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.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Re: Is Radio Dead?
Personally, I can't imagine life without ABC Radio here in Australia.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Is Radio Dead?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Is Radio Dead?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
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).
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Is Radio Dead?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in thread ]
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.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Talk Radio is the New Radio
[ link to this | view in thread ]
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.
[ link to this | view in thread ]