Who Needs Radio? 649
DragonMagic writes "MSNBC asks what many /.ers have been asking: Who needs the radio anymore? Rather, it goes on to really ask, who needs the RIAA anymore? With online music distribution sources, television, and the internet itself, how much longer will it be before the radio, and the RIAA, will be an obsolete means to promote artists?"
npr (Score:4, Interesting)
Without Radio (Score:3, Interesting)
You can't really think that WE will do it on our own. I personally don't have that kind of time nor the will to search for good music on my own. There is just too much out there. I'd have to go to every local bar here in NYC to see even 1% of them, and then what?
Getting rid of radio is stupid. I see no real reason to get rid of it. I do see a reason to make it less monopolistic and let the smaller stations take control of themselves, but I see NO good reason to get rid of them.
Radio (Score:4, Interesting)
Ever try to watch TV without using your eyes? It is a visual medium. Most TV shows are unexciting and moronic without the visuals. Try this the next time you watch tv, tape your eyes shut, and just listen. How long before you are bored.
Radio, requires more imagination, more intellegence, and is better stimulation for the brain. Leftwingers have NPR, Rightwingers have Rush (well not at the moment).
Try making sense of beer commercials while blind. "And twins!". Lame. And don't get me started on Porn. What is the point of THAT if you are blind?
You see TV requires more attention while using less brain. Radio requires LESS attention while using MORE brain. Ever try taking apart an engine while watching TV?
I think you get the picture.
Regional success (Score:3, Interesting)
We went on to discuss, however, that *regional* bands with not much beyond their own PR machine can and do acheive success in a DIY way. The local music scene of Columbus, OH, where I'm from for instance, is very encouraging.
A local band called Wigglepussy, Indiana is having so much success behind thier own marketing, that it spawned somewhat of a marketing-firm in and of itself.
I think this is what we need to... music from us, and for us, from where we are.
RIAA == Collusion (Score:2, Interesting)
The dirty word that I never hear mentioned about the RIAA is that they are really no more than a bunch of record exec goons that are guilty of collusion. They've been essentially dubbed collusive as a result of losing that price fixing suit a year or so ago. They control prices, product, and are given the free reign to block competition. They are really no different from OPEC or DeBeers.
Who needs Oil when we have (someday) hydrogen fuel cells? No one, as long as OPEC is around. Diamonds are incredibly common gemstones, but they are the most expensive, because the product is under the complete control of one group of profiteers. The only difference between deBeers, OPEC, and the RIAA is that for some reason, the RIAA is the only one of those groups that is allowed to exist within the geopolitical boundaries of the United States. OPEC and DeBeers theoretically would have never been allowed to survive in the U.S. in the past. (We can also surely group the MPAA into this group, and their new ban of screeners is further proof of collusion used to kill competition.)
So why do we need RIAA?
Because they say we do.
Independent radio can still be good (Score:3, Interesting)
payola versus piracy (Score:3, Interesting)
imagine, payola ends, and suddenly certain songs flood the p2p networks, or "download centers".
Re:What? (Score:5, Interesting)
The key is how many people listen to music at home VS in there car. I bet most people listen to music in there car more hours of the day than in there homes.
What I really think people are missing is the community aspect of radio. In many small towns the local radio station plays an imporant role. They cover the local high school sports, weather, and community affairs.
They also serve an important role during emergencys.
That is one of the reasons I hate the "Clear Channel" stations. They are nothing but repeaters for the mother station. I think it is time to put more restrictions on local stations. They should have a required amount of local program content.
Re:What? (Score:2, Interesting)
As for music radio... I haven't listened in years. So whatever happens to it doesn't matter much to me. Commercial music stations can shove it for all I care.
I listen to my local independent radio station (Score:5, Interesting)
How about Talk Radio? (Score:2, Interesting)
While it seems most slashdot readers are socialist left-wingers... some of us, myself included, listen to many hours of radio daily.
Of course that wouldn't occur to the slashdot moderator who accepted this story since nearly every successful talk radio program is conservative.
Re:Translated for the America-Impaired (Score:1, Interesting)
Fox News is an obvious conservative propaganda outlet. They insisted on highlighting the gravitas of the Schwarzenegger campaign. They invented the term homicide bomber out of whole cloth in a deliberate and cynical attempt to reframe the Palestinian question. They are run by Rupert Murdoch. Their coverage of the Plame felony has been notoriously one-sided.
I really could go on and on. Let's hear from someone who can recite a similar litany explaining how NPR is left-wing. Indymedia is left wing. Pacifica is left-wing. There is no major national left-wing news television or radio network at the present time.
Now, draw up sides, and... engage!
Mmmmm, a worm on a string- my favorite!
Moderate this Funny! (Score:1, Interesting)
Radio is alive (Score:2, Interesting)
Radio is the delivery mechanism but programming falls into 5 categories:
Local with syndication
ClearChannel
College
Public
XM and Sirius satellite delivered
I don't have Sirius but do have XM at home and at work and the programming is very diverse. For example last night was a sneak preview of the entire new Moody Blues album.
People will listen to "radio" if timely and high quality music is delivered in a high quality format.
TG
College radio (Score:2, Interesting)
There was a time when deejays could play whatever they wanted, and the radio was the place to go to hear a variety of music and discover new artists.
What about college radio stations? The station I volunteer at [kumm.org] bans any Top 40 music from the past 10 years on our air, and we have loads of new music [kumm.org] to discuss and recommend.
Re:What? (Score:3, Interesting)
* whew * (catches breath)
As television became the dominant entertainment medium in America in the 60s and 70s, the clear-channel stations started becoming less and less important to their former audiences. All the stations I mentioned above are still broadcasting, but in most cases they share their frequencies with a number of other local stations.
Re:What? (Score:3, Interesting)
Amen brother... When I first got out of college, my career goal was radio personality. (I know, looking back it seems like a shallow goal..) I was floored when, in an interview to be an afternoon personality/production manager I was told "Hey man, this ain't art. Just a well researched playlist..."
It helped me understand that the radio industry I fell in love with had changed for the worse, into a glorified jukebox with very little original, compelling programming on the air. Gone was the idea that a radio show could make a difference in somebody's life, mood, or world view... Gone was the idea that a radio station did certain things for the community as a condition of being on the air, like local news, community affairs programs, and local election coverage. In its place was the idea that the rotary club should pay to have a show on your station on Sunday morning at 7am. That local election info is a "buzz-kill" and doesn't "fit with what we're doing here."
I was quite sad. Then I got into computers, where everything is wine and roses...
Re:What? (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:What? (Score:4, Interesting)
As far as vulnerable to backhoes, radio is far more susceptible to damage, being that a single broadcast point is quickly silenced. I'd be hard pressed to find a network more resistant to damage than IP.
Re:What? (Score:4, Interesting)
get rid of "radio", keep content (Score:3, Interesting)
Additionally it is nice to listen to something new; this is impossible if you are creating your own tracklists. Listing to someone else's tracklists can lead to interesting new music.
Finally there are many situations where video is not feasible. The car is a great example; other sitatuations may involve a lack of space or funds for a video screen.
However radio is not without problems. There are many times when we cannot get the content we want due to the physics of broadcasting. Only a very limited number of channels are available, and if we are in the wrong place we cannot tune in our favorites. And the costs and licensing required to broadcast mean that only a select few get on the air.
The solution is to keep our favorite radio shows, but change the delivery mechanism. It would work like the internet; all our favorite shows would be sites with streaming content that we tune in over a wireless network. Of course we would need to find bandwidth to provide nearly everyone with a hi-fi channel, but that is just a matter of time. Then almost anyone could broadcast content, there would be no geographical barriers to reception and we could have virtually unlimited channels.
"Streaming Radio" via FM (Score:2, Interesting)
For some time I'd given up listening to mainstream music on FM stations. I can't stand listening to the same songs over and over when they aren't playing five or six ads in a row or some DJ isn't rambling on about something or other. I'd listen to NPR and some college stations in the area, but that was about it.
Then, several weeks ago, I decided to hook up my TV antenna to my stereo at home so that I could pick up one of the college stations I listen to in the car and after doing so I carefully scanned the band to see if there were any stations I could pick up with the TV antenna that I couldn't get in the truck. Sure enough, I found 104.1 KMFR, and it wasn't all that weak either. Turns out, it was a new FM station that first went on the air in 2002! I was suprised to find it because I figured that all of the available spectrum space in the San Antonio metro area was already claimed but what the guy who set up KMFR did was get a license to serve a rural community about 40 miles south of San Antonio (Pearsall) and then built a 100,000 watt station that "just happens" to reach San Antonio. (All of the station's ads are for San Antonio businesses.)
What's really interesting about KMFR is that it's a high power FM station fed by a PC (or dedicated PC-like device) that randomly picks songs (in KMFR's case, classic rock) to play along with commercials and station promos. The format is two or three songs, one 15 or 30 second spot, 5 second station promo (My favorite: "KMFR, a marginally profitable enterprise of Radio Tuna, Limited) and then another two or three songs, etc, etc.
There's no DJ or studio. About 1/3 of the commercials, all of which are done by the same announcer without background music or other special effects, are aimed at potential advertisers and provide the station's phone number. One time I called that number and got the owner's personal answering machine. I looked in the phonebook for KMFR but there's no listing so apparently KMFR is run by one guy out of his house! (To quote some of the ads: .. "We've recently added a high dollar answering machine so you can now call us anytime!" .. "Call and talk to the big man himself!" .. "How can KMFR make any money with so few ads? The answer is: Low overhead!")
While I find it refreshing to find a commercial station that plays a very wide playlist (they even play John Lennon's "Imagine"!) with very little interruption, I'm also concerned that it has the same lack of public service capabilities as the remotely controlled Clear Channel stations.
who give the best info (Score:3, Interesting)
Check out For example, according to the report (pp 13) 67 percent of Fox News listeners think there is an Al-Qauda Iraq link. only 16% of NPR-PBS listeners/watchers had the same wrong idea. If you think that there was such a link you may care to kno that the President of the United States said there was no evidence of any such link. All right, mod me down as not conservative now.
The Question Is: Do You Have The Right Radio? (Score:2, Interesting)
XM has made radio fun again. It has eliminated DJs who talk too much, too many commercials, and "Hits of the 70,80,90, and Today" where the station attempts to be the "universal" choice and just becomes "universally" annoying.
Nothing wrong with radio, just make sure you have the right radio..
Re:What? (Score:3, Interesting)
No, actually. What I remember is getting a blow-by-blow via IM from a friend in NYC, and watching him gradually become unhinged as events progressed.
Maybe the major news sites had trouble with the load, but that's hardly an indictment of the net at large. For many on that day, it was far more useful than the telephone networks (wired or wireless).
Re:I listen to my local independent radio station (Score:1, Interesting)
Is it that they hire these types, or that these are the types willing to work for cc? Curiously enough I talked recently with a guy who started in the early 60s (you know before the british invasion?). He was pretty relieved to have gotten out of the 'biz about 5 years ago.
Personally, I had come to the conclusion commercial radio had become crap about 20 years ago, and couldn't stomach it anymore. I scanning the dial about a year ago, and like so many other things, I was impressed that my expectations could be lowered even further.