Phil Riley is a radio and podcast entrepreneur. Starting as a trainee at Birmingham-based BRMB in the 90s, he ultimately became programme controller. He launched the first ever Magic station, and led the transformation of Heart FM into one of the UK’s key industry players. Now a senior independent advisor, he has been called one of the most influential people in commercial radio. In this in-depth interview, Phil describes his journey from “doing grunt work” at BRMB to selling it as part of a reported £50m deal, discusses how micropayment models could lead to podcasts being monetised, and with over half of listeners now tuned into national digital stations, answers the question: “Can local radio survive?”