To underline its clear positioning and the fact that the music is not compiled and mixed by algorithms, My105 has introduced the claim "DJ Radio". "We exercise a kind of filter function and compile our own channels with hand-picked songs in various genres from around 35 million songs that are otherwise available on the usual streaming services. In this way, we are more or less the listeners' personal DJ," says My105 boss Giuseppe Scaglione. My105 focuses on the sound of the younger generation with styles such as hip hop, German rap, urban Latin and dance/electro.

In addition, the music medium has invested in its acoustic image and was able to engage international producers for the renewal of its own sound layout - including the production of jingles and packaging elements. The first results of this collaboration can already be heard on my105.

Three years ago, the founders of the former Radio 105, Giuseppe Scaglione and his wife Paola Libera Scaglione, launched the music app "my105" with the original brand "One-O-Five" (Werbewoche.ch reported). The app for a predominantly young audience has now established itself and the first three years of operation have been positive, the creators write in a press release. For the third year in a row, my105 was able to increase stream views (audio impressions) by 44 percent. The average listening time is 45 minutes.

The first major expansion step is now imminent: my105 is expanding into French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino. The service was previously available in Swiss German - my105 is now available in the three national languages of German, Italian and French. The content and music will be tailored to the individual regions. For the production of the acoustic packaging elements, station voices were cast in the respective regions and extensive jingle packages were produced, which are now being used.

So my105 sounds in French-speaking Switzerland, for example, so in Ticino.

The my105 app has also been completely overhauled in recent days. In addition, the range of music channels has been continuously expanded and adapted to the needs of listeners/users. While there were eight different channels curated by music editors at the launch three years ago, there are now 17 per language. With hourly updated playlists for every time of day and every mood, it is very easy to discover new music.

my105 CEO Giuseppe Scaglione is delighted with the expansion: "With analog technologies, it was practically impossible to operate a national medium in Switzerland. This is now finally possible with streaming".

Unbelievable! The time has come: One-O-Five celebrates its 20th anniversary. Who would have thought. When the operating company of Radio 105 had to file for bankruptcy in January 2014 because the new investor pulled the plug on us two weeks before Christmas, a world came crashing down for us. My wife and I then went through the worst time of our lives.

At that time, we would never have thought that one day we would stand there and celebrate together with our audience. But life sometimes goes crazy, and our program director and morning show star at the time, Jan Müller, had a premonition. When we had to leave our beloved studios - our second home, where we virtually spent day and night - accompanied by the bankruptcy officer, Jan told me: "I'm convinced that the story of 105 won't end here". And he was right: the story could not end like this. We had built up too much in all those years, achieved too much. We had simply come too far for a former cable radio station from the industrial district of Muttenz (BL). We had also touched too many people's hearts for that. Three times in a row we received the industry award "Radio Of The Year". Record!

The story of 105 is also a story of dreams lived. Not just for me as the founder, who, without knowing exactly what was in store, had the vision of a radio station for young people. When I told my parents about this idea at the age of 24, they were horrified. But the will was always greater than the resistance. I had a very specific sound in my ear, how a modern radio should sound, which did not yet exist in Switzerland. We followed this concept through consistently and were pioneers in many areas. For example, we were the first to hire a sound layouter and DJs, or to specifically make "personality radio". In terms of content and technology, we were and still are at the cutting edge. As early as 2005, we launched the first special-interest web radio stations and ten years later - in 2015 - the cutting-edge music app "my105", which offers radio in the Spotify age.

Likewise, we brought a completely new style of moderation to Switzerland. Over the years, we have discovered and trained many young talents. They were able to live their dream of making radio with us, and went on to achieve top performances. Many of those who started their careers at Radio 105 are now working for the biggest media outlets in the country. It was this very special spirit that you can't really describe to outsiders, but which the audience has always felt. And how! Even in our first few months as a cable radio station, we had a great deal of listener feedback. Unbelievable, but at that time the Internet was still in its infancy and the main channels for communicating with our listeners were telephone and fax (!). The success of Radio 105 did not go unnoticed by the media - and of course the omnipotent SRG. The largest media group in the country copied us after only one year with its youth radio station Virus. Although the SRG station had three times the budget and almost three times as many employees and could profit from its big sister station SRF3 (then DRS3), Virus never really got off the ground. At times, we had almost four times as many listeners.

But the history of 105 is also marked by the struggle for FM frequencies and thus for fair distribution opportunities (hardly imaginable today). Together with our listeners, we simply did not want to see why such a successful cable program could not also be broadcast on FM so that everyone could hear it on the road. For 10 years we fought for our FM frequency with all legally available means - even with court cases against DETEC/ OFCOM and competitors, all of which we won. Actually, I "only" wanted to do radio, but suddenly spent more time with lawyers and paperwork than with music and programmatic content. And then we suddenly found ourselves with not one, but two FM frequencies! There had never been anything like that before in Switzerland.

Radio Energy of the Ringier Group came away empty-handed in the frequency allocation process and was on the brink of the abyss in terms of radio. For this reason, Ringier held talks with us about selling the second license. I had the greatest reservations about this, because it was clear to me that Energy (with the Ringier Group behind it) could push us to the wall. Ringier, on the other hand, assured us that this would not happen and that, on the contrary, they wanted to work the market in partnership and together. There was even talk of joint radio studios or a joint radio house. But that was not all: Ringier also offered to sell our advertising and pay us an annual guarantee sum. In short, all this was a very good prospect for us, which we secured contractually watertight. So I could agree to this deal with a clear conscience. It's crazy: if I hadn't agreed to it back then, Energy wouldn't exist today. Nevertheless, after the first year of "cooperation" it became clear that Ringier or Energy were not sticking to the marketing contract. The guarantee sum was paid, but the partnership cooperation and marketing did not take place at all or was torpedoed by Ringier/Energy. Only much later did it become clear why.

Interview with Roger Schawinski, Tages-Anzeiger: "Every serious observer sees it as I do".

Article: "Five Rescuers and a Gravedigger."

Energy's behavior led to us getting into financial difficulties. As a result, Daniel Hartmann, an ex-advertiser from Bern, took over the operating company of Radio 105 as an investor in the summer of 2013 and wanted to massively expand the company. Six months later, the courage left him and he no longer wanted to know about his contractual obligations. So he steered the company straight into the abyss.

After the bankruptcy, Roger Schawinski presented himself in the media as the savior of Radio 105. However, he had overlooked the fact that he had only bought the FM license from the bankruptcy estate, but not the trademark rights to "105". Since he was unable to reach an agreement with the trademark owners and they forbade him to continue calling the station "Radio 105," he came up with the mischievous idea of simply renaming the station "Planet 105. A label swindle along the lines of: It's only a number. But the emotions were and are solely associated with the original brand and its history. And that is far more than a simple number - both for the makers and the listeners.

When we had passed through the valley of tears, it was clear to me and my wife, who had already helped build Radio 105 from the beginning, that we would get back up and start again from scratch. At that point, we were offered the original 105 brand, so we didn't have to think twice. We knew: We're competing again. So in May 2015, Radio 105 became the music app my105 with various music channels curated by music editors for every taste and mood.

Article Tages-Anzeiger: "The Comeback of Mr. 105"

Even back in my days as a cable radio broadcaster, I always told myself that I would only do all this as long as listeners remained loyal to us. And that was the case from the very first minute and was repeated when we relaunched the music app my105 in May 2015. Since then, the my105 community has grown by around 40% every year.

Website: my105 - Best Music App

The story of 105 is therefore also a story of passion and lifeblood. A story of ups and downs, of falling down (wicked tongues would call it failure) and getting up again. Passion for a cause can release undreamt-of forces. Do it with love or don't do it at all!

There are so many moments from these 20 years - beautiful and, as in every life, also less beautiful - whose description would fill an entire book. Perhaps I will write one. Overall, however, the good moments clearly outweigh the bad. Even the bitter experience of bankruptcy has brought us forward and enabled a new beginning, which soon turned out to be a great opportunity. Technology is changing, but music is still at the center of our lives. It is stronger everything else. The Best Music First!

As a representative of the many recordings and broadcast highlights, here is a short "Best Of" of the legendary morning show with Jan Müller and his morning crew:

These 20 years would never have been possible without people who believed in this vision. I would like to thank my family, my circle of friends, my business partners, customers and employees. And of course a big thank you goes to all 105 fans and listeners. my105 - One Love!

The story is not over yet. We still have a lot to do.

Giuseppe Scaglione

Note: This article reflects the opinion and view of the author. This is not necessarily the same as that of Werbewoche.

Only recently, my105 was able to report an increase in listener numbers of 40 percent per quarter. Now the young company is announcing the signing of top international DJs and the expansion of its music app. Martin Garrix, Afrojack, Oliver Heldens, Laidback Luke, R3hab and Sam Feldt: They are among the most successful and well-known DJs in the world. My105 was able to sign these and eight other international top DJs exclusively for Switzerland. The detailed listing of the DJs can be here can be viewed. The 14 newly signed DJs reach around 50 million fans on the two social media platforms Facebook and Instagram alone. On YouTube, their videos have already been viewed over half a billion times.

Giuseppe Scaglione, founder and CEO of my105, is delighted: "This is a real coup for us. These top DJs will have their own channel, where they will present the latest sounds from the international club and EDM scene to the audience. Special is certainly also that the DJs will host their shows and can thus also show themselves from another side." The new channel went online on Friday minutes and is to be further expanded in the coming weeks and months. (pd)
 

However, my105 will not simply switch to one of the existing eight channels on DAB+, but will produce its own program specially designed for DAB broadcasting: "my105 Original". According to Giuseppe Scaglione, this will showcase the diversity of the "my105" channels and be strongly oriented towards musical innovations. "We don't see DAB broadcasting as a competitor or replacement for the streaming platform, but as an ideal digital supplement. The DAB+ program is the best advertisement for our streaming platform."

With the expansion of programming to DAB+, my105 is focusing exclusively and consistently on digital distribution channels. "We not only want to revitalize the streaming market, but also shake up the radio scene once again," says Scaglione, "this will be good for the industry." For the media entrepreneur, the launch of his program on the digital radio network is also a return. "We are looking forward to hearing again from radio producers who have already shown us how to successfully inspire young listeners with DAB+," says Rolf Schurter, Managing Director of Swissmediacast, the DAB+ operating company.

Platform consolidates its position in the Swiss market

Since the launch of my105 On May 28, listeners will have access to eight channels with different music genres. The simple user interface, playlist voting and the fact that the music is compiled by music editors and not by algorithms are already proving very popular with Swiss users. According to Giuseppe Scaglione, the move to DAB distribution will also help my105 to consolidate its position as a Swiss platform. "This will set us even further apart from international streaming platforms and underline our Swissness."

Based on this idea, a TV spot has now been produced, each showing a my105 listener literally immersed in the channel color. At the beginning of each spot, a listener is asked what he wants to hear. At the same time, he is handed a smartphone and headphones. As soon as the listener has decided on a channel and clicks on it, the corresponding channel color flies at him in slow motion. A separate spot was produced for each channel. The spots are used on TV stations, in cinemas and on social media platforms.

At the same time, adverts were developed that also focus on channel selection under the motto "What do you want to listen to? The campaign was realized in collaboration with the young Zurich agency Black Frame Studios. Responsible for the conception and realization of the campaign were:Paola Libera Scaglione (my105), Tony Mola (Black Frame Studios) and Alexandra Hofer.

 

He opted for the latter. For Scaglione, the period of absence also had a decisive advantage: he only really recognized the "epochal change" in the media world when he looked at it from the outside. He is referring to the "headphone generation," which consumes the omnipresent music very selectively due to the exploding smartphone density. "Streaming is the radio of the 21st century," the 105 founder is convinced.

However, Scaglione sees a major problem with the established streaming services such as Spotify or the "100,000 web radios": The large selection of music, channels and services overwhelms users. A certain amount of choice is good, but infinite choice is not. Lighthouse brands" would provide a remedy, and Scaglione wants to jump into this niche with his old, established Brand 105. He was able to secure the brand rights for Switzerland from the Italian brand owners.

The interactive streaming platform "my105" is launched on May 28. On eight channels for the time being, users can get to their favorite sound "with a click" via the app and web platform. Designed for the target group of 15- to 39-year-olds, users can select styles such as hip hop, rock, lounge, Swiss music or current charts. Scaglione wants to score points with the clear differentiation from the widespread streaming offers: The music is not selected by algorithms, but by people who could surprise the listeners. These would be accompanied through the day with "soft moderations" - an alternative to the anonymity of the streaming services. In Swiss German - the local positioning is also to be increasingly underlined later by events and community proximity. The community idea takes a central position: Listeners can not only rate the music played and thus influence the rotation, but as an innovation also upload audio messages and have them played. "Scaglione is convinced that this is a unique combination of community and editorial staff.

my105" is financed by Giuseppe Scaglione and his wife Paola Libera. In addition, keypartners Seat, Manor, Sobu.ch and Amavita are already involved at the start. Further money is to be earned with audio spots integrated into the program (pre-roll, in-stream), through exclusive banner placements and promotions. For the time being, the entire offer is free of charge, but paid premium accounts are possible in the future.

Scaglione also personally takes care of the music selection and provides overall management over a team of various professionals located in the country and probably mainly abroad. "my105" is purely cloud-based and does without shared premises. The new flexibility - online, rather than traditional radio business - opens up a completely new cost structure, explains Scaglione. When asked by a journalist what Roger Schawinski, with his Planet 105, actually has to say about the new 105 project, he replies with a twinkle in his eye, "Roger will probably be thrilled!" If there were still disagreements, however, he would suggest to Schawinski that he change the name, because: "That would be consistent." In principle, however, he sees no problems, because Planet 105 is focused on Zurich, while "my105" is aimed first at the whole of German-speaking Switzerland, and later also at French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino. In principle, however, the service can be used worldwide.

Thomas Häusermann