How can radio survive

Prognosticators fear the U. Louis Federal Reserve. But forecasters see a V-shaped recovery with a sharp increase in productivity rather than a gradual incline. Radio executives and experts are optimistic about radio in spite of obvious financial challenges. Fred Jacobs , president of Jacobs Media, calls the Wall Street sell-off "a lot of emotional buying and selling" not tied to radio's inherent value. For radio to survive it must leverage its strength of being live and local, says Petrone.

You're not going to get it on Pandora or Spotify. Radio can provide companionship and comfort. Radio consultant James Cridland agrees, saying radio owes its audience "timely, sensible information.

Like the saying "all politics is local," radio is tied to stations' hometowns. The coronavirus plays to radio's strength: a global pandemic felt suddenly by a community's failing restaurants, shuttered clothing stores and sports events postponed and canceled. While increasingly popular streaming services have global reach and satellite radio provides national coverage, radio's calling card has always been the listener's relationship with a live, local DJ.

Jacobs believes radio stations will "distinguish themselves in this crisis" because they "may be in the most advantageous position to deliver information, entertainment and emotional value" such as companionship and laughter.

Most people surveyed trust radio as a good source of information for the pandemic. The trick is holding onto listeners after the worst of the pandemic ends and people return to work. Coquia points to on-air talent such as Nick Cannon on Power and the station's efforts to maintain their audiences through social media. But radio is ultimately a profit-seeking business. When revenues aren't increasing -- as is the case with broadcast radio -- a company can acquire, create new revenue streams or cut expenses.

Entercom announced similar measures, including a "significant" number of layoffs and furloughs, along with salary reductions, on Thursday April 2. At least three others -- Beasley Media Group, Meruelo Media and Townsquare Media, owner of radio stations -- have reduced headcount through layoffs and furloughs and cut salaries, especially for top executives.

Search term. Billboard Pro Subscribe Sign In. However, what we do know is that it has been around since the end of the 19th century. Initially used primarily for communication in the shipping industry and later by the military, by the s civilians were beginning to purchase radios for personal use. As radios began to appear in households, radio stations emerged to entertain those people.

The British Broadcasting Company launched in and has been creating radio programmes ever since. There are many reasons why radio remains one of the best-loved media. In an age of paid streaming sites, the radio is free to listen to, as it is funded either by advertising, or in the case of the BBC by the licence payer, and provides entertainment 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Radio has adapted not only to the digital age by becoming available across multiple platforms and devices. It has also altered formats and responded to consumer demand for more than just music to listen to.

Many people listen to the radio as much for the games, quizzes and chat as they do for the music. Online gaming, in particular, has grown immensely in the United Kingdom so there is no wonder radio stations are also incorporating games and quizzes on their channels.

Nowadays, many people enjoy playing games in the hope to gain a reward at the end of the game. This is why the online gambling world has seen an increase in new players who are eager to gain a reward, just like those entering competitions on the radio. Many casino games are now also created so that players do not even need to use their own money to enter or play.

For example, slot sites offer a variety of bonuses and promotions so players are able to play freespin no deposit slot games with the potential to earn a reward without using their own money, this is similar to some radio trivia quizzes and competitions. BBC Radio 1 hosted Innuendo Bingo that challenges celebrities not to laugh at a series of innuendos while holding a mouthful of water.

People tune into the radio to hear people chatting as well as to listen to music. Featuring interviews with celebrities or local heroes or simply having an engaging team talking to each other as the show broadcasts draws in more listeners.

Desert Island Discs, in which celebrities select their top tracks they could not live without, is one of the longest running radio shows and remains the second most popular in terms of listening figures. Larry Rosin, president of Edison Research, does not believe the death of FM radio is imminent, saying it was never just about the music.

In the first quarter , adults in the U. Pittman is not worried about iHeartMedia's bottom line being cannibalized by streaming services. They always have been," Pittman said. He contends an individual's personal music collection has traditionally been held separate from their radio listening habits.

The challenge presented by streaming is different than a rack of 90s CDs. Both Spotify and Apple Music offer music libraries of over 50 million songs, making them much more than just personal music libraries for their users.

Pittman, who got into the industry as a DJ at the age of 15, has a response: iHeartMedia does not view itself as being in the music business anymore. We are providing companionship to people," Pittman said. But technological improvements to the car dashboard, such as Apple's CarPlay, are posing a threat to this ease of use, according to Miller. In a recent report , he stated car companies are continuing to move the FM radio tuner further and further away from the center of the car's entertainment system.

If this trend continues, music streaming could gain the edge in the "ease of use" category, as it arguably already has done on some dashboards. Miller does still admire the broad reach radio has and its ability to provide context to music in ways not possible on lifeless Spotify playlists.

He also believes radio is far better at providing "frequency" than music streaming — in other words, no one can beat you over the head with Taylor Swift's new single like pop radio. The long-term viability of FM music radio may be in question, but it appears the content format is here to stay. Apple Music's Beats 1 radio station has brought renewed life to the concept of a radio show by bringing together internationally-known radio personalities with worldwide broadcasting.

Spotify also recently launched a personalized "Your Daily Drive" playlist, which mimics FM radio by combining music selections with short-form podcasts.

Spotify is still losing money. It reported a loss of 47 cents per share in the most recent quarter.