Radio Is Dead: What It Means For The Music Industry

Maybe I'm just getting old, but listening to music on the radio just doesn't do it for me anymore.  The music they play just isn't up to me tastes and seems really repetitive.   It doesn't help that the groups I typically listen to don't actively produce albums anymore, but the real lack of new, fresh talent is somewhat discouraging.

The other issue is the iPod age.  It took me a while to get one, but once I did, I had direct control of all the music I listen to through out the day.  I can take it in the car and plug it directly into the stereo (forget the radio transmitter or tape deck!), I can listen to it while I'm coding at work.  I can listen to it while I'm hacking away on my computer at home.  I don't have to listen to commercials.  I don't have to listen to annoying DJs.

So what does this have to do with the music industry?  Well, because I don't buy into the biggest channel for exposing new music, they're effectively loosing me as a potential consumer of new content.  Because I can go online and discover indie artists who give their music away for free, I'm no longer dependent on them to listen to what they want.

Yes, the radio industry's problems are just another symptom of what ails the recording industry:  lack of choice, not only what we hear, but how we hear it.  The radio is a means of keeping a captive audience listening.  They control the content, they control the delivery.  The iPod delivers independence from that.  I choose when I listen, to what I listen, and how I listen.

And as those industries age, they're going to have to adapt and face the music.