I myself listen to the radio
on a regular basis whether it is in the car, in my kitchen cooking or in my
room cleaning the radio is usually on. I enjoy a various mix of stations from
NPR to Z100 and my local hip-hop station. Although I am an avid radio listener
it looks as if I am one of the few radio listeners of our time. Radio is in
decline specifically among the young and is now the number three medium among
12-24 year old when it used to be number one. Also, radio was an $18 billion
industry a decade ago and todays it’s a $15 billion industry according to Radio Ink Magazine.
There are many different
reasons for the decline in radio and many of them came about when the Internet
started to expand. With the invention of the Internet and the iPod, and other
mp3 players, came an endless amount of options for listening to music. People
are now able to stream music from sites such as Spotify, Pandora and YouTube,
download music from iTunes, make playlists on their iPods and scroll through
music blogs to find new music. All of these personalized options make radio
seem outdated and of no use. Streaming has become the new way to listen to
music, the article “Pandora and Spotify Rake in the Money and Then Sent It Off in
Royalties” states, “At least 33 million people have tried Spotify, and more
than 150 million have registered for Pandora.” These numbers are huge
considering how young these sites are.
During my research I focused
on Clear Channel Media and Entertainment because of their huge monopoly on the
radio industry. On their website they state, “With 243 million monthly listeners in the U.S. Clear Channel
Media and Entertainment has the largest reach of any radio and television
outlet in America.”
It’s not so much that radio
is loosing a massive amount of people from their audience but that they’re on
their way to doing so and they need to come up with preventative measures to
stop it from happening. According to the article, “Aggregators Help Radio Reach
Online Audiences” from the New York Times by Ben Sisario, John Hogan, Chief
executive of Clear Channel Media and Entertainment said, “98 percent of
listening to Clear Channel’s stations are still on its terrestrial signals. But
it (the online audience) is growing quickly. According to Triton Media, a
company that measures Internet radio audiences, Clear Channel’s online audience
has risen 117 percent in the last year.” Again, this proves the switch to
online listenership is growing rapidly.
It is clear that people still
want to listen to the radio, which is evident by the increase in XM satellite
subscribers as well as Pandora listeners. “Measuring Growth in Dollars and Page
Views” by Ben Sisario states, “Pandora now has 67 million listeners each month
— a third more than it had a year ago — and Sirius XM now has nearly 24 million
paying subscribers.” This shows that people are willing to pay for radio,
although XM Satellite stations are different in that they don’t have commercial
advertisements and there are more options of different stations tailored to
specific tastes, as is the case with Pandora stations. The next step seems to
be finding what listeners want and creating ways to give that to them through
radio.
Companies involved in radio
such as Clear Channel are being proactive in keeping radio alive. One thing
Clear Channel did was revamping its iHeart radio app in order to compete with
Pandora. This new, improved app gives users access to 10 million songs, which
is several million song more than Pandora’s selection. Like Pandora, the iHeart
app allows you to stream music from specific genres, which is one of the most
loved aspects of Pandora. With more song selections and fewer advertisements
this improved app is sure to be one of Pandora’s biggest competitors. By
keeping up with competitors and going a step above them, radio will be able to
rise above the decline.
Work Cited:
McNeill,
Brian. "Report: Clear Channel Targets Pandora with Revamped
App." SNL Kagan Media & Communications Report(2011)ProQuest. Web.
21 Mar. 2013.
Sisario,
Ben. "Aggregators Help Radio Reach Online Audiences." The New
York Times: B.1. Aug 06 2012. ProQuest. Web. 21 Mar. 2013
"Radio
Ink - Radio's Premier Management & Marketing Magazine." Radio
Ink Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.
Sisario,
Ben. "Pandora and Spotify Rake In the Money and Then Send It Off in
Royalties." The New York Times. N.p., 24 Aug. 2012. Web. 21
Mar. 2013.
Sisario,
Ben. "Digital Notes: Measuring Growth in Dollars and Page
Views." New York Times. N.p., 26 Jan. 2013. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.
"Clear
Channel Communications, Inc." Clear Channel Communications, Inc. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.
The radio is definitely a thing of the past. We have come so far in this word that the radio which was once one of the most amazing inventions, to being barely used. The radio used to be great for families. They would come home from work at all sit by the radio with their dinners. Many families would work their day around important radio broadcasts. According to “How Americans listen to the radio”, “Radio is unique in its ability to reach people wherever they are: at home, at work, in the car—nearly everywhere. Regardless of one’s age, the time of day, or the listening location, Americans depend on radio as a reliable media companion”. I can only believe this being true back in the day. When we set our alarms, we never set the alarm on the radio anymore we set it on our phones or iPods’. Radios now serve the purpose of maybe a car ride, that is if the driver forgets there iPod. There are new iPods’ coming out like every year, and phones that store thousands of songs , the radio is no longer being used .You are right when you say that there are so many new inventions that really take our mind off of the radio.
ReplyDeleteI think that as you were talking about “Clear Channel” you were right that online radio is definitely something that still has followers. That was a very good idea when they created that. Sometimes when I am online I will listen to Pandora. I’m still not a huge radio fan because why would I want to listen to that when I can load iTunes and listen to a playlist of songs that I choose. But I definitely understand why it still has followers. People want to just chill sometimes and not have no listen to certain songs maybe they want a new variety of songs as well. The newest increase of followers has come from Pandora and satellite radio. It’s not easy getting followers for that kind of stuff but they did it.
As good as they say they are doing with all of their followers, they are having a tough time staying afloat as well. According to Ben Sisario and “Pandora and Spotify Rake in the Money and Then Send It Off in Royalties”, “Those are extraordinary numbers for any online service. But even at their level of scale and hype — and despite having very different business models — Spotify and Pandora exemplify the business challenges for digital-music companies. Both are losing money, and for largely the same reason: the cost of music royalties.” The cost of setting up there station and paying the people they have to pay, they are losing money. They can’t get enough people to join on and use there station so they can’t pay to keep the station going.
All I know is that I the radio better come up with something a lot better than what they have if they want to get followers back. People are always looking for the next best thing.
Works Cites
Sisario, Ben. "Pandora and Spotify Rake In the Money and Then Send It Off in Royalties." The New York Times. N.p., 24 Aug. 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.
Radio Today 2012 Arbitron report.pdf
It seems as though the talk of the decline of radio has been a discussion for many years now. Similar to print journalism, with the new modern technologies, it has caused the radio to have an incredible amount of competition. However, I think that with the help of media convergence as well as those who are avid radio listeners, the radio may not be in such a decline as many think it is.
ReplyDeleteI think Melissa brings up a very good point. All of the new inventions that have caused such competition for radio, such as mp3 players, iPods, and Spotify are all about personalization. Melissa writes, “All of these personalized options make radio seem outdated and of no use.” (Colangelo). A site such as Pandora is a perfect example of personalization. A user is able to create his or her own playlist based off of genre, artist/band, or songs that the user likes and the site is able to find songs that are similar. This is definitely a main reason why I like to use Pandora. However, what is interesting is that Pandora relies heavily on advertising in order to operate the site. In Ben Sisario’s blog Media Decoder he writes, “For its revenue, Pandora, which has free and paid tiers, relies almost entirely on advertising. Yet it has been unable to sell enough advertising to offset its royalty costs” (Sisario). This statement was interesting to myself because it seems as though the main reason why radio is in decline is because audiences are getting sick of listening to commercials and advertisers. However, as also stated in Sisario’s blog, “more than 150 million have registered for Pandora” (Sisario). Why is it that audiences are more willing to listen to commercials on Pandora as oppose to commercials on the radio? Does the personalization of a Pandora playlist keep listeners attentive and locked in?
Regarding media convergence, something I was happy to read in Melissa’s blog was that Clear Channel was being proactive in creating iHeartRadio. Melissa explains, This new, improved app gives users access to 10 million songs, which is several million song more than Pandora’s selection. Like Pandora, the iHeart app allows you to stream music from specific genres, which is one of the most loved aspects of Pandora. With more song selections and fewer advertisements this improved app is sure to be one of Pandora’s biggest competitors” (Colangelo). Through this media convergence, I think that radio is definitely taking a strike back to all of those rumors of the radio dying.
After reading the Radio Today 2012 Arbitron Report, it is evident that it is the specification of music channels that is keeping the listeners. With over 2800 radio stations, Country + New Country is the most listened to on the radio ("Radio Today 2012 Executive Summary."). Maybe by creating more specific radio channels, the radio will continue to survive all of these modern technologies. Also, maybe then people will not have to purchase XM or Sirius Radio channels.
Work Cited
Colangelo, Melissa. "Is Radio a Thing of the Past?" Web log post. Media Influence Monday Musings S13. Quinnipiac, Web.
"Radio Today 2012 Executive Summary." Radio Today. Arbitron, 2012. Web. Mar. 2013.
Sisario, Ben. "Pandora and Spotify Rake In the Money and Then Send It Off in Royalties." The New York Times. 24 Aug. 2012. Web. Mar. 2013.
It is evident that radio is not where it used to be on the popularity scale of media influences. People prefer to pop their CD’s into their player or listen to their iPods where they can choose the music they like to hear. By not listening to the radio, they are avoiding commercial breaks and also will not have to deal with hearing a song that is not of their interest. There are more options for listening to music or talk radio nowadays, that people are starting to break away from the traditional radio channels.
ReplyDeletePeople are gradually starting to get their music and radio information from other sources like Pandora. “The growth of services like Pandora and Sirius XM Radio has been the driving force behind the increased royalties.” (Sisario) Although these services have a large audience, it is a true statement that not everyone will convert to this type of radio. The reasoning simply being, for full access to these programs, one must pay a certain fee to be able to listen along.
Melissa brings up a great point when she says that, “It’s not so much that radio is losing a massive amount of people from their audience but that they’re on their way to doing so and they need to come up with preventative measures to stop it from happening.” (Colangelo) Like anything in life, change happens and things go in and out of style. Right now, radio still seems to be a popular source of media, but who knows what will happen in the future. It could so happen that it may dwindle down and not be something that people listen to in the future. But I do not think that a solid ‘No’ is the answer to the question of: Is radio a thing of the past?
But the benefit about listening to the radio is that it reaches such a wide audience and basically there is something for everyone to enjoy. “Radio is unique in its ability to reach people wherever they are: at home, at work, in the car—nearly everywhere.” (Radio Today) My mom always has to the music on in the house when she is home cleaning or cooking. The sound of music always sounds so nice when walking into the room and it simply makes her in a better mood.
I personally like to listen to the radio on a daily basis. The second I get into my car I always turn the radio on because I feel like I need to have some noise when I am alone driving. My self-made CD’s tend to get outplayed and that is why I turn to the radio most of the time. However, I do not listen to the radio when I am at home or anywhere that is not my car. Although I would like to think of myself as an avid radio listener, I do tend to listen to the songs on my iTunes account or my iPod. I used to listen to Pandora on my iPhone but the commercials were a disturbance at times.
"Radio Today 2012 Executive Summary." Radio Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.
Sisario, Ben. "Digital Notes: Measuring Growth in Dollars and Page Views." New York Times. N.p., 26 Jan. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.
I agree that radio is currently in decline. It seems that this began in the 90’s with the invention of built in CD players in cars. CD’s gave listeners the opportunity to listen to their favorite artist or even to create their own mixes. For the first the listening experience was commercial free and catered directly to the individual’s taste. CD’s have now been replaced by iPods and iPhones which have made the listening experience even more customizable. Millions of songs are now instantly accessible using these MP3 players, whether they are taken from CD’s, downloaded from iTunes or downloaded illegally. Using these devices, you have the ability to skip around to different songs opposed to hoping a song you like comes on the radio. Many listeners have also became impatient to the commercials you are forced to listen to on the radio, which are now eliminated by using MP3 players.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I have become a big fan of Pandora Radio during the past few years. Pandora has become extremely popular as it has made the listening experience easier than ever before. The listener simply chooses a station which are sorted either by the artist or the genre of music. Pandora then plays songs that fit the station you picked and the listener has the opportunity to skip over the song or like the song. If the song is liked, it will be played more often along with other music by the artist. Although there are commercials on Pandora, at the most they are thirty seconds long and do not come on nearly as often as regular radio. I found it very interesting that in the article by Ben Sisario, despite Pandora’s popularity, it is actually losing a lot of money. Pandora relies almost entirely on advertising. “The problem is that it has been unable to sell enough advertising to offset its royalty costs (Sisario).” Last year Pandora paid $149 million dollars which is 54% of its revenue on royalty costs (Sisario).” This is a huge problem for this type of radio because it simply cannot survive if it continues not to sell enough advertising space.
A topic that has not been mentioned yet is talk radio and sports radio. I think this type of radio will never be a thing of the past. If I ever choose to listen to the radio in the car, it is almost always a sports talk show or an actual game. Talk radio is also extremely popular with middle aged citizens as it is a convenient news source along with political talk shows. Talk radio has give the opportunity for people such as Rush Limbaugh, Howard Stern and Mike Francesa to become big stars. Over the years, these radio hosts have built gigantic followings along with relationships with their callers. Out of all of the formats mentioned in the Radio Today 2012 Report, “News/Talk/Information + Personality has the longest time spent listening, being very popular among high income, well educated listeners (Radio Today 2012 Report).” This was not a surprise to me, as it was also mentioned that this type of radio becomes extremely popular to educate the public prior to election years such as this past fall and 2008. While I am not too sure that music stations will survive in the future, I think it is safe to say that talk/news shows will always have their place on the radio.
Work Cited
Sisario, Ben. "Pandora and Spotify Rake In the Money and Then Send It Off in Royalties." The New York Times. 24 Aug. 2012. Web. Mar. 2013.
"Radio Today 2012 Executive Summary." Radio Today. Arbitron, 2012. Web. Mar. 2013.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I am also a huge radio fan. I like to hear a variety of music instead of sticking to a playlist or going on Pandora and getting a select few types of music. But as said, the radio is become more and more irrelevant and is not keeping up with current technology. Radio’s industry has a drop in listeners as well as in profit. But will the radio ever go away for good? I don’t think so. I think that it will stick around but will be listened differently. Although the new technologies such as Pandora and iTunes have trumped the original music player, I think that the radio will never be the thing of the past. Too many people adore their radio shows.
Pandora is a radio player that plays the certain type of music one may be looking for, although having many listeners this is not a very profitable business. According to Ben Sesario, Pandora has yet to have a profitable year. “Pandora paid $149 million, or 54 percent of its revenue, for “content acquisition, otherwise known as royalties.” Meaning that this is only successful for the artist, not the actual company, but at the same time this can be considered a good thing, they are giving much back to the artist, probably more than the radio. Although Pandora has made no profit and the Radio is a $15 billion industry, Pandora is considered more successful because of how many listeners that are tuning in.
Why is the radio dying out? Because there are simply more ways to listen to your favorite songs, there is so many more options and people are taking advantages of that. According to Sisario other types of music radio players are becoming more successful in how many listeners they acquire. For instance “ SoundCloud has 180 million listeners” This is definitely well over the amount of listeners that tune into the radio. Is this because of sheer convenience or because of the variety that put out on these websites? I personally think the variety goes above and beyond what the radio can ever provide. You can have top forty as well as underground on the internet.
The radio industry should learn different ways to keep ratings. There are many ways you can make this happen, but thinking about the radio they are always on top of their technology. They have had the radio be interactive and they have had kept up with viewership, maybe become more interactive on their websites? There are so many things that you can do with the radio. Radio has many different ways to listen already. You can listen by apps that you can get on your smartphone, or you can tune in the old fashion way, or on the computer. Radio is forever fast in keeping up with technology.
Works Cited
Sisario, Ben. "Pandora and Spotify Rake In the Money and Then Send It Off in Royalties." The New York Times. 24 Aug. 2012. Web. Mar. 2013.
Sisario, Ben. "Digital Notes: Measuring Growth in Dollars and Page Views." New York Times. N.p., 26 Jan. 2013. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.
Classifying radio as a dying industry may at first seem accurate, but I think it can more appropriately be labeled as an industry on the cusp of a major change. Radio itself was one of the first major innovations in regards to mass audience entertainment. Before television, verbal programs were broadcast through radio, and even after television radio technologies were able to adapt to what the new global market called for. I think now most can agree that radio really thrives in automobiles. That’s where radio is listened to, that’s where radio matters, and that’s where it faces its biggest threat: mobile media devices.
ReplyDeleteWhat people tend to forget is that this isn’t the first time radio has faced its so-called “demise” in the car. During the time cassette players and afterwards compact disc players were introduced, the masses seemed to really think those were the final nails in radio’s coffin. However they were not, and radio muddled through and prevailed. What’s to say this challenge of combating the plethora of music applications available on mobile devices is any different?
“At least 33 million people have tried Spotify, [and] more than 150 million have registered for Pandora (Sisario).” Hefty numbers considering those are currently mainstream radio’s largest competitors. Many find using those two services extremely simple and convenient and for the most part prefer them to traditional radio when listening in the car. However it’s important to note that these two services require you to foot a monthly payment if you want to listen ad-free, not unlike satellite radio services such as Sirius XM. People seem willing to do this seeing as Sirius XM does have 24 million current subscribers, but we can’t forget that a lot of those subscribers could be using the service for free with the purchase of a new vehicle that installs the radio service in it’s dash system (Sisario).
So what if you don’t want to pay for something that is already available free? Or if your car isn’t equipped for a mobile device or satellite radio? All reasons traditional radio still has the ability to flourish. Sure you could use the free versions of radio services such as Pandora, but anyone who has used Pandora for a prolonged period of time knows that those stations tend to plateau with repeated playlists, or in a lot of cases start playing songs that are quite different from the original song or artist that was chosen. Radio has an unprecedented amount of niche stations that are run by individuals who want to provide you with new music in your genre that they know you will like.
Arbitron’s “Radio Today 2012 Executive Summary” states that country music stations are number one amongst traditional radio listeners ("Radio Today 2012 Executive Summary"). Making sure to provide quality music for niche audiences such as country music listeners is what will give radio an edge over a digitalized application that plays songs automatically. Pairing up the radio with respected personalities who are knowledgeable about what is playing will keep listeners tuned in. There’s a threshold for the amount that humans want to interact with a computer. There is always a point where it’s preferred to hear another voice on the speakers of their car keeping them in tune with reality.
Works Cited
"Radio Today 2012 Executive Summary." Radio Today. Arbitron, 2012. Web. Mar. 2013.
Sisario, Ben. "Pandora and Spotify Rake In the Money and Then Send It Off in Royalties." The New York Times. N.p., 24 Aug. 2012.
Part 1/2
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt that the radio was one of the most important electronic inventions of the 20th century. It revolutionized the music industry and changed the way in which people listen to and discover songs both new and old. Today, however, in 2013, radio’s influence is waning. Reflected by the other comments on this blog post, there is a consensus that radio is in decline due to new technological advances. Online radio services and streaming platforms such as Pandora and Spotify have become extremely popular over the past few years and provide several features that traditional radio stations do not, such as the ability to customize channels, read artist biographies and skip tracks. They also lack DJ banter (a plus in the minds of some radio listeners) and have very few commercials on their free versions compared to traditional radio. While Pandora and Spotify are two of the most popular sources to listen to music online, more and more platforms are cropping up. In a 2009 essay entitles “Rethinking the Music Industry,” author Nancy K. Baym wrote that audiences “face more music options than they can even begin to digest” (178). From rating and reviewing music on Amazon and iTunes to posting about artists on Facebook and Twitter, the Internet provides a myriad of ways for both music fans and casual listeners to interact and discover new music (Baym 178). Given all of the modern, more advanced options available to listeners today, it is no surprise as to why radio is beginning to lose its hold.
Part 2/2
ReplyDeleteNew statistics show that the power and popularity of online music platforms is growing rapidly. Music-based social activity tracker Next Big Sound found that not counting platforms like Pandora and Spotify (whose data is private), a still-staggering 93.8 billion songs were streamed in 2012, a 45 percent increase from 2011 (Sisario). YouTube and Vevo are two of the sites included in the study to see a positive bump in hits. Besides Pandora and Spotify, YouTube is becoming an increasingly significant and direct threat to radio’s influence. It was announced last month that YouTube plays will now be included in determining the Billboard Hot 100, in addition to sales and airplay (Sisario). Spotify data is now being included as well. This is a revolutionary change, meaning that radio no longer has the sole power to determine hits. The move to modernize the Billboard charts came about after the “Harlem Shake” phenomenon, in which an obscure hip-hop song suddenly exploded in a series of YouTube parody videos to become a viral hit nearly a year after its release. The spread of the phenomenon caused download sales and online streams to skyrocket, making the song an instant success both economically and culturally. As New York Times reporter Ben Sisario succinctly states, “YouTube has taken on an essential role in propelling songs to the cultural forefront, often long before they are picked up by radio programmers.” Taking into consideration the convenient features of Pandora and Spotify and the viral capabilities of YouTube, radio has been put into a difficult position. In terms of technology and format, it appears to be a medium that is struggling to keep up with modern times.
Works Cited
Baym, Nancy K. "Rethinking the Music Industry." Popular Communication 8.3 (2010): 177-80. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
Sisario, Ben. "Digital Notes: Measuring Growth in Dollars and Page Views." New York Times. N.p., 26 Jan. 2013. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
Sisario, Ben. "What’s Billboard’s No. 1? Now YouTube Has a Say." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 20 Feb. 2013. Web. 21 Feb. 2013.
It is no shock that the radio industry has been declining over the past decade in relation to our generation. With the rapid expansion of the Internet and many other media outlets allowing us to download music for free and play instantly wherever we want it is obvious that the commercial filled radio stations would be thrown on the back burner.
ReplyDeleteThough technology does seem to be surpassing what used to be the only and number one media outlet for music, there is no way the radio will ever be gone for good. The radio is a timeless invention that opened the doors for the rest of these outlets to even be thought of, the radio is part of American culture. The radio is always available and is capable of providing something for everyone, no matter who you are. “Regardless of one’s age, the time of day, or the listening location, Americans depend on radio as a reliable media companion.” (Radio Today)
I personally dislike the radio do to the obvious reasons of commercials. Why would I want to sit in my car flipping through stations trying to search for a song I like when I could easily make a cd, flip on my favorite Pandora station, or access my XM satellite radio with no stress or interruptions. Relating back to other blogs, our generation is all about what is most convenient for us, we want what we want and we want it fast, and other forms of music outlets give us that, the radio is not one of them.
Not only thinking about what is best for us, the musicians and artists are also looking out for what is best for them. With the growth of Internet and XM stations the radio no longer is providing the musicians with the money they used to make. Sisario says, “The popularity of satellite and Internet radio is starting to lead to larger royalty checks for musicians.” So not only does our generation prefer these other ways to listen to music but the artists are also in support of this media shift. Besides the obvious choices of Pandora and XM radio, there are also other outlets such as YouTube, Vevo, Spotify and SoundCloud. According to Sisario, SoundCloud has been one of the biggest gainers with its fan base tripling last year and “last month it said to have 180 million users around the world.”
Even with the inventions of these new music sites, and other ways to obtain and listen to music, the radio has not changed that dramatically. Though our generation is a fan of these alternative ways to stream music, there are still millions of people worldwide who tune into their radio and favorite station on a daily basis. Radio Today quotes, “This widespread reach has changed very little over the decades; radio remains a reliable entertainment and information source for listeners regardless of their age, gender, income, education, or location in the home or outside the home.” So not only thinking of music, radio is still the one outlet that is able to provide you with music, sports, weather, traffic, breaking news, etc all in one place at whatever time is most convenient for you. So with the ultimate question being “Is radio a thing of the past?” I would have say I think not.
Works Cited
"Radio Today 2012 Executive Summary." Radio Today. Arbitron, 2012. Web. Mar. 2013.
Sisario, Ben. "Pandora and Spotify Rake In the Money and Then Send It Off in Royalties." The New York Times. N.p., 24 Aug. 2012.
Anthony Boch
ReplyDeleteBlog 5
3.25.2013
The largest issue that Radio faces in today’s world of instant gratification is the lack of variety on basic radio. The freedom to listen to any type of song without having to listen to commercial is a music lovers dream come true. No longer can commercials flood the airwaves and interrupt a fluent playlist of songs. This is a colossal problem for the world of radio. If users have the freedom to avoid the hassles that come along with radio, then it would appear that stations would have to eliminate advertising just to compete. It is improbable to think that Radio stations will or can do that, so they were automatically at a disadvantage, when MP3 and IPOD attachments were added to car radios. With more generations relying on MP3 players and IPOD’s , it is not far fetched for the younger generations growing up to not even attempt to put on the radio on when they get into the car. They will never know what it is like to anticipate a favored song coming on the radio at any given time, or the disappointed of just missing a hit song that just came out.
When Lady Gaga’s hit song, “Born This Way”, plays on a Hip-Hop identified station, over five or six times in an hour, it’s flat out annoying. I feel the best time to listen to radio these days is late at night because that is when more unknown and new material is released. The term overplayed and mainstream comes to mind when someone refers to the radio “killing a song” which is what is exactly happening today. As mentioned in the initial blog, Pandora and Spotify alone are contributing to the decline of basic radio users. For radio to stay in businesses they need to increase their variety of songs during the peak hours of listeners. It’s not enjoyable when the top twenty songs in the country play over and over again all day. Although these two new innovations in music listening haven’t figured out how to make a substantial profit, they have created quite a following, “Spotify and Pandora. Both offer an abundance of free listening on easy-to-use interfaces, and music fans have embraced them. At least 33 million people have tried Spotify, more than 150 million have registered for Pandora” (Sisario). Once these two rising trends figure out a way to turn a substantial profit without jeopardizing the unique qualities they provide listeners, it could mean serious trouble for Radio.
One aspect that Radio still has the upper hand in is, traffic reports, basic news, and talk show hosts, but even talk show hosts are being threatened with Sirus and XM radio. It was a big loss for basic radio listeners when Howard Stern decided to jump to satellite radio. Although all does not praise his antics and crude nature, he had a substantial amount of following on basic radio. There is no denying that checking the phone for whether or traffic is still just as dangerous as texting, that is why people still rely on the local stations to deliver traffic and whether reports. Sadly, the younger generations are still going to put these jobs in jeopardy as well, with these kids so reliant on their phones they’ll simply just goggle traffic or the weather while driving. The numbers seem to speak for themselves when it comes to what the listeners want these days and Pandora and XM radio are an example of that, “Pandora now has 67 million listeners each month — a third more than it had a year ago — and Sirius XM now has nearly 24 million paying subscribers. But the rate these companies pay has been in dispute lately” (Sisario). I have to admit that more than thirty years later, more than just TV is killing the radio star.
Works Cited
Sisario, Ben. "Pandora and Spotify Rake In the Money and Then Send It Off in Royalties." The New York Times. N.p., 24 Aug. 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.
Sisario, Ben. "Digital Notes: Measuring Growth in Dollars and Page Views." New York Times. N.p., 26 Jan. 2013. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Chris's "label" of what is happening to radio today. It is not dying any more than record sales vanished when the CD replaced vinyl. "Radio" as we know it is CHANGING to adapt to the mediums which we use most frequently. I personally listen to hours and hours of podcasts each week, and believe that digital radio is just getting started. If anyone is being hurt by the move to digital radio I think it's local advertising.
ReplyDeleteTaking, for instance, a service like Pandora, listeners can purchase songs as they hear them because now they have the ability to see all of the song information as it's being played. This being said, it does not surprise me that talk radio appears high on the list of radio formats that remain stable as it cannot yet have the same type of demand among users of Spotify, Pandora etc. (Radio Today 2012 Executive Summary). While I do understand that not everyone has discovered / taken advantage of these new ways of listening it seems to me that those are the ones still seeking out regular radio stations as they continue to exist in their original form.
"Radio Today 2012 Executive Summary." Radio Today. Arbitron, 2012. Web. Mar. 2013.
Kacie Bogan
ReplyDeleteProfessor Burns
March 25, 2013
Blog 5
I do not believe that the radio is necessarily a dying industry. I agree with the idea that the radio industry is going to have to change its ways in order to keep up with the changing music industry. The radio is mostly listened to in cars. This is where the radio is readily available and most convenient. The changes in the past such as the making of the cassette played and then CD players in cars have not changed the impact that the radio has.
The newest factor affecting the radio industry is mobile devices. Mobile devices allow us to have access to music through iTunes, YouTube, Spotify, Pandora, and more. These devices allow us to play music through the speakers in our cars. “At least 33 million people have tried Spotify, [and] more than 150 million have registered for Pandora (Sisario).” This shows us just how much of a competition the radio industry is facing. Although Spotify and Pandora are available for free there are also fees if you want to listen without commercials. There are also still payments for Sirius XM radio; however, in newly purchased cars they have Sirius XM available to you.
Although with these obstacles there are still people that do not have access to Sirius XM for free and do not want to pay for Sirius, Pandora, or Spotify. There are also the classic radio stations that play awesome music and have creative radio personalities. Stations like these are keeping people on the dial and helping the radio industry. There is also nothing like waking up getting a cup of coffee and listening to the radio.
Sisario, Ben. "Pandora and Spotify Rake In the Money and Then Send It Off in Royalties." The New York Times. N.p., 24 Aug. 2012.