Radio Stations and New Audience

Fundamental market alterations are driving radio stations towards a future that is quite uncertain, particularly those that aim to reach new audiences. In this regard, as Benner and Waldfogel (2016) assert, it is imperative for radio station owners and managers to begin developing strategic measures in the captivation of new audiences otherwise radio today seems to be on a very rapid and steep decline.

The major challenge with regard to new audiences is obvious. Schiffman (2017) contends that with people’s lifestyle alterations and the wide accessibility to substitutable audio platforms, there is not much that is new that can be offered by radio stations. Nowadays, more and more audiences are spending less time listening to the radio as radio loyalty has drastically declined. The young generation is especially difficult to serve and attract using the radio.

The most evident challenge that has been caused by the change impetus concerns music audiences. Interestingly, Owen (2018) opine that the radio is today being progressively replaced worldwide by personalized playlists in the form of technology through CD’s, mobile phones, MP3 players and even personal computers. Individuals are now able to select the music that appeals to their tastes with many more having music repositories in their personal libraries that are seldom provided by broadcaster playlists. Internet and satellite radio have as well compounded the problem with countless music formats that are highly focused on offer, making radio absolutely irrelevant to new audiences in the music platform.

Equally, Li and Petersson (2017) point out that a broad range of programming that is music related is easily obtainable from internet and satellite stations with the majority of new audiences preferring to download podcasts related to various individual interest songs from both non-radio and broadcast sources. It is thus imperative for radio owners and managers to reposition themselves that they may not fall into the newspaper industry pit hole. 

References

Benner, M. J., & Waldfogel, J. (2016). The song remains the same? Technological change and positioning in the recorded music industry. Strategy Science, 1(3), 129-147.

Li, Q., & Petersson, J. (2017). U.S. Patent Application No. 15/303,186.

Owen, D. (2018). Who’s talking? Who’s listening? The new politics of radio talk shows. In Broken Contract? (pp. 127-146). Routledge.  

Schiffman, J. R. (2017). Undervaluing mutual: The FCC’s missed opportunity to restructure radio broadcasting in the new deal era. Journal of Radio & Audio Media, 24(2), 302-319.