith with promises current UK number one of course.

It's the most sold downloaded streamed track of the moment stream.

Of course was supposed to break the record industry.

How we make money if we're not actually selling records was the crime well the shift to digital has actually turned out to be very lucrative for the record industry Sony Music the label behind that song is estimated to make a mind-boggling 5 million dollars a day in royalties from the likes of Spotify apple music and YouTube that's $200,000 every single outdoor rugs.

Began his career as a scout who discovered the Manic Street Preachers when he came by the media show studio I started by asking whether as CEO he still has a hand inside of those artist who are keeping his company so profitable and labels in the UK and us for really over 20 years so did my bit in the trenches and being out there looking at what was going on now.

I have people done my job is to hopefully meant to the people who do that but every now and again something will come my way and I'll say actually this is special and this we should do it another see after 33 years at the same company you build up a list of contacts are sometimes I get stuff first and sometimes.

I'm able to pass it on to the people who work with me then be honest cos if we completely fascinating.

Do you ever hear new signings that sell your top team of Maiden think to yourself.

I just don't get it.

I just don't get it now and algorithms.

Taste to the most part will always be subjective really so so someone might without having over the name on my hair because because in alkaline.

No, I'm not going to have some kind of ended up the only been successful, but acts I've also talked with great that I just want to see that.

I kinda like the subjectivity of that tastes some degree because someone will see something you know in something that someone else won't how is the digital Revolution change the act of Scouting because there was his very traditional quite romantic idea or going on see the manager thinking this is it now you can see you on Instagram YouTube Snapchat where you want to be so how has technology changed scouting for Talent what is change that mean we have statistical teams now literally looking at data and statistics all day long traffic traffic.

You know internet traffic and various touchpoints of whether something looks like it's got an audience, but the fact is it's still there still have to be some degree of Personality

Get into the processor mean.

I tell my own our team which is the people who look at looking for the talent that Just Cause 4 stats a good if we ratio in the middle of a Rainy Night on February and it's banned all decided to terrible but the stats I told us they were good for one song maybe then then that's not what we want either.

You know it's like I'm in the data is dramatic now because of the streaming services, but sometimes something can appear in a different way later on and sometimes that can be way more longevity than than an actor in Stanley has good stat so the Revolution that you've ever seen in the course of your career as a shift of music from physical products to streaming right now.

Have you got Google Spotify and apple roughly where you want them? I don't think I'll ever be a case of companies of that size of we have the way we want them.

I don't even be very healthy if we did because we used to own physical distribution and that always wasn't beneficial to the hardest all the consumers we would like.

County competition amongst distribution, but there has been a major shift at the end of day.

We used to run that distribution with us to own factories and used to make discs and vinyl and now we don't all Sony Hill held.in Spotify my Spotify listed earlier this year you cast in it right away from that the Sony don't see Spotify as the Threat that people in the record industry said it was 10 years ago wow festival we wouldn't cash in we we start Hearthfire shares, so if you like we have stop it.

I mean did you get them back tonight? If yes and we go back to the artist which was which is the which was a deliberate strategy because we wanted to say to the artist that the reason we have most of these shares although we did buy shares at a later.

They are cells at market value.

We we decided that we wanted to show artist community that we would share in the upside from the streaming Revolution so that was tactical but also we had a decent percentage of shares, so we where we've also still got 40%

Ishares em we haven't made any firm decision, what will do without 40% You are really too big trends that we've seen in media global Media to the Western media the last 80.

Months is a marriage of content and distribution.

We find this particularly in TV comcast and Sky and fox and Disney figure out what happened with Netflix removed into original content and are a streaming service the flipside of what you're saying is it in a way it would be logical wouldn't for Sony to move in touch streaming and you had a streaming service Call Music Unlimited but you said it down.

Why is it not sensible 4 uco to setup your own streaming service in any distribution platform? It's all about timing and maybe when we set up a distribution.

It was too early distribution system was as much about digital downloads as it was streaming and that's digital downloads felt like a relatively new chapter Fifteen Years Ago and now there are digital downloads of making way for the streaming platforms so for my point of view.

It's all about timing and maybe we will do something that will give us more control over just you.

Lucian but but you can't argue with the fact that this particular chapter Spotify leading the way that they they built a robust than futuristic distribution model is that right now? Have you got other people in the works as say nothing nothing is impossible and and I would I would I would say though that it's possibly now that the next chapter of distribution not this chapters.

Disney pulling out of Netflix saying I want to second.

What are we putting all of our films available on Netflix and how did Netflix go? Why don't we launch our own direct-to-consumer free and they're doing that? It would be a similar sort of moving it for Rob stringer to say hang on a second.

Why Sony giving all this stuff to Spotify making them strong.

Why don't we got some fantastic artist? Why do we pull out and say to people if you wanna pay for your subscription to an Extreme Condition any direct and obviously we do have control over a huge amount of content and Talent and hundreds of thousands of tracks going back to the

100 years so so we have quite a lot of leverage and and and I think it's the way we monitor the situation about how to shift our business the same as a streaming platforms really and you know do you know do we want to take all our stuff off a major string platform that we don't want to do that because because we have an arrangement that that's working for both of us the moment but but the next chapter which might be in 5 years who knows that was Rob stringer the CEO of Sony Music 100 most powerful figures in the industry and you can hear the full version of that interview looks really interesting stuff and I've got to say in the media Show podcast search online for the media Show podcast and it's hit subscribe you can listen to it immediately actually at 5 p.m.

For Plenty More revelations including Ross stringers answer to whether he's ever pirated music.

I'd like to hope not Georgia Brown is here as mentioned at the top of the show director of European Originals for Amazon Prime video at Georgia tell us what you do if your job, what are you responsible for?

And you're up and create an incredible slate of immiscible television for our audiences got loads of cash to spend it with you for this is my friend at home who doesn't Amazon Silver answer to Netflix and get it's part of the package when you sign up to Amazon Prime delivery music photos etc and you know shipping so yeah, so was that package psycho you heard of through the buses Sony Music he was very candid which is what we expect our guests on the show Bake-Off is on Channel 4 at the moment Amazon sponsor it.

Would you consider outbidding Channel 4 for future series of bake off and buying the rights to broadcast the whole show and very much looking at programming.

So there is so many incredible ideas out there and there's a lot of people chasing content so really it's my job to go out and find one of the new ideas.

What's the next bake off for the next big hit for the coming down the pipe and that's what we looking forward to really innovate for the customers that we're we're supplying from you get your advice.

2nd say listening very intently II XL come to that uefa.tv company that is fundamentally different from anything that we seen before because you're funded by monthly subscription like Netflix but your subsidized by the sale of USB cables and scented candles and everything else that Amazon sales.

Are you looking to commission shows that will encourage viewers to buy more stuff from Amazon like a new cookery show that has a range of utensils that you can exclusively by Amazon that's within until when I first took this job and I also feel pregnant and lots of people get saying are you now just going to commission shows that I like flogging Pampers or something and know the answer is definitely not we are incredibly focused and which I think is a key to our success on just creating fantastic television and that's all about going for purity of that idea and very much protecting the creative that we working with to make sure they delivering something Great Frog and is a word I could have say to my shame and you can tell that take clothes and shoes in fashion, but I never come across that before the fashion series from Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn and it's got a shockable element which what happened today.

You tell us I wish I could tell you more about that show that's coming for my us colleague.

I can't talk about that one, but we really sad to be in partnership with hiding occasionally people from uni so it's as I mentioned a desperate to put shows to desperate for cash that feels about it.

What are you looking for? We are looking for unmissable programming and it's really hard to be too prescriptive because I think the moment you come inside when a crime charolais thriller or a comedy you take your eye off the ball of what's coming in.

That's when you missed the great hits coming up so it's all about stuff as distinctive.

We want stuff is really innovative stuff as pushing boundaries.

That's what people expect from us.

Ok, how important is it for your shows that they have an international appeal fringes at Natural History program to me.

It's probably slightly different say the way that I can mission is very much for a local lending Europe if I'm buying a show in Spain for my Spanish audience my number one concern is that's going to be a huge hit for the audience in Spain I think because of my background.

I'm innately international so I always have an ion shows that I think will do very well and resonate globally and we are a global service.

I think that's the joy of craters working with us is that then?

Is Wilko globally so when you're thinking about tasted? I think that Stephanie is family in Germany week about taste.

It will work both here and Germany do you have a kind of broad sense of the sorts of things that are German audience will go forward to have data which days in Germany they're really interesting start that everyone talks about the data.

I think on my first day Amazon I was expecting to come and see a big red button like it is pushing say this is an algorithm.

So you can tell what great shows we should make but no and we do it like the old-fashioned way everyone else does you descript unique creative Zeus build a relationship and you just have a gut Instinct on great ideas specially, what do you make of you? So I do that.

There is a solute a particular kind of program that might resonate in Germany in a way that won't as soon as nails wearing is there are also cases, St Gemma's just love great programming you wanna Iron Maiden marketed than in other places as well.

So it should do something in Germany that works, but it will have certain elements of German culture.

How can you then sell it in in a different country? Yeah? I think audiences are.

Lately fascinated by the coaches so you are wanted which is one of our first Prime Originals in Germany which we went on to do a very successful series 2 of is a great example where when that went out that was the number one show on a service in Germany that actually over 30% the audience came in from the US and that really fascinated me and I think it just goes to show that the best shows out there really transcend borders in terms of culture and language you mention the fact the absence of a big red button called data, but he might naivety.

I thought that one of the defining qualities of Amazon she's a company is doing quite well at isn't it has a huge amount of data about his customers, can't you use that day to decide? What's the programs? He might want to make absolutely and we are always looking at what Allah all the ents are engaging in what they really loving watching on the service.

I think the challenge with our jobs.

Of course.

You know particular drama take such a long time to develop.

You can take us to three years when initial conversation to even putting something out the service.

So you know predicting what people want in the future.

You know it's hard to find data on that.

I just remote control for the Vue the TV is completely separate from the shopping.

So if I do.

If I don't want to buy several copies of my own fast corpus of books that you haven't yet written I could just sign up to the TV through Amazon Prime Minister service on its own is absolutely I think the benefit is the value that you get from signing up to all is just incredible in terms of what you can get right ok.

You not just say that the more details of show the starting next week with the romanoffs in the new series from the creator of Mad Men and you said that you'll be releasing a new episode each week and not in one go it's quite interesting debate recent about the BBC's release of killing Eve which was released one go to sleep and bodyguard which year was sure I'd mention you may have heard of why do you want viewers to binge watch the romanoffs? Is that good just let me have I think people will eventually binge-watch.

I think every show we have to look at differently romanos is a fantastic example because unlike something like mad when men which is always see what that famous for and there isn't a kind of Proof reach episodes of every single episode is completely stand alone and very close, so you finish that story in the next week when you tune it's completely different and is the idea of bringing back that that watercooler moment so you can all have.

Shop together a discussion about that episode so discouraging subscribe to cancel Prime subscription if a prime member joins up within that 30 day free trial they subscribe the moment I watching video they're really likely to keep coming back.

You know that the kind of a model on the 27th of March I was very taken by reporting Vanity Fair it's suggested Amazon spend a billion dollars on a show called the three body problem is that true? I want to see haven't heard of it, so I won't comment on speculation around the regulation of the things I get told on a daily basis about what I'm spending a brilliant with those other pair of the BBC absolutely terrified not appearing in broadcasting broadly see these as if it had her can we compete they need and I think the joy of our service and why we really stand out from competitors.

We really love to collaborate with the broadcasters particularly in the UK so we got a lot of shows of running with the BBC King Lear that just launched on our servicing came out here fleabag series 2 which reinvesting.

I would like helping them invest in the UK industry.

It's really important to us to support the creators here to support the broadcasters here to help me funny shows they wouldn't normally be able to be putting on the services.

That's a nice positive note on this one do leyden point on a very much for coming in and hope some Indies listen to this cut some useful pointed out that Katie and Stephanie thank you also to you and Andy to Rob stringer.

That's it for us for this week will be back at the same time next week.

Please do subscribe to the podcast to search online for the media podcast and hit subscribe.

Thanks for listening and goodbye.