There was a time when I actually turned down a job which would have required a move in large part because of KOOL-FM. No lie. Needless to say that time has long past and wouldn't deserve a second thought these days.
So you aged and the station did not. That is how it's supposed to be.
So you aged and the station did not. That is how it's supposed to be.
Which naturally begs the question: how long it will be before KOOL moves its demo into the post-MTV/YouTube era?
About ten years or so.
Think FM as we know it today will still be around in 2025?
The key words as "as we know it today." My response is that FM today isn't as we knew it in 1995, so why should it stay the same ten years from now?
It WILL change, and Dr. Akbar should be prepared.
Yes BigA, radio is definitely changing and not for the better. It is a dying medium. Shot in the foot largely by its own people who were either too short-sighted, too cheap or too corporate to see and understand their own product.
The key words as "as we know it today." My response is that FM today isn't as we knew it in 1995, so why should it stay the same ten years from now?
It WILL change, and Dr. Akbar should be prepared.
And speaking of Steve Goddard, why do we keep thinking he'd be a natural on KSLX?
I think you're making judgments based on your own personal memory and bias.
The way you used to watch TV is quickly disappearing.
Record stores are gone.
Have you gone to a concert lately? That experience has changed dramatically in the last ten years.
American cars were once the envy of the world, and I haven't owned an American car since I was a teenager.
I was visiting my mom and saw her toaster oven. I haven't used one of those since I was in college. Yet they're still being made. She just got a new one.
Just because you or people you know don't use something doesn't mean it's dead. It's just dead for you. That's fine, because nothing will ever be as good as you remember it. There are very few things in life that stay exactly the same from birth to death. Isn't that right?
I agree with your last statement but it isn't just me. It is more like everyone I know. When I look at my sons and their friends and see they quit listening to radio some years ago and now play sticks or CD's in their "radios" it sends a message. A message that is very unlikely to change. A message that is not good for radio as an industry.
The way you, your family, and friends consume music isn't good for the music industry either. When was the last time anyone you know paid for a physical CD? Do your kids buy CDs? Or do they simply listen to free streams of their favorite songs? Those free streams pay the artists and record labels fractions of a penny. I'm not kidding. The music industry has lost almost half of its value in the last ten years. Why do I mention this? Because it's part of the same overall picture.
The only real bankable source of revenue for musicians today is concerts, and you've said you haven't gone to one in 20 years. In the meantime, the concert industry has exploded. Someone is obviously going, and they're paying lots of money for those tickets to enjoy an experience that they can't have at home. And radio companies, including IHeart and Townsquare, have invested in concerts and festivals as a way to diversify their income. This is why I say radio is evolving and changing.
Sure, TSL is declining, and has been declining since 1989. But that's not because of radio. It's because of the explosion of other options for people to get the same content. There is nothing the radio companies can do that will cause you or your kids to throw away your phones, computers, or other personal devices. But the fact is that none of them were available when you were a kid. Radio doesn't exist in a vacuum. It's in an overall entertainment marketplace. It all has an effect on revenues for radio. Just as the collapse of the recording industry will have an effect on the music business.
The last "kid" I know of who bought a CD was my oldest daughter and that was about five years ago.
I don't notice any big difference in the concert industries as compared with 10, 20, even 30 years ago.
There are a couple reasons radio is declining and one certainly is the plethora of other entertainment devices available. But another is the quality of the radio product. Fewer entertaining/live jocks. Unpopular music. Too many commercials
BUT they love music, right?
A big part of that is you haven't been to one in over 20 years. If you had, you'd notice the difference. The concert industry is the only part of the music industry that isn't losing money. It's growing. And yes, Country Thunder and Coachella are just two indications of what I'm talking about. Those two have been so wildly successful that there are copycats in every state in the country. Some of them are owned by radio companies. So radio companies are now broadening their income over more platforms than AM & FM. They're getting money from streaming, live music, and other sponsorships. This means that radio is getting money from people even when they're not listening. So radio is actually making more money now than it was when you & your friends were glued to your transistors. Even when adjusted for inflation. So don't bury radio just yet. We're doing OK.
The problem with your theory is that TSL began declining when you and others would say the quality of radio product was good. So if the best DJs and the best music couldn't keep the audience, then why should you blame quality now? The fact is quality was never a factor. It's not a factor now. So don't say quality is a problem, when it wasn't a problem 30 years ago. The problem began then.
Radio is between a rock and a hard place. Being an ad-supported industry it has to appease both its listeners and its advertisers. It appears to me it is having a very tough time doing both. And worse, there doesn't seem to be a solution on the horizon.