Is Radio Dead?
from the who-needs-it... dept
Ever since Napster first came around, a few people have pointed out that it was really demonstrating what the "next generation of radio" was really about. Radio, by itself, is increasingly losing its reason for being and some are wondering if there's any future in radio whatsoever. While the reporter mentions the obvious stuff about online music - and the idea of having a connection everywhere, she wonders if TV is replacing radio as the way of making "superstars". With shows like American Idol, radio play is becoming less important. Of course, that's only for the superstar style musicians. Radio, though, has never been very good at promoting lower level musicians anyway - which is something that file sharing is excellent at. So, as radio gets more homogenized and as TV promotions take over on the high end and file sharing on the low end - is there really a point for radio any more? In the home, it will quickly be replaced (if it hasn't already) by digital music. In the car it will take a little longer, but faster ubiquitous wireless will eventually take care of that as well. What will be interesting, (though not mentioned in the article) is to see if satellite radio will get dragged down by the same issues. Those companies have spent a ridiculous amount of money on infrastructure, and may find themselves undercut by that good old internet.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Re: Is Radio Dead?
Personally, I can't imagine life without ABC Radio here in Australia.
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Re: Is Radio Dead?
I'd think that one could use radio for special data transfers, like this clock from Emerson that sets it's time automatically using radio waves (i've got one and love it).
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Re: Is Radio Dead?
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No Subject Given
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No Subject Given
As already stated, a lot of folks use it for 'talk shows' which while available aren't generally available in your car (sure it's coming ... 10 years ?).
Also, you can find lots of new and interesting music if you listen to some of the public access stations in your area.
You are correct in that it's one of the last places people listen / look for new music ... but that's been true since MTV hit the world across the face .... which also explains why the quality of 'music' has gone down hill and it's become more about the presentation of your act than whether your act is musically worthwhile.
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Re: No Subject Given
The technology is getting to the point where you could listen to internet radio stations in your car. It's not there yet, but it's not that far either.
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Talk Radio is the New Radio
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