Will internet radio become the choice of listeners in our lifetime?

Some terrestrial stations continue to sell for large sums of money. Recently, Educational Media Foundation bought WWIQ (Philadelphia) at a price of $20,250,000.

With internet radio becoming more popular, is it possible that stick values will drop? Will there be a day when internet radio becomes the listeners' first choice?

Not with the current royalties, and not with the millions of internet stations already out there. Way to much choice and slicing of the pie so very thin - the business model doesn't work yet. Then you have the bandwidth issue that may not go away, making free listening now or in the future not a sure thing. Everybody said AM would be gone decades ago, but it is still here and still viable in most cases.

Terrestrial Radio will be around for awhile. Numbers of listeners are still growing. An aging population will keep on air radio relevant (we just need to figure out how to market products and services to them, since agencies don't like them *sarcasm*)

I think more people under thirty listen to FM. It just isn't cool to admit it. I don't hold much hope for AM unless the technical side is cleaned up (however the small market (hometown) stations will continue to thrive, along with the 50K blowtorches).

We have a very successful AM in our town. It has been on the air 50 years. Does local news, swap shop etc. They just added a translator. It is doing well.

But....radio needs to get its act together, and start serving local markets again. Many do, and are successful, and some of the smaller groups have realized this and are emphasizing a local focus.

Those of us who have been trodding around on this earth for an extended period of time read your post and quietly mutter: "Preach it brother!" But in my cynical moments, I have to ask myself if that cycle can continue. If my grandchildren end up working in the pharmacy for CVS in some small market 5 years from now, or vaccinating dogs and cats in a veterinary practice in some small market 5 years from now... will THEY and their spouse (or significant other or whatever) flock to the local news and trading post? We did. But what about those born after 1990.... what will it take to get them to turn on the radio?

what will it take to get them to turn on the radio?

Compelling content that is promoted well enough so people will know about it, for starters.
Fixing the noise-interference problems is another, but that seems to be a harder nut to crack then even the content issue.

johnbasalla said:

what will it take to get them to turn on the radio?

Compelling content that is promoted well enough so people will know about it, for starters.
Fixing the noise-interference problems is another, but that seems to be a harder nut to crack then even the content issue.

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What is COMPELLING CONTENT for the younger generations? It seem's to me the most successfuly broadcasters are programming the equivalent of rock-era Muzak rather than something compelling. When 98% of your content in music, even though it arrives in the most sophisticated of rotation schemes does not strike me as "compelling content".

The noise-interference problem does not appear to be an industry problem, but a problem of the subculture of us who would take secondary stations in secondary markets and experiment with what we think is compelling content. More than ever in the history of civilization, our people are crowded into compact, congested, confined metro areas and the people with their "sophisticated rotation schemes of rock-era Muzak" hoard the best, most powerful channels and look at me and you and say: "What noise and interference problem?"

So Dale Hypersquirdly who operates on 1520 with 250 watts out in Big Cactus, TX grabs his congressman and says: "Here is the problem we broadcasters have!!!" and the Congressman says: "But I go to the NAB conventions and other gatherings and I don't hear that problem fro any one else. So that can't be your problem."

joshzz said:

Some terrestrial stations continue to sell for large sums of money. Recently, Educational Media Foundation bought WWIQ (Philadelphia) at a price of $20,250,000.

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That's down $2,250,000 from it's purchase price in 2011 of $22,500,000. An 11.1% drop.

No such thing as "internet radio".

Internet streaming of content will become the main form of transmission of programming at some point. But that point is MANY years away. If you're under the age of 30, you MAY see it. If you live to be 90+.

Anyone who has been in the middle of nowhere and couldn't get a signal on their cell phone can tell you that we're many decades away from that being the main form of listening medium.

I share your skepticism about a quick move to streaming, but recently I have had reason to think back to when certain things were possible for the first time. I must tell you that change-in-technology has moved much, much faster than I predicted at times. 60-plus years before we have universal coverage via cell phone, wifi, sattelite or something that will reach into the plains and canyons of the American West and the hollows of Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia..... 10 or 15 years may be the time frame.

That means that someone signing the dotted line and mortgaging his/her house to buy a little back-country home-town radio signal on a 15 to 20 year 2nd mortgage may find the future roaring down on him/her like an express main-line freight train.

Look 60+ years in your rearview mirror. Radio ran on vacuum tubes, reel to reel tape recorders were becoming common but weren't used every day in some stations. Phones had rotary dials. Look how far into the Buck Rogers mind-set the last 60 years has put us. Looking into the next 60 years, I would cinch up the belt around my waist lest my trousers get sucked right off my body as technology moves forward ever faster than the past.

The future is like a roll of toilet paper. The nearer you get to the end of your days, the faster it spins.

GRcowboy said:

I share your skepticism about a quick move to streaming, but recently I have had reason to think back to when certain things were possible for the first time. I must tell you that change-in-technology has moved much, much faster than I predicted at times. 60-plus years before we have universal coverage via cell phone, wifi, sattelite or something that will reach into the plains and canyons of the American West and the hollows of Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia..... 10 or 15 years may be the time frame.

That means that someone signing the dotted line and mortgaging his/her house to buy a little back-country home-town radio signal on a 15 to 20 year 2nd mortgage may find the future roaring down on him/her like an express main-line freight train.

Look 60+ years in your rearview mirror. Radio ran on vacuum tubes, reel to reel tape recorders were becoming common but weren't used every day in some stations. Phones had rotary dials. Look how far into the Buck Rogers mind-set the last 60 years has put us. Looking into the next 60 years, I would cinch up the belt around my waist lest my trousers get sucked right off my body as technology moves forward ever faster than the past.

The future is like a roll of toilet paper. The nearer you get to the end of your days, the faster it spins.

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It is amazing! Back in the 70s I would have never predicted the internet to be so big popular today. Seriously, I do wonder what the future holds. Will satellite radio become a thing of the past? Is Sirius/XM doomed?

I believe that we are on the second evolution. The first came in the late 60's,early 70's when content started to migrate to FM. Up to that time you could not give an FM away and AM was king. It was a matter of getting the relevant content to FM and the FM receivers in the cars and homes which took time. The music went first as spoken word (news, talk, sports) became the stable of AM. We are now watching the music content move to other platforms like the internet with a lot of spoken word becoming more prevalent on FM. There are a lot more hurdles to get over this time but terrestrial radio is not helping itself with it's homogenized, centralized programming, outrageous commercial breaks and that list goes on and on. Internet has it's own problems with royalties, sales, etc but it's coming. I may not see it in my lifetime (I'm 62) but I do treat my iPhone as I once did my old transistor radio, a little box of amazement, sound and wonder. It's all about content and choice. I want the content I want to consume and the choice to consume it when I want to. I'm finding more of that content available on the internet platform and very little of it on a terrestrial radio platform, especially in my local market. It doesn't mean there is not great radio out there but I am not limited anymore in finding it to suit what I want to hear. The clock is ticking!

Bill Harmonic said:

There are a lot more hurdles to get over this time but terrestrial radio is not helping itself with it's homogenized, centralized programming, outrageous commercial breaks and that list goes on and on.

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And yet it's the "homogenized centralized programming" that is the most popular on the dial.

Look at it this way, with a million internet radio stations. One should stand out with 50 millions listeners, unique programming, eclectic music, and featured on CNN, FOX, MSNBC......not!

"homogenized centralized programming" will continue to rule. Always has, always will.

As I said in early posts. If you hate terrestrial radio, you never liked it in the first place. Not much has changed since the first rock & roll record was played on top 40 radio. Rotations about the same, music has changed with each new generation.

The only thing that has changed is the disconnect with the local community.

Groove1670 said:

"homogenized centralized programming" will continue to rule. Always has, always will.

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Always has? Beginning in what year? Me thinks you might be a bit younger than some of us.

Groove1670 said:

As I said in early posts. If you hate terrestrial radio, you never liked it in the first place. Not much has changed since the first rock & roll record was played on top 40 radio. Rotations about the same, music has changed with each new generation.

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So the rotations in 1955 mechanically and statistically worked the same way they do in 2013?

Let me go sit down and think about that one for awhile.

Groove1670 said:

The only thing that has changed is the disconnect with the local community.

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So is that important or unimportant in this make-believe world of yours?

The connection with community is seen and described in different ways. So you're sure that today radio has disconnected with community? What year did that come about?

GRC here is a history lesson for you.

http://www.playlistresearch.com/article/top40.htm

The writer of the article seems to dislike the format too. But gives a good history lesson.

Here is a site with hundreds of top 40 playlists that go back to the 60's ( a few back to the late 50's)
http://www.las-solanas.com/arsa/stations.php

The writer of the article seems to dislike the format too. But gives a good history lesson.

I am 47, I've been in radio since 1985. Listened to stations in the 70's (with a tight rotation) I have worked with stations that used reel to reel automation (Drake Chenault yes a stale tight rotation), 45's (once again in a tight rotation), index cards (with a tight rotation), CD's (with a tight rotation), and now Hard drive automation (with a tight rotation).

And yes I am back into station ownership. With guess what (a format with a tight rotation).

All the stations above were (and are) very successful.

and now..It's now time for me to return to the make-believe world of sunshine, Lollipops, and rainbows.




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Groove1670 said:

The only thing that has changed is the disconnect with the local community.

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Compared to what? In my view, radio has always had a disconnect with the local community. Unless you do radio out in the street (and I have), there's a disconnect with the local community. Even community radio (and I've done that too) has a disconnect with the local community.

I have always hit the pavement running, and have always been successful by shaking hands and meeting people in our communities. Never had a disconnect. Still doing that now.

I guess I am the exception to the rule.

Good night everyone. I'll leave the radio pundits to hash this one out.

Radio has not always had a disconnect with the local community. This has happened slowly as the number of stations has increased, and ownership has become "corporate".

I just observed this disconnect this week in San Diego, as an FM station hosted a Happy Hour with a band at a waterfront hotel and most of the several dozen people in attendance were not there as a result of the radio station presence.

Thirty years ago we still connected with our communities. Not only were we adequately staffed to do so, radio was much more a part of our lives. No internet, no computers, no iPhones, etc. Now, we still see pockets of community involvement, but primarily in smaller more rural areas.

Bill, thanks for your comments. I was too tired to go into a lengthy & wasteful discussion on the last post.

Here is a good example of missing the boat (no pun intended).

http://www.diananyad.com/

This was the biggest event in Key West. Thousands of locals showed up on the beach to greet her. Never heard one thing on the radio about it. Why? 85% of the stations have no local presence (only one station (maybe 2) has a local morning show) Total station count: Approx 13. Where did I hear about it? on CNN at a restaurant.

On her website it said:
SEPT 2nd:
Live Feed
CNN now has a live feed from Smathers Beach where Diana will be landing in about an hour:

What is should of also said: Listen locally to W*** FM live for her arrival on shore, and updates.


I would up been giving updates, had a sponsor, branded my website, did interviews, and had a live remote while everyone was waiting (once again thousands were waiting for her).

Maybe the one live station (who by the way I give credit) has a wonderful local news dept, and they are the #1 station in the market
might of been there on their newscast. I don't know.

But the other 12? nah. Premium fill, the 24 HR. Satellite formats, and HD computers were all running during the two weeks I was there.

I understand times are tough. For an event this big in the community, a plan should of been in place. Local radio dropped the ball.

When I read TheBigA say "Radio was NEVER connected to communities" I wanted to jump up and down and shout him down. And then I "pondered" the dilemma, the claim, the question. As a whole, the radio industry has never really connected with community. We thought we did!!

If I want to insult someone, I will tell you the person does not know what he is doing. If I want not only insult but body-slam someone, I will tell you the person does not know what he is doing, AND he does not know... that he does not know.

I worked for 15 different stations. (One was a unique bifurcated thing.) I moved and worked for both halves of that station so I will claim I worked for 16 different stations. My primary experience was small markets, Southern and Midwestern. And on my day off I was an eager beaver out visiting other peoples stations.

Here is whey we have a debate in this thread. To many little Southern town stations where the community revolved around church (and church dictated the community culture) the radio station would be populated by people who didn't know what church was, and in their social hours and off hours management and/or staff would hang out at a local bar. (might have to go to the neighboring county to find a bar!) The knew everybody who came in and out of the bar. Everybody in the bar knew everything there was to know about the radio station.

But down at the county courthouse, down at the school board, down at the chamber of commerce, down at the ministerial alliance, they hardly knew the radio station existed, and other than the sales rep (may or may not have been the owner) they never met an employee of the station. Wouldn't recognize an employee of the station and lean over and whisper: "That guy works at the local radio station." In a community like that, that exception to my little tale has the guy lean ovoer and whisper: "That guy works at the local radio station. Don't ever take a check from him. It will bounce and he won't make it good."

My "batting average" was pretty good. I worked for station owners who were officers in their state broadcasters association. I worked for stations where when you were new in town and wanted to write a check for the first time to a local business, they might ask where do you work, and when you told them "I work for Charlie Shoelaces out at WQQQ" you were welcomed with open arms and your check was accepted without further question.

Truth be told, the industry as a whole has done a LOUSY job of connecting with community. And every time I drive past a boarded up A.M. radio station, I am reminded of that. And every time I drive by a station that is neat and well lancscaped and painted, I ask myself: "And you got out of the industry because ..... ???"