December 15, 2015

Radio Killed The Video Star

I find it fascinating just how wrong not only people can be, but an entire industry.

MTV smugly declared itself the new bad ass in town circa 1982 when it launched in the US with The Buggles' one hit wonder, Video Killed The Radio Star.  It suggested of course that video would crush radio's proverbial head and push out it's eyes with it's thumbs, sort of like that scene with the Mountain in Game of Thrones. 

MTV nowadays is just horrifyingly bad reality tv, and the once hip and thriving MuchMusic in Canada has been reduced to two aging technicians who punch things into a computer for an unending sequence of videos on a few linear channels watched by absolutely nobody, mostly still in operation so Bell won't lose their broadcast license.

On the other hand, terrestrial radio seems, in some ways anyway, stronger than ever. I've personally never subscribed to satellite services like Sirius, but I imagine some do as it's still alive. Spotify and other streaming audio services are ok, and I do have a subscription to the latter only because it came as part of my package with Rogers. I listen sometimes, but what it doesn't have is the live, local content, and radio personalities that help bring the music or the news to life so to speak. Don't get me wrong, I find inane morning show banter difficult to listen to, but there's still something immediate about good 'ol fashioned radio.

Bill Johnson, president of NBC
The conventional television model born in the 1950's is obviously dead. Newsrooms and local tv stations have been gutted and that trend will continue. Large North American TV networks and distribution channels have become bloated with their monopolies over the decades, resulting in unwatchable programming. Top shelf content is being produced and broadcast on network and distribution alternatives. With the advent of technology and consumer demand for choice, cable and satellite based companies operating only with the old models are simply a relic of the past.

It's frightening then just how wrong the so called best minds can be about any particular industry. Although urban legend states that it was Bill Gates who is on record for the quote below, the zillionaire nerd never actually said it. It was apparently uttered by some other computer executive in the 80's about the future of computers, so it's an interesting lesson nonetheless:

"640K ought to be enough for anyone"

3 comments:

  1. Sirius Satellite Radio has roughly 29 million subscribers. Which seems crazy to me. But it's the only way to listen to Howard Stern, so I suppose if I had a 2 hour commute to work every day, I might subscribe. I mean there's no where else to listen to pornstars talk about their careers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I saw a great bumper sticker the other day: "Commercial radio is noise pollution to music lovers". Spot on. Why would anyone listen to the radio in this day and age? For the ads and traffic, prank phone calls and 16 minutes of the same music every hour? No thanks.

    To anyone I would recommend checking out iTunes and subscribing to half a dozen podcasts and fill your earholes with aural pleasure. Give it a go. My personal favourites are:

    NPR All Songs Considered
    The Joe Rogan Experience
    Radiolab
    This American Life
    The Nerdist
    The Monday Morning podcast with Bill Burr

    ReplyDelete
  3. @Blin. I agree with you wholeheartedly, but it's outliving television as we've come to know it.

    Burr's MMP's are fantastic and I dabbled in Rogan's too. To go to sleep I don't listen to podcasts as i just want some throwaway audio, so i listen to old radio horror stuff from the 40's and 50's, and i also listen to a local guy who does a conspiracy show every week. he's a bit of a nut, not because he believes in sasquatch, but because he believes in god.

    ReplyDelete