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Who Needs Radio?
DragonMagic writes "MSNBC asks what many /.ers have been asking: Who needs the radio anymore? Rather, it goes on to really ask, who needs the RIAA anymore? With online music distribution sources, television, and the internet itself, how much longer will it be before the radio, and the RIAA, will be an obsolete means to promote artists?"
Why do you assume that only music is played over the radio? I listen to NPR for hours every day on my daily drive to/from work.
Anyone who doesn't have fast internet access or a television (or who doesn't want to pay for cable television).
Anyone who likes to camp and take a $5 transistor radio along, rather than lug a satellite uplink system for online-access.
Anyone who drives, and likes to have music or blather going while doing it (driving, that is).
In short, a LOT of people.
Maybe 'we' dont need them, but their miniturization and tiny cost make them a difficult technology to let go of, if you look across the demographic spectrum.
To say nothing about me prefering drivers listening to the radio rather than watching TV, if they are interested in having somebody else picking the tunes
Just some stupid thoughts.
"Old man yells at systemd"
Or, to be more specific, I love a few radio stations. WFMU (wfmu.org; 91.1 in the NYC/NJ area), KFJC, a few other great stations. The radio we don't need is all the monopolized Clear Channel stations. We all know they suck. But great, personal, free-form radio is still out there, and with web streaming is thankfully more available than ever. Maybe I'm crazy, but I like to be surprised by what I like once in a while. Without WFMU, I'd be listening to the same stuff over and over. If you're tired of radio, you're listening to the wrong stations.
I listen to the radio all the time in the car whilst driving. Its a much safer option than tape, CD or MP3. Less fiddling about changing song and the like. I just poke a button and I've changed channel. Radio's 'killer app' has always been being able to listen to music in the car for me. Better than listening to people honk at me when I cut them up at junctions anyway.
... or did everyone in the world become a computer user/music downloader over night?
...
Not everyone has a PC and not everyone get's their taste of new music from the interent.
In fact I would say that most people hear music on the radio then either buy the CD or download the mp3.
I doubt that services iTunes will make radio stations disappear
"Yeah Tommy, before Zee Germans get here
The technology has been around for a very long time, and broadcast radio will probably outlive us all.
Using relatively simple and affordable technology, radio is a great medium to broadcast a message to a big audience. Even when the power goes out, all networks are fried and most infrastructure desroyed, radio is there. And its there as an important means for any government to communicate in such situation. If we'd loose the architecture, we might loose a medium that can save many lives when needed.
And yes, i mean broadcast radio there, since it is vital that recievers are common among the population.
However, radio's function in promoting music will probably diminish over the next decade(s), and largely be replaced by streaming etc.
How does that change the question? Can't you theoretically get talk radio content over, say, the Internet?
While driving?
"I'll have a Guinness, no wait, make that a Coors Light" -Grad student I work with, who shall remain anonymous...
"A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy." --Theodore Roosevelt
My musical tastes tend toward classical, jazz, some older rock, some avant garde, some weird stuff.
How do I learn about new music? From friends, live concerts and now free sampler CDs at places like Borders. Yes, I'm also now trying the Internet occasionally -- to satisfy my curiosity and broaden my horizons.
I make sufficient money to purchase CDs from people I really like. For instance, paying $15 or more for a CD at Maryland's Renfest is reasonable to me. Of course, I've heard the artists and know I'll like their work. It also helps to know the money is going to the artists, not some huge RIAA member.
There's another reason I'm listening to less radio that wasn't mentioned in the article. Radio quality is declining. Here's the current playlist for WGMS (a Washington, DC classical station):
Mozart's Jupiter symphony is more than 9 minutes long. WGMS now seems to be going in much more for short selections than full works -- especially at drive time. I'd rather stick with my CD player. No, I don't get exposed to new music (precious little of that on any radio station around here). But I also don't get pestered with commercials.
"Beer is proof God loves us and wants us to be happy." -- B. Franklin
FM Music Radio programming just sucks. Check out sattellite radio and you'll understand just how entertaining radio can be. It's well worth the $10/month.
In case you weren't affected by the GREAT FEARSOME BLACKOUT OF 2003 , those of us who were crowded around radios to get news.
Don't forget the 20 million so-called "dittoheads" that hang on Rush's every word every day. Republican shill talk radio has never been so popular (depending on where you read your stats).
There's big money in radio and the guy who owns it is raking it in.
Speak truth to power.
For sure. News stations that feature only news all the time are a godsend when commuting, and important in emergencies as well.
Remember The Blackout? I was at work patching the office for the Blaster worm when the lights went out. If it wasn't for radio and other wireless communication, we would have had no idea wtf was going on. Thankfully radio stations with reserve power managed to transmit so everyone could get into the car or use battery powered tranceivers to get the news updates.
I used to drive to and from Toronto all the time across a strech of the 401 and if it wasn't for 680 news I would have gotten into a lot of traffic jams.
Thus radio is still needed because it is an important way of disseminating information quickly, especially when only battery or small generator power is available.
At home I listen to the BBC's Radio Five Live for news and current events with an international perspective, NPR's program stream for interesting domestic programming that my local public radio station isn't playing at the time I choose to listen, and for music, an awesome jazz stream from Korea (they play some crap, but a lot of really great stuff too, and no the music isn't Korean).
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You captured the whole thing perfectly! :-)
- sigs are for wimps.
(yes, I'm old enough to remember more than one) everything failed. My internet connection went down, my TV went black, my electric lights went out ( my oil lamps chugged along like always).
My portable radio worked like a charm and the emergency generators the radio stations employ kept them on the air.
Promoting RIAA "stars" is hardly the only use for radio. In fact, small radio stations are still the most used medium for promoting obscure music unaligned with the RIAA, why do you think they oppose the proliferation of small neighborhood radio stations?
Radio is one of the true modern marvels, its usefulness is far from past.
KFG
They'll become popular in ways artists became popular before the RIAA existed. Plus we have the internet now, which is the point.
Politics, country and idealistic things like that mean nothing to Murdoch. Remember, this is the guy that walked away from his country (changed citizenship from Australian to US) and dumped a mariage of 30 years for commercial reasons.
NPR is left-wing only if you believe that "if you are not with us, you are against us"
Well, it's a bit unfair to tout noncommercial radio on this discussion. But Pacifica Radio is full of fresh surprising viewpoints, and my local Houston affiliate kpft.org actually plays great music. It gives you a sense of how fun dj's used to be.
Robert Nagle, Idiotprogrammer, Houston
Rather, it goes on to really ask, who needs the RIAA anymore?
No, it doesn't. If the the submitter had read the article without his anti-RIAA glasses on, he would've realized that the article just questions the relevance of radio in a world dominated by the internet and visual media.
The article specifically mentions Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken. Kelly received quite a bit of radio play, while Clay was seldom heard on the airwaves but still outsold Ms. Clarkson. Quote:
But the heir to her throne, runner-up but reigning king, Clay Aiken, didn't have as much luck with radio. Deejays across the country mocked him, didn't take him seriously, and often refused to play his music. Well the joke just might be on them.
Despite little radio play, Aiken's debut album went double platinum in its first week of release, out-selling Clarkson's album by a landslide. Aiken's success serves as a shining example of the power television now has over the music industry, and the arguably insignificant power radio has these days. (emphasis mine)
This article addresses radio's lessened impact on the recording industry, and not the recording industry's impact on society.
A suicide bomber is someone that blows themself up.
A homicide bomber is someone that blows themself up with the intent of blowing others up.
If someone shoots a bunch of people and then shoots themself, do you call it a mass suicide or murder?
To me, it's obvious. I don't know why the rest of the news media doesn't recognize the obvious.
Yeah, three groups that vote overwhelmingly liberal. I hope that's a troll, and that you're not actually as stupid as you seem.
" A suicide bomber is someone that blows themself up.
A homicide bomber is someone that blows themself up with the intent of blowing others up."
Correction: By your definition, then, there has never in history of the world been an intentional "suicide bomber". Rather than attempt to spin that one, let's just admint that "homicide bomber" is a pathetic attempt by FOX to rename suicide bombers in order to portray them more negatively.
It's almost as weird as how newspeople are using the word "bias" instead of "hate". As in "johnny was the victim of a bias crime". I have no idea what that one's about.
Enable 3D printed prosthetics!
Cute--but I hope this doesn't give anyone the idea that it's okay to mentally disengage; to think of everyone as fitting into the false dichotomy you present then feel smug about being somehow above the fray. People who come away with that impression are often the people who should be challenged to think more critically.
It is valuable to provide yourself with a deeper understanding of the power to frame a debate. I've learned this first-hand by getting involved at a low-power community radio station (WEFT 90.1 FM -- I host "Digital Citizen"). I encourage everyone to get involved in their community radio stations (or start one).
Digital Citizen
NPR's funding breakdown. An excerpt:
The only direct government funding NPR receives is through competitive grants from government agencies for specific projects. Such grants are awarded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Science Foundation, and the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities, and typically represent only 2% of total revenues.
I am no fan of Clear Channel, IMHO they have done way more harm than good when it comes to radio in general. They are in the top 5 of my most hated entities, MPAA, RIAA, IRS, Clear Channel, and the State Franchise Tax Board.
;)
Just FYI, 90% of the hosts on KFI hate clear channel too. Jon and Ken are no fans of clear channel, Bill Handel doesn't like them, and Matt Drudge (syndicated) rarely has anything good to say about them either.
Clear channel is smart enough to realize that the reason that they have the Number 3 station overall in the LA market (including FM) is because they give the hosts a very wide berth when it comes to their opinions, that is why the republican and democrat lambs really don't like the station.
Free minded individuals that dare to question the establishment a little bit are who listen to the station, which, as shown by the recent recall election, is most of us. The recall effort was very much spearheaded by John and Ken, and although I don't think the state elected the best candidte he is better than Gumby, and more importantly we sent a message to the politicians.
Back to my point, there are very few who would like to see Clear Channel and the other radio conglomerates disappear more than I. Sorry Robert
(B) + (D) + (B) + (D) = (K) + (&)
(Typing this from Cairo, Egypt, where there IS internet of course)
In the third-world / developping world, the radio is THE main means of communication. People here listen to radio all day long; this is where I get the news reports related to the place I live in (I mean, when you're in Egypt you care more about what's happening in Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Sudan, etc, than the bushfires in Los Angeles). Radio is great in that it provides localized information, as opposed to the web.
Cheap, also. I bought a 6 dollars radio that does its job perfectly well, allows me to browse in local / arabic music (go find that on Kazaa when you don't have a clue about arabic music!!).
Easy to maintain, too... Most *very* remote places (Africa, south america, asia, etc) have ONE radio + a number of batteries when the power goes out, and with only this equipment, they manage to stay in touch with the rest of the world (how the hell do you think people in, say, Guinee-Bissau managed to learn about Sept. 11?).
Internet is WAY more difficult and expensive to dispatch, operate and mantain.
Hello! I'm a disaster waiting to happen!
"NPR is left wing (although it seems middle-of-the-road to liberals)."
Um... I'm "conservative" by most peoples' reckonings. I'm pro gun rights, pro states rights, I like the idea of free trade, support the continuing mission in Iraq, and I even voted for Bush in '00 (although I'll probably be voting against Ashcroft next year). About the only thing I'm not is a member of the GOP (political parites... blech...). But I can't stand Fox News and routinely rely on NPR for all my news above all other options.
If NPR is so "left-leaning," there'd be a lot more opinion-based commentary, kind of like Fox News. NPR is about the only place where you can find a news group that routinely reads letters over the air from dissenting listeners, and they don't even comment on/reply to/belittle those.
About the only "left" part of public radio is the funding scheme. But even then, I've never heard programming on a public radio station underwritten by a labor group.
Last week, the senior vice president of the RIAA came to my college for a debate on copywrite and p2p. When asked how the RIAA can continue to justify the existence of the record labels with iTunes et al, his response was that we would have no new popular music without the promotion offered by the labels. I call BS. On the contrary, instead of the labels actively pushing the latest crap from Britney Spears through radio promotion and advertising, truly good music would spread through word-of-mouth. Every single day the RIAA and its cohorts continue to exist is another day our ears are spoonfed by what some executive at one of the Big 5 labels believes the public can be manipulated to purchase thorugh relentless marketing. Unfortunatley for the labels, p2p makes it easy for people to figure out that album x is crap before they have a chance to buy, hence the rapid erosion of their dated business model and the RIAA's desperate fight for survival.
...as a communications medium for those situations when there is no direct wire alternative and/or people don't want predefined content and/or want access to news and the likes. I know that Europe has the RDS system which can interupt your car player with traffic bulletins, but who's going to run a purely traffic news content channel? I personally prefer to use the car radio during the rush hour with my CDs as backup for when the radio content is not to my taste, that way I can concentrate on the matter at hand - driving safely.
Apart from the obvious situations of car, cycling, walking and etc. where there is no viable direct connection possible, what about when the power goes down or there is no/inadequate infrastructure - people here in the Aussie Bush have enough trouble just getting reliable land-lines, never mind dial-up and broadband; and as for Africa/Asia/etc... 'nuf sed!
Perhaps radio will become a less popular medium for music promotion but, until the whole world is reliably wired, it will continue to use music in addition to providing other content, if only to fill the gaps between the news, traffic and ad. breaks.
Go permanent? In your dreams and my worst nightmares.
But regardless, it doesn't diminish the fact that 99.5 is a great station, as can be attested to by monique. In this age of Clear Channel homoginization, it's so nice to see a station stand out and be different, even if they are owned by a "conglomerate".
As for that "conglomerate", as AC pointed out it appears you don't quite have your facts straight either. According to 103.7 The Mountain's web site, Entercom was "a small family-owned Philadelphia company" back in 1990. Their station portfolio contains a couple dozen stations, compared to the hundreds owned by Cumulus and the thousands owned by Clear Channel. Clear Channel is a veritable monopoly at this point, controlling an order of magnitude more radio stations than their nearest competator.
So, I supposed I don't mind corporate controlled radio... as long as it's not UGLY RADIO.
I do listen to an undisputably independent radio station, Boulder Free Radio, which operates (illegally, of course) without an FCC license.