Article on sat. radio, "Free", "Jack", etc.

[raccoonradio]

I really don't know where to post it but maybe here (it could go on Variety Hits,
Hot Talk, Sirius boards but I don't want to do muliple posts)

David Schulz of Earvolution writes "Free Form Radio Or Die"

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1510655/posts

"Commercial radio is in trouble: given the choice between satellite radio's uninterrupted, creatively programmed selections or regimented, repetitive play lists with incessant commercial breaks, who is ever going to choose the latter? For commercial radio to hold their audience, it has to give people a reason to stick around through the end of the commercials. At the present time, once the advertisements start, listeners start fumbling around the dial looking for music."

 

[KMRichards]

> I really don't know where to post it but maybe here (it
> could go on Variety Hits,
> Hot Talk, Sirius boards but I don't want to do muliple
> posts)

I believe that the wider scope of the article makes it appropriate to discuss here. Thanks for posting it.

The article is interesting, albeit a tad unrealistic. But the comments from people who think XM and Sirius is the salvation of radio is amusing to me, given the number of times I've had to deal with the same types of posts on the boards I moderate.

(Personally, I think the next wave of broad acceptance will have to be a medium which doesn't require special equipment or a monthly charge.)<P ID="signature">______________


</P>

 

[dave73]

> > I really don't know where to post it but maybe here (it
> > could go on Variety Hits,
> > Hot Talk, Sirius boards but I don't want to do muliple
> > posts)
>
> I believe that the wider scope of the article makes it
> appropriate to discuss here. Thanks for posting it.
>
> The article is interesting, albeit a tad unrealistic. But
> the comments from people who think XM and Sirius is the
> salvation of radio is amusing to me, given the number of
> times I've had to deal with the same types of posts on the
> boards I moderate.
>
> (Personally, I think the next wave of broad acceptance will
> have to be a medium which doesn't require special equipment
> or a monthly charge.)
>
The only time I listen to FM radio is when I'm in the car & at work listening to Nine FM in the Chicago market. I'm afraid to take my Sirius radio in the car after my last one quit and had to get a new one. I only wished I had waited to buy the replacement from Wal-mart, now that the unit I bought for 1 or 2 left, is now $40 for the Sanyo plug 'n play model. I eventually want to get a different unit as the Sanyo, while ok, isn't as great of a unit as I thought it would be. But other than that, I'm enjoying Sirius Radio. I'm mainly listening to Chill, Pulse (90's & now), Starlite, Big 80's, and Sirius Shuffle.

 

[radiophile]

Just yesterday on the Philadelphia board, someone asked a question about whether talk hosts on the new Free FM end their shows whenever they want because this particular show ended at 2:45 PM.
Turns out from 2:45 PM, the staion aired 15 solid minutes of commercials before the next show started at 3:00 PM. I can't imagine paying Philadelphia FM radio rates to have the commercial for my business buried in the middle of 15 minutes of commercials. No one will hear it.
I've had Sirius for 15 months now. The only reason I listen to traditional radio is the local news station.
FM radio is reacting. One station in Philly now only plays six minutes of commercials per hour during the work day. That's still six minutes more than the music stations on Sirius.

 

[Jay_F]

> I really don't know where to post it but maybe here (it
> could go on Variety Hits,
> Hot Talk, Sirius boards but I don't want to do muliple
> posts)
>
> David Schulz of Earvolution writes "Free Form Radio Or Die"
>
> http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1510655/posts
>
> "Commercial radio is in trouble: given the choice between
> satellite radio's uninterrupted, creatively programmed
> selections or regimented, repetitive play lists with
> incessant commercial breaks, who is ever going to choose the
> latter? For commercial radio to hold their audience, it has
> to give people a reason to stick around through the end of
> the commercials. At the present time, once the
> advertisements start, listeners start fumbling around the
> dial looking for music."
>


Interesting article. I still don't think most people want a "radio bill". They have enough bills as it is. The average listener is satisfied enough, it's just not that important to their lives to pay for it. Cable TV is more of an active form of entertainment, radio is more background. People will pay for active entertainment, not passive.

Satellite is probably worth it for the real music lover. I get the feeling I would really enjoy satellite. I don't want to get it because I feel I would lose touch with regular radio. I have spent my whole life monitoring, analyzing, and reflecting on broadcast radio (and have spent more than half my life working in it and still do to this day), I feel like a part of me would die if I would listen to satellite if that makes sense at all. But this article makes Sirius sound so good (for someone with my musical tastes) that it almost makes me tempted to get it.

I disagree with his "free form radio" idea. Even if it's romanticized, it was never especially popular even in the hippie era. Those stations never gained a mass audience until they became commercialized AORs. However I do agree with his idea that personalities that build a following is good for radio. Satellite will win on more music. Having live, local, interactive personalities is one of the biggest strengths radio has over satellite, what the industry has considered an unwanted expense over the past decade could actually be one of their biggest assests, I think the companies will come around to realize this, if they are not starting to already.

 

[raccoonradio]

Cable TV is more of an active
> form of entertainment, radio is more background. People will
> pay for active entertainment, not passive.

I agree...listening while driving, working, etc.

> Satellite is probably worth it for the real music lover. I
> get the feeling I would really enjoy satellite. I don't want
> to get it because I feel I would lose touch with regular
> radio.

Same here, and there's cost factor though I guess it's going down (or at least there are $50 "portable" receivers and I have a mini-FM transmitter I could use to play it on my car stereo)

> I disagree with his "free form radio" idea. Even if it's
> romanticized, it was never especially popular even in the
> hippie era. Those stations never gained a mass audience
> until they became commercialized AORs.

True--there's the freeform "interesting to hear but no ratings" vs.
"tight playlist, maybe TOO tight, but gets ratings"

Having
> live, local, interactive personalities is one of the biggest
> strengths radio has over satellite

Agree.

 

[raccoonradio]

> Turns out from 2:45 PM, the staion aired 15 solid minutes of
> commercials before the next show started at 3:00 PM.

Boston's WEEI sometimes has shows start about 10 minutes past the hour due to
a big commercial glut at the start of the hour (after the "sports flash").
(and the previous show/"hour" ends at :55 or :56 past!)
The station is doing well in the ratings and is trying to maximize what they
can earn, I guess...people probably dial-surf during this then come back
once they hit that button for the station and find the ad barrage is over. This is mostly during the late morning/early afternoon

 

[Slinky]

> (Personally, I think the next wave of broad acceptance will
> have to be a medium which doesn't require special equipment
> or a monthly charge.)

Ah, but who says we need a medium of broad acceptance?

That's the key to what's happening now. There's no one medium that's replacing radio. There are many diverse media, each with a narrow audience, that are combining to do damage to radio's audience share. Satellite alone isn't enough to make a dent in terrestrial radio, but combine it with internet broadcasts and iPods, and you start to see a difference.

There won't be a single "medium of broad acceptance" until Wi-max or cellular Internet is as ubiquitous and reliable as regular radio is now. Until then, everyone will just find their own "salvation of radio".

 

[gr8oldies]

People can pick the sattelite channel they like. More than likely, unless they aalready like reggae, they aren't going to start listening to the reggae channel, if there is one. The article seems to say that the salvation of radio is playing obscure songs, and nothing could be further from the truth. That's been proven time and time again.

 

[KMRichards]

> > (Personally, I think the next wave of broad acceptance
> will
> > have to be a medium which doesn't require special
> equipment
> > or a monthly charge.)
>
> Ah, but who says we need a medium of broad acceptance?

Broad acceptance = profit = financial viability.

Lack of acceptance = sustained losses = bankruptcy.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>

 

[PTBoardOp94]

> People can pick the sattelite channel they like. More than
> likely, unless they aalready like reggae, they aren't going
> to start listening to the reggae channel, if there is one.
> The article seems to say that the salvation of radio is
> playing obscure songs, and nothing could be further from the
> truth. That's been proven time and time again.
>
I think its interesting that the only feedback I've heard about Satelite radio from people I really know is that the playlist on Sirius (channel 9 I think) was too repetitive...And they weren't playing obscure songs at all...cliched songs moreso I think.

Ooh the irony.

 

[bierkenstock]

There You Go Again

You keep trolling blogs and other bulletin boards looking for posts you agree with and then posting them here as "articles."
They are bulletin board posts or blogs - all with an axe to grind. And nobody knows anything about the original poster.
If you have opinions, and I know you do, write your own post and label it as your opinion.

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