Forces of Change

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– the entire pie is getting bigger.” (Future of Radio)

The innovation of radio broadcasting as allowed for an improvement in radio culture. With continued access to radio by means of internet such as 3/4G and wifi it’s nearly impossible to be without radio. Some may say that radio has suffered because people are less likely to tune into a station the old fashioned way with an antenna, but on the contrary, radio is actually flourishing because of the increased exposure and ease of access to acquire it. When an individual subscribes to an online internet radio, such as Pandora, you may either pay a “commercial-free” fee, or listen to the commercials without any charge. This benefits the radio company because either way they are profiting. Being a digitally-wide global brand, Pandora can make an exceptional profit because large companies such as Chase Bank or McDonalds want the publicity that Pandora can offer. (Brown Blog)

Digitalization can also harm the radio industry. With an increase in technology and the evolution of how we listen to the radio, this new era of media is also harming the radio industry. People now have the ability to illegally download music or other forms of digital media thus giving them little to no incentive to want to tune into the radio to hear their favorite songs. In turn, the radio stations are losing profit because people are no longer tuning in to hear the advertisements being played. When radio stations lack listeners, they lose advertisement gigs and will eventually lose their business.

Something that the radio industry can do to ensure success is to conglomerate. An example of radio conglomeration is shown by the Disney Conglomerate. Disney owns ABC Radio Networks, Radio Disney, and ESPN Radio. What is significant about the Disney Conglomerate is the idea that their companies do not specifically relate to one market. They have the ability to reach the eyes of anybody from the age of two that enjoys princesses and fantasy worlds on the Disney Channel, to sports fans on ESPN, to soap opera lovers on Lifetime. Conglomeration is a number of different things or parts that are put or grouped together to form a whole but remain distinct entities. This is beneficial because it allows companies to get their message out to the public in a fast manner in exactly the way that they want it done. Something unique about radio is national “top-ten countdowns” or their national talk shows such as “Bob and Tom in the Morning”. As radio companies such as Clear Channel continue to conglomerate, they become a stronger force that is less likely to be influenced by smaller competitors, therefore creating an incentive to want to come together to make a large company.

Radio plays a significant role in our lives. When we take a step back and look around, we realize that it is everywhere. It has evolved throughout the ages as starting with simply something that was strictly used by the military, and then slowly progressing into a worldwide phenomenon that is still utilized today. Digitization, as influenced the progression of radio and, in fact, has helped promote and harm it at the same time. As far as the future goes, people will always need some form of communication that has roots to radio. For example, the cell phone is a very similar concept that is used by a multitude of people on a daily bases. Overall, radio isn’t going anywhere any time soon. If anything, it has been even more successful because people have introduced it into their personal, every day lives and are forced to see it every day.