Terrestrial Radio In

Terrestrial radio is the oldest format for listening to music, but it might also be the next to succumb to newer technology. There are new styles of radio that offer a better listening experience without all of the dj and commercial interruptions. Therefore this poses a threat to our old way of getting music and news that we are accustomed to.

Internet radio is the new big outlet for music, Pandora radio alone has over 80 million subscribers. It offers you a way to listen to music without interruptions and gives you the power to choose your own music. This newer form of radio is very personable and all about the listener, you can argue that terrestrial radio gives in to advertising and takes away from your experience. In the future there will be more outlets available to us, for more to come in there has to be some that disappear. Which format will it be, the most plausible would be terrestrial radio.

Satellite radio is another form that offers us a way to listen to music that gives us the option to choose what we listen to. It does not have the listenership that terrestrial and internet radio has. At one point satellite radio was really popular, but it has lost its luster and lost subscribers. One downfall for this is the fact that you have to pay a monthly fee to be a listener. Anything that you have to pay for surely can not last longer than free formats, and this is visible in the decline of subscribers. Pretty soon internet radio plans to make listeners pay for their services too, so if that were to happen would they loose a lot of subscribers?

Throughout the years we have been offered free radio and taken advantage of this on a daily basis. Terrestrial radio has been the most popular outlet for us for many, many years. I feel we are lucky to have this format where advertising and commercials are what pay for our service. We also have the luxury of having our local channels that report to us news and local events. Having breaks in radio is convenient; it gives us all an opportunity to get away from our radios without worrying about missing a song. The local advertisements are also helpful, they inform you of events and happenings in your area. Other formats can not offer these options to you simply because the stations are not local.

If the am/fm radio were to become extinct we would also loose disc jockeys. They do a lot around their communities; they do more than jut sit around a radio station. Disc jockeys do public appearances, and promotions for local events. They help bring in a lot of money through area charity events, this puts money back into the local communities and gives back. If we lost terrestrial radio where would we get our information on concerts, local sports, and weather? This is how we even get musicians to come to our cities, its all through our area radio stations, they promote and sponsor these events. We would get rid of all of our local information if terrestrial radio were to be discontinued.

I do not feel there is a chance that these other formats can stand up to this form of radio. It has been around far too long and has battled numerous different sources to maintain their service to us. We should support our area stations and help them bring money back to our cities. I don’t want to have to pay for an outside source that does not bring events to my community. Who would bring in the musicians for concerts if terrestrial radio weren’t around? A lot of people don’t realize all of the advantages that local radio gives us, and all of the services it provides us that the other formats do not. For all of these reasons I have presented, I feel like nothing is or will take terrestrial radio down anytime soon, and it will outlast all other forms.