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WiFi and the App

B

Brother Doug

Guest
Seeing as how most corporate radio stations are dying out, there is new technology on the horizon that will make what we now know as radio sound better. The App is really taking off and with cloud services and WiFi car radios, people will now have a much better choice as to what they listen to and when.I am pretty much over the fact that Clear Channel has cut me and a host of others. But things will get better over time and I believe that there will be no more corporate radio in the future. Cumulus, Clear Channel and a host of others will be a thing of the past. I will bet that people will forget about this whole mess and begin to drop conventional AM and FM and fire up the WiFI and pour a few drinks and have a nice party at the house with all the new gadgets to be entertained by. Corporate geeks are way behind as far as ratings and there number one priority....entertaining people and informing people.
 
Brother Doug, how are things going at Radio Memphis? I was wondering if there was an app available for Radio Memphis. I see that the number of advertisers has increased there. I can definitely see a day in the near future where most cars are equipped with technology to access phone apps through the radio. That's already happening on higher end vehicles. I wish you, Ric, Leon, Mel, and everybody else well over there.
 
The future of streaming (which is what you're really talking about) is bright, but not as bright as it could be in mobile, on-the-go world. You still have to deal with carrier dead spots, 3G/4G coverage gaps and worst of all, bandwidth restrictions.

I think just about everyone now has some sort of speed or size cap on their mobile data plans. C-Spire (ex-Cellular South) has gone one step further and is now charging $30/month extra over their standard "Infinity Unilimited" data for the privilege of unlimited streaming. As I've complained about elsewhere, their notion of streaming isn't just YouTube, Netflix, iHeartRadio and Ustream, but any file upload FROM the device as well, such as Dropbox and sending pictures to Facebook! The future of mobile streaming is bleak unless you're wallowing in $$$.

Contrast that to local radio, which is free, and you see why I think the future of apps and streaming is going to stay limited to wifi and home use for the most part.

Having said that, I also take issue with the balkanization of the web through apps. Let's say your favorite station has an app for the iPhone but not Android or Blackberry or Windows or Symbian or whatever else is out there. You've just alienated 60% of the potential market!

I understand the desire to have apps (I've got about 130 on my phone now) because it lets the developer have tons of freedom. But as we've seen with CBS' Radio.com Android app, bad design can ruin a listener's experience. Radio.com is notoriously buggy, crashy and streaming is unreliable even on wifi. So CBS has alienated a huge chunk of their audience because they know even less about designing applications than they do about programming interesting stations.

If station groups would use an open and free encoding system and have an option for a mobile web page with a link to listen, then anyone with a data plan could listen, regardless of phone.
 
Brother Doug said:
Yes there is an App for Radio Memphis and is free through the Itunes store and through the Android market as well.Also catch the Livestream webcast complete with audio at www.livestream.com/radiomemphis.
Click to expand...

I actually clicked on the link. And the second I saw the commercial pre roll, I WAS GONE!!!!

I think I am probably going to pay for Satellite radio. I got a free demo in my new car. And I am telling you, I am really starting to enjoy it.

Oh, and I still have unlimited data plan on my iphone. I guess I will have to stay with ATT forever or at least until other carriers offer unlimited data again. But I also agree with Radio going to streaming on your smart phone to where you can listen in your car or wherever. Also, with radios in cars basically becoming computers now a days, Just makes it easier to load of some MP3's and ditch OTA radio all together like I did a long time ago.
 
thebestdjever said:
I actually clicked on the link. And the second I saw the commercial pre roll, I WAS GONE!!!!
Click to expand...

I can one-up that, I was reading this thread on my phone and clicked on the link. I ditched out as soon as I saw it wasn't mobile-screen friendly and there was no easy link to listen online for phones.
 
This new technology is going to play an important part in the redesign of what we now know as radio. Will the Internet radio stations take over? I do not believe anyone can predict that any more than saying OTA will wither away. Doug I applaud you and the guys for "risking it all" to pioneer the change, god knows something has to change. The naysayers are all going to find reasons this will not work. Logic actually favors the naysayers. The odds probably were against John Lennon ever making a living with the guitar. I mean, c’mon—how many kids dream about being a rock star?

J

Brother Doug said:
Seeing as how most corporate radio stations are dying out, there is new technology on the horizon that will make what we now know as radio sound better. The App is really taking off and with cloud services and WiFi car radios, people will now have a much better choice as to what they listen to and when.I am pretty much over the fact that Clear Channel has cut me and a host of others. But things will get better over time and I believe that there will be no more corporate radio in the future. Cumulus, Clear Channel and a host of others will be a thing of the past. I will bet that people will forget about this whole mess and begin to drop conventional AM and FM and fire up the WiFI and pour a few drinks and have a nice party at the house with all the new gadgets to be entertained by. Corporate geeks are way behind as far as ratings and there number one priority....entertaining people and informing people.
Click to expand...
 
What it boils down to is new technology that corporate radio did not develop in time and are just like major record labels. They did not see the greener side of the pasture but instead got greedy. Technology is great and moves things along faster. People dont like change but its inevitable. I mean look at how many people bought satellite subscriptions because radio sucked. But I simply refuse to pay for something that I can hear for free over any digital device including radio. And the App has taken off for good reason. Most people are mobile and listen to music on the move and watch tv on the move and get informed on the move. SO it is a tool of great achievements.
 
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