The radio was nowhere near the new and improved versions that are seen today, because the radio had a different goal and importance back then. As described in the history of the radio, the radio was only used by the Navy for safety purposes during the first World War. Overtime there is a shift in not only the audience, but the design and uses of the radio. Starting off as only a source to get news, it transformed into a way for each citizen to listen to music and news that specifically peaked their interests. Now the radio industry is a lot more different in comparison to when it started and that’s due to convergence and the creation of streaming apps used worldwide. The radio industry has evolved immensely over time through the use of target audiences and convergence using satellite radio and streaming sites.

The first radio transmitter was created by Marconi in 1896, but it was not even broadcasted to the public. Soon after the radio transmitter came the Audion vacuum tube created by inventor Lee de Forest. Even though de Forest envisioned the radio being a way for Americans to get their news and music, it took years and years to attain this goal. The radio was first used by the Navy and for the Navy during World War 1. The Navy even requested that they remained complete ownership of the radio, because they feared that if stations were broadcast to the public, the enemies of the U.S. could interfere and could possibly be damaging to the interests of America. Congress stated that broadcasting would become a privately sponsored enterprise (Turow). The reason behind making it a privately sponsored enterprise so that citizens had to pay a license to use it was so that the government didn’t have too much control over the radio industry. Still a widely discussed topic for multiple subjects, the public doesn’t want to have the federal government controlling what is being broadcast to them, because they would have been able to manipulate them into thinking certain things. “So is the Federal Communications Commission, but its power over radio has decreased over the past few decades..the industry’s direction is best decided through competition from within the radio industry” (Turow). The FCC is still present, but the radio industry is now focusing more on the audience and what they respond to the most. Starting in the 1950s radio started to focus more on audiences of specific social backgrounds, because radio lost a lot of listeners due to the rise of popularity in t.v.. As the radio tried to increase listeners through targeting certain groups of people in different areas, the development of streaming sites became popular as well later on, and there was a shift to other mediums as a way to listen to music.

Satellite radio is a self-explanatory term for a radio service that uses satellites that circle the earth to broadcast its programming. The Federal Communications Commission approved the satellite spectrum in 1992, but it wasn’t until 2001 when the first Satellite radio service was launched. This was because it took several years for the FCC to develop and raise enough money to create the satellite-based digital audio radio service. Eventually, the FCC granted two licenses, one to Sirius Satellite Radio and one to XM Satellite Radio.

   The system operates by having the satellites orbit the earth, while programs are beamed to them from broadcast stations. The signal is then transmitted from the satellites to antennas found in homes, cars and portable radios. The signal is also received by terrestrial repeaters which help ensure that the signal is being transmitted to its receivers especially in locations where tall buildings might block the signal.

   Satellite Radio is beneficial to listeners for several reasons. Every channel on satellite radio is mostly commercial free, so listeners don’t have to deal with annoying ads while trying to listen to music or news. No matter where the listener is located within the United States, they’ll receive the same reception, on the same station. Unlike local channels where as soon as you leave a specific area, you have to find a new local station to listen to. For less than fifteen dollars a month, listeners can receive over 100 channels from anywhere in the country, including music channels, sports, news, talk, and entertainment.

   Failure of radio to engage with Generation Z is a reason to believe that it will soon become a thing of the past, much like CDs and record players. Our generation is obsessed with the newest technology and radio is no longer new. If one were to ask a group of teenagers or college students if they listen to the radio, most of their answers would most likely be, “no.” Generation Z listens to music on their devices streamed from apps like Spotify, apple music, and SoundCloud because it gives them the option to choose exactly what they want to hear, while the radio does not.

   It is predicted that by the year 2020, 75% of cars will connect to devices, making it more common for the population to listen to their own music through Bluetooth or auxiliary cords, which many already do. Our generation is straying away from the use of radio, meaning radio industries need to make a change.

   After reading statistics and articles on how the radio industry is doing regarding the amount listeners, they don’t seem to be concerned. Meanwhile, a vast majority of their listeners are ages 30 and above. What the industry needs to do is turn their focus towards Generation Z, the future of this country. Radio industries are assuming that once we’re adults, we won’t care about listening to the newest music anymore and that we will “rediscover the radio.” The world is changing and developing, and the radio industry needs to keep up in order to survive before it becomes a thing of the past.

Now, what some may say is the future of music, or maybe even the present as well is streaming services. There are plenty of these streaming services for music and some of them date back almost twenty years. Apple Music, Spotify, and Pandora mostly dominate the playing field these days. Though there are other popular streaming websites such as soundcloud, the three that have been mentioned before are more commercialized with soundcloud gives artists a platform to promote their music for free to see if they can make it in the big leagues. Since these platforms have such a big effect on the music industry, it is important that we take a look at what goes in with these companies in the sense of financial compensation, advertising, and how these websites function.

The days of buying CD’s and listening to normal FM radio are coming to a close. The general direction in which people are going is downloading these music streaming apps onto their phone, and streaming music through an auxiliary cord or bluetooth. For us college students, we have watched this transition take place over the course of our lives which is one of the most remarkable and looked over transitions in recent history. Some of the methods of compensation artists are being altered as well. One of the most normal ways that an artist will be compensated from these streaming sites is through royalties and the number of streams that their song gets. Spotify pays artists less than half a penny each time that their music is streamed. However, the streaming companies are also paying the artist royalties for using things such as their name and songs. Basically, all of these companies work in the same fashion but Spotify and Apple Music alone control almost 80% of the streaming market with Spotify controlling over 60% alone.

Spotify was founded in 2006 and since then, has turned into a music megagiant. Founded by Swedish billionaire Daniel Ek, spotify has passed itunes and all other streaming websites in what seems to feel like a blink of the eye and the company is now valued at around 15 billion dollars. Some might ask, “how are they paying these artists?” and the truth is that they barely are. Studies have shown that as Spotify has turned into a bigger and bigger company, they have started to pay their artists less. Artists are making less than half of a cent each time there song is played, while corporate spotify is taking in all the income. Unfortunately, that is what it is like for all of the streaming services. The artists are not being paid what they should be.

Companies like Apple Music and Spotify have huge sources of incomes. Millions of dollars are generated monthly just from advertisements alone. All sorts of different companies are targeting people through music apps. Something that is interesting about this, is the fact that there are playlists made for specific groups of people. With this information, a company who is advertising knows exactly where to put their advertisement for it to be most effective. People question the ethics behind this as it is almost creepy to hear ads that are so similar to a specific lifestyle and especially when you are not expecting it.

Now, most of these big apps are making money through subscriptions. The frequency of payments varies mostly between monthly and annually. This means that every month or year, millions of people are handing over money to these companies who are almost pocketing the money in a way and underpaying the actual talents. With the introduction of this in the last two decades, it will be interesting to see how these things play out within terms of legal arguments and other settlements that are going to be made between the general public, the singers, and the corporate sectors of the different companies.

The radio has been constantly evolving and improving throughout the years. It has gone from a small transistor radio to people not even owning radios anymore due to apps and streaming sites that allow people to access all different types of music and news that they are interested in.

 

Works Cited

Turow, Joseph. Media Today: an Introduction to Mass Communication. Routledge, 2011.