Internet Radio Better Get With a Program

I dislike these "when I was ..." sayings, but it's required to start. When I was in my twenties, there were only a few music outlets. It didn't matter which town I lived in. When not listening to albums on my stereo, radio and nightclubs were my only options to hear music. Times change. How many options for music are you aware of?

"If you think about what a "program" consists of today compared to when radio was on a short list of music providers, it's night and day."

The internet introduced the "music platform"; it's your standard web site that presents music in a multitude of ways. Pandora, Spotify, Radionomy and many others occupy this silo. Pushing past a playlist, little construction of programming takes place on any of these. And if it does, it's usually of amateur caliber.

The online radio industry added tens of thousands of options, too. Note that we can't really call them "stations" because so few are programmed. Look to listener supported Radio Paradise as one of a few exceptions.

Nearly all radio-based online outlets operate as a playlist-on-steroids. That's a problem. It's left the audience with no connection to their radio outlet. If a song comes along that's not a listener's favorite, there's nothing to hold a person until the end - no anticipation of being informed or entertained.

If you think about what a "program" consists of today compared to when radio was on a short list of music providers, it's night and day.

Stations aren't programmed. They now have sound prearranged. The music plays with no theater of the mind - and you can carry that comment through commercials; they are usually a pile of words thrown together with the mandated "call to action."

The streaming audience is growing, but not to the same extent as online's audio options. A wider array of audio providers each have fewer people listening. Online, audience fragmentation is what everyone fights.

To make your part of this radio industry stand out, produce a unique presentation. Make it different from audio programs found elsewhere. One approach I've tried is "Intro to Indie Artists."

We need to create programs, shows, and new forms of communicating through audio. Build the program, then hope that it's accepted and spreads. (Most times it won't be. That's when you make adjustments and try again.)

If internet radio programming doesn't start including theater of the mind quality, and relatable presenters, it will all remain just another playlist on steroids. It will fail.

For the radio industry, with the music options offered today, just playing music is not good enough.








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