The new BBC Sounds app

The BBC have launched a new radio app called BBC Sounds. It sits alongside the existing BBC iPlayer Radio app, but whereas iPlayer Radio gives you a list of what's currently on, or has recently been on, so that you can listen to the programme live or in catch-up form, BBC Sounds primarily gives you podcasts. A podcast is a specially-produced downloadable piece of listening. It might well be based on an actual past radio programme; but might equally be something that has been put together as a podcast, and was never a live radio programme at all. For instance, a music playlist.

BBC Sounds is intended for mobile devices with screens - mobile phones especially - and is for an audience (reckoned to be mostly in the 25 to 35 age group) that doesn't habitually switch on a radio to listen to a live broadcast. It's not for those who religiously turn on Today on Radio 4 first thing after waking up in the morning. It's for those who want to hear a certain type of radio broadcast, be it a documentary, a discussion, music, drama or whatever (bird or whale sounds perhaps). It's searchable. So, for instance, I might want to find out about 5G. I pick up my phone, fire up the BBC Sounds app, type in '5G', and get this:

The first offering in that list of possible things to listen to seems OK, so I tap on it and listen. As you can see, the interface is unfussy and easy to use.

And it turned out to be very informative. I'm now convinced that 5G will be a Very Good Thing, and that it will be a clever move to delay buying another phone until I can get one that's 5G-enabled. As it happens, that fits in with my existing phone-upgrade plans, which contemplate delaying my next phone purchase until 2020, or even 2021.

That was a programme from earlier this year. It's also possible to listen to live radio on a similar interface. After hearing that 5G podcast, I switched to what Radio 4 had started broadcasting: The Archers.

I didn't stay with it, not being a follower of The Archers since the early 1960s.

BBC Sounds is not conventional radio. It's catering for people who haven't acquired a radio-listening habit. The Beeb wants to get them on side. To give them things that they might like to dip into, get them intrigued by what they hear, and get them curious to delve into the vast library of podcasts. And in that way make them better-informed, enlightened and possibly inspired with high-class and trustworthy material. It may also encourage some into listening to live radio, but the BBC will be satisfied to have created (and secured) a future mass podcast audience, and is not too concerned if this mode of listening actually becomes dominant.

I think they are doing the right thing here. Of course, ordinary live radio will continue; but it's a timely move to rope in the people whose daily routine doesn't allow them to listen to scheduled programmes, or who never go beyond the News and Weather, or who habitually search the Internet on their phones for interesting items to read or watch, rather than turn on a radio. The phrase 'steam radio' was being widely used back in the early 1960s, an admission that TV was making radio seem old-fashioned. (I know this because the Director of BBC Radio was a Speech Day guest at my grammar school in 1963 or 1964, and used the phrase himself) Well, radio has come a very long way since then. But it's time for a fresh approach, fit for the rising generations and not just my own. 

It's also a wise thing to target mobile phone users. That universal gadget will be even more essential in the future, the go-to device beyond all others for finding out about whatever is the topic of the moment. I go to mine several times a day for information. I am thirsty to be well-informed. A selection of podcasts to listen to, giving me fuller understanding, is exactly what I want. So I will certainly be a regular if not daily user of this new BBC app.

What is its scope? That's best shown in screenprints taken off my laptop.

The phone screen shows the same, but it would take a lot more phone-sized examples to illustrate what you see. The podcast service is the same on both phone and laptop; but naturally most listening will be done with the phone. I can imagine plenty of people listening to the wealth of podcasts now made easily-available on the BBC Sounds app, as they sit on buses and trains, or power-walk, their phone tucked away in a bag or pocket, and discreet bluetooth earphones the only clue that they are immersed in a world of sound.

It's not just for youngish folk who like music playlists, fashion trends, tech talk, or cultural soundbites. It's for everyone who wants something different (and hitherto undiscovered) to listen to. Most certainly if you are tired of endless current news and announcements of the most tedious or depressing kind - such as the latest state of play with Brexit, or Donald Trump's latest plans for Making America Great Again. Although if you really do want to listen to a series of potted analyses on a particular political or economic topic, this app will let you search for them, and provide you with hours of insightful listening.