Internet Radio is Starting to Steal from Broadcast Radio. And There’s More to Come, Too.

Jeff points us to a post at New Slang Media that talks about how Internet radio is raiding traditional over-the-air broadcast radio for ideas.

So Zane Lowe has announced he’s leaving BBC Radio 1 to join Apple. If we were looking for a sign that the worlds of music streaming and broadcast radio are converging, then a move by iTunes to inject the one thing internet radio has always lacked – presenters – is surely it. And this being Apple, they’ve started by poaching the greatest music broadcaster on the planet. At first sight it looks very much as if internet radio, which turns thirteen this year, might be growing up.

But in many other respects it’s still acting its age. Like a recalcitrant teenager locked in its bedroom with headphones on full volume, personalised radio, to judge from the quality of its music flow anyway, has actually learned very little from its broadcast parent. Slaves to the algorithm, most streaming services are stuck on shuffle, either ignoring or flat-out rejecting anything that smacks of programming as a deviation from the personalisation mantra. Which is a shame, because broadcast music radio, with its sixty-plus years’ experience finessing format and flow that scream ‘Don’t touch that dial’, could teach webcast a thing or two about optimising reach, share, session length and ad revenue.

Keep reading to find out the next five things that Internet radio should steal from traditional broadcasters.