Podcasting And The Future Of Traditional Radio

Is podcasting going to "alter" traditional radio as we know it today?

Some even believe that radio is dying altogether because of the rapid and sweeping emergence of podcasting and satellite radio complemented by the very low-quality programming of US-like commercial radio stations.

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Photo credit: Ronaldo Taveira

While I do not think this will happen, I am 100% positive that podcasting will indeed have a major influence on traditional radio as we know it today.

Early adopters on the user side and aggressive radio station managers on the other are already driving some of the changes that will characterize the future of FM radio, and although the long-term effects of this impact are not yet fully recognizable, the transformation is already happening.

If it is not happening at your radio station too, it is time to regroup and ask yourself some serious questions.

Like:

Why would your audience keep listening to your radio if all the music they want and like can be more easily accessed via other means, with greater audio quality and more user-control?

How can your FM radio signal match the audio quality and reliability of a portable MP3 player, media phone or notebook?

Why would listeners continue to give attention to long, obnoxious, interruptive and irrelevant ad breaks like many commercial radios provide?

But there are traits and features that are unique to FM radio, and just like for Television, unless traditional broadcasters learn how to open themselves to the inevitable convergence with new media and the Internet they are indeed doomed to a slow and painful death.

The first thing traditional radio should acknowledge is that the times for being essentially a music jukebox are soon gone.

The competition coming from new media technologies like P2P file sharing, online music clearinghouses like iTunes, portable MP3 players, other nifty audio devices such as smart- and media-phones, and the gigantic podcasting wave provide so much more for the user experience, that for radio intended as a "music jukebox" this is a loosing battle from the very start.

Any new kid born today will never select to listen to radio over accessing her own MP3 playlist or personalized streaming radio station on the net. There is just no comparison.

So, what should traditional radio stations do to safeguard their future?

1. Embrace convergence is the answer.

2. Focus on uniqueness and thematic content is the solution.

3. Retain radio characterizing strengths while combining and enhancing them with the power of new media technologies is the strategy.

Radio as we know, has indeed some unique characteristics, and some of them, combined with the opportunities offered by the web and new media, can permit">Podcasting And The Future Of Traditional Radio - Robin Good's Latest News: "Why would your audience keep listening to your radio if all the music they want and like can be more easily accessed via other means, with greater audio quality and more user-control?

How can your FM radio signal match the audio quality and reliability of a portable MP3 player, media phone or notebook?

Why would listeners continue to give attention to long, obnoxious, interruptive and irrelevant ad breaks like many commercial radios provide?

But there are traits and features that are unique to FM radio, and just like for Television, unless traditional broadcasters learn how to open themselves to the inevitable convergence with new media and the Internet they are indeed doomed to a slow and painful death.

The first thing traditional radio should acknowledge is that the times for being essentially a music jukebox are soon gone.

The competition coming from new media technologies like P2P file sharing, online music clearinghouses like iTunes, portable MP3 players, other nifty audio devices such as smart- and media-phones, and the gigantic podcasting wave provide so much more for the user experience, that for radio intended as a 'music jukebox' this is a loosing battle from the very start.

Any new kid born today will never select to listen to radio over accessing her own MP3 playlist or personalized streaming radio station on the net. There is just no comparison.

So, what should traditional radio stations do to safeguard their future?

1. Embrace convergence is the answer.

2. Focus on uniqueness and thematic content is the solution.

3. Retain radio characterizing strengths while combining and enhancing them with the power of new media technologies is the strategy.

Radio as we know, has indeed some unique characteristics, and some of them, combined with the opportunities offered by the web and new media, can permit"