There were a bunch of posts today covering the Deloitte consulting report which had a chapter on Internet radio. The best quote was, "In 2009, Internet Radio may not just reinvigorate the medium of radio. It may reinvent it."
Obviously, we are big believers in Internet radio and like to think we have a hand in this re-invention (okay - so maybe it's just a courtside seat). But as big as I thought this was going to be 2 years ago when we were putting TargetSpot together, I didn't see it coming this way. It's the proliferation of online apps - for the iPhone, Blackberry, Android OS - that are about to kick this thing into the big leagues of media consumption.
Honestly, I thought the next big frontier for Internet radio was going to be in autos. I figured the next 2 years would show significant organic growth on the desktop, with an eventual implementation in cars when WiMax came to enough metro areas that it paid to develop an in dash Internet radio tuner. Yes, this will happen, but there is a bigger, faster movement underway with the cell phone.
I totally didn't see the cell phone as the game changer. When we started TargetSpot, there were rumors of an "iPhone" but nothing more than a few spy photos. The concept of the app store had never been contemplated. And the idea that early adopters and the "tech elite" would stop listening to their iPod in exchange for "radio" would have seemed ludicrous.
However, this is exactly what is happening and it's helping drive the growth of online radio - even beyond the device. Wired had a great post on how your cell phone is changing how you listen to music, and I do believe this is a game changer. And the good news is that it means more music accessible to more people. And while ads will be more prevalent than they may have been before these services became real businesses, I suspect that the overall user experience will not be diminished.
And when you compare what radio is now and what it can be in another 11 months, to what it was 2 years ago, the Deloitte report is probably spot on.
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So does this mean that people are conceding absolute control over exactly what songs they listen to (which is what they get from ipod playlists) in favor of a random selection of songs in a genre that they like? It almost seems like they're reverting to using AM Walkmen of yester-year. Or are they really looking to listen to talk-radio/live sports type stuff on their Iphones? Is that what's driving the demand for streaming radio?
ReplyDeleteI think there are 2 things driving demand - better programming -i.e. customized stations based on a listener's preferences- and the lack of 2-5 minute breaks of intrusive ads. Radio will not (and has not in the past)taken the place of ownership of music. I still think most people will own some music. However, I also think that the days when you were looking to hear something you liked and turned on your ipod for a random mix, or some playlist you created, may be fewer with the next generation if internet radio that can accomplish this goal in a more interesting way.
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