Major Themes Regarding the New Age of Radio

Since radio’s advent in the late 1800s, radio technology has undergone a number of significant changes, and it is currently in the midst of a major one today. The major themes that mark the new age of radio are the new formats that are available, the major companies that have embraced them, the convergence of technology and the transition to on demand content. The new major formats available in the new age of radio are satellite radio and HD. Satellite radio covers a much larger range than traditional terrestrial radio signals. Satellite radio can be picked up throughout the entire country, which is one of its primary advantages. Hundreds of available channels also make it an attractive choice. HD radio is a frequency that entails compressed digital and audio signals simultaneously, which produced an MP3-quality signal. These two signals can be sent using HD without changing frequency bands. Many companies have tried to embrace these two technologies, however very few have actually succeeded in doing so.

The two major companies who emerged in the Satellite radio market are XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. These two companies have been each other’s chief rivals for a number of years, however it is highly likely that those days will soon be over. This year, the two satellite giants accounted that they would attempt a merger. This merger has not yet been approved, and may not be at all. If the merger were approved, it would prove to be highly beneficial to both companies because it would eliminate both of their main competitors and allow them to pool their resources in terms of channels and content. The merger would mean big changes for the radio industry in that satellite radio would finally be able to compete with traditional radio, which is vastly more popular than satellite.

This is the exact reason as to why the U.S. government (The Federal Communications Commission) might allow the merger. Normally, if the only two major players in an industry tried to merge, U.S. antitrust laws would ban it in order to restrict a monopoly. The radio industry situation with satellite radio, however is quite different, because satellite radio isn’t the overall industry they are involved in- its radio. To compete with all the other forms of radio, the satellite radio companies will almost have to merge. Some analysts even think both companies will go under if the merger does not go through.

The convergence of technology that marks the new age of radio simply refers to the various devices and electronics equipment that is incorporating a large amount of radio technology. Some of the devices and platforms that I have blogged about this semester regarding this trend are multiple brands of cell phones, iPods, automobiles and the technology that lies within them. Many cell phones have began embedding music features within their devices. Now an industry norm, phones have been competing with one another for who can store the most songs, how they can buy them, and if they have radio capabilities. Motorola has implanted XM Satellite Radio service into select phones, and Sirius even has its own portable music player. Some examples of satellite technology integration with automobiles is the Ford SYNC, which features a highly developed music player and a voice activated play-system.

I’ve also learned that automobiles will always have a significant impact on the radio industry because that is often where it is listened to the most. The automobile industry also sparks new radio formats because if the auto manufacterurs choose to incorporate the technology in ther cars themore popular the formats will become. Satellite and HD radio finally started getting some boosts in popularity and awareness only after auto brand like BMW and Ford began incorporating them.
As for the theme of on demand content, basically all forms of media are in one way or another are making content availible exactly when the consumer wants it. HD radio's tagging feature allows users to purchase a song whenever it comes on the station, music sites like pandora offer free customizeable radio, wifi enables internet radio wheverver it is available and national chains like Starbucks are now offering Starbucks radio- which allows you to purchase whatever song is playing in the store with one click of a button in iTunes.

New developments in radio will most likely not have a significant effect on my career, simplay because I do not plan to go into the radio business. I suppose if I go into advertising, it will have a minor effect on my career because the advertising landscape within the media will be altered substantially. At any rate, the not so distant future of radio will be vastly different form the one we know today, just as what it is today is vastly different from what it was ten years ago. With all these changes and constant innovations in mind, radio certainly becomes one of the most interesting mediums to keep an eye on.