The other side of that is the "value prop," as you put it, only existed because radio had no competition. The only reason you know about it is you're old enough to remember. Once music listening became more personalized and less mass appeal, the "value prop" changed. This began 35 years ago with homemade cassettes and CDs. It affected everything connected with music, including MTV and music journalism. All of those music magazines disappeared. So radio today needs to look beyond its former purpose. The presenters have to do more than "jockey discs," because that function isn't needed. If you look fairly at the digital platforms, they're also pretty faceless, and there is very little brand loyalty there too. It's all about giving me what I want for the lowest price. Music distribution has become just another can of beans on the grocery shelf.
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Lowest KUBE ratings ever, in December PPM
- Thread starter crainbebo
- Start date
The other side of that is the "value prop," as you put it, only existed because radio had no competition. The only reason you know about it is you're old enough to remember. Once music listening became more personalized and less mass appeal, the "value prop" changed. This began 35 years ago with homemade cassettes and CDs. It affected everything connected with music, including MTV and music journalism. All of those music magazines disappeared. So radio today needs to look beyond its former purpose. The presenters have to do more than "jockey discs," because that function isn't needed. If you look fairly at the digital platforms, they're also pretty faceless, and there is very little brand loyalty there too. It's all about giving me what I want for the lowest price. Music distribution has become just another can of beans on the grocery shelf.
I've been hearing about the impending demise of radio all my life. 8-tracks, cassettes...everything that came along was supposed to end it.
Yet here it is...
Yet here it is...
The terrestrial radio industry really missed the boat when they ignored the very first internet audio webcast in 1993. If they caught the zeitgeist while it was still sitting right there, with literally a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other, they could have been at the forefront instead of playing catch-up to Spotify and other streamers.
Instead, streaming was still dismissed as late as 2014 by some pros, on this very board, as a tech-geek fad. Something that will never truly be mainstream. Streaming will never replace terrestrial radio, we were told again and again (as iHeart were already running promos for their smartphone app on the very stations they knew better than anybody.)
Spotify is on it's deathbed, podcasts are for iHeads, etc, etc. Now listen to this generically programmed jukebox or New Age Talk HD-2 channel.....
The rhetoric made no sense. Because that's not what we've been visually seeing in the consumer market over the last three decades with the tech explosion. It's hard not to notice AM/FM's decline (if not outright disappearance) from new products every year in favor of something IoT.
My daughter worked in a thrift store in 2019 and they had so many radios (some nice ones too), they actually gave them away in a stacked pile outside the store. That's how I knew we finally reached the radio tech tipping point.
It was really kinda painful to look at, if you understood and grew up with this medium. But (sigh). Onward....
Keep in mind that radio WAS the tech explosion. Then tech moved to Japan, then Korea, and now China, and they set the agenda, not us. But sure, at one time you had companies like GE and RCA that were based here and made products for Americans. Not any more. The last exciting radios that people wanted to buy also had CD players in them. That was 30 years ago. Then the electronics industry changed its focus to other things.
But none of that has anything to do with the radio business. Radio companies are not in the electronics business anymore. BTW, being first on the internet doesn't matter.
It's a little more complicated.
Diary keepers mention their favorite stations, and that may mean 3 or even 4 stations. The ones listened to casually or the ones listened to in an office or workplace don't usually get mentioned.
The primary is not the beneficiary from this.
The primary and all stations are reduced in the PPM because in the diary listening is written in long spans without real world interruptions.
The impediment was cost.
Most of the big players were working on streams, but concerned about costs.
And it is still impossible to make a profit with commercially supported free streams due to rights payments.
To the Bongwaters point, I recently purchased a new Stereo... I know how quaint... two channels... Still available though, not everything has gone 5.1 surround yet!! Anyway, this new integrated receiver comes with NO AM SECTION... But it does have HD-FM and Internet radio combined with wifi. The AM stations I might listen to are mostly already on an HD-2 channel so I don't actually miss having AM on this unit. Besides if I really want to listen to AM I have several Sony's and a Grundig Satellit 800 that will do the job.
I actually blame AFTRA for contributing to this mess.
Clear Channel was remarkably forward thinking circa 2000-2001. They'd launched a website called NuClearChannel ("nuclear"/"new Clear") which had links to web streams of every station they owned. A pure live stream, spots and all. It made it a 1:1 listening experience compared with AM or FM. I was in high school when I found it. Showed it to classmates, and we all got excited and used it daily in the computer lab. I believe this would have caught on!
Then the union came in and demanded astronomical prices for voiceover artists in big spots. (Source: AFTRA Rules Cause Radio Stations to Pull Streams). This lead Clear Channel to pull all streaming while they figured out what to do.
What we ended up with is the mess which still exists today. Ad inserts are less engaging, creative, etc. Most are just plain horrible. It makes the streaming experience painful. So it never caught on. Otherwise, we would have had a "NuClearChannel" app (along with competitors) on the very first iPhone, instead of screwing around trying to force OEMs to include a stupid FM chip. And now I feel like I'm the only person under 40 who still makes an effort to listen to AM/FM.
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The first "March Madness" game is on the 13th. For the first two weeks of the tournament, more than one game is going at the same time. What better time to go live on your new sports FM? 950 and 93.3 run different games, then converge as one during the times when there are no games. Heck of a way to kick things off, no? Just a thought.
AM is one thing I need on a car radio. The ESPN station in Yakima has no translator (i.e., KUTI-1460) and the 106.9 translator for Kruzn KTCR (1950s-1970s oldies...well worth a listen) is very noisy, spotty, and multipathed in Ellensburg. It's better to use their 980 AM frequency.
And besides, what better thing to listen to on a late evening drive than George Noory's Coast to Coast AM on KFBK or KOA? Not every market has an FM translator or full-power FM news/talker with C2C.
Remember, nearly all the affected AFTRA commercials were done for ad agencies, and it was the AFTRA deal with a committee of ad agency creative departments that established the voiceover rules and rates.
So, agencies that did not want to pay the added streaming rates in addition to the AM and FM radio rates sent orders saying "no streaming". Stations violating that request would be cancelled or discounted in their payment to cover the AFTRA streaming fees.
Radio was not part of the negotiating process.
Some agencies decided to record in non-Union markets, but the fact that stations were fearful of agency reprisals resulted in separating the stream commercials from the radio ones.
Radio streaming was exciting in 2000, 2001 when you could hear stations everywhere. Then the royalties went up, stations began geo-fencing, and even TuneIn had error messages for stations that were still in its database.
Now it's a bit better, with more stations available. Not sure if mobile streaming in the car works as well as some claim, having never used it.
Now it's a bit better, with more stations available. Not sure if mobile streaming in the car works as well as some claim, having never used it.
At the same time, AFTRA came out in support of the RIAA performance royalty for broadcast radio.
You can still get around geofencing restrictions by using a VPN (sorry Frank).
Jubal’s co-host English Evan announced today that he’s leaving the show. Dare I speculate that Strawberry and Lizette Love will slide over to Hits as his co-hosts?
If not to the morning show slot, to some other slot at 106.1. KBKS is largely running out-of-market talent for the majority of the day.
I am mildly surprised this stunt has gone on for as long as it has, especially with how underwhelming it has been.
Works perfectly in my car. On I-5 and all the major highways, it's more reliable than terrestrial radio (no picket-fencing/dropouts/co-channel interference.) Listened to WEQX all the way down to Tacoma without a blip.
People were recording songs off the radio or from their record player back in the later 60's. That is going on close to 55 years.
When i traveled a lot to other countries in the period from very late 1966 to 1970, I'd always have a radio with a cassette device in it so I could record local radio stations and use those recordings to find interesting ways to improve my own stations. While the devices were a bit bulky initially, for a broadcaster they were a revelation as they allowed the easy recording of airchecks when traveling without having to carry a Wollensak around!
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