The Future of Radio
During the increase in popularity of radio, Arthur Edwin Kennelly said (1926) "through radio I look forward to a United States of the World. Radio is standardizing the peoples of the Earth, English will become the universal language because it is predominantly the language of the ether. The most important aspect of radio is its sociological influence." Kennelly was foreseeing the potential power and impact that radio would soon come to have. By the late twenties, we would see radio become quite the sensation in the household, and this sensation would continue to prosper even through the Great Depression with aid of soap operas and popular programs such as the Lone Ranger. Radio would see a decrease in popularity during the rise of the television. Eventually, radio would find itself a niche in the media market, allowing it to continue to prosper. This would be due to the help of Frequency Modulation radio broadcasting and localization. Radio stations were now able to offer more local content than radio, touching on local news, weather, and advertisements for local businesses all at a higher sound quality. That joined with a symbiotic relationship with the recording industry and the start of formatted radio programs, the two industries were set to last for almost another fifty years (Adams, n.d.).
Once again, radio is currently at a crucial stance. FM radio was once the means in which someone could find out about new music artists, hear their favorite top songs, and catch up on local/world news. However, with the surge of the Internet at the turn of the century, the role of the radio starts to diminish. The Internet can now be used for gathering local news or weather in a fast and efficient manner. It can also be used as a way for music fans to find new artists similar to ones that they currently like, and (although not legal) ease in the process of downloading complete albums in high-quality formats for free. CD and MP3 players are now very popular for the person “on-the-go,” and as a result, it’s very easy to find people that remark: “I don’t listen to radio.” The reason for this is that radio has lost its niche. No longer is radio as convenient of a means to get news and experience new or popular music. Radio is forced, once again, to innovate itself in order to keep from being eliminating by the more popular types of med...
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...a, but it will not be able to do so without backing from the recording industry, and the government. With companies combining both high-quality broadcasts with genre-specific stations, there is for sure a big change in store for the radio industry.
References
Adams, M. (n.d.). A Century of Radio. Retreived June 19, 2009 from http://www.californiahistoricalradio.com/100years.html
Armstrong, A. (May 17, 2007). Satellite Radio vs. High-Definition Radio. Retreived June 19, 2009 from http://stereos.about.com/od/homestereotechnologies/a/radio.htm
Harwood, E. (May 2004). Staying Afloat in the Internet Stream: How to Keep Web Radio from Drowning in Digital Copyright Royalties, Federal Communications Law Journal, 56(3), 673-697.
Parris, D. (Fall 2000). Tuning in the future: Digital technology and commercial radio broadcasting in Canada, Journal of Canadian Studies, 35(3), 231-252.
Pierce, A. (September 2002). Satellite digital radio, Tech Directions, 62(2), 10.
Radio Waves. (May 23, 2007). The Nation, 280(20), 3.
Today in Science History: Arthur Edwin Kennelly.
(1999). Retreived June 19, 2009 from http://todayinsci.com/K/Kennelly_Arthur/ Kennelly_Arthur.htm
Back in the day, music is not readily available online at the tip of your fingertips. Fifty years ago, you would listen to the radio and that’s how you knew what records to buy. Radio stations in large music cities such as Los Angeles, New York or Nashville normally set the standard for the most popular music. New music emerges in their city, than gets released on their local radio stations, and the music becomes a smash hit. This is not the case for the small town radio station of CKLW in Windsor, Ontario. As television was drastically changing the radio industry, CKLW had to change to keep up. This change is what resulted into CKLW- The Big 8, a radio station that created new standards of radio hosting as well as rock and roll music. CKLW influenced not only music throughout North America but the entire music industry such as Bill Drake's "Boss Radio” technique, and how this station influenced its home city of Windsor, Ontario. CKLW evolved from a small city radio station to become “The Big 8” a huge nationwide music icon that was responsible for not only changing the music industry but changing the face of radio forever.
-The American people were hungry for new music, so they accepted the independent stations of the majors.
The one thing about the recording industry is that, it depends on the radio, as well as, the radio depends on the recording industry(149). Both need one another for profit. Without the recording industry, the radio would be obsolete because there wouldn’t be any music to play. Of course there doesn’t have to be music on the radio, but the ratings would slide down if there were no music. Same goes if there were no radio. The recording industry wouldn’t need to exist because there would be no music to be heard.
McLeod,  Elizabeth . "Radio's Forgotten Years." Midcoast Internet Solutions. Elizabeth McLeod, n.d. Web. 8 Mar. 2011. .
The Boston radio scene has changed a great deal since WRBB’s inception in 1968. Amid all of the corporate turnover and company buyouts, college radio in Boston is often left out of the important radio history of the ninth-largest media market in the country.
The economy was booming during this time. There were more job opportunities than ever before because of new technologies and new industries, such as aluminum. The radio was develo...
Rutherford, Paul. “Radio Programming.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Foundation, 16 Dec. 2013. Web. 8 June 2014. .
For Violeta, the radio is a media outlet that reminds her of her mother. Although she rarely listened to shows, her mother did. When Frequency Modulated radio debuted, also did a mini series of stories by a Nicaraguan storyteller known as Fabio Gadea, his stories are still transmitted today. “I remember as if it was yesterday his stories. My mother would sit and listen.” My great grandmother’s reaction for the radio was funny, because she always lived in a small town, and she stared at the box wondering how was it possible that sound came from it. It was funny.
Koppes, Clayton R. “The Social Destiny of the Radio: Hope and Disillusionment in the 1920’s.” South Atlantic Quarterly 68.3 (1969): 363-376. America: History & Life. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.
...election and convenience of P2Ps. Because of consumer’s tendency to download single songs by many varying artists, many may wonder if increased Internet use will eventually exterminate the record album from existence. Personally, I do not foresee the death of CDs and albums as a product. The MP3 format is not quite CD quality, and the singles that are typically downloaded by consumers do not always reflect the talent or best product of a certain performer. Singles are what will make money, but B-sides, the songs that people do not buy the CD for, are also a culmination of an artist’s hard work. B-sides make an album good or bad, and consumers simply do not download B-sides. I fear that buying an entire album will become more rare as these new programs emerge that allow consumers to buy one song at a time, but the album will prevail. Newspapers and Magazines are now available online, but they still appear for retail in stores and by offline subscriptions. Online music purchasing shows no signs of dropping, and the consumers show no sign of listening to less music. The industry just has to take the initiative to make the music more accessible to music listeners at a fairer price.
In the 1920s there was no ABC news. No sports announcements. No CD players. No television. Before the 1920s, they only had newspapers and live sports. Then, the radio came. In the 1920s and 30s the radio impacted culture by informing the public of news, bringing together America’s music and sports, and even uniting America to stop the Great Depression and restore faith in government.
In today’s evolving and changing society, many people do not appreciate how extraordinary music truly is. Since the birth of the vinyl record, there are less people who own and are interested in them. Even though vinyl records have recently been making a comeback, they are still not as popular as they once were. People take for granted how easily accessible music is today though in the past it was not as simple. Even though vinyl records may be costly and may not have a large quantity of songs, as time progresses and technology continues to develop, the way that people listen to music degrades their appreciation for music due to easier accessibility, weaker sound in terms of quality, and decaying genres.
Radio, during the 1920s, was an invention that brought the means of transporting messages and music, quickly, throughout the country. The first radios were made of crystal and were complex (“Radio Technology”).
Radio has evolved greatly since its birth in the late 1800’s. Although it was growing and evolving since birth, the greatest period of change occurred after World War II to present day. From privatized AM broadcasting, to commercial FM radio to the current crop of internet & satellite radio stations, technological advancements have changed the way we use radio in our daily lives.
Walker, Jesse. Rebels on the air: an alternative history of radio in America. New York: New York University Press, 2001. Print.