Article with stats: Future and Present of FM and others

Bubo · Feb 23, 2015

Great article

Worth a read for the stats alone

1-TerrestrialRadiosUseHasRemainedNearlyStaticOverTheLastDecade2.png

http://www.stateofthemedia.org/2012/audio-how-far-will-digital-go/audio-by-the-numbers/

2014 Update article, less detail

http://www.journalism.org/2014/03/26/state-of-the-news-media-2014-key-indicators-in-media-and-news/

satkinsn · Feb 26, 2015

My guess is radio by other means - streaming services, podcasts, streams of traditional radio stations - hit the biggest part of its growth curve in the last 12 months or so. Even if I'm wrong, it's pretty clear the '13 numbers for podcasts are dated.

Which reminds me of something that happened to me over the last few months: I really, really wanted to be able to listen to my local NPR station when I'm out walking, but didn't want to carry an extra gadget. So I bought a Windows phone, Win phones being the only way you can get a phone on Verizon with the radio chip activated.

It's lovely in concept, but runs up against the practical reality of your headphone cord being your antenna, meaning it moves around a lot, to predictably bad effect. And as much as I love my local NPR, I was spoiled by the choice streaming affords.

Months have gone by since I've used the "radio" in my phone, but I stream a fair amount. I acknowledge two things: a.) I'm paying the bandwidth, where traditional radio is free and b.) the "one to many" model of broadcasting still has advantages. But as far as I'm concerned, it's radio.

s.

Bubo · Feb 26, 2015

satkinsn said:
My guess is radio by other means - streaming services, podcasts, streams of traditional radio stations - hit the biggest part of its growth curve in the last 12 months or so. Even if I'm wrong, it's pretty clear the 0'13 numbers for podcasts are dated.

Which reminds me of something that happened to me over the last few months: I really, really wanted to be able to listen to my local NPR station when I'm out walking, but didn't want to carry an extra gadget. So I bought a Windows phone, Win phones being the only way you can get a phone on Verizon with the radio chip activated.

It's lovely in concept, but runs up against the practical reality of your headphone cord being your antenna, meaning it moves around a lot, to predictably bad effect. And as much as I love my local NPR, I was spoiled by the choice streaming affords.

Months have gone by since I've used the "radio" in my phone, but I stream a fair amount. I acknowledge two things: a.) I'm paying the bandwidth, where traditional radio is free and b.) the "one to many" model of broadcasting still has advantages. But as far as I'm concerned, it's radio.

s.

HD radio add on? $5??

loopstick · Feb 27, 2015

The conflict is between range of choice and general appeal. Back when I had DSL I liked to find obscure doo-wop etc. online stations. But I always got the feeling that it was me and a half dozen others listening to it. We were seven lonely lights lit up on some monitor. I prefer the shared experience of general appeal.

The future of radio broadcasting might be in the UHF and above. Just as OTA DTV gives you several sub-channels you could have dozens of music genres on a single UHF "station". More advertising dollars could be collected and pooled. The news and weather would be shared among the sub-channels. And the high bandwidth would support stereo, hi-fi, surround, data, smell-o-sound, whatever.

satkinsn · Feb 27, 2015

loopstick said:
The conflict is between range of choice and general appeal. Back when I had DSL I liked to find obscure doo-wop etc. online stations. But I always got the feeling that it was me and a half dozen others listening to it. We were seven lonely lights lit up on some monitor. I prefer the shared experience of general appeal.

It's weird. I'll be listening to something on Live365 and see that I'm the only one, or the only one of two or three and I wonder - who are we? Where are we?

loopstick said:
The future of radio broadcasting might be in the UHF and above. Just as OTA DTV gives you several sub-channels you could have dozens of music genres on a single UHF "station". More advertising dollars could be collected and pooled. The news and weather would be shared among the sub-channels. And the high bandwidth would support stereo, hi-fi, surround, data, smell-o-sound, whatever.

Well, I like that a lot. Problem is, there's always more to be had on the streaming side - you have a jazz channel OTA, streaming there's a bebop channel, an avant channel, a swing channel, etc.

Granted, a really good station will find an audience (I believe). But accumulating big enough numbers to make it work outside of the major metro areas is...problematic.

s.

amptramp · Feb 27, 2015

I used to listen to KCIA1, Kansas City Internet Audio, when Ooberfan was a DJ operating out of Sacramento CA. (Ooberfan's real name was Nadia but I never heard a last name.) We were both active on the Storm Large website before it was deleted and moved over to Facebook. On one night, she said she had set a new record for her show with 21 listeners. I doubt advertisers will be knocking on their doors all that much - but radio stations can maintain the illusion that a lot of people are listening and hanging on every word the advertisers say.

loopstick · Feb 28, 2015

This theme of "Who else is listening?" prompts a random recollection of Times Square back when it was a sleazy place in the 1970's. One afternoon this guy's on the sidewalk promoting "Nude Girls" for some reasonable fee of $1 or so. So I get a ticket and go inside.

There's a round stage in the center of a ring of viewing booths and you sit in a booth and this little wood window thing opens up and now you see through it and there's this bored middle-aged nude gal dancing a few feet above you. The window is timed and closes after a while and I guess at that point you pay more if you want more.

So this gal is listlessly rotating around so everybody can get a front shot. And then you notice the other windows popping open on the other side of the stage. And when you see these creepy old f*cks staring at the gal through their windows it's like the shock of self-recognition. And I was just a kid so I left that noise and went back out into the street.

Bubo · Mar 1, 2015

loopstick said:
This theme of "Who else is listening?" prompts a random recollection of Times Square back when it was a sleazy place in the 1970's. One afternoon this guy's on the sidewalk promoting "Nude Girls" for some reasonable fee of $1 or so. So I get a ticket and go inside.

There's a round stage in the center of a ring of viewing booths and you sit in a booth and this little wood window thing opens up and now you see through it and there's this bored middle-aged nude gal dancing a few feet above you. The window is timed and closes after a while and I guess at that point you pay more if you want more.

So this gal is listlessly rotating around so everybody can get a front shot. And then you notice the other windows popping open on the other side of the stage. And when you see these creepy old f*cks staring at the gal through their windows it's like the shock of self-recognition. And I was just a kid so I left that noise and went back out into the street.

Internet radio is like a Time Square (what a shxxt hole before they cleaned it up) peep show??

Article with stats: Future and Present of FM and others

Bubo

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satkinsn

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loopstick

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amptramp

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loopstick

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