Present & Future

Past, Present and Future: How Radio Programming Adapts to Technology

Present and Future
Radio has long been thought of as a flexible medium because of its ability to easily adapt. Throughout its history, radio programmers have continued to evolve on-air content in order to accommodate technological changes and remain relevant. Today, the industry is faced once again with the challenge of reevaluating the way radio is programmed due to the current popularity of MP3 players, Internet music streams and HD radio. As long as programmers continue to highlight radio’s strengths and what makes it unique, the future of the medium is bright.

The Popularity of MP3 Players

MP3 players started gaining traction in the late 1990s, but didn’t achieve mainstream success until after the Apple iPod was unveiled in 2001. Portable audio devices were not new; portable cassette and CD players had long been widely used technologies. However, the MP3 player was the first time users were able to carry their entire music libraries with them on one small device. Convenience paired with powerful marketing caused the popularity of the iPod to skyrocket. To put the success of the iPod into perspective, it took Sony more than ten years to sell 50 million Walkmans. In comparison, it took Apple half of the time to sell ten million iPods. Apple also found enormous success and additional revenue through selling digital music and iPod accessories (Marsal.)
There are several factors that contribute to the MP3 player’s success and position the medium to be one of radio’s most fierce competitors today. In a study of the Uses and Gratifications of MP3 players that was conducted in 2007, researchers found that some of the key factors that attract people to MP3 players are power, control and self-sufficiency. Users are in control of their music in a way unlike ever before – they are able to listen to what they want, wherever and whenever they want. With earlier technologies such as cassette players and CD players, users had control over what they listened to but there were restrictions in terms of how large a playlist could be on a tape or compact disc and how music was obtained. MP3 players like the iPod made it possible for users to carry around thousands of songs that could be arranged in whatever order the listener preferred. One could listen to music shuffled randomly, a full CD or a playlist crafted specifically to meet the user’s desires. Everything can be stored on a device smaller than one’s hand. Having all of this readily available means that MP3 players are an “on-demand” technology. Technologies that offer the user control over media content has risen in popularity in recent years and created a desire for individualized content that the MP3 player fulfills. Not only do users have access to individualized listening, audiences are able to become content producers as well through podcasting.
According to research findings, as listeners adopt MP3 players, their radio listening habits are changing. People with MP3 players listened to an average of almost one and a half hours of radio each day compared to those without MP3 players who listen to an average of two and a half hours of radio each day. Although those with MP3 devices listen to an hour less radio each day, they are still listening to a significant amount of radio, which is positive. However, in a recent study, 85% of a survey sample prefer MP3 players to radio as their listening source and 54% of that sample claimed that was due to not having any access to radio stations that played the music they wanted to hear. Younger audiences, in particular, are listening to terrestrial radio less as newer technologies are adopted and the adoption of MP3 players specifically is viewed as the greatest threat radio faces today (Albarran.) This creates an enormous challenge for the radio industry, as it is impossible to individualize content that is broadcasted over the radio.

Internet Radio

Although it hasn’t seen the enormous success of MP3 devices, Internet radio is quickly gaining momentum. Listenership as risen steadily in the past five years and are projected to continue to increase. In 2005, 8% of Americans over the age of twelve streamed Internet radio each week. In comparison, a study in 2009 showed that the percentage had risen to 17%, which equals 42 million people (Heine.) This is a significant number of people and although it is just a fraction of the 235 million terrestrial radio listeners, Internet radio is still a technology that poses a new set of challenges to traditional radio today. Streaming Internet radio has seen success because of its convenience. For the millions of Americans whose work revolves around a computer for eight hours daily, Internet radio is a simple and easily accessible way to listen to music during the workday. In addition, many handheld digital devices offer Internet radio streams such as the iPhone. The number of radio application downloads proves the popularity of Internet radio on the iPhone: CBC Radio’s application has already seen 6 million downloads while Clear Channel’s iheartradio app has been downloaded over one million times (Heine.)
While much of Internet radio is focused on one particular format and does not feature the personalization that MP3 players present, some streaming music sites do offer individualized musical content. Pandora is a web radio service that creates playlists for individual users. The site creates an initial playlist based on a specific song or artist the user selects and then continues to personalize the playlist based on your response to each song with a thumbs up or thumbs down. The result is musical content that is tailored specifically to each users taste. As of 2009, the site boasted 26 million registered users (Heine.)
One of Internet radio’s major weaknesses is the fact that it caters to a national audience. Advertisers are not able to zero in on listeners in a specific market and therefore are unable to target a specific demographic on which to focus their campaigns. Despite these challenges in advertising, Internet radio is seeing success and this certainly poses a threat to terrestrial radio in terms of advertising dollars. Between 2008 and 2009, ad revenues from streaming radio had increased 25% (Heine.)

HD Radio

The introduction of HD radio technology greatly parallels the beginnings of FM radio in terms of audio quality, adoption and challenges. Digital Audio Broadcasting has been available in some European countries and Canada since 1999 but the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) didn’t approve digital radio for broadcast in the United States until 2002. HD digital radio technology uses a digital signal in addition to analog signals to transmit audio. There is also a third signal that is broadcast to transmit text data. This allows HD receivers to receive text that it can then scroll in its display featuring information such as song details, traffic, weather or advertising. HD radio technology offers higher audio quality in addition to more programming options which are similar improvements that FM radio offered over AM radio. HD radio receivers broadcast FM stations with CD quality sound and improve the sound of AM stations to where the quality if comparable to an FM station on a regular radio. HD radio receivers also allow radio stations to broadcast several programs over a single frequency at the same time. For example, a radio station with the FM frequency of 101.7 is able to broadcast different programming over 101.7-1 and 101.7-2. Broadcasting companies now have the opportunity to air programming that compliments their primary radio style and try newer, more innovative music formats. For example, if a radio station airs a jazz format, they could use their second channel to air chill music, which also falls under easy listening yet is an experimental format that few radio companies are willing to risk airing as their primary format. Additional radio stations on the same frequency mean the potential for more revenue; however, it also means more programming talent is needed which is an added expense.
FM radio and HD radio both offered improved audio quality and newer, more inventive radio programming. Both technologies, however, also saw initial resistance. Just as FM radio receivers overshot consumers, as Clayton Christensen would say, HD radio receivers offer features that listeners don’t seem willing to purchase yet. High prices and lack of product knowledge at the retail level has resulted in slow adoption of this new technology. Overall, HD radio is a significant development in the radio industry with few faults other than digital signals that don’t carry as far as analog signals. Time will tell when audience needs will evolve and demand for this relatively new technology will grow (Sonderman.)

Where Does Radio Programming Go From Here?

The future of the radio industry largely lies in the hands of radio programmers and the route they take to respond to new technologies such as MP3 players, Internet radio and HD radio. Throughout the history of radio, programmers would assess new technologies that were introduced, find out the strengths of these technologies, and change on-air content to accommodate what was missing in order to reach listeners. Given it’s past success, the same process would likely prove to be effective today. This is what Clayton Christensen calls the “school of experience.” Past experience is thought of to be like a course that prepares people to successfully take on those challenges again when they encounter them in the future.
One research study focused on the adoption of new media forms by those who no longer remained loyal to terrestrial radio. The study showed that the amount of listening time to terrestrial radio was reduced 61% when the individuals also started listening to an MP3 player, Internet radio or HD radio. Two of the most major gripes listeners had with terrestrial radio were that they had no control over the music selections they were listening to and that they were frustrated because they felt like they were listening to “the same five songs” over and over again (Albarran). These are weaknesses of radio and strengths of new competing technologies, as they are not lacking musical selection.
Over the past several years, many radio programmers across the United States abandoned what had made radio remain relevant in the past: becoming strong where the competition had weaknesses. Over sixty Jack FM radio stations started popping up around the country. This popular radio format was in response to the random nature of MP3 playlists that seemed to draw so many people; it featured music of many genres and song lists that double or tripled the amount of music other standard radio formats air. Jack FM radio stations greatly reduced the usage of on-air talent or eliminated DJs all together. Their slogan was and still is “Playing What We Want.” The idea behind Jack was that the increased titles would accommodate people’s frustrations of hearing the same song too often and the randomness would feel more spontaneous and include something for everyone. Another example of this type of radio programming is displayed in radio station called Triple M. They also program their music specifically with a random feel in mind and advertise with the tagline, “You never know what we’ll play next!” They have periodic programs titled “the 1980s iPod shuffle” and even had an ongoing, on-air joke that the music was programmed by a chimpanzee named Barry. Unfortunately, as American blogger Mark Adams writes, “Radio is…mimicking what it thinks is on your iPod. The new format is…still…the same old thing, only more random, and randomness has nothing to do with choices” (Unknown).
In the future, radio programmers need to abandon this mentality in order for radio to continue to evolve into a medium that engages listeners. MP3 players and personalized Internet radio sites such as Pandora do a fantastic job delivering music to the consumer based on exactly what they want to hear. As it is not possible for radio to focus on individuals, it would be most beneficial to polish the aspects of radio that new technologies cannot compete with. In the aforementioned study, a group of consumers were surveyed based on their thoughts and usage of four technologies: MP3 players, Internet radio, HD radio and terrestrial radio. There was only one item that terrestrial radio ranked highest and that was “to give you access to news and information.”
Radio’s strength is in the way the content is packaged and delivered. Radio is able to deliver localized information to its listeners. On-air talent can broadcast the local weather, information regarding local events and news stories that affect people in a particular area. They can also deliver music-related anecdotes in a way that newer technologies cannot as they lack DJs. In an era where consolidation abounds and voicetracking is common, radio programmers need to take a step back and invest in their air talent in order to create a compelling medium that listeners choose over their MP3 players, Internet radio and HD radio. It should focus on more than just music – radio should focus on lifestyle. In the future, radio programmers should attract listeners by selecting DJs, jingles, logos and news pieces that reflect the target audience and gives context to the musical selection.
In the future, radio will be more than just on-air content broadcasted over a receiver. It will be, and has already started to become, multimedia content providers. Radio stations have begun streaming their on-air content on their station websites and creating both original podcasts and podcasts that feature previously-aired programming. Radio stations everywhere are represented on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. In the near future, social networking sites that allow users to control on-air content will begin to spread across the United States. One example is Jelli.net. Jelli is an online community where members choose which song plays next by voting on titles in Jelli’s catalog of music. Users can communicate with one another using the chat function that serves as a place where users can try to convince others to vote for particular songs. Just as a user can vote for a song they would like to hear, they can also tag songs they don’t want to hear by marking them with a “SUCKS.” The result is community created programming that not only streams online, but over the airwaves to affiliate stations. Jelli is offered in both pop and rock genres and will certainly expand to accommodate other musical tastes.

Conclusion
Technology is advancing faster than ever before and is creating many new challenges for the radio industry. MP3 players, Internet radio and HD radio all provide new ways of music listening and pose a threat to the future of the industry. Despite these challenges, radio is far from being dead. With creative programming that focuses on the strengths of radio and the weaknesses of its competition, radio can continue to evolve and engage listeners across the country. By using technological advances to its advantage and transitioning into a multimedia content provider, radio can secure its place as a popular media medium in the future.

References

Albarran, A. (November 2007). What Happened to our Audience? Radio and New Technology Uses and Gratifications Among Young Adult Users. Journal of Radio Studies. DOI: 10.1080/10955040701583197 Retrieved from EBSCO: http://web.ebscohost.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=3&hid=5&sid=b0d68f3d-5bcf-4a67-9a24-893d0647924d%40sessionmgr12

Van Buskirk, E. (October 2009). Crowd in the Cloud to Program Radio. Retrieved 3/5/2010 from: http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/10/jelli-crowdsources-radio-programming-on-stations-across-the-us/

Christensen, C. (2004). Seeing What’s Next: Using the Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing.

Ferguson, C., Greer, C. & Reardon, M. (November 2007). Uses and Gratifications of MP3 Players by College Students: Are iPods More Popular than Radio? Journal of Radio Studies. DOI: 10.1080/10955040701583197 Retrieved from EBSCO: http://web.ebscohost.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=4&hid=5&sid=b0d68f3d-5bcf-4a67-9a24-893d0647924d%40sessionmgr12

Heine, P. (July 2009). Stream It Like You Mean It. MediaWeek, 19, 28. Retrieved from EBSCO: http://web.ebscohost.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/ehost/detail?vid=8&hid=5&sid=33c8921d-6358-43c7-85c1-057c1d80e11e%40sessionmgr11&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=ufh&AN=43646332

Marsal, K. (May 2006). iPod: How Big Can It Get? Retrieved 3/1/2010 from: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/06/05/24/ipod_how_big_can_it_get.html

Skarzynski, M. (December 2009). When It Comes to Reaching Today’s Consumers – Radio Delivers. MediaWeek, 19, 44. Retrieved from EBSCO: http://web.ebscohost.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=5&sid=33c8921d-6358-43c7-85c1-057c1d80e11e%40sessionmgr11&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=ufh&AN=47064439

Sonderman, J. (October/November 2007). HD Radio: What It’s All About. St. Louis Journalism Review. Retrieved from EBSCO:

http://web.ebscohost.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=3&hid=5&sid=d42d7f79-ae96-4949-bc39-2d7937c3e96d%40sessionmgr4

Unknown. Invasion of the iPod People: Music and Radio. Retrieved from EBSCO: http://web.ebscohost.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=3&hid=5&sid=33c8921d-6358-43c7-85c1-057c1d80e11e%40sessionmgr11