KUOW had a segment on internet radio and what it means for artists. I have thought for years artists got a bad deal from record companies and with mp3 so much in the news, it’s done nothing to change my opinion. People who listen to mp3 files buy music, more than those who don’t, so any method of getting music out where it can be heard seems to me to be a Good Thing.
The formats and playlists of commercial radio stations are so restrictive, it’s hard to hear good new music. The individuality of a DJ with an ear for something innovative has been replaced by progammers who tailor the music around the demographic the advertisers want to reach. Internet radio restores this individuality to music and the music industry’s opposition to it speaks volumes about the real revenue engine behind the radio industry.
Also, I find that internet radio sites do a good job of promoting the artists they play, in terms of links, options to buy the music they play, etc. They have a direct relationship with their listeners, rather than using the listeners as the bait for advertising dollars. I sent an email to the show, included below.
Historically, each new medium has simply mimicked the dominant medium until it found its own strengths. Radio broadcast newspaper stories until it leveraged its immediacy, TV added pictures to radio as well as broadcasting plays until it worked out how best to do original programming, like game shows and other “innovations.” Likewise the web has added reach to newspapers and news organizations of all sizes. If you’ve been following the net since the mid-90s, you’ve seen the web try to be television, newspapers, and now radio. We’ll have to see what the internet is really good at, I suppose, but I’d look at what the big corporations are scared of as a good indicator.
This is an instructive read.
94.9 KUOW: Seattle’s NPR News and Information Station
Morning,
I listen to Internet radio because I like the programming: it’s usually less restrictive than over the air broadcasting.
But I am not hearing about the real business of broadcasting. Mr Navarro claimed that the music was the commodity being sold in his analysis. What’s actually being sold is the attention span of the audience that likes that programming. I pay nothing to KMTT or any other station but time spent listening to messages paid for by advertisers. If they stop playing music I and others care for, the audience drops off, and advertisers go away and the station’s revenue drops.
Ad-supported media is based on this “attention economy” and always has been.
Going forward, the day may come when we can subscribe to a service that plays music we will like and an acceptable revenue model will evolve to make it viable.
Also, this is a very hot topic in tv broadcasting: the CEO of Turner Broadcasting has claimed that viewers who skip commercials, either by well-timed bathroom breaks or technology, are in violation of an implicit contract.