Bridging The Gap Between Traditional Radio and Streaming Services

The question of the week regarding radio was “How do older media serve as a template for a Wireless Culture?” My claim was that older media do this by figuring out the basis of what works and then new media expands on that base. To establish this point, I discussed the basic forms of terrestrial and digital radios. I then explained streaming services. Following this, I discussed the differences between these music platforms. This included benefits of traditional radio (terrestrial and digital) and areas of improvement to keep up with streaming services. From there, I discussed iHeartRadio. I chose to explain this service because it clearly bridges the gap between traditional radio and streaming services. This is because it has a traditional end where it streams live radio broadcasts yet also allows users to have their own playlists, discover their own music, and has plus and all access subscriptions. In my conclusion, I clarified that traditional forms of radio are still present today but are decreasing in popularity. Following the presentation, the class discussed reasons why they would care if traditional radio disappeared due to personal and emotional connections with radio stations they grew up with. My final claim was that streaming services have relied on the older medium of radio as a template but radio now must also use streaming services as a model.

References:

Clark, B. (2015, July 17). How Analog Radio Works, What's Digital Radio, and What's Next? Retrieved March 05, 2018, from https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-analog-radio-works-whats-digital-radio-and-whats-next/

Harris, M. (2018, February 8). Streaming Music: How Does It Actually Work? Retrieved March 05, 2018, from https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-streaming-music-2438445

Mangum, G. (2014, September 24). Ideas on the Future of Radio: Algorithms, Radio Programming and Open Data. Retrieved March 5, 2018, from https://cmsw.mit.edu/ideas-future-radio-algorithms-radio-programming-open-data/

Meneses, J. P. (2012). About Pandora and other streaming music services: The new active consumer on radio. Observatorio (OBS*), 6(1), 235-257.

Nielsen Holdings PLC. (2013, November 12). Extra Terrestrial: Consumers Still Tuning In To Traditional Radio Despite Out-of-This World Competition. Retrieved March 05, 2018, from http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2013/extra-terrestrial-consumers-still-tuning-in-to-traditional-radio.html

Quain, J. R. (2014, July 25). Why streaming could be local radio's salvation. Retrieved March 05, 2018, from http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2014/07/25/why-streaming-could-be-local-radios-salvation.html