I am hardly an apologist, but all the excuses/reasons you gave about why radio/terrestrial radio is failing/bad/on the wane/ blowing up are all personal in choice and taste, nothing based in fact. And you didn't answer the question why, if the other forms are so good, why can't they truly dent radios presence, effectiveness, and reach?
I did answer it the best way i can.....where i stated that (Other new forms pick up , then slow down when the enthusiast and geeks and the fed ups..already made the change. And the average person who just wants to be entertained at the moment will move in that direction slowly. ) I'll try to answer it further......number one...I'm a aware satellite sales and stocks has plummeted. Car sales, long trips are down. I use to own as many as 3 satellite receivers and a boom box. I'm now down to 1 radio and it's always in my car. With the price of gas currently at 4.57, I listen mostly to XM - on line. And like the rest of America....we cut down on driving, and no one is buying a car or truck to semi-live in.
Internet has risen as much as 60% and still less then 50% America has broadband. It has dented and hurt radio, their sales are down...i can even tell the types of commerecials I hear in drive time. And it's still hard to tell what the real results are....Talk is what's keeping radio alive. Music.....people are leaving droves just like their leaving the State of California....even though LA and the Bay Area are in the top 4 markets.
If satellite is so good (full disclosure, I did a show for Sirius in 2004-2005), why is satellite's total audience just under the ADI of NYC? With 200+ million folk (assuming 100 million are too little/young yet to know how/understand) with the ability to listen all forms of entertainment/information in this country, 15-18 million listeners is very small between Sirius and XM...I'd say you are "propagandist" for alternative media, if you want to play the label game.
I'm not propaganding anything...being an avid listener once to terrestrial....there is very little reason today why i want to listen. It was the same reason why I need to go to a video or music store when I can get my content at the tip of my fingers. And when some one like me feels little need when you once had to pry me out of there......eventually the rests follows I noticed.
Pinball is a great game..."just because somethings old doesn't make it bad, just because somethings new, doesn't make it better".
I'm not cutting pinball...but quit trying to dwelling on a dying medium. Eventually the un savvy listening audience will learn more about it....and will follow. Like I mention...really nothing happens the next day.
This happened with TV: The 3 networks get the lions share of the audience, but not on the scale they did 20-30 years ago. I don't see local TV and network TV going away with all the cable channels, it just makes the "regular" channels have to be better. To which radio will have to do the same in regard to the competition of the newer technology.
you kinda' answered your own question....where another medium example is driving themselves to their own deaths. Look what's on tonight....losing reality shows with second hand celebrities. Even the same shows in reruns back to back. What's on cable....it looks like a tight corporate oldies playlist of the same 300 songs. People are tuning out and even sites like HULU and VUDU are gaining even though they have alot to go.
I think you are caught up in the delivery of the content more than the content. I know you don't like much of what radio has to offer, but having worked satellite, internet, and terrestrial radio, I can tell you the content is not that much different. Satellite and Internet can take greater risks because their audience is smaller and unrated. If/when the day comes they become rated and have to maintain an audience instead of solely relaying on paid subscribers and site banner ads, you will see less risk, knowing there is competitive revenue at stake.
Wrong.....I'll put it simple...radio 25-54. Internet and satellite....2-65 plus. If Internet is ever rated....yes you will see some have to be competitive....but there's so much out there, that people will be streaming or listening for the fun of it. Who cares about the ratings and ads. I ran 2 Internet stations, and I had listeners mainly daytimers...and I had the same quality sound a like programming any terrestrial Rock or R&B station had on there (except the commercials). Ok... I obviously didin't have as many listeners as terrestrial...but who cares... i did it for the fun of it. i had a ball when I started it. And theirs over 100000 more like me out there.
I say bring them all on, it will only force radio to get better.
We been waitng for that for the past 15 years....and the American auto industry has been sleeping for the past 25 years before Chevy has been slowly starting to get it's act together. The Impala, and Malibu have been looking pretty decent lately. But with the gas and car sales crisis...in the next few years, it may be too late especially for Ford. Out of the list of stations I answered...it still sounds like the same corporate nonsense. There has been some improvements of wider playlists, the Jack format, the MY format...yes the have played some surprises in there....but when i hear a commercial or more between music....I feel offended. More and more of us are getting accustomed to the juke box effect with a few liners or breaks.
I 'm planning on placing a topic on the XM board which I feel will will get alot of answers to this thread. Once I get the time later, I'll place it on there which I feel it should be placed on there instead. I will say you came up with some challenging responses.
