Good Old-Fashioned Radio

You live in interesting times. For good and ill, the technology juggernaut is affecting many aspects of your life. Information and entertainment are ubiquitous. The Internet and portable media devices allow you to take your entertainment anywhere you go.

Of course, there’s a century-old technology that has also been following you wherever you go. It’s called radio.

Because new technologies are so amazing, they have commandeered a lot of media attention. This has led some to assume that the new technologies are supplanting the old. Recent research has shown otherwise.

According to a 2009 study by the Council for Research Excellence on the daily listening habits of Americans,

90% listen to some form of audio media;
77% listen to broadcast radio;
37% listen to CDs and tapes;
12% listen to portable devices such as iPods.

Also, the average time spent listening is about twice as high with radio. Listeners spend a little over 2 hours a day with radio, and a little over 1 hour a day with the other devices.

Of course, these are not discrete groups. As a music lover, you are probably using all of these technologies.

It’s not a competition between radio and MP3 players. In fact, this study shows that people that use MP3 players are more likely to listen to radio than those that don’t. People who love music will rely on a combination of technologies to supply them with their fix depending on the situation or their mood. Sometimes you want to hear something specific or to program your own playlist. MP3 players are amazing appliances for this. Sometimes you want someone else to take the wheel and drive for a while. You want a friend to share some musical surprises that you wouldn’t have thought of on your own. That’s our job here at Classical 89. We love to share.

One recent proof of the enduring appeal of radio comes from the iPod itself. Perhaps Apple once harbored a hope they would replace our need for radio—while many other mp3 players included FM tuners, Apple refused for years to follow suit. But with its latest generation of products, Apple has finally deferred to the public demand for radio by including a tuner in the newest iPod.

Radio has taken some well-deserved swipes in recent years. Because of the hyper-corporatization of media conglomerates, most stations have lost their local connection in an effort to maximize efficiency and profits. That, combined with short, repetitive playlists and perpetual interruptions by intrusive commercials, has driven many to their own music libraries.

But a radio station free of these constraints still has a lot of latitude to offer what you’re looking for: a wide variety of great music and useful information without the mental tune-out or station-hopping methods we all use to deal with the commercial blocks.

You may be interested in learning about a recent development in radio, a new tool being used to track user habits and trends. Arbitron, the company that tracks ratings and listenership for the industry, has just instituted a much more technologically advanced method of tracking data than their previous approach of asking listeners to keep diaries. Time will tell, and it’s too early to see any discernable trends, but initial implementation of the Portable People Meter (PPM) may eventually chart a more accurate map of how, when, where, and why people are using radio. In the meantime, at least this much is certain: radio remains viable and even competitive with just about any new gadget that has been invented over past decade. (By the way, the PPM itself is not a competitor. Unlike the iPod, you can’t listen to it. Actually, it sort of listens to you—or at least to whatever radio station you happen to be listening to at any given moment.)

Radio’s strength is human connection on the go. We are available almost anywhere you find yourself. We are always just a button push away. We leave your eyes and hands free to drive or perform important tasks, while we offer companionship.

Ultimately, it’s not about the tech, it’s about the content. There’s no denying the appeal of new technology, but that novelty always wears off eventually. What endures is your love of great art and your need for a trusted friend to share it with you.