I’m rounding out my break from college and remarking at how different my day to day music listening is. Even I, a 20-year-old and of a younger generation, can realize the immense progression that we’ve seen over the past few decades. I remember wanting to have a radio in my own room — shocker! My thumb would abrasively rub against the left to right throttle of the band changer. Fuzz and interference would constantly persist. Quality became a factor and TV began to progress on the satellite level. Satellite radio followed in step. Unfortunately, they stepped into the wrong business at the wrong time; radio, even satellite radio, is dead.
Radio distributes content to a broad spectrum of people and shares news and music. Many frequent commuters have relied on radio for their early morning and post-work entertainment. Follow sports on ESPN, world news on NPR, and listen to the latest musical hits. There’s still an aesthetic appeal to all of this.
While radio continues to broadcast out to the greater world, the deconstruction and decentralization of all things radio is swiftly occurring. The younger generations have their iPods for starters, and when they grow to have today’s smartphones (Droid, iPhone, etc.), they’ll probably be getting their news from it too. “There’s an app for that” means more than the 100,000 some-odd apps, many a waste, but tens of thousands that can replace our previous needs with a car radio. The NPR app and DoggCatcher are perfect examples of this new web technology that’s replacing old audio media.
Many of today’s technology is ad-free or has very minimal advertisements. Pandora on both the iPhone and Android devices has nothing more than a little banner image. Unlike even the desktop version of Pandora, the mobile version doesn’t have intrusive audio ads. Why would I go back to dialing into a radio station and suffering signal strength woes? Pandora is just an example of what I’m filling my ears with every day.
Part of the reason I love my Droid is because I can’t download through the iTunes Music Store; the convenience would entice, and I’d be spending left and right on my iPhone. By turning on Pandora I save money and it’s personalized, which I don’t get by listening to my own music all the time.
Not to mention that podcasts are quickly replacing my TV watching and are perfect for casual walking. Download them over the air and have them in a couple of minutes. It’s the future, and I have it in my hands. I haven’t listened to the radio in years, and I’m predicting that they’ll quickly lose funding in the next 10 years and wash away. Hello smartphone, you’re my always connected computer!
Tell us if you’re using your smartphone to replace your radio and music player! Let us know in the comments below.
). They’ve consistently chosen fantastic samples and compilations that they share for free to Amazon MP3 users. And they’re all DRM-free.
while you’re at it!
Subscribe By Email
