I went and re-read BigA's post and I can not reach your conclusion, even remotely.
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Erik Scott Smith Joins KILT-FM/Houston as Morning Co-Host
- Thread starter Y2kTheNewOldies
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Not once did he present your argument that people were choosing the free version because of cost limitations. He simply said people were choosing the ad free version.
Remember what I said about being pendant? This is one of the few times you should really be a stickler for details.
And I am giving the reason.
And the details, which I read twice, lead me to conclude that his response is valid and correctly reasoned.
You're giving a reason to an argument he didn't present.
You're saying people prefer a luxury but won't pay for it because of financial barriers (or at least the jist of it). He said the data from Spotify proves people "prefer" and are "choosing" the premium subscription.
I hate to pull the old David-card on you dah-veed, but this is one of those times you should quibble at what was offered and not at what could have been inferred.
You are nit-picking on the meaning of "prefer". I prefer a Rolls or a Bentley or even an Alfa-Romeo, but settle for something a bit less pricey.
It's all about language. In this case, "prefer". Again, I prefer a 25 year old single malt, but will make do with a Johnny Walker Blue.
Oh that's rich!
With all due respect (and I really mean this), that's *your* modus operandi. Everyone knows you have a knack for taking reasonable posts and unnecessarily dissecting them as a hobby. Take this post as an example. It was extremely obvious that this was a JOKE. But for sone odd reason, you felt compelled to take the post and butcher it. Why you did that? I'm not sure. Maybe you think your career has given you ostentatious privileges?
It's a habit I've noticed from you for the longest of time. I'm sure people are too intimidated to bring it up because almost everyone who has worked in Spanish Radio knows "Dah-veed" IRL (and don't you dare correct "Spanish Radio" by replying with "it's not a station in Spain"...you know dang well we are all referring to the language and not the country when we say that!). I suppose it also doesn't help when people see a mod tag. In most message boards, arguing with a mod is typically taboo due to the fear in retaliation (and by no means am I suggesting you retaliate... I'm just pointing out a common theme elsewhere).
Again, you're being pedant. What they desire vs. what they're preferring in real life situations are two different things.
He wrote the data from Spotify showed people prefered ad-free subscriptions. Now if you want to run to his aid and show me what Spotify data shows this, then by all means go for it.
The fact is that more people are preferring to sign up for the ad-supported service than than the paid one. Do they desire a commercial free experience? Sure. But that's not what their preference is at check-out. That's the reality Spotify actually confirms.
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They aren't signing up for ad-supported, They're signing up for free service. So they're not signing up to hear commercials.
Spotify says they have 85 million North American users in 2021, 48 million of which are paid subscribers.
Worldwide, you may be right. But to compare worldwide numbers with US based radio companies is not fair.
I remember when this board actually talked about different radio themes than we do today. A lot of discussion these days about translators, illegal broadcasting by some entities, whether a station listed in the ratings is really the station in question - take a look at some of the other boards and see how far afield we are here.
You’re looking at a few facts about him and making a lot of assumptions. Do you know if he was born and raised in L.A? Is he a walking stereotype? Does he perhaps have southern roots? Is he perhaps reaaaaally good at what he does? Being in market number 2 for over ten years means a helluva lot more than him being any sort of actor. He wasn’t hired because he was in a Mandy Moore movie over ten years ago. And it’s not like he’s an Instagram star with 2.5 million followers that doesn’t have a lick of radio experience. That would be a publicity stunt. Talent trumps format. (As long as he embraces the lifestyle and the people!)
The time people spend arguing about this stuff probably exceeds the total TSL of all of these translators/LPFM's combined.
I'd settle for moderated on-topic threads. Look at this one, started as a discussion of a new guy hired on a morning show. Four pages in, it's an argument of Spotify vs radio.
Please clarify your statement. The ad-supported service IS the free service.
Yes, and as they grow, they continue to add more Ad-based users than paid users
Source;
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Since streaming platforms have the ability to geo-fence their service to specific areas, I think it is fair to aggregate all of the areas they service. The places they offer service are places they do business in.
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Like what assumptions? That a safer hire would have been someone who has worked in a country format?
Either way, none of this matters since I didn't say he wouldn't work out. All I am claiming is that the risk of him failing is higher than, say, someone who has spent the last 10 years doing country radio.
He was born in Tennessee, I think. But he's spent over a decade working in Hollywood and doing rock radio. I think this matters the most.
But not working country radio in market #2 seems like a glaring omission.
I'm not saying he doesn't have experience. But what I am saying is that he doesn't have the right experience. I'm also not denying that he is incapable of figuring out how to make it work. But you have to admit that there is a greater risk of failure than if KILT would have brought in someone with extensive country format experience.
There's absolutely nothing controversial about that.
As talented as he may be, you cannot guarantee that his entertainment skills for rock radio and gossip TV will work on a country audience.
The hire carries a higher risk than usual.
As I said, they're not signing up for it because of the ads, but because it's free.
According to your linked source, more than half of them will continue to be subscription based:
"Spotify currently has, according to eMarketer, 83.1 million users in the US, of which 44.7 million are paying subscribers: that is expected to grow to 100.6 million users by 2025, with just over half (52.2 million) of them paying."
Spotify has really promoted the subscription service heavily in the US, with several advantages to paying. The record labels are also pressuring streaming services to cut back their free service.
But what we see is that people in certain parts of the world are more likely to subscribe, and the US is one of those places. Whereas in Africa and Latin America, more than half of the residents use the free service.
So they're preferring the free service?
Look at the rate of growth. More people as of late are preferring to not pay and just choose the Ad-based service. The gap is slowly closing.
Either way, overall Spotify has more free users than paid users world wide. And that is what matters.
Did I say that? No.
Worldwide doesn't matter because the only reason we're talking about Spotify at all is to compare it to US radio. US radio isn't worldwide and doesn't compete in that market. That's why I used the US figures.
Those are the facts. When people are creating their accounts, they are preferring the free version over the ad-free version at check-out for a myriad of reasons.
You're confusing preference with desire.
Terrestrial radio isn't just dying in the US. This is a trend that is growing world wide as 3G/4G/5G technology continues to mature overseas.
Now of course, some places in the world won't phase out radio in our lifetimes due to poor infrastructure/cost of access. But eventually, all good (?) things come to an end.
The majority of US users are paid subscribers. The source you linked said so. You haven't posted a preference poll. So you're ascribing a preference where none has been stated.
That's not the point. To compare apples and apples, you need to focus on US numbers.
This board is about Houston radio. If you want to talk about worldwide streaming, go to that board.
There is a big difference between Burkina Faso, which is not even a third world country, and a first world one like Chile. Or Albania and France. And so on.
Radio in the US is paying today for the restrictions on power, coverage and ownership our congressmen created in the early 30's. In much of the rest of the world, we have true national "stations" (what we call "networks") of broad coverage stations with many repeaters and well done national formats.
Much of radio's problems in the US have to do with the government-forced local service concept. Terrestrial radio in other nations is doing much better than in the US. So don't use foreign situations as an analysis point for U.S. radio.
Again, Spotify does business in more than just the US.
Radio being dumped for streaming alternatives is not just a US phenomenon, which is why you have to look at a bigger picture.
Furthermore, let's not ignore the fact that their ad-based username has grown faster than they premium subscribers on recent quarters. The gap is closing in the US and growing internationally (which is alarming considering many streaming services have had financial trouble in the past).
That would make sense if radio only existed in the US.
But it doesn't.
You do realize that we are way past the point of worrying about staying on topic?
That has nothing to do with this discussion.
That's not what the source link you posted said. Did you even read the article?
Then perhaps the mods should shut this down.
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