How iPod Killed the Local Radio Personality

Much like The Buggles’ song “Video Killed the Radio Star” it looks like the iPod may be at it this time and the victim is the disc jockey. The fact is that almost every car and truck sold today has an auxiliary jack (or the option of one) for plugging in the popular digital music player by Apple, or a Zune, or some other type of MP3 player. The radio business has also changed over the past decade, we lost Stern to satellite, stations have changed formats much like we switch out an old pair of sneakers, and many have become part of a larger conglomerate, all in the name of spreading a company’s message or strengthening their already powerful market share.


Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rosenkrieger/2161588755/

Let’s face it, most of us when we’re not blabbing on our mobile phones, or trying to map out directions to grandma’s house are listening to the radio or have some form of multimedia plugged into that above-mentioned aux jack while driving around town.

In Los Angeles there are approximately 45 stations anyone can tune in to find a variety of formats from hip-hop, country, jazz, alternative, and at least a dozen Spanish-language stations all battling for your attention. It can be mind-boggling with all the choices, yet alone trying to find the exact frequency playing the perfect song.

Local and syndicated radio talk show host Tom Leykis has stated that the radio business is dying out. Many stations that once featured market-specific formats are now being centralized to reduce costs. For instance, out of the four dozen or so radio stations in LA, almost half of those are owned by the big three media giants: Emmis Communications, CBS Radio, or Clear Channel, these corporate owners will soon be killing your local radio personality all in the name of improving profits, increasing ratings, and streamlining operations (if they haven’t already). Take for instance Clear Channel, when the media giant bought out a classic rock station in San Diego, they changed programming and Howard Stern was yanked from the airwaves of America’s Finest City. Another example in Los Angeles, a radio station once known as The Arrow 93.1 FM featured actual DJ’s announcing songs, it is now known as Jack FM, which has stations across North America and their slogan is “playing what we want”, gone are the DJ’s and their varied tones calling out music and seeking the 12th caller.

You can blame corporate greed, but I see other sources of noise in this equation: TiVo, technology, and our constant craving to be in control has forced out the independent radio stations while also alienating listeners who had the propensity to cling on to a pair of Chuck Taylors long after the soles wore thin and walking through a puddle meant soggy socks and hell to pay when the shoes came off. Let’s face it, TiVo and the DVR have changed the way we watch TV and its music equivalent, the digital music player, has altered how we enjoy our tunes. When was the last time you bought a video tape or CD? The former was probably more than 5 years ago, the latter, some of you are resistant but may be slowly but surely increasing online purchases and downloads of your favorite media. Technology has improved our ability to obtain things, dial-up modems are almost non-existent and the home landline telephone may soon be extinct, with both of these going away, data has become more accessible, and as a result, has put easily downloadable media in the hands of 47% of adult Americans (those with a broadband connection). Finally, our craving to be in control is why portable GPS units can now be had for less than $100 and why travel agents are becoming less significant, being in control means being able to choose and not rely on others, and in our highly-independent society those two are key criteria. So long Seacrest!!