The radio industry

I am going to be completely honest, I haven't listened to the radio in a long time. Sometimes I wonder whether people nowadays listen to the radio only if they have to. People listen to the radio in their cars on their way to work, but if they wished to, they would not have to. Radio has been steadily displaced over the years. Newer, more effective and much more customizable technologies have surfaced that make desired content more readily available than in the radio.

At first, radio grew from the telegraph technology used for imperative communication. It became a staple in American households, providing entertainment and information to families nationwide. Soap operas originated in the radio, as did many other programs. However, the radio suffered a downfall with the availability of technologies such as iPods and Satellite radio. iPods now allow people to listen only to what they want, skipping commercials and advertisements. These commercials and advertisements are the sustainment of radio stations, so losing audience makes them lose profit. Satellite radio provides a huge array of radio stations that appeal to every genre and niche. Users can filter down their radio experience to only what they think is necessary.

This new possibility of personalization has changed the radio industry in many ways. Ever since listeners know that they have more power, they have been reshaping and redefining what radio does. For example, Pandora is now the leader in web radio for a good reason. Using new technology, it matches listeners to what they are most likely to like. This way, the listener can discover new music that will probably fall into the niche that he or she already enjoys. On typical radio, there are many songs and extra content that the listener probably is not interested in. This shift of power and control over the radio and its content, as well as the growing availability of personalized content,  has changed the way the radio works.