Gordon Hastings is president of ghhMANAGEMENT. He is the founder of the Broadcasters Foundation of America and the former president of Katz Radio and Katz Television. He is a founder of the Radio Mercury Awards and the Broadcasters Foundation of America Celebrity Golf Tournament.
New research reported this week by StreamSerf indicates that Internet radio audiences are choosing dramatically different tunes that are programmed on broadcast radio. The StreamSerf research was first reported in the Saturday edition of Radio Business Report “Internet Radio Stations Play More Artists than Broadcast Stations.”
“The number of unique artists played on Internet radio stations is more than 32 times the number of unique artists played on broadcast/terrestrial radio. According to data supplied by streamSerf, a company that monitors and reports on music played on terrestrial, Internet and satellite radio stations, last month broadcast radio stations played 25,399 unique artists (US, including public radio stations) while Internet radio stations played 829,971 unique artists in the same time period!
“There is room for a more diverse, less centralized music scene in the world today - and this is being created and facilitated by technology and Internet radio.” says Paul Mockenhaupt, Founder of streamSerf.
“It’s not shocking to learn that Internet radio is more diverse. There are more choices for the listener, and more determination by the stations themselves to provide alternative music to the basic cookie-cutter formats and playlists provided on broadcast radio. It is stunning to learn that Internet radio’s list of unique artists is greater than broadcast radio’s by 3600%. (It should be noted that these stats do not even include stations that stream individualized channels, such as Pandora.)”
“Also interesting is the list of artists that get the most plays on broadcast stations versus Internet radio stations. While some of the top ten artists are the same on either list, others are very different:”
“According to Mockenhaupt, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. He says the real story isn’t in the top 10, or even the top 1000…” it’s the new, fresh, undiscovered, local, home grown music that’s filling the Internet airwaves!” Internet radio gives voice to the long tail of music, providing entry for many musicians that have never had a platform before. That, he says, is the “magic” of Internet radio.”
A model by which listeners can tune into highly customized, if not individualized stations, can be the key for a terrestrial radio come-back. We must not forget that the FM radio is more widely distributed than PC’s with high-speed internet connections. According the Nielson Media Research, 73% of U.S. homes have a PC, whereas almost all homes have a radio device whether it be in the car, on an alarm clock or on a cell phone. Why not provide listeners with the most convenient way to play an active role in their music selection?
