Lydia Jenkin: Radio - what's new?

Kiwi FM host Charlotte Ryan. Photo / Babiche Martens

You may have noticed the extra billboards, ads, and competitions promising grand sums of cash around the place over the past week or so. That's because we're smack bang in the middle of what the radio industry knows as "survey period" -- six weeks where around 3000 people are surveyed to find out about the radio listening habits of our nation.

Why am I bringing this to your attention? Well, there's been quite a shake-up in the radio world of late and, hopefully, that's meaning greater choice when it comes to bopping along in your car on your way to or from the office, or soundtracking your workplace, or doing some chores on Sunday mornings.

It's long been a gripe of mine that music radio in New Zealand has been somewhat stuck in its ways, so it's been wonderful to see that landscape slowly changing in recent times, and I would encourage all music lovers out there to give their dials a spin in coming weeks to see what they might be missing.

There are two stations in particular I want to crow about because they've both been around for ages, but many people don't know how much they've changed in recent months, and they've become my personal favourites.

Firstly: Kiwi FM. 102.2FM in Auckland. It was launched by the Government in 2005 as a way to help promote local music and get it on air, and it's been through a few different personality changes since then. It's worth noting that Kiwi was run on the smell of an oily rag, always by people with a passion for local music, but it did sometimes feel a little tarnished by its government objectives.

Recently however, it's undergone a bit of a makeover, and now it's awesome.

There are excellent hosts like Charlotte Ryan, and an all-round crew of people who seem to nail what I want to hear every day -- indie-pop, soul, alt-country, funk, hip-hop, a touch of rock, and plenty of tracks that aren't quite "commercial" enough to make it on to top 40 radio, but are still totally bangin'.

And it's no longer just Kiwi music, it's international too -- think Triple J or BBC 6 if you want international comparisons.

Secondly: Radio Hauraki. 99.0FM in Auckland. Hopefully everyone knows the impressive back-story of Radio Hauraki seeing as we've had two films about it this year -- it was certainly a pioneer of giving the people what they wanted, with everything from the Rolling Stones to the Beatles to local pop acts on its early playlist.

It became quite rock-focused, and heavy in the 2000s, but recently, with David Ridler introduced as content manager, the playlist has opened up too. It's all about good tunes again, with plenty of room for independent acts, and acts we might see appear at festivals like Big Day Out and Laneway without hearing much on the radio.

And even though it's still got a blokey tone, with hosts like Jeremy Wells and Mikey Havoc, it's clever, wide-ranging and doesn't take itself too seriously. There's still plenty of room for more great music radio in New Zealand, but these two stations are certainly helping to push us in the right direction.

- TimeOut