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Is Terrestrial Music Radio Dead?

T

TheFonz

For a long time many music radio listeners have been unhappy with the state of radio today. Too much repetition, too many commercials, short playlists, etc. Now we hear that the Dixie Chicks have the #1 selling CD, without the help of radio airplay. So my question is: if listeners don't like radio, and the record companies don't need radio, then what is the future for terrestrial music radio?
 
I believe there will always be terrestrial radio, certainly for the foreseeable future. What will be different is that with all the new competition share levels in ratings, along with revenue, will be reduced, but I also believe it will be a very gradual process.
 
Radio is the reason the Chicks had the #1 album. A good many of those who bought the album did so because country music fans demanded radio stop playing their tunes for the anti-Bush comment made overseas. They are now the cool hip group for the anti-Bush crowd to listen to (well to buy the CD, how many will remain un-opened?). I kinda want to go to their concert in the NE or left coast, just to hear people saying when will they stop playing these horrible country songs and bash Bush. ;D
 
A recent study pointed out that one in two users of portable music players want FM reception capabilities in those players.

Terrestrial radio isn't going anywhere.
 
Hmm..people have been asking if terrestrial radio is dead for like three years now, yet we're still asking the same question. That should tell you something.
 
history is filled with examples of acts who sold big w/o much radio airplay. today with the technology we have millions are being made with little or no radio play. a lot of the kiddie rock, for instance. we may think it sux but check out the cd bins in walmart and target, they sell boatloads. the grateful dead, for heavens sake, sold millions over the years just by touring, same with buffett. few hits but always consistently big sales.

terrestrail radio is not dead. terrestrial, satellite, net, ipods can all coexist.
 
It's not dead, just stuck in an endless loop. When you hear a song you like, enough to make you sick of it, it's time to move on.
 
TheFonz said:
For a long time many music radio listeners have been unhappy with the state of radio today. Too much repetition, too many commercials, short playlists, etc. Now we hear that the Dixie Chicks have the #1 selling CD, without the help of radio airplay. So my question is: if listeners don't like radio, and the record companies don't need radio, then what is the future for terrestrial music radio?
Click to expand...

Terrestrial radio is staying.

It is certainly not dead.

Now days, there is just more than one source for music. Its not like 25 years ago, when radio was the main source for new music.
 
TheFonz said:
For a long time many music radio listeners have been unhappy with the state of radio today. Too much repetition, too many commercials, short playlists, etc. Now we hear that the Dixie Chicks have the #1 selling CD, without the help of radio airplay. So my question is: if listeners don't like radio, and the record companies don't need radio, then what is the future for terrestrial music radio?
Click to expand...

The people who complain the most about short playlists are people who literally listen to radio 8, 10, 12, 14 hours a day. Most radio listeners tune in, at most, for about an hour and half a day if that. Others who complain about short playlists are the "B-side types" who want to hear songs most people don't care about. No problem with that, but that's what a CD player's for. Radio has to attract a mass audience to be financially successful.

Too many commercials? That is an issue. But, most radio groups have recently reduced commercial loads. I'm sorry, but 25-30 years ago, AM radio played 18-25 minutes of commercials per hour...9 or 10 minutes an hour on an FM station is not objectionable for a service you get, essentially, for free.

The Dixie Chicks? First, there is no ban on them by country radio. This "ban" is the figment of the imagination of:

The Chicks
Their Record Label & Press Agents
The Media who wants to make it an issue

Country radio doesn't play them because research indicates they have alienated most country listeners. That's a fact. Not so much with their comments about President Bush, but the "we don't want our fans to be people who also have Reba McEntire and Toby Keith in their CD players." You can only (in a manner of speaking) flip off your fans so many times before they return the favor. The rule in country radio has always been "respect the music" and "respect the fans". The Chicks seem to do neither, at least as far as country fans are concerned. They seem to want to be rock stars. More power to them on that.

Why did they go #1 without radio airplay?

The constant media attention and country radio bashing by the media.
Support from A/C radio fans who still like and are buying their music.
Support from a minority of Country fans who still like the group.
Support from left leaned political groups, who'll buy CD's en
masse to try and make politcal points.

I have read reports of some country stations refusing to sell airtime for Chicks related concerts, etc. If true, I respect a station's right to make it's own decisions, but I feel that refusing to sell them airtime is shortsighted and dollar foolish. If a listener complained about a commercial for a Dixie Chicks concert, my response would be, "Hey, it's their money and we're a business..."

The future of terrestrial radio is bright. We just haven't hired the right press agents yet.
 
Terrestrial radio is alive and well for listeners who live in trailers, cardboard boxes, Underpasses, Ditches, Etc.

Terrestrial radio as a job, is alive and well for people willing to work for $5 an hour.

:D

The Internet is where it's at! There are countless Internet Stations that blow the CC, CBS, Cumulus stations out of the water!

Terrestrial radio has run off most decent talent both in Sales, On Air and management and kept the low wagers, conformists and slaves on ataff.
 
About fifty years ago RCA President David Sarnoff pronounced radio "dead". Television was the new fangled toy and the money that allowed radio to live now supported the new toy. However radio had its own new fangled toy. The transistor, invented a few years earlier, dramatically reduced the receiver size. Radio was now portable and played rock and roll. The teenagers loved it. Radio had reinvented itself and lived on.

Today I'm not so sure. Teenagers today have portable video games, portable media players, cell phones and other distractions. You want music? Download it and play it on a media player or burn a CD. Radio might be part of a teenager's life, but no longer a priority, especially for music. This could be an issue if you're relying on today's teens to be tomorrow's radio listener.

It's an interactive world and radio is an assembly line delivery system with commercials. Radio needs to reinvent itself. But as long as the amateur investment bankers run things, radio will stay the course. So expect a bumpy ride ahead.
 
Yeah, there are lots of people making a killing on Internet radio. How much does that job pay?
 
regional radio will get back to music. It might take another five years. They are reaching the saturation point with all the commercials too.
 
I think the adult listener will put up with commercials as long as they are well done. Unfortunately, radio commercials seem to scream at us these days. While I am a firm believer that the art of creating commercials can't get in the way of the commerce, there does need to be some entertainment or informational value to a commercial.

I would submit that a well written, well delivered commercials in clusters of three minutes will not drive away the adult listener.

Radio, particilaly with local advertisers, has done a horrible job of taking the lead in the area of creativity. Way too many advertisters get away with using their phone number sixteen times in a commercial. Why? Because radio is afraid to say use a creative message to create a demand for the product or service and they will find your damn phone number!
 
TheLaffer said:
Terrestrial radio is alive and well for listeners who live in trailers, cardboard boxes, Underpasses, Ditches, Etc.

Terrestrial radio as a job, is alive and well for people willing to work for $5 an hour.

:D
Sorry, my friend. I make a heck of a lot more than $5 an hour. Haven't made that money since 1979.

The Internet is where it's at! There are countless Internet Stations that blow the CC, CBS, Cumulus stations out of the water!

Terrestrial radio has run off most decent talent both in Sales, On Air and management and kept the low wagers, conformists and slaves on ataff.
Click to expand...
 
Internet radio like RadioParadise is superior to car radio. How long will it take for the internet to get into our cars. That way they will know where we are at all times. But at least the listening will be good.
 
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