SUPERCASTER said:
But the party's over.
HD, of course, is launching at exactly the time that the full capabilities and scope of the Internet are coming to be known. The net is, at every level, a bigger threat and a more promising opportunity than anything else on radio's radar, including satellite and HD. As Peter Childs commented on this blog: "Every dollar spent on HD is a dollar not spent on the real battle."
What's going to happen is this: In a shockingly short span of time - perhaps five to ten years - the Internet and/or other wireless-based audio entertainment and information channels will be widely distributed substitutes for radio as we know it today.
http://www.hear2.com/2006/10/technology_is_t.html
What kind of digital radio are listeners searching for?
http://www.hear2.com/2006/10/what_kind_of_di.html
What exactly all that has to do with my joke, I'm not sure - but I'll bite anyway.
My last gig was programming a hip-hop station. It had double digit 12+ numbers, but I think I'd rather have someone beat me severely with a baseball bat than repeat that experience.
Why?
Several reasons - but one of the bigger ones was the fact that EVERYONE thinks they're a friggin' star these days. I couldn't go anywhere without someone trying to push something on me. One of the more memorable experiences was at an appearance for a local children's charity - these two losers kept following me around trying to get me to listen to their locally produced song:
"But man, you gotta listen - this be the illest ish around - we runnin' da streets - ya know what I'm sayin?" And without exception, when I listened to this crap, it was just that - crap. It usually sounded like it was recorded in someone's closet on a 4 channel cassette based PortaTrack.
Of course, would-be DJs were a real joy too. Like I said, my station had double digit 12+ numbers, but I couldn't go a week without some wannabee telling me why the station sucked and how it would be so much better if I just put them on the air and let them do their thing. Typically, these people were really misinformed and had the impression that DJs picked the music and that was how they were going to set the world on fire - by picking the right music.
Then there's the would-be mixshow guys. I won't even go there. Suffice it to say, they're worse than the other two groups - by far.
This certainly isn't a phenomenon unique to hip-hop. Yesterday I was at lunch with the PD of my rock station. Apparently, the local rock musicians have taken to bashing his station on MySpace. Why? The station isn't playing their home grown, thrash metal-poorly played-poorly sung-poorly recorded-garage band crap. They have the misguided notion that most radio listeners in the area want to hear
them - not Metallica or Linkin Park.
If and when internet radio becomes a practical reality, content will still be king. Internet is a great equalizer to an extent - it's an outlet for ummm "talented" people with no outlet - but they will still be largely ignored. I can pop over to YouTube right now and watch the video equavalent of the local rappers and garage bands I mentioned earlier until my eyes bleed - but I won't. Tonight if I turn on the TV, I'll be watching CSI or Law & Order, or The Simpsons.
Content is king. Media is more fragmented today than ever before - but the viable media is driven by content.
What's the matter, can't find any other decent boards to post on !