What is the Future of Internet Radio?

Since the days when the family receiving go down was a focal point of the home, where everyone gathered as the main ejaculate of naked as a jaybirds and entertainment to the present day of profits, satellite and digital receiving set content, the raw material concept of radio receiver set has not only if survived, save thrived. With entirely of the impudently options in radio, however, the question of the future(a) of mesh radio has generated many ideas, dispute and discussion oer the past several eld.This essay volition consent a balanced approach to discussing both the pros and cons of meshing versus unoriginal radio in an effort to ultimately tell this question in an intelligent room. Will Internet Radio Re bunk Traditional Radio? The knee-jerk purpose when considering whether or not Internet radio will replace traditional radio would be to assume that this would be the case if for no new(prenominal) reason than due to the natural progression of technol ogy, much like the union disc eventually replaced the vinyl record and the like.However, a closer cipher at the question requires that a more thorough review of source material take place before jumping to conclusions. In little than a decade, Internet radio has gained the equivalent status as a mass media source as radio has over approximately the pull round century-clearly a force with which to be reckoned (VanHorn). This begs the question of how this was able to take place so rapidly and whether it is due to the faddish nature of slightly new technologies or because of distinct advantages that Internet has over conventional radio.Few would beg that the spacious increase in the availability of Internet plan of attack over the past several years has added to the power of the medium- this includes not only the particular that most every workplace in America has some direct of Internet access for most employees, but also that Internet access has been do available to the v ast majority of households across a take off of economic classes, races and cultures. With this, a new group of media consumers has evolved.Called streamies, these individuals atomic number 18 those who use the Internet for shopping, communication, work, and media/entertainment access (VanHorn). The streamies argon now beginning their second, and in some cases third generation, with children gaining access to the Internet as soon as they be able to point and click a figurer mouse. So, we see a well established and growing audience for Internet radio. Internet radio producers construct not been blind to the fact that they are looking at a seemingly endless supply of listeners and that the future potential is all but endless.Knowing that this audience is technologically savvy, and harnessing the power of the Internet, there have been many enhancements to the Internet radio picture that in fairness are hard for conventional radio to compete with, including interactive broadcasts t hat allow listeners to fork up feedback to broadcasters, blogs that allow for the audience to communicate with each new(prenominal), and additional Websites which could give a listener access to other materials of interest.Evidence suggests that this type of multimedia experience is very well suited to the unexampled person, who not only wishes to heed a media source, but also wishes to have something to watch or that will give the chance for ones intellect to be exercised (Crisell). fleck Internet radio seems to have quite an as gradement of options to offer to the modern audience member, traditional radio should not be counted out effective yet.From the advent of Internet radio, traditional radio has attempted to slow good deal the proliferation of competing Internet radio, first through lawsuits which alleged that Internet broadcasters were taking below the belt advantage of the air system because of the fact that they were exempt from many of the regulations which at ti mes saddle the traditional radio broadcaster and represent a huge expense for them (Mckibben).Failing that, the traditionalists have in recent years likewise gotten involved in Internet air, using online technology to cash in ones chips a wider audience with the content that was popular with conventional listeners for years in the past (Crisell). It would appear that in the present stalemate between Internet and conventional radio, the future for both seems cloudy. However, as we will see in a later portion of this essay, there is a very viable future that remains to be seen.Should Internet Radio Pay the analogous Royalties as Traditional Radio? The point was made earlier that conventional radio has long argued that Internet radio has unfair advantage in areas such as regulation, technological requirements, etc. Another consideration that has fiscal implications is the question of whether or not Internet radio should pay the same royalties as traditional radio if the two media s ources are different but fundamentally similar.Ironically, when discussing royalties, Internet broadcasters have a disadvantage over conventional broadcasters, at least on the surface. Conventional broadcasters pay a set royal family into order to broadcast copyrighted materials such as songs, whereas Web-based broadcasters are charged a fee per download. Therefore, given the huge size of online audiences that do not have the limitations like those who receive broadcasts on regular radios, royalty fees can quite literally be without limit (Harwood).On the other hand, the possibility of endlessly large audiences, if properly marketed, can result in substantially larger advertising revenue if advertisers can be convince of the value of such large target audiences for their message. With the evidence that exists, it would seem that the answer would be not to arbitrarily assess higher royalty fees to Internet broadcasters, or to lower fees to traditional broadcasters to try to give th em some sort of competitive edge over the abundant power of online broadcasters, but to bring a way to create a percentage-based royalty fee for both media sources.For example, Internet broadcasters who are mostly content-based and do not emphasize a large amount of advertising would not be held responsible for massive royalty payments since the content they are utilizing is not being used for the purposes of brainish massive revenues in the first place. Conversely, when Internet content results in massive advertising revenue, it would only make sense that royalties be fairly paying(a) for the content that made the profits possible.Careful auditing and a process of hitch for the numbers that are used to determine the royalty rates would pacify any possible errors and disputes from the outset. What Does the Future Hold? The point was earlier made that the destruction of traditional radio in favor of Internet radio may not be what the future holds, and there are make reasons fo r making that assumption, for as cutting-edge and attractive as Internet radio may be, there is something to be verbalize for the grass roots way that traditional radio operates, serves and entertains.In times of emergency and local interest, quite a little will always look to the traditional, local radio station for what they crave-something that computer servers and satellites from around the globe simply cannot provide, as if they are too boastful and cumbersome to be as nimble and versatile as the small broadcasters in the traditional sense tend to be (Armstrong). Also, as was said earlier, traditional broadcasters can likewise participate in Internet broadcasting while still retaining their local ties and flavor.Therefore, it is quite reasonable to predict that the future will save a place for the traditional, and cutting edge broadcasting worlds. Conclusion At the risk of sounding outrageous, there are sure new applications of broadcasting technology that currently exist only in the minds of those trying to make them a reality. Therefore, in closing, the point should also be made that radio, to paraphrase a line from a classic song, has only just begun.