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End Is Nigh For Music On FM Radio?
from the sound-salvation dept
Rags Gupta points to the news about Infinity changing the formats of some of its stations that carry Howard Stern after he leaves next month, with some of them shifting away from music to celebrity talk and comedy, wondering if this is the beginning of the end of music on FM radio. Other media, particularly satellite and online radio, have figured out how to better serve up music -- typically with no commercials and little, if any, DJ interruption -- leaving radio in something of a lurch. The main problem is that people are growing unhappy with the content and how it's presented, and Infinity seems to realize the way forward is to change it, rather than complain about the regulatory environment or just simply cutting the number of ads. Radio will have to evolve with the audiences' taste, rather than just counting on them to accept whatever's crammed down their dial.
Reader Comments
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mainstream radio
is positively terrible. It is the expected product of consolidation of radio stations and consolidation in the record industry.
It pretty much sucks.
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Re: mainstream radio
Yeah, it smells like garbage. The only thing i use radio for these days is to turn up the bass real loud and try to jar that tird loose.
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Re: mainstream radio
How is it that no one is worried about this?
we pay for satellite radio because radio is filled with ads
advertisers will stop advertising where no one listens
we will end up PAYING for something that will eventually be filled with ads
the only thing that has changed is that we will end up paying for radio
i'll stick with free and filled with dj's and ads
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Re: mainstream radio
I agree with you to a point.
I pay for satellite radio first because FM radio is just a wasteland of a short playlist with constant repeats. No ads simply comes in second.
I've had XM for months, and only heard the latest hit popular song maybe twice. It's good to get some decent variety, and I'm definately willing to pay for it.
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No Subject Given
I have XM and the only time I listen to radio is to listen to AM for the traffic updates every ten minutes on the way to work. XM isn't doing traffic yet in San Antonio or XM would be the only radio I listen to.
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Stern shook up the industry
Howard isn't leaving terrestrial radio until Dec. 16th, and Infinity has been really jerking him around. They blame him for the problems they are having when the reality is the stagnant radio market. They relied on him for years to bring in Billions of dollars in revenue and now that he is leaving they have to actually work for a living. They are crapping in their pants now and I feel no pity for them. They brought it on themselves with limited playlists, annoying DJs and way too many commercials. As far as I'm concerned, my Sirius radio and my iPod have completely eliminated any need for local radio.
Whether you like Howard or hate him, he has an enormous influence on the industry. If Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, or Don Imus left the airwave, it would not have a negative effect on the industry. Stern leaves and the largest radio corporation completely changes its business model and some radio stations (that carried Howard's show) went from #1 in their market to #20.
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No Subject Given
This is starting to sound like a bunch of brainwashed Mac worshipers. "XM has no commercials, XM has no commercials, XM has no commercials."
There may be no commercials, but every time I listen to it in my son's car, I hear seemingly endless promos for XM, what's on channel 942, buy our new great radio, we're digital, blah, blah.
At times it sort of comes across like an NPR pledge drive.
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Re: No Subject Given
thats because you dont know how XM works. if you are listening to regular music channels and such, you wont get those commercials. the reason you get those commercials is because you are listening to CNN or something that is broadcasted live so when they go to commercials, their not gonna air their commercials, XM will then air their own commercials.
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I love my local radio
They play songs I like (Classic Rock), and if I put in a request, they usually play it within an hour.
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