The Radio Industry I left Behind

[SirRoxalot]

You're not paying attention. People will pay for wireless Internet access for myriad other reasons, including the ability to make phone calls on IP-based networks. On-line radio, for all practical purposes, will be "free".

Not everyone thinks like me. And not everyone thinks like you. The beauty of Internet radio is that they won't have to, because it will be possible to have a lot more streams - very much like cable TV vs. local stations.

 

[TheBigA]

People will pay for wireless Internet access

Paying for wireless access is not the same as a subscriber fee.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Paying for wireless access is not the same as a subscriber fee.

Internet radio stations aren't likely to ask for subscriber fees. So, they'll be as "free" as OTA radio for those people who buy wireless Internet for other purposes - which means that OTA radio will have more competition, and competition that's less regulated, with much lower start-up costs, and much lower operating costs for the physical plant.

We're already seeing Wifi radios, which are comparable in price to HD radios. We're already seeing car manufacturers building Wifi access into their "entertainment systems". Radio's in for a challenge, and they'd better offer something that syndicators can't offer if they want to compete.

 

[TheBigA]

Internet radio stations aren't likely to ask for subscriber fees.

You obviously haven't been keeping up with the SoundExchange negotiations. The main thing SX keeps saying is these stations need to charge subscriber fees. They're not monetizing their stations. I'm not kidding. If some outsider said that to me, I'd tell him to mind his own business. But that's what SX is telling internet radio. Internet radio is being killed by the music industry.

 

[SirRoxalot]

You obviously haven't been keeping up with the SoundExchange negotiations. The main thing SX keeps saying is these stations need to charge subscriber fees. They're not monetizing their stations. I'm not kidding. If some outsider said that to me, I'd tell him to mind his own business. But that's what SX is telling internet radio. Internet radio is being killed by the music industry.

The nature of a "negotiation" is that you ask for the moon, and settle for a whole lot less. Sound Exchange also wants radio stations to pay artists for music aired on "free" radio. There's a great distance between a negotiating stance and the final agreement.

 

[TheBigA]

Sound Exchange also wants radio stations to pay artists for music aired on "free" radio. There's a great distance between a negotiating stance and the final agreement.

If they get Congress to grant them a royalty, there won't be any negotiating. It's be a law.

 

[SirRoxalot]

If Congress sides with Internet radio services, it will also be a law. Negotiations happen in Congress, too - as well as pressure from lobbyists and constituents. Do YOU want to be the Congressman who tells vast numbers of your constituents that services that they've enjoyed for free will now cost them money? You can continue to quibble, but neither of us has a crystal ball into the actions of Congress, or the negotiations going on with SoundExchange.

The simple fact is that the cost of running an on-line radio station is significantly less than running an OTA radio station. Royalties only apply if you have listeners. If you have listeners, you have the ratings that you need to sell more web-site advertising, or more visual ads to go with your audio stream. There's also the content issue. You can stream content that can't be broadcast because the technology exists for parents to block individual streams.

Internet radio is here. It will spread as more and more wireless access is available and rates for access drop. It will also spread as other devices - like smart phones and Internet radios - get cheaper. Radio needs to look beyond the end of its nose and address the challenge. Further use of syndication is not addressing the challenge. Radio companies need to focus on their own content, and become a unique source for content, both OTA and on the Internet.