Inter BEE Special Interview Audio Section Taro Kimura & Mick Sawaguchi [Part 3]

Sawaguchi: "Inter BEE must grow up". For that to happen he points out 3 key steps: it has to mature (1) from being an exhibition, (2) from being local (domestic), and (3) from being focused on hardware.


Kimura
Turning to radio, once we switch over to digital broadcasting, I suppose it will all be completely surround sound, will it?

Sawaguchi
Yes. Technically speaking, we are now broadcasting in channel segments, but since 1 seg (one segment) doesn't have enough capacity, with about three bundled together we will have enough. Then I hope it will become possible to deliver the kind of radio programming that is less dependent on talk and more creative.

Kimura
Using 3 segments people are trying to transmit straight video and other data, so would there really be space left for 5.1?

Sawaguchi
No problem.

Kimura
That's quite something! We will have finally got to the point of having 5.1 channels in the car.

Sawaguchi
For the audio manufacturers, offering customers a surround environment in the car - as well as in the living room - is a hot topic.

Kimura
Actually, I had some reservations about digital audio, until I saw the success of 1seg. I came to think that, if something as simple as this can be broadcast and received in such a simple format, perhaps after all digital audio broadcasting will take off just as easily. What do you think?

Sawaguchi
Europe has a longer radio tradition, and quality is a priority in their operations. For example, the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation's radio station has been putting out about 3 to 4 hours a day of classical music in surround sound on FM digital for some time now. There are many small concerts being held every day in churches or at events in small towns, and these are being broadcast just as they are, without any editing. I think this is a wonderful approach. Again, when a Swedish radio station started using a satellite to broadcast radio dramas and music in surround sound, millions of people around the world listened in. That's all it took to demonstrate the potential of radio surround sound to the world. In Europe they put a premium on sound, and when it comes to digital and surround technologies they have well and truly got it. I would like to see Japan follow suit. I want the existing FM stations and local radio stations here to take an interest in these issues.

Kimura
Setting aside surround sound for a moment, I am involved in a small community radio station [Editor's note: Shonan Beach, FM 78.9], and because of the cost I really want to be able to put out good programming with a one-man operation. So, for that reason I was interested in the possibility of using new systems, when suddenly an American appeared on the scene and said "Use this!" When I asked him what it was, he explained that it's a system widely used in the US: you store the music on a server, and then broadcast it with just a click. "Great," I said, "but before coming to a small station like this, go and sell it to the big guys." You know, he came back two weeks later and told me he hadn't been able to make a sale anywhere. He's discovered that in Japan the radio stations are organized like TV stations: in other words, you've got the director, the producer, the writers and assistants - as many as 7 people in all. It seems there's no demand for this equipment, he told me. So I bought one cheap and started using it at my station. That's why I have firsthand experience of how new hardware changes broadcasting, but the question is whether Japan's radio industry is set up to absorb new technology when it comes time to switch to digital broadcasting? This is a technical issue, but also one of curiosity, I think. Is it the executives who have to make things happen?

Sawaguchi
The most important thing is that the executives come around to that way of thinking. But there is also the bottom-up approach, with the engineers suggesting how to move forward.

Kimura
DAB will start in Japan after the final switchover to digital TV in 2011, but it's not very far off. They'll have to use all sorts of new technologies and equipment, and get the hang of using surround sound as well. Looking inside the radio stations, would you say that people are already making preparations?

Sawaguchi
Slowly but surely.

Kimura
Television is a medium that requires pictures and sound, but radio is purely audio. In other words, a technological revolution is coming that will transform the very core of radio broadcasting, so is there a sense of crisis?

Sawaguchi
Well, some may think it frightening, while for others it's fascinating. It'll take about a decade before we'll know who's right. But I'm with those who think it will be fascinating.

Kimura
A decade? Perhaps we'll find that as soon as cars get equipped with surround sound, suddenly people won't want to listen to anything that's not in surround.

Hoping for a grown-up Inter BEE

Kimura
Turning to Inter BEE: now this is an exhibition of equipment for broadcasting. NAB, on the other hand, is more wide-ranging, and they even cover sales of programs. This is probably the sort of model that Inter BEE should emulate, isn't it?

Sawaguchi
Since 1989 Inter BEE has had a symposium, but I think that instead of just exhibiting equipment, it should adopt a real conference and convention format. I hope it becomes a "grown-up event". There are 3 key steps for this to happen: it has to mature (1) from being an exhibition, (2) from being local (domestic), and (3) from being focused on hardware. Right now the message is that, with the right hardware, you can do anything. But we should be thinking about how we can go about making use of this hardware to create programs. I want to see the creative side highlighted, too. The top creative people compete on content. They need a forum to explain what they were trying to express and - almost incidentally - what hardware they used to achieve that. I want to see the spotlight turned on what kind of new creativity is made possible by the new technology.

Kimura
The hardware has a way of taking center stage, grabbing our attention. But it's crucial, isn't it, that we provide a place for people to exchange ideas about what could be achieved, a place to show off what has been achieved - the content itself - and explain what kind of business this has generated.

Sawaguchi
Exactly. What is missing at present is management and distribution. You see the goal is to do what is needed to incorporate these elements and, in the final analysis, to make everybody happy. It's business. Good content is made using good equipment, and each deserves a shot at worldwide distribution. That's what we should be doing here. Also, I should point out that there are virtually no lawyers in Japan who specialize in this area. There are so few who have detailed knowledge of content-related law, of how to handle artist management, what to do with stage performances, and so on.

Kimura
In future perhaps Inter BEE will include a lawyers' symposium.

Sawaguchi
In that case, Inter BEE will have truly grown up. [End]