Any company that relies on broadcasting music needs to take a deep breath and consider their future. There are more and more sources for music appearing each and every day.
As a kid, I remember listening to the radio for hours to hear my favorite songs. It doesn't work that way anymore. Why would it? There are too many better options for hearing the song you want - NOW.
Last night, a friend asked me what the song in the Lowes commercials was. I told her it was Bruce Hornsby "Gonna be some changes made."
"REALLY?"
She had the song within two minutes thanks to the iTunes music store.
Radio was once my primary source for discovering new music. That was probably true for most people - and that too is changing. There are so many better ways being created every single day. I can't surf the iTunes Music Store for more than a few minutes without finding something I'd like to buy. Or I can surf new music blogs written by people who's taste resembles mine. Womenfolk focuses on female artists, Stereogum focuses on new alterna-pop. Teaching The Indie Kids To Dance Again is pretty much what the name implies. There are so many others.
Take a look at what the folks at Last.fm are doing. They've created a plugin called 'Audioscribbler' for media players like iTunes. The plugin automatically logs every song you play and uploads the list to a personal page created for you on their site. Each artist/song is linked to other playlists, making it really easy to find out what other artists Nickel Creek fans like, or what are the most popular songs by Death Cab For Cutie.
Think of it as Friendster for music.
Last.fm is a great way to find new music - but that's not the real meat of their idea.
Each playlist can stream as its own online radio station, free of commercials. You can either listen to a private station (just my playlist for example), or an expanded station consisting of your own playlist combined with similar playlists.
And if that's not scary enough, then check out what the folks at Radio Blog Club are up to. They've created a way to stream your music from your own website - instantly.
Personal radio. Personalized playlists. Free, from any computer with a broadband connection. It's coming - sooner than you think.
The music-delivery landscape is changing - but our social interactions are changing as well, and that screams out opportunity if you ask me.
It's becoming easier and easier to reach out to people in text rather than in person or even by voice. How often do you email when years ago you would have called? How often do you IM instead of popping into someone's office? People are text messaging cell phones rather than actually speaking. You need not call to keep up with loved ones... just read the updates to their blogs.
We're becoming more disconnected personally by becoming more connected through technology.
I suggest that, for radio, the combination of these two factors will mean trouble for programmers and air talent that long for the old days and the old ways. But it screams of opportunity for anyone who can figure out how to connect with people over the radio. It screams of opportunity for entertainers.
Connecting in a very human and personal way is terrestrial radio's future. Either that, or... well... damn. I'd rather not even think about it.
...back.
