Are people still tuning in to radio stations these days? Sadly here in Bali, few broadcast in English for the benefit of the many expats. On the other hand there is a plethora of Bali radio stations – more than 40 at present – squawking on the FM/AM bandwidths and at first glance they all seem to play the same type of music. Which ones are on your dial list? I took some time to explore what is really on offer here. Admittedly, not having a well-functioning radio I surfed the airwaves on my computer and found that most stations are streaming online. Then I contacted a sampling of stations and sat down to chat about programming content, their fan base and their broadcasting philosophy.
The good news is that there are many Bali stations to choose from, both FM/AM and internet based though none of them provide predominant English-language broadcasting. That role was formerly taken up by Paradise FM, the English-only language station that erstwhile graced the airwaves in Bali; sadly it is no longer in existence. Paradise FM was very popular with the expat population as it featured mostly rock hits from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. The station was actually owned by Indonesia’s national public broadcaster, Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) who signed a deal with Radio Australia (RA) in March of 2006 allowing Australian programs to be broadcast over the air waves in Bali. If you now search online for Paradise FM you will be directed to the Australian station by the same name, Ballina’s 101.9 Paradise FM where you can listen to popular music.
Hard Rock Bali 87.8 FM, contrary to all expectations, does not broadcast in English. A pity because they – and the other Bali stations – are missing out big time, not only on acquiring a vast expat fan base but more importantly on the jingling in their pockets from advertising revenue. The mindset is typical and worthy of a catch-22 prize: the stations do not include English programs because, according to their statistics, no expats listen to them. But few expats listen to them because they do not provide English programs. You get it.
Most Bali-based stations broadcast in Indonesian, with a fair number of them broadcasting part-time in Basa Bali, the Balinese language. These stations like AR 104.4 FM (Aneka Rama) based in Renon cover many topics of interest to Balinese: popular music,
sacred music, cultural, spiritual and social talk shows, something for the lovelorn, etc. They also play a lot of Dangdut. There is of course Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI), a government channel with 4 stations in Bali that provide all-around programming, news casts, some music and endless talk shows. A bit on the boring side and certainly not very engaging for those of us used to the variety and upbeat momentum of the public broadcasting services in our home countries.
This critique can probably be leveled at most Bali stations; not many of them are engaging from the perspective of the seasoned and older expat. The announcers all sound young –because they all are- and a bit juvenile at times, probably because their listeners are drawn from the populist strata: students, young workers, housewives and stay-at-home residents. The stations will readily admit that their fanbase is primarily Indonesian and they have no idea how many expats are listening to them. Incidentally, there are just a few AM stations and most are limited to community campus radio. Most all popular are FM stations and they also broadcast online, so if you want to check them out you can download their app and have a go and a giggle.
So what stations are you listening to? A bit of an informal enquête among some Bali expats reveals a lot of them are listening to Australian network stations for a bit of western flavor. You can check online at radioaustralia.net.au or australianetwork.com. Others who want a bit more local flavor can check out the Bali Radio stations online. Most of them typically don’t have exciting websites. Some look a bit cluttered and a little dated, probably because most of them are rarely updated. But they are a good gateway into their live broadcasting programs. On the other hand, most all have active FaceBook and Twitter pages.
Those of us looking for some genuine jazz programs or classical music are not served by many stations, though you may hear the odd jazz number played on the “classics” or instrumental programming. Neither will we find much in terms of topics particularly of interest to expats like talkshows about current issues, legalities of employment, property ownership, navigation among social and cultural hills and waves, mixed marriages and their implications for partners and children, elder care, family law, etc.
About censorship: according to the radio people I interviewed radio programs do not get censored by authorities although there is a strict self-censorship philosophy among the stations; they typically follow societal and cultural norms, staying aloof of taboo and risqué subjects and those liable to ruffle political feathers. They do broach some controversial subjects from time to time in their preplanned chat programs. Then they follow a scripted agenda. Incidentally, political subjects were popular until 2010 but dried up because it became a divisive topic. Young people, in Bali, it seems, are very divided politically. True to the Bali spirit, these divisive topics are best left aside.
Radio FBI Bali 91.8 FM and Menara 102.8 FM Bali both broadcast from the same Denpasar location and they both play a similar range of domestic and international music, with the exception that FBI (Flamboyan Bali Indah) limits its hit songs from 2000 to the latest whereas Menara happily plays the top 40’s in a wider time slot from the 1980’s on, classics in their parlance. From 6 am to midnight their 18-hour broadcast beams with songs that are, were or will soon be hits from various streams, such as pop, rock, jazz, hip hop, ballads to alternative music. FBI Bali Radio claims it has become the HITS Radio number 1 in Bali with a fan base in the 15 to 30 year-old range. Menara’s says theirs is 13 to 70, mostly due to the large variety of music they play, including classics. And they clarify that classics mostly means instrumental in the style of Kenny G, Yanni or Kitaro. No genuine classical music as we understand it. But perhaps they do play Move over, Beethoven?
Menara does include Dangdut music whereas FBI does not, which limits itself to rap, hi-hop and other teen bopper music. Along with hits, both stations disseminate some up to date news flashes, lifestyle blurbs, sport news, public service announcements and chat-style programs. They have interactive programs with fans calling in to request songs and chit-chat a bit, mostly commenting on sports events and the scores of their favorite teams.
As far as talk shows are concerned, they do them once a month and are limited either to public service, commercial or advertising topics, like a local business coming to talk about its products or services to public service topics by police or government authorities. These topics typically revolve around the danger of drugs, crime prevention or green themes. The talk shows are scripted and reviewed by the stakeholders beforehand. More daring topics like Aids or the LGBT sphere are broached only when “qualified experts” are interviewed.
Hard Rock Bali 87.8 FM – Hard Rock Bali in Kuta is a lifestyle and entertainment station and its programming includes pure music entertainment and music programs which are listed on their website. They are one of the few stations that have a dedicated Jazz Lovers progam and one they call the Retromantic besides the wild and young beats.
OZ Radio Bali 101.2 FM in Kuta was established in the late nineties. Its target audience are young listeners as well as young adults. It features mostly entertainment and music programs. OZ Radio Bali’s slogan is “Your life could never be this much fun without D’Oz” and they illustrate it with a package of everything related to the Indonesian music scene and to some extend world entertainment in order to make it an entertaining radio in Indonesia.
Phoenix Radio 91.00 FM Bali, established in 2002, broadcasts from Renon and provides adult contemporary pop and rock music, Asian contemporary, classical dance music, R&B and the top 40. It is a smart, creative and innovative station which plays mostly to a fan base of students and young workers. Phoenix does have a cool website with many statistics and a detailed schedule of their daily programs.
A variant on the pop and techno-music Bali radio scene is Gianyar based Heartline 92.2 FM Bali which bills itself The Family Radio Station and represents a broader swatch of community life. Their broadcast programs provide easy listening music; at the same time they include family events and village community development programs.
Radio Heartline FM Bali aims to play a role in the socio-economic improvement of its listeners by
disseminating useful information and knowledge and pioneering beneficial community programs such as providing livestock assistance, computer skills and English proficiency. The station is also a portal in disseminating information on Gianyar regency law related to traffic and environmental security. It is actively campaigning for “Safe Riding” on
the highways, building good driving skills and adhering to the rules of the road in order to suppress accident numbers and fatal collisions.
The Beat Radio Plus 98.5 FM is a favorite station among the young party crowd, both local and expat. Their selection of intelligent adult music is the logical extension of The Beat Magazine which is one of the best known Bali events & nightlife guides and promotes all cool music events: DJ’s or live performances at Sky Garden and various beach clubs and entertainment venues around Bali. The station broadcasts a full 24 hours daily from Renon and plays a very upbeat type of music. If you love electronic music this is the place to tune into.
The music they play is ultra-contemporary: nothing beyond the year 2000. There is a wide variety of genres on offer though they play no classical music or jazz. Yet you may hear some left of centre Hungarian folk or new-age relaxation music from time to time. Morning time is dedicated to Indonesian announcers and their choice of beat music though their infantile commentary can be ear-grating, especially when they shout ‘listeners’ every five seconds. Afternoons are dedicated to electronic music. This station also features syndicated music shows in English like the John Digweed show and Carl Cox Global Radio show on Friday nights and the Beat Oracle on Sundays. Two very well accepted local shows are the Ku De Ta radio show three times a week, and The Bali Beats Radio Show live on Thursdays 8-10pm and repeated Friday and Saturday. That’s where you will find out what’s happening in the nightlife around town every week.
Internet based. If your listening pleasure is internet based, there are many free apps to tune into thousands of live radio stations, podcasts and shows. Check out www.tunein.com which allows you to sample streaming broadcasts from thousands of stations around the world. Baliradio Net (www.baliradio.net) has a wide variety of cool music and an informative website with a great schedule. If your taste tends to new age ethnic music listen to online Jango Free Radio (www.jango.com) where you will find an excellent selection of Balinese and Indonesian albums from Natural Bali, Ayu Laksmi, Puspa Dewi, Dialog Dini Hari and many others from far beyond our shores.
Internet radio is a goldmine of listening pleasure. You can tune in to radio stations worldwide. In the opinion of many – yours truly included – this beats turning the dials on your old fashioned radio by a long shot.
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