Will the iPod Kill Radio?
When the VCR came out, the forecasters said Hollywood was dead. Why would we go to the movies, when we can watch them at home?
Well, 20 years on, we’re still going to the movies. Actually, box office records are being set. Even with the advent of big screen tvs, and home theatre sound, and high definition quality, we’re still going to the movies. Yes, internet piracy cuts into the bottom line a bit, but it’s the personality of the place is what we love. The smells, the tastes, the big comfy chairs. So we go back.
Many thought satellite radio would kill the traditional broadcast model when it was launched. Hundreds of channels, continent wide, no commercials? That will kill the local morning zoo for certain, but it hasn’t. In fact it’s struggled. Long haul truckers and those in remote regions are fans of the service, but in the big cities, radio is doing fine.
But with one hypothetical press announcement this week, it could all change. Hollywood weathered the VCR, but can radio make it past the iPod?
Apple is in discussions with the big music companies about a radical new business model that would give customers free access to its entire iTunes music library in exchange for paying a premium for its iPod and iPhone devices.
The “all you can eat” model, a replica of Nokia’s “comes with music” deal with Universal Music last December, could provide the struggling recorded music industry with a much-needed fillip, and drive demand for a new generation of Apple’s hardware. [SOURCE]
All your music whenever you want – for “free”? Wait, isn’t that what radio does?
No.
As one chain is famous for boasting, radio plays “what we want.” As in, the station, not the listeners. If you feel like Jack Johnson, your iPod can do that now, the radio might have a format that’s “like” Jack Johnson, but they’re not playing him right now.
Want some Ella? Well, the standards smooth jazz station might be playing Ella this morning, then again, they might be in their John Tesh, Kenny G megamix hour.
Radio can’t win this fight on music alone. Once the WiFi abilities of the iPod Touch and iPhone are more widespread across the platform, you won’t even have to wait to sync your iPod at home to get your music. If you want to have a Megadeth marathon while waiting in line at Starbucks, you can get it with a few clicks.
This idea, if it happens, could effectively nail the coffin shut on radio. If more manufacturers put plugs in cars to attach iPods, all music radio could be obsolete within a decade.
Which should not be taken as a eulogy, but rather as a challenge to step up the personality on the air – an iPod may have all the music ever made, but it has ZERO personality.
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