In with the old: How radio is beating streaming at its own game

Nine out of ten British adults still listen to the radio every week – despite the rise of streaming. New Statesman data analysis shows how the country’s biggest stations hold their audience’s attention in the digital era.

By Katharine Swindells

It is a Sunday afternoon in November. My mother and I are stuck in traffic and, as always, we are tuned in to Magic FM. Someone has requested 1999 Backstreet Boys hit “I Want It That Way”.

When you are used to Spotify’s ability to call up a single song in an instant and then recommend hours of a music from a similar era, genre or mood, Magic’s transition into Ben E King’s 1961 soul classic “Stand By Me” feels rather abrupt. But that doesn’t faze its listeners: Magic and its sister stations pull in just over four million listeners a week.